There was more than one Royal Lord at the No-Return Pass! In addition to the one lured out by him, there was another one lurking in the shadows.
Yang Kai even felt that this Royal Lord’s aura was somewhat familiar. It was as if they had met somewhere previously.
Yang Kai did not have time to ponder over the issue as he poured even more strength into the Great Sun as he thrust his spear towards the Territory Lord. The huge Black Ink Cloud instantly disintegrated as if the powerful Innate Territory Lord was struck by lightning. He spurted black blood and flew out even faster than he emerged, his body completely charred.
He was severely wounded in just one blow.
He had heard about Yang Kai’s ability to kill his fellow Territory Lords in just three moves but believed all that was hearsay and rumours. Now that he was on the receiving end of this killing star, he realized just how powerless he was.
How could such a Master be born among the Human Race?
The only thing the Territory Lord was glad about at this moment was that Yang Kai did not cast his Soul Secret Technique, otherwise he was certain he would already be dead.
The shockwave from the clash soon hit the High-Rank Black Ink Nest below, causing all the Black Ink Clan’s nerves to tense up.
However, the impact was not too powerful, and the Black Ink Nest remained unharmed.
Nearby Territory Lords who had formed a Four Symbols Formation rushed towards Yang Kai while the Royal Lord’s aura was also approaching rapidly. He would be in grave danger if he was to engage four Territory Lords and a Royal Lord.
Furthermore, the moment he attacked the Black Ink Nest, he sensed that more than 10 Territory Lords were flying over from all directions, each holding an Array Banner in their hands. From the way they positioned themselves, it was obvious that they were going to set up the Heaven Sealing Earth Locking Array.
The Black Ink Clan’s response was truly swift, as if they had rehearsed it countless times. No matter which direction Yang Kai attacked from, he would be vulnerable to this trap.
Yang Kai knew that this was no time to dwell on the Territory Lords who had formed a Battle Formation. He had no way to deal with them quickly unless he activated the Soul Rending Thorns; however, that would only damage his Soul and force him to withdraw for an extended time.
It would be suicidal if he lost control again like what happened back in the Ancestral Land.
Thus, he made a quick decision and thrust his spear fiercely at the Black Ink Nest below before immediately surging Space Principles to leave using Instantaneous Movement.
The four Territory Lords who had formed the Battle Formation had already sprinted to the fight, but Yang Kai still disappeared right before their eyes. Mo Na Ye also stopped in place and stared in disbelief. The Territory Lords who were holding up the Array Banners were still getting into position as they had yet to notice Yang Kai had already escaped.
Only the Territory Lord who was wounded by Yang Kai’s Golden Crow Casts the Sun, roared angrily. Disregarding his own serious injuries, he rammed himself at the spear shadow that Yang Kai left behind.
This spear shadow would surely hit the High-Rank Black Ink Nest if he did not block it with his body…
His heart was filled with grief and rage, but there was nothing more he could do. He barely managed to condense a Black Ink Cloud before being run through.
He had already absorbed a killing strike from Yang Kai, and now was forced to take a second. No Territory Lord was unluckier than him today and he finally understood why it was said that Innate Territory Lords could be killed by Yang Kai in just three moves!
He might have lasted longer if he was in a direct fight with Yang Kai and there were no distractions, but the result would not have been much better.
With such an injury, it would take him at least a few hundred years of hibernation and recuperation to recover.
“Stop him!” Mo Na Ye suddenly roared in a certain direction.
Though Yang Kai disappeared using Instantaneous Movement, he did not move too far away; instead, he appeared on the opposite side of the No-Return Pass where another High-Rank Black Ink Nest lay and launched an attack.
There were also Territory Lords guarding these Nests, so when they heard Mo Na Ye’s order and felt Yang Kai’s aura, they did not hesitate, rushing out from their hiding place as their auras quickly linked together.
Yang Kai did not even look at them and just as he had previously done, he summoned a spear, raised the Great Sun as the Golden Crow shrieked, and blasted it towards the High-Rank Black Ink Nest.
This time, no Territory Lord was rushing out of the Black Ink Nest to block it. The Great Sun flew towards the Black Ink Nest while Mo Na Ye, who was rushing over, instantly roared furiously, “Courting death!”
He ordered the four Territory Lords nearby, “Protect the Nest!”
The four Territory Lords hastily activated their Secret Techniques to intercept the Great Sun and managed to land some impacts on the Great Sun, causing its light to dim and its course to be thrown off.
It was just in time as the Great Sun broke apart and, though the Black Ink Nest shook a few times, it remained safe and sound.
All from the Black Ink Clansmen heaved a sigh of relief as Mo Na Ye dashed towards Yang Kai as fast as he could. The four Territory Lords in Formation had not reached Yang Kai and were trying to pin him down.
They did not need to hold him for too long, just a few breaths would be enough for Mo Na Ye to arrive.
Yang Kai would naturally not give them this opportunity and used Space Principles to disappear again, only to appear at a different location.
A Great Sun rose into the sky as the Golden Crow reappeared…
All the Territory Lords suddenly felt exhausted while Mo Na Ye felt overwhelmed. Facing such an unpredictable opponent, they found they could not restrict his movements and trap him regardless of how many experts they had.
All the Territory Lords were basically like puppets that Yang Kai could manipulate at will. When Yang Kai went east, all of them headed east. When Yang Kai went west, all of them went west.
Furthermore, Yang Kai was so strong that the Territory Lords had to form a Four Symbols Formation before they even dared to take him on.
Time and time again, Yang Kai flickered around the No-Return Pass, summoning one Great Sun after another and causing huge explosions wherever he went.
Each time he tried to destroy a Black Ink Nest though, his attack would be intercepted or disrupted by the nearby Territory Lords. This could not be helped as there were just too many Territory Lords in the No-Return Pass. No matter which direction he went, there were always Territory Lords to block him.
Mo Na Ye also played a big role by coordinating them.
However, Yang Kai’s purpose had already been achieved.
