Upon that realization, Yang Kai couldn’t help grinning. His laughter was muffled initially, but as time passed, he started guffawing to the point where he cried tears of joy.
Although he had gone through so much hardship and almost lost his life, he came across such an opportunity!
To escape from the sheep-headed Royal Lord, he took the risk and dove into this Great Sea Celestial Phenomenon. It never crossed his mind that he would arrive at such a cultivation paradise.
There was no doubt that the undercurrents in the Great Sea were akin to innate treasures of the Universe. Their very existence was a natural wonder.
At that instant, Yang Kai even had the urge to thank the Royal Lord. If not for the latter’s relentless pursuit, he would never have come across this place.
It had only been several hundred years since he ascended to the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm, and although time flowed several times faster in his Small Universe than other Open Heaven Realm Masters, and he had a World Tree clone to purify his World Force, both of which allowed him to cultivate multiple times faster than average, he was still a long way off from the Eighth-Order.
Yang Kai estimated that it would be another 1,000 to 2,000 years before he could achieve a breakthrough.
That length of time seemed too daunting to him.
Initially, this reality was giving him a severe headache. He had been trying to come up with ways to increase his cultivation speed so that he could make it to the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm sooner. He even had the urge to seek out the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary so that he could ask for a High-Rank World Fruit from the World Tree.
However, the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary had been elusive since time immemorial. He was extremely lucky even to have a chance to enter it back then, so it seemed practically impossible for him to go there again.
Furthermore, even if he managed to find the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, would the World Tree even give him a High-Rank World Fruit?
Just like Mo, the World Tree was one of the oldest living beings in the Universe. If it refused to give Yang Kai the World Fruit, he wouldn’t be able to do anything about it.
Now that he was inside a Temporal River though, Yang Kai didn’t have to worry about ascending to the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm anymore.
Yang Kai wondered what the time flow differential in this Temporal River was compared to the outside world, but by analyzing the Time Principles around him and considering the density of Time Dao Essence, he believed the flow of time here was at least 10 times faster than normal.
In other words, if he spent ten years in this place, only one year would pass in the outside world.
He could cultivate in this place with peace of mind until the day he made it to the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm.
Although as a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, he was no match for the sheep headed Royal Lord, he was able to evade him for several years. If he managed to ascend to the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm, he had the confidence to flee from the Royal Lord with ease even if he was incapable of defeating him.
A fervent Yang Kai immediately fished out all sorts of resources and started refining them, but a problem soon came to his mind.
Did he have enough resources to reach the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm?
Initially, he had accumulated a staggering amount of resources, more than enough to reach the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm; after all, he had plundered quite a few Black Ink Clan territories over the years and acquired a massive quantity of cultivation materials.
However, when Cang asked for some resources to restore himself back then, Yang Kai had passed the bulk of what he owned to him.
Moreover, to escape from the Royal Lord over the years, Yang Kai had used up a large amount of the Blue and Yellow Crystals he had left. As a result, he was seriously lacking in Yin and Yang Element materials.
He certainly had sufficient Five-Element materials, but if he used up all his Yin and Yang Element materials before he ascended to the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm, he would be in serious trouble.
However, it was pointless for him to worry about it at this point. He would find out if he had sufficient resources as he cultivated.
He then circulated his Secret Art and began refining a set of Seven Element materials. They were absorbed by Yang Kai and turned into the heritage of his Small Universe.
The speeds at which Open Heaven Realm Masters could refine materials varied. The fundamental reason was the sturdiness of their Dao Seals they had condensed when they were still Emperor Realm Masters.
The more robust their Dao Seal was, the quicker one could refine cultivation materials.
Therefore, even if two Open Heaven Realm Masters were in the same Order, the speeds at which they could refine resources could be very different. The one with a better foundation could refine materials more quickly and grow their power more rapidly. Even a slight difference would become massive over hundreds or thousands of years.
When Yang Kai condensed his Dao Seal back then, he was able to withstand the impact of Seventh-Order materials, so when it came to the speed of refining materials, only those once-in-a-generation geniuses from the Cave Heavens and Paradises were somewhat comparable to him in the entire 3,000 Worlds.
Since Yang Kai was a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master now, he could fully refine a set of Fifth-Order materials in a few days.
Then, he fished out another set of materials.
The process of cultivation was dull, but the increase in power was real and exhilarating.
Therefore, despite the monotony, a cultivator was more than capable of cultivating in seclusion for hundreds of years.
Once a person was engrossed in the increase of their power, they would no longer feel the passage of time.
Half a year later, Yang Kai’s flesh wounds had mostly healed, and although his Soul was still damaged, he didn’t have to worry about it as he had the Soul Warming Lotus’ help.
However, his Dragon Bead was still full of cracks. From previous experiences, Yang Kai knew that repairing a Dragon Bead couldn’t be rushed. It required him to use the power of his Dragon Vein to nurture it slowly. Perhaps it would be restored to a perfect state again in several hundred years.
After refining another set of materials, Yang Kai opened his eyes and sensed his surroundings.
Then, he furrowed his brow because he detected some unusual changes.
Over the past six months, besides refining materials to increase his cultivation, Yang Kai had also been making use of the ambient Time Principles and Time Dao Essence in the Temporal River to comprehend the Dao of Time.
He had benefited greatly from this.
The Bloodline Talent of the Dragon Clan was the Dao of Time. Back in the Dragon Pool, Yang Kai managed to grow into a 70,000-metre Ancient Dragon. With the increase in the power of his Dragon Vein, his mastery over the Dao of Time had also improved significantly, growing from the Sixth Level to the Seventh Level. It was only one level behind his mastery over the Dao of Space now, which had reached the Eighth Level.
Nevertheless, that single level was still a far distance to cross.
The reason the flow of time was different in a Temporal River was that it was filled with ample Time Dao Essence.
The Time Dao Essence and Time Principles continuously washed over Yang Kai’s mind and body. This kind of impact was invisible and imperceptible to someone who had never cultivated the Dao of Time, so they wouldn’t detect any anomaly while inside the Temporal River. It wasn’t until after one left this place that they realised the flow of time was different.
On the other hand, Yang Kai could make use of these impacts to study the Dao of Time. He could even refine the Time Dao Essence directly to improve his mastery of the Dao of Time.
That was what he had been doing these past six months; however, he now realised that the Temporal River seemed to have become shorter.
The lengths of the undercurrents in the Great Sea were all different, and although he had not checked it carefully, Yang Kai reckoned that the Temporal River was about 9,000 metres long when he first entered it. Now, however, it was 500 metres shorter.
Was it because he had barged into this place and absorbed the Time Dao Essence here?
Yang Kai had no idea, but after giving it some thought, he stopped comprehending the Dao of Time and instead focused on just cultivating.
Half a year later, Yang Kai opened his eyes and scanned his surroundings once again.
The Temporal River had become shorter again, though it wasn’t as severe as the previous time. It was now about 20 metres smaller. The difference was minimal, but Yang Kai could easily detect it as he had been paying close attention this time.
These kinds of changes made him realise something.
It seemed that his presence and the absorption of Time Dao Essence were the main reasons for the shrinking of the Temporal River.
In other words, as long as he was inside the Temporal River, he would consume the amazing power in this place, and the river would continue to become shorter; after all, the Time Dao Essence was constantly washing over him, causing the flow of time in this isolated space to be different from that of the outside world.
He had only been cultivating for another half a year, but the river had become 20 metres shorter. In other words, the river would shrink about 40 metres a year if he did nothing but cultivate. As such, this Temporal River would be gone for good in around 200 years at most.
If he simultaneously absorbed the Time Dao Essence in this place and cultivated it, the river would disappear even sooner.
Upon this realization, Yang Kai’s expression darkened.
Initially, he intended to stay in this Temporal River until he ascended to the Eighth Order, but now it seemed that the Temporal River would disappear in just about 200 years.
That amount of time wasn’t sufficient for him to make it to the Eighth Order.
[What should I do now?]
After giving it some thought, Yang Kai realised that the Great Sea was vast, and it had countless undercurrents in it. Since there was one Temporal River here, there might be another. Even if this Temporal River was completely consumed, he could just go looking for the next one. As long as there were five to six Temporal Rivers of this size in the Celestial Phenomenon, he would be able to ascend to the Eighth Order.
Right now, Yang Kai’s main task was to increase his strength. He wasn’t sure if the Royal Lord had also dived into this place, but if he had, there might come a time when they bump into one another.
Regardless, where there was a will, there was a way. It was pointless for Yang Kai to overthink things at this point.
He then set his mind at ease and stopped absorbing the Time Dao Essence in the Temporal River; instead focusing all his efforts on cultivating.
Sets of materials were refined as time went by.
Just like what he had estimated, about 40 metres of the Temporal River would vanish for every year he spent in this place.
Yang Kai slowly became wholly absorbed in cultivation and lost track of the outside world.
He had never cultivated for such a prolonged period of time before. Initially, he found it difficult to adapt, but as the heritage in his Small Universe increased, he slowly got used to it.
About 160 years later, Yang Kai was shocked awake by an anomaly while cultivating.
He hurriedly opened his eyes and realised that the Temporal River was only 100 metres long now. It was originally a long river, but it had significantly shortened over the years.
Due to its length, it couldn’t even sustain its own existence anymore and as it was battered by the other undercurrents, it was on the brink of collapse.
Yang Kai could feel that the Martial Domains in the other undercurrents had broken through the isolation of the Temporal River.
His expression changed as he stored the set of materials he hadn’t fully refined and got to his feet.
It was time to leave this Temporal River.
Despite knowing that this day would come, Yang Kai still felt lost when he finally had to set out.
He had no idea if he could find another Temporal River. The undercurrents in the Great Sea Celestial Phenomenon were turbulent, so perhaps before he could find the next Temporal River, he would be killed by them.
However, he had no other choice.
Surging the power of his Dragon Vein, Dragon Scales started appearing on Yang Kai’s skin, including his eyelids, and his entire figure radiated a golden glow.
The undercurrents in the Great Sea Celestial Phenomenon were savage and Yang Kai didn’t have the confidence to resist them without relying on the power of his Dragon Vein.
He summoned his Azure Dragon Spear and let out a breath as he checked to ensure he was in peak condition.
Just as he was about to bolt out of the Temporal River, he paused as an idea sprang to his mind.
The Temporal River was only 100 metres long now, and as the other undercurrents clashed with it from all directions, it would probably fall apart soon. When that happened, this Temporal River would be gone for good.
Although the 100-metre Temporal River couldn’t be considered long, it still contained a lot of Time Dao Essence. Thinking about this precious resource, Yang Kai couldn’t help wondering if he could keep it inside his Small Universe.
The instant he had that thought, he could no longer contain the impulse to act.
Time Dao Essence was hugely beneficial to him. If he could keep it inside his Small Universe and absorb it, it would help improve his mastery of the Dao of Time.
Without hesitation, he opened a portal to his Small Universe and released his Divine Sense, which engulfed the Temporal River and drew it into the portal.
The next instant, Yang Kai’s expression changed drastically. He quickly shut the portal to his Small Universe and surged his World Force before infusing it into his Azure Dragon Spear.
His Dragon Roar reverberated as the Azure Dragon Spear transformed into a massive Dragon and shattered the blockade of the undercurrent in front of it, leading Yang Kai to charge forward.
Sparks flew from his Dragon Scales as Yang Kai groaned in pain as his Dragon Blood gushed out of his wounds.
Although his power had increased significantly, he was still horribly injured the moment he was swept into the undercurrent.
Clenching his teeth as his gaze was full of determination, Yang Kai wielded his spear and traversed the chaotic undercurrents. At the same time, he released his Divine Sense to scan the surroundings.
He had to look for another Temporal River. Only by finding one would he stand a chance to survive; otherwise, he would be tortured to death by these undercurrents.
As his Divine Sense was shredded, Yang Kai felt excruciating pain in his Soul.
The Dragon Scales that had covered his entire body were battered and blown off in quick succession.
After just an incense stick of time, Yang Kai was covered in blood. There wasn’t even a part of his skin that was left intact, but he still hadn’t managed to find another Temporal River.
One hour later, half his flesh had been ripped off, revealing many of his bones and making him look extremely miserable.
His aura was weakening fast, like candlelight amidst the storm that might put it out at any moment.
His vision was blurred, and he found it hard to sustain his Divine Sense. Every time he activated it, he felt a sting of pain that seemed to be tearing his head apart.
Yang Kai nearly fell into despair at his situation. Previously, he was lucky as he had made use of his Dragon Bead at the critical moment to plunge into the 9,000-metre Temporal River. Now though, it seemed his luck had run out.
Moreover, even though he had been nurturing his Dragon Bead for nearly 200 years now, it still hadn’t been restored as there were many cracks on it. If he used it again now, it would probably shatter.
Just as he was about to lose hope, Yang Kai faintly sensed a calm undercurrent nearby.
[Another Temporal River!]
Ecstatic, he wielded his spear and desperately swam towards that place.
A dozen breaths later, he broke through two undercurrents and entered the one after them. He quickly sensed his surroundings, and upon making sure there was no danger, he collapsed to the ground and passed out.
After two years dedicated to just recovering, Yang Kai began to assess his situation.
Even though there was no murderous intent in this second undercurrent he stayed in, it was not a Temporal River like he thought it was, for there was no Time Dao Essence in this place.
Instead, it was a coherent Grand Dao of Nature River.
The river was about 20,000 metres long, which was much longer than the Temporal River he previously stayed in.
Unfortunately, this Grand Dao wasn’t suitable for him. Therefore, for the past two years, other than recuperating, he mostly spent his time studying the 100-metre Temporal River he had put inside his Small Universe.
After the Temporal River entered his Small Universe, he was able to digest the Time Dao Essence, which allowed him to gain some new understanding of the Dao of Time.
It wasn’t much, but it was better than nothing; after all, if he comprehended the Dao of Time in the Temporal River for a year, about 40 metres of the length would be consumed.
Therefore, a 100-metre Temporal River couldn’t bring about tremendous transformation to his comprehension.
With that said, Yang Kai had now found another way to cultivate.
Every undercurrent in this Great Sea was evolved from a Grand Dao. Although he could improve himself by absorbing the Grand Dao’s power in the undercurrents, the speed at which he could refine it would be much faster if he could keep it inside his Small Universe.
He had never cultivated the Dao of Nature before. In fact, among the cultivators he had come into contact with before, only those from Free and Unfettered Paradise like Ning Dao Ren had deep attainments in this Grand Dao. Every move such cultivators made harmonized with the Heavens and Earth and they believed that everything was born of Nature and should not be governed by individuals but instead lived alongside with. Cultivators of the Dao of Nature were carefree and unconcerned about worldly affairs, so although Yang Kai admired their mindset, he could never be like them.
With the previous experience of taking in the 100 metres Temporal River, he was curious about what would happen if he absorbed this 20,000 metres Nature Dao River and assimilated it into his Small Universe. Would he have a solid foundation in the Dao of Nature after he absorbed it?
In that case, the Temporal Rivers wouldn’t be the only thing he could benefit from in the Great Sea.
As long as he could absorb and refine enough undercurrents, he could integrate 10,000 Grand Daos into his Martial Dao.
The reason a cultivator had to focus on a single Grand Dao was that they had limited energy and time while there were unlimited Grand Daos. Only when one became a Master in a particular Grand Dao would they achieve something great. If someone cultivated too many Grand Daos, other cultivators of the same generation would easily surpass them for their comprehension wouldn’t be deep.
Quality was more important than quantity when it came to cultivating Grand Daos.
Yang Kai had actually cultivated quite a number of Grand Daos, which included the Dao of Space, the Dao of Time, the Spear Dao, the Alchemic Dao, and the Dao of Artifact Refining. It could even be said that he knew a thing or two about Dao of Spirit Arrays because when practising Alchemy and Artifact Refining, he would need to use some Spirit Arrays.
However, there were only three Grand Daos that he had real accomplishments, which were the Dao of Space, the Dao of Time, and the Spear Dao. He was pretty skilful in Dao of Alchemy before he entered the 3,000 Worlds, but he hadn’t practised it for a long time.
That was because he had limited energy, so it was impossible that he could spend lots of time studying every Grand Dao he came across.
Nevertheless, the unique characteristics of this Great Sea Celestial Phenomenon made him realise it might be possible to do just that.
Yang Kai wasn’t sure what would happen if he managed to comprehend and integrate 10,000 Grand Daos.
With the previous experience of taking in the 100-metre Temporal River, it wasn’t hard for Yang Kai to absorb this Nature River. Although a 20,000-metre river sounded quite long, it was nothing compared with the capacity of his Small Universe.
Opening the portal to his Small Universe, Yang Kai engulfed the 20,000-metre river with his Divine Sense before drawing it in.
In just 20 breaths of time, the entire river was gone.
Before Yang Kai could inspect the changes in his Small Universe though, the surrounding undercurrents swarmed him.
Just like what he had done two years ago, he wielded his Azure Dragon Spear and summoned his Dragon Scales to protect himself. He pierced through the undercurrents and charged forward.
According to previous experiences, he had to find a safe place within an hour; otherwise, he might not be able to persevere.
Fortunately, he was now aware that there were some calm undercurrents in the Great Sea. As long as he wasn’t cursed with terrible luck, he could find a safe place and recuperate before setting off again.
In just 10 years, Yang Kai managed to recuperate five times and absorb five rivers of different Grand Daos, while the sixth time, he finally managed to enter a Temporal River again.
Upon that realization, Yang Kai was ecstatic. He hadn’t come across another Temporal River in the past 10 years, so he worried he would never find one.
Since there was a second Temporal River, there should be a third. As long as he had enough time and energy, he would find more and more.
Just like what he always did after entering an undercurrent, Yang Kai first focused on recuperating.
When he was fully healed, he finally had some time to inspect the Temporal River.
This Temporal River was longer than the previous one as it was about 13,000 metres long. He knew that he would consume about 50 metres every year just by remaining inside it to cultivate. In other words, this Temporal River could last him 250 to 260 years.
Elated, he hurriedly fished out a set of resources and began refining them.
Although the Great Sea was full of wondrous treasures, Yang Kai had never forgotten his main goal, which was to make it to the Eighth Order as soon as possible. He would only be considered truly powerful with ample heritage, while everything else was just a bonus.
Temporal Rivers were the key to his rapid increase in strength.
As he refined materials to increase his heritage, Yang Kai looked into his Small Universe and inspected the changes.
Over the past 10 years, including the Grand Dao of Nature River, he had taken in six rivers of Grand Daos with different lengths.
All six rivers were gone for good as he had fully refined them.
All these rivers contained abstruse powers as they dispersed and blended into his Small Universe.
The Dao Essences of the Grand Daos that Yang Kai had never dabbled in before started appearing in his Small Universe.
The length of a river determined the strength of the Grand Dao’s power, and it indirectly influenced his achievements in that particular Grand Dao.
According to his classifications of Grand Daos, some of the Grand Daos he had absorbed had now reached the Second Level, Peering Through the Doors.
Different Grand Daos corresponded to different Principles. Yang Kai couldn’t be considered skilful in these Grand Daos, but they had brought about changes to not only himself but also his Small Universe.
He had a feeling that there were some subtle differences in his Small Universe, but the changes were so tiny that even he, as its owner, was unable to sense them clearly.
Perhaps only after he refined even more Grand Dao Rivers would the changes in the Small Universe become conspicuous.
One thing he was certain of was that the changes were beneficial to his Small Universe.
Yang Kai was elated. The Great Sea was probably the biggest treasure trove he had ever chanced upon. In fact, it was a treasure trove of the entire Universe.
He wondered if the sheep-headed Royal Lord had barged into this place and discovered it; however, Black Ink Clansmen and Humans cultivated differently, so even if the Royal Lord had come to realize this place’s worth, there was nothing he could do.
After realizing such benefits, Yang Kai no longer confined himself to the Temporal River.
From time to time, he would go out and absorb other undercurrents before coming back to continue cultivating.
With that said, he bore some risks by doing so. The undercurrents were turbulent and flowed about randomly. If he didn’t act swiftly enough, the Temporal River would leave his detection range and he would be stuck.
Therefore, he would only absorb the undercurrents within reach every time he left. Even so, he benefited greatly from these excursions.
About 250 years later, the second Temporal River was only left with a length of 100 metres.
Just like what Yang Kai had previously done, he transferred the remnants of the Temporal River inside his Small Universe so that he could gradually refine it. Then, he set off on his adventure to look for the next Temporal River, resting in the less violent undercurrents as he traversed this Great Sea Celestial Phenomenon.
Time passed by slowly.
Initially, Yang Kai kept count of how many years had passed, but gradually, he had lost himself in this kind of unusual cultivation, forgetting the passing of time as he kept looking for more Temporal Rivers.
Every time he absorbed and refined any kind of calm Grand Dao River, it would bring about some changes to his Small Universe, allowing him to gain some understanding of many Grand Daos he had never touched before in his life.
His entire Small Universe was filled with traces of all sorts of Grand Daos now.
In the past, when the Humans in Void Continent cultivated, given enough aptitude, they could easily comprehend the Dao of Space, the Dao of Time, the Spear Dao, or other Grand Daos Yang Kai had dabbled in.
However, as Yang Kai refined more and more Grand Dao Rivers, the cultivators in his Small Universe now found it easier to comprehend even more kinds of Grand Daos.
The entire Void Continent was now a fertile place where cultivators could freely choose from a variety of Grand Daos and focus on the ones that interested them.
In the Void Dao Temple, many bright cultivators had reached the peak and were just one step away from ascending to the Open Heaven Realm.
However, Yang Kai was currently trapped in a place where he couldn’t even guarantee his own life, so he couldn’t release them.
The lengths of the Temporal Rivers in the Great Sea Celestial Phenomenon varied greatly. Some of them were thousands of metres long while some were as short as hundreds of metres, causing Yang Kai to wonder just how they were formed in the first place.
Of course, longer Temporal Rivers allowed him to stay there and cultivate for a longer time.
As he absorbed even more rivers, Yang Kai acquired some insights on many of the Grand Daos. In fact, he could now be considered something of a Master in quite a few of them.
As more and more resources of different Orders were consumed, the heritage in his Small Universe increased by the day.
It was an extremely long and unusual cultivation session and Yang Kai was fairly certain he was the first person in history who had ever cultivated this way for such a long time.
One day, when Yang Kai was engrossed in cultivating in a Temporal River, he realised there were some unusual changes occurring in his Small Universe.
Shocked, he hurriedly investigated.
As he inspected it, he felt that his Small Universe was going through an indescribable enhancement. The territories were expanding, and the World Force in his Small Universe was becoming more condensed.
The World Tree clone seemed to resonate with the changes in his Small Universe as its leaves rustled noisily and it began to madly refine his World Force.
Trails of light appeared in the sky, but they were not cracks but the manifestations of the Dao Essences of a myriad of different Grand Daos.
Furthermore, some Heavenly Manifestations appeared in different parts of the Void Continent.
The cultivators living on the Void Continent were pleasantly surprised to learn that the entire World seemed to have come alive. The Grand Daos became active, which allowed cultivators to comprehend them with ease. Therefore, many hurriedly entered seclusion to take advantage of this occasion.
Something suddenly dawned on Yang Kai.
[I’m about to break through to the Eighth Order!]
He had observed Xu Ling Gong ascending to the Eighth Order before, and he had learned a lot from that experience; however, his ascension seemed slightly different compared to Xu Ling Gong’s.
Every Open Heaven Realm Master who attempted to make it to the next Order would fall into a perilous situation, for any accident at this moment could cause their Small Universe to rupture and their life to be extinguished, and it was more dangerous the higher one’s Order became.
The Eighth Order was only one Order below the peak, the Ninth Order, so it was by no means a safe endeavour.
Although on the surface, Xu Ling Gong didn’t seem to be at any risk when he achieved his breakthrough back then, the real danger lay in his Small Universe, which others were unable to observe.
Fortunately, his ample heritage helped him get through the crisis and successfully break through.
However, some Open Heaven Realm Masters would face a bottleneck at this point, and before shattering that bottleneck, they wouldn’t be able to achieve a breakthrough.
Back then, it took the Proprietress around 200 years to break through to the Seventh Order.
Another example was Feng Ying who spent some 200 to 300 years trying to ascend to the Eighth Order. It wasn’t until the grand battle against the Black Ink Clan that she reappeared.
Initially, Yang Kai was worried he would face a similar bottleneck, but now it seemed that he had been worried for nothing.
He didn’t face any kind of bottleneck, and with ample heritage in his Small Universe, everything just proceeded smoothly.
Perhaps it had something to do with the World Tree clone, which had been in his Small Universe for hundreds of years now and helped to refine his World Force to an incredible degree. His current World Force was purer than any other Seventh-Order Master’s, and the purer one’s World Force was, the more robust their heritage was. As a result, bottlenecks simply did not exist for Yang Kai.
Yang Kai could even clearly feel that there was no danger to speak of when achieving this ascension. Although there were all kinds of different phenomena in his Small Universe, those were just the manifestations of the Grand Daos he comprehended and the results of his cultivation, which were harmless to his Small Universe.
Everything just took place smoothly.
Yang Kai had been extremely eager to reach the Eighth Order as soon as possible, but when the day finally came, his heart was as tranquil as a clear lake. He wasn’t as surprised or excited as he had imagined he would be.
He had already expected this day to come, and he was confident he would make it to the Eighth Order no matter what. It was just a matter of time before he achieved it.
His Small Universe continued to expand as it was going through an evolution, but he soon ignored the changes and continued refining materials.
On the other hand, the cultivators living in Yang Kai’s Small Universe had benefited greatly from this change. In every corner of the Void Continent, there were cultivators who gathered together as they gained greater understanding of the Grand Daos they cultivated and made breakthroughs in their comprehension.
In the Void Dao Temple, where the essence of the entire continent came together, many youths even managed to condense their own Dao Seals at this moment.
The babies born during this period of time had even more outstanding aptitudes than before.
As the Grand Daos all came alive, it made it easier for the cultivators to grasp them. The expansion of the World also widened the Martial Dao as a whole.
Gradually, all the Heavenly Manifestations disappeared and the visible traces of the Grand Daos’ manifestations vanished. The entire Void Continent returned to calmness.
However, the Emperor Realm Masters could detect that this World was already very different from the past.
For one, it had become vaster.
Cultivators formed into groups and began surveying these new lands, confirming their initial suspicions.
In the past, there was a World Barrier that they couldn’t move past, but now that barrier was gone and many more territories had appeared.
These territories were fertile, but there weren’t any living beings in them.
When the Sects got wind of this, they sent out their Masters who led many disciples to occupy these virgin lands.
Yang Kai had only placed a small number of people in his Small Universe back then, about 10 million or so.
However, the environment in the Small Universe was filled with vitality, making it a paradise where cultivators could thrive. Moreover, there were no major wars or disputes, only some minor conflicts between the various Sects.
With the Void Dao Temple’s appearance, even these conflicts also gradually vanished.
With such a peaceful environment, the number of people in his Small Universe swelled over the millennia.
As the population increased, there was a greater need for land. In the past, those from the Void Dao Temple were worried that if this went on, the entire Void Continent wouldn’t be able to accommodate the increasing population within a few thousand years.
Now though, that problem was solved.
The land mass of Void Continent had expanded by five times at the very least, so even if the rate of population growth continued as it was, there was no need to worry about not having enough living space for several tens of thousands of years.
Nevertheless, Yang Kai was oblivious to all of this because he was pondering on another issue.
Now that he was in the Eighth Order, could his power continue to increase?
Back then, he was forced to ascend to the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm, so theoretically, his limit was the Seventh-Order.
However, after he consumed a Mid-Rank World Fruit, his limit became the Eighth Order.
With him being in the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm now, was there any future for him?
There were quite a number of Human cultivators whose limit was the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm. Many of the Eighth-Order Division Commanders had directly ascended to the Sixth Order back then. In other words, the Eighth Order was the best they could achieve in their lifetimes.
Yang Kai had asked the Eighth-Order Masters about it in the past, and he was told that after they ascended to the Eighth-Order, they could faintly feel a layer of restraint covering their Small Universes. It was this invisible restriction that confined them to the Eighth Order. Regardless of how hard they cultivated, they could never break through to the Ninth Order.
If they forcefully tried to break that restraint, they would risk their Small Universes exploding, ending their lives.
As such, it wasn’t that the Eighth-Order Masters didn’t want to keep improving themselves, but rather that their Small Universes were unable to bear greater power.
Now, Yang Kai was also an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master himself, and just like what the Division Commanders had told him, he could feel an invisible shackle on his Small Universe.
This kind of restraint was weak and barely perceptible at the moment; however, as he strengthened his power as an Eighth-Order Master, this kind of restraint would grow stronger to the point where he would be stopped from advancing further.
As he recalled his decision of ascending to the Fifth Order back then, Yang Kai did not feel regretful. At that time, under the lead of Ti Zheng, a Seventh-Order Master from Myriad Demons Heaven, several Masters stopped him from attempting to directly ascend to the Seventh-Order. This had nothing to do with personal grudges as they were just trying to prevent a potential crisis. That was because there was such a catastrophe that took place in the 3,000 Worlds in the past that made the Cave Heavens and Paradises grow distrustful of those who ascended directly to the Seventh Order who were not supervised by them directly.
At that time, if Yang Kai hadn’t ascended to the Open Heaven Realm, he wouldn’t have been able to enter the Shadowless Cave Heaven and save the Proprietress.
After pulling himself together, he continued refining the materials to strengthen his heritage.
He was still a newly promoted Eighth-Order Master, so there was some road ahead of him yet. However, once he reached the peak of the Eighth Order, that would be his limit.
There might be some ways in the Universe that would allow one to shatter the restraint on his Small Universe. At the very least, the Innate Open Heaven Pills that were born in the Universe Furnace were one way to go about it; therefore, Yang Kai wasn’t worried about it. In the future, he could go looking for the Universe Furnace so that he would have a chance to make it to the Ninth Order.
Unfortunately, those that he got from the Blood Monster Cave Heaven did not seem to have any effect on shattering the restraint on his Small Universe. Maybe it was the age of the Pills. Or maybe, there was some other reason. Regardless, Yang Kai remained hopeful that his hope lay in the Universe Furnace.
Time continued to go by slowly as he repeatedly set off on journeys to look for more Temporal Rivers. It was a rare chance, so it would be a shame if he missed it.
When looking for the next Temporal River or cultivating, he would seize the chance to refine even more Grand Dao Rivers.
Finally, there came a day when he finished refining a set of materials in a Temporal River that was still 3,000 metres long, but when he was ready to fish out another set, he realised that he no longer had complete sets of materials.
Also, added ‘Unfortunately, those that he got from the Blood Monster Cave Heaven did not seem to have any effect on shattering the restraint on his Small Universe. Maybe it was the age of the Pills. Or maybe, there was some other reason. Regardless, Yang Kai remained hopeful that his hope lay in the Universe Furnace.’
Initially, Yang Kai had a massive amount of resources.
Before he left the 3,000 Worlds for the Black Ink Battlefield back then, he had made some preparations by bringing many materials of all different Elements with him.
Over the years, he had acquired even more resources on the Black Ink Battlefield, especially when he raised chaos in the Black Ink Clan’s territory and robbed many of their cities.
Every Black Ink Clan Master’s territory had a large number of shops where there were innumerable resources for sale.
Therefore, Yang Kai had never worried about not having enough cultivation resources. When Cang asked for some resources to restore his strength, Yang Kai gave him some without hesitation.
Now, he still had a lot of materials, but those were all of the Five Elements. He no longer had any Yin or Yang Element materials with him, including the Yellow and Blue Crystals he had acquired from Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan.
Among the different sorts of materials, Yin and Yang Attribute resources were the hardest to come by. In the 3,000 Worlds, higher Order Yin and Yang Element materials were considered strategic reserves even in the Cave Heavens and Paradises. They wouldn’t use them unless they absolutely had to.
The situation was slightly better on the Black Ink Battlefield, but all in all, Yin and Yang Element materials were still much rarer than materials of the Five Elements.
Without a complete set of materials, he couldn’t continue cultivating.
He regretted using too many Yellow and Blue Crystals to block the Royal Lord’s aura back then. Every time he used Instantaneous Movement, he had to release potent Purifying Light to block the Royal Lord’s aura, and after years of running away, he had consumed a lot of those crystals.
However, it wasn’t like he had a choice. If he didn’t use Purifying Light, he would’ve been killed.
Even though he had a lot of Open Heaven Pills, consuming them to cultivate was extremely slow in comparison. Moreover, he had been staying in this Great Sea Celestial Phenomenon for far too long, so he intended to leave.
This cultivation session should come to an end.
After making some quick calculations, Yang Kai realised he had spent 4,000 years in the Temporal Rivers. It only took him around 2,000 years to make it to the Eighth-Order, while he spent the next 2,000 years cultivating, which allowed him to establish himself in the Eighth-Order.
Just like that, 4,000 years had passed.
With that said, a significantly shorter amount of time had passed in the outside world. As the flow of time in every Temporal River was different, and Yang Kai wasn’t aware of the exact ratio compared to the outside world, so he was unable to calculate how much time had really passed by in the rest of the Universe.
However, he knew he had spent about 100 years outside of the Temporal Rivers, so taking some rough estimates, he guessed that somewhere between 400 and 500 years had passed in the outside world.
[How is the war between the two Races?] It wasn’t until this moment that he thought about this matter.
After such a long cultivation session, Yang Kai had almost forgotten everything about the outside world. All of a sudden, he recalled that the very reason he even barged into the Great Sea was that he was chased after by the sheep headed Royal Lord.
He hadn’t seen the Royal Lord after such a long time, so he wondered if the other party had entered the Great Sea as well, or if he was even still alive.
Yang Kai shook his head to push the thought to the back of his mind. To him, the most important thing now was to leave here as soon as possible.
