Before the Star Boundary became an Open Heaven Realm Cradle, though it was very rare, there were still a small number of people who directly ascended to the Seventh Order.
After countless years of accumulation, the Cave Heavens and Paradises had a number of such gifted people.
However, only 100 or so managed to break through that final barrier and ascend to the Ninth Order. Some of them were still growing their powers, like Xiang Shan, Luo Ting He, and a few others, nonetheless, many more had been killed on the Black Ink Battlefield.
Most Ninth-Order Masters achieved the required enlightenment while battling the Black Ink Clan Masters on the Black Ink Battlefield. Only by killing the enemies would they stand a chance to achieve a breakthrough.
Yang Kai didn’t know any of this, for he didn’t come from one of the Cave Heavens or Paradises. He just instinctively wanted to secure a better future for Humans by using his experiences.
That was why he decided to strike a peace deal with the Territory Lords in Profound Nether Territory. It was just an experiment.
The experiment turned out to be useful and feasible; therefore, when the Black Ink Clan wanted a peace deal 300 years later, those from the Supreme Headquarters were willing to agree.
Otherwise, it wouldn’t have been easy for the two Races to discuss a peace deal given the blood feud between them.
Since all the details had been confirmed, the Masters of the two Races took their leave. Unlike the earlier heated atmosphere, the mood was quite peaceful.
The Black Ink Clan would give the Humans some resources as compensation, while the Humans didn’t have to worry about the Black Ink Clan going back on their word.
When the content of the peace deal was spread one month later, the Human cultivators in different Great Territories were thrilled.
Out of the 13 Great Territory Battlefields, apart from Profound Nether Territory, the remaining 12 Great Territories had been in turmoil. As such, the soldiers from the major Armies were envious of the environment and situation in Profound Nether Territory. Over there, the Territory Lords were not allowed to take part in the war; as such, the Profound Nether Army had essentially been disbanded since there weren’t any large-scale battles. Comparatively, the Humans in Profound Nether Territory were both safer and freer.
Now, they didn’t have to be envious. 6 out of 12 remaining Great Territory Battlefields would become copies of Profound Nether Territory. Although the other Great Territories would remain unchanged, things would become much better for the Humans as the number of Territory Lords who could take part in the war would be decreased.
Of course, those from the Supreme Headquarters had to look at the big picture and mobilise the Human Masters to different battlefields accordingly.
The Human cultivators from Profound Nether Territory started streaming into the six new Great Territories that were included in the peace deal. As such, a lot of pressure had been lifted off the originally cramped Profound Nether Territory.
Many ambitious people even started penetrating the Great Territories that the Black Ink Clan had occupied. As Hunters, they naturally had to bear a higher risk, but it was nothing compared to the potential rewards. It was said that fortune favoured the bold, after all.
As a peace deal was reached between the Humans and the Black Ink Clan, the situation in the expansive 3,000 Worlds changed completely.
This kind of situation would be sustained for many years to come.
Perhaps there would come a time when a certain incident would shatter this agreement; after all, the Humans and Black Ink Clan couldn’t co-exist forever. One of the parties would be completely wiped out eventually. When some triggering event took place in the future, the two Races would surely engage in a final decisive war.
Everyone was working hard to prepare for that future.
It had been 300 years since Yang Kai first visited the Myriad Monsters World.
The sapling he had planted back then had grown into an enormous tree, its gigantic crown like a green cloud that covered the entire sky.
A lot had changed in the Myriad Monsters World. Compared to 300 years ago, the World Energy was undoubtedly richer and the Grand Daos and Principles were more perfect as well.
More and more Humans appeared in this wild World as cities and towns of different sizes popped up everywhere.
This World, which was originally fully occupied by the Monster Race, now had many Human residents.
Most Humans living in this place had ancestors who had made contributions on the various battlefields. They used their Military Merits to exchange for a right to let their Juniors or Disciples reside in the Myriad Monsters World.
Of course, there were also some Open Heaven Realm Masters responsible for standing guard over this World. As such, even though the Humans and Monster Race weren’t exactly compatible, the situation had been peaceful. There hadn’t been any incident where the Humans recklessly hunted the Monster Race or vice versa.
In fact, many Great Monsters chose a different path forward, broke through their shackles, and gained Human Form. They took the initiative to come into contact with the Humans and left the Myriad Monsters World before heading to the various battlefields to fight the Black Ink Clan.
The World Tree clone’s nourishment had started showing its effects.
Although the quality and quantity of prodigies born in this World were not comparable to the Star Boundary yet, some impressively gifted people had already begun to appear.
As time passed, this World would be another Star Boundary.
Everything was right on track, just as Yang Kai had planned.
Yang Kai didn’t inform anyone about his arrival here. Even the Open Heaven Realm Masters responsible for monitoring this World were unable to detect Yang Kai’s presence as they were mostly in the Fourth Order and Fifth Order.
It wasn’t until two years later that Yang Kai left the Myriad Monsters World.
He didn’t return to Profound Nether Territory though. Since they had struck a peace deal with the Black Ink Clan, he couldn’t make a move as he pleased, unless the Black Ink Clan went back on their word first.
The Human Race’s future did not hinge on him alone, but rather on all the Juniors who were now battling the Black Ink Clan. Yang Kai was unable to bear the weight of saving an entire Race. All the same, he had done his best. As for whether the future was bright or dark, that would be up to all Humans to decide.
Yang Kai thus returned to the Star Boundary and arrived at the place where the World Tree clone was located. After giving it some thought, he landed on a branch and directly opened a tree cave in its trunk before sitting down inside.
The noise he made naturally alerted the Open Heaven Realm Masters who were recuperating or cultivating in this place.
The World Tree clone was the very foundation of the Star Boundary and the most valuable asset for the entire Human Race. It could be said that without this clone, the Star Boundary wouldn’t have become what it was today, and the Humans’ future would’ve been extremely bleak.
As such, there were always at least five Eighth-Order Masters on guard here who were tasked with preventing any accidents from happening. What’s more, due to the clone’s mysterious powers, one would gain some benefits by recuperating or cultivating here.
Therefore, there were many Open Heaven Realm Masters in this place who had to use a lot of Military Merits to obtain a quota.
However, these Masters only occupied a branch or sat down somewhere on the tree crown. They treasured the World Tree clone and wouldn’t dare to damage it one bit.
With five Eighth-Order Masters monitoring this place, no one had the guts to do so either.
Hence, it was shocking that Yang Kai directly carved a hole in the trunk.
The five Eighth-Order Masters widened their eyes in disbelief and quickly investigated. If anyone else had done this, they would’ve dealt with him like he was a Black Ink Disciple; however, when they realized the responsible party was Yang Kai, they all turned a blind eye to his behaviour.
This couldn’t be helped. Although the World Tree clone was said to be a treasure of all Humanity, it was Yang Kai who actually brought it out from the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary and planted it here.
Even if he wanted to uproot the entire clone, the Humans could only try to dissuade him from doing so, not to mention that he only opened a tree cave for himself. There was no way they could forcefully stop him.
Furthermore, they were probably no match for Yang Kai to begin with.
These Eighth-Order Masters exchanged glances and communicated with each other using their Divine Senses.
“It seems that Junior Brother Yang is injured. His aura is quite weak.”
“Since a peace deal has been struck, he can’t make a move as he pleases, so how did he get injured?”
“Did he go to the No-Return Pass and pick a fight with the Royal Lord?”
“Since he knows he isn’t a match for the Royal Lord, why would he invite trouble to himself? Moreover, I think he just returned from the New Great Territory.”
These Eighth-Order Masters were puzzled as they had no idea what happened to Yang Kai that caused his aura to plunge and made him look so frail.
Nonetheless, it was apparent that Yang Kai had made a cave mansion in the trunk to recuperate. As such, they didn’t dare to say anything or disturb him.
Yang Kai used to be a little brat who had to call them Seniors, but now he was significantly more powerful than they were. At the thought of this, these old Eighth-Order Masters couldn’t help feeling dejected.
However, it was thanks to these talented young people that they had a chance to oppose the Black Ink Clan. If the next generation was weaker than the previous one, there wouldn’t be a future for Humans.
Inside the clone, Yang Kai bore the excruciating pain in his Soul and looked around, feeling pleased with this simple tree cave.
He then began cultivating in seclusion in this place.
He figured he had to cultivate for many years this time and only hoped he had the patience for it. At any rate, he knew that he had to grow strong so that he would have the power to protect himself when war broke out in the future.
Now, he was one of the most formidable Masters in the Human Race, but when a new batch of Ninth-Order Masters and Royal Lords appeared in the future, he would become far less useful.
It would be best if he could make it to the Ninth Order, but even if he failed to do so, the peak of the Eighth Order would have to do.
As he sat down with his legs crossed, Yang Kai refined sets of materials as he stimulated the Soul Warming Lotus to repair his Soul.
The Three Selves Source Reconstitution Art was indeed savage. Although Yang Kai had already used it once 300 years ago, he still almost couldn’t bear the pain of doing so again.
The pain of literally tearing his Soul in half was several times more intense than using Soul Rending Thorns.
Wu Kuang knew that Yang Kai had the Soul Warming Lotus, which was why he taught him this Secret Technique. If Yang Kai didn’t have the Soul Warming Lotus, it would’ve been pointless for him to acquire this technique, for he would have perished the first time he tried to use it.
Just like the Soul Rending Thorns, only Yang Kai could fully utilize this Secret Technique.
Yang Kai was glad that he had acquired this Supreme Treasure when he was still a budding cultivator. Without the Soul Warming Lotus, he wouldn’t have become who he was today.
As a cool sensation spread across his mind, the pain gradually subsided.
Time went by slowly.
Several years later, a man got to his feet in a secret room in High Heaven Palace. His aura was restrained, and he appeared calm and collected.
Fang Tian Ci waved the jade in this hand and opened the secret room’s restrictions before exiting. It took him 10 years of retreat before he finished stabilizing his Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm cultivation.
The bright light made him squint as he felt as though a very long time had passed.
Suddenly, he realised that he was no longer in the Void World. He was in the 3,000 Worlds, which was far more expansive.
A disciple from High Heaven Palace had been waiting for him, and hearing the door open, he turned around and saluted Fang Tian Ci, “Greetings, Senior.”
“The Head Manager has ordered that once you come out of your retreat, you have to immediately go and see her,” the disciple from High Heaven Palace said.
[The Head Manager…]
A woman’s image flashed across Fang Tian Ci’s mind. If he remembered correctly, the Head Manager was standing beside the Dao Lord at that time. It seemed that the Dao Lord valued her.
Understanding this, Fang Tian Ci wouldn’t dare to be negligent as he extended his hand, “Please lead the way.”
Soon, they arrived at a Grand Hall where Fang Tian Ci saw the Head Manager of High Heaven Palace, Hua Qing Si. This woman was fairly powerful. Just like him, she was in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm; nonetheless, it must have been quite a long time since she achieved her ascension, for she had an ample heritage and robust aura.
Fang Tian Ci saluted her, “Greetings, Head Manager.”
Hua Qing Si responded with a smile and caringly asked him about his retreat. When she learned that he had stabilised his cultivation, she set her mind at ease.
Over the years, when the Open Heaven Realm Masters who came from the Void World ended their retreat, they would be led to this place to meet her; then, she would assign them to different Great Territory Battlefields.
After all, it was Yang Kai’s order, so she had to meticulously execute the task.
However, because these Open Heaven Realm Masters, who came from the Void Dao Temple, were not familiar with the outside world, Hua Qing Si had compiled some information to be given to them before they set off.
“Palace Master has ordered that once all of you are done stabilising your cultivation, you are to deploy to the Great Territory Battlefields for training. This is the information about those Great Territories. Take a look at it. If there’s any particular place you want to go, you can tell me about it,” as Hua Qing Si spoke, she fished out a jade slip.
Although she had the right to send them to any place she wanted, she would always discuss the matter with these people first. Yang Kai only told them to get some training, but he didn’t specify where they had to go. As such, Hua Qing Si’s action was reasonable.
Fang Tian Ci took the jade slip and thanked her. As he infused his Divine Sense into it and went through the information, he soon had a better understanding of the 3,000 Worlds and the situation that the Humans were in. The information he saw astounded him. Back then in the Void Dao Temple, he had heard Liu Jing Shan mention that in the world where the Dao Lord lived, the Humans were fighting the Black Ink Clan, a powerful and malicious enemy.
However, he had never expected that the Human Race was in such a perilous situation.
Suddenly, a sense of urgency rose within him. The Human Race had been forced to retreat to a mere 15 Great Territories. Once the Black Ink Clan occupied these Great Territories, the Humans would no longer have a place they could call their own in this expansive Universe.
Nevertheless, when he read that the Black Ink Clan had taken the initiative to strike a peace deal with the Humans after the Dao Lord applied pressure on them, which helped alleviate the Humans’ situation, he couldn’t help admiring the Dao Lord, who seemed able to achieve anything.
Although there were many Eighth-Order Masters, the Dao Lord was still in a league of his own.
At that moment, Fang Tian Ci felt honoured and secretly decided that when he ventured into the outside world, he must not tarnish the Dao Lord’s name. After all, they came from the Dao Lord’s Small Universe, so they were different from the other Open Heaven Realm Masters.
When Hua Qing Si saw him lowering the jade slip, she asked softly, “Is there any place you’d like to go?”
Fang Tian Ci replied, “I’ll let you make the decision, Head Manager.”
He didn’t have a particular place in mind as he felt that it made no difference where he went; after all, wherever he went, he would be fighting the Black Ink Clan. After spending 2,000 years to build his current heritage, he had the confidence that even if he came across a Feudal Lord, even if he couldn’t win, he would be able to escape. He was confident but not conceited. Although he had never exchanged moves with the Black Ink Clan before, he was different from the newly promoted Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters who were impulsive in their youth.
“Before that, I’d like to see the Dao Lord. I have some doubts that I’d like to consult with him about.”
“You mean Palace Master? He…” Hua Qing Si appeared to be in a tight spot. She was aware that Yang Kai had returned to the Star Boundary and opened a cave mansion in the World Tree clone to recuperate. As such, they shouldn’t disturb him at this point. After giving it some thought, she asked, “If there’s anything you’d like to know, I can tell you.”
Fang Tian Ci shook his head and said apologetically, “I can only tell the Dao Lord about it.”
Hua Qing Si hesitated for a bit. Since this man appeared serious, she knew that it must be something important. As such, she rose from the chair and said, “Come with me; however, I can’t guarantee that the Dao Lord will see you.”
[If the Palace Master is recuperating, he might not respond to us.]
“Many thanks, Head Manager.”
They then left the Grand Hall and shot into the sky.
A moment later, Fang Tian Ci looked at the gargantuan tree in the distance and fell into a dazed state.
In fact, when he ascended to the Open Heaven Realm 10 years ago, he had seen this tree while following Hua Qing Si back to the Star Boundary. However, he was preoccupied with the joy of having achieved an ascension and also confounded by the mysteries surrounding his circumstances, so he didn’t ask her about it. It wasn’t until this moment that he asked, “What tree is that, Head Manager?”
Hua Qing Si replied with a smile, “It is a clone of the World Tree.”
She then related to him the clone’s background. A myriad of expressions flashed across Fang Tian Ci’s face as he subconsciously placed his hand on his abdomen.
He initially thought that it was just a large tree that had lived for a very long time, so he was surprised to learn that the tree was the Human Race’s very foundation. It was thanks to this tree that the Star Boundary could continuously produce prodigies, who were the Humans’ hope for opposing the Black Ink Clan.
If not for this tree, the Human Race’s future would’ve been bleak.
Furthermore, such an enormous tree was only a clone. Fang Tian Ci wondered how majestic the real World Tree must be.
“What about the other one?” Fang Tian Ci took a look at the other tree beside the World Tree clone.
The tree was significantly smaller than the clone, and its tree crown wasn’t as expansive; however, there was no denying that it was gigantic as well. From a distance, the tree even looked somewhat translucent and immaterial. One could hardly tell if the tree really existed in this world.
Just then, a curvy figure flew down to the tree and disappeared the next moment.
“That is the Immortal Parasol Tree,” Hua Qing Si explained patiently, “It is a Sacred Treasure that belongs to the Phoenix Clan. You should keep your distance from it if you’re not required to approach it. Phoenix Clan members are very proud people, so they may attack you if you intrude into their sacred ground.”
“The Phoenix Clan…” Fang Tian Ci fell into a dazed state. Although he had never met a Phoenix before as he came from the Void World, he knew that the Phoenix Clan members were some of the most powerful Divine Spirits in existence, second only to the Dragon Clan.
Just then, another curvy figure appeared from the tree before leaping into the air. The next moment, a dazzling light exploded as a high-pitched Phoenix cry reverberated across the sky.
Fang Tian Ci instantly saw a stunning and glorious Phoenix with a very long tail manifest before him. The figure soon disappeared into the Void, but the after-image lingered for quite some time.
[How beautiful…]
Fang Tian Ci couldn’t help feeling awed. He wondered who would be capable of winning the favour of such beautiful and noble creatures.
While he was lost in his thoughts, Hua Qing Si suddenly said, “I’ll let you in on a little secret. One of the Palace Master’s Wives is a Phoenix Clan member.”
Fang Tian Ci wasn’t surprised one bit, for he thought that the Dao Lord totally had the right to marry a noble Phoenix Clan member.
Soon, they arrived at the bottom of the World Tree clone.
Instantly, Fang Tian Ci felt many Divine Senses probing him from all directions, each one of them at least as powerful as his own. There were also several Divine Senses that were especially powerful which Fang Tian Ci believed belonged to the Eighth-Order Masters.
After giving it some thought, he realised it was only natural that some formidable Masters were protecting such an important place.
Hua Qing Si looked up at a particular spot on the clone and turned to Fang Tian Ci before sending him a Divine Sense transmission, “Don’t disturb the others.”
Hearing that, Fang Tian Ci bent his back as he spoke, “Disciple Fang Tian Ci requests an audience with the Dao Lord.”
He didn’t use a Divine Sense transmission, nor did he dare to speak too loudly. If the Dao Lord wanted to see him, he would naturally hear it, if not, Fang Tian Ci wouldn’t dare to be insistent.
Fortunately, not long after he finished speaking, the Dao Lord’s voice was heard coming from that direction, “Come over.”
An elated Fang Tian Ci turned around and saluted Hua Qing Si, “Many thanks, Head Manager.”
Hua Qing Si responded with a smile and waved her hand, “Go on.”
Fang Tian Ci leapt into the air and traced the source of the voice before arriving at a huge tree cave. The instant he stepped inside, he saw the Dao Lord looking smilingly at him.
“Dao Lord,” Fang Tian Ci hurriedly saluted him.
“Have a seat,” Yang Kai motioned for him to sit down and raised his hand to reactivate the cave mansion’s restrictions, ensuring that no one could see or hear them.
Fang Tian Ci took a seat as he was told. When he noticed how pale Yang Kai looked, he exclaimed, “Are you hurt, Dao Lord?”
Finally, he realised why the Head Manager appeared hesitant when he requested to see the Dao Lord, for the latter seemed to be in the middle of recuperating.
At that moment, Fang Tian Ci felt guilty and apologized, “I shouldn’t have disturbed you, Dao Lord. Please forgive me.”
Meanwhile, he was shocked that even a powerful Master like the Dao Lord had been so heavily injured. It seemed that the Humans were indeed in a perilous situation.
There was an awkward expression on Yang Kai’s face as he said gently, “It’s not serious. I’ll recover in no time. What are you here for?”
Fang Tian Ci replied respectfully, “There’s something I need to ask you about, Dao Lord.”
Yang Kai looked meaningfully at him. Without asking him what the matter was, he said, “Everyone has their own secrets. Some secrets can be shared with others, but some are best kept to oneself. You have to know that Humans are born with greed and selfishness. Sometimes, you think you’re just being frank, but such qualities may make your relationships difficult to handle.”
Fang Tian Ci was surprised by the insinuation in his words, [Does the Dao Lord know already? That’s impossible, even I didn’t notice it at all in the past! It wasn’t until I started focusing on stabilizing my cultivation these past few years that I realised it. Although he’s the Dao Lord, he can’t possibly know everything…]
“Dao Lord, you’ve given me everything, so I trust you,” Fang Tian Ci said solemnly.
Yang Kai felt speechless, [What’s going on with my Human Self? He’s way too honest and upright. He doesn’t have any of my shrewdness or caution.]
After pondering for a moment though, he realised that the trust Fang Tian Ci had in him was a kind of virtue and courage. Furthermore, the disciples from the Dao Temple all had some blind admiration for him, so it was only natural that Fang Tian Ci trusted him.
At that moment, Yang Kai put on a gratified expression, “I’m glad that you think so.”
However, he felt awkward in secret, for in reality, he was having a chat with himself. Probably no one had experienced such a strange situation before in history.
Nonetheless, his Human Self was oblivious to everything.
Fang Tian Ci couldn’t be blamed for this as he should have died when he was still in his Mother’s belly. If not for Yang Kai tearing his Soul apart and saving him, Fang Tian Ci wouldn’t have been born at all.
However, Fang Tian Ci was only a fetus at that time, so he couldn’t bear the immense power of half an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master’s Soul. As such, Yang Kai had sealed most of his Soul fragment, including all of his memories and powers.
As Fang Tian Ci grew powerful, these seals would gradually dissolve and allow him to realise his true self.
In other words, Fang Tian Ci was still his own person at this point.
Nonetheless, he was now in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm, so the seal in his Soul must have loosened, and when he ascended to the Eighth-Order one day, the seal would shatter entirely and he would find out everything.
This was the same case for both Yang Kai’s Human Self and Monster Self.
Fang Tian Ci trusted Yang Kai not only because he was a Dao Temple disciple, who typically admired the Dao Lord, it was also because he, as the Human Self, trusted his true body.
There was no way anyone would harm himself in this World. Fang Tian Ci of course hadn’t noticed this yet, but he instinctually understood that the man before him only had the best of intentions for him.
“Dao Lord, do you remember I told you before that my Small Universe had materialised?” Fang Tian Ci asked.
Yang Kai snapped back to reality and nodded, “Yes, I remember.”
Fang Tian Ci went on to say, “You told me that perhaps it has something to do with the fact that I’ve cultivated the Dao of Space; however, I feel that might not be the case.”
“Why do you think so?” Yang Kai pretended that he knew nothing.
Fang Tian Ci replied solemnly, “Please have a look, Dao Lord.”
Saying so, he suddenly opened a portal to his Small Universe and let Yang Kai see inside.
Yang Kai secretly sighed to himself, thinking that an honest person like Fang Tian Ci would easily suffer setbacks in life. He hoped that this guy wouldn’t be so naïve in front of the enemy and just casually open the portal to his Small Universe, for that would be disastrous.
As he looked into the Small Universe with his Divine Sense, Yang Kai feigned surprise, “This…”
There was no doubt his Human Self had a solid heritage. Although Fang Tian Ci was a newly promoted Sixth-Order Master, the World Force in his Small Universe was only slightly weaker than that of a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.
After giving it some thought, Yang Kai realised it wasn’t so surprising. His Human Self had the right to directly ascend to the Seventh Order and in fact, he had succeeded in just that, but due to the true body’s restrictions, Fang Tian Ci was forced to regress to the Sixth Order.
Despite that, his heritage didn’t decrease much.
The Human Self was destined to be a Master who would be able to fight enemies much stronger than his Realm would suggest was possible.
With a solemn expression, Fang Tian Ci said, “I only discovered this thing in my Small Universe when I was cultivating in seclusion. Clearly, it was already there when I first formed my own Small Universe. When I discovered it for the first time, it was still a sapling; however, as time passed, it grew into a huge tree. With this thing around, I feel that my Small Universe is stable and impervious to outside interference. I have a feeling that this thing seems to have something to do with the fact that my Small Universe has materialised. What do you think this thing looks like, Dao Lord?”
Yang Kai looked up at him, “It’s a World Tree clone.”
[I was the one who put it into your body, so how could I not know about it?]
Back then, Yang Kai acquired three World Tree clones from the Old Tree. One of them was given to Wu Kuang, another was planted in the Myriad Monsters World. The final one was sealed in Fang Tian Ci’s body.
Before he ascended to the Open Heaven Realm, the World Tree clone was in a dormant state and naturally unnoticeable, but now that he was an Open Heaven Realm Master, the World Tree clone sprung to life.
Time waited for no man. If Yang Kai wanted Fang Tian Ci to grow as quickly as possible, this World Tree clone was essential.
“It really is a World Tree clone!” Fang Tian Ci seemed to have expected this, but was still shocked by the answer.
If he hadn’t seen the World Tree clone in the Star Boundary, he wouldn’t have associated it with the one in his Small Universe. He only knew that it must be some kind of amazing tree; however, when he saw the giant World Tree clone in the Star Boundary, he instantly realised that there was also one in his Small Universe.
“Dao Lord, do you know why there is a World Tree clone in my Small Universe?” Fang Tian Ci appeared puzzled. He wanted to see Yang Kai because he wanted to ask him about this.
“What’s so surprising about it?” Yang Kai smiled, “Look.”
As he spoke, he opened a portal to his own Small Universe.
Fang Tian Ci looked up and infused his Divine Sense into the portal, after which he saw the entirety of the Void World. He also saw the Void Dao Temple and a massive tree in the centre of this World that was even larger than the World Tree clone in the Star Boundary.
“Dao Lord, you…” Fang Tian Ci widened his eyes in disbelief. He had lived in the Void World for 2,000 years and travelled the entire World as far as he knew, but he had not known that there was such an enormous tree in the Void World.
It was apparent that the Dao Lord had hidden it from them.
“You’re not the only one who obtained such an opportunity.” Yang Kai closed the portal and didn’t intend to explain anything. When the seal in his Human Self dissolved one day, Fang Tian Ci would understand everything. It was pointless to explain anything to him now.
Fang Tian Ci was still baffled. He felt that he had gotten the answer to his doubts, but it also felt as though he had learned nothing.
“Having this opportunity is just one factor in your life, the key is how you turn this opportunity into your own power,” Yang Kai explained. The Human Self appeared to be straightforward and honest, so Yang Kai decided to be a little more direct, “Do you know why I’ve become who I am today and why I’m more powerful than other Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters?”
Fang Tian Ci shook his head.
“It’s because I’ve had many opportunities in life,” Yang Kai stated bluntly, “There’s no use only doing things step by step when it comes to cultivation. Only by seizing opportunities will you grow stronger quickly. It’s only been around 2,000 years since I started cultivating, but I’m now an Eighth-Order Master. Moreover, I started as a Fifth-Order Master. Anyone else would’ve been considered lucky if he could ascend to the next Order in 2,000 years.”
After a moment of silence, he continued, “The World Tree clone contains a mysterious power that seals and stabilizes one’s Small Universe. With the clone in your possession, your Small Universe is naturally shielded from any external forces. More importantly, you do not have to fear Black Ink Strength. Other Open Heaven Realm Masters, even Eighth-Order Masters, have to divert part of their strength and attention to resist Black Ink Strength while fighting the Black Ink Clan, but we don’t have to do that. Just let it wash over you, for you can suppress it with ease. You’re not at risk of getting corrupted by Black Ink Strength; therefore, when you battle against the Black Ink Clan in the future, go all out without fear. Don’t let the other party off if you can defeat them. If you’re less powerful than them, run. You’re also an expert in the Dao of Space now, and given your Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm cultivation, no one can harm you unless an Innate Territory Lord makes a move.”
Yang Kai paused for a moment before saying, “Also, the World Tree clone can condense and purify World Force which will help you refine your strength. You’ve been cultivating for many years already, so I’m sure you know that the purer one’s power is, the more powerful one is.”
Fang Tian Ci nodded.
What Yang Kai said was simple to understand. Hitting someone with a one-kilogram wooden slab or a one-kilogram iron block had totally different effects. Although they weighed the same, there was no doubt the latter would cause more damage. That was the benefit of having purer power.
Over the years, Fang Tian Ci had fought many battles, but he had never been defeated. What he relied on wasn’t his Realm, but his solid foundation, which brought him very pure power. Most of the time, his opponents had higher cultivation than his own, but he remained more powerful.
When Yang Kai saw that Fang Tian Ci was mesmerised, he went on to say, “Certainly, these benefits are useful for going against enemies, but let’s also talk about the benefits this thing has when it comes to cultivation. When an Open Heaven Realm Master ascends to the Seventh Order, their Small Universe will materialise. That allows them to raise living beings in their body. However, if you ask around, you’ll realise that no Open Heaven Realm Master, not even the Ninth-Order Old Ancestors, keeps living beings in their Small Universes. Do you know why?”
Fang Tian Ci shook his head as he appeared eager to find out more.
Certainly, Yang Kai was pleased with his reaction.
“That’s because, without something to seal and stabilize one’s Small Universe, when an Open Heaven Realm Master deals with a powerful opponent, their Small Universe inevitably shakes violently. When that happens, the entire World is thrown into turmoil. In that case, how many living beings do you think will survive?”
Upon hearing the explanation, Fang Tian Ci said, “Does Dao Lord mean that with the World Tree clone protecting my Small Universe, when I fight with someone, my Small Universe won’t be affected?”
Yang Kai replied with a smile, “You’re a promising young man. I’ve exchanged moves with countless Masters before, and even some Royal Lords who tried to hunt me down. However, when you lived in the Void World back then, did you ever feel any tremors? Without the World Tree clone to guard my Small Universe, the Void World would’ve been destroyed instead of becoming as prosperous as it is today.”
A puzzled Fang Tian Ci asked, “Dao Lord, what benefits do we get by doing so?”
“There are a lot of benefits,” Yang Kai explained enthusiastically, “As living beings are born, live, and die in the ones’ Small Universe, they produce a lot of World Force. In other words, even if you don’t cultivate, your heritage will still grow slowly. The more living beings there are, the quicker your power will grow.”
Fang Tian Ci finally realised something, “Is that why Dao Lord’s cultivation speed is much quicker than others?”
“Yes.”
An excited Fang Tian Ci said, “Disciple understands now. What Dao Lord means is that I should find some living beings and place them into my Small Universe as well. That way, I’ll also become a Seventh-Order or even Eighth-Order Master sooner.”
“There’s no need for that. Don’t tell anyone you have a World Tree clone. There will always be some wicked people out there who will stop at nothing to acquire treasures. I have enough power to protect myself, so no one will dare to harm me; however, once others find out that you have a World Tree clone, you might fall into danger.”
“What should this disciple do, then?” Fang Tian Ci asked humbly. It wouldn’t have mattered if he didn’t know the World Tree clone’s advantages, but now that he was aware of them, he had to make good use of it.
“I’ll give you something. Open up your Small Universe,” Yang Kai ordered.
Fang Tian Ci opened up the portal as he was told.
Yang Kai did the same as a thought flashed across his mind. The next moment, Fang Tian Ci felt that the Dao Lord had stuffed something into his Small Universe.
As he looked into his Small Universe, he was amazed.
A moment later, Yang Kai closed the portal and explained, “They are Small Stone Race members. Although they have very low sentience, they reproduce rapidly. Moreover, by raising them, you’ll gain 10 times the benefits compared to raising other living beings. Take good care of them. They’ll be useful to you.”
“Many thanks, Dao Lord.” Fang Tian Ci saluted him.
“I’ll also give you some resources. You’ll need them when you cultivate.”
“Disciple thanks Dao Lord for his generosity.”
“I also have some artifacts for you. You’re a Sixth-Order Master now. Just take them and refine them when you’re free. They might save your life when you’re in danger.”
“Yes.”
“Good, I have to continue recuperating. You may leave now.”
Fang Tian Ci got to his feet and saluted him, “Disciple will take his leave now.”
Yang Kai only waved his hand.
Fang Tian Ci felt his emotions undulating in his heart as he left the cave mansion. After cultivating for 2,000 years, he finally had the chance to fight against the Black Ink Clan. He decided that he must not disappoint the Dao Lord or tarnish the Dao Temple’s name.
Suddenly, he realised that the Dao Lord hadn’t actually answered his question. He still had no idea whether the fact that his Small Universe had materialised had something to do with the World Tree clone or not.
Soon, he shook his head with a smile, for it was no longer necessary to harp on this issue. After his chat with the Dao Lord, he now knew what he had to do for his future. Just by heading in that direction, he would grow stronger quickly.
Furthermore, the Dao Lord had given him many things.
Hua Qing Si had been waiting for him. Fang Tian Ci walked up to her and cupped his fist, “Many thanks, Head Manager.”
She shook her head with a smile, “Don’t mention it.”
“Head Manager, which Great Territory should I head to?”
Hua Qing Si replied, “There’s no rush. There’s something I have to ask you.”
“Please go ahead, Head Manager.”
“The Palace Master… I mean, your Dao Lord is an expert in three Grand Daos, which are the Dao of Space, the Dao of Time, and the Spear Dao. I’m sure you’re aware of this.”
Fang Tian Ci nodded. Every cultivator in the Void World knew this, for the Dao Essences of these three Grand Daos were the richest in the atmosphere.
“Have you cultivated one of these three Grand Daos?” Hua Qing Si asked.
Fang Tian Ci replied, “I’ve cultivated all of them.”
Hua Qing Si was startled, “Really?”
She had come into contact with many disciples from the Void Dao Temple before and it could be said that 1 out of 10 had a certain mastery of one of these three Grand Daos. A much smaller number of them had dabbled in two of these Grand Daos.