These multiple attempts to destroy High-Rank Black Ink Nests were not just about trying to cause damage but were also to check if there were other Royal Lords hidden here.
The answer was no!
If there really was a third Royal Lord, he would not be able to resist coming out to fight Yang Kai after he repeatedly attacked so many Black Ink Nests.
If there was another Royal Lord, when supplemented by the many Territory Lords, they would have a far better chance to take him down.
Thus, Yang Kai’s previous assumptions about the Black Ink Clan’s creation of Royal Lords were not too far off.
The Black Ink Clan indeed had some means to create Royal Lords, but the price to pay was far too great; so, under normal circumstances, they would refrain from doing this unless absolutely necessary.
Over the years, the Black Ink Clan did not use such means and only created Di Wu as Yang Kai had been in a kind of trance as he cultivated in the Ancestral Land.
Now, the Black Ink Clan had created another one for some reason, perhaps to guard against Yang Kai causing trouble at the No-Return Pass.
The Royal Lord he lured out should be returning soon, so there was no time for Yang Kai to dwell on the issue.
This time, Yang Kai did not disappear immediately after launching his initial attack. Instead, he rushed towards a High-Rank Black Ink Nest with his spear.
Mo Na Ye’s pupils suddenly constricted and he yelled from afar, “Yang Kai, you dare?!”
Yang Kai laughed and roared, “Open your eyes and see if I dare!”
The four nearby Territory Lords were so dumbfounded that Yang Kai easily slipped around their Battle Formation and reached the top of Black Ink Nest.
“Kill him!” Mo Na Ye yelled again.
The four Territory Lords reacted almost on instinct and each blasted Yang Kai with their Secret Techniques.
The void was violently shaken by the intense power and the majestic Black Ink Nest disintegrated from the subsequent explosion. The faces of the Black Ink Clansmen turned pale as they looked at the crumbling Black Ink Nest in disbelief. Mo Na Ye raged furiously until his eyes were bloodshot and he used a special technique to boost his speed.
Yang Kai stood amid the collapsing Black Ink Nest as blood trickled from the corner of his lips. He was injured by the four Territory Lord’s attacks. Before he could steady himself though, a beam of Black Ink Strength furiously shot at him from afar.
Yang Kai’s body was now covered with fine Dragon Scales, so he did not panic in the face of this terrifying attack. Drawing World Force from his Small Universe to protect himself, he thrust out his spear.
The explosion and shock waves spread out. Yang Kai rode the shockwaves out as his fine Dragon Scales bristled in a golden light, though they quickly dimmed and he spat out a mouthful of Golden Blood.
His defence was barely able to absorb the Royal Lord’s angry blow. Yang Kai was lucky that his Dragon Form had become far more powerful than before and was just a step away from becoming a Divine Dragon. His physique was far more resistant to such attacks than previously.
The aura of the Royal Lord who had been lured away by Yang Kai appeared in the distance at that moment and was approaching rapidly.
Just in time!
While risking serious injury, Yang Kai wanted to send a message to the Black Ink Clan that one Royal Lord alone was insufficient to stop him from destroying the Black Ink Nests here.
Yang Kai surged his Space Principles and used Instantaneous Movement but did not go too far, he moved just 1 million kilometres out before he turned around to look towards the No-Return Pass.
The Territory Lords were about to chase, but Mo Na Ye raised his hand and warned, “Don’t pursue him!”
The Territory Lords actually heaved a sigh of relief and settled down.
When the Royal Lord returned, he sensed Yang Kai’s aura from afar, but did not move towards him as he knew doing so was futile.
He looked around to assess the situation at the No-Return Pass and his mood instantly became very gloomy.
Two High-Rank Black Ink Nests were destroyed! A Black Ink Nest was destroyed even though Mo Na Ye was here at the No-Return Pass. He was very upset about this.
He expected to see Mo Na Ye and the Territory Lords besieging Yang Kai when he returned, but it turned out to only be wishful thinking.
Sensing the Royal Lord’s displeasure, Mo Na Ye could only bow and apologize for what had happened.
The Royal Lord did not say a word, as although he was very angry, he still understood Mo Na Ye had done his best. Facing an enemy like Yang Kai, even he was not certain he could have done better under the circumstances.
Mo Na Ye and the Royal Lord communicated with each other for a while at the No-Return Pass. Yang Kai only saw the Royal Lord looking troubled and occasionally looking at him and nodding slightly. No one knew what they were discussing.
With the Royal Lord’s permission, Mo Na Ye turned around and headed outside the No-Return Pass.
It seemed he wanted to have a good talk with Yang Kai…
Although the Black Ink Clan had two Royal Lords here, they had still suffered a loss. Though their losses were significant, their overall combat strength had not weakened considerably.
In such an environment, it was unfortunate for them that the No-Return Pass was targeted by a Human Master like Yang Kai.
Yang Kai did not leave the No-Return Pass immediately; instead, he gave the Black Ink Clan a chance to talk to him.
Yang Kai stood in the void calmly. Even though he had been injured from the battle, he had no intention of running away.
He had the confidence to stand there.
He would have fled long ago if he was facing a Royal Lord 3,000 years ago.
Mo Na Ye did not go too far, coming to a stop at the periphery of the No-Return Pass. He meant to show his goodwill that he was not going to attack Yang Kai. Nonetheless, he was on guard against any surprise attack the other party might launch on the No-Return Pass, however unlikely the possibility.
Looking at each other, Mo Na Ye cupped his fist and said politely, “Sir Yang Kai, we meet again.”
“Mo Na Ye,” Yang Kai greeted him and narrowed his eyes slightly. Yang Kai felt that familiar aura and then recognized who he was.
Yang Kai had dealt with this Black Ink Clansman several times previously.
Among all the information that the Human Race had on the Black Ink Clan, Mo Na Ye was one of the individuals that they most focused on. Not only because he was among the strongest of the Innate Territory Lords, but also because he seemed far more intelligent than the others.
Every time he was sent to a Great Territory Battlefield to act as Commander, he showed incredible aptitude in positioning troops and launching attacks. He was responsible for severe Human losses.