When he had ample resources, he had forgotten about the passing of time in the Great Sea. Now that he didn’t have sufficient resources, it was pointless for him to keep staying here.
Nevertheless, leaving this place wasn’t so easy. There were countless undercurrents in the Great Sea that intertwined with each other, so it was hard for him to identify any kind of direction.
Having said that, Yang Kai believed that where there was a will, there was a way.
He summoned his Azure Dragon Spear and opened up a portal to his Small Universe before absorbing the 3,000 metres long Temporal River. Then, he charged towards the undercurrent nearest to him.
Unlike when he first plunged into the Great Sea, he was no longer flustered. Over the years, he had moved across the Great Sea countless times to look for more Temporal and Grand Dao Rivers, so he had learned some tricks to deal with these undercurrents.
Every undercurrent had evolved from a Grand Dao, which formed a Martial Domain. Yang Kai had never dabbled in many of those Grand Daos, so it was hard for him to react accordingly.
Now, he had devoured quite a lot of Grand Dao Rivers, including some of the Grand Dao of Space, which helped improve his mastery over the Dao of Space. By this point, it could be said that he had some basic achievements in most of the Grand Daos in the Universe, though his level of mastery in them varied greatly.
When he was particularly skilled in a certain Grand Dao, he would have it easier in the corresponding undercurrent.
For example, Yang Kai had come across several Space Dao Rivers which were full of Space Dao Essence and Void Cracks that moved about randomly. Most people would find such an environment to be a death trap. Even Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters and Royal Lords would find it hard to survive once they landed in such a river.
However, Yang Kai was able to traverse the Space Dao Rivers like he was strolling across a flat meadow. He just had to use his Space Principles to resonate with the currents in the river so he could ride along with it without being harmed.
After absorbing such rivers in the past, he realised his mastery over the Dao of Space had still improved, and when he came across another Space Dao River, it became easier for him to deal with it.
It was a virtuous cycle.
Now, Yang Kai wasn’t skillful in all the Grand Daos, but as long as he knew a thing or two about them, he could make use of his comprehension to ward off some of the dangers in the undercurrents. If the rivers were cohesive enough, he could even refine part of them and enhance his mastery of those Grand Daos.
Therefore, despite knowing that it would be easy to leave, Yang Kai wasn’t worried he wouldn’t be able to achieve it.
Given enough time, he could absorb and refine all the undercurrents in the Great Sea, and without these undercurrents, the Great Sea would simply cease to exist.
This would be an enormously strenuous task as just based on his observations so far, the Great Sea was so vast that it would take him several tens of thousands of years to achieve this on his own.
His experience of absorbing the undercurrents this time was different from the previous ones.
Back then, Yang Kai primarily focused on looking for Temporal Rivers to improve his cultivation while absorbing undercurrents was something he did when looking for the next Temporal River or to break up the monotony of cultivating.
However, as he focused on taking in undercurrents now, his efficiency was far higher.
This caused his Small Universe to be filled with Grand Dao Rivers that he hadn’t managed to refine. These rivers contained all sorts of abstrusities as they clashed in the Small Universe, causing some unusual phenomena.
When it became too much, Yang Kai had to look for tranquil undercurrents to refine the remnants of the rivers, and only after they were fully refined would he continue with his journey.
As he absorbed the Grand Dao Rivers, his mastery over various Grand Daos improved rapidly. He had also managed to raise his Spear Dao to the Seventh Level of Mastery.
His Mastery of the Sword Dao, which he hadn’t even properly studied before, reached the Fifth Level, Attaining Mastery Through Comprehensive Understanding.
Reaching the Fifth Level in this Grand Dao didn’t do much to add to his strength, but it was enough for Yang Kai to now be considered a Great Master in the Sword Dao.
Of course, that was just the level of Mastery he had achieved in a theoretical sense and he still wasn’t comparable to those who reached the same level through their own hard work and comprehension.
Regardless, that was none of Yang Kai’s concern as he just wanted to make use of the advancements in the Grand Daos to help him get out of this Great Sea.
Furthermore, it would take one a long time and much effort to reach the Fifth Level of Mastery in any Grand Dao, but Yang Kai only had to refine a number of Sword Dao Rivers to achieve that.
As more and more Grand Dao Rivers were extracted by Yang Kai, he found it easier and easier to traverse the undercurrents in the Great Sea.
Having said that, there was one point that made him torn between tears and laughter.
Back then, he was eager to cultivate and make it to the Eighth-Order as soon as possible, so he always exerted himself to seek out Temporal Rivers, but only found one every 10 years on average.
Now that he no longer needed Temporal Rivers to cultivate though, he chanced upon them quite frequently.
After absorbing a couple dozen Temporal Rivers of different lengths, he suddenly felt that the flow of time in his Small Universe changed once again.
In the past, the flow of time in his Small Universe was five times faster than the outside world, but at this moment, the ratio had increased significantly.
After some quick calculations, Yang Kai realised that the flow of time in his Small Universe was now about seven times faster than in the outside world.
In the meantime, he had acquired some new insights on the Dao of Time. His Dragon Vein throbbed as his Dragon Pressure spread out wantonly.
He had achieved a breakthrough in the Dao of Time!
When he visited the No-Return Pass several hundred years ago and cultivated inside the Dragon Pool, his Mastery of the Dao of Time had improved tremendously, reaching the Seventh Level.
Now, after he absorbed a few dozen Temporal Rivers, he directly broke through to the Eighth Level, bringing it to the same level as his comprehension of the Dao of Space.
With that said, Yang Kai had a feeling that he wasn’t far from achieving another breakthrough in his Dao of Space. The prerequisite was that there were enough Space Dao Rivers in this Great Sea for him to absorb and refine.
The realization made him feel ecstatic.
As he examined the changes in his Small Universe, he continued to move across the undercurrents.
…..
In the periphery of the Great Sea Celestial Phenomenon, there were a lot of dead Universe Worlds where Black Ink Nests had been planted, with one of them being especially huge as it belonged to a Royal Lord.
There seemed to be a powerful aura hiding in this Black Ink Nest.
About 500 years ago, the sheep headed Royal Lord arrived at this place and saw Yang Kai dive into this vast Celestial Phenomenon. After entering it himself to inspect the situation, the Royal Lord realised the Great Sea was full of danger, so he had no choice but to withdraw.
At that time, he was badly injured, and if he insisted on chasing after Yang Kai, forget about finding the latter, he might even lose his life.
Therefore, the sheep headed Royal Lord dragged a dead Universe World to this place from the void and planted his Black Ink Nest. By doing this, he could monitor the Great Sea so that he could immediately capture Yang Kai should the latter manage to somehow survive and escape. Secondly, he had to recuperate.
Now that 500 years had passed, his Black Ink Nest wasn’t the only Black Ink Nest in the periphery of the Great Sea. There were about several hundred Low-Rank Black Ink Nests.
With that said, there were no Mid-Rank Black Ink Nests yet; after all, it would consume a vast amount of energy to nurture Mid-Rank Black Ink Nests, and the Royal Lord didn’t have the intention of having his own Territory Lords yet. The reason he even nurtured other Black Ink Clansmen was to help him monitor the Great Sea.
Several hundred Low-Rank Black Ink Nests were scattered around the Great Sea with only a short distance between them while almost 10 million Black Ink Clansmen had been spawned from these Black Ink Nests.
The resources in the nearby void had been fully extracted and sent to the Black Ink Nests to help nurture more and more Black Ink Clansmen.
Now, most of these Black Ink Clansmen were posted around the Great Sea Celestial Phenomenon, so if Yang Kai really managed to emerge, they would immediately discover him.
At this moment, a Feudal Lord was staring at the Great Sea Celestial Phenomenon in front of him with a frown, sporting a doubtful expression.
He had a feeling that the Great Sea had changed somehow over the years. It seemed to have become smaller; however, the change was so gradual and minute that he wasn’t sure.
Then, he turned to look at the Royal Lord’s Black Ink Nest and hesitated about whether he should report this matter.
The Royal Lord was still recuperating, and although 500 years had passed, he still hadn’t fully recovered. If this Feudal Lord bothered him with a trivial matter, he was worried he would be punished.
[Perhaps I’m imagining things!]
The Feudal Lord shook his head. He had many companions who had been keeping an eye on this Great Sea as well, so if the Great Sea had really become smaller, the others would have noticed it.
Since none of them had detected it, the Feudal Lord believed that he must be overly worried.
While he was lost in his thoughts though, there was suddenly an anomaly in the Great Sea. With a start, he looked towards it intently.
He had been in this place for 300 years, but he had never seen any movement in the Great Sea, as though it was completely dead. It was odd that there were some ripples on this day.
Before he could see clearly what was happening, a figure bolted out of the Great Sea with a spear in hand. The person seemed to be fighting against an invisible enemy as his murderous intent surged and his World Force undulated.
When the person appeared, he happened to meet eyes with this Feudal Lord.
Both of them were startled, but the Feudal Lord soon came to his senses as he hurriedly retreated and howled to alert the others.
The Human that the Royal Lord had been waiting for had finally appeared!
Although the Feudal Lord had never seen Yang Kai before, he knew this was the target the Royal Lord had been looking for the moment the Human appeared.
Following the howl, the Azure Dragon Spear stabbed into the Feudal Lord’s mouth. As World Force burst forth, the Feudal Lord’s head exploded.
[Why is there a Feudal Lord here?] Yang Kai frowned. As he looked up, his doubt intensified because there was a Low-Rank Black Ink Nest on a Universe Fragment nearby. There were also quite a lot of Black Ink Clansmen wandering around this Universe Fragment.
Sweeping his eyes around, Yang Kai realized there were even more Black Ink Clansmen in the void that scattered around the Great Sea, as though they were monitoring something.
After giving it some thought, he realised what was going on.
[That Royal Lord sure is clever. I suppose he has been waiting for me to come out all this time. He must have had his own Black Ink Nest; otherwise, he couldn’t have nurtured so many Black Ink Clansmen. As soon as I left the Great Sea, regardless of direction, he’d immediately find out about it.]
It seemed that the Royal Lord never entered the Great Sea and instead was recuperating in the periphery over the years. But, how many years had Yang Kai been inside the Great Sea? Since the day he decided to leave the Great Sea, he had spent 200 years looking for a way out. During that period of time, he had simply been dragged around the undercurrents with no way to identify which direction he was headed.
Yang Kai almost lost hope after spending 200 years looking for a way out. Fortunately, his efforts had ultimately not been in vain.
Before he could ponder on this matter, a powerful aura awakened from a Universe World in the distance. Following that, he saw a burly figure shooting towards him like a meteor. Before the figure even arrived, he was engulfed in the familiar Royal Lord’s pressure.
[He’s quite quick!] Yang Kai knew that the Feudal Lords nearby must have informed the Royal Lord about his appearance through the Black Ink Nests.
The Feudal Lords in the void also started charging towards Yang Kai in an attempt to hold him down.
Yang Kai gripped his Azure Dragon Spear and grinned. Then, he dashed towards the Royal Lord, and everywhere he passed, all the Black Ink Clansmen exploded into blood mist.
In the void, the Royal Lord was startled as he wondered, [Why isn’t he running away?]
He initially thought that Yang Kai would immediately flee after leaving the Great Sea. Although this Human was weak, his skill at escaping was phenomenal.
Therefore, the moment he received the news from his subordinates, the Royal Lord dashed out of his Black Ink Nest as he was worried that Yang Kai would escape. To his surprise though, instead of running away, the Human came right at him.
What gave this Human brat such confidence? Had he forgotten about how battered he was while being chased by him 500 years ago?
Soon, however, the Royal Lord realised where the Human’s confidence came from.
As they got closer to each other, the Human’s aura surged and soon exceeded the limits of the Seventh Order before reaching the Eighth Order.
[He’s now in the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm!] The Royal Lord was startled. [He broke through!? This damned Great Sea is full of deadly danger. Back then, I couldn’t even stay inside for long. It would be considered lucky for this boy to have just survived, so how did he even manage to achieve a breakthrough? Did he come across some kind of astonishing opportunity inside the Great Sea?]
The Royal Lord’s expression darkened, [So what if he’s made it to the Eighth Order? I’m a Royal Lord!]
In the past, he was unable to kill the Human because he was horribly injured, so he couldn’t fully use his strength; however, after 500 years of recuperation, his wounds had mostly healed. Although he still wasn’t in peak condition, he was already much better than 500 years ago.
Even if there were five Eighth-Order Humans in front of him, he could easily deal with them, not to mention that Yang Kai was on his own.
The only worry the Royal Lord had was about Yang Kai running; as long as the latter didn’t try to escape, everything was fine!
As the two figures charged towards each other, the distance between them shortened rapidly. Their powerful auras clashed, and before they even exchanged moves, the void had started warping.
Suddenly, the Royal Lord lost sight of Yang Kai. The next instant, he was engulfed in a powerful sense of murderous intent and innumerable spear shadows.
At this moment, Yang Kai wielded his spear as he showcased the skills he had acquired in the Great Sea. With his own Spear Dao as the foundation, he weaved the Grand Daos of Luck, Yin, Yang, Life, Death, Five Elements, Karma, Murder, Bloodlust and many others together.
The power of his spear made the entire universe tremble. Even if there was a Territory Lord in front of him, he had the confidence to destroy him with this move. It was the strongest spear attack he had ever unleashed.
Faced with this exquisite series of attacks, the Royal Lord responded with pure brute force. Circulating his Black Ink Strength madly, he forcefully pushed out his fist.
The next instant, Yang Kai was sent flying away while he sprayed out a mouthful of Golden Blood.
Overwhelming power triumphed over 10,000 skills!
Although Yang Kai had acquired much in the Great Sea and comprehended numerous different Grand Daos, it still couldn’t make up for the huge discrepancy between their raw powers.
He hurriedly stabilised himself, but instead of feeling downcast, Yang Kai was thrilled. That was because he realised he was able to compete against a Royal Lord.
Before he entered the Great Sea, he couldn’t have imagined battling against a Royal Lord as the other party only needed to land a single punch to end his life.
But now, despite still looking battered, Yang Kai had managed to trade blows with a Royal Lord.
His breakthrough to the Eighth-Order and the assimilation of many different Grand Daos had improved his strength tremendously. Yang Kai was no longer the frail Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master he used to be.
The Royal Lord was also flabbergasted. After striking Yang Kai with that punch, he didn’t rush to pursue him and instead looked down intently at his fist.
All kinds of indescribable powers swirled around his fist and they also lingered in the void where they clashed. Those powers were inscrutable, as though they had something to do with the very foundation of energy and existence themselves, something he could not understand in the slightest.
But soon, he cast those distracting thoughts away and glared at Yang Kai, murderous intent burning in his eyes.
Some 500 years ago, this Human escaped from him by diving into the Great Sea, but after emerging, he had become significantly more powerful. The Royal Lord knew he could not let such a Human escape again; otherwise, many Black Ink Clansmen would die at his hands in the future. Therefore, he was determined to kill Yang Kai regardless of what it took.
On the other hand, Yang Kai had also decided to purge this Royal Lord at all costs.
It wasn’t that he was overly confident in himself because of the increase in his strength, but rather that he knew the secrets of this Great Sea and couldn’t afford to let this Royal Lord live.
There was no denying that the Great Sea was a massive treasure trove. Although he had been trapped inside for many years, Yang Kai had benefited enormously from the experience. Such a Celestial Phenomenon was hugely beneficial to all Humans, not just him.
Perhaps he could come back in the future and cultivate here again. As such, he couldn’t let the secrets of this place be leaked out.
If he allowed the Royal Lord to live, after witnessing Yang Kai’s massive growth in strength, the latter would surely dive into the Great Sea and possibly discover its secrets.
The Grand Daos in the undercurrents were useless to the Black Ink Clan, but they were beneficial to Black Ink Disciples.
They just had to bring some Black Ink Disciples with them to reap all the benefits of this Celestial Phenomenon.
To prevent such a thing from happening, Yang Kai had to kill this Royal Lord.
Moreover, it was obvious that this Royal Lord wouldn’t let him flee either. He had been waiting in this place for hundreds of years, so now that his enemy had appeared, there was no way he would let him off.
Today, either this Royal Lord died, or Yang Kai would perish!
It just so happened that both of them were determined to destroy each other. In the next instant, Yang Kai disappeared from the spot while the Royal Lord surged his Black Ink Strength and flapped his wings.
Following that, Yang Kai abruptly appeared behind the Royal Lord and thrust out his spear.
As though there was an eye on the Royal Lord’s back, he swung his hand out, his palm seemingly able to suppress the Heavens and the Earth.
Nevertheless, he realised he couldn’t grasp his target. Yang Kai’s afterimage dissipated in his hand while the true body reappeared on his left.
Having expected this though, the Royal Lord directly pushed out his fist. The moment Yang Kai appeared, it was as though he chose to crash into the opponent’s attack.
They had exchanged over 100 moves in an instant, but they weren’t going all out yet.
Yang Kai’s afterimages scattered around the void, as though there were dozens of him appearing at the same time. Before an afterimage dissipated, a new one had appeared.
As he repeatedly thrust out his spear, Yang Kai channeled all sorts of Grand Daos into his attacks and soon there seemed to be a web of Grand Daos that engulfed the Royal Lord.
Unperturbed, the Royal Lord reacted accordingly. He knew that this Human was a Master of the Dao of Space, so despite being the stronger one, he couldn’t allow the other party to dictate the flow of this battle; otherwise, he might be the one defeated.
As he was not as skillful as this Human, all the Royal Lord could rely on was his immense power. As long as he found a chance, he could kill the other party with a single blow.
At that instant, the battle appeared quite lopsided.
One party repeatedly cast flashy attacks as he activated different sorts of Grand Daos through his spear while the other seemed clumsy but unfazed as every move he made exuded immense pressure.
Not long after the intense battle started, both Yang Kai and the sheep-headed Royal Lord felt their hearts sinking as they sported solemn expressions.
For Yang Kai, even though his strength had increased by several times, he was still no match for the other party.
Although there was only a difference of one Order between them, it was the biggest gap to cross.
When Yang Kai was a Fifth-Order Master, he could kill a Sixth-Order Master. When he was a Sixth-Order Master, he could kill a Seventh-Order Master. When he was a Seventh-Order Master, he could kill a Territory Lord; however, as an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master now, he realized he had no hope of killing a Ninth-Order Master with his own strength alone.
A Royal Lord’s power was equivalent to that of a Ninth-Order Master.
He could even clearly feel that the Royal Lord still hadn’t fully recovered. In other words, the other party wasn’t in peak condition, yet he still wasn’t a match.
[Damn it! If this drags on, I’ll fall into an unfavourable position; however, if I don’t kill this Royal Lord, I can’t keep the secrets of the Great Sea Celestial Phenomenon safe.]
While this was giving Yang Kai a headache, the Royal Lord was equally frustrated.
The Human across from him was significantly more powerful than he was 500 years ago. Although they hadn’t been fighting for long, the Royal Lord came to realise that it wouldn’t be easy for him to kill this opponent.
There was no doubt this Human still wasn’t a match for him, but he already had the power to oppose him.
Other powerful Eighth-Order Human Masters could also probably deal with him for a time, but the Royal Lord was confident he could kill such enemies sooner or later. However, Yang Kai was different. This guy was a Master of the Dao of Space and the Royal Lord vividly remembered being unable to capture him despite having pursued him for years 500 years ago.
If nothing changed in their current battle, Yang Kai would probably flee.
[I can’t give him a chance to run; otherwise, I’ll never find out what Cang gave him. Cang’s trump card must be of critical importance and must be controlled by us!]
Both of them had different thoughts in their minds, but at that moment, they decided they needed to go all in to defeat the other party at the same time.
The next moment, Yang Kai suddenly leaped away from the Royal Lord, widening the gap between them. He initially thought that the Royal Lord would stop him, but instead, the Royal Lord just let him go.
Despite his puzzlement, Yang Kai didn’t have time to ponder on the issue as he dropped the Azure Dragon Spear and began rapidly forming a set of hand seals.
A Golden Crow cawed as a Great Sun leaped into existence. Following that, a cold Full Moon rose from behind him as it cast its glow onto the void. The Sun and Moon appeared at the same time, forming a wondrous vision.
The moment the Sun and Moon manifested, they began orbiting around Yang Kai, affecting both space and time in the surrounding region.
Time Principles spread out, while Space Principles undulated and intertwined with them, forming an entirely new kind of strength.
Sun and Moon Divine Wheel!
This was the most powerful trump card Yang Kai could bring out besides his Dragon Bead.
It was also the Divine Ability he had invented through his own comprehension. Activating it was not difficult, but the prerequisites to cast it were extraordinarily difficult, such that only Yang Kai was capable of it as it was formed from the resonance of his two strongest Grand Daos. Therefore, this Divine Ability displayed an extraordinary might when he used it.
He was unable to use his Dragon Bead casually, so to deal with this Royal Lord, Yang Kai could only rely on his Sun and Moon Divine Wheel.
If this move wasn’t even useful, he would have no choice but to retreat before trying to come up with another way to kill the Royal Lord.
The instant Yang Kai cast his Sun and Moon Divine Wheel, the Royal Lord also looked up and glared at him.
His dark eyes seemed to have turned into a bottomless abyss as though they could devour Yang Kai. His obsidian eyes reflected Yang Kai’s figure, which was engulfed in endless Black Ink Strength. It was as if he was burning with a dark flame.
Royal Lord Secret Technique!
At that instant, both Yang Kai and the Royal Lord brought out their most lethal moves in an attempt to defeat the other party. It could be said that they had made the same judgement in this situation and acted decisively on it.
Yang Kai was startled as he was quite familiar with the Royal Lord Secret Technique.
For the Black Ink Clansmen below the Royal Lords, if they wanted to corrupt a Human, they just had to release their Black Ink Strength to invade that Human’s body and Small Universe. If that Human couldn’t resist, they would be turned into a Black Ink Disciple.
Royal Lords could naturally do the same, but they also had a better and more efficient method, which was known to the Humans as the Royal Lord Secret Technique.
It was well known among the Humans that when a Royal Lord activated the Royal Lord Secret Technique, even an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master couldn’t resist it, instantly turning them into a Black Ink Disciple.
This was one of the reasons the Eighth-Order Masters didn’t interfere carelessly when a Ninth-Order Old Ancestor battled a Royal Lord. A Ninth-Order Master could fend off the Royal Lord Secret Technique, but those in the Eighth-Order couldn’t. Once they were struck by the Royal Lord Secret Technique during an intense battle, the Humans were bound to suffer immense losses.
To deal with a Royal Lord, a Ninth-Order Master had to personally make a move.
The Humans had been studying the secrets behind the Royal Lord Secret Technique for years, but they hadn’t found out anything useful yet, mainly because no Royal Lord would easily activate the Royal Lord Secret Technique.
Without a target they could study or examples they could learn from, the Humans obviously couldn’t gather any useful information.
With that said, the high-ranking officers had speculated that the Royal Lord Secret Technique might be a kind of Innate Divine Ability that was exclusive to the Black Ink Clan. Only Royal Lords were able to use this Innate Divine Ability, and it was most likely a kind of attack that directly affected one’s Soul.
Certainly, Yang Kai had heard of such information and even experienced it for himself twice in the past, but he was too weak back then to really understand what was happening. Now, having reached the Eighth-Order and possessing incredible Soul cultivation, he was finally able to realize that the Royal Lord Secret Technique wasn’t purely a Soul Technique, but rather a combination of one with an Eye Secret Technique.
When the Royal Lord activated the Royal Lord Secret Technique, Yang Kai could clearly see his own reflection in the other party’s eyes.
The figure was engulfed in thick Black Ink Strength, as though he had really turned into a Black Ink Disciple.
At the same time, Yang Kai was indeed covered in Black Ink Strength in reality. The Black Ink Strength was pure, and it was as though it had appeared out of nowhere. At the very least, Yang Kai didn’t see his opponent releasing this Black Ink Strength.
The thick and pure Black Ink Strength soon penetrated his physique, and despite his best efforts, Yang Kai was unable to resist its invasion.
This kind of corrosion was harmless to his body, but the Royal Lord Secret Technique was never meant to be lethal.
The pure and dense Black Ink Strength invaded Yang Kai’s Small Universe in the blink of an eye, but unlike what would normally happen, the Black Ink Strength just sputtered, like a stone dropping into an ocean.
Any other Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master would have been turned into a Black Ink Disciple and been enslaved to the Royal Lord by now; however, Yang Kai’s Small Universe had the protection of a World Tree clone. He had even planted a Low-Rank Black Ink Nest in his Small Universe many years ago to nurture some low-level Black Ink Clansmen to use as training tools for the disciples of the Void Dao Temple.
A massive amount of Black Ink Strength had already been suppressed and sealed in his Small Universe; therefore, Yang Kai was truly not afraid of its corrosion anymore.
Cang once told him that the World Tree clone might not be able to fend off the Black Ink Strength from Mo itself, for he was the source of all Black Ink Strength, but although the sheep-headed Royal Lord was also powerful, he was orders of magnitude weaker than Mo. As such, he could never break through the World Tree clone’s protection.
Suddenly, Yang Kai realised that the Royal Lord’s aura had plunged tremendously after he cast the Royal Lord Secret Technique.
At that instant, Yang Kai recalled the reason why the Royal Lords wouldn’t use the Royal Lord Secret Technique unless it was absolutely necessary to do so.
That was because there was a price to pay if they wanted to use it.
This Secret Technique was extremely powerful, and it was silent when it was cast. As such, the Eighth-Order Masters could not hope to defend themselves from it. If the Royal Lords could repeatedly cast it without any restraints, the Black Ink Clan would just have to send a Royal Lord to wander around the battlefield to turn all the Eighth-Order Masters into Black Ink Disciples. Once that happened, the Human Race would be doomed.
However, since there was clearly a big price to pay, the Royal Lords wouldn’t use the Royal Lord Secret Technique as they pleased lest the Ninth-Order Masters seize the chance and kill them.
Obviously, the life of a Royal Lord was far more important than a few Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters.
Upon that realization, Yang Kai started grinning. He was still engulfed in Black Ink Strength, making him look extremely evil.
He was initially worried that his Sun and Moon Divine Wheel might not be powerful enough to deal with this Royal Lord; nevertheless, the latter had been significantly weakened after he activated the Royal Lord Secret Technique. As such, the Sun and Moon Divine Wheel would probably be quite deadly to him.
Just as Yang Kai was affected by the Royal Lord Secret Technique and his entire figure was covered in Black Ink Strength, the power of the swirling Sun and Moon reached the Royal Lord.
Yang Kai’s eyes brightened as he was secretly thrilled.
It wasn’t the first time he used the Sun and Moon Divine Wheel. In fact, he had cast this Divine Ability many times back then to deal with opponents who were more powerful than he was; however, the Sun and Moon Divine Wheel had never been more powerful than it was now. It was to the point where even Yang Kai felt the Divine Ability was unusually powerful on this day.
There was no denying it had something to do with his advancement in the Dao of Time; however, he reckoned the biggest reason was that he had reached a form of equilibrium.
In the past, his mastery over the Dao of Space had always been greater than his mastery over the Dao of Time.
Before he headed to the No-Return Pass, his mastery over the Dao of Space had already reached the Eighth Level while his mastery over the Dao of Time was only on the Sixth Level.
After the training in the Dragon Pool, the power of his Dragon Vein increased tremendously, which resulted in his mastery over the Dao of Time reaching the Seventh Level.
When he was cultivating in the Great Sea Celestial Phenomenon, Yang Kai managed to absorb and refine several dozen Temporal Rivers, thus pushing his Dao of Time to the Eighth Level, which was on the same level as his Dao of Space.
In the past, when he activated his Sun and Moon Divine Wheel, Yang Kai realised that there was an imbalance between the Space Principles and Time Principles that composed the attack. This kind of imbalance stopped the Sun and Moon Divine Wheel from unleashing its full potential.
He had speculated that once both of his Grand Daos reached a state of balance, he would see a significant increase in the power of his Sun and Moon Divine Wheel. Now, it seemed that his speculation was right.
As the powers of both Grand Daos intertwined, they showcased an entirely new Space-Time Strength, which seemed to resonate with the Universe itself. The instant the Royal Lord cast the Royal Lord Secret Technique, his expression changed drastically.
His aura was frail at this moment, and faced with the Sun and Moon Divine Wheel, he couldn’t help feeling that his life was at risk.
The Royal Lord madly surged his Black Ink Strength in an attempt to drive it off; however, affected by the strange Space-Time Strength, his mind and movements became sluggish. Before he could come to his senses, the Sun and Moon Divine Wheel had already struck his figure.
An invisible impact then spread across the void. The Sun and Moon exploded and formed into a massive sphere of light.
At that instant, time and space seemed to have fallen into a chaotic state. Even Yang Kai, the one who cast this Divine Ability, felt that everything seemed to have turned upside down.
At that moment, Yang Kai widened his eyes and looked fixedly at the light sphere. Although tears started sliding down his cheeks in response to the dazzling light, he still didn’t close his eyes.
That was because he was seeing something inconceivable. There seemed to be some images flashing across the light sphere.
In the images, he saw a vague figure that was engulfed in Black Ink Strength with a big head in his hand. Black blood was seen spilling from the head and countless Black Ink Clansmen surrounded the figure as though they were worshipping him.
Before he could see anything clearly though, the images had disappeared, and the images he saw next were even more stunning.
Thriving Stars and Universe Worlds filled with vitality were shrouded in Black Ink Strength as they soon turned into barren wastelands void of any life. These images soon disappeared as well.
Then, he saw a humongous tree that appeared to be sick. The leaves had withered, and even the fruits on the tree were shrivelled. They appeared so wrinkled as though they had been exposed to Sunlight for years on end.
Strange images continued to flicker through the light sphere but they all disappeared before Yang Kai could look into them. As such, he couldn’t take in the details.
In just a moment, over 100 scenes had flashed past the light sphere, which was soon replaced by darkness as though there was no longer any light in the Universe.
Yang Kai fell into a dazed state. [What were those images?]
He had activated the Sun and Moon Divine Wheel before, but he had never seen such a strange phenomenon.
The light sphere had disappeared before he could figure anything out. Engulfed in the Sun and Moon Divine Wheel, the sheep-headed Royal Lord was soaked in black blood, and his face had been transformed by horror. His aura had already turned weak after he used the Royal Lord Secret Technique, and it now seemed even more frail.
He had seen the images at the same time as Yang Kai; however, even Yang Kai had no idea what those things were, so how was he supposed to know? Moreover, he wasn’t in the mood to ponder on it.
The power of the Sun and Moon Divine Wheel had exceeded Yang Kai’s expectations and had also gone beyond the Royal Lord’s imagination. The amazing Space-Time Strength was now corroding the Royal Lord’s mind and body, making him suffer indescribable pain; however, he still felt confident that the dust had settled.
No Human could resist the Royal Lord Secret Technique, or at least the Royal Lord thought so, as the next instant, his expression changed drastically, for Yang Kai, who was covered in Black Ink Strength, suddenly grinned mockingly at him.
[Four Universe Pillars!] These words sprang into the Royal Lord’s mind in an instant.
The Royal Lord Secret Technique wasn’t without its archnemeses. The Four Universe Pillars could block the Royal Lord Secret Technique, ensuring that the Humans who possessed one of them wouldn’t be corrupted by Black Ink Strength.
However, as far as the Royal Lord knew, precious treasures like the Four Universe Pillars were extremely rare throughout the entire Universe; therefore, only a small number of Humans would possess one.
The Royal Lord had never expected that the Human he had been hunting down had one as well.
He had heard that precious treasures like the Four Universe Pillars were always owned by the strongest Eighth-Order Masters. This Human was only in the Seventh Order 500 years ago, so why did he have one of the Four Universe Pillars as well?
At that instant, the Royal Lord deeply regretted activating the Royal Lord Secret Technique, which caused him to be weakened; otherwise, he would have been able to deal with the opponent’s strange Divine Ability.
He was already weakened to begin with, and he was subsequently struck by the opponent’s Divine Ability, which exacerbated his condition.
Realising he was in a dangerous situation, the Royal Lord’s figure shook as he used a Secret Technique. At the same time, the Royal Lord Black Ink Nest which was planted nearby started transmitting Black Ink Strength to him, allowing his aura to surge.
His Black Ink Nest wasn’t far away, so he could make use of it to improve his condition.
Although he looked battered, everything was still well within his control. He still had a chance to kill this Human.
The moment the Royal Lord drew energy from his Black Ink Nest though, Yang Kai’s facial features warped, as though he was going through some excruciating pain. He then howled in agony.
The Royal Lord was startled, but before he could figure out what was wrong with Yang Kai, a howl of even greater intensity burst from his lips.
At that moment, he felt an immense force tearing apart the defence of his Soul and badly damaging it. Coupled with the Space-Time Strength’s influence, his mind went completely blank.
Soul Rending Thorn!
When Yang Kai asked Grandmaster Ma Fan to refine Soul Rending Thorns for him for the first time, the latter crafted 12 for him to use. Then, Yang Kai used 11 of them in the fight for the Mid-Rank Black Ink Nest, which resulted in him badly injuring or killing the equivalent number of Territory Lords and Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples. After that, outside the Royal City in Great Evolution Theatre, he used the last one to kill Che Kong.
With such a record of success, Yang Kai naturally made sure to get more Soul Rending Thorns for himself.
When the Great Evolution Army set off on their second crusade, Yang Kai gathered some materials and asked Grandmaster Ma Fan to make more Soul Rending Thorns for him. It took Grandmaster Ma Fan some time and energy to do so, but now Yang Kai had several dozen Soul Rending Thorns with him and had been hiding them from the enemies. Even when he cast the Sun and Moon Divine Wheel earlier, he did not use them.
That was because he would be the first one injured before he could harm his opponent. Using a Soul Rending Thorn would result in mutual injuries; therefore, Yang Kai wouldn’t use one unless it was necessary to do so.