However, she had never met anyone who had cultivated all three Grand Daos before. Fang Tian Ci was the first.
It was no wonder that the Palace Master was willing to see him even though he was recuperating. It seemed that he valued Fang Tian Ci highly.
“Then, do you know your level of mastery over these three Grand Daos?”
Fang Tian Ci appeared hesitant as he had no idea how to reply to her.
Hua Qing Si smiled, “It’s fine. Come with me.” She knew that it wasn’t easy to answer this question.
Saying so, she led the way for him while Fang Tian Ci followed her.
Soon, they arrived at a secret place at the back of High Heaven Palace. There were three palaces in front of them. Fang Tian Ci looked intently and felt that some mysterious powers were undulating from those three palaces.
Hua Qing Si explained, “These are the Sealed Worlds that the Palace Master has left behind for the disciples of the Void Dao Temple. They correspond to the Dao of Space, the Dao of Time, and the Spear Dao. If anyone has inherited part of his legacy into one of these Grand Daos, they can enter and get some training. It’s also a place to test your mastery over these Grand Daos.”
Fang Tian Ci’s eyes brightened when he heard that. Since the Dao Lord had left behind these Sealed Worlds, they must be amazing. If he could go in and cultivate, he would benefit from it.
“Test our mastery over these Grand Daos?”
Hua Qing Si nodded, “There is no end to the cultivation of the Grand Dao. In the past, there were no guidelines or specific quantitative measures to gauge one’s mastery. The Palace Master invented some guidelines for categorising one’s mastery over each Grand Dao, and most people have acknowledged it.”
Fang Tian Ci’s interest was piqued, “What are the guidelines?”
Hua Qing Si explained, “The guidelines are based on the Open Heaven Realm, so there are nine levels in total. The First Level is the lowest and Ninth Level is the highest. In sequence, they are Superficial Contact, Peering Through the Doors, Taking the Initial Steps, Traversing a Familiar Path, Attaining Mastery Through Comprehensive Understanding, Exceeding the Ordinary to Reach the Extraordinary, Standing Above All Others Within Sight, Summiting the Peak, and Shocking History and Dazzling the Present. Usually, when a person manages to condense their Dao Seal using their main Grand Dao, they will be at a level of Peering Through the Doors. When they ascend to the Open Heaven Realm, they will automatically reach the level of Taking the Initial Steps.”
(Note: There were 10 levels in the past… the author seems to have decided to change that so there are now 9.)
Fang Tian Ci gave it some thought and felt shocked. When a person condensed his or her Dao Seal, they had only reached the Second Level of mastery, and when they ascended to the Open Heaven Realm, they reached the Third Level. Fang Tian Ci couldn’t help but wonder how high the Dao Lord’s achievements in the three Grand Daos were.
Furthermore, the categorisation showed that the higher the level, the more difficult it was to comprehend new insights.
“These three Sealed Worlds correspond to the three Grand Daos. There are some hurdles inside, and every hurdle represents a level. Your limit will be the level of your mastery of a specific Grand Dao,” Hua Qing Si explained.
Upon hearing her explanation, Fang Tian Ci nodded, “Disciple understands.”
“Which Sealed World would you like to try first?” Hua Qing Si looked at him.
Fang Tian Ci replied, “The Space Dao Sealed World.”
Hua Qing Si pointed at the leftmost Grand Hall, “That is the Space Dao Sealed World. Just go in on your own. I’ll be waiting outside.”
Fang Tian Ci saluted her and stepped into the Grand Hall while Hua Qing Si waited outside.
After Yang Kai left behind these three Sealed Worlds back then, those from High Heaven Palace were the ones who built these Palaces. Over the years, many disciples from the Void Dao Temple came to this place to get some training. They had inherited the three Grand Daos thanks to Yang Kai’s blessing.
Even some Dragon Clan and Phoenix Clan members were interested in the Time Dao Sealed World and the Space Dao Sealed World.
These Sealed Worlds were not only places to test one’s mastery of Grand Daos but also wonderful training grounds. Hua Qing Si had never entered any of these Palaces before, so she had no idea what was inside. However, she was sure that the Palace Master must have left behind many of his own insights. By breaking through the hurdles inside, those who had cultivated these three Grand Daos would gain massive benefits.
It wasn’t until half a month later that an energetic Fang Tian Ci left the Grand Hall.
Without stopping, he entered the second Palace where the Time Dao Sealed World was located.
Half a month later, he stepped into the Spear Dao Sealed World.
When he finally shuffled out of the third Grand Hall, Hua Qing Si could feel that his aura had become far more stable. Although his cultivation didn’t increase much, his strength must’ve improved significantly.
“I’m sorry to keep you waiting, Head Manager,” Fang Tian Ci saluted her with a joyful expression. He had gained massive benefits by going through the three Sealed Worlds this time. Nonetheless, he had reached his limits. He reckoned that when he cultivated for a longer time and gained a deeper understanding of the Grand Daos, he would be able to cross even more hurdles.
Hua Qing Si shook her head to show that it was fine, “How many hurdles have you passed in the Space Dao Sealed World?”
Fang Tian Ci replied, “It’s embarrassing, but I was stuck at the sixth hurdle.”
Hua Qing Si was slightly surprised. Fang Tian Ci had just ascended to the Open Heaven Realm, but he had managed to overcome five hurdles. Such an achievement had never happened before. Many disciples had left the Dao Temple over the years, and some of them had cultivated the Dao of Space; however, the best result achieved so far was the fourth hurdle. In other words, they were on the level of Traversing a Familiar Path.
Nonetheless, Fang Tian Ci had achieved the level of Attaining Mastery Through a Comprehensive Understanding of the Dao of Space.
One must not underestimate the difference of one level, for it meant a vast disparity between achievements. The difference was akin to the differences in Order in the Open Heaven Realm.
The Palace Master’s First Disciple, Zhao Ye Bai, had only achieved the Sixth Level when his mastery was tested.
Hua Qing Si thought that it was such a shame. There was no doubt Fang Tian Ci was a talented person, but unfortunately, he had only ascended to the Sixth-Order. Had he directly ascended to the Seventh-Order, he could’ve attained amazing achievements like the Palace Master’s three Disciples.
The mastery of a Grand Dao was different from cultivation. As long as one hadn’t reached their innate limit, they could improve their cultivation by putting in the effort and resources.
However, comprehension and enlightenment were required to master Grand Daos. Without enough wits, one couldn’t advance far in any Grand Dao regardless of how powerful their cultivation was.
Hua Qing Si was also a veteran Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, so she naturally understood this.
She initially only wanted to find out Fang Tian Ci’s mastery over the Dao of Space, but she couldn’t suppress her curiosity as she asked, “What about your results in the Time Dao Sealed World and the Spear Dao Sealed World?”
A bashful Fang Tian Ci replied, “I only overcame the fifth hurdle in the Time Dao Sealed World. It’s worse in the Spear Dao Sealed World. I only passed the fourth hurdle.”
He looked embarrassed, as though he had disappointed the Dao Lord.
On the other hand, Hua Qing Si was lost for words.
When she heard Fang Tian Ci say that he had cultivated all three Grand Daos, she thought that he had only majored in one and perhaps dabbled a bit in the other two.
Now, that didn’t seem to be the case.
This Fang Tian Ci had attained a high level of mastery in all three Grand Daos!
One had to know that Fang Tian Ci had just made it to the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm, but he had already attained such achievements. There was no doubt he had a bright future ahead of him.
Although the Spear Dao was his worst Grand Dao, he had still passed the fourth hurdle, which was already something most Dao Temple disciples were unable to achieve.
Given this man’s amazing comprehension skills and achievements, Hua Qing Si even suspected that he might be the Palace Master’s illegitimate child; otherwise, he wouldn’t have been so gifted even though he came from the Void World.
After examining his face though, Hua Qing Si shook her head, for Fang Tian Ci looked nothing like Yang Kai.
Finding her thoughts ridiculous, she smiled helplessly. The Palace Master had many beautiful Wives, so if he wanted to have a child, he didn’t have to do it furtively. Since the Palace Master still didn’t have any descendants after so many years, he apparently didn’t want to distract himself by having to look after his offspring yet.
Nonetheless, she didn’t know that this seemingly preposterous idea was actually quite close to the truth.
Fang Tian Ci wasn’t an illegitimate child; instead, he had an even closer relationship with Yang Kai, for he was the latter’s Human Self.
“Head Manager?” Fang Tian Ci called out to her. For some reason, he felt there was something off about the Head Manager’s gaze when she looked at him.
Hua Qing Si came to her senses and cast away her wild ideas before saying, “Is there any Great Territory you’d like to go to?”
Fang Tian Ci shook his head with a smile, “No. I’m fine with any assignment given to me.”
After pondering for a moment, Hua Qing Si said, “In that case, you should probably head to Profound Nether Territory. The Palace Master is in charge of that place on paper; however, since there’s an agreement in place, he can’t make a move as he pleases. As such, he decided to return here to cultivate.”
Fang Tian Ci didn’t understand when she mentioned the ‘agreement’, but when he learned that Yang Kai was in charge of Profound Nether Territory, he nodded joyfully, “I’ll go to Profound Nether Territory, then.”
Certainly, he had to take a look at the Great Territory where the Dao Lord was in charge.
“Good. If you are interested, once you arrive at Profound Nether Territory, you can look for a little bra… young man named Yang Xiao. His Squad is recruiting members who are experts in the Dao of Space. You can make your own decision, of course, and this is by no means an order. In fact, no one in Profound Nether Territory will give you any orders. You’ll be free to do as you see fit there,” Hua Qing Si explained with a smile. [Stinking Brat, I’ve done my best to help you, as for whether you’ll be able to keep him, that depends on your own capabilities.]
A few years ago, Yang Xiao had sent a message to Hua Qing Si and asked her to look out for disciples from the Void Dao Temple who had cultivated the Dao of Space. Although quite a number of disciples had left the Void Dao Temple over the years, there still weren’t a lot of them. As such, there were even fewer people who were skilled in the Dao of Space.
Hua Qing Si had recommended two people so far, but unfortunately, their mastery over the Dao of Space was not up to Yang Xiao’s standards.
Fang Tian Ci, on the other hand, was a suitable candidate.
Nevertheless, it wasn’t like she could force Fang Tian Ci to do anything. She had only given him a suggestion; as for whether he would look for Yang Xiao, that was his decision to make.
“Disciple understands,” Fang Tian Ci nodded.
Then, Hua Qing Si gave him a Universe Chart, “Head to Profound Nether Territory on your own, then. Don’t forget to check in at the Army Headquarters and register your name when you arrive.”
“Yes!” Fang Tian Ci replied and put away the Universe Char before leaping into the air.
He only had to pass through one Great Territory to go from High Heaven Territory to Profound Nether Territory. It was also the Great Territory where the Supreme Headquarters was located, so it was safe. In fact, as long as the 13 Great Territory Battlefields on the frontlines were not broken through, the defence at the back would remain impenetrable.
Fang Tian Ci kept checking the Universe Chart to verify his location while sometimes using Space Principles to hasten his pace.
A month later, he passed through the Great Territory where the Supreme Headquarters was located and arrived at Profound Nether Territory. Then, he intercepted a Squad of people, who seemed like they were heading back from the battlefield to get some rest, and asked them for directions. Following that, he headed straight to the Universe Fragment where the Army Headquarters of Profound Nether Territory was located.
Upon his arrival, he reported his name and background. After his information was registered, he received an Identity Token. The person handling this matter for him was a beautiful woman who was only a Third-Order Master.
Due to her weak cultivation, she could not contribute much in terms of war potential, so she dealt with administrative matters as part of the support staff.
The woman was very patient, and upon learning that it was Fang Tian Ci’s first time in Profound Nether Territory and that he had never fought with the Black Ink Clan before, she explained many things to him, which Fang Tian Ci was grateful for.
Then, Fang Tian Ci asked, “Do you know Yang Xiao?”
The woman’s eyes brightened when she heard that, “Sir Yang Xiao? I know him, of course. Are you looking for him?”
Fang Tian Ci was startled. Hua Qing Si only told him to come to Profound Nether Territory and look for Yang Xiao if he was interested, but she never gave him any details. He initially thought that it would be hard to look for one person on this vast battlefield, but it now seemed that it wasn’t so difficult.
Since a cultivator dealing with administrative tasks in the rear was aware of Yang Xiao’s name, it seemed that he was pretty famous.
However, when Fang Tian Ci realised that the woman was blushing, he knew that Yang Xiao was not just famous for his battle record.
Just as he expected, when the woman realised that he was looking for Yang Xiao, she appeared more enthusiastic, “Why are you looking for Sir Yang Xiao, Senior Brother?”
Fang Tian Ci explained, “I just came from High Heaven Palace where the Head Manager told me to look for him.”
The woman’s eyes became even brighter, “You’re from High Heaven Palace?”
Yang Kai was in charge of Profound Nether Territory on paper, and he was the Palace Master of High Heaven Palace. Many of the cultivators in this place also came from High Heaven Palace. There was no doubt that High Heaven Palace was the most famous Great Force in the entire Profound Nether Territory. Even the Cave Heavens and Paradises were no match for it.
“Do you have a Universe Chart?” The woman asked.
“Yes,” Fang Tian Ci promptly fished out his Universe Chart and passed it to her.
The woman took it and surged her Divine Sense before giving it back to him, “Sir Yang Xiao’s Squad always remains on the frontlines. Recently, they’re supposed to be getting some rest at this forward outpost. If you head over now, you might find them there.”
Fang Tian Ci looked into the Universe Chart and saw a marked location in Profound Nether Territory. “Many thanks,” he nodded gratefully.
Following that, he was ready to leave.
“Wait a moment!” The woman called out to him.
“Is there anything else, Junior Sister?”
The woman bashfully passed him a Space Ring.
Fang Tian Ci was puzzled as to what was going on.
The woman said sheepishly, “Please pass this to Sir Yang Xiao. Since I can’t fight the enemy directly, I’d like to give Sir Yang Xiao some pills that can heal his wounds and restore his energy. Please tell him to stay safe.”
“Alright,” Fang Tian Ci nodded. Although he had never met Yang Xiao before, he thought that the latter must be quite popular among the ladies. That was why this woman only wanted to give some pills to Yang Xiao even though there were so many soldiers at the frontline.
“By the way, my name is Yun Xi!” The woman added.
Fang Tian Ci was torn between tears and laughter, thinking that Yang Xiao might not even know who this woman was if he gave him her name.
Following the directions in the Universe Chart, Fang Tian Ci took a few days to arrive at the forward outpost; however, before he even entered the place, he was stopped. Although he had shown them his Identity Token, he was still asked to enter a Purifying Array.
The soldiers who fought with the enemy were at risk of being corrupted by Black Ink Strength. Once that happened, they would become Black Ink Disciples, who didn’t look different from the normal cultivators.
Because it was impossible to tell a Black Ink Disciple from an ordinary Human just by observing them, a large Purifying Array was arranged at every forward outpost. Its design was based on the interior of a Purifying Black Ink Battleship and it contained a lot of Purifying Light.
Anyone who had been corrupted by Black Ink Strength or had become a Black Ink Disciple would have that Black Ink Strength dispelled by Purifying Light the moment they stepped into this array.
Someone who hadn’t been corrupted by Black Ink Strength wouldn’t lose anything by entering it.
When there was a change of affairs in Profound Nether Territory back then, some Black Ink Disciples tried to sneak into the forward outposts; however, their Black Ink Strength was purified by the Purifying Array, which allowed them to regain their original nature.
Soon, the Black Ink Clan stopped doing such a futile thing. All the same, the Purifying Array remained, for some cultivators might be accidentally corrupted by Black Ink Strength. The array could save their lives.
The moment Fang Tian Ci stepped out of the array, he was amazed by what he saw.
The huge forward outpost was like a prosperous city. The streets were neat and clean, with shops lining them for as far as the eye could see. There was also a massive number of people walking around.
The cultivators who moved around this place were all Open Heaven Realm Masters.
Fang Tian Ci had never seen so many Open Heaven Realm Masters in one place before, and this was just one of the forward outposts operated by the Humans.
It was said that there were a total of 10 similar forward outposts in Profound Nether Territory.
That wasn’t even including the headquarters at the rear.
Nonetheless, it also made Fang Tian Ci realise how formidable the Black Ink Clan must be. So many Open Heaven Realm Masters had gathered in the same Great Territory, yet they were still unable to destroy the Black Ink Clan, which went to show how powerful the enemy was.
The cultivators were mostly in groups of three to five people with some bigger groups reaching a dozen or so. Rarely was anyone on his own like Fang Tian Ci.
While he was looking around, someone came up to him and cupped his fist, “Greetings, Senior Brother.”
Fang Tian Ci looked around, but upon confirming that the other party was speaking to him, he saluted him back with an awkward expression, “What’s the matter, Junior Brother?”
The other party’s aura suggested that he was a Fifth-Order Master. Given the fact that Fang Tian Ci was a Sixth-Order Master, it was only reasonable that he called him Junior Brother. If they were in the same Sect, seniority would be important. If they were not from the same Sect, they would usually address each other according to their cultivation.
“Is it your first time here, Senior Brother? If so, please come with me.” Saying so, the person passionately took his sleeve and tried to drag him away.
Fang Tian Ci found it strange, [Is it so obvious that it’s my first time here?]
Unbeknownst to him, his reaction was indeed conspicuous to the others. Only a cultivator who arrived at this place for the first time would be curious about his surroundings.
Just then, another person leaped forward and intercepted them before politely greeting Fang Tian Ci, “Well met, Senior Brother.”
Then, he looked at the Fifth-Order Master, who was holding Fang Tian Ci’s sleeve, and said, “Brother Zhou, it’s Fei Yun Squad’s turn this time. You’ve crossed the line by snatching him like this!”
Brother Zhou shook his head, “There are only a few people in the Fei Yun Squad. I told you to merge yours with another Squad, but you just wouldn’t listen to me. So what if you manage to persuade him to join your Squad? You won’t keep him for long.”
The cultivator from Fei Yun Squad snapped, “Nonsense! All four of us in the Fei Yun Squad are above the Fifth Order. In fact, Squad Leader Chai is a Sixth-Order Master. All of us are powerful, so how could you compare us to the other Squads?”
“It’s not like our Squad Leader isn’t a Sixth-Order Master. Senior Brother, we have one Sixth-Order Master and two Fifth-Order Masters in the Thousand Mountain Squad. There are six people in total. Given our collective power, we’re even able to deal with a Feudal Lord if we come across one.”
“Don’t listen to his nonsense, Senior Brother. If his Thousand Mountain Squad ran into a Feudal Lord, they’d immediately run away instead of fighting. The Fei Yun Squad is different. We accidentally bumped into a Feudal Lord the other day, and under Squad Leader Chai’s leadership, not only did we manage to withdraw safely, but we also dealt that Feudal Lord a painful blow.”
Fang Tian Ci was perplexed as he listened to these two, but after giving it some thought, he soon realised what was going on.
Apart from the six Great Territories where things remained unchanged, the other Great Territories didn’t have any Eighth-Order Masters and Territory Lords involved directly in the war. As such, both the Humans and the Black Ink Clan had scattered their soldiers around. The Humans relied heavily on Squads as they hunted the Black Ink Clansmen down.
Apparently, when these two people saw that Fang Tian Ci was new to this place, and as such wasn’t part of any Squad, they decided to recruit him into theirs.
Nonetheless, Hua Qing Si had already given him a suggestion regarding this matter. Even if she hadn’t, Fang Tian Ci wasn’t ready to join any Squad in a hurry. At the very least, he had to figure out the current state of affairs in Profound Nether Territory first.
One had to sharpen his tools before starting to work. It was crucial to collect more information first.
Fang Tian Ci raised his hand to stop them from arguing and cupped his fist with a smile, “Many thanks for inviting this Fang to your Squads, but I’m afraid I must decline. Before coming to Profound Nether Territory, Head Manager Hua told me to look for a certain Senior Brother.”
Both of the recruiters instantly fell silent while ‘Brother Zhou’ smiled helplessly, “You already have somewhere to go? In that case, please forgive our rudeness.” Then, he asked curiously, “Who are you looking for, Senior Brother?”
Fang Tian Ci had the intention of asking them about Yang Xiao; after all, they seemed to be stationed at this forward outpost, so they should be familiar with the goings-on in this place. He then told them he was looking for Yang Xiao.
Instantly, they wore respectful looks.
“Are you from High Heaven Palace, Senior Brother?”
“Yes.”
“I see. If you’re looking for Senior Brother Yang, you just have to wait here for a few days. Senior Brother Yang has just taken his Ten Directions Supreme Squad out on a hunt. I suppose it’ll take him some time before he returns.”
“Ten Directions Supreme Squad?” After pondering for a moment, Fang Tian Ci replied with a smile, “That’s an interesting name for Senior Brother Yang’s Squad.”
The two of them exchanged glances and let out a dry laugh. The Squad’s name was more than just being interesting, for its full name was ‘My Adoptive Father in all Ten Directions reigns Supreme, but I am Second to Him’!
Upon learning that Yang Xiao’s Squad would come back sometime later, Fang Tian Ci decided to wait beside the Purifying Array. That way, as soon as Yang Xiao returned, Fang Tian Ci would find out about it, ensuring that he wouldn’t miss the chance to meet him.
Having cultivated for thousands of years already, Fang Tian Ci had grown to be a patient person. He could wait for years at a time, let alone a few days.
No one came up to him again; as such, he was able to sit down and cultivate with peace of mind.
Some 10 days later, Fang Tian Ci heard some shouts of excitement while he was cultivating.
“The Ten Directions Supreme Squad has returned! They’ve done something big this time by destroying a Black Ink Clan Army of 30,000!”
“For real?”
“It’s true! I heard that they’ve even killed eight Feudal Lords this time.”
“He’s just as formidable as his Father.”
“Well, that’s nothing. We could do the same if our Squad had so many powerful members.”
“What nonsense are you saying? It’s extremely difficult to destroy a Black Ink Clan Army of 30,000. No one would dare to challenge so many Black Ink Clansmen if they weren’t capable enough. Usually, it’ll take more than 10 Squads and at least the same number of Seventh-Order Masters to deal with so many Black Ink Clansmen. The Ten Directions Supreme Squad hadn’t sought any external help this time. Furthermore, it seems that they’ve returned unscathed.”
As Fang Tian Ci listened to the noise around him, he realised something and opened his eyes, only to see the cultivators around him staring fixedly at the Purifying Array. There was a look of reverence on their faces, as though they were waiting for a Heroic General who had just won a great war to return.
As a light flashed across the Purifying Array, a figure emerged.
He was a young man who was clad in white robes. Even his hair was silvery-white. Not only did he look handsome, but he also appeared noble and imposing.
The moment he appeared, the people around him started greeting him hospitably. It seemed that this white-robed young man was quite popular in this forward outpost.
The men looked at him with admiration while the women stared at him with fervour, as though they were trying to melt the young man with their eyes.
They kept greeting him by calling him ‘Big Brother Yang Xiao’ and ‘Sir Yang Xiao’.
[Is this the Yang Xiao that the Head Manager told me to look for?]
Fang Tian Ci examined the young man and realised that the latter was indeed an outstanding individual. After stepping out of the array, Yang Xiao greeted everyone with a faint smile. He wasn’t aloof, but he wasn’t passionate either.
However, what puzzled Fang Tian Ci was that there was an old-looking turtle the size of a small plate sitting on the young man’s head, looking just like a hat.
As though noticing his stare, the old turtle extended his neck and took a look at him.
Fang Tian Ci was startled, for this small turtle was obviously a powerful Master. The aura he exuded momentarily suggested that he was no less powerful than a Seventh-Order Master.
Following behind Yang Xiao was a woman who was also clad in a white dress. Fang Tian Ci wasn’t sure if it was just his delusion, but he felt that the woman and the Dao Lord looked similar.
Then, more figures shuffled out of the array. Following behind Yang Xiao and the white-robed woman were two young men and one young woman.
One of the men looked like an honest and cheerful person, but something seemed to be troubling him as he kept shaking his head.
The woman walked alongside him as she whispered to him. Although she was gorgeous, her expression was frigid, like an unsheathed blade. Fang Tian Ci only looked at her for a moment, but he still felt as though something had pierced into his soul.
The other young man had a distinct bowl-cut hairstyle. Just like Yang Xiao at the front, he kept greeting the cultivators around him, seemingly enjoying the attention.
Behind them was an Ancient Ominous Beast. On its head sat a Stone Man with his arms crossed, looking as though he was full of himself.
Meanwhile, riding on the Ominous Beast’s back were a young boy and a young girl.
The young boy appeared to be adorable, but when he smiled, his mouth tore apart and revealed a hideous set of teeth.
On the other hand, the young girl appeared quite cute and delicate.
[This Ten Directions Supreme Squad’s members are a bit strange…]
Despite their eccentricity, Fang Tian Ci could feel that they were all powerful.
None of the members in the Squad were weak, as most of them exuded a might equivalent to Seventh-Order Masters; as for those who didn’t, they were all Sixth-Order Masters.
It was no wonder that this Squad was able to destroy a Black Ink Clan Army of 30,000. Any Black Ink Clan Army would be doomed if they came across such a lineup.
Nevertheless, the fact that they were completely unharmed illustrated just how strong they were.
The Head Manager had given Fang Tian Ci a good recommendation. If he could join such a Squad, Fang Tian Ci would never be bored again.
After giving it some thought, he stepped forward and soon arrived in front of Yang Xiao. Then, he cupped his fist and said, “High Heaven Palace, Fang Tian Ci, greets Senior Brother Yang.”
It wasn’t until this moment that he realised the Dao Lord and this Senior Brother shared the surname Yang.
[Are they related in any way?]
However, Yang Xiao looked nothing like Yang Kai. On the other hand, the white-robed woman beside him resembled the Dao Lord quite a bit.
“Oh?” Yang Xiao looked at him with surprise, “You’re from High Heaven Palace?”
Yang Xiao found the other man unfamiliar. Since he didn’t know him, he reckoned that the latter was a newly promoted Sixth-Order Master.
“Yes. The Head Manager said you’re recruiting members, and she told me to look for you.”
Hearing that, Yang Xiao appeared pleasantly surprised, “Head Manager Hua told you to look for me?” He then realised that this guy was from the Void Dao Temple; otherwise, Head Manager Hua wouldn’t have asked him to seek him out. At that moment, Yang Xiao started feeling expectant. Hua Qing Si had recommended two people previously, but unfortunately, their abilities were not up to his standards; as such, he recommended them to other Squads.
Anyway, cultivators who had cultivated the Dao of Space were universally welcomed, so they were soon accepted.
When fighting with the Black Ink Clan, even though strong Masters could help kill more enemies, there would also be times when escaping was essential. In times like these, cultivators who had cultivated the Dao of Space proved to be invaluable.
On all the battlefields, there was no doubt that the disciples from the Void Dao Temple were the most popular, especially those who had cultivated the Dao of Space. Once such people appeared, countless Squads would invite them to join them by offering many perks.
Yang Xiao was eager to find out Fang Tian Ci’s abilities, so without hesitation, he turned to the honest-looking young man and said, “Junior Brother Zhao, give him a test.”
Zhao Ye Bai stepped forward and motioned for Fang Tian Ci to follow him.
Fang Tian Ci knew that it was a test he had to pass if he wanted to join the Ten Directions Supreme Squad. As such, he followed the other man without any questions.
Soon, they left the forward outpost and disappeared into the void.
An hour later, they returned together. While Zhao Ye Bai remained calm and collected, Fang Tian Ci seemed to be lost in his thoughts.
The test was nothing special as Fang Tian Ci was only tested on his utilisation of the Dao of Space.
Fang Tian Ci was initially confident, but he never expected that Zhao Ye Bai was also a Master of the Dao of Space. Moreover, Zhao Ye Bai had a greater mastery over this Grand Dao than he did.
There was no doubt that Fang Tian Ci had been defeated by the other man when it came to the Dao of Space, and it wasn’t because Zhao Ye Bai was an Order above him, but rather because his comprehension of the Dao of Space was greater.
Fang Tian Ci felt that he had learned a lot, and he also came to realise that there were always people beyond people.
“How was it?” Yang Xiao asked eagerly.
Zhao Ye Bai gently nodded in response.
Yang Xiao guffawed and passionately patted Fang Tian Ci’s shoulder, “From now on, you’re a member of the Ten Directions Supreme Squad. We can finally do something greater.”
His Squad was basically unrivalled in the entire Profound Nether Territory. Others were envious that they were able to kill enemies with ease, but the truth was, how was it possible for them to improve themselves if they felt no pressure?
Only the weak bullied those weaker than themselves, while those who were strong challenged those who were stronger.
Their goal wasn’t to make a name for themselves in Profound Nether Territory; instead, they wanted to storm into the Great Territories that the Black Ink Clansmen had occupied, destroy their Black Ink Nests, and ruthlessly kill all the Black Ink Clansmen they could find.
However, if they wanted to do that, they would face a huge risk even though their Squad members were powerful; as such, they needed enough power to protect themselves.
They initially had such a member.
Back then, with Liu Yan and Zhao Ye Bai joining forces, they could escape if they came across enemies they were unable to defeat; however, after Liu Yan returned to the Star Boundary to cultivate in seclusion in her Phoenix Nest, the Squad’s mobility and ability to escape had been significantly reduced. That was why Yang Xiao sent a message to Hua Qing Si, asking her to look out for people who were experts in the Dao of Space.
Since Fang Tian Ci had passed Zhao Ye Bai’s test, there was no doubt that he had gained the latter’s acknowledgement. Yang Xiao had faith in Zhao Ye Bai’s judgement.
“Come on. I’ll introduce our members to you,” Yang Xiao said enthusiastically.
As he introduced the Squad members to Fang Tian Ci, the cultivators around them were envious. They knew what it would mean if one could join the Ten Directions Supreme Squad; however, they also knew that it wasn’t easy to become one of them.
Yang Xiao wasn’t interested in anyone who wasn’t capable enough.
Although it was Fang Tian Ci’s first time meeting these people, he somehow felt as though he had known them for a long time; as such, he became close to them very quickly.
He sincerely admired Zhao Ye Bai as he cupped his fist and said, “Please give me more guidance in the future, Senior Brother Zhao.”
Zhao Ye Bai smiled frankly, “If there’s some free time, we can discuss the Dao of Space and have a friendly competition. Since you’ve cultivated the Dao of Space, you must be from the Void Dao Temple and have inherited the Honoured Master’s Grand Dao. As such, you shouldn’t underestimate yourself.”
“Honoured Master?” Fang Tian Ci was stunned.
Yang Xiao smilingly wrapped his arm around Fang Tian Ci’s shoulders, “Junior Brother Zhao is my Adoptive Father’s First Legacy Disciple.”
“Adoptive Father?” Fang Tian Ci was astounded.
“I’m talking about the Dao Lord as you all call him,” Yang Xiao explained nonchalantly. Then, he appeared somewhat envious, “That old man certainly has had some fun by building a Dao Temple in his Small Universe. If I had one of the Four Universe Pillars and a Small Universe, I would’ve done the same.”
Fang Tian Ci was bewildered.
Hua Qing Si only told him to come look for Yang Xiao, but she didn’t give him many details. It wasn’t until this moment that he realised many members of this Squad were closely related to the Dao Lord.
The Dao Lord’s Adoptive Son, Little Sister, and three Legacy Disciples were all members.
Certainly, Fang Tian Ci was aware of Zhao Ye Bai and the other two Legacy Disciples. When he was cultivating in the Dao Temple back then, he was informed that the Dao Lord had taken on three Disciples in the Void World. They were all legendary figures, but they were now standing right in front of him.
Upon that realization, Fang Tian Ci felt relieved. It was no wonder that Zhao Ye Bai had a better grasp of the Dao of Space; he was the Dao Lord’s First Disciple who inherited his Dao of Space. It wasn’t surprising that he was more skilful in this Grand Dao.
It was only reasonable that Fang Tian Ci was defeated.
Fang Tian Ci felt that the Head Manager had found him a wonderful Squad to be a part of.
Initially, he only decided to take a look at Yang Xiao in Profound Nether Territory after getting a suggestion from the Head Manager, but he hadn’t made up his mind yet to join his Squad. After all, he had been cultivating in seclusion in the Star Boundary since he left the Void World; as such, he knew little about the 3,000 Worlds.
He had his own ideas, but he would also accept kind recommendations. He had passed Zhao Ye Bai’s test, and he acknowledged that the latter had a better grasp of the Dao of Space. By cultivating alongside such a powerful person, he would gain immense benefits.
However, he soon realised that the Ten Directions Supreme Squad did not only have Senior Brother Zhao, but also Senior Sister Zhao and Senior Brother Xu.
The Dao Lord’s three Disciples had respectively inherited his three primary Grand Daos.
By joining the Ten Directions Supreme Squad, it would mean that Fang Tian Ci had a chance to frequently exchange insights on these Grand Daos with them. It was a good reason for him to join the Squad.
An energetic Yang Xiao declared, “Since that is settled, we should go and get some resources first; then, we’ll throw a welcome party for Junior Brother Fang. When we’re done getting prepared, we’ll set off.”
They could finally leave the Profound Nether Territory and roam the Great Territories that the Black Ink Clan had occupied. Yang Xiao could not wait to get started.