He was also the Black Ink Clan’s primary negotiator during the peace talks between the two Races.
Yang Kai did not expect to see him at the No-Return Pass, and certainly not as a Pseudo-Royal Lord.
Based on the encounter they just had, Yang Kai knew that Mo Na Ye was difficult to handle. Not only due to his strength, but also due to his tactical and strategic acumen. It was clearly Mo Na Ye who organized the Territory Lords in advance at the No-Return Pass, a major factor in disrupting his efforts to destroy Black Ink Nests.
Yang Kai judged that he was dealing with an intelligent and dangerous opponent.
Mo Na Ye smiled and respectfully, “It’s an honour that Sir Yang remembers my name!”
It was as if the previous battle had never happened and they were old friends catching up.
[He’s even adept at politics and diplomacy!] Yang Kai thought and frowned.
In response, Yang Kai scoffed and said, “I hope you will feel honoured when I kill you one day!”
Mo Na Ye laughed and said, “Sir Yang really has a great sense of humour. It is well known that you have no hope of becoming a Ninth Order while I, Mo Na Ye… have already become a Royal Lord. Sir Yang Kai, how do you intend to kill me?”
This was true. Although he could not do anything to Yang Kai, the opposite was also true. He used to be afraid of Yang Kai when he was an Innate Territory Lord, but now he no longer was, and that feeling was only reinforced after he witnessed Yang Kai scurry around and avoid him during their battle instead of engaging him directly.
This was also the reason why Mo Na Ye went to great lengths to become a Pseudo-Royal Lord. If he was still just an Innate Territory Lord, he would not have the courage or capital to stand and talk to Yang Kai as there would always be a risk of being killed when he spoke directly to this killing star.
“Wasn’t Di Wu a Royal Lord?” Yang Kai said with a sneer.
Mo Na Ye was instantly dumbfounded when he realized that he had forgotten all about this point and cursed Di Wu in his heart for being such a fool and bringing shame to the Black Ink Clan.
Mo Na Ye became impatient with their exchange and fumed that he had to continue talking with Yang Kai. This was not something that the Black Ink Clan was good at. The Human Race had always been better at verbal sparring and outwitting the Black Ink Clan. Finally, Mo Na Ye lost his patience and shouted, “Sir Yang, you came to the No-Return Pass to kill our Territory Lords and destroy our Black Ink Nests even when we still have an agreement between our Races. You have violated the terms of the agreement and yet Your Excellency is so blatant about it. Don’t you think that you have gone too far?”
Yang Kai almost laughed.
He did not expect Mo Na Ye to lose his cool from just a little prodding.
“So what?” Yang Kai raised his chin and said arrogantly, “You cannot stop this King from sweeping through the Great Territory Battlefields and killing all of your Territory Lords!”
“You dare?!” The real Royal Lord of the Black Ink Clan roared furiously from the No-Return Pass.
“Just wait and see!” As Yang Kai said that, he turned around and the void started to ripple around him as he surged his Space Principles.
“Don’t leave, Sir Yang! Listen to what I have to say first!” Mo Na Ye shouted at the top of his lungs.
Yang Kai turned his head to look at him and said coldly, “What?”
Mo Na Ye cupped his fist respectfully, signalling him to wait a moment. He then turned to bow towards the No-Return Pass and communicated with the Royal Lord to calm him down.
This caused Yang Kai’s eyes to narrow slightly, and he found the situation rather interesting.
The Black Ink Clan did not care about seniority or etiquette. While the Royal Lord of the No-Return Pass had done a great service to the Black Ink Clan for many years, Mo Na Ye was now also a Royal Lord who was almost on par with him; thus, there was no need for Mo Na Ye to be that respectful of him.
Looking at Mo Na Ye’s actions though, he still seemed to be a subordinate to the Royal Lord.
Thus, it must be related to their strength. Although Mo Na Ye was now a Royal Lord, he didn’t seem to be a true Royal Lord. Just like Di Wu, he could only use some 70% to 80% of the strength a Royal Lord should be able to produce.
Yang Kai had now decided to address a being like Mo Na Ye as Pseudo-Royal Lord to differentiate them from the real Royal Lords.
Moments later, Mo Na Ye ended his conversation with the Royal Lord, who was clearly extremely disgruntled. He wanted so much to join forces with Mo Na Ye to capture Yang Kai right now, but Mo Na Ye was right. Without the Heaven Sealing Earth Locking Array set up, the chances of them capturing Yang Kai were basically zero, even if they combined forces.
Worse, as soon as they completely fell out with Yang Kai here, he would no longer have to restrain his actions, which was not what the Black Ink Clan wanted. The reason they had to negotiate peace with the Human Race on a large scale was because the Territory Lords were all at serious risk of being killed by Yang Kai, otherwise, Black Ink Clan would not have restricted themselves when they had the advantage.
It was difficult to describe just how frustrating it was that one person managed to influence the Black Ink Clan’s plan to unify everything under the Heavens.
Moreover, he was even more powerful than before and could now kill Territory Lords essentially effortlessly.
So, no matter how unwilling he was, he could not let Yang Kai leave, even though Mo Na Ye knew that Yang Kai was just pretending to leave.
If he left, all the Territory Lords across the Great Territory Battlefields could only retreat to their camps and not reveal themselves.
The peace agreement still benefited both sides, the evidence was how many Masters both Races had accumulated over the past 3,000 years.
“Sorry to keep you waiting, Sir Yang,” Mo Na Ye turned and said apologetically to Yang Kai.
“Say whatever you want, but if you upset this King again, I’ll go kill 100 Territory Lords to relieve my anger!”
Mo Na Ye frowned as he knew that the Black Ink Clan’s previous actions had truly annoyed Yang Kai and he could not do anything about it.
Instead of blowing up though, he just smiled and said, “Sir Yang, although the Human Race and Black Ink Clan have fought for many years, there is currently an understanding between us. My generation has admired Sir Yang for a long time and do not wish to fall out with you here.”