Now, it had come to a point where he had no choice but to use them.
The Royal Lord was indeed powerful. Even though his Soul had been struck by the Soul Rending Thorn and Space-Time Strength, he still managed to pull himself together quickly, but when he looked up, he realised Yang Kai was nowhere to be found.
When his mind was blank earlier, Yang Kai had vanished. Reacting on instinct, he turned around as he widened his eyes and roared, “You court death!”
Above the dead Universe World where his Black Ink Nest was located, Yang Kai’s figure abruptly appeared. He wielded his spear as his weapon turned into a spear light and struck the Royal Lord’s Black Ink Nest.
Yang Kai didn’t directly attack the Royal Lord because he didn’t have the confidence to kill him with one strike. It was difficult to deal with a Royal Lord at the peak of his power. Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao was unable to succeed back then under similar circumstances, so Yang Kai naturally wouldn’t think he could do any better.
Therefore, he believed that it would be best for him to seize the chance and destroy the other party’s Black Ink Nest.
A Black Ink Nest could not run away or counterattack, after all.
Yang Kai had learned his lesson in the Great Evolution Royal City back then, so he held nothing back this time. As the spear light slashed across the Black Ink Nest, it was cut clean in half. Spear Intent burst forth and vaporized the Black Ink Nest down to its roots.
All the Black Ink Clansmen in the Black Ink Nest were killed in an instant as their auras disappeared.
The next moment, the Low-Rank Black Ink Nests around the Great Sea started collapsing and withering as they had lost their support.
Without the support from their source, which was the Royal Lord’s Black Ink Nest, all the Low-Rank Black Ink Nests were doomed to perish.
With his spear in hand, Yang Kai turned around and faced the Royal Lord, who was coming at him. His facial features contorted in pain, but the murderous intent behind his gaze seemed to have materialised as he pointed his spear forward and roared, “It’s your turn!”
The Royal Lord had just reached the peak of his power before his aura plunged again to the point where it was worse than before.
Faced with the glistening spear, he felt panic for the very first time. The other party was indeed weaker than him, but after they exchanged finishing moves, he was the one badly injured. He couldn’t help but think if the fight dragged on, he would be killed by his opponent.
Soon however, he cast his fear away and grit his teeth as he charged towards Yang Kai. His expression was more hideous than that of his opponent for it had come to a point where there was no turning back. Today, one of them would fall, there was no other possible outcome.
Yang Kai remained unwavering. As they brushed past each other in the Void, their blood spattered and they growled at the same time.
This couldn’t be helped, as Yang Kai seized the chance to use another Soul Rending Thorn during their exchange of moves. While his Soul was again wounded, the Royal Lord wasn’t feeling any better.
Yang Kai had the Soul Warming Lotus, so he wasn’t worried about his Soul being damaged too much, but the same couldn’t be said for the Royal Lord. The moment they stabilised their figures, they turned around and charged at each other again.
In the void, countless Black Ink Clansmen surrounded them in all directions. Knowing that he was in a perilous situation, the Royal Lord intended to make use of his subordinates.
Unfortunately for him, back then, he abstained from spawning any Territory Lords to save some energy, so his most powerful subordinates were only Feudal Lords.
The Royal Lord wasn’t sure if such an Army could pose any threat to Yang Kai, but it had come to a point where he had no choice but to give it a try.
Yang Kai had apparently realised this as well. Under normal circumstances, he would certainly have no regard for these Feudal Lords, but the situation now was different. Presently, he was surrounded by millions of Black Ink Clansmen, and he had to deal with the Royal Lord at the same time. If he wasn’t careful enough, he might lose his life here.
Therefore, he became even more ruthless with his moves as he madly activated the Soul Rending Thorns.
After using a fourth Soul Rending Thorn, Yang Kai realised he had fallen into a dazed state. He secretly cursed because he had used too many Soul Rending Thorns and had now affected the very foundation of his Soul.
If he continued to use the Soul Rending Thorns, his Soul would be ripped apart before he could even kill the Royal Lord. When that happened, even the Soul Warming Lotus couldn’t save him.
These thoughts all occurred in a flash before his mind suddenly turned blank as he was no longer able to think clearly. Then, he lost consciousness.
Some unknown amount of time later, Yang Kai abruptly came to his senses when he felt a cool sensation.
His head was in pain as his Soul had been badly damaged, which made him unable to think clearly. It was only thanks to the Soul Warming Lotus that he could even regain consciousness.
Following that, Yang Kai realised he was surrounded by enemies that stretched out into the distance with no end in sight. They were the Black Ink Clan soldiers!
At this moment, he was fighting against the Black Ink Clan soldiers, and wherever he went, blood flowed like rivers as countless Black Ink Clan corpses littered the void.
Despite the fact that he was unconscious earlier, his body honed by hundreds of years of combat reacted instinctively to kill the enemies, which saved his life. Otherwise, the Feudal Lords would have been able to kill him.
He considered himself lucky that there were no Territory Lords among the Black Ink Clansmen; otherwise, he wouldn’t have stood a chance to survive.
The next instant, he realised the Royal Lord was nowhere in sight.
[Where is he?]
The reason he fell into a stupor was because he had activated too many Soul Rending Thorns. His Soul was unable to bear the damage brought about by four repeated sacrifices.
Since he had fallen into such a state, he reckoned that the Royal Lord wasn’t in a better condition either despite the fact that the latter was stronger.
However, now that he was awake, he couldn’t detect the Royal Lord’s aura. [Did he run away? No!]
Suddenly, Yang Kai looked down at his hand and realised he was holding a huge head with sheep horns. This head’s eyes were still wide open as though he was unresigned before his death. Black blood could be seen dripping from his severed neck.
At that instant, Yang Kai realised he had seen such a sight before.
The sheep-headed Royal Lord was dead!
What was certain was that the Royal Lord died by Yang Kai’s hand, but Yang Kai didn’t know exactly how he had decapitated the Royal Lord.
He also didn’t know why he was holding the Royal Lord’s head in his hand.
In this situation, there was no way Yang Kai could think clearly, and when he tried, he just felt dizzier.
He knew this was because his Soul was seriously injured. So far, he had relied on the fact that he had the Soul Warming Lotus and had done many risky things; however, the injury to his Soul this time was something that could not be compared to any other in the past.
The consequences were huge, but the result was worth it!
He had killed a Royal Lord!
This was also the very first Royal Lord he personally killed all by himself.
Although he had previously killed a Ninth-Order Black Ink Disciple in the Royal City of Great Evolution Theatre, that Black Ink Disciple’s actual strength was much inferior to a Royal Lord’s, not to mention that he only delivered the last lucky blow while the opponent had his guard down.
The opponent’s Small Universe was already extremely unstable after taking a blow from Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao, and Yang Kai just happened to have the means to defeat him. Using the unique features of his Cow Punch, Yang Kai was able to send his opponent to his death with just one punch.
Thus, the killing of that Ninth-Order Black Ink Disciple was more of a lucky accident rather than a show of strength and skill.
But this was a real battle.
Since being chased after by the sheep-headed Royal Lord from outside the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, Yang Kai had faced innumerable dangers, used up a lot of time, and was even forced into the Great Sea Celestial Phenomenon to save himself during his escape.
However, the winner was king, while the loser was the villain. He was still alive, while the sheep-headed Royal Lord was dead.
At that moment, Yang Kai felt a sudden sense of satisfaction rise in him. He felt his 4,000 years of dull cultivation didn’t go to waste, nor did the countless resources he used when in the Temporal Rivers inside the Great Sea Celestial Phenomenon.
It just so happened that the cultivation that lasted who knows how many actual years in the outside world had given him the strength to kill a Royal Lord in a head-on battle.
Of course, the consequences he suffered weren’t minor either. Yang Kai could tell that several of his bones were broken, and Golden Blood was oozing from a penetrating wound on his lower abdomen, seemingly having been inflicted by the sheep-headed Royal Lord’s claws. Also, one of his arms and one of his legs were bent in a strange way, with the most serious injury being the one to his Soul. After using the Soul Rending Thorn four consecutive times in short order, Yang Kai felt about half of his Soul had been sacrificed. In fact, if it had been anyone else, that person would have already died.
It was also because he had the Soul Warming Lotus that Yang Kai was able to stay alive and regain consciousness.
The successful killing of the sheep-headed Royal Lord was not only because of his efforts, but also luck. If such a battle were to happen again, Yang Kai couldn’t guarantee that he would be the ultimate winner.
Now, he indeed had the capital to fight against a Royal Lord, but there was still quite a large gap between their real strength.
Yang Kai felt groggy, as he could not keep himself conscious for much longer. He was barely able to stay awake and felt like he was suspended in water while constantly sinking into the abyss.
This was because his Soul was desperate to shut down and sleep to heal.
In the end, Yang Kai sank into a state of semi-consciousness again just moments after it had woken up.
Though his mind fell into a daze, his body didn’t stop killing the enemy.
When Yang Kai woke up the second time, his injuries seemed to have worsened even more. The Black Ink Clansmen were still besieging him from all directions, and he was continuously killing the enemies as if this battle would never end.
Having his mind falling asleep and waking up several times, Yang Kai didn’t know how much time had passed, but eventually, he woke up to find himself simply standing in the void. His body was exuding a heavy murderous aura that was so potent it seemed like it could condense into a tangible substance while all around him were corpses and pieces of the Black Ink Clansmen. There were so many that it seemed like they were going to fill up the entire void.
As for Yang Kai, he was currently standing tall above the mountain of corpses.
At some point, his killing spree had stopped.
There was not a living Black Ink Clansman in sight, though Yang Kai wasn’t sure if he had killed them all. However, judging by the remains on the battlefield, he guessed that even if some Black Ink Clan soldiers had escaped, there wouldn’t be too many of them.
He had killed at least 70% of the Black Ink Clan Army here!
The strongest among this Black Ink Clan Army were only Feudal Lords, so even if they escaped, it wouldn’t make much difference because the dangers they would face in this region of the deep void were great, even for someone like Yang Kai.
Without a truly powerful Master protecting them, they would all die in this place sooner or later.
Lowering his head to look at his hands, Yang Kai discovered the head of the sheep-headed Royal Lord he was holding when he woke up the first time was gone. Perhaps he had unknowingly lost it at some point.
But he wasn’t concerned with that. After having a look around his surroundings, he found a Universe Fragment the Black Ink Clan had moved here before stuffing a handful of Spirit Pills into his mouth and began to adjust his breathing and recuperate.
The injuries to his Soul had yet to heal, but they were constantly being nourished and repaired by the Soul Warming Lotus, so their condition was better. If that wasn’t the case, he wouldn’t have been able to wake up several times.
On the other hand, the injuries on his body were very severe; after all, there were a multitude of Black Ink Clansmen here, so even if their strongest were only Feudal Lords, that was still enough to pose a huge threat to him.
His body was covered in wounds of all sizes that were too numerous to count. Many of them were even layered atop old wounds.
Fortunately for him, the Royal Lord was dead, and he had killed who knows how many Black Ink Clansmen, so there was no one here to disturb him while he was healing.
The first thing Yang Kai did was to reconnect all his broken bones before correcting his twisted arm and leg, which made him break out in cold sweat during the process.
After doing all that, he carefully checked his body internally and externally to ensure there weren’t any hidden injuries.
Having done so, he did find something that made his face twitch.
His Dragon Bead had cracked again…
During the 4,000 years he had been cultivating in the Great Sea, his previously damaged Dragon Bead had already been fully restored. Now that the Dragon Bead had cracked again, it meant that he had activated his Dragon Bead while in his hazy state.
There was no need to even guess though, it was undoubtedly the Royal Lord who had damaged his Dragon Bead again.
It seemed like the sheep-headed Royal Lord didn’t die without a fight.
At the beginning of their battle, the Royal Lord was already not in peak condition, then he used his Royal Lord Secret Technique which had weakened his strength, making it difficult for him to resist the blast from the Sun and Moon Divine Wheel. At that point, he could be said to be severely injured.
Following that, Yang Kai used four Soul Rending Thorns in a row, which tore into the Royal Lord’s Soul, causing massive damage.
Therefore, when Yang Kai summoned his Dragon Bead, the Royal Lord’s end was set in stone.
Just thinking about it, Yang Kai couldn’t help shivering slightly. Since his body could instinctually kill enemies while he was in a semi-conscious state, it would naturally be the same for the Royal Lord, who was far stronger.
Yang Kai couldn’t even imagine what would have happened if the Royal Lord had shattered his Dragon Bead when he summoned it in his fugue state…
Thinking of the Royal Lord, Yang Kai thought about something else.
When he woke up the first time, he was holding the Royal Lord’s head while being surrounded by countless Black Ink Clan soldiers…
That scene closely resembled one of the scenes he saw after using the Sun and Moon Divine Wheel.
Back then, he thought the Black Ink Clan that had surrounded him were showing their admiration for something, but now it seemed like they weren’t admiring anything, they were clearly besieging him to kill him.
Yang Kai was shocked.
[How can this be? Could the scene I saw be the scene I just experienced?]
After activating the Sun and Moon Divine Wheel, he did have the feeling that time itself had become chaotic. [Could the misalignment of time lead to me being able to foresee future events?]
Instinctively, Yang Kai wanted to deny this conjecture, but one of the flashing scenes he had seen at the time slowly became clearer in his mind, and he discovered that it was very similar to the scene he saw when he first woke up.
The moment time became warped, the first scene Yang Kai saw was a figure holding a detached head. The figure looked almost identical to him, but the face was blurred, and no matter how Yang Kai tried to recall it, he couldn’t make out who it was.
He then shuddered.
[If that is true, then what do the other scenes I saw represent? Could they be future events as well?]
He had seen many scenes back then, but most disappeared immediately after appearing, so he couldn’t determine what they were. Still, there were a few scenes that he was able to see clearly.
Prosperous Stars and Universe Worlds that were full of vitality being enveloped by Black Ink Strength, rapidly turning into wastelands devoid of life.
There was also a gigantic tree that seemed to be sick. Its branches and leaves were shrivelled, and even its fruits lacked any lustre as they shrivelled up as if they had been exposed to the sun for too long.
…..
As for the Universe Worlds that had their vitality destroyed and turned into wastelands after being enveloped by Black Ink Strength, that scene might correspond to what might happen if the Black Ink Clan invaded the 3,000 worlds.
If the Black Ink Clan had successfully invaded the 3,000 worlds, there was no doubt that such a future would happen.
[What about that gigantic Tree? Could it be the World Tree?]
At that point, Yang Kai suddenly recalled Cang’s words. He said that the World Tree was almost as old as the Universe itself, and its appearance wasn’t that different from when Mo was spawned, which appeared when the Heavens and Earth first split apart. Moreover, the World Tree had an inexplicable relationship with the 3,000 Worlds. Cang, the other nine Martial Ancestors, and even Yang Kai himself were means by which this vast Universe tried to help itself by exerting its Rules through the World Tree.
Cang and the others had gotten a gift from the World Tree and were able to enlighten themselves about the Martial Dao while comprehending the method of reaching the Open Heaven Realm, earning them the title of Martial Ancestors.
Yang Kai was also barely considered to have received a gift from the World Tree as he had obtained a root from it.
Since ancient times, others must have entered the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary and received gifts from the World Tree. These were all the Universe’s means to save itself, but unfortunately, those people seemed to have all failed and fallen.
Suppose the World Tree and the 3,000 Worlds did have an unbreakable connection. If the Black Ink Clan invaded the 3,000 Worlds and turned all the flourishing lands into wastelands, plunging the entire Universe into turmoil, then the appearance of the World Tree that seemed like it was severely ill…
The more Yang Kai thought about it, the more he sweated. He couldn’t help but shake his head to disperse those thoughts from his mind.
However, he didn’t expect that when he moved, his head felt like it had turned into mush and the pain was so intense that he almost passed out again.
Luckily, after such an interruption, he did not have the intention to think about such nonsense anymore.
The ability to foresee the future was too surreal to Yang Kai, so he wasn’t willing to believe it was possible. Even though the Space-Time Strength he used was mysterious as well, it was just a type of strength that made use of his comprehension of the Grand Daos of Space and Time. How could such strength break through the flow of time itself and allow one to peer into the future?
[Healing my injuries is more important!]
A while later, cold sweat began dripping from Yang Kai’s forehead.
No matter how much he refused to believe it, he could vaguely sense that he seemed to have obtained a glimpse of the future. The Sun and Moon Divine Wheel had warped and broken time to the point that it let him witness events that had yet to transpire.
After a year of focusing all his efforts on recuperating, Yang Kai had almost made a full recovery.
Emerging from the Universe Fragment, Yang Kai observed his surroundings for a while before his figure dashed in the direction of the Black Ink Nest.
Though the High-Rank Black Ink Nest exploded after his attack, there were still some remnants left behind.
After searching through the debris, Yang Kai found quite a lot of resources.
These resources were mined by the Black Ink Clan from surrounding areas. The Black Ink Clan had a high demand for resources when spawning more of their members and the Royal Lord also needed resources to heal his injuries.
All these unused resources now belonged to Yang Kai.
However, he did not intend to use these resources on himself, nor did he intend to further his cultivation at this moment. He scavenged for these resources because he wanted to arrange a Universe Array.
The Great Sea Celestial Phenomenon was a natural treasure trove, and Yang Kai wasn’t sure if he would be able to find it again after leaving, so he decided to leave a Universe Array here, which might be of use someday.
In fact, he still had quite a lot of resources on hand, but he was lacking some critical components. It just happened that the resources he found from the Black Ink Nest were enough to make up for the shortage.
Soon, a Universe Array took shape in what was left of the Universe World where the High-Rank Black Ink Nest was originally situated. Yang Kai then made some arrangements to cover up and conceal the Universe Array.
After taking a good look at the Great Sea Celestial Phenomenon, Yang Kai turned around and left.
All that was left now in this vast stretch of void were densely scattered corpses that seemed to be a sign that there was once a tragic battle here.
Previously, outside the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, where he was targeted by the Royal Lord and chased all the way here, Yang Kai planned to follow the path the Humans took during their crusade back to the No-Return Pass to seek help from the Dragon and Phoenix Clans to defeat the Royal Lord.
Unfortunately, he got lost on the way and the longer he ran, the more unsure he was of where he was heading.
Now, he didn’t even know where he was or which way he should travel now.
But he wasn’t too worried about it because he knew he would eventually find his way back, he just needed to take some time.
Another thing that made him feel helpless was that he didn’t know how much time had passed.
He could accurately calculate the time he spent in the Great Sea Celestial Phenomenon, but he had no idea about how much time had passed in the outside world.
The speed of time in each Temporal River was different, so there was no way to make an accurate estimate.
[I wonder what happened after the war between the two races.] When Yang Kai escaped from the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, Cang fused his body with the restriction to summon the energy Mu needed to leave Mo in deep sleep.
Just before making that sacrifice, Cang left his backup plan to Yang Kai, which was extremely important!
It was because the Black Ink Clan saw this take place right before their eyes that Yang Kai was targeted by a Royal Lord.
Now that things had gotten to this point, Yang Kai did not resent Cang because he was the only person Cang could trust during that last moment; after all, he was also one of the means chosen by the vast Universe. To be able to be chosen meant that Yang Kai was special in some way. Therefore, if it were Yang Kai, he would make the same choice as Cang.
But no matter how that battle ended, the Human Army couldn’t stay at the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction.
If the Humans won, they would definitely withdraw their forces.
If they were defeated, they would still retreat back to the No-Return Pass to join forces with the Dragon and Phoenix Clans because that was the only way they could resist the Black Ink Clan Army’s attack.
That was why Yang Kai only had one destination in mind, the No-Return Pass!
In his current situation, it would be difficult for Yang Kai to be certain which direction would lead to the No-Return Pass, but as long as he could find the Late Ancient Era Battlefield, he would be able to estimate his whereabouts.
Flying through the void, Yang Kai’s figure soared along at amazing speed.
He would stop every half a month or so to activate the Universe Transference Law to try and connect to any of the Universe Arrays he had set inside those Purifying Black Ink Battleships; however, the only Universe Array he could sense was the one he set up next to the Great Sea Celestial Phenomenon.
Such a situation meant that his distance from those Universe Arrays was too great for the Universe Transference Law to even detect them.
Although he couldn’t sense the position of any Purifying Black Ink Battleship, this tactic wasn’t useless because, at the very least, he could use the Universe Array he left at the Great Sea Celestial Phenomenon to deduce his current position.
As time passed, his connection with the Universe Array at the Great Sea Celestial Phenomenon became vague, which told Yang Kai that he was getting further away from the Great Sea Celestial Phenomenon.
It was not until half a year later that he could no longer sense that Universe Array.
With the speed he could travel, coupled with Instantaneous Movement, Yang Kai still used about half a year before he lost all contact with the Great Sea Celestial Phenomenon, which showed how vast an area a Universe Array could cover.
There were Celestial Phenomena of all shapes and sizes in the void, and Yang Kai had seen many of them while he was escaping from the sheep-headed Royal Lord. He even dove deep into a Dense Fog Celestial Phenomenon and the Great Sea Celestial Phenomenon.
But since he was running for his life to avoid being killed, he didn’t have the time to enjoy the beauty of these Celestial Phenomena along the way.
Now that he was feeling more relaxed, he had time to study these Celestial Phenomena more carefully and even found them quite miraculous.
These Celestial Phenomena might be the manifestation of the Universe’s original form and might. Many radiated extremely dangerous auras, while some of them were deep and unfathomable. Just like the Great Sea Celestial Phenomenon, though they looked tranquil and calm on the outside, one would only know of the dangers lurking inside after entering them.
The 3,000 Worlds didn’t have any Celestial Phenomena, possibly because of all the activities of Human cultivators causing them to fade away.
[Wait! The 3,000 Worlds does have some.]
Yang Kai suddenly recalled rumours about some strange Forbidden Zones in several Great Territories. Those Forbidden Zones were filled with dangers, and they were very difficult for ordinary cultivators to even approach.
Those so-called Forbidden Zones might be remnants of ancient Celestial Phenomena. They weren’t complete anymore and only retained a portion of their mysteries and might. As time passed, coupled with repeated explorations by cultivators, those Forbidden Zones would also gradually disappear into the annals of history.
Suppose one could explore the mysteries of these Celestial Phenomena. Maybe one could use the opportunity to gain insight into the true meaning of the power of the Heavens and Earth!
That thought flashed across Yang Kai’s mind as he flew past different Celestial Phenomena.
Year after year, his dull voyage continued in solitude.
The void was incredibly vast, and it contained all sorts of wonders, but he wasn’t anxious because he knew it was no use being anxious.
Along the way, Yang Kai left hidden marks inside some dead Universe Worlds, making it easier for him to find his way back to the Great Sea Celestial Phenomenon.
Suddenly, on a particular day when he used the Universe Transference Law, Yang Kai finally sensed a Universe Array in a particular direction.
The distance was still quite far away, and the connection he felt was exceptionally weak, but if he exerted all his efforts to get there, he could probably arrive within half a year.
Yang Kai was elated. All his efforts had paid off as he finally discovered something and hurriedly moved in that direction.
A few days later, he used the Universe Transference Law to determine his position.
Another few days later, it was still the same…
One month later, after Yang Kai used the Universe Transference Law again, he frowned.
Over this one month’s time, he had used the Universe Transference Law five times, and although he could establish a connection with the faraway target, there was something wrong with the situation.
He was now rushing there with all his might and had activated the Space Principles, so his speed was exceptionally fast.
Therefore, it was reasonable to say that he could have easily shortened the distance between them in this one month’s time, and the nearer the distance with the Universe Array, the stronger the connection he had with it when using the Universe Transference Law.
But the reality was that the connection was still very weak.
There were only two possibilities that could cause such a situation. One was that the Universe Array he was connecting with was also continuously moving forward and was keeping a constant distance from Yang Kai.
However, a Purifying Black Ink Battleship’s speed was incomparable to Yang Kai’s, so even if it was somehow moving in exactly the same direction as him, the distance would still have been greatly shortened.
Which meant it could only be the second possibility.
The Universe Array he had set up in this Purifying Battleship was damaged!
Yang Kai had arranged the Universe Arrays in the very heart of the Purifying Ink Battleships, along with the storage room for Purifying Light, and after all the Great Passes had obtained their Purifying Black Ink Battleships, they specifically reinforced the defences around the Universe Array to the point that it could be said that it would not be damaged unless the Purifying Black Ink Battleship was completely crippled.
But now, the Universe Array on this unidentified Purifying Black Ink Battleship was actually damaged, so what about the Purifying Black Ink Battleship itself?
Did they encounter some kind of battle?
Were there still… survivors there?
Yang Kai was so anxious that he pushed his speed even harder.
Two months later, Yang Kai estimated it was about the distance that he could transmit with his now Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm cultivation and strong physique. Also, it wouldn’t be too risky to teleport at this point, so he used the Universe Transference Law, wanting to use the Universe Array and directly transport himself onto that Purifying Black Ink Battleship.
However, when the patterns of a Grand Array lit up under his feet, there was no sign of transmittance.
With a deep frown on his face, Yang Kai discarded this plan and continued to move forward under his own power.
It seemed that the Universe Array he had sensed was indeed damaged to the point that it was no longer functional.
Along his way, Yang Kai kept his vigilance up, guarding against the possibility that there might be enemies lurking nearby.
Another two months passed when Yang Kai suddenly looked up and could vaguely make out a lofty shadow standing tall inside the void.
It was a Great Pass!
Even though it was still quite far away, and the visibility inside the void wasn’t too good, he could still make out an outline of a huge Great Pass.
Yang Kai’s mind suddenly shook as his figure dashed forward.
However, as the distance shortened, Yang Kai’s heart also gradually sank.
It was indeed a Great Pass, but it was a destroyed one.
The originally majestic-looking Great Pass was now in ruins with large holes broken in its thick walls. Outside the Great Pass were scattered corpses of soldiers from both Races and fragments of broken Human Warships.
Yang Kai’s figure gradually slowed down as he passed through the mountain of corpses and blood, feeling suffocated.
He didn’t know what kind of battle this Great Pass had encountered, but judging from the gruesome scene before him, it was one filled with brutal bloodshed.
Outside the destroyed Great Pass, Yang Kai forced down his anxiety and released his Divine Sense like a flood, wanting to find any trace of vitality that might still be around; however, it was clear that this battle ended many years ago, so if there were any survivors, how could they still be here?
Moreover, he couldn’t sense any signs of vitality.
Crossing the battlefield that looked like a hellscape, Yang Kai arrived above the Great Pass and looked down. What he saw was the ruined interior of the Great Pass with corpses scattered everywhere.
Yang Kai’s face fell.
Although he didn’t know what kind of battle the Humans of this Great Pass had gone through, he could guess just by looking at the scene before him. The Black Ink Clan Army broke through this Great Pass’ defences and swarmed inside, engaging in a battle to the death with the Human soldiers.
Soon, he saw a Purifying Black Ink Battleship that was broken in two and sensed the weak connection coming from the Universe Array inside of it.
It was this particular Universe Array that had led him over here.
[Which Great Pass is this?]
Yang Kai couldn’t figure this out from just a cursory examination, so he continued his search and soon came to the Inner Sanctum.
The Inner Sanctum of every Great Pass, specifically the Central Square, could be said to be a Human Army’s drill ground. Now that he looked at this place, he could see obvious traces that were left behind from the battle as there were numerous Black Ink Clan corpses littered around the area.
Those dead Black Ink Clan soldiers were piled up layer by layer and almost covered the entire Central Square.
And in the centre of all those dead Black Ink Clan soldiers was an empty space where a figure was quietly sitting cross-legged with both eyes wide open and a peaceful expression.
At that moment, Yang Kai felt like his heart was being squeezed by an invisible hand.
He slowly walked forward, cleaning out a path among the piles of corpses before arriving before the figure.
The two pairs of eyes met each other, and Yang Kai felt a deep sense of sorrow fill his heart.
He now knew which Great Pass this was.
Azure Void Pass!
Although each Great Pass had similar layouts, Yang Kai had visited Azure Void Pass many times and was quite familiar with this place.
It was because Azure Void Pass was a complete mess after the great battle that Yang Kai couldn’t immediately recognise it.
However, he did recognise the peaceful-looking fallen cultivator sitting cross-legged in the middle of the courtyard.
It was the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Old Ancestor of Azure Void Pass! He was the one who gave Yang Kai a piece of beef all those centuries ago. That beef was cooked into soup and allowed Xu Ling Gong to gain a burst of enlightenment and break through to the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm.
The Old Ancestor of Azure Void Pass had died in battle here!
Even in the last moments of his life, he still didn’t give up on the Great Pass he protected.
Thinking of that, Yang Kai felt his vision becoming a little blurry.
Beside the Old Ancestor of Azure Void Pass was the Ox Monster which was missing one of its horns that the Old Ancestor had kept for numerous years. Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao had her eyes on this Ox Monster for a long while but never succeeded in getting it.
At this moment, the Ox Monster was in the same situation as Azure Void Pass’ Old Ancestor. Its body was covered in wounds while its other horn was broken as well. Even its tail was nowhere to be seen.
The Ox Monster quietly lay beside Azure Void Pass’ Old Ancestor with its head lowered.
Yang Kai blinked a few times to dispel the blurriness in his vision. Then, he faced the Old Ancestor of Azure Void Pass and bowed with a solemn expression.
[I vow to live and die together with the Great Pass!]
That was the oath that every soldier in every Great Passes swore.
Azure Void Pass’ Old Ancestor had fulfilled that oath!
Every soldier in Azure Void Pass had done so!
For numerous years, countless Human soldiers died on the Black Ink Battlefield to protect the 3,000 Worlds, and the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Old Ancestors weren’t an exception.
No matter their cultivation or status, these Humans who died fighting the Black Ink Clan were all honourable warriors.
Their corpses shouldn’t be left out in the void to rot. Since Yang Kai wasn’t able to join this battle and had coincidentally arrived here, it wouldn’t be a problem for him to help gather these corpses.
When he rose to his feet, he suddenly saw the Ox Monster beside Azure Void Pass’ Old Ancestor raising its head and saying, “Take the Old Ancestor’s corpse. If you encounter another Supreme Master, it can help you defend yourself against the enemy!”
Yang Kai was elated, “Senior Ox, are you still alive?”
However, the Ox Monster didn’t answer his question but continued, “There’s no need to hesitate. This is also the Old Ancestor’s last wish before he died. If his corpse could be used to kill a few more enemies, he would surely feel happy in the afterlife.”
After that, the Ox Monster again closed his eyes and silently laid its head down.
Yang Kai’s expression darkened. It seemed like the Ox Monster had already died as well.
The reason it was able to speak might be due to the effect of some Secret Technique.
If the being that came here was Human, the Ox Monster would speak and tell that person to store away the Old Ancestor’s corpse, but if it were a Black Ink Clansman, things might not be that simple.
Since the Old Ancestor’s corpse could also be used as a weapon still, it must be because the Old Ancestor had left some kind of last Will behind before his death.
This final Will probably held extraordinary power, and it was after hearing this that Yang Kai suddenly realised why the corpse of Azure Void Pass’ Old Ancestor was able to remain undisturbed here.
The only enemy who could face an Old Ancestor was a Royal Lord, and Yang Kai could see that the injuries on the Old Ancestor’s body were not left by just one Royal Lord. Just by looking at those injuries, Yang Kai could distinguish the auras left by three Royal Lords.
In other words, before Azure Void Pass’ Old Ancestor died, he had fought at least three Royal Lords but was unable to defeat them and died.
As for why the three Royal Lords didn’t choose to destroy the Old Ancestor’s body and simply left it here, they must have seen that Azure Void Pass’ Old Ancestor left behind that last Will and were afraid to do anything, lest they encounter an accident.
If it hadn’t been for that, Azure Void Pass’ Old Ancestor’s body would have already been destroyed.
Considering all this, Yang Kai felt his heart clench.
If the Royal Lords noticed this, how could they not leave some people behind to monitor the situation to avoid any surviving Human soldiers from approaching this place?
Just as he was thinking so, Yang Kai suddenly raised his head and looked up.
What he saw were three figures suddenly appearing from inside Azure Void Pass, each with a majestic aura.
They were Territory Lords!
The Black Ink Clan had indeed left guards behind. A Royal Lord couldn’t wait here for such a reason, but a few Territory Lords could be spared for such a duty!
If three Territory Lords worked together, they could deal with most situations.
Among those three Territory Lords, one of them had a seductive figure and a flirtatious expression, which reminded Yang Kai of the Charm Demon Clan.
There was also a tall and strong Territory Lord that looked more than three times taller than the seductive Territory Lord. Two fangs were poking out from both sides of his lips and curved upwards, making him look hideous like he was a crazy wild boar.
The third one looked more normal and had many Human traits, with the only difference being that his limbs resembled talons that were shining with cold light. This Territory Lord also had a pair of wings.
It was unknown where they were hiding because Yang Kai didn’t even sense the slightest trace of their auras before now.
The three Territory Lords weren’t in a hurry to appear, seeming to be not worried that Yang Kai would escape.
The seductive Territory Lord spoke up first, “When the Sirs asked us to stay here in case any Humans decide to come back, I first thought they were being too careful, but now it seems that there are indeed some Humans that are seeking death.”
The fang-toothed Territory Lord snorted lightly, “We’ve waited here for 200 years. I think my body is about to become mouldy. Human, you’re unlucky today.”
On the other hand, the taloned Territory Lord frowned while warning, “Don’t be careless. This Human is an Eighth-Order Master, so he might not be easy to deal with.”
After letting out a snort, the fang-toothed Territory Lord retorted, “So what if he’s an Eighth-Order Human? It’s not like we haven’t killed any of them. Let me kill him while you two stand guard!”