The others were naturally fine with it. Over the years, Yang Xiao had been the one leading the Squad. It wasn’t that he was the strongest. In fact, the Seventh-Order Masters in the Squad were all equally powerful. It was just that the others had no interest in managing the Squad’s affairs, so they decided to let Yang Xiao take charge of everything.
At the mention of resources, Fang Tian Ci suddenly recalled something and fished out a Space Ring, “By the way, Senior Brother Yang, when I was at the Army Headquarters the other day, a Junior Sister named Yun Xi told me to pass this to you. There are some pills inside…”
Before he could finish his words, he felt a forceful clasp on his shoulder, which caused him some pain.
Fang Tian Ci was astounded, thinking that Yang Xiao’s strength was quite intense.
“What are you talking about, Junior Brother? I don’t understand.”
Fang Tian Ci was confused so he tried to explain again, “Senior Brother, it was a Junior Sister named Yun Xi…”
“Hehe…” A melodious laugh was suddenly heard from the side. Fang Tian Ci reckoned that it was Yang Xue’s voice, and he could feel that Yang Xiao was shuddering.
When he turned his head, he saw Yang Xiao glaring at him, “Junior Brother, you should not follow the crooked path.”
Fang Tian Ci was puzzled.
Without explaining further, Yang Xiao left him and walked up to Yang Xue before whispering to her. Fang Tian Ci could faintly hear him saying, “I don’t know any such woman. Don’t listen to his nonsense.”
Zhao Ye Bai came over and patted Fang Tian Ci’s shoulder with a smile, “Let’s go, Junior Brother Fang.”
A worried Fang Tian Ci said, “Senior Brother Yang…”
“He had it coming!” Zhao Ya walked past them and snorted.
…..
In a dense forest, the sprawling branches seemed to be connected. All the trees were gigantic, and their crowns were so vast that when one looked down at the continent from above, it was as though it was a sea of green.
Although many Humans lived in the Myriad Monsters World now, the environment hadn’t changed much. Such wilderness had been sustained for uncountable years, so not much change would happen in a short time.
In this dense forest, danger was hidden everywhere. The roles of hunters and prey could be flipped upside down in an instant. A more powerful creature might just be hiding somewhere behind, waiting to pounce on its prey and gnaw at it.
It was the perfect representation of natural selection.
In such an environment, the Monster Race had an unrivalled advantage when it came to their cultivation. The Heavenly Way and Principles of this World favoured Monster Race too. It was made even more conspicuous after a World Tree clone was planted several hundred years ago.
More and more Great Monsters broke through their shackles and shook off the Universe World’s shackles, allowing them to head out into the expansive Outer Universe to explore the unknown.
As the strongest Great Monsters left, the original balance was shattered. After several hundred years of change, there was now a new order in this World.
Even though it was daytime, it was still extremely dark in the forest as the tree crowns blocked all sunlight.
An arm-thick snake with glistening skin slithered around a branch and approached its target in silence, a tree cave in the trunk that exuded the aura of blood and flesh.
Although the snake was furtive, the prey in the tree cave still noticed its presence. Just as the snake stuck its head into the tree cave, a grey shadow dashed out at the speed of lighting.
The snake seemed prepared. The moment the grey shadow appeared, the snake shot forward and opened its hideous mouth before biting down.
The grey shadow howled in pain, but it couldn’t get rid of the snake. As poison entered its body, the grey shadow soon stopped moving.
The snake then wrapped its body around the trunk and widened its bloody mouth. It was ready to enjoy its meal.
Unbeknownst to it, there was a shadow behind it that moved slightly. The shadow perfectly blended into the tree’s shadow, ensuring no one could see it. The shadow had seen the snake successfully take down its prey, but it remained unmoving, which showed how patient it was.
Just as the snake was deluged with the joy of having killed its prey, the dark shadow leapt out.
Compared to the snake, there was no doubt that the dark shadow was smaller, but it was extremely agile and appeared behind the snake in the blink of an eye before biting its neck.
The snake hissed in pain as its figure started writhing and fell to the ground. The dark shadow quickly leapt away with a piece of flesh in its mouth and gulped it down.
As a metallic tang permeated the area, the snake hissed wildly as it coiled up and raised its head high to intimidate the opponent.
However, the dark shadow remained unphased. As it stepped on the fallen leaves, it made no noise. It just kept circling the snake, patiently waiting for a chance to strike.
This kind of life-and-death battle frequently took place in the forest. The winner would enjoy its delicious meal while the loser ended up in the other’s stomach.
Half an hour later, the battle ended.
The snake lay on the ground with countless wounds on its body, many of which were bone-deep. The dark shadow was the winner as it now devoured its prey.
However, the dark shadow soon collapsed to the ground.
Although it had gained victory, it wasn’t unharmed. Its prey resisted fiercely and bit the dark shadow several times earlier; as such, the dark shadow had been struck with poison.
This kind of poison wasn’t lethal, but it would make the dark shadow blackout for a while.
However, in such a dangerous forest, the dark shadow probably wouldn’t wake up again.
An incense stick later, the sound of something brushing through the canopy was heard in this silent forest and several figures dexterously jumped from branch to branch.
Although the Human Race had started living in the Myriad Monsters World over 200 years ago, this World remained a treasure trove that was yet to be fully exploited.
Apart from Monster Beasts in this World, the things that were most useful to the Humans were Spirit Flowers and Herbs.
After all, this was a Universe World where ancient wilderness remained unexplored, and Monster Race knew nothing about Alchemy. Other than the Spirit Herbs that could be consumed directly, the rest wasn’t put to good use. As such, the Humans living in this place would come together and enter the forest to collect precious resources every so often, gaining massive rewards each time.
However, this came with many risks. Although Yang Kai had told the Great Monsters in the Myriad Monsters World they could not hunt the Humans back then, this kind of thing couldn’t be prevented entirely. There were still some Monster Beasts who retained their wild nature and who functioned more on instinct than reason, so if they came across a Human on their own, they would normally just eat them.
Under most circumstances, the Humans and Monster Race got along fairly well in the Myriad Monsters World. Neither side made a move on the other for no reason, which was why the Humans dared to enter the forest and collect Herbs. Without Yang Kai’s restriction in the past, these Human cultivators would’ve been destroyed the moment they stepped into the forest.
Suddenly, a petite figure stopped in her tracks. She looked like a beautiful young woman in her early twenties and her aptitude was clearly quite good as she was already in the Separation and Reunion Boundary.
The metallic tang in the air was obvious, so she certainly noticed it.
As she looked around, she soon saw the bloodied battlefield. She leaped from the branches and landed beside the snake; then, she saw the dark shadow lying on the ground.
“Junior Sister,” another figure landed beside her. He seemed to be a young man who was a few years older.
The young woman pointed at the dark shadow and said, “It’s a Shadow Leopard!”
“Is it dead?” The man asked.
“I don’t think so,” the young woman replied. Then, she placed her hand on the Shadow Leopard’s neck and said affirmatively, “It’s still alive, but I think it’s been struck with poison.”
The man urged her by saying, “Ignore it. In the Myriad Monsters World, it’s only normal that Monster Beasts fight with each other. We should focus on our mission.”
“However, if we ignore it, it will be eaten by other Monster Beasts.” The woman didn’t have the heart to let the small leopard die, so she looked up at the man, “Please save it, Senior Brother.”
The man frowned as he wasn’t willing to have a hand in the affairs between Monster Beasts, so he dissuaded her, saying, “It would be terrible if its parents misunderstand us. This Shadow Leopard is still very young, so perhaps its parents are nearby.”
The young woman replied, “If they were nearby, they would’ve saved it already. Its parents must be dead. It’s such a pity that this leopard has to start hunting at such a young age.”
As she recalled certain memories, she felt a lump in her throat.
She went on to say, “Moreover, it’s fine even if its parents come looking for it. We’ll just give the leopard back to them. Please save it, Senior Brother.”
As she tipped her head back, she looked at the man with teary eyes.
The man didn’t have the heart to see the woman cry, so he raised his hands and gave in, “Alright. We’ll save it. Stop crying.”
The young woman instantly stopped crying and smiled, “You’re the best, Senior Brother.”
Then, she crouched down and picked up the Shadow Leopard, “Let’s go, Senior Brother.”
“Are you going to carry it just like this?”
“Yes?”
“Shouldn’t you give it a detoxifying pill and dress up its wounds?”
“Ah…” only then did the young woman come to her senses and start treating the little leopard. Since they had to enter the forest to collect Spirit Herbs frequently, they always made sure to bring some detoxifying pills with them as they never knew what they might encounter. Such pills were useful at this moment.
In the expansive Universe, there were countless Sects and Great Forces. The Cave Heavens and Paradises had a long history with ample heritage, and were unrivalled in the 3,000 Worlds. As such, they were considered First Class.
Under the Cave Heavens and Paradises, the Great Forces with Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters assuming command were considered Second Class.
For the Great Forces that didn’t even have any Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters, they were classified as Third Class.
Supposedly, the Universe should be filled with the lowest class Great Forces, but the truth was, Second Class Great Forces came in the largest number in the 3,000 Worlds.
Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm ranged from the Fourth-Order to the Sixth-Order, and as long as a cultivator’s aptitude wasn’t too terrible, he or she could make an initial breakthrough to the Second or Third-Order Open Heaven Realm. After that, given enough time, effort, and resources, such a person would become a Fourth-Order Master.
As such, there were a lot of Fourth-Order and Fifth-Order Masters in any Great Territory, while there would be quite a number of Sixth-Order Masters as well.
However, even if the two Great Forces were both second-class, the difference in their heritages could be immense.
As long as there was a single Fourth-Order Master in a Sect, it was considered Second Class. On the other hand, a Sect with several Sixth-Order Masters in charge was also considered Second Class, but no one would say two such Sects were comparable.
Great Feather Pavilion was a below-average Second Class Great Force. At the peak of its power, it only had two Fifth-Order Masters and four Fourth-Order Masters. This kind of heritage could only be described as ordinary.
However, even a Great Force like Great Feather Pavilion had occupied a Great Territory and had it named after their Sect.
Following the Black Ink Clan’s invasion however, all Great Forces, no matter their size or strength, had no choice but to give up on their heritages and evacuate to High Heaven Territory, even the Cave Heavens and Paradises. Back then, Great Feather Pavilion was visited by a Human Squad that was deployed from the Barren Territory. Following their instructions, they met up with the Great Forces from the other nearby Great Territories and headed to High Heaven Territory. Although they experienced some dangers along the way, they safely arrived at their destination.
Their lives in High Heaven Territory were hard.
At that time, there were countless cultivators from different Great Forces that had gathered together. Just like those from Great Feather Pavilion, they had left their homes and didn’t have a place to stay.
There were two Universe Worlds in High Heaven Territory. One of them was the Star Boundary and the other was the Demon Realm. No ordinary people could go to the former, while the latter wasn’t suitable for most people to live in.
Since there was a lack of space and resources, everyone from Great Feather Pavilion was filled with a sense of despair.
It wasn’t until High Heaven Palace sent them to a Universe World in the New Great Territory that they could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
After such a traumatising experience, everyone from the Elders down to the lowest disciples of the Sect realised just how miserable it was to be weak. However, it was extremely difficult to increase one’s strength.
Therefore, when the Masters of the Star Boundary spread word about the Myriad Monsters World, the Open Heaven Realm Masters from Great Feather Pavilion all headed to Profound Nether Territory without hesitation to join the war against the Black Ink Clan so that they could earn Military Merits, which could be traded for the right to live in the Myriad Monsters World.
The appearance of the Myriad Monsters World was like a beacon of hope for the weaker Great Forces.
They didn’t have the right to enter the Star Boundary, but the Myriad Monsters World represented a new beginning. As long as they could let their Juniors cultivate in the Myriad Monsters World, they would get nourishment from the World Tree clone. Perhaps there would be a prodigy who could directly ascend to the Sixth Order or Seventh Order in the future. Just one such person would be enough to help them overcome their destitute destiny.
Finally, when the Myriad Monsters World was opened up, the first batch of people from Great Feather Pavilion settled down in that place. Initially, there were only 10 or so disciples from their Sect, but as time passed, more and more moved into the Myriad Monsters World.
They occupied a small Spirit Peak and rebuilt Great Feather Pavilion. Although the beginning was tough, they were no longer in the position like that of several hundred years ago where they were unable to even imagine a future for themselves.
Now, there were 8,000 to 10,000 Great Forces that had settled down in the Myriad Monsters World, and there would surely be even more in the future.
Fortunately, the Myriad Monsters World was vast. When Yang Kai inspected this place back then, he realised that it was much larger than an average Universe World. If it wasn’t, it couldn’t have accommodated so many Great Forces.
Presently, the Open Heaven Realm Masters above the Third Order from Great Feather Pavilion had headed to the battlefields to battle the enemy. Only several old and frail Second-Order Masters stayed behind in the Sect to teach the younger disciples.
Fortunately, there wasn’t much danger in the Myriad Monsters World. Otherwise, these Second-Order Masters couldn’t have ensured everyone’s safety.
Several young kids stood outside the Sect’s entrance and appeared expectant. Suddenly, one of them exclaimed, “Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters are back!”
Following the cheers, many agile figures passed through the forest and approached them in the blink of an eye.
There were fewer than 100 people, and they were all young people in their teens and twenties.
The effectiveness of the World Tree clone’s nourishment had a lot to do with cultivation and age. A young person with low cultivation would get the most benefits, while an old Third-Order Emperor Realm Master might not gain any benefits at all.
Every quota to live in the Myriad Monsters World was valuable; as such, those from Great Feather Pavilion wouldn’t dare to waste them, sending those young disciples who had excellent aptitudes to this place with the bare minimum of Elders to look after them.
Chatters and laughter were heard in front of the entrance.
Soon, the young kids were attracted to a particular anomaly. It was a little beast with black and smooth fur. The little beast seemed to be injured as it was asleep in a Senior Sister’s arms. Blood had seeped through the bandages around its body.
The young kids surrounded the Senior Sister and chirruped. It appeared they had instantly become fond of this little beast.
A young disciple asked, “Senior Sister Qin Xue, is this a Monster Beast?”
Qin Xue smiled and nodded, “En, it’s a Shadow Leopard.”
The disciple extended his hand in an attempt to touch the Shadow Leopard, but he soon retracted it as he was worried that the Shadow Leopard would wake up suddenly and bite him.
A Second-Order Master asked, “What’s going on?”
Qin Xue then briefly relayed to him what happened to the Snow Leopard and asked, “Elder, can I raise it?”
The Elder replied, “I don’t mind you raising it, but how do you intend to feed it?”
“I can bring it out and do some hunting.”
The Elder shook his head, “When that Sir planted the World Tree clone in this place 300 years ago, he made an agreement with the Great Monsters that both Races should coexist harmoniously and that we couldn’t harm each other for no reason. Although there have been incidents of Monster Beasts hunting Humans over the years, that was mostly related to beasts who had retained their wild nature. As such, we couldn’t settle the score with them. If you make a move on the Monster Race though, it will be a breach of the agreement between that Sir and the Monster Race. If the Monster Race members flare up, no one can protect you.”
It was the first time Qin Xue heard about this, so she was caught in a dilemma. After pondering for a moment, she asked, “Will it be alright if we hunt some normal beasts?”
The Elder nodded, “That should be fine.”
Normal beasts were not part of the agreement; after all, some weaker cultivators still needed to eat to survive.
An elated Qin Xue said, “I’ll keep it for now, then. Now that it’s hurt, it won’t survive if we release it back to the forest. When it recovers, I’ll let it go if it doesn’t want to stay.”
“Good,” the Elder nodded.
As such, the little Shadow Leopard was kept in the Great Feather Pavilion.
Qin Xue was initially worried that the Shadow Leopard wouldn’t be able to adapt to the new environment, but she soon realised that her concerns were unnecessary.
Although the Shadow Leopard was still very young, it seemed to have some sentience as it knew who saved it. After it awakened, it didn’t show any hostility towards Qin Xue.
As Qin Xue took good care of the Shadow Leopard and it recovered quickly.
When she went to visit the Shadow Leopard a month later, she realised that it was nowhere to be seen. She searched everywhere in Great Feather Pavilion but still couldn’t find it.
It seemed that the Shadow Leopard had left without a word.
This made the young woman sad; however, after giving it some thought, she realised that a Monster Beast like the Shadow Leopard was supposed to live in the wild. By keeping it in the Great Feather Pavilion, it might wear away the leopard’s instincts, which would inevitably weaken it. As such, she soon accepted this reality.
It wasn’t until half a year later that she came across the Shadow Leopard again.
As though they were destined to meet again, Qin Xue bumped into the dark shadow when she was collecting Spirit Herbs in the forest. The Shadow Leopard walked up to her with obvious affection, which pleasantly surprised Qin Xue. They hadn’t met for half a year, and the Shadow Leopard had grown much larger.
She managed to collect more resources this time, as with the Shadow Leopard leading the way, she easily found a lot of precious Herbs.
Since then, collecting Spirit Herbs was the activity that she looked forward to the most.
As time passed, both Qin Xue and the Shadow Leopard both grew stronger.
The young woman had grown up to be a beautiful lady like a blooming flower. She had married her beloved Senior Brother and given birth to children. She lived a full and happy life.
On the other hand, the Shadow Leopard had grown from a Monster Beast to a Monster General, then a Monster Commander, and eventually an intimidating Monster King.
The Great Forces nearby knew that there was a Monster King that was equivalent to an Emperor Realm Master protecting the Great Feather Pavilion’s territory. As such, the disciples from the Great Feather Pavilion were safe whenever they headed out to collect herbs or wander around.
All this was because a young woman took the initiative to save a Shadow Leopard in the past. Others couldn’t help feeling envious.
Although they wanted to do the same, they didn’t know where to start.
Several hundred years later, heavy rain poured down from the sky as lightning struck through the night.
Qin Xue heard a familiar growl when she was cultivating. Her expression changed as she immediately stopped.
Then, she pressed her ear against the door and listened for a while. Following that, she dashed out of the Great Feather Pavilion and charged forward in the rain. Now, she was an Emperor Realm Master who had condensed her Dao Seal. As long as she refined the Seven Elements, she would be able to ascend to the Open Heaven Realm. Her aptitude was fairly good, though not the best, so she had been refining Fifth-Order materials over the years. As such, she could most likely directly ascend to the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm.
One had to know that just a few hundred years ago, the strongest Master in Great Feather Pavilion was only in the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm, and he had worked his way up to that level from the Third-Order. No one in Great Feather Pavilion’s history had ever directly ascended to the Fifth Order in the past. All this was thanks to the World Tree clone’s nourishment.
Now, several people in the Great Feather Pavilion also had the potential to directly ascend to the Fifth Order. Although no one had yet shown the aptitude to reach the Sixth Order directly, there was no doubt Great Feather Pavilion was on the rise.
Qin Xue’s Emperor Qi blocked out the pouring rain for her as she dexterously ran forward and soon stood above a tall tree crown.
When she looked up, she felt her chest tightening.
On a peak that was several hundred metres above the ground, lightning struck and illuminated the entire world.
She saw the well-built Shadow Leopard, who had been her friend for hundreds of years, standing on the peak and howling at the sky, no trace of fear in its voice.
[It’s going to attempt a breakthrough!]
Qin Xue couldn’t help but feel worried at this sight.
Now, Qin Xue was no longer an inexperienced 20-year-old woman. At the very least, she was an Emperor Realm Master who had been living in the Myriad Monsters World for hundreds of years, so she was aware of many secrets that commoners did not know.
This expansive Universe had gone through three very long eras, which were the Primordial Era, the Early Ancient Era, and the Late Ancient Era. They were respectively ruled by the Divine Spirits, Monster Beasts, and finally the Humans.
In every era, the Heavenly Way favoured these different rulers.
In the Early Ancient Era, the Heavenly Way favoured the Monster Race, and as such, it was easier for the Monster Race to cultivate. Following the fall of the Early Ancient Era and the arrival of the Late Ancient Era, Humans rose to prominence; therefore, the preference was shifted from the Monster Race to the Humans.
In other words, the Humans were the current favourites in this Universe. Perhaps it had something to do with the Humans’ influence on the Heavenly Way due to their rise in power. However, even though Qin Xue was an Emperor Realm Master, she couldn’t form judgements of her own as she had only heard about such things from others.
The only thing she was certain of was that the current era wasn’t friendly to the Monster Race, making it more difficult for them to cultivate than the Humans.
The ancient cultivation techniques of the Monster Race had been lost to time, so most relied on the Humans’ Open Heaven Realm method to achieve an ascension. In other words, they had to assume Human Forms to shatter their shackles.
However, the Myriad Monsters World was a place which somehow preserved the aura of the Early Ancient Era quite well. It was said that when the Lord of the Star Boundary arrived at this place several hundred years ago, the Great Monsters here had not only lost the ancient cultivation techniques, but they had also never met Humans before. As such, how were they supposed to assume Human Forms and make use of the Humans’ Open Heaven Realm cultivation method to break their innate shackles? Therefore, in the past, the Great Monsters were unable to get rid of the World’s restrictions. Once they became Monster Kings, they were unable to improve any further.
The Lord of the Star Boundary did not only plant a World Tree clone here though, he had also taught the Great Monsters the Primal Art. It was thanks to him that the Great Monsters were able to continue cultivating.
Therefore, in the Myriad Monsters World now, there were two methods the Monster Race could use to cultivate. One was to use the Primal Art left behind by the Lord of the Star Boundary, and the other was the Humans’ Open Heaven Realm method. There were pros and cons to both, so neither could be said to be superior. The Monster Race members had to make their own decisions.
Many Monster Beasts became close to Humans when they were still very young, and were subsequently raised by them. Since these Monster Beasts quickly learned how to assume Human Form, they naturally chose the Human’s cultivation method.
However, a Monster Race member like the Shadow Leopard, who had always remained a beast, chose the Primal Art.
It had been over 10 years since Qin Xue last met the Shadow Leopard, and at that time, she already felt that the beast was on the brink of achieving a breakthrough. Nevertheless, she hadn’t heard any news from it since then.
Much to her surprise, she heard the noise of its breakthrough on this stormy night.
She had read a lot of ancient books and found out that Monster Race members who chose to achieve a breakthrough by using the Primal Art had to face a much greater risk than those who relied on the Open Heaven Realm method.
That was because Monster Race members cultivated the Primal Art by refining their Monster Cores, which were their very foundation. The stronger the Monster Core, the more powerful the Monster Race member was, but there were also a lot of uncertainties in this refining process.
Qin Xue couldn’t help feeling worried. She had spent the last few centuries with the Shadow Leopard, so she had already regarded it as her friend. In her heart, this Monster Race member was just as important as her husband and children.
Now that the Shadow Leopard was at the most critical moment of its ascension, it was only natural that she was anxious.
Just then, another roar reverberated across the sky.
Following the roar, thick Monster Qi permeated the area as though it had materialised. In an instant, the peak was surrounded by a layer of fog.
*Kacha…*
As though responding to the Shadow Leopard’s roar, a bolt of lightning struck from the sky.
Qin Xue could faintly see that on the peak, the Shadow Leopard spat out a round object that soon hovered above its head.
It was the Shadow Leopard’s Monster Core!
A bolt of lightning struck down at the small Monster Core like it was a long whip.
Qin Xue flinched as though she was the one being whipped. She widened her eyes and looked intently at the Shadow Leopard.
The originally still Monster Core started rotating around after being hit by the lightning. Threads of lightning whirled around the dark Monster Core and formed some cracks in it.
The Shadow Leopard growled as its Monster Qi surged to repair its Monster Core.
Just like how the Humans had to go through a World Baptism when achieving an ascension, Monster Race members experienced a similar trial. However, the current situation was more dangerous than the trials Humans had to face.
After all, the Heavenly Way was in favour of the Humans presently. If a Monster Race member relied on the Open Heaven method to achieve a breakthrough, they were essentially complying with the Heavenly Way. However, if they chose the Primal Art, they were defying the Heavens. As such, the wrath of lightning wasn’t just a trial, but a Heavenly Tribulation.
It was thanks to the primitive environment in the Myriad Monsters World that the tribulation was less severe. If a Monster Race member attempted a breakthrough in such a way in any other Universe World, it would face an even more ferocious attack.
Everything seemed frail beneath the Heavenly Tribulation. If the Shadow Leopard couldn’t persevere, it would be killed and its Monster Core would be destroyed; however, if it could survive, it would gain massive benefits.
Another even more powerful flash of lightning struck just then, causing Monster Core to spin even faster.
Seeing this, Qin Xue set her mind at ease. She had known the Shadow Leopard for years, so she was aware of its capabilities. This kind of Heavenly Tribulation supposedly wouldn’t cause the beast serious harm.
She secretly prayed that her friend would not get too greedy. If she had known what would happen, she would’ve looked for the beast and discussed with it earlier.
Nevertheless, given the Shadow Leopard’s temperament, she reckoned that it was useless to talk to the beast about it.
This fellow was obstinate. When it was still a little beast back then, it left Great Feather Pavilion without a word after it recovered.
As the bolts of lightning continued to strike, the Shadow Leopard remained unmoving. It only kept howling in response, as though it was trying to shatter the sky.
“Who goes there?” Qin Xue’s expression turned cold abruptly as she charged forward in a particular direction. While in mid-air, a sword appeared in her hand.
“Jade Moon Sword Arts, 3,000 Sword Lights!”
A rain of sword lights poured down like a storm as countless trees were instantly leveled; however, a momentary glint from within the chaos made Qin Xue’s heart sink.
Violent Monster Qi surged from below. The sword lights struck Monster Qi and disappeared, as though the latter was a mire.
Certainly, Qin Xue hadn’t fully unleashed her power, but it also showed how powerful the other party was.
Finally, Qin Xue realised who had been acting furtively in this nearby place.
It was a Monster King, not a Human.
A series of hisses were heard. From the thick Monster Qi, a snake head that was as large as a house emerged. The snake head was angular, as though it was carved from a rock, and its scales looked extremely robust. The snake glowered at Qin Xue, who was standing on a nearby branch. There seemed to be a sense of ruthlessness behind those eyes.
“Rock Snake King!” Qin Xue’s pupils dilated, but she soon calmed herself down, “Snake King, please withdraw!”
She secretly cursed, thinking that it indeed wouldn’t be easy for the Shadow Leopard to achieve an ascension.
Following the agreement between the Lord of the Star Boundary and the Great Monsters back then, the Human Race and Monster Race had been living together harmoniously in the Myriad Monsters World. However, the Monster Race still fought amongst themselves quite fiercely. Every living Monster King made a name for itself by killing many other Monster Race members.
The Shadow Leopard was no exception to this. When Qin Xue saw the Shadow Leopard for the first time, she felt that it was cute and adorable, but the truth was he was the most ferocious Monster Race member she was aware of. Moreover, it was quite arrogant.
This kind of Monster Race member naturally had a lot of enemies.
Qin Xue had saved the Shadow Leopard’s life before. As such, a grateful Shadow Leopard never showed its wild side in front of her over the years.
The Rock Snake King was one of the Shadow Leopard’s enemies as their territories were next to each other. The Shadow Leopard was bullied by the snake when it was weak, so when it grew stronger, it was determined to get its revenge.
Certainly, the Rock Snake King wouldn’t allow its enemy to grow in power. If the Shadow Leopard passed through the tribulation and ascended above the Monster King Realm, the Rock Snake King would be doomed.
Therefore, the moment it realised that the Shadow Leopard was attempting a breakthrough, it slithered over and approached the Shadow Leopard in secret, waiting for a chance to deal a fatal blow to its enemy. Nonetheless, Qin Xue managed to detect its presence.
The Rock Snake King was extremely powerful; furthermore, its skin was as hard as steel. The Shadow Leopard had exchanged moves with it several times but could never defeat it outright. Although Qin Xue was an Emperor Realm Master, she didn’t have the confidence to defeat the Snake King either. In fact, she might not even be able to protect herself.
Even though it was difficult for Monster Race members to cultivate, they were innately more powerful than the Humans when in the same Realm. That was because they had robust physiques and spent much longer accumulating heritage.
“You dare make a move against me, Human?” The Rock Snake King glared at Qin Xue as it hissed and spoke Human language.
Qin Xue frowned and cupped her fist, “Please forgive my earlier offence, Snake King.”
They had to comply with the agreement between the Lord of the Star Boundary and the Great Monsters, which was the very foundation of the Human Race’s survival in the Myriad Monsters World. Without this agreement, the Humans would find it hard to live in such a world.
The Rock Snake King snorted, “Scram. I don’t want to waste any time on you.”
Following that, its burly figure zigzagged towards the Shadow Leopard.
Certainly, Qin Xue couldn’t back down; otherwise, the Shadow Leopard’s ascension would be interrupted. Let alone break through to a higher Realm, it might even lose its life.
A hint of hesitation flashed across Qin Xue’s eyes, but she soon brought down her sword and sent a sword wave slashing across the route where the Snake King was heading, forming a crack on the ground.
“Please retreat, Snake King!”
Rain poured down from the dark sky as the small woman stood steadfastly on the tree branch in front of the Rock Snake King.
The eyes on the snake head beamed with an insidious glow as it hissed rapidly. Soon, a Human-like smile appeared on its face, “Good, this King has never eaten a Human before. I’ll devour you before dealing with that stupid leopard!”
The moment it finished speaking, its snake head appeared in front of Qin Xue all of a sudden and opened its hideous mouth, emanating a pungent breath. It was as though the snake wanted to swallow Qin Xue in one fell swoop.
A terrible stink exuded from the snake’s gruesome mouth. Qin Xue’s petite figure was stuck inside the mouth as though she would be devoured at any moment.
At the most critical moment, she resisted the snake’s teeth with her sword. Following a violent impact, she was sent flying away, thus widening her gap with the Rock Snake King.
Although the snake was heavy, it zigzagged forward at an incredible speed. As its Monster Qi surged, the trees along the way cracked and fell to the ground as though they were just straws.
The moment Qin Xue stabilised herself, she felt an immense force coming from behind. She swung her sword and infused her Emperor Qi into it to protect her back.
With a boom, the huge snake tail struck, almost shattering her protective Emperor Qi. Qin Xue staggered forward, but before she could regain her footing, she saw a green fog coming at her.
She was astounded. Although she knew that it wasn’t easy to deal with a Monster King, it wasn’t until she exchanged moves with the Rock Snake King that she realised how powerful the other party was.
Initially, she just wanted to stop the Rock Snake King from harming the Shadow Leopard, but she soon realised that she couldn’t deter the other party without going all out.
“Snake King, forgive my disrespect!” She wielded her sword and cast the fog away with a flash of sword lights that soon formed a light screen and covered the snake.
She had used the most powerful method she possessed to strike back.
“Good!” The Rock Snake King was enraged. It let the sword lights rain on it and cut across its robust skin. As its blood streamed down from the wounds, it roared, “Since the agreement has been nullified, what are you all waiting for?”
Qin Xue’s expression changed drastically, “Snake King, you…”
The Rock Snake King smiled wickedly, “You’re the one who broke the agreement first, so it is not our Monster Race’s fault if your Sect is destroyed!”
Several hundred years ago, that Master who taught the Monster Race the Primal Art agreed with the strongest Great Monsters of the time, which stated that the two Races must not harm each other for no reason. As such, both Races had been living together harmoniously for the past few hundred years.
However, the Myriad Monsters World originally belonged to Monster Race.
More and more Humans appeared in this place with each passing day, and although their existence posed no threat to the Monster Race, many of these Humans had ample vitality in their bodies. Therefore, Monster Race members coveted them. If they could devour these cultivators, it would be beneficial to their growth.
Many Monster Kings intended to eat these Humans as food; however, they were unable to do so since there was an agreement in place.
Nonetheless, several hundred years had passed, so the initial fear which enforced the agreement was less oppressive now. The Monster Race only needed a chance to nullify the agreement.
Only now did Qin Xue figure out that the Rock Snake King did not only want to get its revenge, but was also plotting against the Humans when it decided to interrupt the Shadow Leopard’s ascension.
Streams of Monster Qi started surging from all directions suddenly. They were all Monster Kings who were just as powerful as the Rock Snake King.
These Monster Kings approached in the rain.
Qin Xue was naturally flustered.
Many figures emerged from Great Feather Pavilion and looked into the distance. The Shadow Leopard’s ascension, the fight between Qin Xue and the Snake King, and the Snake King’s roar were by no means quiet, so there was no way those from Great Feather Pavilion didn’t hear them.
Among the crowd, a young woman, who resembled Qin Xue, exclaimed with a flustered expression, “Mother is over there!”
Several Second-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, who were in charge of the Great Feather Pavilion, sported solemn expressions.
Given their strength, they were not afraid of those Monster Kings. Regardless of how powerful Monster Kings were, they hadn’t broken free from the World’s restrictions. On the other hand, even though their Order was low, they were still Open Heaven Realm Masters. These Monster Kings were not comparable to them at all.
However, these Humans couldn’t make a move; otherwise, the peace that had been sustained for hundreds of years in the Myriad Monsters World would be shattered. When that happened, the entire Myriad Monsters World would descend into chaos.
They couldn’t possibly bear the responsibility.
“How could Qin Xue be so foolish to make a move on a Monster King?” One Second-Order Master snapped. As he spoke, he took a step forward, “I’ll bring her back.”