Yang Kai narrowed his eyes slightly when he noticed that Mo Na Ye seemed humble, even apprehensive towards him.
This sly and smooth-talking Pseudo-Royal Lord would become a difficult character to deal with in the future if he was not killed soon.
While bravery and strength were essential to winning a battle, knowing when to advance and retreat was essential to winning a war.
“So, the Black Ink Clan intends to get rid of this King as soon as they can?” Yang Kai questioned in a deep voice.
Mo Na Ye immediately appeared solemn and sighed, “So, Sir Yang Kai is really here because of this.”
He looked as if he had expected this and also appeared sad, “I, Mo Na Ye, wish to provide an explanation to Your Excellency regarding the recent unpleasantness.”
“Go ahead. I’m all ears,” Yang Kai grinned, interested to see where the conversation would lead and how Mo Na Ye intended to resolve this situation.
Mo Na Ye continued, “Earlier at the Divine Spirit Ancestral Land, a faction of my Black Ink Clan saw an opportunity and acted impulsively, completely without authorization. Please believe me when I say that they were acting on their own and not on orders of Sir Royal Lord. During that time, Sir Royal Lord was in retreat and entrusted all outside affairs to Di Wu… who was killed by you in the Divine Spirit Ancestral Land.”
It was always convenient to blame the dead.
Yang Kai was naturally not a fool to be manipulated by Mo Na Ye with such words. Unfortunately, since Di Wu was dead, the truth of the matter died with him.
Mo Na Ye continued, “Di Wu had always been aggressive and prone to using force to solve problems, but in this case, he has caused trouble and undermined the peace agreement between our two Races, sullying the Black Ink Clan’s honour in the process. Thus, his death is not worth pitying. Sir Yang has done us all a great favour by killing him. If he hadn’t died in the Divine Spirit Ancestral Land, Sir Royal Lord would have taken his life as punishment for provoking the Humans and Your Excellency!
Yang Kai barely contained his urge to laugh out loud.
If someone uninformed heard this speech, they might have thought that the Black Ink Clan was some kind of benevolent Race who treated others with honesty and respect.
Mo Na Ye swallowed both his dignity and pride to speak with Yang Kai like this. It would be impossible to find another Pseudo-Royal Lord who was willing to act so humbly to an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.
All this only made Yang Kai more determined to kill Mo Na Ye. He had to seize any opportunity to eradicate this Pseudo-Royal Lord as soon as possible. Mo Na Ye was undoubtedly a Black Ink Clansman on the inside, but on the outside he was as shameless and cunning as any Human.
In short, this guy was very difficult to deal with.
“Di Wu is now dead, and the Territory Lords who went to the Ancestral Land were also killed by you. So, it is the Black Ink Clan who suffered a heavy loss!” Mo Na Ye sighed.
Yang Kai snarled in return, “Why shouldn’t I have killed Di Wu and those eight Territory Lords? Should I have stuck out my neck to let them chop my head off instead?”
“That’s not what I meant,” Mo Na Ye waved his hand, “I just want to say that their death isn’t worth us fighting over. I just hope that their death can also calm your anger and allow this matter to rest. What do you say?”
“What do I say?” Yang Kai turned furious and then snapped, “If this is what you want to tell me, then save it! I will go back to the 3,000 Worlds and kill 100 Territory Lords to vent my fury!”
“Ha… very well,” Mo Na Ye smiled bitterly and said, “If it were me, I would not let this issue rest either. We both know that the peace treaty cannot be torn up right now, so let us see if we can come to some kind of arrangement. Sir Yang is undoubtedly unrivaled on the external battlefields as my Black Ink Clan does not have enough Royal Lords. Many Territory Lords would indeed die at your hands; however, once an all-out war breaks out, the future of your Eighth-Order Masters will be equally perilous. I believe that this is not the outcome the Human Race wants to see.”
“Threatening me is meaningless!” Yang Kai coldly snorted, “If a war is what you want, then that is what you will get. We’ll see whether your Territory Lords or our Eighth-Order Masters are wiped out first! Regardless of the outcome, I know I won’t be the one to die!”
Mo Na Ye was dumbfounded. Indeed, with Yang Kai’s methods, no matter what kind of war broke out, the chance of being killed was minute, unless the Black Ink Clan created a few more Pseudo-Royal Lords to corner him.
However, right now, the number of Black Ink Clan Innate Territory Lords could hardly support the creation of more Pseudo-Royal Lords. The Acquired Territory Lords could certainly perform the Source Fusion Techniques, but these seedlings were the future hope of the Black Ink Clan to produce true Royal Lords, so how could they be willing to sacrifice them?
“Sir Yang, why don’t you state your request openly,” Mo Na Ye gave up trying to negotiate with Yang Kai as it was clearly not working. The Black Ink Clan could not emerge unscathed from this it seemed.
Yang Kai had already prepared for this and said indifferently, “Those who are responsible should be punished. Di Wu and eight Territory Lords who attacked me that day may be dead, but there were 12 other Territory Lords who escaped. Where are they now?”
Mo Na Ye was shocked that Yang Kai had such a big appetite. He clearly wanted to kill those 12 Territory Lords to appease his anger, but even if the Black Ink Clan agreed to his demand, it was now impossible to find those 12 Territory Lords.
“Sir Yang Kai, if you want those 12 Territory Lords’ heads, I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed.” Mo Na Ye sighed, “After they escaped, Sir Royal Lord ordered them to be executed as a sign of his determination to uphold the agreement between the two Races!”
“Executed?” Yang Kai was a bit stunned, but when he thought back on the earlier battle, he realized that he had not detected any of those 12 Territory Lords’ auras.
He was not familiar with the 12 Territory Lords who fled; however, he encountered all of them when he probed the Four Gates Eight Palaces Great Pagoda Array in the Ancestral Land. For a Master like him, once he met a Territory Lord, it was impossible to forget their aura after a mere 100 years.
In their recent battle, all the Territory Lords at the No-Return Pass had to have been deployed to fight. The 12 Territory Lords couldn’t be hiding from him.