Saying so, the fang-toothed Territory Lord charged at Yang Kai. Because he had a burly and bulky body, his actions seemed clumsy, but in fact, he was moving very fast, and his huge frame fell like a meteor, quickly approaching Yang Kai.
The terrifying aura of a Territory Lord burst forth, causing the broken walls in the Great Pass to begin to creak.
Meanwhile, the taloned Territory Lord fixed his eyes on Yang Kai, and even his eyes reflected the latter’s figure. He was the fastest among these three Territory Lords, so he needed to be vigilant in case Yang Kai decided to activate whatever final seal was left on the Ninth-Order Master’s corpse.
Although they didn’t know what this seal was or what it was for, the Royal Lords had specifically told them it was definitely something the three of them couldn’t resist. Even they, as Royal Lords, might not be able to resist the power which was hidden inside that seal.
Even after death, a Ninth-Order Master still couldn’t be underestimated because the Secret Techniques those Humans practised often had unimaginable power.
If Yang Kai really did exhibit any intentions of touching that corpse, the taloned Territory Lord had to stop him immediately.
While watching Yang Kai’s every action carefully, the taloned Territory Lord tried to think in Yang Kai’s shoes and predict his next move. Just like he had said, an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master wasn’t so easy to deal with.
The Territory Lords had indeed killed many Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters outside the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, but the Territory Lords had suffered huge losses as well. The number of fallen Territory Lords in that battle was two to three times higher than that of the enemy.
Even he himself had been severely injured by a near-dead Eighth-Order Open Master. Though several hundred years had passed since that battle, he could still feel slight pain coming from his injuries whenever he thought about that scene.
In this situation, this Eighth-Order Human only had two possibilities for survival. One was activating the seal on the Ninth-Order Old Ancestor’s corpse, while the other was to flee immediately.
No matter how strong an Eighth-Order Master was, when faced with three Territory Lords, the only possible ending was death.
What shocked the taloned Territory Lord was that the somewhat excessively young-looking Eighth-Order Master didn’t reveal the slightest bit of panic since they appeared. Instead, this Human kept a saddened expression, which was naturally because of the death of his people and the destroyed Great Pass.
Under that veil of sadness, however, was endless murderous intent!
This Human clearly had no intention of activating the seal on the corpse.
The taloned Territory Lord felt his heart sink and hurriedly warned the others, “Be careful!”
Right after he said that, he saw the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master lunging at his fellow Territory Lord with a vicious expression. The Human was so fast that he left a blurred afterimage behind him, making it look like there were countless clones of him charging forward to kill.
The taloned Territory Lord felt his pupils shirk. [This speed… it’s too fast for me to interfere!]
When the big and small figures clashed, the sound of bones breaking rang out, but the expected scenario of the small Human being sent flying away did not appear. Instead, the figure being sent flying was the tall and strong fang-toothed Territory Lord. His chest had caved in, and his expression looked shocked, as if he couldn’t believe that he was not a match for his enemy in a head-on confrontation.
However, as the Territory Lord was sent flying, he still viciously punched his opponent.
Yang Kai wasn’t able to dodge that attack, or more precisely, he didn’t intend to dodge, simply lifting his arm to guard himself.
At the same moment, his other hand made a grabbing motion towards the void and the Azure Dragon Spear appeared. With a flourish of the spear, numerous Dao Strengths manifested, creating a kind of unstoppable torrent.
Following that, the long spear pierced out.
A soft, muffled sound came out, causing the taloned Territory Lord’s pupils to shrink to the size of needles as he felt the entire world suddenly freeze.
*Hong…*
At that moment, the fang-toothed Territory Lord that was sent flying out finally fell onto a ramshackle house, smashing the already toppling building to the ground.
*Drip…*
*Drip…*
Fresh blood dripped down and splashed onto the ground, creating a beautiful blood flower.
Time seemed to have stopped at this moment.
Above Azure Void Pass’s Central Square, Yang Kai held his spear with one arm, and on the spear was a curvaceous body. The spear had penetrated that figure, and black fresh blood was dripping from it.
While the different Dao Strengths intertwined, they created a strange balance above the figure pierced with the spear. However, the owner of the figure could feel that the balance was very weak and could be broken with just a slight change. Once the balance was broken, those Dao Strengths would suddenly explode, and what awaited her would be her death.
“You…” On the Azure Dragon Spear, the seductive Territory Lord looked at Yang Kai with a conflicted expression. Her eyes were wet, making her look pitiful, but she felt more disbelief than anything.
It was as if she didn’t expect that she, a Territory Lord, couldn’t even stand a single spear thrust from her opponent.
Her figure was smaller than the fang-toothed Territory Lord, so when the fang-toothed Territory Lord was charging forward, she used a Secret Technique to follow behind him and silently approach her enemy.
These three Territory Lords never thought to look down on an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, a lesson they learnt from fighting the Humans on the battlefield outside the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction and in various places throughout the vast void.
So, at that moment, though it looked like only the fang-toothed Territory Lord was attacking, it was actually a joint attack from all three Territory Lords.
The seductive Territory Lord concealed herself behind her companion, while the taloned Territory Lord intimidated the enemy with his sharp aura, distracting his attention with his focused Divine Sense.
This wasn’t the first time these three Territory Lords worked together. Back when they attacked Azure Void Pass, they used such techniques to kill several Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters.
That was why the Royal Lord had specifically left them here, because they were strong enough to deal with any dangers that might arise.
By coordinating with each other, these three hadn’t made any mistakes and could be said to be unbeatable.
However, they had encountered an anomaly this time!
The fang-toothed Territory Lord was sent flying after a head-on clash, followed by the seductive Territory Lord being run through by a spear. Meanwhile, the taloned Territory Lord’s pupils just shrank as he didn’t dare to make a move.
He could detect that the opponent still had an explosive force that had yet to be unleashed condensed inside that spear, so if he moved rashly, the seductive Territory Lord would immediately die.
Although they were shocked at how powerful this Eighth-Order Human was, they… had actually won!
The seductive Territory Lord indeed looked quite pitiful at this moment as Yang Kai’s spear was piercing her, but her efforts and sacrifices weren’t in vain as her jade hand had pierced into Yang Kai’s chest and grabbed his heart. She could feel the strong beating of his heart inside his chest in the palm of her hand!
Just by tightening her grip, she would be able to crush this Human’s heart and kill him; however, she didn’t do that. Instead, she silently looked into Yang Kai’s eyes and suddenly smiled, “You’re very strong!”
[Such a strong Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, I don’t feel like killing him anymore.]
Black Ink Strength filled the air and flowed into Yang Kai’s body. In an instant, the outside of Yang Kai’s body was surrounded by Black Ink Strength.
She was going to corrupt this strong opponent with Black Ink Strength and make him her Black Ink Disciple!
Though she was by no means weak, if she had such a strong Black Ink Disciple protecting her, her strength would more than double.
On the other hand, Yang Kai stayed put as if he were afraid of something.
The Black Ink Strength soon enveloped him, and even his eyes turned black.
[Success!]
The taloned Territory Lord, who was feeling nervous all this while, relaxed his breath as he was also reluctant to see his companion dying here. Now that the Black Ink Strength had corrupted their enemy, their side would gain a strong helper, which was undoubtedly the best outcome of this situation.
“Put me down,” the seductive Territory Lord ordered gently as if she were sweet-talking her lover.
“Yes!” Yang Kai responded.
At that moment, the seductive Territory Lord suddenly felt something wasn’t right and immediately roared before trying to tighten her grip on Yang Kai’s heart.
But before she could crust her opponent’s heart, she felt a mysterious strength suddenly erupt from inside her body. Right then, numerous Dao Strengths ran rampant, rapidly expanding the seductive Territory Lord’s curvaceous body into a ball before exploding it!
Black blood fell like rain, and pieces of flesh flew everywhere!
The seductive Territory Lord’s body exploded into a pretty-looking blood flower.
That sudden turn of events shocked the taloned Territory Lord so much that he turned pale. It was then that he realised that his enemy wasn’t afraid of being corrupted by Black Ink Strength.
At that point, Yang Kai had stealthily appeared by his side, and with a sweep of his spear, it transformed into a huge shadow that slashed down at his head.
With a roar, the taloned Territory Lord channelled his Black Ink Strength into his claws and wings, instantly turning them into weapons as he battled with Yang Kai.
Fresh blood flew everywhere from both Yang Kai and the taloned Territory Lord. The battle looked even from the outside, but the taloned Territory Lord felt his blood run cold.
After their initial clash, he knew he wasn’t a match for his opponent, and the only reason this Eighth-Order Human was being wounded was because he completely gave up defending himself to kill him faster.
In just three breaths of time, the two figures separated.
While panting heavily, the taloned Territory Lord had a shocked expression on his face while sporting hundreds of injuries of all sizes all over his body, leaving almost no place unscarred. It wouldn’t have mattered if that was all though, but these injuries all contained some strange power that affected his ability to use his Black Ink Strength, which made him continuously grow weaker.
At that moment, an angry roar sounded, and a huge figure charged over from the side and instantly appeared behind Yang Kai before spreading his arms wide and closing them while approaching Yang Kai.
It was the fang-toothed Territory Lord who had finally regained consciousness and came to help.
He was still a little confused as to why one of his companions wound up severely injured while the other died during the short moment he was knocked away.
All he knew was that he and his companions had greatly underestimated this Human Eighth-Order Master.
Just as he was about to slap his hands and crush his enemy, the fang-toothed Territory Lord suddenly felt a strange power surging in the air and surprisingly found that no matter how he tried to bring his palms together, he couldn’t shorten the distance between them. At this instant, the space between his palms seemed to be infinitely stretching.
This scene shocked him even more.
While he was distracted, the Eighth-Order Master had already disappeared, and a grunt and roar came from the other side.
Raising his head to look over, the fang-toothed Territory Lord felt his heart jump as he watched his taloned companion being madly beaten up by the Eighth-Order Master like a sandbag.
The space over there seemed warped, distorted beyond recognition, causing the two figures on the other side to appear occasionally elongated or shortened like they were reflections in a broken mirror.
Black blood spewed everywhere, and the taloned Territory Lord seemed to be unable to resist the relentless thrusts of Yang Kai’s spear. Many Principles and Dao Strengths were being activated by Yang Kai and turned into killing power.
Noticing the situation, the fang-toothed Territory Lord howled madly before dashing over to help his companion.
They came here as a trio, but now one of them was dead. If another one of them fell, they might be completely wiped out!
Having never encountered such a terrifying foe before, the fang-toothed Territory Lord thought that all the other Eighth-Order Masters they had previously killed were simply incomparable to the one before him.
Despite the fact that his aura wasn’t stronger than any of the other Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, this Human had control over some various kinds of Strengths that were exceptionally difficult to deal with.
They had seen such Strengths used by other Human Masters, but those Humans would only be proficient in one to two of them, so they weren’t so difficult to counter.
There had never been a Human who could wield so many different kinds of Dao Strengths. These Strengths weren’t much on their own, but when they all intertwined in one place, they seemed to produce unpredictable effects.
After madly running halfway to help his companion, the fang-toothed Territory Lord suddenly stopped and immediately turned around before charging out of Azure Void Pass’s broken walls and into the void’s depths.
This couldn’t be helped as he saw the taloned Territory Lord’s head blown to pieces by Yang Kai before he could even arrive to offer assistance.
In just 30 breaths of time, even with three Territory Lords working together, two of them had been killed, leaving only one alive. Would he be able to keep his life if he stayed there?
Before the fang-toothed Territory Lord could escape Azure Void Pass though, he suddenly stopped and looked up with a heavy expression.
Standing tall above the crumbling walls was a figure with a long spear that was pointing down at him as black blood dripped from his hand. That figure was glaring at the fang-toothed Territory Lord with cold eyes.
That figure was the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, who was supposed to be behind him!
The fang-toothed Territory Lord felt a truly bitter taste in his mouth.
However, he soon composed himself because after killing both his companions, this Human must have also suffered severe injuries. The most obvious sign of that was the Human’s aura, which felt wavered between strong and weak, clearly indicating the other party was not in top form anymore.
[I… might be able to defeat him! I can’t let him intimidate me with his aura alone after he killed two Territory Lords. If I don’t fight, I might really die here. I can kill him! I must kill him!]
The fang-toothed Territory Lord roared as Black Ink Strength poured out of him like a tsunami, making his figure become even bulkier. With determined eyes, his aura flared to the point that it felt like he could kill the enemy with one punch, even if the one standing before him was a Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.
Then, he charged at Yang Kai.
Following that, the two figures entangled together, their fight drifting from Azure Void Pass out into the void. Attacks were exchanged back and forth as the two were locked in an intense battle.
At that moment, the fang-toothed Territory Lord was indeed very happy.
He discovered that, just like what he had expected, this Eighth-Order Human’s strength really had fallen after killing his two companions. Even though the enemy was still very strong, this Human couldn’t kill him with his current strength.
Sensing this, the fang-toothed Territory Lord immediately changed tactics.
Since the opponent seemed to be fighting with all his might, wanting to end this battle as quickly as possible, he would focus on defence instead. He then decided that he would drag this battle out until the Human couldn’t hold on any longer.
An hour, six hours, half a day later…
The battle was still as intense as ever, but the fang-toothed Territory Lord didn’t feel as relaxed as before, and his expression was gradually becoming heavy.
As the battle gradually became disadvantageous for him, he was able to discover the root of the problem as well.
The strength that this Human Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master was exerting was slowly increasing.
In other words, the Human was slowly becoming stronger.
[This Human… What’s wrong with him?]
The fang-toothed Territory Lord could never have expected that the opponent before him had only just broken through to Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm recently and was considered newly advanced.
Yang Kai had spent quite some time cultivating inside the Great Sea so his foundation was extremely stable and his heritage wasn’t distinguishable from veteran Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master’s, so the thought that he had only just reached this Realm was hard to imagine.
Under normal circumstances, there were two criteria for determining if an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master was a veteran or newly promoted, one of them was that the heritage of that person’s Small Universe had achieved a certain threshold.
Under normal circumstances, even 2,000 years after a cultivator advanced to the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm, they could still not be counted as a veteran.
2,000 years was basically just sufficient for an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master to stabilise their foundation and be able to freely exert their strength.
The second criterion was one’s experience in battling and killing enemies.
No matter how strong one’s heritage was, if they didn’t have any battle experience, they would be restricted in battle and wouldn’t be able to bring out their full strength.
Among all the Human Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters on the Black Ink Battlefield, there were only a few newly advanced Eighth-Order Masters, while the rest were veterans. After they had advanced to the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm, they continued cultivating while simultaneously battling the Black Ink Clan, slowly training themselves to master and enhance their strength. Therefore, situations like being unable to bring out their complete strength essentially never occurred.
However, Yang Kai was an exception.
He had a breakthrough to the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm inside the Temporal Rivers of the Great Sea Celestial Phenomenon and then cultivated there for 2,000 years before exiting.
After Yang Kai left the Great Sea Celestial Phenomenon, he battled the sheep-headed Royal Lord and even decapitated him, but during that fight, he had constantly been going all out in a desperate struggle as there was a huge difference between his and the Royal Lord’s true strength, even using four Soul Rending Thorns, causing himself to become delirious due to his injured Soul. In the end, he didn’t even know how he killed the Royal Lord as he was already holding onto his head when he came to his senses.
This time, it was different.
With his current strength, a Territory Lord wasn’t too strong nor too weak, but rather just right for him to use as a polishing stone.
After he killed two Territory Lords one after the other, Yang Kai wasn’t in a hurry to end the third Territory Lord’s life. Instead, he wanted to borrow this Territory Lord’s strength to hone and familiarise himself with his newfound strength.
The many Grand Dao Strengths he had refined inside the Great Sea, especially, were unfamiliar to him. If he could hone them during an intense battle, Yang Kai could gain better control over them and would be able to use them more effectively.
That was why the fang-toothed Territory Lord felt that the Yang Kai’s strength was growing. Yang Kai now controlled so many Dao Strengths that he wasn’t able to skillfully wield them.
He desperately needed an opponent to battle against.
Therefore, he chose to quickly kill two Territory Lords, even if it meant getting hurt in the process.
Another half a day later, the fang-toothed Territory Lord felt despair because this battle, which started with them being on par with each other, then turned against him slightly, was now approaching the point where he was completely overwhelmed.
His heart was filled with bitterness.
The battle had now made a complete turnaround. Yang Kai’s attacks were calm and unhurried as he was still honing his strength while on the other hand, the fang-toothed Territory Lord was fighting back desperately as he knew that the longer the battle continued, the stronger his opponent would become. Once this Human had reached a certain limit, he would die.
But in battle, sometimes fighting with everything one had simply wasn’t enough.
Another half a day passed, and the fang-toothed Territory Lord’s aura had already weakened beyond recognition. His body was covered in every kind of wound imaginable, and his Black Ink Strength was leaking out from all those injuries. If this went on for much longer, there was a high likelihood that his strength would regress from that of a Territory Lord to a Feudal Lord.
At this moment, he felt envious of his two companions because at least their deaths were swift.
Meanwhile, he was like a piece of meat being slowly shaved by a dull knife, a torturous process for both his body and mind.
Knowing that he was destined to die today, the fang-toothed Territory Lord made a decision and completely gave up on defending before brazenly charging towards Yang Kai in a final, desperate struggle.
After a dozen breaths, a long spear pierced into his eye socket, and numerous Dao Strengths surged into his brain, grinding it into a paste. His originally fierce-looking expression gradually turned peaceful, feeling a sense of relief as the light in his eyes gradually dimmed.
Yang Kai withdrew his spear and frowned slightly because he was quite dissatisfied with his current strength.
He didn’t consider the battle with the sheep-headed Royal Lord because he had completely lost consciousness during that fight, relying almost solely on his instincts to kill the enemy.
After the battle with these three Territory Lords, he discovered his shortcomings.
Back when he was a Seventh-Order Master, he could crush those in the same Realm without any difficulty. No matter how strong a Feudal Lord was, they were no better than children before him and had no chance of fighting back.
But now that he had advanced to the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm, his situation couldn’t compare to the glory he had when in the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm.
During this battle, Yang Kai had paid quite a large price to kill the seductive Territory Lord and taloned Territory Lord. It was even so for the fang-toothed Territory Lord he killed last. Although he had intended to use this Territory Lord to hone his strength, the time he took to finish the latter off was less than satisfactory.
According to the intelligence he obtained during the previous crusade, these three Territory Lords were considered Innate Territory Lords, ones who were spawned directly from a High-Rank Black Ink Nest. Therefore, they were stronger than those Black Ink Clansmen who advanced to become Territory Lords through their own cultivation.
Innate Territory Lords were already the strongest among all Territory Lords.
In other words, Yang Kai might still be invincible among his peers, but was far from being able to crush those in his Realm!
But after giving it another thought, Yang Kai understood that he had only been in the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm for 2,000 years, so the heritage in his Small Universe hadn’t reached anywhere near its maximum yet. Once he reached the peak of the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm, it wouldn’t be a problem to crush his peers.
On the other hand, he also discovered the biggest problem he was having now.
He had too many Dao Strengths under his control!
To escape from the Great Sea Celestial Phenomenon, he had no choice but to absorb those undercurrents, which increased his attainment in many, many different Grand Daos.
It seemed now that he had absorbed and refined too many undercurrents, so his foundation, which comprised of all the different Grand Daos, was just too broad. With the ability to wield so many Dao Strengths, it meant he had more means of dealing with different enemies, which was a good thing; however, Yang Kai was finding it difficult to integrate all these varied Dao Strengths into a coherent force. While he had comprehension of many Dao Strengths, he did not know how to harmonize them to enhance his power and could only clumsily smash them all together at the moment.
Also, he had a vague feeling that if he could properly gather all these Dao strengths into one, the power he could exert would definitely experience an Earth-shattering change.
In his current situation, he could only think about these things because, among the variety of Dao Strengths, he did have attainments in some of them, but none were comparable to his mastery of the Dao of Space, Dao of Time, and Spear Dao. How could he gather all these Dao Strengths into one when he hadn’t even comprehended the true mysteries behind them?
Even with just the Dao of Space and Dao of Time, which he had focused on cultivating over many centuries, Yang Kai still hadn’t managed to achieve a perfect fusion.
Shaking his head to clear out such distracting thoughts, Yang Kai turned to look into the distance and stared for a moment before shouting, “Come out.”
From the cover of the messy battlefield, a few figures slowly emerged from the shadows. Each of them looked at Yang Kai with shocked expressions on their faces.
They had watched the battle just now, and the scene where an Innate Territory Lord was slowly being tortured to death was quite an eye-opener for them.
“Great Evolution’s Yang Kai greets fellow Martial Brothers and Sisters!” Yang Kai bowed.
He had already discovered that people were spying on him while he was battling the fang-toothed Territory Lord and could feel that they weren’t very strong, nor were there many of them.
Clearly, they had been attracted here by the fallout from the battle.
Since these visitors kept themselves hidden nearby and showed no intention of coming out, Yang Kai couldn’t tell whether they were friends or foes.
It was not until this moment that he was certain that these observers were Humans!
“It’s Senior Brother Yang!” One of the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters was elated after hearing Yang Kai announce his identity.
They were originally worried that the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master that killed those Black Ink Territory Lords might be corrupted by Black Ink Strength, which was the reason why they didn’t show themselves even after Yang Kai had killed the fang-toothed Territory Lord.
But upon learning his identity, those worries disappeared.
This couldn’t be helped, because every Human soldier in every Great Pass knew Yang Kai’s name. He was the one who brought them Purifying Light, so it was well-known he wasn’t afraid of being invaded by Black Ink Strength.
All those below the Ninth Order had the possibility of being corrupted by Black Ink Strength, but Yang Kai was an exception.
Meanwhile, the others also revealed happy expressions as they hurriedly approached Yang Kai. When they saw Yang Kai’s face, they could finally determine his identity.
Yang Kai also thought these people looked quite familiar, and after taking a closer look, he stated hesitantly, “You’re the Senior Brother who was always on guard duty at the Space Array.”
Having visited Azure Void Pass several times, Yang Kai naturally recognised the Seventh-Order Masters that guarded the Great Pass’ Hyper Space Array, and he was sure that this person before him was one of them.
That Seventh-Order Master seemed like he was about to cry from joy and choked out, “Sun Mao greets Senior Brother Yang!”
Then, Yang Kai swept his gaze over the others, and his face fell, “Are you… all that remains of the Azure Void Army?”
Sun Mao composed himself before answering, “There are a few other Fellow Brothers and Sisters, but they are currently in hiding. We came here because we sensed there was a battle happening and wanted to investigate.”
“How many of you are there?” Yang Kai asked.
Sun Mao replied in an astringent voice, “Less than 1,000…”
Feeling his face twitching slightly, Yang Kai felt as if his heart was being torn out.
Azure Void Pass should have had 30,000 Human Masters stationed here, about the same as Blue Sky Pass back then. After the attack on the Royal City in the Azure Void Theatre, they undoubtedly suffered some casualties, but there should have still been more than 20,000 troops here during the second crusade.
Less than 1,000 of the original 20,000 survived, while even the Old Ancestor died in battle. It was nothing less than tragic.
“Senior Brother Yang, are there still any Black Ink Clansmen in the Inner Sanctum?” Sun Mao asked.
Yang Kai shook his head, “I didn’t make a thorough check, but there shouldn’t be any left.”
Since the three Territory Lords hidden here had been killed, any remaining Black Ink Clansmen would have appeared by now, even if it was just to try to flee.
Hearing that, Sun Mao felt relieved, “If that’s the case, then Division Commander Huang and the others can be saved.”
Yang Kai frowned, “Why did you say that?”
Sun Mao explained, “Division Commander Huang and some Fellow Brothers and Sisters were invaded by Black Ink Strength. Since we ran out of Purifying Black Ink Pills and didn’t have access to any Purifying Light, they were unable to eliminate that Black Ink Strength. Previously, Division Commander Hai led some troops here, intending to recover the Purifying Black Ink Battleship. Unfortunately, there hasn’t been any news from them since they left, so we assumed they ran into trouble.”
Quite a number of the remaining soldiers gathered here had been stained by Black Ink Strength and had been suppressing the Black Ink Strength inside their bodies over the years using various methods, but every once in a while, one of them could not hold on any longer and would have to commit suicide.
The battle 200 years ago not only destroyed Azure Void Pass, but also cut off the Humans’ supply lines. Even the Purifying Black Ink Pills and Evil Purging Divine Spears were all used up by now.
Although there were still Alchemists among their ranks, it was impossible for them to refine Spirit Pills without any Spirit Herbs or materials.
Division Commander Huang Xiong was an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, so even if he was invaded by Black Ink Strength, he could still hold on for a time, but if too long passed, he would also find it difficult to cope.
Now, the only thing that could save them was the Purifying Black Ink Battleship that lay in the Inner Sanctum. Purifying Light might still be sealed inside the Battleship, so the only way they could survive was to extract it from the Great Pass.
When the Purifying Black Ink Pill was first introduced, Yang Kai did some experiments with the Alchemy Great Grandmasters of Blue Sky Pass.
That pill could indeed allow one to resist Black Ink Strength and eliminate it from their Small Universe, but only if one had not completely become a Black Ink Disciple.
The stronger the cultivator was influenced by Black Ink Strength, the more limited the effect of the Purifying Black Ink Pill.
Whenever a Human was invaded by Black Ink Strength, they would choose the most appropriate method to resolve the crisis. Before a big battle, the Human soldiers would take a Purifying Black Ink Pill, and only if they were unlucky enough to be stained by Black Ink Strength after the pill’s effects wore off would they resort to using Purifying Light.
After Azure Void Pass fell, about 1,000 soldiers were left from the original complement of 20,000 troops, and among those 1,000 soldiers, many had been invaded by Black Ink Strength.
Therefore, the Purifying Black Ink Battleship here was their only hope.
That was why Division Commander Hai Xing led some soldiers here to try to recover the Battleship, but there had been no news since they left, so Sun Mao and the others presumed that they had encountered a strong enemy and ultimately ended up dead. From this, they also surmised that there were strong enemies still occupying Azure Void Pass, which was why they were hesitant to come here all these years.
Yesterday, they felt the fallout from a great battle coming from the direction of Azure Void Pass, so Sun Mao and the others risked their lives to come over and investigate, only to personally witness Yang Kai killing the fang-toothed Territory Lord.
“Where are Division Commander Huang and the others hiding? Quickly bring me…” Yang Kai wanted to ask them to lead him there and let him help dispel the Black Ink Strength from their bodies until he suddenly remembered that he couldn’t do that anymore.
They needed Purifying Light to dispel Black Ink Strength, but to create Purifying Light, Yang Kai needed Yellow and Blue Crystals.
However, he had consumed all the Yellow and Blue Crystals he had left during his 4,000 years cultivating inside the Great Sea Celestial Phenomenon…
At this moment, Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling frustrated. If he had known this would happen, he would have saved some of the Yellow and Blue Crystals, but then he thought about when he was cultivating in the Temporal River. He could feel his strength increasing steadily, so how could he be willing to stop before he was forced to?
He might still be cultivating inside the Temporal River if he had more resources.
Such an opportunity was simply too rare to come by.
“Please invite Division Commander Huang and the others over. I’ll sweep Azure Void Pass to see if there are any more Black Ink Clansmen in hiding,” Yang Kai instructed them.
Sun Mao and the others were instantly elated and left in a hurry.
After they departed, Yang Kai began inspecting Azure Void Pass again. This time, he did a thorough sweep using his Divine Sense to ensure there were no more Black Ink Clansmen inside.
After an incense stick’s worth of time, Yang Kai determined that those three Territory Lords he just killed were the only Black Ink Clansmen stationed here.
But that wasn’t strange. This Great Pass had already been thoroughly destroyed, so it was impossible that the Black Ink Clan would pay much attention to this place. Moreover, three Territory Lords were posted here mainly to prevent any Humans from coming over to retrieve Azure Void Pass’s Old Ancestor’s corpse.
With three Innate Territory Lords working together, they could handle most situations, when there was no Old Ancestor.
The Division Commander Hai that Sun Mao mentioned might have fallen at the hands of those three Territory Lords.
After finishing his inspection, Yang Kai returned to the central square and bowed again to the Old Ancestor before carefully storing his corpse and the now hornless Ox Monster in his Small Universe.
Immediately after that, he came to where the Purifying Black Ink Battleship was. This Warship was severed in two, but fortunately, the place storing the Purifying Light and Universe Array weren’t too severely damaged; otherwise, the Universe Array wouldn’t have responded to Yang Kai when he used the Universe Transference Law.
The question now was whether the Purifying Light inside had all leaked out. Technically speaking, Purifying Light was just another kind of energy. When designing the original Purifying Black Ink Battleship, Yang Kai had joined forces with several Array Masters to create a sealed space that would ensure the Purifying Light would not leak out.
As for getting in and out of that space, they could use a Space Array.
Now that the Purifying Black Ink Battleship was heavily damaged, if the formations inside were also affected, even if it were a minor flaw, the Purifying Light sealed inside would all eventually flow out and dissipate.
Yang Kai prayed silently for that not to be the case. Since he no longer had any Yellow and Blue Crystals, he couldn’t create more Purifying Light, so if the Purifying Black Ink Battleship no longer had any, Division Commander Huang and the others would fall into a difficult situation.
Standing on the deck, Yang Kai checked the Space Array and found it to be slightly damaged, so he quickly went about repairing it.
In less than half a day, the Space Array was fixed, and Yang Kai stood above it before trying to activate it. He felt relieved and lucky that the Space Array inside of the Purifying Black Ink Battleship was intact; otherwise, he didn’t know how he was going to get inside.
The light of the array flashed, and Yang Kai was instantly transported inside the Purifying Black Ink Battleship’s main cabin. After giving it a good look, the hope inside him disappeared.
The interior of the Purifying Black Ink Battleship was clearly damaged, meaning the seal was broken and there was no longer any Purifying Light.
Moreover, there was a Black Ink Clan corpse here…
When the Black Ink Clan attacked Azure Void Pass, they must have discovered that the Purifying Black Ink Battleship looked different from other Human Warships, so they naturally investigated it.
This dead Black Ink Clansman must be the one who went inside to probe the situation, instantly falling into this space that was filled with Purifying Light. Like an ant that fell into a pot of boiling oil, the Black Ink Clan let out a final attack before dying and damaged the Arrays from the inside, causing the leakage of Purifying Light.
Gnashing his teeth, Yang Kai teleported back outside.
Since the Purifying Black Ink Battleship no longer had any Purifying Light, and he couldn’t produce any, Purifying Black Ink Pills were their last hope.
Now, Yang Kai could only hope that the survivors weren’t too heavily invaded by Black Ink Strength, or else the Purifying Black Ink Pills wouldn’t have much effect on them.
Since the introduction of the Purifying Black Ink Pill, every Great Pass had been mass refining them and would distribute them to all soldiers before a battle.
With a World Tree Clone in his Small Universe and the ability to cast Purifying Light, Yang Kai naturally did not need Purifying Black Ink Pills, so he did not have any on him.
However, he was the one who found the remnant recipe for the Purifying Black Ink Pill, while it was later completed by the Great Grandmaster Alchemists of Blue Sky Pass, so it wasn’t hard for Yang Kai to refine them.
Moreover, he didn’t lack Spirit Herbs. Back when he was still stationed at Blue Sky Pass, Yang Kai had planted large numbers of the herbs necessary to refine Purifying Black Ink Pills in the medicine garden in his Small Universe, leaving his two Wood Spirit helpers to look after them. Over 4,000 years had passed since then for Yang Kai, while time in his Small Universe flowed several times faster than that, so now there was an abundance of all kinds of Spirit Herbs, Flowers, and Fruits in his medicine garden. He had even stockpiled over 1,000 Profound Yin Spirit Fruits, which were normally so rare and in demand that there was never any in stock in the various Great Passes.
Understanding what needed to be done, Yang Kai took out an Alchemy Furnace and got to work.
He had essentially abandoned the Alchemic Dao after ascending to the Open Heaven Realm, but with his experience in the Great Sea Celestial Phenomenon, his mastery of the Alchemic Dao had actually improved greatly.
Though he hadn’t reached the level of Great Grandmaster, or even Grandmaster, Purifying Black Ink Pills weren’t too difficult to refine, so his current skill was more than sufficient.
One furnace of Purifying Black Ink Pills was soon produced, and Yang Kai immediately started on the next. Before this second batch was finished, Sun Mao and the others had already led the 1,000 or so remnant soldiers over.
It had been more than 200 years since they last stepped into Azure Void Pass, so those soldiers who wouldn’t even frown in the face of death all had teary eyes.
Looking at the Inner Sanctum and the gruesome battlefield reminded them of the bloody battle they had fought here 200 years ago, causing them to feel quite emotional.
The one in the lead was a middle-aged man with a stout figure and a firm gait. His face was fair and without a beard while his expression looked fierce without appearing angry. However, the man saw Yang Kai was in the middle of refining pills, so he stayed far back to not disturb him.
This man had an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm cultivation and was the only Eighth-Order Master among the bunch. It was obvious he was the Division Commander named Huang Xiong Sun Mao mentioned before.
They didn’t come forward, so Yang Kai bowed and greeted them first, “Great Evolution Army’s Yang Kai greets Division Commander Huang and Fellow Brothers and Sisters.”
Huang Xiong’s eyes lit up, “Martial Nephew, your name has spread far and wide. I only found out today that not only do you have superb combat capabilities, but you also have high attainments in the Alchemic Dao. How remarkable.”
He didn’t come forward to disturb Yang Kai just now because he was afraid he might disturb the latter, causing him to fail the refinement of the batch of pills he was currently working on, but when he saw Yang Kai appearing at ease while continuing to refine pills, even greeting them, it showed that he obviously had quite some skill in the Dao of Alchemy.
Squeezing out a smile, Yang Kai shook his head, “Division Commander Huang is too polite. I just finished a furnace of Purifying Black Ink Pills. Please distribute them to the others.”