The Humans were not supposed to meddle in the Monster Race’s affairs.
Nevertheless, after the Second-Order Master took two steps forward, a figure stood in his way. She was the young woman who resembled Qin Xue, and although her cultivation was low, she still spread her arms and stood steadfastly there, “You can’t go, Elder. Leopard King is achieving an ascension, and the Snake King is its enemy. If you bring Mother back, Leopard King will be killed.”
“If I don’t bring your Mother back, she will die. If she’s killed by a Monster King, we won’t even be able to avenge her death,” the Second-Order Elder stared at the young woman, who appeared hesitant.
“Step aside!” The Elder ordered.
Tears welled up in the young woman’s eyes as she didn’t know what to do.
After a sigh, a middle-aged man emerged from the crowd, “I’ll go over.” He was also an Emperor Realm Master.
The young woman called out in pleasant surprise, “Father!”
The middle-aged man lovingly stroked the young woman’s head and looked at the Second-Order Master, “Please look after Shuang’er, Elder.”
The Elder frowned and said solemnly, “You mustn’t act on a whim.”
The middle-aged man smiled, “Don’t worry.”
The next moment, he turned into a ray of light and charged forward.
Meanwhile, a large area of the forest where Qin Xue and the Rock Snake King were fighting had been levelled, covered with a thick green fog. Inside the poisonous fog, sword lights could faintly be seen flickering. The fight between them had reached a climax.
Although Qin Xue had condensed her Dao Seal, she still found it hard to deal with a Monster King who was only one step away from achieving a breakthrough. Moreover, her Emperor Qi was draining quickly as she needed to defend herself from the poisonous fog and fight at the same time. There was no doubt she was in a perilous situation.
Just then, a figure boldly charged into the fog with a sword in hand and joined the fight. As he and Qin Xue joined forces, they were able to fend off the Rock Snake King’s violent attacks.
“There’s one more here. Very good!” The Rock Snake King guffawed at how foolish these Humans were. Since one more Human had joined the fight, things would be simpler for Monster Race. It had made the right decision to persuade the other Monster Kings to take action together.
The middle-aged man wrapped his arm around Qin Xue’s waist and flew backwards for several hundred metres. The moment they left the fog, the man shouted, “Snake King, why don’t we stop things here?”
“In your dreams!” The Rock Snake King shot out of the fog. Although its figure was huge, it was extremely agile. The snake opened its mouth and hissed, “Since you dare make a move, don’t even think about leaving this place alive!”
“So be it,” the middle-aged man put on a bitter smile. He knew that they couldn’t settle the problem easily, but he still wanted to give it a try. As such, he wasn’t disappointed when he failed.
Then, he lifted his sword and surged his Emperor Qi before shouting, “I, Hou Qing Hai and my Wife will take responsibility for today’s matter. It has nothing to do with anyone else. Please abide by the agreement, Monster Kings. Don’t be fooled by any unscrupulous villain and risk ruining your futures!”
His voice travelled for quite a distance, and the Monster Kings, who were crossing the borders and approaching them, were startled for a moment, but they soon shrugged it off.
Inside Great Feather Pavilion, the Second-Order Elder sighed. He had already expected this kind of outcome when Hou Qing Hai offered to go, but he was unable to stop him.
The young woman cried, “Father! Mother!” Just as she was about to dash forward, the Second-Order Elder tapped his hand on her head, and the young woman collapsed.
“Take her inside,” the Elder ordered.
Some Senior Sisters who were close to her carried her and entered the pavilion.
Several Second-Order Elders looked in the battlefield’s direction and sighed.
“I’m afraid this issue will be hard to settle.”
“Since we’re here, Great Feather Pavilion will be safe. The Monster Kings won’t have the guts to attack us.”
“I’m worried today’s incident will affect the current affairs in the Myriad Monsters World. If the Monster Race members turn hostile against the Humans as a whole, we will be held responsible.”
“We have to inform the High Heaven Palace about this and ask them to help settle this issue.”
“Do we just let Qing Hai and Qin Xue fight on their own?”
“There are Monster Emperors in the Myriad Monsters World. If we make a move, those Monster Emperors won’t stay silent and do nothing. Unless we’re ready to fight the entire Monster Race, we mustn’t act rashly.”
Someone let out a long sigh. They were powerless to solve this crisis; after all, they were only Second-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, so they were not powerful enough to suppress all the Monster Race members in the Myriad Monsters World. It was a pity that two bright disciples were in trouble. Both Hou Qing Hai and Qin Xue had the potential to directly ascend to the Fifth Order. They had already condensed their Dao Seals and just had to keep cultivating for another century or two before making that final breakthrough.
Although the Elders were frustrated, they were unable to stop it. They were aware of Qin Xue’s relationship with the Leopard King. Since the Leopard King was attempting a breakthrough, it was only natural that Qin Xue would stand up for it.
On the battlefield, Hou Qing Hai and Qin Xue joined forces and finally suppressed the Rock Snake King.
However, they were not one bit pleased, for they could feel the streams of powerful Monster Qi approaching.
“I’m sorry for dragging you into this, Husband,” Qin Xue sent a Divine Sense transmission apologetically.
Hou Qing Hai chuckled as he replied, “What are you saying? Since we’re married, we will live and die together, there’s nothing for you to apologize about. Moreover, this matter is not irresolvable.”
“Husband, you mean…”
Hou Qing Hai shifted his attention to the Shadow Leopard, “If Leopard King successfully breaks through, it will be able to protect us.”
Qin Xue’s eyes brightened. Earlier, she was too anxious to realise this. Upon her Husband’s reminder though, she finally understood they were not in a hopeless situation.
Indeed, if the Shadow Leopard could achieve a breakthrough and become a Monster Emperor, it would be able to save them.
Following a flash of lightning, a gigantic figure appeared in the sky and let out a high-pitched caw. Thick Monster Qi was approaching fast from the sky.
Hou Qing Hai’s expression changed as he looked up and saw a huge figure descending.
“Iron Wing Eagle King!”
It would take most Monster Kings some time to arrive, but the Iron Wing Eagle King could move swiftly, so it naturally appeared sooner than the others. Seeing that the Rock Snake King was besieged, the eagle swooped down to lend its aid.
The two Emperor Realm Masters had lost their advantage since they had to deal with two Monster Kings now.
The Rock Snake King sneered, “You’ve come at the right time, Eagle King! We’ll eat these two Humans together then kill that stupid leopard!”
Without responding to it, the Eagle King fiercely attacked the Humans.
Immediately, Qin Xue and her Husband fell into a dangerous situation. During the intense battle, Qin Xue took a look at the Shadow Leopard and instantly felt a chill run up her spine.
Since the Heavenly Tribulation started, bolts of lightning had never stopped striking down mercilessly at the spinning Monster Core.
The flashes of lightning were the manifestation of the Heavens’ might, and they were horrifyingly destructive.
Whenever lightning struck, it would form a new crack in the Monster Core. The Shadow Leopard continuously activated its power to repair its Monster Core, and as long as it could do so faster than the lightning could damage it, the beast would successfully achieve an ascension.
Moreover, this kind of uninterrupted destruction and repair would purify and strengthen the Monster Core while it absorbed part of the power of the lightning.
Usually, it wasn’t too risky for a Monster King to attempt a breakthrough, only a bit more than an Emperor Realm Master trying to make it to the Open Heaven Realm. As long as he had accumulated enough heritage, it wouldn’t be hard for a Monster King to succeed.
Since the Lord of the Star Boundary left behind the Primal Art in the Myriad Monsters World back then, no Monster King had failed to break through their limits; however, their strengths varied greatly after their breakthroughs.
Nevertheless, the Shadow Leopard was different. Compared to the long years of accumulation the older generation Monster Kings possessed, it had only cultivated for a relatively short time.
The Shadow Leopard managed to become a Monster King after just several hundred years because it had devoured many other Monster Beasts. In doing so, it had offended many Monster Kings.
Half of the Rock Snake King’s offspring had been eaten by the Shadow Leopard; therefore, it was only natural that it hated the Shadow Leopard to its core.
In just several hundred years, the Shadow Leopard grew from a little cub to a powerful Monster King by devouring many others, which naturally resulted in its power being mixed with many others.
The Heavenly Tribulation was a crisis, but also an opportunity. The flashes of lightning could dispel any impurities from its Monster Core, greatly strengthening its foundation and heritage.
Any other Monster King would have successfully achieved a breakthrough after such a long time; however, the Shadow Leopard was still making use of the Heavens’ power to purify its strength. It already had a high level of sentience, so it knew that this was a rare opportunity. If it didn’t seize the chance to temper its Monster Core fully, its future would be limited even if it became a Monster Emperor.
Bolts of lightning continued to strike and form even more cracks in the Monster Core, indicating that it had already reached its limit.
But limits were meant to be broken through.
The Shadow Leopard was ambitious, so it wasn’t content with only becoming a weak Monster Emperor in the Myriad Monsters World. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that it had been friends with Qin Xue for years, but it had learned from her that there were extremely powerful Humans. Even the current Monster Emperors were no match for those Seventh-Order, Eighth-Order, and Ninth-Order Human Masters.
The moment Qin Xue turned her head, she saw the Monster Core was full of cracks and that some lightning whirled around it.
It seemed to her that the Monster Core would shatter at any moment, which was why she was anxious. More importantly, the Shadow Leopard appeared to be running out of power.
Unlike how upstanding its figure was when the Heavenly Tribulation started, it had now crouched down. Under Heaven’s power, even the hardest backbone would shatter eventually.
“That’s enough, Leopard King!” Qin Xue exclaimed.
If the Shadow Leopard forcibly attempted a breakthrough at this moment, it would most likely succeed; however, if this dragged on, the situation would get worse.
“You should worry about yourself first!” The Rock Snake King said insidiously as a glint flashed across its hideous teeth.
The storm seemed to have intensified.
Another flash of lightning struck just then. The Shadow Leopard seemed unable to persevere any longer as its knees came into contact with the ground. Blood streamed out of its wounds. The Monster Core above its head appeared ruined as lightning flashed out through the cracks.
“Got you!”
A yell was heard all of a sudden as a gigantic figure shot out from the side of the peak and attempted to assault the Shadow Leopard with its huge hand.
A flash of lightning revealed that this gigantic figure was a white-haired ape. More importantly, before it flared up, no one had detected its aura. It seemed to possess a method to conceal its aura.
Monster Qi undulated wildly around the huge hand. Even if the Shadow Leopard was at the peak of its power, it would be instantly killed after getting struck by such an attack, not to mention in its current, powerless state.
“White Hair Ape King!” Qin Xue exclaimed as her heart sank.
Just like the Rock Snake King, the White Hair Ape King’s territory was adjacent to the Shadow Leopard’s. Since they were neighbours, conflicts were inevitable. While a lot of the Rock Snake King’s offspring had been eaten by the Shadow Leopard, the same thing had happened to the White Hair Ape King.
Since the Snake King had appeared, there was no way the White Hair Ape King would stay put.
However, the Ape King had been hiding in the dark and waiting for a suitable chance, so it was even more insidious than the Rock Snake King. Following the bolt of lightning earlier, the Shadow Leopard’s aura plunged. As such, the White Hair Ape King instantly appeared as it felt it was the best chance to make a move.
Its strong hand struck the Shadow Leopard dead on, but the latter’s skull was not shattered, nor was there any blood at all. The huge hand simply slipped through the Shadow Leopard’s skull directly.
At that moment, the Shadow Leopard seemed to be just an illusory figure.
“Huh?” The White Hair Ape King’s Human-like face appeared doubtful, but before it could figure out what happened, it met the Shadow Leopard’s amber eyes, which were tinged with mockery.
[A trap!]
The White Hair Ape King’s heart was filled with trepidation. Although he had no idea what kind of Divine Ability the Shadow Leopard had used just now, the latter must have hidden it for such a moment.
Both Monster Kings were so close they could feel each other’s breath.
The Shadow Leopard’s aura appeared weak just moments ago, but now it surged all of a sudden. Its sharp claws accurately ripped open the White Hair Ape King’s abdomen, causing blood to splash out wildly.
Under normal circumstances, it wouldn’t have been possible for the Shadow Leopard to kill the White Hair Ape King in such a way, not to mention that it was exhausted. However, the White Hair Ape King thought that the Shadow Leopard was doomed, so it had put down all its defences when assaulting the latter. That was how the Shadow Leopard succeeded in one blow.
A single moment was long enough to determine the White Hair Ape King’s fate.
The instant the Shadow Leopard retracted its claws, a fist-sized Monster Core was pulled out. Without hesitation, the Shadow Leopard stuffed the Monster Core into its mouth and gulped it down.
“You…” The White Hair Ape King wasn’t dead yet, but since its Monster Core was lost, around 90% of its cultivation was gone for good. Nonetheless, it was a Monster Race member, so it had intrepid vitality. If it could escape and spend some time recuperating, it might just survive. However, it would take a very long time for it to become a Monster King again, if that was even possible.
*Kacha…*
Another bolt of lightning struck.
The White Hair Ape King’s face filled with terror. The Shadow Leopard didn’t have the spare time to finish its opponent off, but the Ape King couldn’t possibly resist the Heavenly Tribulation in its current state.
As lightning hit the Ape King, it exploded and turned into ash.
The Shadow Leopard was at the most critical moment of its ascension and it was initially running out of power, but after it devoured a Monster King’s Monster Core, its power had been significantly replenished.
Some of the Monster Core’s power was of course wasted since the Shadow Leopard didn’t have time to absorb it properly; nevertheless, it was the last of the beast’s concerns. Presently, it surged its Monster Qi to repair its Monster Core, healing the old cracks just as more were formed under the Heavenly Tribulation.
The Shadow Leopard knew that if this dragged on, it would lose its life, so without hesitation, it swallowed the Monster Core in front of it.
At that instant, lightning swirled around its figure. Beams of lightning were seen shooting out of its wounds, making it look like a lightning leopard.
“Not enough! It’s still not enough!” The Shadow Leopard roared as its amber eyes had been dyed red. It turned its head and glared at the two nearby Monster Kings who were fighting with the two Emperor Realm Masters.
Both the Rock Snake King and Iron Wing Eagle King shuddered when they met the Shadow Leopard’s gaze.
They were already flabbergasted by the White Hair Ape King’s death. They initially thought that the Shadow Leopard was doomed, so it stunned them when they realised the latter had been concealing its power. The Divine Ability that helped its figure turn illusory didn’t seem like something a Monster Race member could master. Instead, it looked more like a Human Secret Technique.
The White Hair Ape King could never have expected that it would be killed in such a way.
Presently, the two Monster Kings were shaken to the core since the Shadow Leopard had targeted them.
“Snake King, many thanks for everything that has happened today! I must give you something in return!” The moment the Shadow Leopard finished speaking, it disappeared from the peak.
[Damn!] The Rock Snake King secretly cursed. If it had known this would be the outcome, it wouldn’t have tried to interrupt the Shadow Leopard’s breakthrough today.
The White Hair Ape King was a fool, letting himself be killed so easily by the Shadow Leopard. The Snake King was certain that the Shadow Leopard was on its last legs, so all the Ape King had to do was wait patiently and the Heavenly Tribulation would have taken care of everything.
Nevertheless, the Ape King’s Monster Core had become the Shadow Leopard’s source of power now.
Without hesitation, the Rock Snake King turned around and shot off. It had given up on the idea of avenging its offspring’s death. It stuck its head close to the ground and quickly retreated to its territory.
Meanwhile, the Iron Wing Eagle King was doing the same. However, unlike how flustered the Snake King was, the Eagle King was still calm and collected. It was a Monster King that specialized in flight, after all, so its speed was far greater than average. Furthermore, it didn’t have a blood feud with the Shadow Leopard. If the Shadow Leopard chased after the Snake King, the Eagle King could flee with ease.
While it was still thinking so though, it felt a figure approaching it in the sky.
The Eagle King was shocked, wondering why the Shadow Leopard had targeted it instead of its archnemesis, the Snake King.
Just then, it felt a weight on its back as the Shadow Leopard landed. The next moment, a flash of lightning struck.
Both Monster Kings quivered.
Unlike when its Monster Core was out there withstanding the Heavenly Tribulation earlier, the Shadow Leopard had swallowed it now. As such, the Heavenly Tribulation now directly struck the Shadow Leopard, putting it in a more dangerous situation.
However, the Shadow Leopard wasn’t bothered.
If it couldn’t overcome the Heavenly Tribulation, it would lose its life.
Both Monster Kings stiffened when they were struck by the Heavenly Tribulation, after which they fell from the sky. The Shadow Leopard had become somewhat adapted to the lightning and was prepared for its onslaught unlike its opponent, so it was the first to recover as it extended its claws and tore the Eagle King’s back apart. After digging its Monster Core out, the Shadow Leopard directly gobbled it up.
Then, the Shadow Leopard landed on the ground as lightning swirled around its burly figure. It looked in the direction the Snake King was fleeing and roared, “Since you’ve come today, don’t even think about leaving!”
Following that, it streaked across the land like a flash of lightning and reached the Snake King in the blink of an eye before pressing its claws against the snake and forcing its head down, “Why are you running off so quickly, Snake King?”
“I… No!” Following a shriek, another Monster King’s Monster Core was dug out.
As the Shadow Leopard swallowed several Monster Cores of Monster Kings who were just as powerful as it was, its aura reached its peak.
The invisible shackles broke apart as the Shadow Leopard achieved a breakthrough. While it roared painfully and wildly, its aura transformed into something new.
Claps of thunder were still heard. While the Heavenly Tribulation was harming the Shadow Leopard, it was also purifying its power.
There came a moment when, with the Shadow Leopard as the centre, a round of visible shockwaves spread out in all directions. An extremely powerful aura exuded from the Shadow Leopard.
“It succeeded!” Qin Xue, who had been paying close attention to the Shadow Leopard, cried tears of joy, oblivious to the fact that she had dug her fingers into her palms from all her worrying.
She initially thought that the Shadow Leopard was doomed, so it surprised her when the latter overcame a seemingly impossible crisis and even achieved greater heights.
“Incredible,” Hou Qing Hai was standing beside her and was astounded by the Shadow Leopard’s determination. If he were in the Shadow Leopard’s situation, he reckoned that he wouldn’t have survived.
As he felt the Shadow Leopard’s aura, he remarked, “It’s now a Third-Order Monster Emperor.”
After a Monster King achieved a breakthrough, it would become a Monster Emperor and the Orders were categorised based on the Humans’ Open Heaven Realm method. As such, the Orders corresponded to those of the Humans.
In other words, the Shadow Leopard, who was now a Third-Order Monster Emperor, was equivalent to a Third-Order Open Heaven Realm Human Master.
This kind of cultivation was low compared to Human standards, and if the Shadow Leopard had achieved an ascension through the Open Heaven Realm method, its limit would be the Fifth Order.
On the various Great Territory Battlefields, there were innumerable Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters.
However, the Shadow Leopard had achieved a breakthrough using the Primal Art, so its potential was limitless. As long as it continuously tempered its Monster Core and absorbed enough power, it would reach the Ninth Order one day.
Certainly, it would take the beast a long time to achieve that; after all, the strongest Monster Emperors from the Myriad Monsters World were currently only in the Fifth Order.
In the dense forest, many Monster Kings were initially making their way over from all directions, but following the deaths of the White Hair Ape King, Iron Wing Eagle King, and Rock Snake King, these Monster Kings quickly hid themselves and retreated.
They had wanted to hold the Humans responsible using today’s incident and invade several Human Sects to feast on them. They were determined to nullify the agreement and chase the Humans out of the Myriad Monsters World. However, the Monster Kings who were the masterminds behind this plot were dead, so what was the point of the others staying there?
“Not enough! It’s still not enough!” The Shadow Leopard growled.
Finally, Qin Xue realised that something was off. Supposedly, since the Shadow Leopard had successfully achieved a breakthrough, its aura would stabilise soon. Instead, the Shadow Leopard’s aura, which showed that it was a Third-Order Monster Emperor, was still rising.
As a bolt of lightning struck, the Shadow Leopard disappeared once again.
Soon, a shriek was heard from the distance as a Monster King questioned furiously, “Why!?”
Following the Monster King’s demise, the dark clouds, which were initially fading, returned. The Heavenly Tribulation seemed to be brewing again in those dark clouds.
Another roar was heard moments later.
The originally quiet forest became clamorous as though a handful of salt had been thrown into a frying pan full of hot oil. These Monster Kings seemed to have detected danger, so they stopped hiding and madly surged their powers to retreat to their territories as quickly as possible.
A Monster King growled, “Leopard King, since you’ve become a Monster Emperor, why do you still want to kill us ruthlessly!?”
The Shadow Leopard didn’t answer the question as it focused on killing and devouring.
Qin Xue’s face turned pale again as she looked up at the increasingly thick dark clouds and the flashes of lightning, “What is it trying to do?”
The Heavenly Tribulation was supposedly over, and the Shadow Leopard had become the Leopard Emperor; however, it was still hunting those Monster Kings down. It didn’t seem to have the intention of letting them off.
Although the Shadow Leopard had just achieved an ascension, the difference in power between a Monster Emperor and a Monster King was unimaginably huge, not to mention that the Leopard Emperor was still withstanding the bolts of lightning. As the Heavenly Tribulation struck randomly and with enough strength to harm the Leopard Emperor, these Monster Kings were unable to bear the fallout.
The auras of these powerful Monster Kings subsequently disappeared, and in the blink of an eye, four or five Monster Kings had been killed. The Shadow Leopard was dextrous to begin with, and now that it had become a Monster Emperor, it could move even faster. From a bird’s eye view, one could see a leopard moving across the land like a flash of lightning.
The Shadow Leopard was badly injured, but it had never felt more alive than it did today. It knew that it had made the right decision.
The Third-Order Monster Emperor Realm wasn’t the end of its ascension this time.
Hou Qing Hai was dumbfounded, but he soon recalled something, “Great Emperor!”
“What?” Qin Xue was startled for a moment before coming to her senses, “Husband, you mean it is trying to become a Great Emperor of the Myriad Monsters World?”
“That’s the only possibility,” Hou Qing Hai nodded with certainty, “Did you tell it about the Great Emperors?”
Qin Xue nodded, “It did ask me about it once. In fact, most Monster Kings are aware of the existence of Great Emperors. When they became Monster Emperors, they certainly hoped to become Great Emperors as well; however, none of them have received the acknowledgement of the World’s Will over the years. As such, there has never been a Great Emperor in the Myriad Monsters World.”
Hou Qing Hai sighed, “It seems that the Leopard Emperor has found a way to become a Great Emperor.”
Perhaps the leopard didn’t look for the way as it merely conformed to the Heavenly Way of this World. There was no order to speak of among the Monster Race. Compared to Humans, Monster Race members lived in a constant state of battle. Furthermore, the Myriad Monsters World’s environment was primitive. Regardless of what the Shadow Leopard had done, it had undoubtedly garnered the attention of the World’s Grand Dao.
If it succeeded, it would most likely become a Great Emperor; however, if it failed, it would be doomed.
It was a huge gamble.
The dark clouds showed signs of dissipating after the Shadow Leopard first became a Monster Emperor, but as its aura continued to rise and it relentlessly killed and devoured other Monster Kings, the dark clouds reconstituted and grew in scale.
Flashes of lightning struck down at the Shadow Leopard like whips, both wounding it while also purifying its aura all at once.
The Shadow Leopard, which was originally a Third-Order Monster Emperor, was about to break through to the Fourth-Order.
As such, it became increasingly easy for it to kill other Monster Kings.
A Monster King that looked like a fox had returned to its territory and withdrawn its aura. While hiding in its den, it shuddered. However, the next moment, the earth was lifted off as a figure with lightning whirling around it appeared above the fox’s head. Its eyes were like two blood Moons as it glared at the fox.
“M-Monster!” The fox spoke in Human language with anxiety. Its voice was soft and demure, so one could imagine that if the fox assumed Human Form, it would be a seductive woman. Its mind had turned blank at the most critical moment, so it could only muster such a response.
“Damn you, Leopard Emperor! You demon!” The Shadow Leopard yanked the fox out of the den and opened its bloody maw to devour its prey.
“Leopard Emperor, stop!” A growl that sounded like it came from a hefty beast was heard at that moment. In the distance, a gigantic figure rushed over and landed in front of the Shadow Leopard. It was a Monster with an ox head and a Human body. The two horns on its head made it look intimidating, and scorching breath was seen puffing out from its nostrils. Given its power, it was already able to assume a full Human Form; nevertheless, it seemed too lazy to do so and only took a half-human form to move around more easily.
“Save me, Sir!” The fox exclaimed.
“You’re finally here!” The Shadow Leopard directly stuffed the fox into its mouth and chewed it as blood spilled through its teeth. There was no doubt the beast was cruel and merciless, its eyes appearing nonchalant, as though it had just killed an ordinary Monster Beast instead of a powerful Monster King. Bolts of lightning continued to hit the Shadow Leopard which made it quiver.
The Ox Head Monster Emperor was both shocked and furious as he roared, “You dare!”
The fox was the ox’s favourite concubine as it knew many tricks to infuse some fun into its boring life. The ox was shocked to see the fox being killed right before its eyes.
The Shadow Leopard’s voice sounded like a sneer, “So what if I’ve killed her? Do you want to avenge its death?”
The breath emitted from the Ox Head Monster Emperor’s nostrils seemed to have materialised, which showed how incensed it was. Nevertheless, it forced itself to calm down and nodded, “Leopard Emperor, since you’re also a Monster Emperor now, you should comply with the rules in this World and mustn’t kill Monster Kings as you please.”
No one had set such rules, but a tacit agreement had been passed down over the generations.
The Ox Head Monster Emperor initially thought that since it had personally shown up to deal with the matter, the Shadow Leopard would give it some face, but much to its surprise, the Shadow Leopard didn’t show any regard for it at all. If the Shadow Leopard were any other Monster Emperor, the Ox Head Monster Emperor wouldn’t have let it off so easily. Monster Race members loved fighting, after all, and it had been a Monster Emperor in the Myriad Monsters World for 300 years, so it wasn’t afraid of anyone.
However, the Leopard Emperor’s aura showed that it was about to reach the Fourth Order, and Heavenly lightning continued to strike it. As such, the Ox Head Monster Emperor wasn’t willing to get into a conflict with it.
It hoped that the Shadow Leopard would be killed by the lightning.
“Why don’t you finish your Heavenly Tribulation first? We can talk after that.”
“Cut the crap! Do you think this Emperor doesn’t know that you’re the one behind all this? That slut must have instigated you to do this as well! I was going to look for you anyway, but since you’re here already, it’s saved me some trouble!”
“You wanted to look for me?” The Ox Head Monster Emperor widened its eyes and looked at the Shadow Leopard in disbelief.
The Shadow Leopard laughed cruelly, “Give me your Monster Core and I’ll spare your life.”
The moment it finished speaking, it turned into a flash of light and charged towards the Ox Head Monster Emperor.
The Heavenly Tribulation still hadn’t ceased, and the Shadow Leopard wasn’t so foolish as to think that the other party would agree to its demand, so it struck first.
The Ox Head Monster Emperor was flabbergasted, for it never expected the crazy leopard to take action without even trying to negotiate. It now regretted coming here.
As Monster Qi surged, both Monster Emperors engaged in battle, elevating the conflict beyond a mere brawl between Monster Kings. Monster Emperors were already the most powerful beings in the Myriad Monsters World, so a life-and-death fight between the two could cause unimaginable damage.
Mountains collapsed and rivers flowed in reverse. The Heavenly Tribulation intensified amidst the thunderstorm as claps of thunder seemed to be cheering on this battle.
In the distance, Qin Xue and Hou Qing Hai stood on the crown of a tree, pale as they circulated their Emperor Qi to fend off the aftereffects of the battle.
Although they had no idea whether the Shadow Leopard would win, its words made them realise that the Ox Head Monster Emperor was the culprit behind the incident tonight.
In the Myriad Monsters World, not all Monster Race members were willing to comply with the agreement. Some of them believed that the Myriad Monsters World belonged to the Monster Race, and as such, all the Humans should be killed or become their food.
Despite having such thoughts, they wouldn’t dare to do anything to directly break the agreement.
The Ox Head Monster Emperor was a leader among this faction of the Monster Race. It had expressed its hostility against the Human Race on many occasions and the Sects run by the Humans in its territory had an especially hard time. The disciples from these Sects would even disappear from time to time.
Although it didn’t dare to brazenly target the Humans, the disciples of those Sects could never collect herbs from the forests as easily as those from Great Feather Pavilion.
The disciples in its territory didn’t have the guts to move far away from their Sects as they were worried they wouldn’t be able to return.
Similarly, there were several Monster Emperors who shared the same sentiment as the Ox Head Monster Emperor, but most never showed their intentions explicitly.
Upon hearing Shadow Leopard’s words, Qin Xue and her Husband were certain that the Ox Head Monster Emperor was the mastermind behind this incident.
Qin Xue and Shadow Leopard had been close friends for hundreds of years, which was no secret. As Shadow Leopard went through the Heavenly Tribulation that night, Rock Snake King and White Hair Ape King, who were on bad terms with it, would make a move. There was no way Qin Xue would sit back and do nothing. Once she decided to meddle though, it was no different from destroying the agreement. As such, there wouldn’t be a problem for those of the Monster Race to flare up and retaliate.
It was hard to imagine that a Monster Race member could come up with such a vicious plan; after all, the Ox Head Monster Emperor looked like a forthright being. Nevertheless, Monster Emperors were no less intelligent than Humans.
Everywhere in the Myriad Monsters World, some Monster Race members were secretly paying close attention to the battle between these two Monster Emperors.
They were not Monster Kings, who were unable to have a hand in the battle between two Monster Emperors. Those who could watch this fight were all Monster Emperors in the Myriad Monsters World.
This single breakthrough had affected the entire Myriad Monsters World. Qin Xue was worried that if Shadow Leopard lost the fight, the Myriad Monsters World would descend into turmoil.
She wasn’t certain if Shadow Leopard would win. Although its aura suggested that it was only one step away from becoming a Fourth-Order Monster Emperor, it was badly injured because of the Heavenly Tribulation. Moreover, it had just achieved a breakthrough, so no one knew how much of its power it could utilize.
On the other hand, even though the Ox Head Monster Emperor was only a Third-Order Monster Emperor as well, it had been 300 years since it entered that realm. Not only did it have ample heritage, it was also steady and obstinate. There was no doubt it was a formidable opponent for Shadow Leopard.
Shadow Leopard’s growls and Ox Head Monster Emperor’s bellows reverberated across the sky.
These two gigantic figures crashed into the ground, causing a radius of 10,000 kilometres around them to tremble.
Lightning continued to strike Shadow Leopard, increasing its wounds. Presently, it was fighting against the Heavens and a Monster Emperor, making this the greatest crisis it had ever faced.
However, it was the Ox Head Monster Emperor who felt increasingly terrified. Although the Heavenly Tribulation mainly struck Shadow Leopard, its fallout was giving the Ox Head Monster Emperor a hard time. Although it was a Third-Order Monster Emperor, such fallout was still deadly to it, and as more time passed, the impact would only become more pronounced.
The Ox Head Monster Emperor was also astonished that instead of plummeting, Shadow Leopard’s aura continued to rise.
“Just die already!” Shadow Leopard roared.
The Ox Head Monster Emperor was both terrified and furious. It had already regretted making use of the Shadow Leopard’s ascension to deal with the Humans. Initially, it was worried that the stronger Open Heaven Realm Masters might intervene to ruin its plan, but it never crossed its mind that before it could even carry out its plot, it would be destroyed by Shadow Leopard.
Another bolt of lightning struck, as though responding to Shadow Leopard’s roar.
The Ox Head Monster Emperor widened its eyes in disbelief because it realised that Shadow Leopard had broken through to the Fourth-Order Monster Emperor Realm.
Such an incident was simply unheard of.
Usually, when a Monster King became a Monster Emperor, its Order would be fixed. It was inconceivable that even though Shadow Leopard had become a Monster Emperor, it could still ascend to the next Order during its Heavenly Tribulation.
Initially, both of them were Third-Order Monster Emperors, so the Ox Head Monster Emperor had the confidence to oppose Shadow Leopard since it had been hundreds of years since its own ascension. However, the moment Shadow Leopard became a Fourth-Order Monster Emperor, the Ox Head Monster Emperor knew that it was doomed.
What’s more, it felt uneasy because the Myriad Monsters World seemed to be favouring Shadow Leopard. Presently, Shadow Leopard was no longer defying the Heavens; instead, it was harmonizing itself with the Will of the Myriad Monsters World.
The Ox Head Monster Emperor suddenly realised that this was the true Grand Dao of the Monster Race.
If it could survive this day, it would only take a short time to make it to the Fourth Order, and in the future, it would probably have great achievements.
However, could it escape from death’s door?
Its epiphany at this point seemed laughable.
“It’s incredible! Good! Great!” Shadow Leopard seemed to have gone mad as its amber eyes were filled with ecstasy when all of a sudden, it stepped backwards.
The Ox Head Monster Emperor, who had been bearing the storm of attacks, could finally take a breather. Although it had no idea why Shadow Leopard suddenly retreated, it did not question this unexpected reprieve.
While panting, it took a look at Shadow Leopard, but just as it was ready to say something, it saw Shadow Leopard’s robust figure crouching down. One of its paws was in front of the other while it bent both of its back legs.