As for the claim that the Royal Lord executed those 12 Territory Lords just to maintain the peace between the two Races, Yang Kai would be a fool to believe Mo Na Ye.
The Royal Lord couldn’t do such a thing to weaken his forces and their morale. At most he would send them to the six Great Territory Battlefields as a punishment to redeem themselves.
Yang Kai’s brow twitched and swept his eyes over to look at Mo Na Ye.
According to the information he got from the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, 13 Innate Territory Lords were sacrificed so that Di Wu could attain the rank of Pseudo-Royal Lord. At that time, there should not have been a second Pseudo-Royal Lord at the No-Return Pass.
Now, Mo Na Ye had become a Pseudo-Royal Lord, and the 12 Territory Lords who had escaped from the Ancestral Land were missing.
Yang Kai suddenly realized how Mo Na Ye became a Pseudo-Royal Lord, and was now curious about how the Black Ink Clan turned an Innate Territory Lord into a Pseudo-Royal Lord. Although he had a lot of information now and it was assumed that it was done by some means of sacrifice, the in depth details were still unknown.
He also doubted the Black Ink Clan would just tell him the truth.
[Perhaps… I can try? What if I get something out of it?] Yang Kai thought.
While Yang Kai was thinking, Mo Na Ye nodded his head and replied, “It’s true that they were executed. I know that you don’t believe me, but there is no need for me to lie to you about this.”
Yang Kai said, “It does not matter. If they are dead, then let other Territory Lords take their place. 12 Territory Lords, I don’t care who they are. I’ll behead 12 and be on my way. If you can’t bear to lose 12 Territory Lords, then let me destroy 12 High-Rank Black Ink Nests… That’s right, I’ve already destroyed two. Just give me ten!”
“After all, you were the one who asked me to state my demands,” Yang Kai sneered.
Mo Na Ye was barely able to maintain his smile as he replied, “Your Excellency, your demands are rather unrealistic. I’m afraid they could not be met.”
Whether it was Territory Lords or High-Rank Black Ink Nests, they were not assets the Black Ink Clan could afford to sacrifice. If Yang Kai insisted on these, then there was no point in continuing the conversation.
“It was you, the Black Ink Clan, who attacked me first!” Yang Kai said frostily.
Mo Na Ye could not help but sigh as that was an indisputable fact. If this was a negotiation between two equal parties, logic and reason would allow them to reach a compromise. However, Yang Kai was currently a nightmare to all Territory Lords and had no reason to be reasonable.
Mo Na Ye silently cursed the dead Di Wu. If he had gone to the Ancestral Land to preside over that incident, things would not have deteriorated to this extent.
“Di Wu and the others were indeed at fault, but they were either killed by you or executed by Sir Royal Lord, isn’t that enough to quell your anger?”
“10 High-Rank Black Ink Nests or 12 Territory Lords, no bargaining,” Yang Kai’s was relentless.
Mo Na Ye frowned and said, “You know that this is impossible. If you insist, then I can only assume that you have no intention of maintaining the peace agreement between our two sides. It will not be beneficial to either of our Races for things to collapse here. I would like to suggest resolving this matter, are you willing to consider it?”
“Go ahead!”
“It is true that you were attacked and have suffered losses…” Mo Na Ye said but then paused. When he thought about it, it was the Black Ink Clan who had suffered losses. Yang Kai killed a Pseudo-Royal Lord, eight Territory Lords and his rampage at the No-Return Pass had destroyed two High-Rank Black Ink Nests. These losses were extreme and yet Yang Kai refused to let the matter rest. Still, Mo Na Ye could not quibble about things here and simply said grudgingly, “Perhaps the Black Ink Clan can compensate you with a large amount of resources to calm your anger.”
“How much is a large amount…?” Yang Kai raised an eyebrow.
Mo Na Ye said with a silent sigh, “It will definitely satisfy Your Excellency.”
Yang Kai stroked his chin and pondered. Although he came to the No-Return Pass looking for some revenge, his main goal was to find out the internal situation of the Black Ink Clan. Now that his primary objective had been achieved, and he knew there were two Royal Lords here, it would truly be difficult for him to do anything more. His demands for 10 High-Rank Black Ink Nests or 12 Territory Lords were just him asking for the lion’s share to see what he could squeeze out of the Black Ink Clan. He also knew that the Black Ink Clan couldn’t agree to this demand, so the best-case scenario would really be getting some free supplies from them.
The Human Race now has a large number of rising stars and a huge demand for resources; however, the number of Great Territories controlled by the Human Race was too low. Although the Cave Heavens and Paradises had accumulated a massive quantity of materials throughout their existence, they would one day be depleted.
The Black Ink Clan was different. They now controlled some 99% of the 3,000 Worlds as well as the entire Black Ink Battlefield, so they were never short of supplies. This was also the reason why there were many Human Race Hunters who plundered the Black Ink Clan in the Great Territories outside the main battlefields.
So, Mo Na Ye’s proposal to use resources to solve this situation was acceptable.
However, Yang Kai couldn’t dismiss this incident so easily. From the battle at the Ancestral Land, it was clear that the Black Ink Clan wanted to kill him. He was lucky that he had a geographical advantage and coincidentally had a massive Small Stone Race Army from Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan on hand. Otherwise, he would have faced a deadly situation.
Since the Black Ink Clan wanted him dead, they could not blame him for shaving off several kilos of flesh.
Yang Kai said, “I have two conditions. If Black Ink Clan can agree, then the Ancestral Land matter will be settled.”
Mo Na Ye frowned and said, “Please tell me.”
Although he was relieved to hear this, Mo Na Ye showed nothing on his face. As long as Yang Kai was willing to state conditions, that meant there was room for negotiation. Mo Na Ye was only afraid that Yang Kai would insist on killing 12 Territory Lords or destroying 10 High-Rank Black Ink Nests. Those conditions were simply unmanageable.