Although it was a happy thing to reunite with his fellow comrades, the current situation made it hard for Yang Kai to truly smile.
He swept his gaze over the 1,000 soldiers before him and found that many of them had been stained by Black Ink Strength. Even Huang Xiong had a faint Black Ink Strength lingering around the surface of his body, and while they were talking, there was even a trace of darkness flashing in the depths of his eyes.
That was an obvious sign of being seriously invaded by Black Ink Strength. If left unattended, it was only a matter of time before Huang Xiong would be entirely corrupted.
Of course, he wouldn’t allow such a thing to happen because he would either end his own life or sacrifice part of his Small Universe before then.
Huang Xiong came forward and received the Purifying Black Ink Pills that had just been refined before casually tossing them to the soldiers behind him. As for him, he sat cross-legged beside Yang Kai and silently watched him refine pills.
A while later, Huang Xiong finally spoke up, “Inside the Purifying Black Ink Battleship…”
With a slow shake of his head, Yang Kai replied, “The Black Ink Clan sent someone inside to investigate and they damaged the Sealing Arrays. The Purifying Light has all leaked out.”
Although Huang Xiong had already guessed this outcome when he first saw Yang Kai, he still sighed heavily after getting confirmation, “I shouldn’t have let Senior Brother Hai come over. They lost their lives for nothing.”
There were already not many Masters among the survivors here, and the only surviving Eighth-Order Masters were him and Division Commander Hai. More than 10 years ago, when Division Commander Hai brought some soldiers to Azure Void Pass to salvage the Purifying Black Ink Battleship but never returned, Huang Xiong understood that Division Commander Hai must have fallen at the hands of the Black Ink Clan.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai stayed silent because he didn’t know what to say.
Huang Xiong suddenly asked, “Martial Nephew, did you encounter some kind of opportunity? When did you advance to the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm?”
As far as he knew, Yang Kai was a Seventh-Order Master who had broken through less than 1,000 years ago.
But looking at him now, not only did Yang Kai break through to the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm, he even managed to kill three Innate Territory Lords above Azure Void Pass all on his own.
Only the strongest, most veteran Eighth-Order Masters might be capable of such a feat. Although it seemed like Yang Kai suffered some serious injuries in the process, it didn’t seem to affect him at all as he was casually refining pills here, which surprised Huang Xiong greatly.
After asking, Huang Xiong realized his question was somewhat rude and intrusive, so he added, “If you find it inconvenient to tell me, you can take it as if I never asked.”
Since this matter was related to a cultivator’s personal secrets, it was inappropriate to pry into it.
Shaking his head, Yang Kai replied, “There’s nothing inconvenient about it. I indeed managed to break through to the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm because I met with an opportunity.” He then stopped for a moment before continuing, “Division Commander Huang, how long has it been since the battle at the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction?”
Huang Xiong looked at him strangely. Though he didn’t know why Yang Kai would ask such a question, he still answered honestly, “It’s been 512 years.”
“512 years…” Yang Kai raised an eyebrow. The actual time was somewhat different from his estimations, but the difference wasn’t too big.
Back at the Great Sea Celestial Phenomenon, the hardest thing to estimate was how long had passed in the outside world for he had spent some 4,000 years in and out of numerous Temporal Rivers which all had different ratios for the flow of time.
However, he could clearly account for part of that time.
He had spent about 100 years searching for Temporal Rivers to cultivate in, and after deciding to leave, he used up almost 200 years to escape from the Great Sea Celestial Phenomenon.
With that in mind, and with the information from Huang Xiong, it seemed the time he spent cultivating inside the Temporal Rivers was just about 200 years as well.
Though only 200 years had passed in the outside world, Yang Kai actually spent 4,000 years cultivating, which meant that the average rate of time flow inside the Temporal Rivers was 20 times that of the outside world, which was actually much higher than he expected.
After composing himself, Yang Kai used a Pill Condensing Technique to collect the furnace of Spirit Pills before handing them to Huang Xiong. This time, Huang Xiong ate one before passing the rest to the soldiers behind him.
With a slightly complicated expression, Yang Kai explained, “Division Commander Huang, while 512 years passed in the outside world, I’ve actually been cultivating in a certain place for over 4,000 years.
Huang Xiong was taken aback, “4,000 years? How is that…”
Following that, he suddenly thought of something and asked, “A Temporal River?”
It was obvious that he had heard rumours about Temporal Rivers in the past; therefore, if there was any place in this Universe that could allow Yang Kai to have such a strange encounter, that was the only possibility.
Rumour had it that time flowed faster inside Temporal Rivers compared to the outside world, allowing one to cultivate inside for 10 or even 100 years while only a single year passed by in the rest of the Universe.
Many Open Heaven Realm Masters had heard these rumours, yet the overwhelming majority had never seen a Temporal River for themselves, much less used one.
If that were true, it wasn’t a surprise that Yang Kai was able to break through to the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm so quickly.
Yang Kai’s aptitude was clearly exceptional as well, seeing how high his strength had risen in just 4,000 years.
Nodding, Yang Kai answered, “It was a Temporal River. Outside the Primordial Heavens Source Restriction, I was targeted by a Royal Lord. All of the Old Ancestors and Eighth-Order Division Commanders had their own enemies to face, so with no other option, I could only try to escape. Originally, my plan was to pass through the Late Ancient Era Battlefield and head for the No-Return Pass to seek help from the Dragon and Phoenix Clans to deal with that Royal Lord, but my plans went astray and I became lost along the way…”
Even though Huang Xiong was an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master with a calm nature, he couldn’t help but want to chuckle after hearing Yang Kai say he actually got lost.
When one’s strength had reached the Seventh-Order and Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm, with a Universe Chart in hand, they could freely roam throughout the vast void without ever getting lost.
However, the Black Ink Battlefield was too vast, and the region beyond the Royal Cities was completely uncharted territory, so becoming lost wasn’t actually that surprising.
It was especially so with Yang Kai’s situation, where a Royal Lord was chasing him, so it made sense that he got flustered and lost his way.
Then, Yang Kai began talking about the dense fog Celestial Phenomenon and how he repeatedly escaped from the grasp of the sheep-headed Royal Lord before encountering the mysterious Great Sea Celestial Phenomenon.
When Huang Xiong took all of this in, his eyes brightened as an excited expression appeared on his face.
Yang Kai could see that the Great Sea Celestial Phenomenon was a very valuable place, so naturally, Huang Xiong could as well.
Within the Great Sea Celestial Phenomenon, many undercurrents hid several kinds of Martial Domains that evolved from the purest form of Grand Dao Essences. Absorbing and refining even one compatible undercurrent could save a cultivator tens, if not hundreds of years of hard cultivation, not to mention the existence of so many Temporal Rivers. To an Open Heaven Realm Master, Temporal Rivers were a shortcut to a higher Martial Dao on a path that wasn’t supposed to have any shortcuts.
“Where is this Great Sea Celestial Phenomenon? Can you still find it?” Huang Xiong asked.
With a nod, Yang Kai answered, “I’ve left markers along my way here and arranged a hidden Universe Array at its outskirts, so finding it again shouldn’t be difficult.”
Huang Xiong was excited, “Great! Such a treasure will surely be helpful to us Humans in the future.”
But after expressing his excitement, his mood immediately turned gloomy. For now, they couldn’t head to the Great Sea Celestial Phenomenon, because the Human Race wasn’t in a good situation.
“What was the result of the battle at the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction? How was Azure Void Pass destroyed to such an extent?” Now that Yang Kai had answered Huang Xiong’s questions, he asked some of his own.
Back then, Yang Kai was targeted by the sheep-headed Royal Lord not long after the battle had begun and was forced to escape from the battlefield, so he had no idea what actually happened afterwards.
Huang Xiong sighed heavily, “That battle… was our Human Race’s loss!”
Hearing that, Yang Kai felt his heart sink.
Actually, he had already guessed this outcome because if the Humans had won, Azure Void Pass wouldn’t be in such a state.
“The Black Ink Giant Spirit God?” Yang Kai asked in a deep voice.
If there was one variable on the battlefield outside the Primordial Heavens Source Restriction, it would be the Black Ink Giant Spirit God. Before the battle, Mo, the ancient Supreme Master, kept trying its best to maintain balance on the battlefield, which was why there were never more Royal Lords leaving the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction than there were Old Ancestors.
It was like Mo wasn’t interested in defeating the Humans, but rather fully intended to maintain the balance between the two sides.
In the beginning, no matter whether it was the Humans or Cang, no one could understand Mo’s intentions.
But when the Black Ink Giant Spirit God appeared, everything became clear.
The corpses of the Black Ink Clansmen that died in battle had left behind a massive amount of Black Ink Strength, and all of that became a huge help to the Black Ink Giant Spirit God. Moreover, the Black Ink Giant Spirit God had pried open the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction from the inside in order to free itself. In fact, if Cang hadn’t fused his body with the restriction to trigger the hidden hand that Mu had left behind, sealing the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction and forcing Mo into a deep slumber, the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction might have been torn open then and there and Mo would have been set free.
If such a scenario had come to pass, the Human Race wouldn’t have just lost the battle, they would have been wiped out.
Fortunately, Mo was rendered unconscious and the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction was sealed up in the end.
The number of Royal Lords on the field was actually lower than the number of Ninth-Order Masters, for the Territory Lords, the Eighth-Order Masters could deal with them, and for the Feudal Lords and below, the Humans actually held the advantage. However, the Humans still lost that battle, so there was only one possible reason, which was that the Black Ink Giant Spirit God was just too powerful!
When Yang Kai was escaping, he noticed a scene where several Old Ancestors worked together to suppress the Black Ink Giant Spirit God; otherwise, the sheep-headed Royal Lord wouldn’t have had the time to deal with him.
He had only caught a quick glance, but what he saw was that those Old Ancestors were already stretched to their limit just dealing with the Black Ink Spirit God whose lower half had been cut off by the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction when it abruptly closed. How strong would a complete Black Ink Giant Spirit God be?
Huang Xiong nodded gravely, “It was the Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods! If there had been only one, though the Humans would still have had a hard battle, we would still have had a chance to emerge victorious. However, another one of those monsters appeared!”
Yang Kai’s pupils contracted, “There were two Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods?”
[Where did it come from? Before the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction was sealed, there was only one Black Ink Giant Spirit God; in fact, it was only half of one since the Grand Restriction sheared him in two, so where did the second one come from? Could it be that the Grand Restriction re-opened?]
Contrary to Yang Kai’s worries, Huang Xiong slowly explained, “I don’t know where the second Black Ink Giant Spirit God came from either, it just suddenly appeared from behind the Army and instantly destroyed a Great Pass, signalling our defeat!”
“From behind the Army?” Yang Kai was instantly dumbfounded.
[Why would there be a Black Ink Giant Spirit God that came out from behind the Army?]
Although Mo clearly created the Black Ink Giant Spirit God in the image of the true Giant Spirit God Clan, the Black Ink Giant Spirit God wasn’t much different in terms of strength and ability.
If such a behemoth were to launch an ambush from behind the Army, it would be impossible for the Humans to react in time.
Suddenly, Yang Kai thought of something and asked, “Did the second Black Ink Giant Spirit God appear from the direction of the Late Ancient Era battlefield?”
Huang Xiong nodded, “Indeed! “
Yang Kai took a breath, “I probably know the origin of the second Black Ink Giant Spirit God.”
Huang Xiong was stunned, “You do?”
He still couldn’t figure out how a second Black Ink Giant Spirit God appeared. Even the Azure Void Pass Old Ancestor couldn’t deduce anything after hundreds of years of pondering the issue, so how could Yang Kai uncover the truth after just hearing about it.
Yang Kai said solemnly, “If I’m not mistaken, it came out of the Late Ancient Era battlefield. During the second crusade, Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao and I encountered a true Giant Spirit God…”
Along the path Great Evolution Pass travelled to reach the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, Yang Kai saw a Giant Spirit God who was rampaging across the Late Ancient Era battlefield, holding a huge bone club, seemingly fighting a swarm of invisible enemies.
At that time, Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao went to investigate with him, and they were almost accidentally smashed by that Giant Spirit God.
From their observations at the time, the two of them speculated that the Giant Spirit God had already died in battle; however, it seemed the Giant Spirit God Clan, despite being childlike and innocent, possessed truly indomitable Wills that even in death were able to maintain the instinct to fight on. That Giant Spirit God had probably been rushing across that battlefield for millions of years even after perishing so long ago.
Yang Kai was deeply moved at the time, believing that the Giant Spirit God’s obsession was with trying to save its friends and allies rather than killing the enemy, because with the strength of a Giant Spirit God, while there might be some enemies it could not defeat, there was no enemy it could not escape from. The fact that it died in battle meant it had chosen to remain behind and keep fighting.
However, now it seemed his speculations back then were incorrect and that Giant Spirit God was not at all what he suspected.
That Giant Spirit God was probably also a Black Ink Giant Spirit God which was created by Mo a long time ago, possibly even before it was trapped by Cang and the other Martial Ancestors in the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction.
When the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction was opened this time, Mo must have used some unknown method to revive that Black Ink Giant Spirit God in the Late Ancient Era battlefield and directed it to attack the Human Army from behind!
Although he had not personally witnessed that battle, Yang Kai could still imagine how desperate and helpless the Humans must have felt when that second Black Ink Giant Spirit God set foot on the battlefield!
Originally, the Old Ancestors had a slight advantage over the Royal Lords, but the first Black Ink Giant Spirit God occupied at least a dozen Ninth-Order Masters, flipping that advantage on its head. When the second Black Ink Giant Spirit God appeared, it was like the Black Ink Clan suddenly received a dozen more Royal Lords as reinforcements, with no one capable of stopping it!
Once that second Black Ink Giant Spirit God started rampaging, what could be done to stop it?
In such a vast yet almost even battle, even the smallest breakthrough could result in a chain reaction that completely tipped the scales of war, much less the intrusion of a being as powerful as a Black Ink Giant Spirit God.
Huang Xiong was stunned when he heard this and couldn’t help asking, “Are you saying that the second Black Ink Giant Spirit God was the one you saw before?”
Yang Kai nodded, “Other than that, there is no other possibility.”
Huang Xiong was speechless as sorrow filled his heart.
After a long while, Huang Xiong finally spoke up, “The two Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods attacked us from both front and back, destroying a few Great Passes in the opening moments of the battle. The Old Ancestors had no choice but to order us to retreat from the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction to preserve our strength. The Black Ink Clan naturally didn’t just let us go, so their Army pursued us under the lead of the Royal Lords…”
During the bloody battle in the void, the two races both suffered serious casualties.
Meanwhile, the two raging Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods were constantly causing havoc.
In such a situation, even the Old Ancestors weren’t able to reverse the declining trend.
While they were retreating, the two Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods destroyed several more Great Passes, and though most of the Humans inside those Great Passes managed to escape in time, there were still a significant number of casualties.
The situation had taken a turn for the worst, and even if the Human Army and the others from all the Great Passes managed to reorganize themselves, they were still facing annihilation.
Therefore, the Old Ancestors had a rapid discussion and decided that the remaining Great Passes would split up into several groups and retreat separately.
The group to which Azure Void Pass belonged to was particularly unlucky as they were targeted by the Black Ink Giant Spirit God that came from the Late Ancient Era Battlefield. Besides that Black Ink Giant Spirit God, there were nearly 20 Royal Lords and large numbers of Territory Lords and Feudal Lords within the pursuing Black Ink Clan Army.
If the Humans didn’t think of a way to escape from the Black Ink Giant Spirit God, it would be impossible for them to escape using this route.
At the critical moment, Azure Void Pass’ Old Ancestor split off from the main group in order to lure the Black Ink Giant Spirit God away. Naturally, the Black Ink Clan wouldn’t give up on chasing the Humans so easily, so the Black Ink Clan Army surrounded the Humans from different sides under the lead of the Black Ink Giant Spirit God and Royal Lords.
That struggle lasted for nearly 300 years. It was only 200 years ago that Azure Void Pass’ casualties reached a breaking point where too many Eighth-Order Masters had fallen, making it impossible for them to flee anymore. As such, they made a last stand against the Black Ink Clan.
The result was clear and required no other explanation.
Azure Void Pass was destroyed, and the Old Ancestor couldn’t resist the joint assault of several Royal Lords and ultimately died in battle.
The huge holes on the walls around the Great Pass were made by the huge bone club of the Black Ink Giant Spirit God.
From that moment, Azure Void Pass, which had been guarding the Black Ink Battlefield for millions of years, met with total defeat, ending its magnificent history.
More than 20,000 soldiers had guarded this place, yet less than 1,000 remained after the nearly 300-year battle. Azure Void Pass could be said to be almost entirely wiped out!
Among the less than 1,000 remnant soldiers, many had been stained by Black Ink Strength and were constantly at risk of falling. Moreover, because their supplies had been completely used up, most of those corrupted soldiers had to sacrifice themselves just so that they wouldn’t become Black Ink Disciples and bring more trouble to their fellow survivors. This situation was just like Meng Qi’s, the Seventh-Order Master Yang Kai met when he first arrived at the Black Ink Battlefield.
Meng Qi was the first Open Heaven Realm Master Yang Kai had met that had the courage to give his life for the Human Race!
Back then, Yang Kai felt greatly touched by this selfless sacrifice.
In the 3,000 Worlds, Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm cultivators were true Masters who were only found in the Cave Heavens and Paradises, making them all but invincible and untouchable.
However, on the Black Ink Battlefield, such a Master willingly ended his life without any hesitation in order to protect the secret of the Void Corridor leading to Black Territory.
It could be said that the Human Race was able to endure until today because there were millions of Humans like Meng Qi who sacrificed their blood, sweat, and even lives to protect the 3,000 Worlds.
Such bravery should be respected by all.
The remnant soldiers of Azure Void Pass didn’t leave this place but instead found a dead Universe and silently hid inside. For one, they knew they might not be able to survive if they left, and two, Azure Void Pass was taken from their hands, so they still wished to take it back, even if their chances were slim at best.
Their wait lasted nearly 200 years and finally ended when Yang Kai arrived yesterday.
While they were waiting for an opportunity to re-take what they had lost, they also looked for a way to solve their troubles of being corrupted by Black Ink Strength and tried to salvage a derelict Purifying Black Ink Battleship; however, after the disappearance of the Eighth-Order Master named Hai Xing who led that effort, the rest didn’t dare to act rashly.
If Yang Kai had arrived just half a year later, the remnant soldiers of Azure Void Pass would have launched a last-ditch attack under Huang Xiong’s lead.
Even if they couldn’t get Azure Void Pass back, they would rather die with the Great Pass than linger on in disgrace!
While they spoke, Huang Xiong’s body suddenly expelled a dense cloud of Black Ink Strength. It was a sign of the Purifying Black Ink Pill taking effect.
Purifying Black Ink Pills were effective as long as a cultivator had not been entirely turned into a Black Ink Disciple. The less Black Ink Strength in them, the better their situation would be, and the more effective the pill was. Therefore, Purifying Black Ink Pills were usually taken prophylactically.
A short while later, Huang Xiong had dispelled all the Black Ink Strength in his body and let out a long sigh of relief.
It had been difficult for him to keep suppressing the corruption of the Black Ink Strength, but now, that problem was completely solved.
Yang Kai looked at Huang Xiong and asked, “Division Commander Huang, did you previously sacrifice part of your Small Universe?”
Yang Kai hadn’t paid attention to it at first, but he now noticed that Huang Xiong’s aura was quite unstable. It felt like his Order would regress at any moment. That was a clear sign that the latter’s Small Universe was damaged.
On the Black Ink Battlefield, such a situation only occurred when one was forced to sacrifice a large portion of their Small Universe.
Huang Xiong nodded, “This is already the second time I was invaded by Black Ink Strength. I was able to sacrifice part of my Small Universe to save myself the first time, but this time… I did not have the option to do so again.”
His aura was already fluctuating unstably, so if he sacrificed part of his Small Universe again, he would definitely regress into the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm.
Under other circumstances, Huang Xiong would not have hesitated to sacrifice part of his Small Universe to purge the Black Ink Strength’s corruption from himself, but he was the last Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master among the remnant soldiers of Azure Void Pass, so his strength was indispensable for their survival. Without a powerful Master to lead them, this rag-tag band of soldiers’ fate would be sealed.
Huang Xiong wasn’t the only one who was concerned about such a possibility because everyone among the 1,000 or so remnants that were stained with Black Ink Strength had similar thoughts. None of them was unwilling to sacrifice their Small Universe, they simply felt it was better to retain as much strength as possible to launch one final attack on the Black Ink Clan!
Meanwhile, Yang Kai knew of Huang Xiong’s worries without needing him to explain anything.
With a slight nod, Yang Kai retrieved a Profound Yin Spirit Fruit and gave it to Huang Xiong, “Division Commander Huang, refine this.”
Just as Huang Xiong was about to refuse when he saw Yang Kai take out several dozen more Profound Yin Spirit Fruits and called out to Sun Mao, “Senior Brother Sun, please distribute these fruits to those with damaged Small Universes.”
Sun Mao agreed and happily came forward to accept the fruits.
Noticing the situation, Huang Xiong didn’t refuse anymore and readily took one for himself. Despite not having any more troubles with Black Ink Strength, the amount of strength he could exert now was at best on par with a newly promoted Eighth-Order Master. If he could repair his Small Universe, his strength would increase significantly.
After all, he was originally a veteran Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.
Having suffered hundreds of years of hardships and torment, these soldiers finally attained a moment of peace and could finally dispel Black Ink Strength plaguing them and restore their Small Universes.
Sun Mao came forward and whispered to Yang Kai, “Senior Brother, I would like to lead a few people to gather the bodies of our fallen Brothers and Sisters. Might I trouble you to stand guard here?”
Nodding, Yang Kai agreed, “Of course. Go ahead.”
Even if Sun Mao hadn’t mentioned this, Yang Kai had also planned to spend some time helping to gather the remains of the fallen Azure Void Pass soldiers. These soldiers had all died in battle and deserved to be laid to rest with dignity rather than simply being left in the nameless void to rot.
Receiving permission, Sun Mao quickly led a few others away to carry out the task.
A month later, the interior and exterior of Azure Void Pass had been cleaned out. All the bodies of fallen soldiers they could bring back were buried in the restored Cemetery. Then, Sun Mao and the others found a way to dispose of the corpses of Black Ink Clansmen and the remaining Black Ink Strength in the nearby void.
Inside the Core Hall of Azure Void Pass, Huang Xiong led Yang Kai to investigate the situation.
Since he had consumed a Profound Yin Spirit Fruit and repaired his Small Universe, Huang Xiong was no longer at risk of regressing to a lower Order, but he still needed some time to cultivate to restore his strength to its peak.
Now that Azure Void Pass was rid of its external enemies, the two of them needed to think about what they had to do next.
Of course, there was only one idea that came to mind, which was to head towards the No-Return Pass!
There must still be a Heaven-shaking war happening there!
Although it had been hundreds of years, both of them weren’t sure whether the Black Ink Clan had captured the No-Return Pass; therefore, they needed to head over and take a look for themselves in order to be sure.
With two Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods and dozens of Royal Lords, there was no telling whether the Divine Spirits headed by the Dragon and Phoenix Clans would be enough to withstand the enemy.
Perhaps the No-Return Pass had already been defeated.
But the 3,000 Worlds were everyone’s homeland after all, and they all had to return there at some point.
Great Evolution Pass had a Core, so Azure Void Pass naturally had to have one too. In fact, every Great Pass had its own Core, which was placed in the most central location in each Great Pass. Moreover, every Great Pass was only able to function as a Mobile Palace Artifact and engage in a crusade because of the existence of its Core.
These Cores were the crystallisation of the wisdom of Great Experts from the Early Ancient Era.
After a thorough investigation, Huang Xiong discovered that a strong force had shattered Azure Void Pass’ Core, and from the lingering aura, he determined that it was the Old Ancestor’s doing.
Seeing that Azure Void Pass was lost, the Old Ancestor must have shattered the Core at the last moment, preventing the possibility of the Black Ink Clan causing more trouble to the Human Race after gaining Azure Void Pass.
Yang Kai’s accomplishments in Dao of Artifact Refining and Dao of Spirit Arrays were quite profound now, but it was still completely beyond his capabilities to refine a new Core.
Moreover, even if he was able to refine a new Core, there were nowhere near enough soldiers in Azure Void Pass to power it.
During the Great Evolution Army’s crusade, Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao personally controlled the Core while 30 Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters worked together with her to power it.
Now, the only Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters here were Huang Xiong and Yang Kai, so it was impossible for them to even activate a Core if they sank all their strength into it.
Huang Xiong also understood this. It was never his intention to regain Azure Void Pass but instead to simply retrieve the Core for possible future use.
Since the Old Ancestor had shattered the Core though, he could only discard this plan.
“There are 935 of us in total, so although it will be cramped, one Purifying Black Ink Battleship should be able to fit everyone. I need a few who are skilled in Artifact Refining and arranging Spirit Arrays to assist me. Please help me arrange that, Division Commander Huang.”
Huang Xiong nodded, “Then I shall have to trouble you, Division Commander Yang.”
On the Black Ink Battlefield, once a cultivator reached the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm, they were qualified to become a Division Commander. Though no Old Ancestor or Army Commander had appointed Yang Kai to such a position, the situation was different now, so it was normal for Huang Xiong to address Yang Kai as Division Commander.
If they wanted to head towards the No-Return Pass, they couldn’t only rely on just the few soldiers they had here. A Warship was necessary to maximise the strength of the Fifth and Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters among them and reduce their consumption in battle.
At this moment, the strongest Warships Humans fielded were the Purifying Black Ink Battleships.
Whether it was in terms of capabilities, capacity, or raw power, the Purifying Black Ink Battleship was not something any other class of Warship could compare to.
Even Dawning Light was inferior to the Purifying Black Ink Battleships.
Therefore, a Purifying Black Ink Battleship was the most obvious choice for Yang Kai and the others.
With Yang Kai’s current capabilities, though it would be difficult, he could refine a new Purifying Black Ink Battleship from scratch, but that would take far too much time and effort. Instead, the better option was to simply repair the derelict Battleship which was lying in the Great Pass.
With a plan worked out, the remnant soldiers of Azure Void Pass were in high spirits as, after more than 200 years of fleeing and hiding, they finally had a chance to go on the attack.
After a short month of continuous work and using up large amounts of resources, the broken Purifying Black Ink Battleship was finally good as new.
The soldiers then began salvaging the artifacts that weren’t entirely destroyed from Azure Void Pass before letting their fellow soldiers who were proficient in the Dao of Spirit Arrays and Dao of Artifact Refining install them onto the Purifying Black Ink Battleship.
As for Yang Kai, he was responsible for repairing other Warships.
When Sun Mao and the others gathered up the bodies of their fallen comrades, they also found several damaged Warships. Though none of these Warships were functional, they each had parts that were still in working condition, so Yang Kai simply salvaged whatever was usable and combined pieces from 10 to 20 broken Warships into a new one.
Another half a year had passed before the less than 1,000 lineup of soldiers gathered in the Central Square. Despite their small number, they still exuded the air of an Army many times their size.
Meanwhile, the Purifying Black Ink Battleship was quietly docked outside the square, displaying its ferocious new appearance.
Since preparations had been completed, it was time to set off. Everyone was eager to head to the No-Return Pass and unwilling to waste a moment more.
Huang Xiong swept his gaze over everyone and boomed, “Today, we rejoin the war, and even if it is our fate to die, we will take many times as many enemies down with us!”
“Kill!”
“Kill!”
“Kill!”
When everyone thought back to when Azure Void Pass was overrun and defeated, the Old Ancestor’s death in battle, and all the corpses of their fellow soldiers, their eyes reddened with tears and the murderous intent coming from them soared!
Everyone then boarded the Battleship!
In just a few short moments, the Purifying Black Ink Battleship sailed out into the void and melted into the darkness before disappearing from sight.
While repairing this Purifying Black Ink Battleship, Yang Kai had arranged several other Grand Arrays, including an Illusion Array that could be used to conceal it. Although the Purifying Black Ink Battleship wasn’t small, this Array would allow them to move undetected as long as their luck wasn’t too poor. If the enemy wasn’t wary enough, they might not discover the Purifying Black Ink Battleship even if they were just 1,000 kilometres away.
This Purifying Black Ink Battleship that carried the last forces of Azure Void Pass looked very different from its original design. It was now far more ferocious in appearance.
After all, this Purifying Black Ink Battleship had gathered all the remaining war potential of the entire Azure Void Pass!
While repairing this Warship, Yang Kai and the others had installed every usable artifact they could find.
Not only was the Purifying Black Ink Battleship equipped in such a luxurious manner, every Squad Class Warship in their possession was similarly armed.
Even though Azure Void Pass was destroyed, no matter how broken it appeared, there were still many treasures left behind; therefore, they used the remaining essence of the Great Pass and merged it into this Purifying Black Ink Battleship.
When they turned around to look back and saw Azure Void Pass gradually disappearing from view, everyone had mixed feelings.
Among them, some of them had been stationed at Azure Void Pass for thousands of years, while some had even been here for over 10,000 years. After setting foot onto the Black Ink Battlefield and being deployed to Azure Void Pass, they had abided by the oath of living and dying together with the Great Pass as they fought the Black Ink Clan.
But now, they had survived, yet Azure Void Pass was left broken and destroyed.
There was no telling whether there would be a chance to recover and restore the Great Pass in the future.
Since almost 1,000 soldiers were in their group, they could just about form two complete Divisions. Each Division was comprised of 500 soldiers separated into approximately 40 Squads and led by Yang Kai and Huang Xiong respectively.
Huang Xiong and the others had been on the run for 200 years, but they didn’t only spend their time hiding. At the very least, they had familiarised themselves with this region of the void.
Their situation was better than Yang Kai’s, who had been lost for a long time and didn’t even know where he was before finding Azure Void Pass. How could he know in which direction the No-Return Pass was when he didn’t even know where he was?
As they headed in the direction of the No-Return Pass, their journey was fairly uneventful. Along the way, they could vaguely see traces of battles and even pieces of broken Human Warships.
Back when the Old Ancestors decided to retreat to the No-Return Pass, the Black Ink Clan Army had naturally chased after them. It could be said that the battlefield stretched from outside the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction to the No-Return Pass. No one knew how many Human soldiers had fallen during that war or how many had successfully reached the No-Return Pass.
Whenever they discovered bodies of fallen Human soldiers, they would quietly gather them.
A couple years later, the Purifying Black Ink Battleship was quietly sailing through the void when Yang Kai, who was monitoring the surroundings from the deck, suddenly opened his eyes and turned to look in a certain direction. The next moment, his figure disappeared.
Sun Mao, who was nearby, heard Yang Kai’s order, “Hide!”
After receiving his orders, Sun Mao quickly relayed the order, and the Purifying Black Ink Battleship hurriedly approached a nearby Universe Fragment to conceal itself.
On the other hand, Yang Kai moved rapidly and soon arrived millions of kilometres away. He looked over and saw a severely tattered Warship that looked as if it would be destroyed at any moment under the siege of the surrounding Black Ink Clansmen.
The Warship was clearly a Human Warship, and the Squad on the deck were running around anxiously. The arrays and artifacts were constantly activated, and though they killed and injured many of the Black Ink Clansmen, there were still more besieging them. There were at least 1,000 enemies here, and there seemed to be a Territory Lord hiding his aura amongst them.
Yang Kai’s expression brightened!
After more than 2 years of travel without meeting any other Human survivors, he had finally encountered a remnant Squad.
Though he didn’t know which Great Pass this Squad came from, the current situation didn’t allow him to think too much about it. Just as he was about to make a move to assist them, he suddenly paused.
He carefully surveyed the surroundings and discovered that despite the situation of the Warship being fairly dangerous, the Squad manning it were still trying their best to lure the surrounding Black Ink Clansmen in a specific direction.
In that direction was a small, tattered Universe Fragment, probably debris leftover after the Black Ink Clan mined all the resources out of it.
Immediately, Yang Kai seemed to have seen through this Squad’s plan and suppressed his murderous intent before quietly following them.
The Black Ink Clan’s attack was fierce and continuous, so even though the Squad’s Warship moved nimbly, it still couldn’t avoid all the incoming attacks. Once the Warship’s shields failed, the Human Squad would be facing the mad attacks from the Black Ink Clan head-on. By then, their situation would become dire.
However, the Squad seemed to be very lucky because even after they had retreated to the tattered Universe Fragment, the light barrier still hadn’t been broken through.
Meanwhile, the Black Ink Clan was now in position.
At that moment, lights from several arrays above the Universe Fragment suddenly lit up and turned into bolts of light that blasted towards the Black Ink Clan soldiers.
Those Arrays had powerful artifacts serving as Array Cores, or else they wouldn’t have been able to exert such terrifying might.
The light beams blasted towards the Black Ink Clan Army, clearing out a few areas and killing hundreds of Black Ink Clansmen.
Following that, an even brighter ray of light transformed into a huge net and directly enveloped the Territory Lord hidden amongst the Black Ink Clan Army.
Meanwhile, the Territory Lord obviously didn’t expect his whereabouts to be exposed so quickly and was shocked when he was directly targeted. The net that surrounded him was incredibly strong, so he couldn’t break free immediately.
A dozen or so Squads hiding inside the Universe Fragment suddenly appeared and began firing as they moved to surround and protect the tattered Warship approaching them.
After that, the Black Ink Clan suffered even more casualties.
This was obviously a plan to lure the enemy into a trap. The Human Squad that was being attacked risked their Warship being blown up to lure this small Black Ink Clan Army to the spot where they had previously arranged a number of Killing Arrays that were just waiting to be activated.
Though it was a simple trap, it worked perfectly.