The leopard looked like a bow that was ready to shoot.
The Ox Head Monster Emperor felt a chill running down its spine, for it was most familiar with Shadow Leopard’s posture.
The posture showed that it was ready to take down its prey.
“Hear me out, Leopard Emperor!” The Ox Head Monster Emperor exclaimed despite feeling embarrassed.
An unfazed Shadow Leopard roared, “Block my move, and I’ll spare your life!”
Upon finishing its words, it seemed to draw in all the lightning around it before vanishing into the darkness.
However, the Ox Head Monster Emperor wasn’t elated at all as it felt the aura of death coming right at it. Faced with the leopard’s glare, it involuntarily stiffened.
As the lightning struck, the Shadow Leopard’s figure was illuminated. It leaped into the air and pounced on the Ox Head Monster Emperor. As it opened its hideous maw, lightning flickered in it. It was as though the leopard had bolts of lightning in its mouth.
Thunder Bite!
Following a flash of lightning, a low shriek was heard reverberating across the Myriad Monsters World. Upon hearing the shriek, all Monster Race members shuddered and remained silent in their dens.
A powerful aura died out in the next instant.
It had been 800 years since the Myriad Monsters World opened up to the outside world, but the Ox Head Monster Emperor was the first Monster Emperor to pass away on it.
Following the use of Thunder Bite, the Ox Head Monster Emperor didn’t even have the strength to counterattack. It stiffened after the lightning struck its figure. Shadow Leopard bit its neck and dug out its Monster Core before gulping it down.
A Third-Order Monster Emperor’s Monster Core was quite nourishing to the leopard.
The Heavenly Tribulation seemed to have become more violent at that moment as nine lightning columns struck consecutively. The peak where Shadow Leopard was located became a valley upon impact.
It felt as if only an instant had passed, but simultaneously like a million years had gone by. Dark clouds continued to gather in the sky, but there was no more lightning.
In the mountain valley, a battered Shadow Leopard got up with difficulty and roared at the sky, after which the dark clouds dissipated.
In the void, the figure of a sturdy black leopard was reflected. The figure looked exactly like Shadow Leopard, right down to its fur.
Throughout the entire Myriad Monsters World, wherever the Humans and Monster Race members were, as long as they looked up, they could see this magnificent figure.
The World hummed as it seemed to be filled with joy.
The Shadow Leopard’s illusory figure in the sky warped before transforming into two ancient characters. The language didn’t belong to the Humans or the Monster Race and seemed to be a direct manifestation of the Heavenly Way. They represented the World’s Will, so everyone could recognise their meaning in an instant.
Thunder Shadow!
The trillions of living creatures in the Myriad Monsters World instantly realised that there was a new Great Emperor that had gained the World’s acknowledgement, and Thunder Shadow was its title.
While the Humans were astonished, the Monster Race celebrated.
They had only heard about Great Emperors from the Humans; however, while many Monster Race members had managed to become Monster Emperors over the years, none had risen to claim the mantle of Great Emperor. They initially thought that it was because the Monster Race was different from the Humans; after all, the Heavenly Way in this era favoured Humans while the Monster Race was only the darling of the previous era. As such, they were worried there would never be a Great Emperor from the Monster Race.
The birth of Thunder Shadow Great Emperor allowed them to see new hope. Fortunately, the Heavens had not cut off the dream of becoming Great Emperors. They were in the Myriad Monsters World where the environment and aura were primitive and favoured them, which was almost like an extension of the previous era.
Since Shadow Leopard had become a Great Emperor, it meant that the other Monster Kings had such a chance as well.
In comparison, the deaths of more than 10 Monster Kings and a Third-Order Monster Emperor were nothing worth mentioning.
Initially, many long-time Monster Emperors were worried about Shadow Leopard’s actions and planned on suppressing it after the dust settled to let it know that it couldn’t kill as it pleased.
Now though, none dared to suppress it, nor were they capable of doing so. Shadow Leopard was the only Great Emperor in the Myriad Monsters World, so they would consider themselves lucky if Shadow Leopard didn’t find fault with them. How would they have the audacity to challenge it?
This fellow had killed countless Monster Race members to get to where it was today, so if it was disgruntled one day, it might just kill some Monster Emperors and eat them as a snack.
Soon, the two abstruse characters turned into rays of light and shot into Shadow Leopard’s body, leaving a mark in the deepest part of its Soul.
Shadow Leopard had gained the acknowledgement of the Myriad Monsters World and earned a title. Its aura, which was faint and withering, immediately started burning again as though it had been splashed with oil. In all directions, the might of the World streamed into its body, allowing its battered figure to acquire immense nourishment. Its blood stopped flowing out of its wounds which were now healing at an incredible speed. Even its Monster Core, which was about to shatter due to the Heavenly Tribulation, became hard and perfect once more.
The rapid increase in its aura allowed it to rapidly ascend to the Fifth Order before it gradually stopped.
It was a gift from the World, openly showing its favour to Shadow Leopard.
Countless living beings were dumbfounded upon sensing this and many couldn’t help feeling envious.
“The One-Legged Ox Clan offers congratulations to Thunder Shadow Great Emperor! From now on, you will be our leader, and we will always obey your commands!”
A loud voice was heard coming from the Southwest. It was a Monster King from the Ox Head Monster Emperor’s Clan who was expressing his loyalty. Since their Clan’s Monster Emperor was killed, there was supposed to be a blood feud between them; however, to the Monster Race, strength mattered above all else, so the dead Monster Emperor no longer mattered.
“The Ice Frog Clan congratulates Thunder Shadow Great Emperor. May you reign over the Myriad Monsters World for generations to come!” A croak was heard coming from the Northeast.
“The Snow Mink Clan congratulates Thunder Shadow Great Emperor.”
It was from the Southeast this time.
One by one, Monster Emperors and Monster Kings raised their voices.
Besides Monster Race members, even the Open Heaven Realm Masters from various Sects congratulated Shadow Leopard.
After it became a Great Emperor, congratulations came from all around.
To the Humans, a Fifth-Order Monster Emperor was certainly not worth much attention; after all, millions of Open Heaven Realm Masters ranged from the Fifth-Order to the Seventh-Order on the various battlefields.
A Great Emperor was nothing special either as every Universe World could produce their own Great Emperors who were powerful in their domains, but insignificant in the expansive Universe.
However, a Great Emperor of the Myriad Monsters World was different; after all, Thunder Shadow Great Emperor was of the Monster Race.
The Humans were fully aware of the achievements of the Great Emperors who came from the Star Boundary. Apart from the Universe-famous Yang Kai, there was Zhan Wu Hen, Duan Hong Chen, Mo Huang, and others who were also well-known figures. They all had made a name for themselves on the battlefields as they slaughtered Black Ink Clansmen.
These Great Emperors only directly ascended to the Sixth Order when they made it to the Open Heaven Realm in the past, but now, most of them were already in the Eighth Order. Two or three of them were still in the Seventh Order, but it wouldn’t be long before they made it to the next Order.
The key was that it had only been about 2,000 years since they first ascended to the Open Heaven Realm.
It would take the average person 2,000 or more years just to ascend from the Sixth Order to the Seventh Order, while it should be impossible to make it to the Eighth Order no matter how many resources they had available. After all, it took time to refine resources too.
However, by relying on their identities as Great Emperors or the Star Boundary, they were able to take advantage of the abundant World Force drawn in and purified by the World Tree clone to shorten the time they needed to cultivate, allowing them to create countless miracles.
Unfortunately, every Universe World had its limit. The World’s Bottle in the Star Boundary was already full, and all the positions had been occupied. Unless a Great Emperor fell, there wouldn’t be new ones rising up. Hence, no one else could enjoy this advantage.
Perhaps the capacity in the Star Boundary would increase in the future, but that would take a long time, and there would surely be fierce competition for any newly opened spot.
In the beginning, the World’s Bottle of the Star Boundary could only accommodate 10 Great Emperors, but that number had expanded to 12 now.
Apart from the Star Boundary though, there was also the Myriad Monsters World.
The first Great Emperor from the Monster Race was born in the Myriad Monsters World today. Although it was currently only a Fifth-Order Monster Emperor, everyone knew the Monster Emperor titled Thunder Shadow would be able to grow in power at an unimaginable pace.
If the Shadow Leopard had used the Open Heaven Realm method to achieve its ascension, its limit would be the Seventh Order since it was now in the Fifth Order; however, it had achieved a breakthrough by relying on the Primal Art. As such, it had a chance to make it to the Eighth Order or even the Ninth Order.
Once it became a Ninth-Order Monster Emperor, given how fierce the Monster Race was, perhaps no Human Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master would be a match for it.
Certainly, the Humans wouldn’t dare to disregard such a rising Star, not to mention that it was the only Great Emperor in the Myriad Monsters World for now. In other words, the entire Universe World was its territory. Since the Humans wanted to make a living in this world, they had to give face to the Shadow Leopard.
At that instant, many people shifted their attention to the Great Feather Pavilion.
They were aware the Great Emperor was good friends with a woman from the Great Feather Pavilion. It was a well-known fact that it was hard to get along with the Monster Race, but they reckoned that they could try approaching those from the Great Feather Pavilion. As long as they could strike up a relationship with Thunder Shadow Great Emperor through Great Feather Pavilion, that would be beneficial to their Sects.
Currently, the Sects found in the Myriad Monsters World were all smaller Great Forces. The truly powerful Great Forces of the 3,000 Worlds had already settled down in the Star Boundary. The disciples from these smaller Great Forces wouldn’t dare to ignore a Great Emperor’s influence.
This was destined to be a restless night. The Great Forces started planning on how to establish ties with Great Feather Pavilion. Although Great Feather Pavilion was ordinary, it was now the centre of attention in the entire Myriad Monsters World.
Since the sky was now clear, Stars shone down brilliantly at this moment.
The Heavenly Tribulation was over as the dark clouds had dissipated; however, Thunder Shadow Great Emperor had fallen into a deep slumber. It was exhausted from all the battles, not to mention that it had to go against the Heavenly Tribulation at the same time.
Although it had become the Fifth-Order Monster Emperor, its body and soul were now quite weary.
Just then, two figures came over. They were Qin Xue and her husband, who had been paying close attention to the Shadow Leopard. When they heard its loud snoring from a distance, they were startled, but after exchanging glances, they were torn between tears and laughter.
While the Myriad Monsters World experienced a paradigm shift, the one who caused everything was flopped onto its belly, snoring away peacefully, leaving them quite speechless.
“Please go back first, Husband. Don’t let Shuang’er and the others worry about us,” Qin Xue sent him a Divine Sense transmission, “I’ll stay here and take care of it.”
Hou Qing Hai nodded, “Good.”
There wasn’t a need to say anything else. The Shadow Leopard was on good terms with Qin Xue, and now that it was a Great Emperor, no one in the Myriad Monsters World would dare to harm her.
After Hou Qing Hai left, Qin Xue walked over lightly and took a seat beside the Shadow Leopard. As she ran her fingers through its smooth fur, she couldn’t help but recall the first time she met the Shadow Leopard several hundred years ago. It never crossed her mind that the little cub from back then would grow up to be so powerful one day.
She decided to hurry up and break through to the Open Heaven Realm to catch up to it.
As for the agreement between the two Races, there was no need to worry about it. Since the Ox Head Monster Emperor was dead, its plan had failed miserably. Moreover, the Shadow Leopard was now the sole Great Emperor, so as long as it was willing to uphold the agreement, everything would remain the same even though it was just an oral agreement.
No Humans or Monster Race members would dare to disobey a Great Emperor in the Myriad Monsters World at this point.
Shadow Leopard had never shown any hostility towards Humans, and it had always let the disciples from Great Feather Pavilion roam its territory and collect Spirit Herbs at will. The Monster Race members in its territory had also never antagonized the Humans.
As the Shadow Leopard continued to snore, it changed to a more comfortable position.
All of a sudden, its eyes shot open and it gazed up into the sky, but its amber eyes reflected nothing.
“What’s wrong?” Qin Xue asked.
“Nothing,” the Shadow Leopard replied while feeling doubtful. Earlier, it sensed that someone was observing it, but it discovered no one upon scanning the surroundings.
Either it perceived wrongly, or the one spying on it was far more powerful.
It was a Monster Beast with a sensitive perception, so the former was unlikely; hence, the person lurking in the shadows must be significantly more powerful than it.
It reckoned that the person was either a Seventh-Order or Eighth-Order Human Master, as only such a formidable being could hide its presence so completely.
Nevertheless, it wasn’t worried because it didn’t detect any hostility from this gaze. The other side was merely examining it.
As such, it closed its eyes again and dozed off.
Up in the sky, Yang Kai looked down with a faint smile. It seemed that his Monster Self indeed had sharp senses.
It had been 500 years since he built a cave mansion in the World Tree clone in the Star Boundary to enter secluded cultivation. Over the years, he had been refining all sorts of resources to strengthen the heritage of his Small Universe and had gained a lot.
If not for a sense of danger suddenly washing over him one night, he wouldn’t have stopped cultivating and exited retreat.
Since he was only cultivating inside the World Tree, he naturally wouldn’t fall into danger. The feeling he had suggested that either his Human Self or Monster Self was in peril.
The two Soul Clones were independent beings who didn’t even know of their connection to the true body’s existence; however, they were still closely related to him.
After pondering for a moment, Yang Kai concluded that his Human Self was likely fine, so he immediately left the Star Boundary and headed to the Myriad Monsters World.
Given his strength, it only took him two hours to travel from the Star Boundary to the Myriad Monsters World.
Upon his arrival, he saw the Shadow Leopard facing its Heavenly Tribulation. Although he was mentally prepared, Yang Kai was still shocked by Shadow Leopard’s cultivation speed.
It only took Shadow Leopard 500 years to grow from a little cub to a Monster Emperor. The average Monster Race member could never have achieved this.
Although Monster Race members were powerful, their cultivation rate was innately slower compared to that of Humans. It usually took them a long time for them to reach the same relative Realm as their Human counterparts, though they were usually more powerful as a result. It was for this reason that many Monster Race members assumed Human Form early on and gave up on refining their Monster Cores through the Primal Art.
Nevertheless, the Shadow Leopard’s achievements went against common sense. Its cultivation speed was even quicker than that of talented Humans.
When Shadow Leopard came across Qin Xue back then, it was only two years old. At that time, Qin Xue was already in the Separation and Reunion Boundary, but now it was a Great Emperor while Qin Xue had only condensed her Dao Seal.
Although Qin Xue’s cultivation speed wasn’t considered fast among the Humans, it wasn’t slow by any means.
The Shadow Leopard’s growth had broken all rules and conventions. Even some Human prodigies paled compared to the Shadow Leopard when it came to their cultivation speed.
Certainly, this wasn’t solely due to the Shadow Leopard’s capabilities. It was thanks to an amazing Secret Art named the Heaven Devouring Blood Light Scripture.
It was the combination of the Heaven Devouring Battle Law and Grand Evolution Immortal Blood Light Scripture. Yang Kai had cultivated both Secret Arts before, and given that he was an Eighth-Order Master now, it wasn’t hard for him to combine these Heaven-defying Secret Arts and devise a new one.
The Secret Art was specifically prepared for his Monster Self.
When he split his Soul to create his Monster Self back then, Yang Kai imprinted this Secret Art into Shadow Leopard’s petite figure, turning it into its own Innate Secret Art.
That was the reason Shadow Leopard had been making enemies everywhere over the years. To cultivate the Heaven Devouring Blood Light Scripture, it had to kill and gobble up the physiques and Monster Cores of other Monster Beasts to strengthen itself.
Now, it seemed that Shadow Leopard had done a great job.
Yang Kai had travelled far and wide since he started cultivating and considered himself quite knowledgeable, but the Heaven Devouring Battle Law was still the most profound and powerful Secret Art he had ever encountered.
This wasn’t a surprise though seeing how it was deduced by the Martial Ancestor most skilled at creating Secret Arts and Techniques, Shi. Even the core Secret Arts used by the Cave Heavens and Paradises paled in comparison to the Heaven Devouring Battle Law.
Of course, it also had obvious drawbacks. This Secret Art allowed a cultivator to devour anything and everything which possessed even the slightest bit of energy, embracing and consuming all of creation like how every river eventually flowed into the sea. However, a cultivator’s body wasn’t a sea and what was being devoured weren’t rivers.
Unbridled devouring of external power for oneself could help a cultivator gain a large amount of strength quickly, but having too many kinds of strength gathered in one’s body was akin to drinking impurities which would affect one’s mentality. Hence, this Secret Act could easily cause dissonance in one’s cultivation.
Since Wu Kang had the Flawless Purifying Golden Lotus, which kept one’s physical body completely free of all impurities, he could safely practice the Heaven Devouring Battle Law while others couldn’t. Only one Heaven Devouring Great Emperor had ever existed since ancient times for this exact reason.
In truth, the ones who were the most suited to cultivate this Secret Art were the Stone Spirit Clan members. The Stone Spirit Clan possessed the innate ability to extract and purge all impurities, so it was a perfect match for them to practice this Secret Art.
Embodiment, who Yang Kai retrieved from the Demon Realm, had cultivated using the Heaven Devouring Battle Law.
Compared to the Heaven Devouring Battle Law, the Grand Evolution Immortal Blood Light Scripture didn’t have as many drawbacks. However, it had a huge limitation because it could only devour Blood Essence.
Yang Kai merged the advantages of the two Secret Arts and deduced the Heaven Devouring Blood Light Scripture. Though it wasn’t as profound as the Heaven Devouring Battle Law or even the Great Evolution Indestructible Blood Light Scripture, it was incredibly well suited for his Monster Self.
The growth of the Monster Race had always been accompanied by bloodshed. After a battle, the victorious Monster would devour the losing Monster’s physique and Monster Core.
This sort of devouring was instinctual, so Yang Kai only turned that instinct into an Innate Secret Art which greatly accelerated his Monster Self’s growth rate.
This only worked because devouring and refining power from a Monster Beast’s physique and Monster Core wouldn’t have large drawbacks compared to the Heaven Devouring Battle Law. Since the power contained in a Monster Beasts’ physiques and Monster Cores was already compatible with other members of the Monster Race, even without the Flawless Purifying Golden Lotus, a Monster Race member’s body could naturally expel any impurities while this new Secret Art helped it far more efficiently and effectively refine that strength for its own use.
Now, there were clear results.
In just a short 500 years, his Monster Self advanced to the Monster Emperor Realm and rose to claim the mantle of Great Emperor.
Yang Kai only felt a bit remorseful now because his Monster Self would no longer be able to kill other members of the Monster Race recklessly and devour their Monster Cores and essence.
Now that his Monster Self was a Great Emperor, the entire Myriad Monsters World was its territory, and all Monster Race members looked up to him, so if it did start a massacre, it would break the balance and might even lose the acknowledgement of the Myriad Monsters World.
Fortunately, Yang Kai’s Monster Self didn’t necessarily need to use such methods to gain more strength. Moreover, there weren’t many Monster Emperors in the Myriad Monsters World in the first place, so even if it killed them all, it wouldn’t gain much growth.
His Monster Self was now the Myriad Monsters World’s only Great Emperor and could follow the example set by Zhan Wu Hen and the others by absorbing World Force directly from the World itself to cultivate. In that sense, it could use the entire Myriad Monsters World’s power without having to share it with any others. Unless a second Great Emperor rose up, Yang Kai’s Monster Self could easily break through to the Sixth-Order, Seventh-Order, or even the Eighth-Order Monster Emperor Realm extremely quickly!
In this way, its growth rate would greatly surpass even Zhan Wu Hen and the other Star Boundary Great Emperors.
His Human Self had a World Tree clone inside his Small Universe, while the title of Great Emperor gained by his Monster Self allowed it to cultivate the power of the World Tree clone in the Myriad Monsters World. Both his Soul Clones had promising futures.
Currently, the Humans and Black Ink Clan were maintaining a delicate balance. The agreement between the two Races stated that besides the six Great Territories where any form of war was permitted, the Eighth-Order Masters and Territory Lords were not allowed to interfere in the ongoing battles; however, no one could be sure when this balance would be broken.
After a rough estimation, Yang Kai realised that it had been about 1,000 years since the Great Armies had retreated from the Barren Territory Battlefield. During this millennium, the Human Race had seen the rise of many talented individuals, but so had the Black Ink Clan.
Even though Yang Kai was in retreat inside the World Tree, it didn’t mean he didn’t know what was happening outside. He was a Great Emperor of the Star Boundary, so nothing that happened in the Star Boundary escaped his senses.
There were also reports coming in from the 13 Battlefields, so Yang Kai knew the Humans had gained several rising stars that shone brightly in each of the Great Territories. Of course, many highly regarded and aspiring youths had also died in battle.
On the other hand, the Black Ink Clan had successfully nurtured a new batch of Territory Lords. Though these Territory Lords weren’t as strong as Innate Territory Lords, they symbolised infinite possibilities as they could one day become Royal Lords.
With how much territory and resources the Black Ink Clan had conquered, they could nurture quite a lot of Royal Lords if they were willing to dedicate all their resources to this pursuit.
Both Races were gathering their strength for the future, so the relative calm they were maintaining was just an illusion. Once one of the clans gained enough of an advantage to wipe the other out, the final battle would commence.
How long would that take? 2,000 years? 3,000? No one could say for certain.
However, Yang Kai knew that there wasn’t much time left.
Judging by the situation on the battlefields, the Human Race didn’t have much of an advantage. Many aspiring individuals had directly broken through to the Sixth-Order and Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm, saving them a lot of cultivation time; however, these individuals still needed a long time to enhance their heritages before advancing to the Eighth and Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realms.
On the other hand, with their Black Ink Nests, though the Black Ink Clan had to steadily rise up from the very weakest as well, they could still advance quicker than the Humans.
Therefore, it could be estimated that when a new Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master appeared among the Humans, the Black Ink Clan would also see the birth of new Royal Lords.
After returning to the Star Boundary, Yang Kai threw himself into his secluded cave mansion and started another round of cultivation.
Years went by.
Yang Kai had completely lost track of time and his secluded cave mansion had slowly been covered in a thick layer of green leaves. Now, if passing Open Heaven Realm Masters didn’t look closely, they would never notice that there was a tree cave here.
A full 1,200 years later, the sealed-up cave mansion opened again, and Yang Kai emerged.
After more than a thousand years of seclusion, and adding on the time from before he was interrupted by his Monster Self’s advancement, Yang Kai’s retreat lasted for 1,700 years.
This wasn’t the longest time Yang Kai had ever spent cultivating, that distinction belonged to his stay in the Temporal Rivers inside the Great Sea Celestial Phenomenon, where from his perspective he had secluded himself for some 4,000 years.
Since he had spent so much time in retreat though, Yang Kai had depleted all the resources he had gathered. One had to know that the number of resources he had collected was simply unfathomable as he had huge piles of various valuable things he had gained through various exploits over the years, but now, all of that was gone.
Of course, with such a huge expenditure, he had achieved equally great results.
Though he hadn’t reached the peak of the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm, he was not far from it. Also, his Small Universe now had countless living beings inside, which would constantly bring him more benefits. Even if he didn’t enter retreat ever again, he would have still reached the peak of the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm in short order. That was also his limit in this lifetime.
Yang Kai gently clenched his fists as he felt the majestic strength inside his Small Universe.
If he encountered an Innate Territory Lord now, he was confident that even without using a Soul Rending Thorn, he could kill the other party within 10 moves.
This was something impossible for him 1,700 years ago.
After nearly 2,000 years of retreat, Yang Kai was eager to find some ignorant Innate Territory Lord and test his current strength. Unfortunately, that idea could only exist in his head, for if he took action, it would violate the peace deal.
For now, the Human Race wasn’t ready for a final battle with the Black Ink Clan, and neither was Yang Kai.
A shadow flashed before Yang Kai’s eyes at that moment as a slender figure landed nearby. The woman had a surprised expression as she exclaimed, “Palace Master!”
Looking at the familiar face, Yang Kai nodded lightly, “You’ve worked hard.”
Hua Qing Si had already broken through to the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm. After all, many years had passed, and the High Heaven Palace didn’t lack cultivation materials, so it wasn’t hard for her to break through from the Sixth Order to the Seventh Order. However, the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm was her limit because her aptitude back then was average and she only made her initial breakthrough to the Fifth-Order.
“I’ve only done what is necessary,” Hua Qing Si replied humbly as she observed Yang Kai and discovered that while his appearance didn’t change much after all these years, his aura had become heavier. This showed that Yang Kai’s strength had significantly increased after this retreat.
“I have something for you to do,” While Yang Kai spoke, he casually waved his hand, and in the next instant, 800 hundred people appeared before them.
All of them were at the peak of the Emperor Realm, and judging by their auras, they had all condensed their Dao Seals and refined all sorts of materials. They were now just one step away from breaking through to the Open Heaven Realm.
These people were naturally the disciples gathered in the Void Dao Temple over the years.
While looking at the situation, Hua Qing Si understood what Yang Kai meant; after all, it wasn’t the first time she had seen this scene before. As such, she simply nodded, “Palace Master, please rest assured that I will make the necessary arrangements.”
After that, she addressed these Emperor Realm Masters, “Follow me.”
The Emperor Realm Masters respectfully bid the Dao Lord Yang Kai goodbye before leaving with Hua Qing Si.
Once the Head Manager distributed Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pills, the group of Emperor Realm Masters started breaking through to Open Heaven Realm outside of the Star Boundary. This scene attracted many bystanders.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai stood in place and used his Divine Sense to cover the entire Star Boundary. Instantly, he heard a multitude of conversations.
While listening, Yang Kai soon understood the latest situation on the various Great Territory Battlefields.
In general, both clans were still maintaining their side of the agreement, and it seemed like it would stay that way for some time to come. Besides the ones in those six Great Territory Battlefields, the other Territory Lords and Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters remained silent.
On the contrary, the six Great Territory Battlefields which had remained unchanged from the beginning now had very few ordinary soldiers as many Territory Lords and Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters now used these vast expanses as their own battlegrounds.
While quite a number of new Territory Lords had appeared in the Black Ink Clan, the Humans also had many new Eighth-Order Masters, all of whom swarmed into those six Great Territory Battlefields, intending to temper themselves while weakening the enemy’s strength by killing their top Masters. It could be said that the intensity of the battles in those six Great Territory Battlefields vastly exceeded all others.
There were constantly Eighth-Order Masters and Territory Lords dying in battle, which was very tragic news.
After 1,700 years of retreat, Yang Kai was now eager to move his body. Moreover, he had long decided to search for the first Primordial Light after finishing his latest retreat. To his knowledge, the Primordial Light was the only instrument capable of completely wiping out Mo; therefore, after gathering some intel, Yang Kai flew up to the sky and soon left High Heaven Territory.
Now that nearly 2,000 years of changes had passed, the situation in Azure Sun Territory had already changed.
Originally, the Humans and Black Ink Clan in Azure Sun Territory were engaged in a massive total war with battles of all sizes never ceasing. But as time passed, such sights became rarer.
This place was now the battlefield where only the strongest Masters battled each other. Ordinary soldiers from both Races had already moved out of this Great Territory; after all, ordinary soldiers had no right to participate in battles involving such Masters.
At this moment, those who were still actively moving about in this Great Territory were at least Feudal Lords and Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters who came here to gain some stimulation and break through their bottlenecks.
There were Masters from both Races fighting each other in every corner of this Great Territory, the fallout so intense that it could be felt across vast distances in all directions. These fights wouldn’t continue for long periods as those who gained small victories would immediately fall back, lest they attract the attention of reinforcements from the other side.
The quiet void was like a sleeping monster that would wake up at any moment and devour all the active Masters from both Races.
Amidst all his tension and chaos, a figure leisurely toured around the void, and though he was alone, he was completely calm and relaxed. It was as though that figure thought of this dangerous battlefield as his own home garden.
His Divine Sense carefully swept through the entire void as if he was looking for something but couldn’t find it, causing a disappointed expression to fill his face.
At some point in time, three large Black Ink Clouds rushed over from three different directions, coincidentally surrounding him.
However, this person didn’t seem to notice them at all and just continued searching his surroundings.
When this person arrived at the centre of the three Black Ink Clouds, three figures appeared from within the three Black Ink Clouds. Those three had strong auras and were clearly Territory Lords.
In the front was a burly Territory Lord with a single horn. He had a vicious expression as his Black Ink Strength surged and he fiercely slammed his palm towards that Human while roaring, “Die!”
Behind him was a slender female Territory Lord that charged towards the Human at breakneck speed. Then, she reached out her hand, which was equipped with nails that were as sharp as knives, aiming at her target’s heart from behind.
Finally, the third Territory Lord launched his own attack at that Human. Though he wasn’t as burly as the first Territory Lord, and he wasn’t as fast as the female Territory Lord, a huge amount of Black Ink Strength enveloped a large patch of the void at the shake of his arms. That dense Black Ink Strength was like the Astral Wind from the Nine Heavens, cutting through the void as it sliced towards the Human.
The three Territory Lords attacked together, creating a vortex of death that surrounded their lone target.
Such a lethal momentum wasn’t something any Eighth-Order Master could resist.
The Territory Lord in front was smiling wickedly, as if he could already see the terrified expression of his enemy.
[I wonder where this Eighth-Order Human came from. How bold of him to wander around Azure Sun Territory alone. He’ll pay for his ignorance!]
However, what happened next stunned that Territory Lord.
The Eighth-Order Master, who should be terrified, was smiling at him with an expression that seemed excited and eager. Palming his fist, the Human cracked his knuckles and joyously called out, “You guys did this to yourselves, so don’t blame me for what happens next!”
The gleeful expression on the Human’s face looked like he had just received a huge gift and was celebrating his good fortune.
[Something’s not right…]
However, it was too late to turn back. Since the three Territory Lords had already surrounded the Human, they didn’t care that something felt off and decided to kill first before figuring out anything else.
Instantly, all three Territory Lords arrived before the lone Eighth-Order Master, and the first burly Territory Lord threw a punch as a violent wave of Black Ink Strength surged out.
The next moment, however, his expression froze and the look of determination and resolve on his face quickly warped with confusion and doubt.
It was because that Eighth-Order Master had also thrown a punch. Even though this punch seemed small and weak, it shattered his own attack. The burly Territory Lord clearly saw how the other party’s fist seemed to vaporize his arm as it advanced towards him, an overwhelming strength surging behind it. The next moment, this seemingly slow punch moved upwards unimpeded and landed on his head.
Like an exploded watermelon, the burly Territory Lord was instantly turned into a headless corpse.
The Eighth-Order Human turned around abruptly, his bright eyes coincidentally meeting those of the female Territory Lord attacking him from behind.
Both of them were so close their faces were practically touching. The female Territory Lord felt her body tremble as she suddenly felt as though she wasn’t facing an Eighth-Order Human, but some Ancient Ominous Beast that had been caged for countless aeons. The shocking and terrifying murderous intent that radiated from this Human gave the female Territory Lord chills as her heart continuously sank. In desperation, she gathered all her Black Ink Strength at her fingertips as her nails turned black before striking at the Human.
To her astonishment though, rather than the feeling of her nails sinking into flesh, she felt a tight grip around her wrist, clearly indicating that the enemy had somehow caught her.
A low whisper sounded from beside her ear, causing her heart to clench, “You’re next…”
Suddenly, there was a sharp pain in her abdomen, followed by a violent energy that resembled a volcanic eruption exploding inside her. She felt like her enemy had punched through her body and completely broken her spine. The violent energy then surged out and attacked her strong body, and in less than a breath’s time, the female Territory Lord exploded into a mist of blood.
It was only after the death of the first two Territory Lords that the violent Black Ink Strength wave created by the third Territory Lord reached its target. This was supposed to be a powerful Secret Technique that could create an optimum battleground for his two companions, but now, it was what saved the third Territory Lord.
Seeing his two companions being decapitated and exploded by a single attack each from the mysterious Human before him, the third Territory Lord didn’t dare to remain any longer.
In a state of utter shock, the third Territory Lord instinctually tried to escape, but the space around him warped, instantly giving him an illusion that it was being stretched out infinitely. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t move from the spot where he stood.
At that moment, a figure shot out of the rolling Black Ink Strength, splitting the Black Ink Cloud apart before arriving in front of the third Territory Lord in the blink of an eye. Then, the Human casually reached out and easily grabbed the Territory Lord’s neck like he was picking up a chicken, tilting his head as he wondered aloud, “You guys are so weak…”
[Weak?] When the remaining Territory Lord heard that comment, he didn’t know what to say.
[Are we weak?]
Since they were Territory Lords, of course, they weren’t weak. Though the joint attack these three Territory Lords used wasn’t invincible in Azure Sun Territory, there was rarely anyone who could beat them. They had killed some Human Masters using this tactic and thought that since this Human was alone, it would be impossible for him to do anything to them, no matter how strong he may be. However, it was only now that this Territory Lord understood the Human expression ‘there are always mountains beyond mountains’.
It wasn’t that they were weak, it was just that their enemy was absurdly strong.
[How could there be such a strong Eighth-Order Master?] Perhaps it was because the Territory Lord was near-death that his memory was suddenly jogged and he recalled a name that had disappeared for nearly 2,000 years.
“You’re…”
“Alright, time’s up!” Yang Kai didn’t let the Territory Lord finish his words as he simply exerted some strength with his hand before separating the latter’s head from his body, causing a fountain of blood to spurt everywhere.