“First condition, Black Ink Disciples!” Yang Kai held up a finger, “I want 100 Black Ink Disciples in exchange for each Territory Lord’s life. 1,200 for 12 in total, of whom no fewer than 100 must be Seventh-Order. I know that the Black Ink Clan has corrupted many Black Ink Disciples over the years, so 1,200 should be nothing to you.”
Mo Na Ye smiled bitterly and replied, “1,200 is not a small number.”
Yang Kai said, “100 Black Ink Disciples for the life of a Territory Lord. I think I am being very generous to the Black Ink Clan. I won’t force you if you don’t want to accept.”
Mo Na Ye reached up and rubbed his forehead as if he was having a headache; however, Yang Kai noticed that he was actually using his Divine Sense to communicate with the Royal Lord at the No-Return Pass.
Yang Kai decided to wait patiently since Mo Na Ye was consulting with the true Royal Lord.
However, he kept his guard up for any possible sudden turn of affairs.
From this incident, he could see that the Black Ink Clan would seize on any chance to kill him. He just had an encounter with them at the Divine Spirit Ancestral Land, and now, the Black Ink Clan gathered Territory Lords to set up a Heaven Sealing Earth Locking Array to trap and exterminate him.
Although there were currently many Human Race Masters, the Black Ink Clan was only really wary of Yang Kai at the moment. The Black Ink Clan would no longer be constrained if he was to die.
However, Yang Kai emerged unscathed from the battle in the Ancestral Land. The Black Ink Clan was humiliated and had to negotiate for peace again, just like all those years ago when Yang Kai was terrorizing them.
At that time, the Black Ink Clan was forced into a peace agreement with the Humans in certain Great Territories because Yang Kai had been killing Innate Territory Lords time and time again. The losses were too heavy for the Black Ink Clan to bear.
Even now, the Black Ink Clan was clear that Yang Kai was raising a huge fuss and making unreasonable demands, but there was still nothing they could do about it.
A few moments later, Mo Na Ye nodded at Yang Kai and said, “We agree to your demands for 1,200 Black Ink Disciples.”
Yang Kai reiterated, “No less than 100 in the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm.”
Mo Na Ye said with a straight face, “Of course.”
Since the Black Ink Clan had already agreed to this request, how could he haggle over the details? There were many Black Ink Disciples who were corrupted by the Black Ink Clan over the years. These Black Ink Disciples would eventually grow into Seventh-Order or even Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples, of which Black Ink Clan had a few.
Originally, the Black Ink Clan wanted to use these Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples to infiltrate the Human Great Territories as spies to obtain critical information or perform sabotage; however, there was now an abundance of Purifying Light within the Human Race’s side, and in order to enter any rear facility or territory, one had to enter a Purifying Black Ink Battleship. Under the Purifying Light, the Black Ink Disciples would not be able to hide. Thus, those Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples were useless unless they were used to fight the Human Race Masters on the battlefield.
As Yang Kai said, 100 Black Ink Disciples in exchange for the life of a Territory Lord was actually very reasonable. As long as the Humans had Hunters, the Black Ink Clan would not lack in Black Ink Disciples.
“Sir Yang can state your second condition,” Mo Na Ye said.
Yang Kai looked at him with a smile and nodded, “I want to know how you became a Royal Lord. As far as I know, an Innate Territory Lord can’t become a Royal Lord. So, how did you do it and how did Di Wu do it?”
Mo Na Ye calmly replied, “Who told you that Innate Territory Lords cannot become Royal Lords? Di Wu and I had been cultivating for many years, so there is nothing strange about us achieving a breakthrough, right?”
“Don’t take me for a fool!” Yang Kai snorted, “Before Di Wu became a Royal Lord, 13 Innate Territory Lords entered a High-Rank Black Ink Nest in the No-Return Pass and disappeared one after another. When you became a Royal Lord, 12 Territory Lords were ‘conveniently’ executed. Are you trying to tell me there is no relationship between these events?”
“Of course not!” Mo Na Ye tried to deny it, but after a moment, he realized that Yang Kai should have gotten this information from those Seventh-Order Spirit Array Masters.
After the battle of the Ancestral Land, the 12 surviving Territory Lords escaped while the Seventh-Order Black Ink Disciples went missing. They apparently had fallen into Yang Kai’s hands and were rescued by him. During the time they had been in the No-Return Pass, although they did not know anything about the Source Fusion Technique, those Seventh-Order Masters weren’t blind and surely took note of certain events.
“Were they sacrificed?” Yang Kai looked straight into Mo Na Ye’s eyes and continued, “There must be some method the Black Ink Clan possesses that allows a large number of Innate Territory Lords to sacrifice themselves and integrate their power into a Black Ink Nest. After enough power is accumulated, an Innate Territory Lord can absorb all of it for themselves, allowing them to break through their shackles and become a Royal Lord!”
Mo Na Ye maintained a straight face the whole time, so Yang Kai could not tell anything from his reaction. In the end, Mo Na Ye just flatly stated, “Whatever Your Excellency chooses to believe, let that be the truth.”
Yang Kai stared at him deeply for a long time before he waved his hand and said, “Good.”
He also knew that he could not get an admission from the Black Ink Clan. Even if the Black Ink Clan did tell him some story, would he believe it? Whatever the Black Ink Clan said still had to be verified, so there was no point in pushing the issue.
Without dwelling on the matter, Yang Kai said, “Let’s talk about the resources…”
Mo Na Ye was exhausted from having to deal with Yang Kai all day, so he quickly cupped his fist and said, “We need time to prepare the resources and gather the Black Ink Disciples. Please wait for a while. Once they are ready, we will deliver them to you.”
[Humans… are truly disgusting and difficult to deal with,] fumed Mo Na Ye internally.
Mo Na Ye deeply appreciated how difficult it was to communicate with Yang Kai. He was glad that he did not argue with Yang Kai about the specifics of the supplies or he might want him to list out all the materials in detail. He was just relieved that the negotiations were finally over.
Yang Kai nodded lightly and tossed a communication bead to him and said, “Take your time to prepare. Send me a message when they are ready and I will come.”