No matter how vigilant the Black Ink Clan Army was against such a plot, it was impossible for them to not chase after the Humans once they fled. As long as the Black Ink Clan wanted to kill these Humans, they would fall into the trap.
When it came to the use of Spirit Arrays and artifacts, the Humans were vastly superior to the Black Ink Clan.
The ambushing Squads were made up of soldiers who had endured hundreds of battles, so not only did they manage to take the opportunity and trap the hidden Territory Lord with the help of certain Arrays and artifacts, they even neatly split into two teams, one of them corralling the flustered Black Ink Clan Army and killing them, while the other team focused on pinning down the Territory Lord.
They didn’t have an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master with them, so they knew they had to kill the Territory Lord before he broke free, or else they would suffer heavy losses.
Following that, several Divine Abilities and artifacts were fired at the Territory Lord, causing him to mumble with a gloomy expression, “I thought we could lure a big fish out, but I didn’t expect to see only some small fry!”
Once those words were spoken, the Humans who were vigorously attacking the Black Ink Clan Army instantly felt their hearts sink. One of the Seventh-Order Squad Leaders who appeared to be the leader of this group wore a grim face as he shouted, “Retreat!”
With one shout, every Warship turned around, wanting to leave this place, disregarding their almost-won battle.
All of this was because of the fear they felt after listening to the simple message that came out of the Territory Lord’s mouth.
They had waged this battle to lure out the enemy, but it was not clear which side was the hunter, and which was the fish prey.
“Still not making a move yet?” The trapped Territory Lord bellowed.
Right after he said that, a figure emerged from the shadows. The figure seemed to have merged with the darkness so no one had noticed its existence right up to the moment it appeared and blocked the Warships’ escape route.
On the other side, another Territory Lord released an imposing aura and appeared like a ghost.
All the Humans felt their blood run cold.
There were about a dozen Squads gathered here, so if there was only one Territory Lord, they might be able to handle him. Two Territory Lords would cause them to be in danger, but now there were actually three Territory Lords present!
These three were different from the Territory Lords of old that attacked the Great Passes from the Royal Cities. The Black Ink Clan hadn’t had enough time to naturally cultivate more Territory Lords yet, which meant these three Territory Lords came from the Primordial Heavens Grand Source Restriction and were all Innate Territory Lords. Each one of them wasn’t much weaker than Che Kong.
Even with Yang Kai’s current ability, he had paid quite a high price to kill those three Innate Territory Lords back at Azure Void Pass, which clearly showed how strong Innate Territory Lords were.
Now, the Human Squads were facing three Innate Territory Lords without a single Eighth-Order Master backing them up. In such a situation, annihilation was all but certain!
The Seventh-Order Master that gave out the order to retreat earlier clearly knew this, so after understanding that there was no chance of survival, he immediately yelled, “Kill!”
There were only three breaths of the time difference between two totally opposite orders, but they were orders that perfectly suited the situation.
None of the Humans hesitated, and the dozen or so Warships that were about to flee all stopped momentarily before charging straight at the Black Ink Clan Army.
When facing certain death, killing one enemy would allow them to break even, while killing two would gain them a profit!
There were even two Squads that charged straight at the Territory Lord who was trapped by the arranged Array. They were going to give it their all to kill this Territory Lord because only that way would their deaths be truly valuable.
“Naïve!” The third Territory Lord who had appeared sneered disdainfully before putting power into his legs, but just as he was about to shoot forward, a sense of crisis suddenly overwhelmed him, making him feel like he had fallen into an ice pit.
The last time he had such a feeling was back at the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction. At that time, he had just emerged from the darkness and was fighting a bloody battle with a Human Division Commander.
While locked in battle, a nearby Old Ancestor randomly slashed at him…
That slash almost cost him his life, but fortunately for him, that Old Ancestor was dealing with a Royal Lord and had no time to finish him off; otherwise, he would certainly have died before he could blink.
More than 500 years had passed since then, but he was feeling the same feeling again.
Although this Territory Lord didn’t have much experience in battle, he was very sensitive to danger. Noticing something was wrong, he immediately gathered his Black Ink Strength to protect himself.
However, the next moment, he felt the space around him solidify, and his thoughts seemed to be affected by a strange kind of energy, which caused his reaction to be delayed.
Before he could come to his senses, a long spear brushed past his head, blowing nearly half of it off in one violent thrust.
If he hadn’t forcefully jerked his head to the side at the critical moment, that spear would have pierced right through his brain and blown his head apart!
Despite suffering such a serious injury, the Territory Lord wasn’t dead, and if he was lucky enough to escape, he would only have to return to a Black Ink Nest to recuperate for a few hundred years before being able to make a complete recovery.
Behind the Territory Lord, Yang Kai couldn’t help but click his tongue when he saw that his spear had missed, seemingly dissatisfied with his performance.
He had been hiding in the dark, yet his sudden sneak attack still wasn’t able to kill this Innate Territory Lord in one blow, which proved that the opponent was no weakling.
But that was all.
Under the intertwining of many Dao Strengths, and having surrendered the initiative to Yang Kai, this Territory Lord had lost all ability to fight back.
The Territory Lord that had just escaped death hadn’t even seen what his opponent looked like before a multitude of strands of interwoven Dao Strengths sliced through his body.
At that instant, Yang Kai flicked his spear and shot past him before charging straight at the second Territory Lord.
Behind him, the third Territory Lord exploded into numerous pieces of flesh!
The sudden change of events completely shocked everyone on the scene.
The Black Ink Clan were shocked, while the Humans were ecstatic!
They thought they were going to die for sure, but who knew that reinforcements would appear right when they had resolved themselves to fight to the death? Moreover, their reinforcements were far stronger than they could imagine and had even killed an Innate Territory Lord in just two moves!
Following that, the cries of the Golden Crow sounded, and a Great Sun rose as Yang Kai guided it with his spear towards the sturdy-looking Territory Lord.
The might of the attack was glorious and unstoppable!
The Territory Lord roared madly as Black Ink Strength surged from his figure. Then, he raised his hand and cast a powerful Secret Technique.
But the next moment, he felt an immense pain in his mind, as though something had pierced directly into his Soul and was shredding it to pieces. Under the intense pain, he howled in agony and even the Black Ink Strength he had gathered began to disperse.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai’s expression twisted into a ferocious one. He knew his strength best, and though it wouldn’t be a problem for him to kill this Territory Lord with conventional means, it would take him some time. However, the situation on the battlefield was ever-changing, and he wasn’t sure if any other Black Ink Clan Masters were hiding nearby, so he had to end things here quickly.
In this situation, the Soul Rending Thorns were his best option.
Having used this combination Soul-type artifact Technique many times, Yang Kai had grown somewhat accustomed to its activation. Moreover, he only needed to sacrifice a piece of his Soul to power the Soul Rending Thorn, and with the Soul Warming Lotus, that damage would heal on its own in time.
It was a different situation for the enemy. After being seriously injured by the Soul Rending Thorn, the Territory Lord instantly lost half his combat strength.
Right when the Territory Lord’s Black Ink Strength began to scatter, the spear with the Great Sun at its tip arrived and viciously blasted at his chest.
The might of Yang Kai’s Golden Crow Casts the Sun exploded and enveloped the Territory Lord before turning into an even brighter Great Sun, illuminating the void in all directions.
A moment later, the light faded and Yang Kai had disappeared, while the sturdy-looking Territory Lord had a giant see-through hole in his chest. His vitality dispersed quickly while his eyes were filled with pain and disbelief.
He seemed to be unable to believe that there was actually an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master who could kill him so easily!
After his previous encounters with a few Human Masters, his impression was that they were not much. Besides the top Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, the others’ strength was basically on par with his, while some were even weaker.
In addition, he had the confidence to face those top few Eighth-Order Masters. Even if he couldn’t beat them, he wouldn’t die at their hands.
But today, he met an Eighth-Order Human who almost instantly killed his companion before slaughtering him in the next breath. As for his last comrade, he would probably meet with a disastrous end soon…
Before his vitality dispersed, he struggled to turn around and look at his final companion, and just as he had expected, he saw the strange Human Master had already reached him and was thrusting his spear at his fellow Territory Lord’s head.
The light in his eyes faded before he could see the ending of his last companion.
The Azure Dragon Spear thrust out with unparalleled momentum as Yang Kai condensed his many Dao Strengths to their extreme. If given a few breaths of time, the Territory Lord trapped inside the Array net would be able to escape, but now he had no chance of doing that.
Looking at the approaching spear, he wanted to resist, but couldn’t.
After barely managing to put up a defence by condensing all his Black Ink Strength in front of his face, the Territory Lord’s head was pierced through and blown apart by the spear, leaving behind nothing but a headless corpse that spurted out black blood
The situation had completely turned around!
It had been less than 10 breaths since Yang Kai’s appearance, but all three Innate Territory Lords had fallen while the only damage Yang Kai suffered was the self-inflicted wound from using a single Soul Rending Thorn.
With the Soul Warming Lotus, such damage was completely ignorable.
This victory boosted the Humans’ morale to untold heights!
They originally thought they were going to die here today, but this sudden change gave them a huge pleasant surprise.
Though they didn’t know who the Eighth-Order Division Commander that came to their rescue was, they all swore they had never seen such a powerful Eighth-Order Master before.
However, the battle wasn’t over yet. The three Innate Territory Lords were dead, but many Black Ink Clansmen were still alive. After these remnants saw how their Territory Lords died such tragic deaths though, they didn’t dare to remain and began escaping in all directions.
Aboard the Warships, the dozen or so Squad Leaders were eager to kill, but their surroundings suddenly began to tremble, and in the next instant, an inexplicable power seemed to have flashed through the void.
Following that, a scene that shocked everyone appeared.
The entire region around them seemed to have transformed into a mirror!
To be more precise, it was a broken mirror with cracks running everywhere through it, extending out far enough to encompass every surviving Black Ink Clansman’s body, silently slicing them to pieces.
Those cracks seemed to have spirituality because they moved around the Warships. Even if there were Warships that were moving too fast to dodge around where these cracks appeared, the crack itself would suddenly disappear and cause no harm to them.
Within a few silent breaths of time, all the remaining Black Ink Clansmen were dead.
The Warships stopped moving, and the Humans aboard them had their jaws dropped in shock. But more than shock, they felt joy as they turned their gazes towards Yang Kai, their eyes filled with admiration.
“Space Principles!” One of the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters muttered.
To be able to create cracks in the void was obviously the work of manipulating Space Principles, and judging from how Yang Kai had killed the enemy so easily, it was clear that he had reached an extremely high level of mastery in the Dao of Space. Otherwise, it would be impossible for him to be able to avoid his allies in such proximity while killing the enemy.
The Seventh-Order Masters had vaguely guessed Yang Kai’s identity by this point.
In the entire Black Ink Battlefield, only one person had cultivated the Dao of Space to this extent.
Everyone gathered over, and the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master that gave the commands cupped his fist and bowed, “Primordial Army’s Lin Qi, greets Senior Brother. Are you perhaps Senior Brother Yang Kai?”
When Lin Qi announced that he was from the Primordial Army, he wasn’t saying that he was from Primordial Cave Heaven, but rather a soldier from Primordial Pass, similar to how Yang Kai introduced himself as Great Evolution Army’s Yang Kai. He wasn’t from Great Evolution Paradise because Great Evolution Paradise was long gone.
They were able to guess Yang Kai’s identity because Yang Kai had made quite a name for himself on the Black Ink Battlefield. Besides the Old Ancestors overseeing every Great Pass, even the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters weren’t as well known as him.
The mere appearance of Purifying Light was enough for the ordinary soldiers to know Yang Kai’s name.
Sweeping his gaze across everyone, Yang Kai nodded lightly, “It is this Yang. This place is not safe. Come with me!”
After gathering everyone, Yang Kai led them to the place where the Purifying Black Ink Battleship was hiding.
No one spoke on the way, and they soon arrived at a large Universe Fragment before finding the Purifying Black Ink Battleship’s hiding spot and meeting up with Huang Xiong.
Noticing the group of Humans following Yang Kai, Huang Xiong was so happy that his eyes lit up as he asked, “Division Commander Yang, I sensed movement from a battle just now. Did you encounter enemies?”
When Yang Kai left in a hurry, Huang Xiong was cultivating inside the Purifying Black Ink Battleship’s cabin.
He had previously sacrificed part of his Small Universe, so he needed time to cultivate if he wanted to restore his original strength. Of course, this was easier than the first time since he was just re-tracing a path he had already walked before.
He could sense the movement from the battlefield from here and wanted to head over to help, but he didn’t dare to leave this ship easily because he was the only other Eighth-Order Master present. If he left as well, Sun Mao and the others would have no way to defend themselves if a truly powerful opponent appeared.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai endured the sharp pain in his Soul and explained to Huang Xiong what had just happened.
After understanding the current situation, Huang Xiong turned to Lin Qi and the others before asking bitterly, “How is Primordial Pass…?”
Lin Qi’s eyes turned red as he quickly reported, “Primordial Pass has been defeated. The Old Ancestor died in battle, and countless of our Fellow Brothers and Sisters fell or were injured in the battle.”
“Besides you all, is there anyone else?” Huang Xiong asked next. He had guessed that Primordial Pass might be gone when he saw Lin Qi and the others in such condition, because if that wasn’t the case, a dozen Squads couldn’t be moving about in the void randomly instead of protecting the Great Pass, but when he heard Lin Qi’s confirmation, he still felt forlorn.
None of them knew how many of the 106 Human Great Passes had been destroyed.
Lin Qi solemnly shook his head.
He didn’t know if there were any other survivors in the neighbouring regions, as the situation at Primordial Pass was similar to that of Azure Void Pass. Both were chased after by the Black Ink Clan while retreating to the No-Return Pass, and in the end, Primordial Pass had no other choice but to split off and act as a diversion, resulting in its tragic fall.
Everyone knew that those who stayed behind would not have pleasant ends, but with the Black Ink Clan hot on their tails, sacrificing a few to save the many was the only viable option.
On the day Primordial Pass fell, the Old Ancestor and several Eighth-Order Division Commanders died in battle, while Lin Qi and some others were ordered to scatter and try to escape. Since that day, they had been running and hiding.
At first, there were quite a lot of them, a couple thousand in fact, but after enduring repeated attacks from the Black Ink Clan just a dozen or so Squads remained, less than 200 soldiers in total.
They might have been wiped out today if they hadn’t coincidentally met Yang Kai. With three Innate Territory Lords working together and being supported by nearly 1,000 Black Ink Clan soldiers, just 200 Humans wouldn’t stand a chance.
“Do you know anything about the situation at the No-Return Pass?” Yang Kai asked while having a sinking feeling in his heart.
Lin Qi’s expression darkened, “The No-Return Pass was breached.”
“What!?” Huang Xiong yelled in shock.
[The No-Return Pass fell as well? The Dragon and Phoenix Clans were standing guard there, blocking the only passageway from the Black Ink Battlefield to the 3,000 Worlds. If the No-Return Pass has been breached, what is the current situation in the 3,000 Worlds!?]
Huang Xiong couldn’t bear to think further!
Meanwhile, Yang Kai sighed as he had vaguely guessed this was the case.
To be honest, he had already assumed such a result when he saw Lin Qi and the others here. If the No-Return Pass was still standing, how could Lin Qi and the others be wandering the void aimlessly? Even if Primordial Pass had fallen, they could have retreated to the No-Return Pass to battle against the Black Ink Clan alongside the other Great Passes. The only reason they had to not do so, was that the No-Return Pass had already been occupied
With two Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods working together, as well some 100 Royal Lords and a massive Black Ink Clan Army, even if the No-Return Pass had the Dragon and Phoenix Clans standing guard and all the surviving Humans from the Great Passes had joined them, the situation would still be bleak.
Along the way here, Huang Xiong still held out hope that the No-Return Pass could block the Black Ink Clan’s advance, but now that he heard that the No-Return Pass had also been defeated, he fell into a daze.
It wasn’t because he lacked mental fortitude, but when he thought about the Black Ink Clan invading the 3,000 Worlds, the scenes he imagined in his mind were simply too terrifying.
At that instant, Huang Xiong didn’t know where he and the other soldiers in their group should go. Though they didn’t fear death, they could not just die for no reason by idiotically charging an enemy they had no hope of defeating. If they did, it would simply be a pointless sacrifice.
Yang Kai, who had already assumed such an outcome, composed himself more quickly before looking at Lin Qi and asking, “Did you see for yourself that the No-Return Pass has been breached?”
Shaking his head, Lin Qi explained, “Although I didn’t see it for myself, we sometimes send scouts to observe the No-Return Pass from afar. Currently, that place is engulfed in Black Ink Strength, and many dead Universe Worlds and Universe Fragments have been brought over by the Black Ink Clan on which they have planted an enormous number of Black Ink Nests. There were originally some signs of battle occurring there, but that was many years ago and now, there is only silence. If the No-Return Pass was still standing, it could not possibly be so quiet.”
Yang Kai nodded lightly. If there were still Humans at the No-Return Pass, they would no doubt be engaging in constant battle with the Black Ink Clan. Since there weren’t any disturbances coming from there, it meant that the situation at the No-Return Pass had settled.
The Black Ink Clan had conquered the No-Return Pass!
This was the worst news they could have received.
Now that the Black Ink Clan had conquered the No-Return Pass, they would definitely invade the 3,000 Worlds as that had been their goal for millions of years. Every Great Territory in the 3,000 Worlds was flourishing and had rich World Force with abundant resources.
The Black Ink Clan only had to conquer those Great Territories to be able to have a near-unlimited supply of materials that they could use at will. Also, there were countless Human cultivators there that could be turned into Black Ink Disciples.
If that were to happen, the Black Ink Clan could eventually gain enough strength to return to the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction to free Mo!
After a brief pause, Yang Kai suggested, “The most important thing now is to investigate the situation at the No-Return Pass. Even though it has been occupied by the Black Ink Clan, we still need to know what kind of garrison is stationed there.”
Their original plan had centred around the idea that the No-Return Pass was still in the hands of the Dragon and Phoenix Clans. In that plan, Yang Kai would lead Huang Xiong and the others to find a chance to pass the Black Ink Clan Army before rejoining the Human Race Army.
But now that the No-Return Pass was occupied by enemy forces, they could only try to return to the 3,000 Worlds.
If they wanted to return to the 3,000 Worlds, the No-Return Pass was a place they couldn’t avoid; therefore, they had to first learn about the forces of the Black Ink Clan stationed at the No-Return Pass.
Without needing to say anything, everyone understood that if the No-Return Pass had more than three Royal Lords, it would be impossible for them to return to the 3,000 Worlds.
If there were only two, perhaps they could still find a way.
Since Yang Kai had retrieved the corpse of Azure Void Pass’ Old Ancestor, he could use it in this situation.
Although the Old Ancestor had passed, his corpse could still be used to fight with the Black Ink Clan in some limited capacity, which was also his dying wish.
“Other than that, there might be more remnant soldiers like Brother Lin, so we have to think of a way to gather them together.”
They would only get a single chance to pass through the No-Return Pass and return to the 3,000 Worlds, so any survivors that they left behind on the Black Ink Battlefield would undoubtedly die at the hands of the Black Ink Clan sooner or later.
Moreover, the more allies they could gather, the better their chances of making it through were.
Lin Qi immediately nodded, “There must be quite a few. Over the years, we have come across some traces of large-scale battles and even felt the fluctuations from such fights. However, the void is too vast, so we don’t know where the others are hiding.”
At that moment, Huang Xiong finally came back to his senses and spoke up, “No matter where they are hiding, they must now be thinking about returning to the 3,000 Worlds, so there is a high possibility that they are monitoring the No-Return Pass, looking for an opportunity. As long as we can cause a commotion at the No-Return Pass, it wouldn’t be difficult to contact them.”
Yang Kai agreed, “Division Commander Huang’s idea has merit.”
Whether it was returning to the 3,000 Worlds or contacting the other remnant soldiers, the No-Return Pass was the key. With a rough plan set, everyone rested for a bit before heading towards the No-Return Pass.
During the time Lin Qi and the others had been hiding around the Black Ink Battlefield, they had suffered huge losses, and their resources were almost used up. The situation was so dire that their Warships were all on the brink of failing as they lacked the supplies to even repair them.
Now that they had met up with Yang Kai, they naturally needed to address this issue. Under Yang Kai’s direction, many Artifact Refiners and Array Masters worked together to repair those Warships. Then, they all received pills from Huang Xiong and began to recuperate.
Another month passed, and the Purifying Black Ink Battleship was passing by a shattered Universe World. With just a glance, Yang Kai could see the ruins of a vast city on that Universe World, all its structures and buildings destroyed beyond repair.
Although hundreds of years had passed, there were still signs of the intense battle which was fought here.
It was one of the Royal Cities, at the centre of which were the remains of a destroyed High-Rank Black Ink Nest.
Yang Kai retrieved his Universe Chart and compared it to their surroundings and determined that this was the Theatre where Nine Star Pass stood guard.
This Royal City had already been destroyed before the Human Army departed on their second crusade. Now, there was no vitality left in the Royal City.
Since they had reached this place, it meant they weren’t much further from the No-Return Pass.
At first, they were hoping to encounter other groups of remnant soldiers like Lin Qi and the others, but along the way, not only hadn’t they met a single Human, they didn’t even encounter any Black Ink Clansmen.
However, it made sense because now that the Black Ink Clan had successfully conquered the No-Return Pass, all their efforts would be focused on invading the 3,000 Worlds. How could they spare any significant manpower to deal with the remnant forces of the Human Armies on the Black Ink Battlefield?
Even if there were Black Ink Clansmen staying here, there wouldn’t be many of them.
After giving it a thought, Yang Kai vaguely felt that the Black Ink Clan might not have left too many troops at the No-Return Pass. The Human Army had retreated to the 3,000 Worlds, so it was meaningless for the Black Ink Clan to garrison a large force at the No-Return Pass.
If that were true, their chances of passing through the No-Return Pass would go up significantly.
A few months later, the Purifying Black Ink Battleship arrived at the place where Nine Star Pass once stood. Of course, the Great Pass was no longer here, so all that was left was an empty void.
However, now that they had reached this place, they had to be even more cautious. Despite the fact that the Black Ink Clan wouldn’t leave too many soldiers at the No-Return Pass, that was only relative to the forces they sent to attack the 3,000 Worlds. It would not be surprising if there was still a sizable Army tasked with hunting down the remaining Human soldiers on the Black Ink Battlefield as well as guarding the No-Return Pass.
Just like they had anticipated, as they moved forward, they gradually encountered a few groups of Black Ink Clansmen ranging in size from just a few dozen, to several thousand. These groups seemed to be searching the void for something.
Yang Kai had arranged many arrays on the Purifying Black Ink Battleship, which enabled it to move about unnoticed. As long as the Black Ink Clan didn’t pay much attention while searching, they wouldn’t be able to detect them.
The Black Ink Clan’s actions undoubtedly signalled that other Human soldiers were hiding around here. If not, there would be no need for the Black Ink Clan to be searching this region.
At this moment, the most troublesome issue was how to contact these other Human groups.
They continued for a few more months and were now getting close to the No-Return Pass.
A small asteroid drifted through the void, moving not too fast nor too slow as it gradually moved in the direction of the No-Return Pass.
Then, at some point, the asteroid stopped moving as if it were blocked by something.
The Purifying Black Ink Battleship was naturally nestled inside the asteroid, using it as an extra layer of cover to fool the enemy. As for how this asteroid could be steered, that was thanks to Yang Kai arranging some hidden Arrays on it which could be powered by the Purifying Black Ink Battleship.
At this moment, Yang Kai was prepared to move out when Huang Xiong earnestly reminded him, “Be extra careful. There must be Royal Lords guarding the No-Return Pass.”
Yang Kai nodded, “You may rest assured, Division Commander Huang, I may have to trouble you to look after this place for some time. I’ll return as soon as I can.”
Finishing his words, he then dashed out of the Purifying Black Ink Battleship. After scanning his surroundings, Yang Kai shot straight towards the No-Return Pass.
This place was about a month away from the No-Return Pass by Warship, so if they continued ahead, the Purifying Black Ink Battleship might not be able to remain undetected. In a situation where they didn’t know anything about their enemy, Yang Kai didn’t dare to let the Purifying Black Ink Battleship get too close to the No-Return Pass, lest they accidentally expose themselves.
Therefore, he and Huang Xiong had a quick discussion and decided that Yang Kai would head to the No-Return Pass alone. That way, he wouldn’t have anything holding him back and could fight or run according to the situation while probing for information.
This situation reminded Yang Kai of when he first arrived at the Black Ink Battlefield.
Back then, he appeared right in the heart of the Black Ink Clan’s territory and had no choice but to pose as a Black Ink Disciple while following behind a High-Rank Black Ink Clansman.
He could vaguely remember the High-Rank Black Ink Clansman was called Nu Yan, a character who was too lazy to memorise his Human name, so he was just called E-5…
Besides him, there were also A-1, B-2, C-3, and D-4.
As he thought back on those days, Yang Kai felt like they were truly distant memories.
Adding on the time he had spent inside the various Temporal Rivers, those events happened some 5,000 years ago.
While he was disguising himself as a Black Ink Disciple beside Nu Yan, Yang Kai was unable to find a way to escape. Luckily for him, the Old Ancestor from Blue Sky Pass led an attack on the Black Ink Clan’s territory. Soon after the chaotic battle, Nu Yan was killed by Feng Ying, and Yang Kai gained his freedom.
Later on, he and Feng Ying gathered a large number of Black Ink Disciples, restored them to their senses, and killed their way out of the Black Ink Clan’s hinterlands as they headed towards Blue Sky Pass.
It was during those days that Yang Kai met Ning Qi Zhi, Qi Tai Chu, Shen Ao, and many others whom he went on to serve with.
Among those three, Qi Tai Chu and Ning Qi Zhi died in battle one after another, while Yang Kai wasn’t sure if Shen Ao was still alive.
Now, he needed to lead Huang Xiong, Lin Qi and the other remnant soldiers to make their way past the No-Return Pass, which largely resembled the situation back then.
The difference was that Blue Sky Pass was in the hands of their fellow Humans, while the No-Return Pass was now in the hands of the Black Ink Clan. Although his strength was many times stronger than back then, the level of danger this time around was even more exaggerated.
Being alone, Yang Kai was able to move rapidly and soon arrived outside the No-Return Pass.
This was the second time he had come here.
As he moved forward, his heart felt heavier because he couldn’t establish a connection with the Dragon Altar.
The Dragon Altar, or more specifically the Dragon Pool which was linked to the Dragon Altar, was the origin of the Dragon Clan, hidden in a mysterious place that others couldn’t find, much less access. Only when the Dragon Clan hosted the ceremony could the entrance to the Dragon Pool be opened for the Dragon Clan’s descendants to head inside and cultivate.
Since he couldn’t connect with the Dragon Pool, it meant that the Dragon Clan was no longer inside the No-Return Pass.
There were Black Ink Clouds all over the void, so Yang Kai used them to conceal his figure and aura as he closed in on his target.
It would be difficult for the Black Ink Clan troops coming to and fro outside to detect his existence.
Looking in the direction of the No-Return Pass, Yang Kai couldn’t see clearly because of the vast distance and numerous Black Ink Clouds impeding his vision; however, the situation was just as Lin Qi had said. The outside of the No-Return Pass was surrounded by Black Ink Strength, and there were numerous dead Universe Worlds moved here by the Black Ink Clan. Above those Universe Worlds were dozens to hundreds of Black Ink Nests, all densely packed in.
There were new Black Ink Clans constantly emerging from these Black Ink Nests and heading towards the No-Return Pass.
Outside the Black Ink Nests were many Black Ink Clansmen transporting resources to them.
The Black Ink Clan was spawning new soldiers in massive quantities, and Yang Kai had discovered many Universe Worlds along their way here that were completely mined out. Previously, there were still many unmined Universe Worlds floating in this stretch of the void, but they were now scarce because everywhere the Black Ink Clan Army passed, they would exploit every resource they came across.
After a moment of silence, Yang Kai raised his finger and gently wiped his left eye.
[Open!]
A golden cross appeared, and Yang Kai’s gaze passed through the dense Black Ink Strength and saw beyond them.
The next moment, he narrowed his eyes.
Right behind the blockade of the Black Ink Strength, he saw many Great Passes, at least 70 to 80 of them.
The Humans had 106 Great Passes, corresponding to the 106 Cave Heavens and Paradises other than the Dragon Altar and Phoenix Nest, which were special and unique.
During the crusade, all of these Great Passes gathered outside the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction in the most powerful Human Army to have been assembled since the Late Ancient Era.
However, even this Army couldn’t defeat their enemy in the war outside the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction. While retreating, a few Great Passes sacrificed themselves to divert the enemy’s attention, allowing the others to escape. Without exception, those Great Passes were destroyed far from here.
In the end, less than 80 Great Passes had reached the No-Return Pass.
Now though, every Great Pass was destroyed beyond recognition, while some were so broken that the only fragmented ruins remained.
Although Yang Kai hadn’t participated in that war, he could imagine what kind of earth-shattering battle the No-Return Pass had experienced just by looking at these broken Great Passes.
In such a battle, numerous Old Ancestors and Royal Lords had certainly died.
Now, those destroyed Great Passes were placed outside of the No-Return Pass and had become platforms where the Black Ink Clan placed their Black Ink Nests. Every one of the Great Passes had towering Black Ink Nests planted atop it.
Looking further inside, Yang Kai noticed that the No-Return Pass looked far different from before. There were traces of battle everywhere, and the Immortal Parasol Tree was gone.
It was impossible to tell whether the Immortal Parasol Tree was destroyed, or the Phoenix Clan had simply moved it; however, the latter was more likely as it was the very foundation of the Phoenix Clan. If the Immortal Parasol Tree was destroyed, the Phoenix Clan would be facing extinction, so no matter what, the Phoenix Clan would not allow such a thing to pass.
Behind the No-Return Pass was a massive Territory Gate which led to the 3,000 Worlds. When Yang Kai visited this place the last time, he didn’t pay much attention to this Territory Gate, but even a brief glance was enough to know there were numerous powerful restrictions placed around it, making it difficult to open.
But now, this Territory Gate looked like it had been torn open by an incredible force and transformed into what looked like a giant black hole in the void.
Moreover, Yang Kai could feel Space Principles pulsing from this black hole.
This was the portal through which the Black Ink Clan could invade the 3,000 Worlds!
Yang Kai felt his heart tighten, but he couldn’t see through the hole and investigate the situation at the 3,000 Worlds. They would need to kill their way past this place in order to do that.
It had only been a bit more than 500 years since the war outside the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, where the Humans were defeated and forced to retreat to the No-Return Pass. Following that, another huge battle between the Humans and the Black Ink Clans must have occurred at the No-Return Pass before the Humans were defeated and retreated again.
Strictly speaking, it hadn’t been long since the Black Ink Clan began their attack on the 3,000 Worlds. Perhaps their attacks might have started about 200 years ago or even less.
In such a short time, the Black Ink Clan might not have advanced too much, so the Humans might still be able to fight back.
However, there was no use in thinking about such meaningless matters because the most important thing now was to lead Huang Xiong and the others to break through the Black Ink Clan’s blockade.
Also, Yang Kai wanted to gather all the remaining survivors from the Black Ink Battlefield!
After hesitating for a moment, Yang Kai’s eyes brightened. Originally, he was stealthily observing the No-Return Pass while carefully hiding from the Black Ink Clan, but now his gaze suddenly turned aggressive.
The next moment, a strong Divine Sense suddenly came probing from the No-Return Pass.
It was a Royal Lord’s Divine Sense!
There were bound to be Royal Lords guarding the No-Return Pass, but no one knew exactly how many there were. Yang Kai’s goal right now was to figure that out, even exposing his position to do so.
Using his Eye Secret Technique to aggressively probe the situation at the No-Return Pass was also a type of provocation!
If it was any other Eighth-Order Master who dared to do such a reckless thing, they would simply be courting death; however, Yang Kai was not worried. Back when he was a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, he had successfully escaped from the sheep-headed Royal Lord. Now that he had reached the Eighth Order, he had the capital to even fight a Royal Lord, so it wasn’t a big deal to him if a Royal Lord really came to find him.
Since he had attracted the Royal Lord’s attention, Yang Kai no longer bothered hiding himself and charged out of the Black Ink Cloud before heading in the direction of the No-Return Pass.
The Royal Lord seemed to have noticed this and the aura surged from his Divine Sense, clearly showing that he was enraged. If the distance between them hadn’t been so great, the Royal Lord would have used his Divine Sense to directly teach Yang Kai a lesson.
But across such a vast distance, while the Royal Lord could sense Yang Kai’s rough position, he couldn’t do anything about it.
Therefore, the Royal Lord directly withdrew his Divine Sense.
On the other hand, Yang Kai was vigorously moving forward and continuously increasing his aura, soon reaching a peak. Then, everywhere he passed, space shook, creating a massive disturbance that could be felt from extremely far away.
If he wanted to gather the other remnant soldiers, he would have to cause a commotion. Other than doing this, he didn’t have any means to contact the others.
Following the flaring of his aura, Yang Kai almost entirely turned into a bright shooting star that was openly charging towards the No-Return Pass.
From afar, a large Black Ink Cloud around the No-Return Pass churned as a troop of Black Ink Clansmen appeared with two Innate Territory Lords leading them.
An Eighth-Order Human wasn’t an easy foe to deal with, which was why the Black Ink Clan decided to deploy two Territory Lords. In addition, there were thousands of Black Ink Clansmen, including quite a few Feudal Lords. Such a lineup was enough to deal with any known Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.
Yang Kai’s actions angered the two Territory Lords, but also confused them.
They naturally knew that there were Humans still lurking on the Black Ink Battlefield, but after being hunted down by the Black Ink Clan for so many years, all of them acted stealthily, afraid of being discovered. None of the Black Ink Clansmen here had expected that there would be such a crazy Human.