[Good! As I expected, these 1,700 years of retreat weren’t in vain. I’m now far stronger than I was before.]
However, Yang Kai immediately understood that he could kill these three Territory Lords so easily because they weren’t Innate Territory Lords but Acquired Territory Lords.
Back when they were on the Black Ink Battlefield, it was common knowledge that under normal circumstances, a Territory Lord’s strength would be weaker than an Eighth-Order Master’s because Humans acquired their strength through long-term accumulation.
Yang Kai had killed quite a few Innate Territory Lords, so these Acquired Territory Lords were nothing to him.
With his current ability, he could kill one of them with a single punch, just like when he was at the peak of the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm back then and slaughtered Feudal Lords like chickens and dogs.
If he were to encounter those strong Innate Territory Lords, it might not be as easy to kill them, but with his fearful reputation, those Innate Territory Lords wouldn’t dare to come and find trouble with him. Only these Acquired Territory Lords who never experienced his terror would have forgotten his infamy and mistakenly targeted him.
Though Azure Sun Territory was vast, the sudden annihilation of three Territory Lord auras was enough to attract the attention of many Masters.
Following that, several Divine Senses came from all directions, including Divine Senses from Territory Lords, Feudal Lords, and Seventh and Eighth-Order Masters. During these years of continuous battles, both races suffered losses, but never had a battle ended so quickly, much less with three Territory Lords dying at once.
Yang Kai naturally sensed these probes and secretly sighed, [There has indeed been a significant increase in Masters from both races during my years of retreat.]
The Black Ink Clan could use their Black Ink Nests to cultivate, so it was normal for them to become stronger quickly. As long as there were enough resources and Black Ink Nests, it wasn’t surprising for them to nurture many Feudal Lords and Territory Lords.
However, it was surprising that so many Seventh-Order and Eighth-Order Masters had appeared so quickly. Theoretically, it would be difficult for so many Humans to break through to the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm after just 2,000 years, especially those rising stars because they wouldn’t have enough accumulation.
The truth, however, was that the rate of breaking through to a new realm amongst those rising stars was not any slower than those veteran Open Heaven Realm Masters. Moreover, some of them even broke through to the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm earlier than veteran Seventh-Order Masters.
Perhaps this was a blessing from the Heavens.
Just like how the Heavens chose Yang Kai as a means of protecting themselves from the Black Ink Clan’s invasion, all the Human soldiers who fought against the Black Ink Clan had gained the Heavens’ favour as they were complying with the Heavens’ Will.
Such people could be said to be fighting on behalf of the Heavens and would thus receive far more opportunities and good fortune.
In the past, there weren’t many such people around, but now that the Black Ink Clan had invaded the 3,000 Worlds and the Humans were forced to defend just a handful of Great Territories, was the time when they needed to increase their overall strength the most. It was for this reason that the Ninth-Order Old Ancestors and Yang Kai worked hard to create a safe environment for them to grow. This very scenario imperceptibly shortened the time the Humans needed to grow stronger.
It was said to be difficult to predict the Heavens’ Will, but in truth, it could be seen in everything.
While in a trance, Yang Kai seemed to have realized something.
But soon, he was interrupted by a frantic Divine Sense.
Those Acquired Territory Lords didn’t know of Yang Kai’s reputation, but the Innate Territory Lords certainly did. Back in the day, all Innate Territory Lords were shown images of him so that they could memorise what he looked like.
1,700 years had passed, and the Black Ink Clan had gradually forgotten the shadow cast over them by Yang Kai. Moreover, according to the reports from the various Black Ink Disciples, this killing star had seemingly entered retreat in the Star Boundary soon after the peace deal was signed and not shown his face ever since.
No one expected that he would suddenly appear inside Azure Sun Territory and announce his return by slaughtering three Territory Lords!
“Sir Yang Kai, what’s the meaning of this?” A magnificent Divine Sense suddenly reverberated from the depths of the void. Though it sounded like the voice was questioning Yang Kai, it didn’t dare to be too reckless with its tone or words. Clearly, it was the Innate Territory Lord who was overseeing this place.
1,700 years ago, the number of Innate Territory Lords Yang Kai killed had reached more than 30; what’s more, those Innate Territory Lords were basically killed in a single blow by Yang Kai. Although Yang Kai had used special external means to kill them back then, that did nothing to diminish his incredible strength.
Now that 1,700 years had passed, no one knew exactly how this killing star’s ability had changed, but from how he killed three Acquired Territory Lords in just a few short breaths, everyone could tell he was stronger than before.
The terror that had faded away after nearly 2,000 years of silence had now resurfaced and tightly gripped the Innate Territory Lords.
[Is this monster… going to start another killing spree? If that’s true, the peace we maintained for more than 1,000 years will surely shatter.]
“Sir, are you planning on breaking the peace treaty our two Races agreed upon?” The Innate Territory Lords asked again, his voice echoing from many different directions, as if he was deliberately trying to hide his whereabouts.
Yang Kai snorted disdainfully as he felt somewhat displeased. These Innate Territory Lords reacted too quickly. It seemed he had killed those Territory Lords too quickly. He should have taken more time to tear them apart so he could have killed a few more Territory Lords without drawing attention to himself.
However, he hadn’t taken action for nearly 2,000 years, so his fine control of his strength was somewhat lacking at the moment.
Yang Kai’s gaze drifted for a moment, then seeming to have ignored the barriers of space, he fixed his eyes on a particular position in the void. Then, he yawned out of boredom and waved his hand, “I’m just looking around. You can all go back to what you were doing.”
The Innate Territory Lord who had spoken earlier while hiding in the dark had already broken out into a cold sweat as he felt a fierce aura locking onto him from far away and pinning him down. Fortunately, that aura disappeared in the next instant.
Knowing that his position had been exposed and that his tricks to hide his whereabouts meant nothing before Yang Kai, the Innate Territory Lord realised that if the latter wanted to kill him, Yang Kai could have arrived in front of him within a couple of breaths. He didn’t have the slightest confidence in resisting Yang Kai’s assault.
On the other hand, Yang Kai’s answer made several Territory Lords feel their chests tighten.
[Looking around… He’s just looking around, yet he killed three Acquired Territory Lords…]
However, they also knew that couldn’t be helped because it was those three Territory Lords who attacked first. In other words, they were the ones who courted death themselves.
The peace treaty did state that Yang Kai couldn’t participate in the war or attack any of the Territory Lords, but it never said Yang Kai couldn’t fight back if he was the one attacked. Moreover, since those three were killed by this killing star, the other Black Ink Clansmen didn’t dare to harp on this matter for fear they would be next.
“I hope what you said is true!” That Innate Territory Lord barely managed to keep his remaining dignity by broadcasting such words in all directions.
A short while later, a frenzy of activity occurred in Azure Sun Territory as all the Feudal Lords and Territory Lords around their main base hurried back inside while those too far away simply found places to hide.
Panicked energy fluctuations could be felt coming from all directions.
How could the Seventh and Eighth-Order Masters let such an opportunity go? Immediately, they began intercepting those Feudal Lords and Territory Lords while going all out to kill them. In an instant, the originally quiet Azure Sun Territory became extremely lively.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai slowly moved across the void while sweeping his Divine Sense around. He soon came across several Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters surrounding a group of Feudal Lords. The Humans already had a slight upper hand, but when Yang Kai passed by, the Feudal Lords became terrified. Even though Yang Kai didn’t even glance at them, those Feudal Lords felt like death itself was stalking them, causing their strength to plummet by some 30 or 40%.
Before Yang Kai even left, the Feudal Lords, who had barely maintained a balance before, were now at a total disadvantage. It was only a matter of time before they were killed by those Seventh-Order Masters.
A while later, Yang Kai came across another battlefield, but this time he stopped to take a look.
There were three Eighth-Order Human Masters currently battling a single Innate Territory Lord. Though it was three against one, the Humans didn’t hold much of an advantage.
Besides the fact that an Innate Territory Lord was already a very powerful foe, these three Eighth-Order Masters had clearly broken through to their current realm not long ago, so they didn’t have much heritage.
However, the three Eighth-Orders Masters were able to work together seamlessly and were proficient in many kinds of Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques. Despite not having an overwhelming advantage in this battle, they were still able to surround and pin down this Innate Territory Lord.
The space around this battlefield was warped, especially at its centre, and rays of bright light and murderous intent flared wildly.
Yang Kai’s arrival had naturally attracted the attention of these four, and the terrified Innate Territory Lord couldn’t help bellowing, “Sir Yang Kai, are you going to attack?”
Yang Kai chuckled, “No. I’m just having a look. You guys can continue your fight.”
Then, his expression turned grim as he reprimanded those Eighth-Order Masters, “You three little brats, what have you been cultivating for all these years? It’s three against one, and this is the best you can do? If word of this spread out, my reputation would be completely ruined!”
A young man with an innocent expression immediately wore a bitter look on his face as he complained, “Honoured Master, we only broke through to the Eighth Order 300 years ago, and this guy is an Innate Territory Lord.”
If their opponent had been an ordinary Territory Lord, their fight wouldn’t have been nearly this difficult, but Innate Territory Lords were far more powerful than the current generation of Acquired Territory Lords.
Yang Kai’s face darkened, “You dare talk back to me? Has this Honoured Master’s teachings been in vain for all those years?”
He then raised his head slightly and spoke in a sorrowful tone, “Didn’t your Honoured Master ever tell you that he killed a Royal Lord just after breaking through to the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm?”
Among those three Eighth-Order Masters, the young man with a bowl cut pursed his lips, “Honoured Master, all you know is how to boast about your achievements.”
They would have believed Yang Kai if he had said he killed an Innate Territory Lord as they had heard about how powerful he was for many years. However, killing a Royal Lord? Even they, Yang Kai’s Legacy Disciples, wouldn’t believe him, let alone others.
All three of them were silently complaining about how they never knew their Honoured Master was so shameless.
“How could you all get distracted during a battle? Do you want to die?” Yang Kai scolded them.
The only female Eighth-Order Master amongst them gripped her spear and swept it out fiercely with an angry roar, “Kill!”
Yang Kai applauded, “Ye Bai, you should learn more from your Junior Sister. How can a man not have any murderous intent? When fighting an enemy Master, it’s either you die or they do, so if you don’t give it your all, you won’t be the one to laugh in the end.”
“Yes!” Zhao Ye Bai’s expression became stern as his murderous intent surged.
The Innate Territory Lord was already afraid that Yang Kai would suddenly make a move and kill him, but now he felt completely hopeless after listening to this conversation.
[Honoured Master? Yang Kai is these three Eighth-Order Masters’ Honoured Master? What the Hell am I supposed to do now?]
If these three had been any other Eighth-Order Masters, it wouldn’t have mattered if he killed them, but these were Yang Kai’s Disciples. Once he made a killing attack, would Yang Kai really just stand there and do nothing?
Even if Yang Kai killed him today, the Black Ink Clan would not bring up the peace agreement for discussion and would just let the matter slide.
At that instant, the Innate Territory Lord fell into a dilemma.
Meanwhile, the three Eighth-Order Masters had been through many battles, so they wouldn’t show any mercy to their enemies when given such a good opportunity. Now that the Innate Territory Lord could only defend himself and had no way of striking back, the three redoubled their assault, sending out all sorts of Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques which illuminated the entire void.
Yang Kai nodded lightly, “You three can barely achieve one or two parts of my strength back then.”
Hearing that, Zhao Ya felt her veins bulging and couldn’t stand it anymore, so she spoke while thrusting out her spear, “Honoured Master, why don’t you go look around somewhere else?”
[We three Senior Brothers and Sister are fighting a life-or-death battle! It’s fine if this old fart can’t help us, but can he not just stand there boasting shamelessly while making sarcastic remarks?]
Yang Kai raised his hand and knocked her head, “What’s wrong? Don’t you want me here?”
Zhao Ya felt aggrieved, but at the same time, she was secretly astonished at her Honoured Master’s ability. Although she didn’t have her guard up against him and was fully focused on fighting the Innate Territory Lord, she was still an Eighth-Order Master, after all. However, she didn’t even notice when her Honoured Master arrived beside her.
While thinking of that, she couldn’t help but exclaim inside, [Indeed, old ginger is spicier than young ginger. Boasting might be a habit every man has, but this old man does have some skill it seems. I guess I’ll just let him continue to boast…]
As such, she didn’t say anything.
“Why is it only the three of you? Where’s that little bastard Yang Xiao?” Yang Kai looked around curiously. If he remembered correctly, his three Disciples should have been with Yang Xiao because they seemed to have formed a group called the Ten Directions Supreme and had also made a name for themselves.
But now, there were only the three of them, and Yang Xiao was nowhere to be seen.
Xu Yi used Time Principles to disrupt the Innate Territory Lord’s senses while finding a moment to answer, “These years, our Fellow Brothers and Sisters have broken through to the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm one after another, so it’s not suitable for us to stay in a single Squad and kill enemies together anymore. The three of us parted ways with Senior Brother Yang some time ago.”
Yang Kai nodded in understanding.
Back then, they formed a squad to kill the enemy because they weren’t strong enough. Although there were quite a lot of Seventh-Order Masters among them, going into the Great Territories conquered by the Black Ink Clan was extremely dangerous; therefore, it was a better choice to band together.
But now, these little ones had all broken through to the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm, so there was no need to act as a unit anymore.
Also, this was a wise choice because only in this way could they continue to break through their limitations by exposing themselves to dangerous situations.
Yang Kai’s three Disciples had all directly broken through to the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm back then and were now Eighth-Order Masters. Once they had accumulated enough heritage, they could strive to break through to the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm. If they did, they would become pillars of the war against the Black Ink Clan.
It was the same for Yang Xiao. He was a pure Dragon Clan member and had a very strong Bloodline Talent, so he could only rely on purifying and tempering his Dragon Vein and nothing else to achieve a breakthrough.
As for Yang Xue, she was the same as Yang Kai. The Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm was her limit.
“Die!” A fierce roar suddenly sounded as Zhao Ya pierced the Innate Territory Lord’s chest with her spear. Violent energy exploded, directly opening a huge hole in the enemy’s chest.
With her strength, she couldn’t land such a blow on an Innate Territory Lord so easily. The best outcome for today’s battle would have been both sides suffering injuries or both sides retreating on their own.
However, Yang Kai standing there talking non-stop forced the Innate Territory Lord to divide some attention to guard against him. Also, the Innate Territory Lord had to be mindful of Zhao Ye Bai and the others being Yang Kai’s Disciples, so he didn’t dare to kill them.
Since the Innate Territory Lord couldn’t escape or pay full attention to fighting his opponents, he naturally wouldn’t have a good end.
“Senior Brother!” Xu Yi bellowed. The three Brothers and Sister had been together for many years and had gone through countless battles together, so they knew each other incredibly well by now. When Zhao Ya succeeded in attacking the enemy, Xu Yi immediately seized the chance.
Zhao Ye Bai roared, “Coming!”
The two of them immediately pushed their Time Principles and Space Principles, intertwining their strength to create a mysterious energy.
At that moment, the local Space became a mess, and the entire battlefield was rendered into a patchwork of light. The Innate Territory Lord had a surprised and frightened expression on his face as he watched a spear coming at him, swiftly moving about as it slashed him 18 times.
During this critical life-and-death moment, the Territory Lord no longer cared about Yang Kai. The Black Ink Strength surrounding his body surged as it spread out in all directions like a tsunami.
The chaotic Space was disrupted and three figures were sent flying, all of them coughing up fresh blood.
At the same time, the Territory Lord had 18 new injuries and was covered in fresh black blood, making him look incredibly haggard.
Not intending to remain a moment longer, he turned around and transformed into a Black Ink Cloud before making his escape.
“In your dreams!” Zhao Ye Bai roared. The trio had exerted a lot of effort to heavily injure their enemy. If they let their opponent escape, they would have spent their years of cultivation in vain.
Moreover, their Honoured Master was watching them from the side.
Zhao Ye Bai had no expectations that his Honoured Master would lend a helping hand, and Yang Kai had no such intentions either. Instead, he just watched them with interest.
While Zhao Ye Bai roared, his figure flickered. Then, with a slight step, a vague shadow remained in place while his true body appeared in front of the escaping Innate Territory Lord. At some point, a mysterious object appeared in Zhao Ye Bai’s hand. It seemed like a sword, but it also looked like a snake. The thing was squirming in his hand like an untamed animal that could bite back at him at any moment.
Yang Kai narrowed his eyes as he offered some silent praise. Though he did not pay much attention to his Disciples, he didn’t expect the dopiest little one to have grown so much.
The thing in Zhao Ye Bai’s hand wasn’t a sword or a snake, it was a Void Crack. He was using a Void Crack as a weapon.
“Scram!” The Territory Lord yelled madly as a palm appeared from within the rolling Black Ink Cloud and slammed towards Zhao Ye Bai.
The Space Sword didn’t slash downwards but nimbly formed a curve that cut into the Black Ink Cloud. At the same time, Zhao Ye Bai ducked and avoided the Territory Lord’s palm while also revealing Xu Yi standing behind him.
While using Space Principles to intercept his enemy, he also brought along his Third Junior Brother with him.
The Innate Territory Lord had been completely focused on running away, and the two Brothers had combined their auras, so he didn’t notice that there were two Humans before him rather than one.
Xu Yi had a stern expression as he placed his palms together. Then, a dense layer of Time Principles surrounded his body, and with a gentle slap, Time itself was sent flying.
As this palm struck, the surrounding void seemed to pass through countless years in an instant. When the Innate Territory Lord’s attack reached Xu Yi’s palm, only half of its power remained.
With a shake of Xu Yi’s body, the Innate Territory Lord was sent flying, and Zhao Ye Bai’s Space Sword slashed downwards.
The huge Black Ink Cloud roiled and split, revealing the Territory Lord’s figure with a large wound at his waist that was gushing out blood. The wound didn’t look like it was from a sharp object piercing him; instead, it was as if some beast had ripped a chunk of his flesh out.
Before the Territory Lord could steady himself, an intense murderous intent struck him from behind. Zhao Ya had harnessed the essence of the Supreme Limitless Spear Art and transformed her weapon into a giant phantom image that swiftly enveloped the Innate Territory Lord.
At that moment, the Innate Territory Lord could no longer escape.
“Kill!” Xu Yi called out and charged forward with his Eldest Senior Brother.
However, The trio didn’t dare to be reckless and the fight with the Innate Territory Lord lasted another half an hour before they finally took him down with great difficulty.
After Zhao Ya used her spear to blast the Innate Territory Lord’s head off, she withdrew it while all three of them looked pale and panted heavily. However, they were feeling indescribably happy inside.
This was the first Innate Territory Lord they had killed!
Even though they had fought Innate Territory Lords before, it would always end with them suffering a loss and the three of them escaping under their Eldest Senior Brother’s lead. There were also some rare times when both sides suffered heavy losses and mutually withdrew, but never had they imagined killing an Innate Territory Lord so soon.
Yang Kai overseeing the situation might have contributed to their win, but during the latter half of the battle, the Innate Territory Lord had gone all out and no longer restrained his attacks.
This life-or-death battle was certainly beneficial to them. Once they had absorbed the experience from this fight, they were confident that they wouldn’t be in such a wretched state when encountering another Innate Territory Lord in the future.
“Honoured Master, please give us some guidance!” After steadying his breath, Zhao Ye Bai looked at Yang Kai and cupped his fist.
Yang Kai smiled, “Your Master simply shows you the path, how you walk it is up to you. Your Honoured Master has no more advice for you. I only have one comment. Well done.”
Although he felt that the three little ones still had a few rough edges while battling their opponent, and many opportunities weren’t grasped perfectly, nothing was truly perfect in this World. Even he had times when he made mistakes and misjudgments. Moreover, the situation on the battlefield was constantly changing, and only by continuously overcoming their limitations could they grow strong.
Also, Yang Kai noticed that they had adopted an original approach when using their Martial Daos, especially when Zhao Ye Bai and Xu Yi combined both Time and Space Principles, allowing them to display a kind of Space-Time Strength.
Yang Kai could summon the Sun and Moon Divine Wheel and use Space-Time Strength because he was proficient in both the Dao of Space and the Dao of Time. It was like a person’s left and right hands working together seamlessly and not too difficult to achieve; however, Zhao Ye Bai and Xu Yi were two different individuals. When one person’s left hand had to work with another person’s right hand, it didn’t only require perfect timing but also absolute trust in each other.
As Yang Kai thought of that, he couldn’t help but sigh. It seemed like the young eagles had grown their feathers and were able to soar in the sky.
He suddenly understood how Ou Yang Lie and the others felt back then. Each age offered new talents, and those new talents would surpass the older ones! The veteran Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters might have had high hopes and felt like they had passed their prime when looking at the young and active him back then.
“After so many years, Honoured Master has never taught you anything in detail, but since we’ve encountered each other today, I will give you one final lesson!” Yang Kai wore a kind smile on his face.
The three Disciples looked serious as they felt inexplicably sad. Though their Honoured Master didn’t seem old and could even be considered young when compared to other veteran Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, they knew that the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm… was their Honoured Master’s limit in this lifetime.
That was undoubtedly a ruthless fate for a cultivator who used up all his life to pursue the peak of the Martial Dao. Though their Honoured Master’s appearance would not age for tens of thousands of years at least, his ambition to pursue Martial Dao would no longer be as strong as it once was.
Zhao Ya’s eyes reddened slightly as she remembered how Yang Kai had taken such gentle care of them when they were young. All these years, they seemed to have never been filial to their Honoured Master, so she secretly decided that if they could wipe out the Black Ink Clan, they must stay beside their Honoured Master and take care of him.
However, while such thoughts flashed across her head, Yang Kai raised his fist to his lips and coughed twice before suddenly shouting, “This King’s three Legacy Disciples are right here! An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth! If any of you Territory Lords have a grudge against me, feel free to target them! If you manage to kill them, that just proves your capability, and this King will not avenge them in the future!”
The three Disciples slowly widened their eyes as their sadness instantly disappeared while looking at their Honoured Master with stunned expressions.
Yang Kai then winked at them, “The final lesson is that your Honoured Master can’t protect you for a lifetime, so you have to learn how to fend for yourselves!”
After saying that, Yang Kai didn’t bother to see what their reactions were before taking a step and appearing a million kilometres away from them. Then, he laughed from afar and announced, “There will come a day when the eagle learns to fly and soars high in the sky!”
He seemed to be in an extremely pleasant mood.
In just a few short moments, his aura disappeared from Azure Sun Territory, obviously indicating that he had left through one of the Territory Gates.
At that instant, many Divine Senses swept towards Zhao Ye Bai and the others from all directions and the trio felt like countless pairs of eyes were now staring at them from the dark.
“Run!” In a panic, Zhao Ye Bai grabbed his Junior Sister and Brother before turning around and dashing towards one of the Human Race’s forward outposts.
“Master?! How could there be such a terrible Master in this life!? Ahhh! I’m going to drop out of the Master’s Sect!” Xu Yi felt like he was going mad.
In this World, the number of those who knew they were Yang Kai’s Legacy Disciples was not low, but it also wasn’t high; after all, Yang Kai had arranged for them to be cared for at the High Heaven Palace before he went to the Black Ink Battlefield, which was some 3,000 years ago. Back then, the three of them were still weak, so the others only thought of them as ordinary High Heaven Palace disciples. No one had ever expected them and Yang Kai to be Disciples and Master.
Of course, they also wouldn’t announce this fact to the wider world.
They knew what their Honoured Master had done to the Black Ink Clan, so if the Black Ink Clan found out about their relationship, they would definitely be targeted.
That was also why the Human higher-ups never said a word about them despite knowing the whole story.
Never would they have imagined that Yang Kai would take the initiative to expose their Master and Disciple relationship today.
There were so many Territory Lords who died because of Yang Kai, but since the Black Ink Clan couldn’t do anything about him, their next best option was to target his three Disciples.
It was easy to predict that the dangers and risks these three would be facing in the future would vastly surpass what they encountered previously. Perhaps they would be targeted by multiple Territory Lords the moment they appeared in any Great Territory.
Zhao Ya bit her lips as her eyes reddened even more.
She had secretly decided that once her Honoured Master turned old, could no longer move about, and was bedridden, she would show him the real meaning of filial piety!
After giving it some more thought, she realized that this old fart had never taught them anything these past few millennia. All he did was take them under his wing when they were young and naïve. Since he brought them out from the Void World, they had hardly even met, so how could he have taught them anything?
Yet this old ghost dared to say this was their final lesson!
“Eldest Senior Brother, run faster! They’re chasing us!” Xu Yi screamed in panic. It had only been a short moment, but several powerful auras which obviously belonged to Innate Territory Lords were rapidly closing in on them. On top of that, there were dozens of weaker auras following closely behind them in the dark. Clearly, everyone now saw the three of them as prime targets.
“Don’t resist!” Zhao Ye Bai shouted while using Space Principles to wrap around his Junior Sister and Brother, their figures beginning to flicker.
By the time he had almost run out of energy, they finally reached the Human Race’s main camp. Zhao Ye Bai fell to the ground, feeling like he didn’t even have the energy to move a finger. While he looked up at the jet-black void, he only had one thought in mind.
[Honoured Master is definitely trying to screw with us!]
After nearly 2,000 years, the Human Race’s biggest killing star, Yang Kai, had emerged from retreat; then, he appeared in Azure Sun Territory and killed three Acquired Territory Lords.
When the news spread out, the Black Ink Clan was terrified!
Acquired Territory Lords were also Territory Lords, and although they weren’t as powerful as Innate Territory Lords, or even ordinary Eighth-Order Human Masters, they weren’t easy to kill by any means.
The Black Ink Clan then heard that those three Territory Lords were the ones who initiated the attack, but all of them were killed within three breaths.
Fortunately, Yang Kai didn’t start a killing spree or even intend to break the treaty they had agreed on previously. Instead, he just strolled around Azure Sun Territory and left.
At that moment, all the Black Ink Clansmen in all the Great Territory Battlefields shivered in fright as they did all they could to get news about Yang Kai.
Soon, they received word from all directions that Yang Kai had appeared on the Great Territory Battlefields one after another; however, he never started a fight and just wandered around as if searching for something.
No one knew what he was searching for.
There were many times when he appeared near the Black Ink Clan’s bases, which made the Territory Lords eager to start a fight but also extremely wary.
They were eager to start a fight because if they did, they might stand a chance of defeating Yang Kai if the entire Army attacked him together. However, they were worried that if a battle broke out, there was no telling how many Territory Lords would die, and there was also a chance that they might not be able to defeat Yang Kai.
It wasn’t until Yang Kai left that the Black Ink Clan finally felt relieved.
However, more news spread across the Great Territories, saying that Yang Kai’s three Legacy Disciples were in Azure Sun Territory, so many began thinking of ways to surround and kill them. This news greatly energized the Black Ink Clan.
The fear of Yang Kai would forever stay with them because he was so strong and overbearing that no Black Ink Clansman dared to offend him. Since the Black Ink Clan couldn’t do anything about Yang Kai though, they could take out their frustrations on his three Legacy Disciples.
Moreover, it was Yang Kai who exposed their relationship before leaving Azure Sun Territory. Also, he said that if the Black Ink Clan managed to kill his Disciples, he would not take revenge.
Just as countless Black Ink Clansmen were focusing their attention on Azure Sun Territory, they heard even more news from other Great Territories.
Yang Xiao and Yang Yue, who made a name for themselves recently, were revealed to be Yang Kai’s Adopted Son and Younger Sister.
Also, a few women who had recently broken through to the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm were said to be his Wives.
In an instant, the Black Ink Clan began targeting everyone with close connections to Yang Kai. The Black Ink Clan had also devised several plans to round them up and slaughter them; however, whether they would actually kill them was doubtful as none of the higher-ups in the Black Ink Clan believed Yang Kai would really not seek revenge.
If they could capture these important people and corrupt them with Black Ink Strength though, turning them into Black Ink Disciples, it would certainly allow them to restrain Yang Kai’s actions greatly.
Undercurrents surged throughout the various battlefields surrounding those cultivators with close relationships with Yang Kai. The Human Race and the Black Ink Clan continuously fought each other in battle after battle, turning the situation into a chaotic mess.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai had long left the 13 Battlefields. With a Universe Chart in hand, he began touring around all the Great Territories.
If the Human Race wanted to get rid of the Black Ink Clan once and for all, they had to find the Primordial Light. Although Yang Kai had ventured into the Chaotic Dead Territory to ask Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan about it, the information he received wasn’t of much use; therefore, Yang Kai still didn’t have a clue about what the Primordial Light was or where to find it.
Now, he could only use the dumbest method of performing an exhaustive search, hoping he would get lucky.
Cang had previously said that when the Primordial Light was born, Primordial Darkness appeared alongside it. Light and darkness were opposite sides of the same coin and were inextricably linked, but now, that darkness had become Mo and was set on devouring the Universe while the light was nowhere to be seen.
The Primordial Light might not take the form of light, just like how darkness had taken the form of Mo. The light could be a blade of grass, a simple tree, or even a Monster or a Human. There was even the possibility of it being everything in this World.
Yang Kai wasn’t sure if he could find it, but he believed that where there was a will, there would be a way.
Moreover, his cultivation was approaching his personal limit. Though it hadn’t reached the peak of the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm yet, the heritage in his Small Universe was constantly increasing without the need to go through bitter secluded cultivation.
After chasing his limits for all his life, Yang Kai had reached the end of his Martial Dao, but he didn’t feel the slightest joy. That was because he knew that this wasn’t the peak of the Martial Dao. This knowledge was undoubtedly the greatest despair to a cultivator.
Since he didn’t need to cultivate and couldn’t head to the battlefield to fight the enemy, Yang Kai couldn’t stay idle. If he were an ordinary man, he could stay with his family and be filial to his parents, or spend the rest of his life in peace, but he wasn’t an ordinary man.
It would be best if he could find the Primordial Light, but if he couldn’t, he would take this journey as a trip to reorganize his mind and calm his spirit.
His Divine Sense was constantly surging like the tide, leaving no stone unturned. In every Great Territory he visited, he would bring out his Universe Chart and use his Divine Sense to draw a cross on its corresponding position.
Now, most of the Great Territories in the 3,000 Worlds were conquered by the Black Ink Clan, and the Universe Worlds that used to be flourishing and filled with vitality were now dead because they were depleted of World Force and had their Grand Daos destroyed. Numerous Black Ink Clansmen could be seen moving about the void and there were many Black Ink Nests above the dead Universe World.
Back when the Black Ink Clan had just started invading the 3,000 Worlds, Yang Kai had also visited many Great Territories, but back then, he was rushing about refining the Universe Worlds in an attempt to save as many living beings as possible.
That journey was frantic and brief.
This time, his journey was more deliberate as he performed a thorough search of every corner of each Great Territory, including all the dead Universe Worlds and Universe Fragments.
In comparison to back then, the Great Territories were now undoubtedly duller. Even the void was permeated with the extremely wicked and loathsome aura of Black Ink Strength.
The dead Universe Worlds were like decaying corpses.
Black Ink Strength had swept through the Universe. No one could avoid their personal responsibility when faced with such a tragedy.
During his journey, Yang Kai met quite a few Hunters. These Hunters travelled around each Great Territory, destroying Black Ink Nests and being chased after by the Black Ink Clan, which they all considered exciting and terrifying experiences. While facing such dangers though, they also gained a lot.
As Yang Kai passed through each Great Territory, the number of crosses on his Universe Chart gradually increased and soon almost covered the entire map.
He didn’t pay much attention to how many years he had been searching for until he suddenly came to an extremely quiet place.
After cross-checking with his Universe Chart, he suddenly realised that this was actually the Chaotic Dead Territory.
Yang Kai was very surprised as he had visited the Chaotic Dead Territory thrice, but no matter when he came, this place had always been in complete chaos.
Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan were extremely powerful but couldn’t control their own strength; therefore, wherever they were, the violent might of Yang and Yin they possessed shattered the void.
It was because of this that Yang Kai didn’t succeed when asking them to descend the mountain and help the Humans deal with the Black Ink Clan. If they did so, many other Great Territories would become a part of the Chaotic Dead Territory, which was something the Humans couldn’t accept.
Although many Great Territories now were filled with dead Universe Worlds and were conquered by the Black Ink Clan, restoring them in the future was still possible. However, if a Great Territory became a part of the Chaotic Dead Territory, there would be no hope for restoration.
When Yang Kai came again this time and noticed there was actually something different, he couldn’t help but be curious.
Therefore, he flew deeper into the void while calling out, “Big Brother Huang, Big Sister Lan, your Little Brother is here to visit!”
Following a faint aura he sensed, Yang Kai soon found Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan, but when he saw them, he was taken aback, “What are… you two doing?”
Standing before Yang Kai was a single figure, or more precisely, the combined figures of Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan. The left half of the figure looked like Big Brother Huang, while the right side looked like Big Sister Lan. The figure’s appearance seemed extremely strange, as if some sort of power had forcefully merged them together but failed.
“Uhm…” The strange combined figure looked at Yang Kai, and its two different coloured eyes also showed different emotions. Then, with a roll of their eyes, the combined body split into two.
With a soft popping sound, Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan were separated entirely. The two of them looked a little exhausted and depressed.