Mo Na Ye took the communication bead, but when he looked up, Yang Kai had already disappeared. He did not seem to worry that the Black Ink Clan would renege on the agreement and did not even give a time limit.
Yang Kai figured he did not need to give a deadline, for if the Black Ink Clan dared to renege, the Territory Lords in the Great Territory Battlefields would be in imminent danger. Yang Kai would surely kill 100 Territory Lords just as he promised.
As for now, the Black Ink Clan wanted him to be as far away as possible. They had nothing to gain by having him lingering around. Although the two Royal Lords were indifferent to having such a Human Master nearby, the Territory Lords couldn’t help feeling nervous.
Mo Na Ye turned around and flew towards the No-Return Pass. When he reached the Royal Lord, he bowed low and said, “Sir, we subordinates failed in our responsibilities and caused a huge loss to our Black Ink Clan. Please punish us, Sir.”
To this declaration, the Royal Lord just waved his hand and said, “It’s not your fault. I was the one who underestimated him.”
He originally thought that everything would be safe with Mo Na Ye guarding the No-Return Pass, but the growth of this Human had vastly exceeded his expectations and caught him off guard. Clearly, Yang Kai’s strength had increased several times since 3,000 years ago, to the point where even facing Mo Na Ye and many Territory Lords, he could still destroy two Black Ink Nests and make his escape.
Back then, Yang Kai did not have such strength.
After calming down, the Royal Lord concluded that even if he was also here at the No-Return Pass, he might not be able to protect the High-Rank Black Ink Nests unless he could find a way to kill Yang Kai in one blow.
“I’ll leave the preparation of the supplies and gathering of the Black Ink Disciples to you. Just get rid of him as soon as possible,” The Royal Lord glanced at the depths of the void with obvious disgust, as if Yang Kai was a dirty beggar who kept clinging on to him, refusing to let go.
“Yes!” Mo Na Ye replied respectfully.
As orders were passed down through the Black Ink Nests, teams with supplies and Black Ink Disciples from the various Great Territories began to converge at the No-Return Pass.
Some 50 million kilometres away from the No-Return Pass, Yang Kai retracted his aura while hiding inside a small Universe Fragment while he began adjusting his breathing and healing his wounds.
Fortunately, he did not sustain any serious injuries this time, so it did not take much time to recover.
Yang Kai had not received any contact from Mo Na Ye, but he was not in a hurry. He just silently studied the Grand Daos of Time and Space. With the recent refinement of his Dragon Vein, his attainments in the Dao of Time had grown to the same level of mastery as his Dao of Space. Yang Kai’s understanding of the Space-Time Strength was also much clearer and more intuitive than before.
Even so, he still had a long way to go.
At least, in his own assessment of the Grand Dao Mastery, whether it was the Dao of Time or the Dao of Space, he had yet to reach the highest level, Shocking History and Dazzling the Present.
Yang Kai had a feeling that if his two Grand Daos reached the highest level one day, his Space-Time Strength would experience a dramatic change.
Additionally, it was just about time for him to make a trip to the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction.
Wu Kuang agreed to guard the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, while Yang Kai promised to check in on him after 3,000 years. It was about time.
Wu Kuang made a bold statement that 3,000 years would be enough for him to become a Ninth-Order Master. Yang Kai did not know if he succeeded, but still, Wu Kuang was the reincarnation of Shi, the original creator of the Heaven Devouring Battle Law, and the possessor of the Flawless Purifying Golden Lotus. As long as there was enough power for him to devour, Wu Kuang would grow at a speed that no one could match.
Inside the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction was the true body of Mo, whose Black Ink Strength was immense. To cultivate the Heaven Devouring Battle Law, Wu Kuang was practically devouring Black Ink Strength without any limit.
Guarding the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction might have been a chore for others, even for the original Cang and his compatriots, but it was actually a joy for Wu Kuang.
It had been more than 3,000 years since the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction war and the collapse of the Human Race Grand Army. Mo was struck by Mu’s Secret Technique at the last moment and fell into a deep sleep, with no one knowing when it would wake up.
Once it woke up, it would be disastrous if the Human Race still did not have the means to deal with it.
Yang Kai felt a sense of powerlessness. The cultivation of the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm was still too weak in front of the rising tide of the Universe.
He hoped that he would not be disappointed with the Three Selves Source Reconstitution Art that Wu Kuang had given him.
Three months later, Yang Kai, who was meditating, suddenly felt something and took out the communication bead. When he infused his Divine Sense to look into it, it was Mo Na Ye who had sent a message that informed him that the supplies and 1,200 Black Ink Disciples were ready for him. They were now waiting for Yang Kai to return to the No-Return Pass to settle the grudge over the Ancestral Land ambush.
It seemed that the Black Ink Clan had not been dragging their feet since he left that day.
Yang Kai would not go to the No-Return Pass so easily though. That was the Black Ink Clan’s stronghold, with countless Black Ink Clansmen gathered there. If he fell into the Heaven Sealing Earth Locking’s Array again, then Yang Kai would be in great trouble.
Thus, he pondered a little and then sent a message.
At the No-Return Pass, Mo Na Ye gripped the Communication Bead and was dumbfounded when he looked at it.
“What?” The Royal Lord stood up and asked in a deep voice.
Mo Na Ye shook his head and said, “This Human is very cautious. He doesn’t want to come to the No-Return Pass to receive the supplies, so he specified another location.”
“Just as expected.” The Royal Lord coldly snorted, “Go on then. Do not miss this opportunity!”
Mo Na Ye was surprised by the Royal Lord’s persistence to kill Yang Kai. Although he did not think it was appropriate to provoke Yang Kai anymore, he had no choice but to agree.
A full six months later, somewhere in the void, Mo Na Ye stood, looking extremely angry and upset. Anyone who had been made to dance like a puppet on strings would feel equally moody.
Behind him, several Innate Territory Lords sensed his anger spilling over and threatening to engulf them. In order not to incur his wrath, they kept silent and stayed as far from him as possible.