The strange situation caused the two Territory Lords to act cautiously, carefully checking their surroundings in case other Humans were hiding nearby. These two continued to observe while instructing the thousands of Black Ink Clan soldiers under them to attack the enemy.
A moment later, sounds of battle echoed through the void. Sweeping out with his spear, Yang Kai killed a large number of Black Ink Clan soldiers. Even the Feudal Lords were slaughtered like helpless chickens by him.
The fight had only been going for a moment, but nearly 1,000 Black Ink Clansmen had been killed.
After making sure that there wasn’t an ambush nearby, the two Territory Lords couldn’t hold back their anger anymore and attacked Yang Kai from both sides.
In an instant, Yang Kai was overwhelmed and was soon beaten to the point of spitting out blood. His aura had also dimmed greatly.
Seemingly not wanting to continue fighting, he found a chance to escape the Black Ink Clan’s siege and flew away from the battlefield.
The two Territory Lords naturally wouldn’t give up that easily, so they led their subordinates to chase after Yang Kai, but how could they have caught up with a Master of the Dao of Space? Less than an hour later, they had completely lost track of Yang Kai and had to return unhappily.
After they reported everything to the Royal Lord, the latter frowned slightly.
The Black Ink Clan knew there were remnant Human soldiers around and had even killed off many of them throughout these few years, so they were certain that there weren’t many Eighth-Order Masters left.
The Territory Lords and Eighth-Order Masters were the backbone of the two Races Armies; after all, though Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters and Royal Lords were far stronger, there weren’t many of them. Thus, the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters and Territory Lords were the real mainstays of their respective forces.
That was why the Black Ink Clan would go all out to kill an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master whenever they appeared alone in order to weaken the Humans’ overall strength.
It was difficult for the Humans to produce new Eighth-Order Masters, so the more the Black Ink Clan killed, the weaker the Human Race would be.
Therefore, besides the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters that had retreated to the 3,000 Worlds with the main Human Army, there weren’t many Eighth-Order Masters scattered around the Black Ink Battlefield as most had already been killed.
Based on the information that the Black Ink Clan had, there were at most five Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters remaining among the Human survivors, so the appearance of a never before seen Eighth-Order Master came as a bewildering situation to the Royal Lord.
However, he was in charge of overseeing the No-Return Pass and could not leave easily. Since his subordinate Territory Lords were unable to catch this Human, he had no choice but to set the matter aside.
After suffering such a loss, he believed that this Eighth-Order Human surely would not recklessly appear again.
But he was wrong…
The very next day, the same Eighth-Order Master came over again, charging in boldly towards the No-Return Pass with great momentum and an aura which seemed to indicate he hadn’t suffered any injuries at all.
From afar, this Human acted extremely provocative with his Divine Sense and also hunted down a good number of Black Ink Clan teams who were bringing back resources from the outside, robbing them of all their goods.
The Royal Lord was furious and reprimanded the two Territory Lords who were chasing him that day severely. According to their report, the Eighth-Order Human was severely injured after their beating and would not be able to show his face again in a short time.
Yet, just one day later, he showed up again.
If not for the trust he had in his subordinates, the Royal Lord would have seriously wondered if these two had been lying to him.
The two Territory Lords also could not keep their heads up after being chastised by the Royal Lord. At once, they vowed to bring their Armies to take the head of this Eighth-Order Master. So, once all their troops were gathered, together with three more Territory Lords, they left the No-Return Pass, splitting up so they could encircle him.
The Eighth-Order Human was seemingly unaware of their plans as he fought his way forward and engaged one of their groups for a time before the other suddenly swarmed him from the opposite side.
Flustered, the Human hurriedly fled.
Even as he fled, many Black Ink Clansmen were cut down, but the Eighth-Order Human also took numerous hits and coughed up blood incessantly. His condition could only be described as miserable.
However, the united efforts of five powerful Innate Territory Lords still lost him during the chase.
This Human looked half-dead, but he was still ridiculously quick. It was not known what sort of extraordinary Secret Technique he cultivated, but as soon as he noticed that something was wrong, a blood mist would explode from his body and he would then disappear without a trace.
The five Territory Lords returned to the No-Return Pass in disgrace, which naturally made the Royal Lord very unhappy. Still, the matter was already in the past, so what could they do now?
Everyone thought that the injuries of that Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master were so severe that he must not be far from death. He surely had to find a place to recuperate and would not stir up any trouble again.
And yet… that was exactly what he did!
Just one day later, this Human showed up again, mighty as a dragon and fierce as a tiger, picking fights outside of the No-Return Pass and continuing to hunt down the Black Ink Clansmen bringing back recently mined resources.
All the Territory Lords were flabbergasted and even the Royal Lord himself had a vague feeling that something was not right.
After sustaining such heavy injuries, an Eighth-Order Master couldn’t recover back to peak condition in such a short amount of time. This could mean that his injuries were feigned, or… the Eighth-Order Human who came to pick a fight the other day was not the same person at all.
There was no way for his injuries to be faked though. No matter how strong an Eighth-Order Human was, they would not be able to emerge from an ambush of five Territory Lords unscathed.
That meant that there was a high possibility that it was a different person.
There were rumours of twins appearing on the Human side, or Human Masters who practiced some profound Illusion Techniques to disguise themselves as other people, but what was the point of doing that?
The Black Ink Clan couldn’t understand; however, the provocation of this Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master was hard to ignore, so each time, troops were deployed to surround him.
But each time, they returned empty-handed.
The Black Ink Clan started by mobilizing two Territory Lords, but that number continued to increase until a full 10 were sent out, even setting up a hidden ambush outside of the No-Return Pass. Despite taking such drastic measures, they were still unable to take down this annoying Human.
On one occasion, the Royal Lord was even prepared to set out himself, but as if the Eighth-Order Master could sense this, he quickly escaped, leaving the Black Ink Clan feeling frustrated as if they had thrown out a heavy punch only to hit the clouds.
In just one short month, the Eighth-Order Master with the same appearance made several dozen raids on the No-Return Pass, wiping out hundreds of Black Ink Clan mining teams. If they included the casualties incurred when they tried to encircle him, then as many as 50,000 Black Ink Clansmen had died at his hands in just one month, among which there was no lack of Feudal Lords.
The Territory Lords, on the other hand, were unscathed; however, the loss that they incurred from just one Human did no favours to their pride. All of them hated this Eighth-Order Human to the marrow of their bones, and anytime he dared to show his face, he was chased down by numerous Territory Lords and given a good beating!
The results of his plan thus far were just as expected. Yang Kai had no idea whether or not this would be effective, but the decisive factor to gain results was effort. There were surely some remnant Human soldiers observing the situation here, perhaps even hiding nearby, waiting for their chance to move.
However, with such a strong force in their way, it was simply impossible for these scattered Human soldiers to break through the blockade of the Black Ink Clan and return to the 3,000 Worlds.
With nobody to rally and lead them, they would die here sooner or later.
Yang Kai left some subtle hints each time he clashed with the Black Ink Clan, but he had no idea whether the Humans in hiding would pick up on them.
All he could do was hope they were smart enough.
Yang Kai could not be too obvious under the eyes of the Black Ink Clan. It would be truly foolish of him if he were to treat them as idiots.
So, from the start, he didn’t dare to reveal his true strength, only using the power of an ordinary Eighth-Order Master to deal with the Black Ink Clan’s encirclements before escaping at the last moment using Space Principles.
As for the Black Ink Clan’s suspicions that he had cultivated some sort of miraculous Escape Technique that made him burst into a cloud of blood mist, that was merely a show to cloud their eyes.
Yang Kai also didn’t dare to kill any of the Territory Lords because, if he were to expose such strength, the Royal Lord would not be able to sit still and would have to personally come out to eliminate him.
He worked hard to keep the situation manageable.
It was hard for Yang Kai to maintain this cycle as the injuries he sustained were not fake. It was true, after all, that he was being encircled by many Innate Territory Lords at once.
However, his restorative powers were so great that as long as his injuries were not critical, he would be able to recover rapidly, giving rise to the suspicion the Black Ink Clan had of him having a twin.
Outside of the No-Return Pass, two figures were lurking on a small shattered asteroid.
Both of them were only in the Seventh Order, but even though they both cultivated profound Secret Techniques that concealed their auras, they did not dare to approach the No-Return Pass too closely, lest they reveal themselves.
They had been hiding here for three days now after having recently changed their hiding spot several times in recent days. This was because the Black Ink Clan had now put up their guard and also increased the strictness of their patrols outside of the No-Return Pass due to the recent disturbance from their repeat uninvited guest.
The two Seventh-Order Humans had nearly been exposed on several occasions, but the absence of a Master among the patrolling Black Ink Clansmen allowed them to slip away each time.
At this moment, they were watching the Eighth-Order Division Commander being chased by the Black Ink Clan towards the depths of the void, soon disappearing from sight.
It was a scene that they had seen many times before as it was a performance that was put on almost every day.
After the No-Return Pass regained its peace, the two would quietly communicate with each other through their Divine Senses.
“Did you get a good look at which Division Commander that was?” The slightly older one of the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters asked.
The younger one shook his head, “It was too far, I couldn’t see. What about Brother Zhou?”
The Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master surnamed Zhou sighed, “Me neither.”
They were in a rather remote location, but with their mere Seventh-Order strength, they did not dare to spy on them too openly, so it was naturally difficult for them to get a complete picture of the situation.
What’s more, even if they could see the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master’s face, they might not be able to recognize him. There were many Division Commanders among the Great Passes, and they rarely interacted with any of them, so how could they recognize all of them?
After a moment’s silence, the Seventh-Order Master surnamed Zhou muttered, “There’s something strange about that Division Commander’s actions.”
The younger one nodded, “Indeed.”
His actions were so risky that the slightest mistake could mean death. Many times, they thought that this Division Commander was going to meet an unfortunate end; after all, the Territory Lords who chased him out from the No-Return Pass were quite numerous.
However, he would always escape and make an appearance the very next day.
His actions seemed meaningless and also quite dangerous, which was a fact that they found quite strange.
Even stranger than that, this Eighth-Order Division Commander always brandished his power recklessly, making it all but impossible to not notice him even from afar.
Even across such a great distance, these two would always sense this Eighth-Order Division Commander the moment he appeared.
If something seemed unusual, there must be some reason behind it. No Eighth-Order Division Commander was a fool, so there had to be a reason for his strange actions.
The Seventh-Order Master surnamed Zhou suddenly thought of something and said excitedly, “Brother Ge, is the Division Commander trying to tell us something?”
The Seventh-Order Master surnamed Ge also had the same suspicion for a time now and nodded, “Does Brother Zhou think so too?”
The one surnamed Zhou said, “If he’s trying to tell us something, the only logical conclusion is he is trying to gather us somewhere… He surely knows that there are other survivors like us monitoring the No-Return Pass, which is why he is taking the risk to show up here so that they could lead us to a gathering place.”
The one surnamed Ge was roused by his words, “Then, which direction does Brother Zhou think that Division Commander is trying to point towards?”
The one surnamed Zhou narrowed his eyes as he replied, “I don’t know if you noticed, but that Division Commander will most frequently escape in a certain direction each time he gets chased by the Territory Lords. Many times, he also moves in that same direction for unusually long periods of time.”
Certain things felt foggy if not mentioned, but once brought up, then it became simple and clear.
The two of them exchanged glances, then they turned their heads in unison to a certain direction. That was exactly the place where Yang Kai’s actions were pointing towards!
Both their spirits were lifted. After a brief exchange, they quietly snuck out of their hiding place and flew in that direction.
On a certain day half a month later, after escaping from the Territory Lords chasing him, Yang Kai landed on a certain asteroid, taking a break to recover.
A short while later, he took out a Space Beacon that served as a link between him and Huang Xiong.
He would basically take the Space Beacon out and communicate with Huang Xiong for a while whenever he was free to confirm the situation on the other side.
During these days, the Purifying Black Ink Battleship had been peaceful without any unusual occurrences.
Some Black Ink Clan teams were searching the area, but the Purifying Black Ink Battleship was so well hidden that these Black Ink Clan soldiers were unable to find anything.
However, just after taking the Space Beacon out today, he could feel Space Principles fluctuating. Clearly, Huang Xiong had been trying to get in contact with him.
Yang Kai raised his brow as the next moment, a jade slip appeared before him from the Void.
He reached out to grab it and immersed his Divine Sense into it, then he breathed a long sigh of relief.
His efforts during this period were finally showing results. The remnant soldiers lurking outside of the No-Return Pass were fortunately perceptive enough. On this very day, the first of the remnant soldiers found Huang Xiong and safely converged at the meeting point.
Considering how much time had passed, it was clear that there were some smart ones among the Human survivors. They had likely noticed the hidden signs he was giving them after appearing only a few times outside of the No-Return Pass; otherwise, it would be impossible for them to find Huang Xiong and the others so quickly.
These remnant soldiers were few in number, only several dozen or so. Enough only to form a few Squads; however, this was a good start.
If there was one group of them, then there had to be a second, and a third…
However…
Yang Kai felt that he was running out of time.
He had been doing this every day for more than a month, so if he continued to do so, his true intentions would probably be exposed. The Black Ink Clan were not complete fools after all. If they were able to see through his goal and where he was pointing towards, then things would not end well.
However, there was a bright spot in all of this.
There was only a single Royal Lord standing guard at the No-Return Pass.
Yang Kai had been worried that there would be too many Royal Lords at the No-Return Pass; but now, it seemed like he had been overly concerned.
Whether it be the battle outside of the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction or the battle outside of the No-Return Pass, both the Humans and the Black Ink Clan must have suffered heavy casualties.
Royal Lords and Ninth-Order Old Ancestors too, were certain to have fallen.
Yang Kai did not know the overall situation of the Human Race, but he could be sure that the strongest Masters had been whittled down in numbers, with the Black Ink Clan not being better off.
In other words, for both Races, whether it be Royal Lords or Ninth-Order Old Ancestors, their numbers won’t be high. There should be several dozen of each in the best-case scenario.
The Black Ink Clan had already breached the No-Return Pass and invaded the 3,000 Worlds, so the Humans were bound to put their lives on the line to stop them. With the Ninth-Order Old Ancestors there to suppress them, the Royal Lords would not be able to leave as they please.
Under such circumstances, how could there be several Royal Lords standing guard at the No-Return Pass?
The fact that they left a single Royal Lord here was probably only because they knew the importance of the No-Return Pass. This was the only known entrance to the 3,000 Worlds from the Black Ink Battlefield. As far as the Black Ink Clan were concerned, they couldn’t afford to lose this place now that they had taken it; after all, they had to pass through here sooner or later to return to the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction to help Mo break free from its prison.
This was good news for Yang Kai.
If there was only one Royal Lord, then he would not have too many constraints. Not to mention that he had previously collected the body of Azure Void Pass’ Old Ancestor, which he could use to face such an enemy; even without it, he still had the capital to compete with a Royal Lord for a time on his own.
In the days that followed, Yang Kai would charge the No-Return Pass and provoke the enemy every now and then, pointing the way subtly each time. Even though he had no idea how many of the Human Race soldiers left behind would understand the message, he had to keep trying.
The Black Ink Clan at the No-Return Pass grew more and more irritable. The repeated raids made them hate this Eighth Open Master greatly. Worse yet, every time they thought that they had cornered him, the Eighth-Open Human would suddenly use his strange Escape Technique and disappear without a trace, which would unfailingly result in them, the Territory Lords, being chastised by the Royal Lord who berated them for their incompetence.
The more they were scolded, the more their hatred for Yang Kai grew.
On a certain day, Yang Kai was again picking fights outside of the No-Return Pass, drawing a dozen Territory Lords over with their troops to attack him. He swept back and forth, weaving in and out of the Black Ink Clan Army but avoiding the Territory Lords, only picking on the soft persimmons, felling countless Black Ink Clansmen with his Azure Dragon Spear.
All of a sudden, he felt a shocking murderous intent explode from within a certain Black Ink Cloud.
Immediately afterwards, Yang Kai saw a familiar imposing figure emerge from it, his fiery red hair billowing behind him as he held up a huge sabre with both hands.
Peak Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm might burst out as that sabre slashed down at a nearby Territory Lord.
“Die!” At the same time, the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master howled, the large blade in his hand burst into flames, causing space itself to warp from the intense heat.
The Territory Lord who was caught by the saber light was shocked. Never in his wildest dreams would he have expected to be ambushed here.
However, it wasn’t that the Black Ink Clan hadn’t been careful, just that Yang Kai had been fighting alone for such a long time without any help, so how could they anticipate being ambushed here today?
They were not the only ones who did not expect this situation though, as even Yang Kai did not anticipate this happening.
The sudden slash was the crystallization of the lifelong cultivation of a Peak Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. What’s more, this attack had clearly been channelled and prepared for a long time, so when it struck, even a powerful Innate Territory Lord was cut in half.
Black blood spilled out and evaporated in the blazing heat left from the sabre strike.
This blow had exceeded the Eighth Order in terms of pure force, but it clearly caused an overdraft of the Master who used it, so after cutting down that Territory Lord, he froze in place, unable to move.
After the other Territory Lords recovered from their shock, how could they hold back? They all attacked this unmoving target with their Secret Techniques.
Seeing that his situation was about to become dangerous, Yang Kai swiftly retreated and put one hand on this unexpected ally’s shoulder, pulling him behind him as numerous Dao Strengths condensed onto his spear before he thrust it out.
The violent energy shook the void and blood trickled out from the corner of Yang Kai’s mouth and his body got struck.
Behind him, the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master shouted, “Yang Boy, I came to help you! Let’s kill these bastards! Kill one to break even, kill two to gain a profit!”
Yang Kai choked down the fresh blood in his mouth and said through ground teeth, “In that case, I really should thank you.”
Making use of the force of the Territory Lords’ combined blow, Yang Kai retreated quickly while suffering from a great deal of discomfort.
Fortunately, the sudden loss of one Territory Lord had frightened the other Territory Lords, so they did not dare to chase after them right away for fear that there might be other ambushers nearby, just waiting for an opening to strike.
While the enemy was distracted, Yang Kai hurriedly left.
Before he got far, another figure came out of hiding and shouted at Yang Kai from a distance, “Brother Yang, take me with you! I don’t want to be left behind here!”
Yang Kai turned back his head, feeling so aggrieved that he was about to cough up blood again; however, he had no choice but to dart over to that side and bring along the figure that suddenly appeared.
However, this delay allowed the Territory Lords to compose themselves and chase after them.
Yang Kai desperately pushed his World Force as he fled.
If he was alone, then he could easily shake off his pursuers under this situation, but now, he had to bring along an Eighth-Order Master who was practically a lamp running out of oil and could do nothing but cackle with a smug look on his face, as if killing a single Innate Territory Lord made him invincible, and another Seventh-Order Master, too. How could Yang Kai escape quickly under such circumstances?
The Territory Lords behind them were gaining on them, constantly blasting Secret Techniques out in their direction, causing Yang Kai to stagger.
He threw his hand back and pulled the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master onto his back.
The Eighth-Order Master was shocked and gasped, “Yang Boy! I’ll die like this!”
With him on Yang Kai’s back, the first one to get hit by the attacks coming from behind would be him.
Yang Kai naturally acted as if he didn’t hear him.
Behind them, as another round of the Territory Lords’ attacks were about to reach them, Space Principles undulated and the trio disappeared.
After several uses of Instantaneous Movement, Yang Kai finally escaped his pursuers, but he did not dare to stop. He continued moving forward and it wasn’t until half a day passed that he found a place to hide.
After putting the two deadweights down, Yang Kai fell to the floor and sighed.
It had been quite the thrilling trip…
The Eighth-Order Master also wanted to relax on the floor, but as soon as he touched the ground, he jumped up again. Touching his back, he found it covered in blood and hurting like hell.
He suspected that Yang Kai put him on his back on purpose so he could use him as a shield…
On the other hand, the Seventh-Order Master bowed to Yang Kai, “Many thanks, Brother Yang, for this life-saving grace.”
Yang Kai looked at him, then at the Eighth-Order Master, getting furious at once and scolding, “Brother Gong, your Master doesn’t have a brain, but are you also lacking one? Why did you jump out like that? Were you trying to save me or harm me?”
The Seventh-Order Masters was none other than Gong Lian, whom Yang Kai knew well as he was the Legacy Disciple of the Great Evolution Army’s Southern Army Commander, Ou Yang Lie.
Gong Lian was a man of great aptitude and intelligence, his only fault was his lazy nature.
When Yang Kai was in the Great Evolution Army, he had the chance to interact with Gong Lian on several occasions, but every time he saw him, this guy always had a sleepy look on his face. Even in the Main Conference Hall, during important meetings that would decide the fate of the war, Gong Liang could still sleep while leaning against a pillar.
This time was different, however, as Gong Liang was wide awake, seemingly still in shock from his life being put on the line.
After being reprimanded by Yang Kai, Gong Lian only smiled awkwardly, too embarrassed to say anything.
Next to him, Ou Yang Lie naturally wasn’t happy and glared at Yang Kai, “Smelly Brat, how can you talk like that? What do you mean this Old Master doesn’t have a brain? Look!”
He patted his own head, “Can’t you see this Old Master’s big head?”
Yang Kai looked at him and could not help but think of Xiang Shan and Mi Jing Lun.
The two Big Heads had heads filled with strategies, whereas Ou Yang Lie’s hand was probably filled with water…
Yang Kai sighed a long sigh. One should not compare people lest they anger themselves to death!
Ou Yang Lie was indignant for a while, but then he was suddenly smiling again, “Brat, when did you advance to the Eighth Order? Your cultivation speed is really a sight to behold.”
Then, he turned to Gong Lian, “Damn Disciple, why don’t you learn from him? Yang Kai didn’t even advance to the Seventh Order as early as you, but now he’s already in the Eighth Order. What about you?”
Gong Lian pursed his lips and kept silent, acting like he heard nothing.
Ou Yang Lie tossed the matter to the back of his mind after scolding him. He then turned back to Yang Kai, “If this Old Master hadn’t seen it with his own eyes, then it’s simply hard to believe what happened. Back then, this Old Master even worried about you when you were chased out of the battlefield by that Royal Lord. I wondered whether or not you’d be able to survive and there had been no news all this while. Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao was worried sick about you.”
Many people had seen Yang Kai being chased by the Royal Lord outside of the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction; however, the Old Ancestors were completely powerless to help. A few Eighth-Order Masters tried to offer assistance, but Yang Kai and the sheep-headed Royal Lord were both too fast, so they were only able to chase them for a while before losing track of them, forcing them to return to the battlefield and continue their fight against the Black Ink Clan.
Everyone who saw that scene thought that Yang Kai’s fate was surely going to be bad; after all, he was a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master being chased by a Royal Lord. So what if he was proficient in the Dao of Space? The gap in strength was so great that it was simply impossible for Yang Kai to escape.
However, when Ou Yang Lie saw Yang Kai again today, not only was the latter alive and well, but he even advanced to the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm. Ou Yang Lie was stunned, to say the least.
Ou Yang Lie had also been there to witness Yang Kai being chased by the Royal Lord. He also wanted to help Yang Kai, but he was outnumbered two to one back then. Being targeted by two Innate Territory Lords by force, he was unable to extricate himself and could only watch as Yang Kai was chased.
It had been 500 years since that event, but rather than dying like everyone expected, Yang Kai had actually advanced from the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm to the Eighth-Order.
Ou Yang Lie could also sense from his perception that Yang Kai’s heritage as an Eighth-Order Master was both rich and sturdy, completely unlike someone who had just broken through. This filled him with many doubts. He had no idea how Yang Kai was able to shake the Royal Lord off, and what sort of opportunities he encountered.
Yang Kai originally had a stomach full of grievances. This was the final time he had planned to show up to guide the remnant Human soldiers. He never expected to see Ou Yang Lie and his Disciple halfway through, and for them to make such a mess of the situation. If his current strength had not grown far beyond what it was the last time they had met, they might all have fallen into a disastrous state now.
However, after hearing Ou Yang Lie’s words, Yang Kai really couldn’t find it in him to be annoyed at him.
Ou Yang Lie had used all of his strength to kill that Innate Territory Lord with one strike. In other words, that one blow had completely drained him, leaving him completely defenceless. Even a Feudal Lord could have killed him at that point.
It was a sneak attack to begin with, and Ou Yang Lie had brought out all his strength in a single Secret Technique. Only then was he able to cut down that Innate Territory Lord on the spot.
Otherwise, how could an Innate Territory Lord die so easily?
Even though what he did was rash, Ou Yang Lie had only done so because of the confidence he had in Yang Kai. He believed that Yang Kai could get him out of there; otherwise, he would not have put himself in harm’s way so easily even if he was a muscle-head.
Unfortunately, his actions burdened Yang Kai, who was forced to clean up after him and bring the Master and Disciple pair along to escape.
“Why is Senior Ou Yang here?” Yang Kai asked while tossing Ou Yang Lie a bottle of Spirit Pills. Huang Xiong and the others had run out of supplies after so many years of fierce battling, so Ou Yang Lie was likely in the same condition.
As expected, Ou Yang Lie’s eyes lit up at the sight of the healing pills. He took them, gulped them all down, then shut his eyes to adjust his breathing, but not before signalling to Gong Lian with his eyes, telling him to explain the situation to Yang Kai.
Naturally, Gong Lian obeyed, “We have been hunting around the outer periphery of the No-Return Pass all these years. Only, we normally stay a bit further away since we dare not venture too close. Some days ago, we received a report from one of our Squads about there being movements of Masters fighting at the No-Return Pass, but by the time they arrived, they were unable to find anything. After that, another few Squads vaguely felt movements over the following days, so Honoured Master led me over to see what was going on.”
It was quite coincidental since this was Ou Yang Lie and his Disciple’s first time coming over here to check on the situation, and the reason he had to bring Gong Lian was so that he could make use of Gong Lian’s unique ability.
Many years ago, when they were investigating the situation of the Black Ink Clan in Great Evolution Pass, Ou Yang Lie brought Gong Lian with him as he was able to spy on others without alerting as his perception was somehow untraceable. Naturally, it would not be different this time.
The two of them had only just hidden themselves for a short while before Yang Kai appeared, picking fights recklessly outside of the No-Return Pass.
Even more coincidentally, Yang Kai actually passed by where they were hiding while being chased by those Territory Lords.
How could Ou Yang Lie resist such a golden opportunity? Moreover, with the Territory Lords being so close, Ou Yang Lie wasn’t sure that they wouldn’t be discovered.
Since the possibility of being found was high, he naturally decided to seize the initiative. It was at the instant when Yang Kai passed by the Black Ink Cloud that the hiding Ou Yang Lie burst forth and cut down an Innate Territory Lord.
The actions of the Master and Disciple were as much a matter of necessity as they were a matter of coincidence and circumstance.
After hearing Gong Lian’s account, Yang Kai realized that he had mistakenly blamed Ou Yang Lie for acting recklessly, saying that this old fart should not be acting so brainlessly, lest he hurt the people around him and himself.
“Brother Gong, how is it that you’re still here and have not returned to the 3,000 Worlds? As far as I know, the vast majority of the Human Army managed to withdraw to the 3,000 Worlds other than a few remnants from the Great Passes that acted as a rear guard to delay the Black Ink Clan. Could it be that Great Evolution Pass was also…” Yang Kai’s heart jumped in worry.
Huang Xiong and the others were roaming around the Black Ink Battlefield because Azure Void Pass had fallen in battle. Stuck behind enemy lines, and with no way back, they instead chose to attempt to retrieve the bodies of the Old Ancestor and Azure Void Pass’ Core.
If Great Evolution was also broken through, then that would mean that Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao had perished!
Yang Kai’s feelings grew heavy.
As if knowing his worries, Gong Lian hurried to explain, “It’s not as Brother Yang thinks. What remained of the Great Evolution Army after that war basically managed to return to the 3,000 Worlds, but as for us… Well, it’s an… interesting story.”
Saying so, he glanced at Ou Yang Lie, finding it difficult to speak.
Yang Kai could tell at a glance that it was Ou Yang Lie who messed something up.
As expected, Ou Yang Lie opened his eyes and said, “There’s nothing much to be said about it. When the Human Race Army lost the battle outside of the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, the Old Ancestors gave the order for us to retreat to the No-Return Pass to regroup with the Dragon and Phoenix Clans so we could make a stand against the Black Ink Clan. Many battles were fought and both sides incurred heavy casualties. This Old Master led the troops across the battlefield, but our ranks were unfortunately splintered by the Black Ink Clan Army and were unable to reach the No-Return Pass in time. We had no choice but to take in the other survivors and become drifters after that.”
In the heat of the battle, Ou Yang Lie probably couldn’t be bothered to care about something like a fleet formation either. He led his Army forward boldly, but that also allowed the Black Ink Clan to cut them off.
Yang Kai was relieved after finding out what happened.
The fall of the No-Return Pass was something that happened only about 200 years ago, and Ou Yang Lie was seemingly able to gather some helping hands in this period. Only, just like with Huang Xiong, they were all remnant soldiers. The numbers Ou Yang Lie managed to gather up were actually higher than Huang Xiong’s side. Over the years, he was able to assemble a considerable force, almost 3,000. There were even two Eighth-Order Open Heaven Masters in their group. Besides Ou Yang Lie, there was another called Fei Yuan Long, but he did not come with them this time.
They did not dare to provoke the Black Ink Clan at the No-Return Pass; after all, a Royal Lord was overseeing the situation, so the only thing they could do was roam around outside, but they were still relatively successful, killing a considerable number of Black Ink Clansmen.
Yang Kai picked many fights outside of the No-Return Pass over the past one and a half months, subtly guiding the remnant Human soldiers. If Gong Lian could have observed it a few more times, then he would surely be able to catch the hint with his wits. Then, he only had to follow the directions to find Huang Xiong and the others.
Only, his whereabouts were exposed the very first time he came to investigate with Ou Yang Lie, so where would he find the time to ponder Yang Kai’s actions?
“Brother Yang, have you also been drifting about these years?” Gong Lian asked out of curiosity.
Yang Kai sighed, “It’s a long story.”
After that, he gave them a brief account of what he told Huang Xiong, causing Gong Lian’s eyes to flash.
He had heard about the legendary Temporal Rivers before, but even his Honoured Master Ou Yang Lie has never come across one before, so how could he have? Honestly, Gong Lian thought it was just an old folktale, never actually expecting them to really exist.
Such a good thing caused Gong Lian to wonder if he would also have a chance to cultivate in those Temporal Rivers, and how fast it would allow him to increase his cultivation?
However, on second thought, the time spent inside of the Temporal Rivers was real, only passing by faster than in the outside world. That was the reason why it was called the cultivation shortcut for those in the Open Heaven Realm.
At the end of it all, even with a Temporal River, one’s effort was still required for results.
Thinking of all the work that would take, Gong Lian immediately lost interest…
On the other hand, Ou Yang Lie gave great importance to the Great Sea Celestial Phenomenon and asked many questions about it. Naturally, Yang Kai answered all his questions one by one. When he heard that Yang Kai had marked out a path back to the Great Sea Celestial Phenomenon so he could still find it in the future, Ou Yang Lie did not reserve any compliments on his meticulousness.
After finding out that there were other remnant soldiers with Huang Xiong from Azure Void Pass, Ou Yang Lie could no longer sit still.
He was unwilling to live out the rest of his life running and hiding as he had for these past 200 years, but he had no other choice and his own circumstances made him feel very bitter. If he wasn’t so vexed at his situation, he might not have cut down that Territory Lord so decisively when the chance presented itself.
Now, there was a possibility of breaking through the No-Return Pass and returning to the 3,000 Worlds to rejoin the Human Army, how could Ou Yang Lie stand to delay?
But even though his injuries were not serious, that attack earlier drained all of his World Force, and he was barely able to recover some of it even after recuperating for a few days.
Even so, he immediately led Yang Kai towards the base where he and his group were hiding. After gathering everyone, they set out to converge with the remnant soldiers from Azure Void Pass.
In an instant, the strength of the remnant army surged. The army that originally had less than 1,000 troops swelled to more than 4,000. The only complaint would be the small number of Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters they had. Currently, they only had four, including Yang Kai, which for 4,000 soldiers really wasn’t much.
They were in no hurry to act though; after all, there were far too many variables if they were to launch an attack on the No-Return Pass. They could not act with confidence unless they did some proper planning beforehand.
Moreover, Yang Kai wanted to wait a while longer. Perhaps some other survivors caught on to his clues and would be coming to join them soon.
While the Remnant Army plotted their course, the Black Ink Clan of the No-Return Pass finally found some long-awaited peace and quiet.
That Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master finally stopped showing up.
Even though another Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master suddenly showed up the last time and even killed an Innate Territory Lord, causing the Black Ink Clan to lose all face, it was still better than being teased like monkeys on a daily basis.
Thus, the Territory Lords rejoiced.
However, another thought came to mind. What was there to be happy about? During the days when that Eighth-Order Master stirred up trouble outside of the No-Return Pass, the total number of Black Ink Clansmen who died at his hands was approaching the 100,000 mark. Just the fallen Feudal Lords alone numbered over 1,000.
Even though they would beat him till he spat blood every time and made him look utterly miserable, nobody had any idea how hurt he truly was.
The result was so frustrating that the Territory Lords all vowed to themselves that if they ever saw that Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master on the battlefield again, they would surely take good care of him.
The Black Ink Clan did not give up on their search either. Large numbers of search parties were sent out to try to locate that Eighth-Order Human, but they all came back empty-handed. Even if there were any who discovered him, they simply never returned to give a report.
At the hiding place of the Human Remnant Army, over the following month a continuous stream of Human soldiers gathered after understanding Yang Kai’s hints.
The Remnant Army now numbered around 5,000, but they still only had four Eighth-Order Masters among them.