Big Brother Huang massaged his temples, looking like he had a headache, “We’re trying to fuse. When you were here the last time, didn’t you say we might have a connection with the Primordial Light? We thought about it after you left and thought perhaps you were right, so we gave it a try.”
“What’s the result?”
“The result is what you just saw,” Big Brother Huang spread his hands.
“It’s your fault. If you hadn’t tried to gain control, I wouldn’t have fought with you because I was afraid to get devoured,” Big Sister Lan complained.
Big Brother Huang looked aggrieved, “How can that be my fault? You initiated it. How could I comply silently?”
“As a proper Little Brother, you should carry out your Big Sister’s will,” Big Sister Lan chastised.
“Nonsense,” Big Brother Huang jumped one metre high, “I’m the Big Brother, so you should listen to me!”
Then, Big Sister Lan grabbed Big Brother Huang’s collar and threatened angrily, “Say that again!”
Big Brother Huang looked down at her and repeated arrogantly, “I’m the Big…”
“Alright alright,” Yang Kai grabbed them before placing them on either side of himself, “Stop arguing. You guys have been together for so many years. What’s there to argue about?”
They had been arguing about who was the Big Sister or Big Brother for aeons, but they still hadn’t reached a conclusion.
*Hmph!* Both of them coldly snorted before turning their heads to the side as if they didn’t want to talk to each other anymore.
Yang Kai touched his chin and commented, “When this Little Brother saw your condition just now, I seemed to have seen signs of integration.”
“We can integrate with each other,” Big Brother Huang sighed and shook his head. After so many tries, he finally understood something, “However, unless one of us is willing to be devoured by the other, we’ll never truly become one.”
Big Sister Lan added, “Also, even if one of us is willing to be devoured, the most likely possibility is that we’ll simply destroy each other entirely.”
They were originally the manifestation of Yang and Yin, so their powers were opposed, the epitome of incompatibility, so how could they possibly integrate?
“If that’s true, then why are you guys still trying?” Yang Kai was confused.
Big Brother Huang shrugged, “We have nothing to do anyway. Also, she wouldn’t let me devour her.”
That answer was impeccable. It was the same reason why Yang Kai went to look for the Primordial Light. He felt he had to do something, but there was literally nothing else for him to do, in short, he was bored…
“But we did learn something,” Big Sister Lan suddenly spoke up.
Yang Kai’s expression turned serious, “What did you discover?”
Instead of answering him, Big Sister Lan asked a question, “Do you know Alchemy?”
Not knowing what Alchemy had to do with this situation, Yang Kai still answered honestly, “I know a little.”
He had some Alchemic Dao Essence inside his Small Universe. Though he wasn’t as proficient in it as his three primary Grand Daos, his accomplishments weren’t low either. If he was willing, Yang Kai figured he could easily become an Alchemy Grandmaster. Moreover, he actively cultivated the Alchemic Dao in his youth.
Since there were many cultivators in his Small Universe, they were able to benefit from this and some became quite talented in the Alchemic Dao.
Big Sister Lan continued, “Since you know Alchemy, you should know that there are many times when herbs that have opposing natures are put together inside the same furnace, but not only do they not destroy each other, they enhance each other’s medicinal efficiency.”
Nodding, Yang Kai replied, “Indeed. The Alchemic Dao is profound and boundless, and what it focuses on is the ratio of herbs and how they counteract and enhance each other.” After thinking about it, he questioned, “Are you saying…”
“If you think of me and Big Brother Huang as counteracting herbs, what would you do to blend our medicinal efficacies?”
Yang Kai’s eyes lit up, “A catalyst!”
It wasn’t true that two counteracting herbs couldn’t be placed in the same furnace, one only had to add a suitable medicinal catalyst, and disaster could be turned into a miracle. Not only could a catalyst help maximize the two herbs’ medicinal efficacies, but it could help them fuse together and produce new and astonishing effects.
“I understand now!” Yang Kai was elated, like a terminally ill patient who suddenly found a cure after searching for so long. He was acting almost epileptic.
The last time Yang Kai came to the Chaotic Dead Territory and talked with these two, he realised that they had a huge connection with the Primordial Light, and perhaps were even part of it at one point. That was because Big Sister Lan previously said that she vaguely remembered being abandoned.
[Who would abandon them? And what kind of being could abandon them?]
The answer to that was undoubtedly the Primordial Light.
Although Yang Kai didn’t know the reason behind all of this, the Primordial Light did separate from the Yang and Yin that eventually became the Sun’s Burning Light and Moon’s Serene Glimmer.
That was why they vaguely remembered feeling like they were abandoned. They were originally the same being but were separated by a powerful force.
If they wanted to fuse, they would have to reverse what happened. So, there must be a special existence in this World, and that existence was the medicinal catalyst to help Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan reintegrate with each other!
If he could find that catalyst, perhaps they might be able to recreate that glorious light.
Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan looked at each other, feeling speechless.
But soon, Yang Kai’s expression turned stiff, and he frowned deeply. It only took a moment for his happy expression to disappear.
He managed to figure something out, but it all seemed meaningless…
Would he be able to find the catalyst when he couldn’t even find the Primordial Light? He had been searching around so many Great Territories, but so far hadn’t found anything at all. Even if he searched every Great Territory, there was still a chance that he wouldn’t find what he was looking for.
Logically speaking, Mo was born at the same time as the Primordial Light, so if the latter hadn’t separated from Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan, it might also have become a sentient existence in the 3,000 Worlds that was equally strong by now.
However, the Primordial Light separated Yang and Yin aeons ago, and now no one knew what it looked like.
Even the World Tree had no idea.
The Old Tree had been around since the dawn of time and was connected to all the Universe Worlds in the 3,000 Worlds, so who would know something that he didn’t?
Yang Kai suddenly felt devastated.
“Hey!” A leg suddenly landed on Yang Kai’s face. The force was so great that he was sent flying out and even saw stars.
When he finally found his footing, he felt something wet on his face. When he touched it, his hands were stained by blood.
He shook his head as he walked back and looked aggrieved at Big Brother Huang as he asked, “Why did you kick me?”
Big Brother Huang snorted coldly, “You looked so depressed, like your family died or something. It was annoying to look at it.”
Smiling bitterly, Yang Kai asked, “Is it that obvious?”
Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan nodded in sync.
Then, Big Brother Huang jumped up and slapped his small hand on Yang Kai’s shoulder while speaking like an elder, “Little Brother, there is no difficulty that can’t be solved. If you admit defeat before even starting, you’d be better off dead. At least you could have some peace and quiet that way.”
Feeling aggrieved, Yang Kai argued, “I’m not admitting defeat! I just thought…”
“Don’t think,” Big Brother Huang interrupted Yang Kai, “All beings have their own fate. Don’t put everything on your shoulders because you can’t bear that weight. This tragedy that is happening, it’s the whole world’s tragedy, not just yours. If the world would be destroyed without you, so be it.”
Yang Kai lowered his head, suddenly reminded of all he had done all those years ago.
Back then, he was invincible on the battlefield. With the Soul Rending Thorn and his various Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques, he killed so many Territory Lords in Profound Nether Territory that the enemy became traumatized by his mere mention. However, even with such a huge advantage, Yang Kai still chose to make peace with them.
Didn’t he do that because of this exact reason?
This war wasn’t solely his struggle. No matter how strong a person was, there was a limit to their strength. This was the Human Race’s war, and only by the constant strengthening of their successive generations could they have hope of defeating the Black Ink Clan.
How could he have forgotten his original intention after so many years?
Yang Kai suddenly turned serious and nodded, “Big Brother Huang, you’re right.”
Also, he saw a new side to Big Brother Huang as he didn’t expect this little guy to have such insight after having stayed in the Chaotic Dead Territory for such a long time.
When Big Brother Huang heard Yang Kai compliment him, he eagerly added, “Don’t worry. If there ever comes a day when you Humans are defeated, your Big Sister Lan and I will charge out from the Chaotic Dead Territory and make this vast world into a dead zone so that the Black Ink Clan will be buried along with you!”
Yang Kai felt his brow twitch when he heard that as he thought, [This might be Big Brother Huang’s real intentions.]
No matter how isolated he and Big Sister Lan were, or how reasonably they seemed to behave, they were still avatars of chaos and destruction. When the Humans were in charge of the Universe, they could still stay here peacefully, but if the Humans disappeared from existence, nothing would be restraining them anymore. At that point, charging out of the Chaotic Dead Territory wasn’t just talk.
“Can the two of you stand against Mo?” Yang Kai felt doubtful. According to what he knew, these two might have abilities that were on par with a Giant Spirit God or stronger; however, was that enough to rival the strength of Mo?
When he thought about it, Mo created Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods while the Primordial Light created the Burning Light and Serene Glimmer; therefore, the Primordial Light might have been in the Creation Realm as well!
After pondering for a moment, Big Brother Huang replied, “We aren’t his opponent, but nothing will happen if you don’t act. Besides, we can’t just sit here and wait for death.”
Yang Kai exhaled lightly before sighing, “That’s right. We can’t just give in and wait for death to come!”
No one knew whether they could find the proper catalyst, but they had to try before knowing the answer.
Slapping his cheeks, Yang Kai thought, [Cheer up, the future is full of difficulties, but you can’t let that stop you from forging ahead!]
Suddenly, he thought of something. Since these two represented chaos and destruction, how could they have peacefully stayed in the Chaotic Dead Territory for so many years? Shouldn’t they be freely roaming around the 3,000 worlds and releasing their strength?
When Yang Kai unconsciously asked that question, Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan looked at each other and saw the confusion in each other’s eyes.
“You’re right!” Big Brother Huang was puzzled, “This is a good question. Why do we have to stay in the Chaotic Dead Territory?”
Frowning, Big Sister Lan said, “But we don’t have the urge to wipe out the Humans and destroy this World. What’s more, I think staying here is quite good.”
“Could this be the thoughts left by the Primordial Light?” Yang Kai asked.
The two couldn’t answer him.
At that moment, Big Brother Huang suddenly felt frustrated, “Hey! Why do you have so many questions? There aren’t that many whys in the world.”
For so many years, they had been living their lives this way and didn’t find it unusual, but this annoying Little Brother kept coming over and asking them so many questions that left them confused.
“Is there anything else? If not, please leave,” Big Brother Huang had no trace of politeness when he said that.
“Ugh…” Yang Kai was speechless and thought about it before saying, “Please bestow me some Yellow and Blue Crystals. Also, after so many years, the Small Stone Race…”
Although Yang Kai had brought away a huge batch of Yellow and Blue Crystals and a massive Small Stone Race Army from the Chaotic Dead Territory, so many years of war with the Black Ink Clan had consumed many of the Yellow and Blue Crystals, while few Small Stone Race were remaining. The Small Stone Race soldiers still remaining were mostly the ones who had strength on par with the Seventh-Order and Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, but thanks to their low sentience, they couldn’t exert nearly as much power as the Humans.
“You’re so annoying!” Big Brother Huang felt a headache, “You’ve already taken away everything the last time you were here, yet you’re doing it again.”
Even though it had been nearly 2,000 years since Yang Kai’s last visit, that wasn’t actually a long time from the Burning Light and Serene Glimmer’s perspective.
But despite Big Brother Huang’s complaints, he and Big Sister Lan had already prepared a huge pile of supplies for Yang Kai. It didn’t matter if Yang Kai didn’t mention it, but now that he did, they wouldn’t be stingy with him. Therefore, Big Sister Lan waved her hand, and a giant-mountain-sized pile of Yellow and Blue Crystals floated over from deep inside the void.
Then, she shouted out an order, and several Small Stone Race Armies charged out from all directions in the Chaotic Dead Territory.
Yang Kai happily opened his Small Universe, and under Big Brother Huang’s constant grumblings, he put away the huge pile of materials and Small Stone Race Armies.
After that was done, Burning Light and Serene Glimmer’s nearly 2,000 years of accumulation were gone.
Such a huge pile of materials and reinforcements were enough to influence the final result of the war between the two races.
Without mentioning anything else, if Yang Kai distributed the Small Stone Clan Armies he received to the various battlefields, they could deliver a huge blow to the Black Ink Clan as those Small Stone Race Armies had many that were on par with Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters.
Once Yang Kai was done, he respectfully thanked the two.
Since the two Races still wanted to maintain their current situation of the war, Yang Kai wasn’t in a rush to head back and distribute these Small Stone Race Armies. Also, he had to start his search for the medicinal catalyst.
“I think you should try visiting the Divine Spirit’s Ancestral Land,” before he could go though, Big Sister Lan suddenly made this suggestion.
According to ancient stories, The Sun’s Burning Light and Moon’s Serene Glimmer were the ancestors of all Divine Spirits. The various Divine Spirits only appeared after these two, followed by the Primordial Era and the glorious days when Divine Spirits ruled the Universe.
During that era, all sorts of different Divine Spirits were found throughout the 3,000 Worlds.
It was a pity that a brutal war that went on for millennia caused the extinction of many Divine Spirit Clans. Today, only a handful of Divine Spirits remained, and many of those Divine Spirits that managed to survive were on the verge of disappearing. The undeniable fact was that Divine Spirits were incredibly powerful, and every Mature Divine Spirit was equivalent to a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master at least. What’s more, all they needed to do was constantly refine their bloodline, and their strength would increase until one day they stood on par with Ninth-Order Old Ancestors, if not higher.
However, according to the information Yang Kai received from Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan, the rumour about them being the first ancestors was made up. Since they first gained sentience, the only matter that had concerned them was deciding who was the Elder Sibling; moreover, Yang and Yin were counteracting forces, so how could they produce so many Divine Spirits?
The only real joint creation of these two Supreme Beings was when Yang Kai used the Great Sun and Moon Marks to fuse their power to create Purifying Light, which was the most effective method the Humans currently had to restrain Black Ink Strength.
Before Purifying Light appeared, the only thing that could restrain Black Ink Strength was the power of Divine Spirits. Of course, the Divine Spirits’ power wasn’t as effective as Purifying Light, but it was still far better than what mere Humans were capable of.
Ancestral Strength from the Divine Spirit Ancestral Land was particularly good at this and could be thought of as a purer, stronger version of the Divine Spirits’ Power. At the end of the Early Ancient Era, a Black Ink Giant Spirit God was suppressed and sealed in the Demon Sealing Land by the Dragon Emperor and Phoenix Empress of that generation with the help of the Sacred Treasures from 16 powerful Divine Spirit Clans and more than half of the Ancestral Strength of the Ancestral Land. After so many years, even the Black Ink Strength inside that Black Ink Giant Spirit God had been continuously ground away by the Ancestral Strength.
When Yang Kai opened the Demon Sealing Land back then, the Black Ink Giant Spirit God was only an empty husk. If Mo’s Soul Clone hadn’t been injected into the dead Black Ink Giant Spirit God, it would have been impossible for it to be revived.
The Primordial Light was the opposite of the initial darkness, and both the Burning Light and Serene Glimmer were separated from it. That was why the combination of Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan’s strength could perfectly counter Black Ink Strength.
If that were true though, why could the Divine Spirits also resist Black Ink Strength? Did the Divine Spirits really have no connection with the Primordial Light?
Now, the Divine Spirits were on the brink of extinction, and there weren’t many of them still alive. Only a few Divine Spirit Clans were left, but even they were no longer as glorious as they were during the Primordial Era. However, the Divine Spirit Ancestral Land endured, so even if Big Sister Lan didn’t suggest this to Yang Kai, he was already preparing to head over there as he might find some clues.
The Shattered Heaven was the land of exile in the 3,000 Worlds. It was where the wicked gathered, so there had been all sorts of characters living there in the past.
Back then, those Open Heaven Realm Masters who wanted to break through to the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm, but weren’t from any Cave Heaven and Paradise would head to the Shattered Heaven. That was because even the Cave Heavens and Paradises couldn’t control that place.
They could peacefully break through to the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm without having to worry about being besieged by the Masters from the Cave Heavens and Paradises.
Of course, looking back now, the Cave Heavens and Paradises did have the ability to wipe clean and control the Shattered Heaven, they simply chose not to because the world needed a place to hide its dirty and dark secrets.
Even though the 3,000 Worlds was a vast and endless place, it couldn’t be entirely clean. Order and chaos were like light and dark, impossible to exist on their own. Everything had a positive and negative side, and both sides relied on each other to survive.
Deep inside the Shattered Heaven was the Divine Ability Sea, which was placed there by Great Experts near the end of the Early Ancient Era to surround the Divine Spirit Ancestral Land. It was a natural barrier and also an invisible cage.
At this moment, Yang Kai was standing outside the Divine Ability Sea and could see a huge, safe passageway that led straight to the Divine Spirit Ancestral Land.
This pathway was obviously the one the Black Ink Giant Spirit God opened when it emerged from the Ancestral Land.
This made things easy for Yang Kai as he didn’t need to deal with the Divine Ability Sea now.
Taking one step after another, Yang Kai strode forward, and with the help of Space Principles, each step carried him 100,000 kilometres further.
Soon, Yang Kai passed through that pathway and arrived at the Ancestral Land.
The Ancestral Land was a vast World that was filled with an ancient aura. If one were to say the Myriad Monsters World had barely managed to retain the aura of the Early Ancient Era, the Divine Spirit Ancestral Land could be said to have perfectly preserved the Primordial Era’s environment without the slightest change.
Counting this trip as well, Yang Kai had visited the Divine Spirit Ancestral Land three times.
The first time was when Cheng Yang chased him here. He was escaping with a female Seventh-Order Master named Xia Lin Lang, and they accidentally barged into this place. Perhaps it was because he had a Dragon Clan Bloodline that he was able to arrive here alive as, back then, Yang Kai was only a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.
The second time was when he came to prevent an Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple from reviving the Black Ink Giant Spirit God. Unfortunately, he was too late and was forced to personally kill a respected Senior, Lu An. Then, he personally witnessed the revival of the Black Ink Giant Spirit God.
That Black Ink Giant Spirit God was the one that charged out of the Demon Sealing Land to the Ancestral Land and then out through the Shattered Heaven before arriving at the Barren Territory Battlefield.
This was Yang Kai’s third visit to this place.
During his first visit, though he had a potent Dragon Vein, he wasn’t a Pureblood Dragon Clan member. During the second visit, all his focus had been on the Black Ink Giant Spirit God, so he didn’t have any spare attention to investigate this place.
But this time, he could feel a natural sense of comfort and closeness when he arrived here. It felt like he had returned home from a long journey and ran back into his mother’s arms. His Dragon Blood was surging inside him, and he couldn’t help wanting to let out a dragon roar to vent his feelings.
Although he was born a Human, the current Yang Kai could be fundamentally considered a Pure-Blooded Dragon, so he had a natural feeling of belonging with this land.
However, Yang Kai soon frowned.
It was because this place was occupied by many Black Ink Nests of all sizes, most of them Low-Rank but three of them Mid-Rank. There were no High-Rank ones, fortunately.
All the High-Rank Black Ink Nests were placed at the No-Return Pass and were guarded by the only remaining Royal Lord.
Despite having already known that the Ancestral Land wouldn’t remain unaffected by the war, Yang Kai still felt enraged when he witnessed this scene.
It felt as though thieves had overrun his home, and not only did they steal his belongings, but they even took his home for themselves.
How could Yang Kai endure this?
These thieves wanted to take over the Ancestral Land, but it seemed like they weren’t very successful because, in any Universe World outside, one Low-Rank Black Ink Nest would be enough to cover it in Black Ink Strength, turning it into the Black Ink Clan’s territory.
But here, even though all the Black Ink Nests were pumping out Black Ink Strength, the area they managed to cover was quite limited. One Low-Rank Black Ink Nest could only cover about a 100-kilometre radius with Black Ink Strength, and the further away from the Black Ink Nest, the thinner the Black Ink Strength became.
The Mid-Rank Black Ink Nests were stronger but, even they could only cover about a 10,000-kilometre radius.
While such distances were not small, compared to the billions upon billions of kilometres diameter of the Ancestral Land, it was actually quite insignificant.
It seemed like there was an invisible force restraining the Black Ink Strength from spreading.
Obviously, it was the Ancestral Strength which could restrain and even dissolve Black Ink Strength! Though it wasn’t as effective as Purifying Light, with the vast Ancestral Land supporting the Ancestral Strength, it could uninterruptedly resist the corruption and spread of Black Ink Strength without much difficulty even after a couple of millennia.
Judging from the scene before him, Yang Kai became even more certain that the Divine Spirits had some link to the Primordial Light.
It was because of the Ancestral Land’s resistance that so many Black Ink Nests had appeared here; otherwise, why would the Black Ink Clan arrange their Black Ink Nest in such a way?
“A Human?” A shocked and puzzled voice sounded.
Yang Kai lowered his head to look in the direction of the voice and saw a Feudal Lord looking up at him from one of the Low-Rank Black Ink Nests.
Since Yang Kai didn’t hide himself, the Feudal Lord immediately discovered him when he entered the range of the Ancestral Land.
When their four eyes suddenly met, the Feudal Lord was certain that the other party was a Human. He immediately grinned and revealed a vicious smile before bellowing, “Kill him!”
[Where did this Human come from? How insolent of him to appear here!]
The Black Ink Clan had been occupying this vast land for many years, but had never seen any Humans come over; after all, this place was too far from the Great Territory Battlefields while also very close to the Black Ink Battlefield, so even Hunters wouldn’t easily venture this deep into their territory.
In this place, the Black Ink Clan didn’t live a comfortable life because some kind of mysterious energy was suppressing their Black Ink Strength and preventing it from spreading. If they had a choice, the Black Ink Clan here would rather fight on the battlefield than remain here.
Previously, there were Territory Lords that had tried to destroy this vast land, but even when an Innate Territory Lord used all his strength to bombard its surface, much of their strength would dissipate before it even struck the ground, which made it impossible to do any real damage.
Unfortunately for them, their progress was still very slow despite their long years of effort.
Now that a Human had appeared here, it naturally stimulated the Feudal Lord’s predatory instincts. He thought of capturing this Human and turning him into a Black Ink Disciple to be commanded at will.
Once the Feudal Lord gave the order, numerous Black Ink Clansmen from the surrounding hundred-kilometre radius charged over, including some Feudal Lords. Those Feudal Lords didn’t have their own Black Ink Nest and could only obey the Feudal Lord who gave out the order.
Instantly, Black Ink Strength surged, and a dense stream of figures flew at Yang Kai, swiftly surrounding him.
That first Feudal Lord stood above his Black Ink Nest and watched this scene with interest, but suddenly, he had a bad feeling and frowned as he noticed that the other party was behaving a little too calmly.
Moreover… he couldn’t sense this Human’s cultivation.
Once that thought flashed across the Feudal Lord’s mind, a burst of light suddenly appeared in the middle of the encirclement. Following that, every Black Ink Clansmen that went over froze in place like they were struck by lightning.
Then, the sound of spurting fresh blood sounded, and all at once, every Black Ink Clansman, no matter their strength, fell to pieces, literally.
The Feudal Lord’s pupils contracted as he turned around to retreat towards his Black Ink Nest without hesitation.
When the Human attacked, the Feudal Lord immediately sensed his cultivation.
An Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master!
Although the Feudal Lord didn’t know why this Human came here, he knew this wasn’t someone he could mess with.
However, just as he turned around, an oppressive force appeared above him. This pressure was like a mountain, rendering him immobile. He barely managed to raise his head to see a palm coming down on him, followed by complete darkness. Then, he didn’t know what had happened next.
In the sky, Yang Kai slowly withdrew his palm. A large palm print had appeared on the ground, and not only did it crush the Feudal Lord, but also the Black Ink Nest below him was smashed to pieces.
That movement wasn’t big, but it wasn’t small either. Soon, even more Black Ink Clansmen were attracted by the noise.
Inside the area covered by the Black Ink Nests, numerous Black Ink Clansmen were alerted by the movement and came over to investigate. When they discovered Yang Kai’s aura, they immediately became excited.
Their lives in this vast land were too bitter and boring as there was nothing to do but resist the suppression of the strange force. It was unheard of for a Human to barge in here, so how could the Black Ink Clansmens’ violent desires not be stimulated?
Soon, numerous Black Ink Clansmen arrived from all directions.
Yang Kai laughed out loud, “Very good!”
If these Black Ink Clansmen didn’t take the initiative to attack, Yang Kai couldn’t start a killing spree because of the agreement between the two Races. Back in Azure Sun Territory, it was also those three Territory Lords who struck first, justifying him to kill them.
Facing the incoming Black Ink Clansmen, Yang Kai charged forward. Instantly, Yang Kai was like a tiger in a herd of sheep, utterly unstoppable. Though he was surrounded by countless Black Ink Clansmen with Black Ink Strength surging everywhere, none of them was his match.
In a blink of an eye, Yang Kai had moved thousands of kilometres away from his original spot, and unleashed a reign of terror in his wake, destroying Low-Rank Black Ink Nests and leaving fresh corpses.
Although Yang Kai didn’t exert too much of his strength, he could still kill these Black Ink Clansmen with a single punch or palm. He was almost at the peak of the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm, and the strongest among these Black Ink Clansmen were Feudal Lords, so how could they hope to stop him? To put it bluntly, Yang Kai could ruthlessly kill all these Black Ink Clansmen with a single sweep of his Dragon Breath. The huge difference between their strength was not something these Black Ink Clansmen could make up for with numbers alone.
A loud roar suddenly came from the distance, “Yang Kai, stop!”
Yang Kai was instantly frustrated, [Did my identity get exposed so quickly?]
It wasn’t because Yang Kai didn’t take care to hide his strength, but that the Black Ink Clan had been tracking him. Before this, he had been visiting one Great Territory after another in search of the Primordial Light. He didn’t even leave out the Universe Worlds taken over by the Black Ink Clan and personally went over to investigate each and every one of them.
It could be said that the Black Ink Clan knew his whereabouts at all times because everywhere he went, the Black Ink Clan in that Territory would use their Black Ink Nests to report it as soon as possible.
This meant that it was only after Yang Kai entered the Chaotic Dead Territory that the Black Ink Clan lost track of him.
The Black Ink Clan seemed to know that he had been searching for something recently, but they had no idea what it was. Also, orders had been passed down from the No-Return Pass saying that the Black Ink Clan was not to interfere no matter what Yang Kai did. History had proven that if not provoked, Yang Kai would maintain the agreement, so the best option was to just let him be.
All the Black Ink Clansmen in all of the Great Territories had received these orders, so many who were overseeing each Great Territory were on edge, afraid that Yang Kai would suddenly appear in their territory and lash out.
Of course, the Ancestral Land had received the order from the Royal Lord as well.
Everything happened so suddenly that the Feudal Lords didn’t have much time to think about it, but how could the Territory Lord overseeing this place not know what was going on? When he sensed the eruption of battle, he immediately used his Divine Sense to scan the place and realized Yang Kai had come.
There were three Mid-Rank Black Ink Nests in the Divine Spirit Ancestral Land, so three Innate Territory Lords had been dispatched here to act as supervisors.
The Territory Lord who just spoke up was a black-faced individual that seemed to resemble a Human at first glance, but he was taller and much bulkier than a Human.
However, some Masters were skilled in Body Tempering amongst the Humans and had figures that weren’t much worse than this Territory Lord’s.
Since those Black Ink Clansmen and Black Ink Nests killed and destroyed by Yang Kai were all under his jurisdiction, he was naturally furious and called out. But Yang Kai didn’t seem like he was going to stand down, so the Territory Lord became even more furious and threw out a punch from afar while roaring, “I said stop!”
Yang Kai’s palm slammed down again and destroyed another Low-Rank Black Ink Nest before he faced the punch coming from afar without any intention of dodging and accepted it. Instantly, his body trembled, and a shimmer of light appeared across his body. He wasn’t the slightest bit injured by the attack.
He then turned his head to look at the black-faced Territory Lord charging at him and asked, “Did you just attack me?”
Both of Yang Kai’s eyes lit up as a trace of cunning flashed in their depths, making him seem overjoyed.
The black-faced Territory Lord was beyond furious at first, but when he met those eyes, he couldn’t help but be reminded of what happened in Azure Sun Territory. He silently cursed himself for letting his anger take over and cause this situation.
Hurriedly stopping, the Territory Lord stammered, “It wasn’t me… I didn’t…”
Since the Black Ink Clan invaded the 3,000 Worlds, this Territory Lord had been ordered to oversee the Divine Spirit Ancestral Land and used Black Ink Strength to corrupt this piece of land, so he had not battled a Human Race Master in several millennia.
However, with the use of his Black Ink Nest, he could still gather information from battlefields without having to leave this place.
There were quite a lot of Masters amongst the Humans, and there were even a few that were stronger than Innate Territory Lords, but no matter how strong, all Humans had their limits, except for one who defied all reason.
During these recent years, a single Eighth-Order Master named Yang Kai undoubtedly shone the brightest. From what this Territory Lord heard from the No-Return Pass, Yang Kai had gone to the No-Return Pass alone, killed several Territory Lords, and destroyed many High-Rank Black Ink Nests before escaping from the pursuit of the Royal Lord.
Later, news came from Profound Nether Territory, saying that the number of Territory Lords killed directly or indirectly by Yang Kai had reached over 30.
News that came from the Acacia Territory said that 10 Territory Lords had worked together to besiege Yang Kai, but seven of them died while in the end, Yang Kai and the over 10,000 Human refugees mysteriously escaped.
Fortunately, after Yang Kai returned to Profound Nether Territory, he made peace with the Territory Lords there, allowing them to finally breathe a sigh of relief.
300 years later, Yang Kai appeared in Twin Poles Territory and killed four Innate Territory Lords in a single battle, forcing the Black Ink Clan there to retreat to their camps in panic. The Black Ink Clan didn’t dare to come out and were even forced to take the initiative to offer peace.
In the subsequent peace talks, the Black Ink Clan established numerous restrictions on Yang Kai and finally restrained the Humans’ most terrifying killing star.
During the 1,700 years after that, there were no signs of the killing star on the battlefields, so the Territory Lords didn’t have to be on edge anymore because the Black Ink Disciples they corrupted occasionally all confirmed that Yang Kai had been in retreat all this time.
Once those 1,700 years were up though, Yang Kai exited his retreat and instantly killed three Acquired Territory Lords in Azure Sun Territory. Later, no Territory Lord dared to challenge him as he was allowed to wander around freely.
Following that, Yang Kai began his long journey… until this day when he appeared in the Divine Spirit Ancestral Land.
Despite the fact that the black-face Territory Lord hadn’t fought with a Human Master in many centuries, he knew that he wasn’t this killing star’s opponent. Amongst all Innate Territory Lords, his strength only ranked somewhere in the middle, and he personally knew several Territory Lords who were stronger than him that had died at Yang Kai’s hands.
If those Territory Lords had died, would he be able to survive if Yang Kai attacked him?
He attacked in a moment of anger and didn’t consider the situation too seriously. Moreover, his attack from a distance had only been intended to get Yang Kai’s attention and stop him from killing more of his subordinates. Therefore, Yang Kai only had to dodge slightly to not get hit by that punch.
The reason Yang Kai didn’t dodge was not that he couldn’t, but that he didn’t want to.
Those three Acquired Territory Lords from the Azure Sun Territory died because they had no eyes and accidentally offended this killing star…
[I have also offended him today…] The black-faced Territory Lord instantly felt chills enveloping his whole figure.
“You dare to attack me? Good, very good! Then I’ll attack you too!” Yang Kai had a wicked grin as he raised his large fist and acted like an angry child who stubbornly wanted revenge.
[This time, I can finally have a good battle. I’ve been in retreat for so many years, and, regrettably, I have no way of testing out my current strength. Those three Acquired Territory Lords in the Azure Sun Territory were only the appetisers. If I want to test out my full strength, I have to find an Innate Territory Lord, but none of them have dared to challenge me so far.]
The black-faced Territory Lord immediately turned around and ran without intending to fight Yang Kai. A Black Ink Cloud rolled in and encased the Territory Lord’s figure while he screamed frantically, “Save me!”
He was naturally screaming towards the other two Territory Lords overseeing this place. Those two had also swept over the moment they sensed the fallout, but they had frozen in place after hearing the black-faced Territory Lord screaming Yang Kai’s name.
Most Territory Lords weren’t that fearless; in fact, many feared death greatly, so if they could stay out of this mess, they were more than happy to do so.
“Accept three of my moves! If you can survive, I will let you off! Refuse, and no one can save you today!” Yang Kai’s voice was like a gust of cold wind blowing from the depths of Hell, making that Territory Lord shiver even more.
However, besides being terrified, the Territory Lord also felt a sense of hope.
[If it’s just three attacks, I might be able to resist them! After all, I’m still an Innate Territory Lord, so of course, I’m not weak! No matter how powerful this killing star is, he’s being too arrogant!]
Thinking so, the black-faced Territory Lord decisively stopped, and his voice echoed from inside the Black Ink Cloud, “Really?”
The Territory Lord knew he couldn’t escape because, according to rumours, Yang Kai had astonishing attainments in the Dao of Space and was unmatched when it came to fleeing and chasing. Therefore, trying to outrun this Human was impossible.
Also, it wasn’t realistic to hope that the other two Territory Lords would come to his aid because they were trying to stay out of this situation. Otherwise, they would have come forward and helped him long ago.
His only hope now was that Yang Kai meant what he said.
Yang Kai approached the black-faced Territory Lord while speaking slowly, “I can even keep the promise I made with the Black Ink Clan, so what’s there for you to worry about?”
That made sense.
Although this killing star had caused the Black Ink Clan to suffer a huge loss, he had integrity. Since they made peace, he had never voluntarily broken the agreement. He only attacked those Territory Lords in Azure Sun Territory because they attacked him first. The Black Ink Clan couldn’t complain about him acting in self-defence.
“Deal!” The black-faced Territory Lord gritted his teeth and accepted the challenge. He had three attacks to decide his fate, and he didn’t believe that he would be that useless. All sorts of intel on Yang Kai appeared in his mind, and he immediately used his Divine Sense to protect his Soul.
[This guy has a special artifact that can injure others without them noticing,] Amongst all those Territory Lords Yang Kai killed, many of them were killed because of that special artifact.
Therefore, the black-faced Territory Lord felt that his Soul was the most important thing to protect.
If it were 2,000 years ago, the Territory Lord’s decision would have been a smart one, but now that Yang Kai’s strength had increased significantly, and he was itching to test the extent of his power, he naturally wouldn’t be using the Soul Rending Thorn.
The black-faced Territory Lord was only giving himself false hope when he used his Divine Sense to protect his Soul.
In the Divine Spirit Ancestral Land, there were several helpless and furious Black Ink Clansmen looking upwards, watching as one of their Territory Lords was about to resist three moves from Yang Kai to decide his fate.
The Black Ink Clan felt helpless because they weren’t strong enough and couldn’t interfere in this matter. When Yang Kai killed those Black Ink Clansmen just now, he showcased such great strength that the Feudal Lords here knew they couldn’t compete with him.
As for why they were furious, that was because even though Yang Kai’s reputation resounded throughout the 3,000 Worlds, it was far too arrogant of him to say that he would let an Innate Territory Lord live if he resisted three attacks from him.
No matter how strong Yang Kai was, wanting to kill an Innate Territory Lord in three moves was too presumptuous.
The other two Territory Lords were also watching nervously while their Divine Senses flickered as they silently conversed with each other. According to their understanding of the black-faced Territory Lord, they estimated the probability of him still being alive after three attacks was quite high.
Like the black-faced Territory Lord, they thought that since they were Innate Territory Lords, they could withstand three attacks no matter how strong Yang Kai was. They confidently believed that they could return to their Black Ink Nests to recuperate as long as they didn’t die on the spot.
However, despite their silent conversation, they didn’t intend to interfere with this matter as they didn’t want to draw fire to themselves.
Even if they banded together now to face Yang Kai, the chances that they would all then die were extremely high.
Immediately after the black-faced Territory Lord protected his Soul, the Black Ink Cloud around him expanded to a 1,000-kilometre radius. While the Black Ink Cloud hid the Territory Lord’s aura, it also moved towards Yang Kai.
The Territory Lord wanted to seize the initiative to attack!
As an Innate Territory Lord, he had his own principles and pride; therefore, he couldn’t sit back and wait for his doom when facing such an aggressive enemy. He understood that in battle, the one who attacked first had the advantage.
The dense Black Ink Cloud spanning 1,000 kilometres in all directions was enough to confuse any enemy’s senses; moreover, this was a Black Ink Cloud condensed by an Innate Territory Lord, so if Yang Kai wanted to kill him, he would have to dive into the Black Ink Cloud first!
With a bold strike from the Territory Lord, the distance between them quickly decreased.
Inside the Black Ink Cloud, the black-faced Territory Lord was still guarding against Yang Kai’s mysterious Soul attack, but all he saw was Yang Kai stomping one foot forward hard before squatting slightly. Both his hands were clenched into fists that were placed on either side of his waist, with his left fist forward and right fist curled back.
It was just an ordinary stance one took before making the most standard of punches.
However, no matter how ordinary this stance was, it still had great power when it was executed by an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. More importantly, the Eighth-Order Master before him right now was the publicly acknowledged strongest of them all!
Instantly, the entire atmosphere in the Ancestral Land changed. It was like the World itself had transformed into an Ancient Ominous Beast, making every inch of the space dangerous and filled with murderous intent.
The Black Ink Clansmen below instantly felt chills as though there was a sword hanging above their heads, ready to drop at any moment.
On the other hand, the two Innate Territory Lords watching from afar stiffened as their expression turned stern. At that moment, they suddenly had a terrifying feeling as though a vicious beast was eying them, and any sudden movements would lead it to strike.
And all of this was just from the residual power Yang Kai was giving off.
They found it hard to imagine how much pressure the black-faced Territory Lord was currently facing as he was the actual target of Yang Kai’s wrath. They previously felt there was a high chance their black-faced companion would make it out of this duel alive, but they were quickly losing confidence in that prediction.
As for the black-faced Territory Lord himself, he was currently feeling a sense of unparalleled crisis. Even though he was hiding inside a huge Black Ink Cloud while constantly changing his position, that feeling didn’t fade in the slightest.
Refusing to just stand there waiting for death, he exerted more power and used a Secret Technique to instantly triple his speed.
It was at that moment that Yang Kai finally moved. His right fist slowly moved forward, seemingly pushing through unbearable resistance as he thrust it forward. As his fists continued to slowly extend out, space itself seemed to compress layer upon layer.
When Yang Kai’s fist finally fully extended, the entire World rumbled in response.
The 1,000-kilometres-wide Black Ink Cloud that was charging at him abruptly stopped just 100,000 kilometres away from him. The originally fiercely roiling Black Ink Cloud instantly froze and became perfectly still, as if a rushing river had suddenly turned to ice. Even the tiniest of waves were frozen in place.
“Hey!” At that moment, Yang Kai let out a low growl.
That growl was like a trigger as the “ice” exploded, and the 1,000-kilometre Black Ink Cloud was instantly shattered into wisps of black mist that revealed the black-faced Territory Lord hidden inside.
In fact, it wasn’t the Black Ink Cloud dissipating, but rather the space which encompassed it fragmenting. That was because the strength coming out of Yang Kai’s fist was filled with incredibly dense Space Principles.
Like the broken fragments of a smashed mirror, many pieces of the Void brushed past the black-faced Territory Lord’s body, leaving all sorts of deep cuts on him. He was just fortunate that he possessed incredible strength and durability, or else he would have been cut into pieces by the Void Cracks then and there.
Even if he did keep his life though, he was as haggard as could be.
Looking into Yang Kai’s eyes across the gap between them, the black-faced Territory Lord was filled with terror and reluctance. Unleashing a fierce roar, he tried to break free of the Space Principles’ entanglement, but like a mortal caught in a swamp, the more he struggled, the deeper he sank. Forget charging out to meet Yang Kai, just moving forward at all proved almost impossible.
Yang Kai drew back his right fist with a calm expression.
At the same time, he thrust his left fist out.
But this time, his left fist moved extremely fast, so fast that even the other two Territory Lords who were watching closely couldn’t tell just how this punch was delivered.
While they were still in a daze, the punch was already sent out.
Their hearts were already stuck in their throats after witnessing how frightening the power of the previous fist was. They didn’t know what this punch could do.
However, from what they saw, this fist seemed extremely ordinary, as though Yang Kai hadn’t even exerted half as much strength as before. What’s more, the black-faced Territory Lord didn’t appear to have suffered any further injury.
But soon, they discovered something was wrong. When Yang Kai delivered his first blow, the black-faced Territory Lord was still pushing his strength wildly despite the awkward situation because he was desperately trying to defend himself.
With his Innate Territory Lord strength, it wouldn’t be hard for him to break free of his current situation. With just one or two breaths of time, he could escape from the shattered space; however, Yang Kai clearly wasn’t going to give him that chance. During a battle between Masters, life and death could be decided in the blink of an eye, let alone one or two breaths.
After the second fist attack was delivered, the black-faced Territory Lord stiffened in place and stopped moving altogether. A multicoloured river of light seemed to have appeared in a flash as time constantly warped in the local space.
“Ha!” Yang Kai released a guttural shout.
[Success.] Yang Kai stood up straight and unclenched his fists, placing one on his dantian as he exhaled lightly.
The Dao of Time and the Dao of Space were the most powerful Grand Daos he mastered and were also the most mysterious and unpredictable. With his almost peak Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm strength, using these two Grand Daos had become even easier for him.
Back at the Great Sea Celestial Phenomenon, Yang Kai had reaped many, many benefits but was unable to completely digest them.
If the three-attack challenge hadn’t restricted that black-faced Territory Lord, he wouldn’t have been in such a haggard state. Yang Kai was sure that in a battle with no constraints, he could kill this Territory Lord in 10 moves, but by goading his opponent into a duel of sorts, Yang Kai managed to release all his strength at his target without having to worry about other distractions. Though it seemed like a good plan, it was actually quite foolish.
Moreover, this was the Divine Spirit Ancestral Land. Yang Kai was now a Pureblood Dragon Clan member and an extremely powerful Ancient Dragon. In this place, every Divine Spirit was protected and favoured by the World itself. The previous two punches he delivered not only housed his own strength but also received a boost from this land.
Just like how Yang Kai could borrow the Star Boundary’s power to defend against enemies stronger than himself, he could also borrow the Ancestral Strength in the Ancestral Land.
Therefore, that black-faced Territory Lord could not withstand two attacks!
Taking advantage of the terrain and the opponent’s mental state was perfectly normal in battle. The black-faced Territory Lord only had himself to blame for being unlucky.
As the space had been frozen and the time had been distorted, anyone who barged inside here would feel their minds become stagnant and their bodies become stiff; however, Yang Kai was an exception.
Using Space and Time Principles to capture an Innate Territory Lord was still a difficult task as all Innate Territory Lords could easily escape the interference caused by these two strengths and restore their freedom in short order.
However, the Space-Time Strength Yang Kai used to warp both Space and Time all at once was far more difficult to resist and break free from. Therefore, despite being an Innate Territory Lord, getting out of this trap would require much effort and time on his part.
Yang Kai raised his finger and slowly pointed it at the Territory Lord’s forehead.
“M-Merc…” Before the black-faced Territory Lord finished his first word, Yang Kai’s finger had already touched his forehead.
The Territory Lord felt his head tremble violently, and when Yang Kai withdrew his finger, there was a blood-red hole in the Territory Lord’s forehead. His eyes quickly dimmed and Black Ink Strength leaked out of the hole but was quickly trapped by the surrounding Space-Time Strength and was unable to disperse.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai’s expression looked calm, even somewhat bored as he felt that this Territory Lord had lost before he could really experiment with his new strength.
The two Territory Lords watching from afar were now feeling like someone had pulled their Souls from their bodies. Their knowledge of Yang Kai came from the intel they received from elsewhere, so they only knew he had killed quite a lot of Territory Lords by relying on a special Soul-type artifact. As such, there would always be slight Spiritual Energy fluctuation every time he attacked.
But this time, they didn’t sense Yang Kai using any kind of Soul-type attack. He only used two seemingly ordinary punches to easily incapacitate an Innate Territory Lord who was just about as powerful as they were on the spot before casually walking over and executing him with a poke to the forehead.
This Human was far stronger than those reports described!
Such a strong Human Master was the Black Ink Clan’s greatest misfortune!
Once the two Races started their final conflict in the future, there was no telling how many Black Ink Clansmen would die at this Human’s hands.
“I’ll give you a cup of tea’s time to scram; otherwise, this King doesn’t mind none of you ever leaving here!” Yang Kai glanced over and ordered.
Once he said those words, the Black Ink Clansmen, who were still in a state of shock, became frantic and immediately sped off. Even the two Territory Lords shivered and quickly flew towards their Black Ink Nests.
Ordinary Black Ink Clansmen could easily leave this place, but they couldn’t because their Black Ink Nests were still here. If they lost their Black Ink Nests, they wouldn’t have a place to recuperate after being wounded.
Moreover, each Mid-Rank Black Ink Nest was extremely important to the Black Ink Clan.
The Feudal Lords with Low-Rank Black Ink Nests had similar thoughts.
At that moment, Yang Kai roared, “Everything in the Ancestral Land is mine, you dare try to take my things away!?”
With a loud clap of thunder, the Feudal Lords who were trying to remove their Black Ink Nests abruptly halted.
The two Territory Lords exchanged bitter looks as they felt unresigned. Still, they knew they couldn’t take their Black Ink Nests away now.
Soon, all the Black Ink Clansmen in the Ancestral Land had curried away, leaving only their Black Ink Nests of various sizes behind.
Even after leaving the Ancestral Land, the Black Ink Clan didn’t dare to stop as they were afraid the killing star might suddenly chase after and slaughter them ruthlessly.
Under the two Innate Territory Lords’ lead, the Black Ink Clansmen ran for their lives.
In the meantime, Yang Kai floated above the Ancestral Land, silently feeling the land’s slight changes.
If he were to say that the feeling he had when arriving at the Ancestral Land was like coming home, now he felt like this World had given him a trace of recognition.
Was it because he chased away the Black Ink Clan who came here and committed such outrage? Yang Kai didn’t know the answer, but the feeling of being recognised by the Ancestral Land didn’t seem false. With his current Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm cultivation and the Dragon Vein from his 70,000 metre-long Ancient Dragon Form, he could feel even the subtlest change in the World around him.
Suppose that the Ancestral Land was a Matriarch, and all the Divine Spirits were her children. This land had nurtured generation after generation of Divine Spirits from the Primordial Era to now.
Therefore, the Ancestral Land had many, many children.
When the Black Ink Clan invaded the 3,000 Worlds, even the Ancestral Land couldn’t escape their grasp, so the Divine Spirits were forced out, leaving the Ancestral Land, their Matriarch, alone and without anyone to rely on.
The Black Ink Clan, who moved into the Ancestral Land, were the ruthless invaders of this land. They hatched numerous Black Ink Nests here, trying to turn this place that had been here since ancient times into their territory. Perhaps they could even crack the secret behind why the Divine Spirits could resist Black Ink Strength and find a solution in time.
As the old and lonely Matriarch couldn’t stop them on her own, she could only silently resist. That was until Yang Kai came and chased all the Black Ink Clan away.
Like any Universe World, the Ancestral Land had its own Will and acknowledged Yang Kai’s actions.
Yang Kai wasn’t a true pureblood. He started out as an ordinary Human, but was lucky to gain the Golden Divine Dragon’s Source through an opportunity in his youth. Coincidentally, that Golden Divine Dragon Source originally belonged to the Third Generation Dragon Emperor.
After so many years of constantly refining his bloodline and cultivating in the Dragon Pool, Yang Kai had managed to purify his bloodline and become a real member of the Dragon Clan. Now, he also had the right to enter his name in the Dragon Tome.
However, Yang Kai was still nothing more than an adopted son to the Ancestral Land. In comparison to her biological children, Yang Kai naturally wouldn’t be given as much attention and favour. It was the same with Humans. Even if their children were good-for-nothing, they were still their blood-related children.
What Yang Kai did today successfully helped him move closer towards the biological son level from the adopted son level.
This period was when the Ancestral Land was at its loneliest and most helpless. Even the Divine Spirits found it hard to do anything, but Yang Kai, the adopted son, came and chased away all the invaders.
That was why Yang Kai immediately felt the slight change between this land and himself after he drove out the Black Ink Clan. He felt as though this land was more affectionate to him, and there was even the feeling of the omnipresent Ancestral Strength entering his body.
Such a feeling made Yang Kai raise an eyebrow. [The one who nurtured numerous Divine Spirits. I guess Matriarch would be a fitting way to address it. I wonder if she really exists…]
If chasing away the Black Ink Clan could cause such a change, what about removing all the Black Ink Nests and dispelling all the Black Ink Strength?
Yang Kai couldn’t help but feel some anticipation; so, he didn’t hesitate as playing tricks with the World’s Will was unnecessary. It was better to simply be straightforward.
Moreover, even without the favour of the Ancestral Land, Yang Kai would still remove the Black Ink Nests and Black Ink Strength here.
With a wave of his hand, all the Black Ink Nests were uprooted from their positions and thrown inside Yang Kai’s Small Universe to be suppressed and sealed. Then, Yang Kai used Purifying Light to dispel all the Black Ink Strength still lingering in the land.
Yang Kai’s hard work, or rather his filial piety, wasn’t in vain because, following the removal of Black Ink Nests and Black Ink Strength, the connection he felt with this land became even closer. When all the Black Ink Nests and Black Ink Strength were cleaned out, Yang Kai could feel that he had surpassed the level of a biological son and jumped straight into being the Matriarch’s favourite son!
It was as if what was left was for the Ancestral Land to reveal its kind smile and compliment Yang Kai for being a good boy.
The sky cleared as Ancestral Strength flowed into Yang Kai’s body from all directions, making his Dragon Vein stir to life.
This made Yang Kai feel elated because he felt all his efforts weren’t in vain.
At first, he was thinking about finding an opportunity to visit the Dragon Pool someday to continue refining his Dragon Vein, but now it seemed like he didn’t have to go through that trouble because it seemed that cultivating in the Ancestral Land would have a similar effect.
The Ancestral Strength inside the Ancestral Land was the most primitive Divine Spirit power that any Divine Spirit could absorb and refine, just like how any cultivator could refine World Energy.
That was also why those Divine Spirits scattered outside instinctually wanted to return to the Ancestral Land. While being here, they could greatly improve their strength and bloodline. It was especially so for young Divine Spirits because living in the Ancestral Land could greatly shorten their growth period.
Yang Kai wasn’t in a hurry to cultivate though, because the aim of his journey here wasn’t to refine his Dragon Vein but to find clues about the Primordial Light.
Now that he was here, he still didn’t have any idea about how to find those clues.
Worse, looking around probably wouldn’t be of much use because the clues about the Primordial Light couldn’t be seen.
After one month, Yang Kai had almost circled the entire Ancestral Land, but still couldn’t find anything.
But that was reasonable because, if there were any unique clues, it was impossible for those Divine Spirits living here not to know about them.
Yang Kai couldn’t help but feel defeated, and wondered if his approach was all wrong.
While strolling around, Yang Kai suddenly came to a huge empty area. This was where the Ancestral Strength was the strongest, seeming to be the centre of the entire Ancestral Land. It wasn’t the geological centre, but rather the core of its power.
Also, this was the exact place where the Third Generation Dragon Emperor and Phoenix Empress sealed that Black Ink Giant Spirit God. They had even sacrificed half of the Ancestral Land’s territory and used the Sacred Treasures from 16 of the Divine Spirit Clans to form a Grand Array to transform this place into one giant seal.
This place continuously extracted Ancestral Strength to grind away the Black Ink Giant Spirit God’s Black Ink Strength; therefore, this place was considered the centre of the Ancestral Land, making it the optimal location to suppress the Black Ink Giant Spirit God.
Yang Kai sat down cross-legged, thinking of whether it was plausible to put his hopes on the Primordial light to defeat the Black Ink Clan.
According to what he knew, the Burning Light and Serene Glimmer certainly had a high possibility of being forces separated from the Primordial Light. The Divine Spirits might also have a connection to the Primordial Light, but Yang Kai had no clue about what that connection was.
The Primordial Light no longer had the same appearance as before, and no one knew what was left of it after separating the Burning Light and Serene Glimmer.
Yang Kai estimated that he had to find something like a medicinal catalyst to help Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan fuse together and rebuild the Primordial Light.
Without even mentioning whether he could find a catalyst he had no clue about, even if he did somehow accomplish that, would he really be able to use that to fuse Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan back together?
And if he was, would Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan still exist in this world?
That thought had been on his mind since he left the Chaotic Dead Territory.
Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan had been nothing but good to him. Purifying Light was something essential for the Humans to defend against the Black Ink Clan, and the Small Stone Race Soldiers nurtured by the two of them had provided the Humans enormous help during many instances.
In the Humans’ eyes, even though those two had been living in the Chaotic Dead Territory all this time, and never descended the mountain to directly help them, they had still made massive, irreplaceable contributions to the war effort.
If wiping out Mo required sacrificing Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan’s lives, Yang Kai would never agree to it, no matter the reason.
He never had a chance to think carefully about this matter before, or perhaps he had unconsciously been avoiding doing so, but now that he calmed down and began to ponder the issue, he suddenly felt as though had betrayed Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan.
Could those two not have thought of what would become of them if Yang Kai ever found the fusion catalyst?
Of course they had. When Yang Kai went over and saw them trying to fuse together, though it seemed like they were playing around, would they have even attempted such a monumental thing without considering the consequences?
They had provided so much assistance to the Human Race, but never asked for anything in return, so how could Yang Kai just discard them after all they had done? If the only way for the Human Race to survive was to betray their greatest benefactors, repaying kindness with enmity, would they even be worthy of continuing to exist?
Once Yang Kai changed the way he thought about this matter, the issues that had been plaguing him for so long melted away. Relying on external forces and the benevolence of others to end this tragedy was nought but an act of desperation born from weakness.
Even without the Primordial Light, was there really no other way to completely eradicate Mo?
Cang and the others could use the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction to seal Mo, which meant that Mo wasn’t omnipotent. The Human Race couldn’t do anything about Mo now purely because they weren’t strong enough!
If the Human Race could transcend their current limits, they wouldn’t even have to bother about all this complicated Primordial Light or Darkness.
In the end, the fundamental problem was strength!
It wasn’t enough to be in the Eighth-Order or Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm. Humans had to at least reach the Creation Realm, like Mo, to be able to defeat it. Cang and the others couldn’t reach that peak, but that didn’t mean that he couldn’t.
New talents appeared in each generation, and though the great achievements of their forefathers were admirable and worthy of praise, that did not mean the descendants should stop striving to outdo them.
Perhaps the Ancestral Land felt her favourite son’s strong desire for power, or maybe realizing it could not escape unscathed from a disaster that threatened her whole family, the Matriarch who had always been fair to every Divine Spirit, finally revealed her doting side to Yang Kai.
The entire Ancestral Land suddenly began shaking, and an unimaginable amount of Ancestral Strength from all directions flowed towards Yang Kai like a torrent and poured into his body.
Yang Kai’s figure trembled, but he was only surprised for a moment before calming down. He then opened his heart and mind to accept the World’s gift.
He was currently almost at the peak of the Eighth Order, but Ancestral Strength wasn’t of any help to his Open Heaven Realm cultivation; instead, it was extremely beneficial to his strength as a Divine Spirit.
Yang Kai could feel his Dragon Vein surging. Following the Ancestral Strength entering his body, he felt like he had lost control of the suppressed Dragon Force within him and tiny Dragon Scales began appearing on his outer skin.
Two lumps had appeared on his forehead as well, and Yang Kai felt as if something was about to pop out of them. Even his bottom felt a little itchy.
Yang Kai hadn’t activated the Dragon Transformation Secret Art, his body was simply showing signs of Dragon Transformation on its own. This was something that didn’t happen even when he was cultivating inside the Dragon Pool.
The Dragon Pool was the Dragon Clan’s Origin and sanctuary, and was useless to other Divine Spirits besides the Dragon Clan; however, Ancestral Strength was an energy that could benefit any Divine Spirit.
If Yang Kai had to compare, the Ancestral Strength was undoubtedly more primitive and wild.
With a loud dragon roar and a bright golden flash, a 70,000 metre-long giant Golden Dragon suddenly appeared where Yang Kai had stood. Since he couldn’t suppress it, he would just allow nature to take its course.
Instantly, Ancestral Strength began flooding in more rampantly. The Golden Dragon shook its head and flicked its tail while its Dragon Scales trembled as it felt its whole body itching. It could also clearly feel its size increasing rapidly, and following that increase, it felt elated.
Since Yang Kai entered the Dragon Pool to cultivate and reached his 70,000-metre Ancient Dragon Form, his Dragon Clan bloodline had been developing very slowly. It had been nearly 3,000 years since then, but his Dragon Form hadn’t even grown another 1,000 metres. The main reason was that he had no time to purify his Dragon Vein. Also, besides cultivating inside the Dragon Pool, it was extremely hard for a Dragon to continue growing after its Dragon Vein reached Yang Kai’s level.
Previously, Fu Guang was healing his injuries inside the Dragon Pool, and after he came out, Yang Kai was still in his retreat; therefore, he didn’t have the time to head over to the Dragon Pool.
Now that Ancestral Strength was pouring into his body, Yang Kai’s Dragon Form was clearly growing, and at breakneck speed just like when he was cultivating in the Dragon Pool back then.
Though this didn’t help him in increasing the Order of his Open Heaven Realm cultivation, the increase of his Dragon Vein was also an increase in his strength.
Yang Kai instantly felt like this trip was worth it, and he finally stopped obsessing over finding the Primordial Light.
While the wind was blowing and the Ancestral Strength was surging inside the Ancestral Land, two Innate Territory Lords led the large group of Black Ink Clansmen that had escaped back to the No-Return Pass.
Sitting on a tall throne was the only Royal Lord of the Black Ink Clan. His face was pale and colourless, which gave others a demonic but also feminine feeling. He had his chin propped on his hand while listening to the two Territory Lords’ fearful and trepidatious report.
Huge bones formed the throne he was sitting on, and every one of them was glowing with colourful lights and flowing with various Dao Strengths.
These weren’t any ordinary bones, but rather the bones of Divine Spirits.
After so many years of battles, the Divine Spirits also suffered casualties. Some of those dead Divine Spirits would have their corpses collected and buried by their allies, but some would be taken away by the Black Ink Clan and have their bones extracted to add to the Royal Lord’s throne.
Building such a huge throne must have taken over 10,000 large bones, so one could guess how many Divine Spirits had died in battle during these years. Even many Dragon and Phoenix Clan members died in battle, especially during the battle when the No-Return Pass was breached.
During the final battle in the Barren Territory, even the Dragon and Phoenix Clan Leaders had perished.
Although the Royal Lord didn’t release his aura and was simply listening quietly, the two Territory Lords below felt like they were standing on pins and needles. Retreating without a fight was considered a dereliction of duty. They were responsible for guarding the Ancestral Land, but after one of their fellow Innate Territory Lords was killed, they chose not to fight with Yang Kai, and ran away, instead. They even discarded their Mid-Rank Black Ink Nests. Such crimes were enough for them to lose their heads.
Of course, an Innate Territory Lord was a precious asset to the current Black Ink Clan, and many of them had died in battle over the years, so there was a huge decrease in their numbers. The Royal Lord wouldn’t easily execute these two and would most likely just send them to the six battlefields that had Masters from both races so that they could atone for their sins.
On the two sides of the Main Hall were two rows of Innate Territory Lords. Though the Black Ink Clan had quite a lot of Acquired Territory Lords now, they were either battling the Human Race Masters on the battlefields to fine-tune themselves, or devouring Black Ink Strength inside Black Ink Nests as they cultivated their strength.
The only ones free were the Innate Territory Lords because their abilities were fixed right after birth.
At this moment, most of those Territory Lords had sympathetic expressions on their faces. They had also heard of Yang Kai’s reputation during these years, so they knew that it was already lucky to be able to survive after an encounter with that killing star. Of course, it was also because that fellow was worried about the agreement between the two races and didn’t dare to break it easily; otherwise, these two Territory Lords might have already been killed.
Once the two Territory Lords finished their report, they looked up at the throne, waiting nervously for their fate to be decided.
After a long time, the Royal Lord asked, “What you mean to say is, Yang Kai has entered the Divine Spirit Ancestral Land, yes?”
“Indeed,” a Territory Lord with two large wings on his back, which made him look like a huge bat, answered respectfully.
“Why did he go there?” The Royal Lord asked as he was reminded of the appearance of the Human who escaped from him around 2,000 years ago.
That Territory Lord answered, shaking, “I don’t know.”
The Royal Lord frowned. To think of it, he had encountered Yang Kai twice.
The first time was when Yang Kai led the Remnant Army to attack the No-Return Pass. During that time, he used the Azure Void Pass’ Old Ancestor’s corpse and the strength of the Ox Monster to forcefully kill many Black Ink Clansmen to open a bloody road and send the remnant Humans to the Barren Territory.
The other time was when Yang Kai came back from the Black Ink Battlefield alone. That time, he destroyed seven High-Rank Black Ink Nests, killed numerous Innate Territory Lords, and finally escaped all on his own.
Back then, the Royal Lord flew into a rage because of that, but couldn’t do anything about it.
He soon heard the news about Yang Kai from the frontline battlefields and knew that Yang Kai had killed numerous Territory Lords. That fellow was now the biggest hidden trouble for the Black Ink Clan.
If the Royal Lord hadn’t learned that Yang Kai could never break through to the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm, he would have ordered his death no matter the cost. That was because Yang Kai was already such a menace when he was an Eighth-Order Master, so how terrifying would he be if he managed to reach Ninth-Order? Perhaps by then, even the Royal Lords might not be his opponent.
It was because the Black Ink Clan knew that Yang Kai was destined to be unable to reach the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm that they slightly suppressed their intentions to kill him and maintained their peace agreement with the Human Race, though the bigger reason was that both sides needed time to accumulate strength.
Once the Black Ink Clan had nurtured enough Royal Lords, Yang Kai would no longer be able to affect the overall situation despite being a menace.
Of course, the Black Ink Clan wouldn’t give up a chance to kill Yang Kai, either.
Therefore, when the Royal Lord heard that Yang Kai had entered the Ancestral Land, which the Black Ink Clan previously controlled, he thought that this might be an opportunity.
During these recent years, Yang Kai seemed to be searching for something which had brought him from one Great Territory to another. However, neither the Black Ink Clan nor the Humans knew what he was searching for.
But no matter what it was, it would surely be bad news for the Black Ink Clan.
If they could besiege and kill Yang Kai in the Divine Spirit Ancestral Land, his plans would all be in vain, and he would no longer restrict the Black Ink Clan. At that moment, they could boldly break the treaty between the two Races and restart the wars in every Great Territory! They had to reduce the Human Race’s territory so that they wouldn’t have the ability to accumulate more strength. That way, the Black Ink Clan could wipe them out someday.
No matter how strong that Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master was, he couldn’t defeat a Royal Lord. Unfortunately, Yang Kai was proficient in the Dao of Space and was unmatched when it came to escaping. He would run away when he knew he couldn’t win, which made others unable to do anything to him.
That was how he escaped from the Royal Lord.
When dealing with such a person, the Royal Lord understood the need for a Heaven Sealing Earth Locking technique to block all escape routes before going for the kill.
Suddenly, the Royal Lord thought of something and looked down at the two Territory Lords before ordering, “Return there and see what he’s up to.”
The two Innate Territory Lords felt bitter hearing this order, but although they were frightened, they didn’t dare to disobey the Royal Lord’s command, so they could only master up their courage and head back the way they came.
One month later, the two Territory Lords appeared outside the Ancestral Land. They had bitter expressions as they hesitated, secretly hoping that Yang Kai had left; otherwise, they didn’t know how to explain their appearance if they bumped into him. They couldn’t say that they were here to visit him, right?
Even though they were nervous, they weren’t too afraid because if Yang Kai wanted to maintain the agreement between the two Races, he wouldn’t openly attack them. Therefore, this trip might be dangerous, but it wasn’t life-threatening.
Carefully approaching the Ancestral Land, the two Territory Lords soon sensed something strange. The Divine Spirit Ancestral Land seemed to have changed drastically from how it was when they were last here. An inexplicable energy was surging and permeating the entire World, and even the wind and clouds were churning.
At first, they were carefully hiding their bodies and aura lest they be exposed, but after looking at the current state of the Ancestral Land, they became bolder. Then, they released their Divine Senses to look around and gradually discovered what was happening.
All that energy seemed to be moving in one direction. There was a vague golden light shining in that direction and a huge being hibernating amidst the clouds.
When they looked through the clouds, they could vaguely make out a figure of a curled-up Dragon Clan member.
It was Yang Kai!
With all the intel the Black Ink Clan had gathered, the fact that Yang Kai could transform into a True Dragon was no longer a secret; after all, there were many Black Ink Disciples who were loyal to the Black Ink Clan hiding in the dark now.
Those two Territory Lords looked at each other and revealed ecstatic expressions. They suddenly realised why the Royal Lord wanted them to return here.
Silently retreating, they hurried back to the No-Return Pass.
This time, it didn’t take them a whole month to reach the No-Return Pass. When they got back, they once again bowed down before the Royal Lord’s throne of bones and reported everything they saw and heard to him.
The Royal Lord sneered, “As I had expected!”
When he first heard that Yang Kai went to the Divine Spirit Ancestral Land, he made several guesses. Now, it seemed like he had gone there to cultivate. According to what he heard, it was said that the power inside the Divine Spirit Ancestral Land was very beneficial to Divine Spirits.
“Did you two expose yourselves?” The Royal Lord asked.
The bat-winged Territory Lord shook his head, “No. Yang Kai was entirely immersed in his cultivation and didn’t sense anything.”
“Very good.” The Royal Lord nodded in satisfaction while tapping his fingers on the back of his throne while looking down at the two, “Qing Fu, Mu Yu, don’t complain that this King didn’t give you a chance to make up for your crimes. The two of you are to immediately enter the Black Ink Nest together for Source Fusion!”
Once those words were said, all the Territory Lords became pale.
The two Territory Lords, Qing Fu and Mu Yu, shivered as they looked up at the Royal Lord with terrified eyes. Mu Yu even screamed frightenedly, “Sir, please have mercy!”
It was as though the so-called ‘Source Fusion’ was a death sentence.
Even though Qing Fu didn’t say anything, he had a depressed and desperate look on his face.
However, the Royal Lord didn’t show any change in expression; instead, he looked at them calmly before declaring, “If you live, that is your good fortune. If you die, that is your fate. Go!”