A single Purifying Black Ink Battleship could not fit so many soldiers. At the very most, a Purifying Black Ink Battleship could only hold a maximum of 1,500 soldiers.
However, they were unable to find a second Purifying Black Ink Battleship as the war with the Black Ink Clan had been extremely intense, to the point that even Great Passes were destroyed. Most of the Purifying Black Ink Battleships were blasted to dust, so it was really a miracle to find a Purifying Black Ink Battleship that was only half-ruined in the ruins of Azure Void Pass.
Yang Kai had been dizzy with work during these days.
Since they had to attack the No-Return Pass, they naturally had to be prepared.
Warships needed to be repaired, and all sorts of Spirit Pills had to be refined. As the saying went, before the troops move, fodder and provisions must be prepared.
Yang Kai had exceptional attainments in Alchemy, Artifact Refining, and the Array Dao, so out of all the people present, he naturally became the busiest.
Preparations took two years to complete, and in these two years, Yang Kai had been so busy that he practically never stopped in one place for even a moment. Even though his cultivation was now in the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm, he still turned haggard from overwork.
Most of his energy was expended on repairing Warships. All the remaining ships of the Human Squads were on the verge of falling apart.
Their charge into the No-Return Pass was going to be extremely dangerous, so without the protection of Warships, the casualties among the remnant soldiers would be atrocious at best. So, during these two years, every Warship was carefully repaired so that it could provide the maximum amount of protection during the life-or-death battle to come.
Finally, all the preparations were in place.
The 5,000-strong Remnant Army had been reorganized into four extra-large Divisions, with the four Eighth-Order Masters becoming the Commanders of each Division.
In addition, they spent a lot of time planning for the various scenarios they would face once the attack began, trying to account for every contingency.
The Remnant Army gathered at their hiding spot, equipped and ready to depart. Even though it was quiet, the murderous aura clearly showed each person’s determination.
After leaving here, they would either break through the No-Return Pass and return to the 3,000 Worlds, or die trying.
Among the four Eighth-Order Masters, Ou Yang Lie was the most senior, so he should have been the one to come forward and give a speech to boost the Army’s morale, but as usual, he ended up thinking that it was too troublesome when it came time to do it and discarded the long speech he prepared. Grinning menacingly, he simply raised his fist and roared, “Alright boys and girls, let’s go and fuck those bastards up!”
Gong Lian could not help but facepalm, looking as if he had a headache.
The effect was somewhat unexpected, however, as the morale of the Remnant Army really soared and they all cheered in unison.
They had been extremely vexed after being forced to run and hide for so many years, watching their Fellow Brothers and Sisters die along the way. They would rather die fighting, trying to make their way home, than keep hiding like this, living like rats in the mud, never to see the light of day again.
The Army set out!
At the forefront was the Purifying Black Ink Battleship where Yang Kai personally assumed command. To his left was Huang Xiong, to his right Fei Yuan Long, and Ou Yang Lie brought up the rear.
Fei Yuan Long was the last of the Eighth-Order Masters, and also another old veteran Eighth-Order Master who was no less powerful than Ou Yang Lie.
If they had to compete, then among the four Eighth-Order Masters, the weakest one would actually be Huang Xiong; after all, he was forced to sacrifice part of his Small Universe. Even though he had received a Profound Yin Spirit Fruit from Yang Kai and managed to repair that damage, it would still take many years for him to restore his strength back to its peak.
The current Huang Xiong was stronger than a newly-advanced Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, but still far from reaching the strength of a true veteran.
The Remnant Army’s hiding place had changed several times over the past two years, and now they were a three-month journey by Warship from the No-Return Pass.
The first month was uneventful; however, they began to encounter Black Ink Clan squads one after another in the following month. No Territory Lords were overseeing these patrols, and each of them was quite small in number, so there was no need to mention what happened to them.
The further they advanced though, the more Black Ink Clansmen they encountered.
These Black Ink Clansmen were mostly patrolling around the No-Return Pass’ periphery or returning from the outside with freshly mined resources.
One or two teams going missing would not be enough to attract the attention of the Black Ink Clan’s higher-ups, but as the numbers grew, the unusual situation was naturally detected by the Black Ink Clansmen at the No-Return Pass.
After some brief discussion, a few Territory Lords assembled their Armies and set out to investigate the situation.
With only 10 days to go before arriving at the No-Return Pass, the Human Remnant Army encountered their first Territory Lord. From the Purifying Black Ink Battleship that he oversaw, Yang Kai was able to detect the Territory Lord’s aura from afar; however, the other party was only able to detect them after approaching to within a few hundred thousand kilometres.
Yang Kai had arranged an Illusion Array on the Purifying Black Ink Battleship, so why would he not equip the other Warships with them?
As long as the enemy didn’t get too close, and didn’t check too carefully, these arrays were enough to conceal the movements of the Remnant Army, making it difficult for the Black Ink Clan to spot them.
When he saw such a large force of Humans coming towards him, the Territory Lord was shocked and ordered his subordinates to block them. At the same time, he turned around, preparing to head back to the No-Return Pass to report this troubling development.
However, as soon as he turned around, he saw a young Human standing silently behind him, giving him an icy glare.
The Territory Lord paled as he had no idea how this Human managed to get behind him without him even noticing.
However, he recognized the other party at a glance. It was the same young Human male who had constantly provoked them outside the No-Return Pass a few years ago. He had crossed blades with this Human countless times and even forced him to cough up blood by joining hands with the other Territory Lords.
For two years, this Human had disappeared, so the Territory Lord never thought he would see him again on this day, leading such a large Human Army no less.
Having fought with Yang Kai before, he more or less understood his strength, so how could this Territory Lord be careless? He immediately charged at Yang Kai as his Black Ink Strength surged, condensing into a giant palm that covered the sky as he roared, “Scram!”
He was not in the mood to get tangled up with this fellow right now. An Army of Humans had appeared just a few days away from the No-Return Pass; this matter had to be reported as soon as possible.
The Territory Lord was stunned, however, to discover that his opponent remained completely indifferent to his attack. The annoying Human simply summoned his spear and unleashed a flurry of thrust at him. After exchanging blows for just two breaths, the Territory Lord was flabbergasted.
After not seeing this Human for two years, his strength had somehow increased to a ridiculous degree. Mysterious powers spread out and intertwined, giving the Territory Lord the illusion that he was caught in a large net, and each fibre of that net contained Heaven-destroying, Earth-shattering power.
While Yang Kai fought with the Territory Lord, the Squad Warships on both sides of the Purifying Black Ink Battleship also unleashed a powerful barrage from their artifacts and arrays. In just one volley, they tore apart the Black Ink Clan Army, and with swift movements, the four Divisions closed in, ensuring not a single Black Ink Clansman was able to escape.
Ou Yang Lie originally planned to move to assist Yang Kai, but before he could even head over, he saw Yang Kai’s spear sweep across the Territory Lord’s waist from a distance. At once, the other party’s abdomen caved in as black blood splashed out violently.
Yang Kai thrust his spear out again, piercing through the Territory Lord’s chest. With a fierce explosion of power, the latter’s insides were thoroughly mangled.
Before his death, the Territory Lord gawked at Yang Kai incredulously, seemingly unable to understand how this Eighth-Grade Open Heaven Realm Master had become so overwhelming in just two years.
Yang Kai flicked his spear, causing the Territory Lord’s corpse to burst into a blood mist.
Immediately after, he returned to the Purifying Black Ink Battleship and ordered, “Move out!”
The four Divisions of the Remnant Army reorganized themselves and continued forward; however, every soldier who saw the battle earlier had their spirits lifted.
A powerful Innate Territory Lord had been cut down just like that!
They had never seen such a decisive victory before.
Even Ou Yang Lie and the two other Eighth-Order Masters felt their hearts pounding.
Yang Kai seemed strong to an absurd degree!
Huang Xiong and the others were not too familiar with Yang Kai, but Ou Yang Lie had more contact with him and knew that Yang Kai was able to crush those in the same Realm when he was in the Seventh-Other. Back then, against Feudal Lords, Yang Kai was basically able to kill them with a single blow.
Ou Yang Lie had thought that even if Yang Kai found an opportunity to advance into the Eighth Order, he would not be able to retain such an overwhelming advantage like he had in the Seventh Order, but with the strength Yang Kai had just shown, he was on the path of crushing his peers again.
Two years ago, Ou Yang Lie had also killed an Innate Territory Lord with a single slash, but that had been in a sneak attack and had cost him all his World Force. After that, he was completely unable to fight, which was very different from Yang Kai’s case today.
It was no wonder why he had the guts to provoke several Territory Lords at once outside the No-Return Pass. It turned out that he was strong enough to ignore them.
Yang Kai had not even reached the peak of the Eighth Order yet, so Ou Yang Lie was suddenly looking forward to how he would be once he reached that height. Maybe… he might really be able to kill an Innate Territory Lord in a single blow without suffering any injuries!
Yang Kai was wounded this time when he killed that Territory Lord, likely because he wanted to end the fight quickly and was willing to suffer a bit in exchange for speed.
However, those injuries were all internal, so outsiders were not able to see them.
The Remnant Army were unable to approach the No-Return Pass unnoticed in the end, which was something that they had expected.
The Illusion Arrays on the Purifying Black Ink Battleship and the Warships were not powerful enough to allow them to go unnoticed under the determined search of the enemy.
Just three days out from the No-Return Pass, the Remnant Army was finally fully exposed.
The No-Return Pass was naturally stunned, unable to figure out how the Humans could still have an Army of this size on the Black Ink Battlefield.
They knew about Human survivors, but they were all scattered about and of no threat to them; however, when they saw such an Army approaching, they had no choice but to take them seriously.
Once the news was reported, the Royal Lord overseeing the No-Return Pass personally came out to investigate the situation, but when he had got a look at the lineup of the Human Army, he just snorted. They dared to come and pick a fight with just four Eighth-Open Heaven Realm Masters? It was no different from suicide in his opinion.
The forces guarding the No-Return Pass were not large, but they still had a Royal Lord and some 20 Innate Territory Lords. The Black Ink Clan garrison here also numbered at least a million, with many more constantly being spawned and sent to the 3,000 Worlds.
This was not something a mere Remnant Army of a few thousand Humans could challenge.
Seeing the Remnant Army led by a huge Warship, constantly approaching the No-Return Pass, the Royal Lord became furious and ordered his Territory Lords to assemble their Armies and meet them in battle.
Under the Royal Lord’s order, the Territory Lords did not dare to delay for a moment. At once, 10 Territory Lords mobilized along with a 300,000-strong Army, showing the importance they attached to this battle.
They themselves knew that the Black Ink Battlefield would be completely under their control after this battle. They would no longer have to worry about being harassed by these Human remnants. The supply convoys would also no longer be intercepted, and they could focus all their attention on invading the 3,000 Worlds.
10 Territory Lords stormed out of the No-Return Pass with great momentum, a massive Black Ink Clan Army at their back exuding unconquerable might.
Under their command, the 300,000-strong Black Ink Clan Army quickly formed a semi-circle that surrounded the Human Army.
It seemed from this arrogant gesture that they meant to take down the 5,000 Humans in one fell swoop.
Instead of being frightened by such a disparity in numbers though, the Humans all lifted their weapons and prepared to meet the enemy.
This was only natural; after all, they had already experienced far too many battles like this.
To fight as 1,000 against 10,000, which Human soldier had not experienced that before?
Only, the Humans were indeed meagre in strength, and the number of Eighth-Order Masters were less than usual for an Army this size with only four in total.
However, what did they have to fear about the trivial Black Ink Clan?
They would still fight to the death!
The two Armies rapidly approached each other, exuding turbulent killing intent.
At a distance of 1 million kilometres, the Purifying Black Ink Battleship acting as the vanguard began its attack. The many arrays arranged around the Purifying Black Ink Battleship hummed and the artifacts at their core lit up, turning into streams of colourful light that cut through the void, illuminating the outside of the No-Return Pass into a glorious light display.
Each burst of light carried terrifying killing power with it and soon exploded amidst the Black Ink Clan Army, clearing out large regions of space.
The Remnant Army’s only Purifying Black Ink Battleship was brought out from Azure Void Pass, and it could be said to contain the remaining essence gathered from the entire Great Pass, so its might was several times stronger than an ordinary Purifying Black Ink Battleship.
The 1,000 or so Human soldiers stationed aboard the Purifying Black Ink Battleship were essentially all there to power the excessive number of Arrays installed on its hull.
Before the Purifying Black Ink Battleship was breached, they did not need to head out to fight the enemy hand to hand, they only needed to activate the various Arrays and rely on the might of the artifacts.
Not once had a Purifying Black Ink Battleship appeared with such a luxurious loadout before.
The first round of attacks came as a shock to the Black Ink Clan and the 10 Territory Lords instantly realised that this Purifying Black Ink Battleship was different from the others.
They had also seen the Humans’ Purifying Black Ink Battleships before, but what they saw in the past could hardly compare to the might of the Warship before them now.
So, after a brief discussion, five of the Territory Lords charged straight at the Purifying Black Ink Battleship under the cover of their subordinates.
Regardless of where this Remnant Army came from, they seemed to be heavily reliant on this Purifying Black Ink Battleship, so as long as they could finish it off, the Human’s strength would be greatly reduced, leaving the enemy at their mercy.
With the combined strength of five Innate Territory Lords against only one Eighth-Order Master standing guard aboard the battleship, it was practically impossible for them to fail.
Soon, with the sacrifice of their subordinate Black Ink Clansmen, the five Territory Lords were able to close to a distance of 100,000 kilometres from the Purifying Black Ink Battleship. From this distance, the Innate Territory Lords could fully exert their strength against this Purifying Black Ink Battleship.
However, before they could make their moves, a stream of light suddenly emerged from the Purifying Black Ink Battleship. The Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master overseeing the battleship actually charged out to meet them.
The Territory Lords all had sharp vision and excellent memory, so they could naturally tell at a glance that this was that Eighth-Order Human Master who had constantly picked a fight with them outside of the No-Return Pass two years ago.
Similar to the Territory Lord who was cut down by Yang Kai previously, these five greatly underestimated Yang Kai’s strength, thinking that he was only uniquely gifted at escaping and not really that strong.
So, none of the five Territory Lords put this man’s charge to heart. Instead, they each gathered their strength, intending to blast apart this arrogant Human together with the Purifying Black Ink Battleship!
However, the Eighth-Order Human’s figure suddenly blurred and disappeared from their sight.
The next moment, three Territory Lords howled in pain as if they had been subjected to some unbearable torture, their faces twisting in agony.
In an instant, three powerful Innate Territory Lords were rendered helpless.
The remaining two had no idea what happened to their companions, but they were too shocked to even react. They had sensed a surge of Spiritual Energy just now, but they had no idea what took place.
Before they could check on the condition of their companions though, the soldiers on the Purifying Black Ink Battleship who had received Yang Kai’s instructions ahead of time activated all of the Offensive Arrays and fired in the three disabled Territory Lords’ direction.
If these three had been at their peak, then such an attack would not have been much of a threat to them; however, with their Souls being torn into at this moment, they were in a heavily dazed state and unable to react promptly.
The Purifying Black Ink Battleship had hundreds of arrays installed, and all of them shot at once in three directions, completely enveloping the enemy Masters. Each Territory Lord was exposed to two to three hundred attacks, each of which was at least equivalent to the full-powered blow of a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, with a dozen or so of them even being comparable to the strength of an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.
It was as if the entire void had been torn apart in an instant!
The violent tidal wave of energy not only forced the Black Ink Clan Army back, but even the Purifying Black Ink Battleships’ shields flickered furiously as they were hit by the shockwaves from the close-range explosions.
Amid this chaos, three powerful auras were extinguished.
The three targeted Innate Territory Lords died just like that!
As the dust settled, Yang Kai reappeared and swept his spear out at the two remaining Territory Lords.
The veins on his forehead were throbbing and both his eyes had gone bloodshot. The indescribable feeling of pain coursing through his body made him feel as if his Soul was being torn apart, but he still grit his teeth and endured, channelling his pain into a furious onslaught of attacks.
10 Territory Lords led a 300,000-strong Black Ink Army, while the Humans only had four Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters commanding 5,000 soldiers. The odds were not in the Humans’ favour, to say the least.
So, no matter what, the gap in strength had to be reduced.
At such moments, the Soul Rending Thorn was the best card Yang Kai could play.
From his experience killing the sheep-headed Royal Lord, Yang Kai knew the limits of his Soul. If he were to use the Soul Rending Thorn four times at once, his consciousness would blur to the point where he was no longer able to think rationally just like last time.
He was lucky back then and continued fighting on pure instinct despite blacking out, even managing to kill the sheep-headed Royal Lord in the end, but Yang Kai could not even remember how he accomplished that. He only knew that he had brought out his Dragon Bead since he noticed it was damaged when he inspected his wounds after the battle.
Only by attacking with his Dragon Bead was Yang Kai able to kill a Royal Lord as it was his most powerful trump card.
However, he wouldn’t always be so lucky. So, Yang Kai only used three Soul Rending Thorns this time, targeting three Territory Lords.
This was complemented by a powerful attack from the Purifying Black Ink Battleship, which felled the three Territory Lords in one swoop as he expected.
After such an opening move, Yang Kai could just barely manage the remaining two.
The two surviving Territory Lords were both in a state of shock after the instant deaths of their three companions, so they put almost all their strength into defending themselves lest they follow in the footsteps of their companions, which gave Yang Kai an easier time dealing with them.
The fight started so furiously that it vastly exceeded the expectations of the Black Ink Clan.
They had originally planned for the five Territory Lords to surround and attack the Purifying Black Ink Battleship while the remaining five would deal with the other three Eighth-Order Masters, which should have been enough to keep the Humans pinned down. However, the five who were supposed to deal with the Purifying Black Ink Battleship had instantly failed.
The fall of three Territory Lords not only left the remaining two at the enemy’s mercy, it also completely astonished the other five.
Ou Yang Lei and the others were stunned at Yang Kai’s methods, but they also knew that they could not waste the momentum that Yang Kai built up for them and immediately led their troops towards the Black Ink Clan while they themselves engaged the other five Territory Lords.
One by one, lights shot out from the Squad Class Warships.
5,000 against 300,000, yet the Black Ink Clan Army was clearly on the back foot, constantly retreating towards the No-Return Pass.
The dissipation of auras could constantly be felt. The Black Ink Clan’s casualties were innumerable, but Warships were beginning to explode on the Human side, leading to the collapse of Small Universes.
However, no one mourned at this moment. Every Human soldier knew that this would be a steep uphill battle. If they did not break through the blockade of the Black Ink Clan at the No-Return Pass, then they would end up wandering the Black Ink Battlefield until the day they died, never again having the opportunity to return to the 3,000 Worlds to rejoin the main Human Army.
At the central vanguard, Yang Kai fought two Innate Territory Lords alone. Borrowing the momentum from the first attack that left the two Territory Lords hesitant, he was able to gain an absolute advantage.
Right now, even though the heritage of his Small Universe was not much stronger than when he just walked out from the Great Sea Celestial Phenomenon, Yang Kai’s overall combat strength had increased significantly.
For him, his encounters with the Territory Lords had allowed him to hone his skills and develop a far better control over his own power, especially his many Dao Strengths. He was also constantly gaining new insight into these various Grand Daos whenever he used them in battle.
The Soul Warming Lotus constantly emanated a feeling of coolness that soothed his damaged Soul, slowly stabilizing his state of mind.
Seizing this opportunity, Yang Kai opened up some distance from his enemies and executed a Secret Technique.
In a flash, a Golden Crow cried out and a Great Sun rose.
In the next moment, a cold Full Moon manifested as well.
The Sun and Moon orbited around Yang Kai, exuding the mysteries of Time and Space.
A profound power fluctuated forth as the Sun and Moon spun in a kaleidoscope of light. The vast void was filled with Space-Time Strength, making it seem as if time was standing still when viewed from the outside while Space froze in place.
A large swath of the void seemed to be cut off from the rest of the Universe by some strange force.
Yang Kai widened his eyes and stared carefully.
The last time he used his Sun and Moon Divine Wheel, he saw something unusual. At that time, his Sun and Moon Divine Wheel seemed to shatter the Space-Time continuum, allowing him to see fragments of the future.
In one of those flashes, Yang Kai saw himself holding the severed head of the sheep-headed Royal Lord as countless Black Ink Clansmen surrounded him, seemingly in worship, but were in fact encircling him to kill him.
But this time… he was unable to see anything.
Still, the might of the Sun and Moon Divine Wheel did not decrease in the slightest. In fact, it had even become slightly stronger than before.
This Secret Technique could be considered one of Yang Kai’s strongest methods right now and was far less risky than the self-harming attack of his Dragon Bead. Even the sheep-headed Royal Lord at that time had suffered when struck by this Secret Technique, so nothing need be said about two flustered Innate Territory Lords.
It was just a flash before the frozen void seemed to return to life, but in that instant, the huge region of space that flowed with Yang Kai’s Space-Time Strength seemed to have passed through millions of years.
As Space and Time re-aligned, all the Black Ink Clansmen within that region of the void, whether it be the Territory Lords or the regular Black Ink Clan soldiers, all of them disintegrated into a cloud of Black Ink Strength, disappearing without a trace.
The five Innate Territory Lords who initially targeted the Purifying Black Ink Battleship had all died!
A single Sun and Moon Divine Wheel massacred 100,000 Black Ink Clansmen in an instant!
The morale of the Humans soared while the Black Ink Clan was horrified.
There was not one of them whose eyes were not filled with terror. 10 Territory Lords came out to meet the Humans in battle, yet mere moments into the fight, half of them had already been killed.
Was that really an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master?
When did Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters become so powerful?
They weren’t the only ones who were terrified, even the Territory Lords who remained inside of the No-Return Pass shivered in fright as they witnessed this.
The Royal Lord overseeing the No-Return Pass was in a state of disbelief.
There were four Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in the enemy Army, but while three could be disregarded since they fell within the limits of what an ordinary Eighth-Order Human should be capable of, the one who commanded the Purifying Black Ink Battleship was so powerful that it was hard to wrap one’s mind around.
The Secret Techniques and Divine Abilities this Human unleashed were so astonishing they didn’t even seem possible.
After debating for a moment, the Royal Lord came to a decision.
He could not allow such a Human to live; otherwise, if he were left to grow and one day reach the Ninth Order, would he not then be able to cut down Royal Lords like he was chopping fruits or vegetables?
Currently, the Black Ink Clan did not have many Royal Lords left among their ranks; otherwise, he would not be the only one overseeing the No-Return Pass.
With his mind made up, the Royal Lord made his move, turning into a cloud of Black Ink Strength that rapidly approached the battlefield.
Yang Kai had been weakened at this moment. Releasing three Soul Rending Thorns had severely damaged his Soul, and then using his Sun and Moon Divine Wheel had drained a significant amount of his World Force.
If Yang Kai did not have a World Tree Clone to stabilize his Small Universe, it would have already been heavily shaken.
Even then, half of his Small Universe’s heritage had been drained already, leaving him with a feeling of weakness. He quickly took out some Spirit Pills and gulped them down.
Yang Kai used to have Low-Rank World Fruits that would almost instantly recover a large portion of his World Force, but unfortunately, he had used all of them up while being chased by the sheep-headed Royal Lord.
As much as 30% of the 300,000-strong Black Ink Clan Army had been wiped out by him with his Sun and Moon Divine Wheel, and the road ahead had been essentially cleared. Of course, there were still Black Ink Clansmen on their flanks, continuing to do battle against the Warships led by Huang Xiong and Fei Yuan Long.
With the path ahead cleared, the Purifying Black Ink Battleship was able to divert their attention and provide support to the left and right flanks. Arrays continued to hum as blast after blast was fired from them, coordinating with other two Divisions to eradicate their enemies.
It was at that moment that Yang Kai felt his body seize up as a powerful aura locked onto him.
This sensation was actually quite familiar to him. Back then, the sheep-head Royal Lorded had locked him in place using his aura in much the same way when he was chasing him, forcing him to use Purifying Light to isolate himself before he could activate Instantaneous Movement.
Yang Kai immediately looked up and sure enough, in the No-Return Pass’s direction was a giant Black Ink Cloud rapidly approaching his location. There seemed to be two eyes inside of the Black Ink Cloud that were sharp as swords determined to pierce through him.
The Royal Lord!
In the opening moments of the battle, five Innate Territory Lords had fallen. The Royal Lord who oversaw the No-Return Pass realized the threat that Yang Kai posed and could no longer sit still.
He had to kill this Eighth-Open Human personally to weed out future troubles here.
From afar, the Royal Lord began exerting his power as if to demonstrate his strength and also to shake the morale of the Humans.
The void shook as even the protective barrier of the Purifying Black Ink Battleship lit up, as if there were an invisible weight pressing on it.
Such pressure was formless, but it was real and tangible. A top Master’s pressure was strong enough to cull the weak all on its own.
The Royal Lord naturally made the wrong decision when he tried to intimidate the Humans with his pressure though.
The Purifying Black Ink Battleship at the centre of the Army did not slow down and instead continued sailing towards the No-Return Pass. To its left and right, Warships exploded as Humans fell in large numbers.
The horrific death toll left Huang Xiong and Fei Yuan Long red-eyed in grief, but they were unable to do anything about it. They could only block off the attacks of the Territory Lords in order to minimise the casualties on their side.
With the efforts of the many soldiers who sacrificed their lives, the left and right flanks finally broke through the Black Ink Clan’s blockade and rushed forward.
Nobody dared to linger in this place.
They all knew that in this assault on the No-Return Pass, they could not afford to stop for even a moment. They had to break through the Black Ink Clan’s defences in one go if they wanted to have any hope of returning to the 3,000 Worlds. The slightest hesitation would doom the Remnant Army to a slow death.
The rear where Ou Yang Lie was in charge was originally the calmest and least pressured, but now, he was the one facing the heaviest burden. The Black Ink Clan Army which was there to block them had now become their pursuers. If the rear Division couldn’t hold them back, then the formation of the Remnant Army would surely be broken.
At this point, Ou Yang Lie was becoming desperate as he hurled sword waves through the void.
A roar suddenly sounded from the Purifying Black Ink Battleship.
“Assume formation!”
At that order, the left and right flanks, along with the Warships behind their lead, quickly moved closer to the Purifying Black Ink Battleship.
Aboard the Purifying Black Ink Battleship, a Grand Array was activated under the combined efforts of 10 Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. In an instant, an Array diagram spread out in the void with the Purifying Black Ink Battleship at the centre, its patterns illuminating all directions.
At that moment, the rest of the Warships also activated complimentary Spirit Arrays all at once. Like swallows returning to their nest, they were merged together into the Array diagram.
In just a short dozen breaths of time, the auras of all the surviving Human Warships became interconnected with the Purifying Black Ink Battleship serving as their Core, as if they had truly become one.
Four Symbols Formation!
This was originally a Formation used by Human cultivators to link their strengths together to deal with powerful enemies. It was neither special nor profound, but under the aid of this Battle Formation, four Human cultivators were able to exert far greater power than any of them could individually in order to battle stronger Black Ink Clansmen.
However, the Four Symbols Formation had been modified by Yang Kai who integrated it into a Grand Array, allowing the four Divisions to link themselves together.
In the past, Yang Kai would never have been able to do such a thing; however, he had received a huge harvest in the Great Sea Celestial Phenomenon, so with his attainments in the Dao of Spirit Arrays, it was not a problem for him to create something like this.
There was only one problem. The Four Symbols Formation which had been so heavily modified was not stable and could not be sustained for long. That was the reason why the Remnant Army didn’t simply use it from the start.
However, they were now at a critical point that would decide their victory or death, so how could Yang Kai continue to hesitate?
With the Purifying Black Ink Battleship serving as the core, all the Warships were closely linked together under the Formation, greatly improving both their lethality and defence.
As soon as the Formation was completed, the huge Black Ink Cloud arrived in front of them. The Black Ink Cloud swiftly retracted to reveal a towering figure who raised his hand and slammed his palm down towards the Purifying Black Ink Battleship.
Even though it looked like a casual blow, it still sent chills down the Humans’ backs.
This was an attack from a Royal Lord.
However, the Purifying Black Ink Battleship’s momentum did not decrease. Yang Kai stood on the deck, looking ahead at the Royal Lord blocking their path before bowing towards the void, shouting, “Old Ancestor, please!”
At those words, a cross-legged figure suddenly appeared. As Yang Kai had just retrieved it from Azure Void Pass, Azure Void Pass’ Old Ancestor’s corpse was still unmoving, his aura completely absent, as though he was in a deep slumber.
However, stimulated by the Royal Lord’s aura, Azure Void Pass’ Old Ancestor who had already departed for the Yellow Springs, suddenly opened his eyes. In an instant, the void thundered.
The Royal Lord in front of them was taken aback. He never imagined he would be ambushed by an Old Ancestor here, so before he could withdraw his palm, the Azure Void Pass’ Old Ancestor lifted his finger and shattered the approaching palm strike.
The Royal Lord let out a roar of rage. As he withdrew his hand, quickly discovering a bloody hole at the centre of his palm where black blood spilled out.
Yang Kai was shocked at what he saw.
Even though he had collected the body of the Old Ancestor just as the Old Ox had told him to back in Azure Void Pass, and summoned it in a time of need to deal with a powerful enemy, Yang Kai was not sure how much power a dead Old Ancestor could actually exert.
But now it seemed that even in death, the power of an Old Ancestor was still unfathomable.
Catching the enemy off guard was a big reason behind the Old Ancestor’s ability to harm the Royal Lord in a single attack, but it was also a reflection of the Old Ancestor’s profound strength.
The Remnant Army was still rapidly approaching the No-Return Pass, and the sudden appearance of an Old Ancestor made the Royal Lord very wary, forcing him to withdraw.
The Old Ancestor turned his head and looked around as if to judge the situation. After quickly familiarizing himself with the battlefield, he sighed, “Even the No-Return Pass has been lost?”
Yang Kai lowered his head, looking ashamed.
Many had given their lives to stop the Black Ink Clan, including numerous Old Ancestors, but the final bulwark of the Human Race, the No-Return Pass, had still been lost. Even though Yang Kai did not participate in the war at the No-Return Pass, all Humans shared honour and disgrace in this war.
“Where is my ox?” The Old Ancestor then turned to look at Yang Kai, asking in a surprisingly cheerful tone.
Yang Kai hurriedly brought out the Ox Monster with its broken horns. The Ox Monster also had its eyes tightly shut without any aura emanating from its body.
The Old Ancestor stroked the head of the ox as if it were his own child and spoke warmly, “Wake up, little one. Come run with me one final time!”
The Ox Monster’s eyes suddenly opened, and its powerful aura quickly revived. It shook its head at the Old Ancestor in displeasure, “We’re already dead and you’re still worrying about this? Are you not tired, old man?”
The Old Ancestor chuckled, “It can’t be helped. I’m an Old Ancestor after all. I inevitably carry heavier burdens on me.”
Saying so, he got onto the back of the ox and looked down at Yang Kai next to him, nodding lightly. Saying nothing more, he slapped the ox’s rump and pointed forward, shouting, “Kill!”
It was a childish gesture that would normally make one want to laugh; however, not a single one of the 1,500 soldiers aboard the Purifying Black Ink Battleship found this scene the slightest bit amusing.
Yang Kai’s eyes filled with tears as he bowed deeply, “Farewell, Old Ancestor!”
“Farewell, Old Ancestor!”
The soldiers roared in unison, their voices shaking the world.
In the distant past, a young child rode on the back of a Black Bovine, riding freely through the mountains, fantasizing about fighting and killing enemies that did not exist, dreaming of establishing himself as someone great after growing up, getting married, and having children.
At that time, an old man with an immortal temperament suddenly descended from the Heavens and looked upon the child with a smile, “Call me Honoured Master and I shall pass on a supreme technique to you!”
The boy asked, “Can I become rich if I call you Honoured Master?”
The old man said, “You can.”
The boy then asked, “Can I get women if I call you Honoured Master?”
The old man nodded again, “You can.”
And so, the boy got down and bowed with respect, calling him Honoured Master. The old man laughed and took the boy and the ox away.
That year was so long ago that it was impossible to trace back…
“Kill!”
Aboard the Purifying Black Ink Battleship, Yang Kai’s face twisted as he roared. The arrays thrummed as they fired with even greater intensity than before.
A violent wave of power stirred in the surrounding void as the Old Ancestor engaged the Royal Lord in battle.
This sudden change of events was a surprise to all of the Black Ink Clansmen. Nobody had expected an Old Ancestor to suddenly appear at this time. When they saw the Remnant Army getting closer and closer to the No-Return Pass, the Territory Lords staying behind to defend the No-Return Pass could no longer stand by.
Several Territory Lords stayed behind to defend the pass while the remaining ones rushed out with their Armies.
In an instant, the Remnant Army fell into an absolute disadvantage, both in terms of numbers and strength.
The only thing the Remnant Army could rely on now was the might of their Warships.
However, with the Territory Lords here to obstruct and harass them, it was difficult for the Remnant Army to advance. If they could not break through this siege, they would be trapped here and eventually annihilated.
There were Warships constantly being stripped from the Formation by powerful attacks. Those Warships without exception exploded, resulting in all the soldiers aboard dying.
Seeing that they were reaching a critical situation, Yang Kai ground his teeth and soared out of the Purifying Black Ink Battleship. His fierce aura all but materialised as he enveloped all of the Territory Lords in it.
A Soul Rending Thorn was silently released, striking one of the Territory Lords. In the moment of disorientation that followed, Yang Kai blasted the Territory Lord with his Golden Crow Casts the Sun, vaporizing him.
“Who dares block my way!?” Yang Kai’s face grimaced fiercely, and when he raised his spear and pointed it at them, the Territory Lords who appeared to stop them were all struck with terror.