Behind them were 1,200 Black Ink Disciples gathered in various scattered groups and areas, looking confused and disorganized.
It had been half a year since Mo Na Ye set off from the No-Return Pass with the 1,200 Black Ink Disciples and the supplies he had prepared. In this half a year, Yang Kai repeatedly changed the location for the transaction eight times. Furthermore, there were times that he made Mo Na Ye wait for dozens of days without any updates. Mo Na Ye was furious, but could not do anything about it.
He could understand Yang Kai being cautious and suspicious as the Royal Lord had already instructed Mo Na Ye to seize any opportunity to kill this pest.
However, with Yang Kai being so cautious, how could Black Ink Clan have any chance to do anything?
If Mo Na Ye wanted to take action against Yang Kai, he had to first set up the Four Gates Eight Palaces Great Pagoda Array so that he could trap him in place.
The Black Ink Clan had no way to arrange anything in advance though as Yang Kai repeatedly changed the meeting location.
Thus, Mo Na Ye no longer held any hope of taking Yang Kai down…
The Black Ink Clan was being sincere to Yang Kai, but he still treated them like vicious bandits, which frustrated Mo Na Ye.
He decided that if Yang Kai changed the meeting location again, he would return to the No-Return Pass with the Black Ink Disciples and supplies.
Suddenly, ripples appeared in the void and Yang Kai appeared like a ghost. Before he appeared, neither the Innate Territory Lords nor Mo Na Ye felt Yang Kai’s aura.
This Space Secret Technique alone rendered the Black Ink Clan somewhat powerless to deal with him.
“It’s been a long time,” Yang Kai said as soon as he appeared. He had randomly and hastily decided to meet here, so the Black Ink Clan couldn’t set up the traps in advance. Additionally, he had secretly surveyed the vicinity with his Demon Eye of Annihilation to ensure there were no hidden dangers before showing up.
“Sir Yang is quite cautious,” Mo Na Ye replied grouchily. He could be considered mild-tempered among the Black Ink Clan, but now he was thoroughly incensed by Yang Kai’s behaviour.
Yang Kai said frostily, “What’s wrong with being cautious? Enough nonsense, where are the supplies?”
Mo Na Ye kept a straight face and threw out a few Space Rings. Before Yang Kai caught them, he used his Divine Sense to check them for hidden traps and ensure that there were no problems.
Each Space Ring was filled with resources and materials of various qualities and Elements. The amount in each Space Ring was enough to allow a top Second Class Sect to sustain itself for 1,000 years.
The amount and quality of the supplies was undeniably large.
Yang Kai clicked his tongue and snickered, “The Black Ink Clan’s assets are truly remarkable.”
This wasn’t a surprise though as the Human Race were stuck in just over a dozen Great Territories while everywhere else was fully controlled by the Black Ink Clan. What’s more, the Black Ink Clan did not care how they mined for resources as even destroying Universe Worlds meant nothing to them.
The 3,000 Worlds of today was being fully exploited for its resources. After mining whatever they could, the Black Ink Clan simply allowed the various Universe Worlds to crumble into Universe Fragments.
“Here are the 1,200 Black Ink Disciples. Sir Yang, please inspect them. If these are acceptable, we will leave now.” Mo Na Ye urged him to accept the compensation so that he could leave and not have to deal with Yang Kai any further.
“They will do,” Yang Kai did not bother to check, not because he trusted the Black Ink Clan, but rather because he had already inspected these 1,200 Black Ink Disciples before showing up. There were exactly 100 Seventh-Order Black Ink Disciples as agreed upon, while the rest were of various Orders and strengths.
“In that case, goodbye!” Mo Na Ye cupped his fist and led the Territory Lords, who had constantly been on guard, to leave.
Yang Kai saw them off warmly, “This has been a happy cooperation. I hope there will be more such cooperation in the future!”
Mo Na Ye paused momentarily and could not help but curse to himself, [There will never be another time! If there is a next time, it will be you delivering your head to me!]
After Yang Kai watched the Black Ink Clan Masters fade into the distance, he turned to look at the 1,200 Black Ink Disciples, but as soon as he did, someone shouted, “Disperse!”
1,200 people turned into 1,200 streams of light in an instant, scattering in all directions.
Yang Kai entirely failed to stifle his laughter as he knew that the Black Ink Clan would not be so honest. It turned out that this was what they were up to.
If he were a regular Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, there would be nothing he could do in the face of such a situation. At best, some of these Black Ink Disciples would be captured, but probably 90% of them would be able to escape.
However, with Yang Kai being here, what the Black Ink Clan did was pointless and doomed to fail.
The moment the 1,200 streams of light shot in all directions, the void suddenly thrummed and solidified. The streams of light all faded to reveal the Black Ink Disciples who were now frozen in place, none of them able to move, each with a different expression on their face.
Yang Kai stepped forward, and as soon as he walked past each of the Black Ink Disciples, they would disappear.
Each of the Black Ink Disciples reappeared in Yang Kai’s Small Universe and was immediately enveloped by a mass of Purifying Light which began to dispel the Black Ink Strength in their bodies and returned them to their original selves.
In a short time, all 1,200 Black Ink Disciples were taken in.
Yang Kai took a long look in the direction of the No-Return Pass before turning around and disappearing into the depths of the Black Ink Battlefield.
A short while later, he arrived at a secret place and established a connection to the World Tree.
With the power of the World Tree, Yang Kai shuttled through the void and soon arrived at the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary where he stood below the World Tree.
The Old Tree still had the same old look, with almost all the World Fruits still on the tree being the ones corresponding to the Universe Worlds that Yang Kai had refined and saved at the beginning of the invasion. There were also World Fruits corresponding to several Universe Worlds in High Heaven Territory and the New Great Territory.
As for the other World Fruits, they had all fallen off.
On some of the branches of the Old Tree, there was a trace of Black Qi.
“Thank you, Old Tree.” Yang Kai bowed and saluted.
The Old Tree did not show its face, choosing to just shake slightly.
Yang Kai identified the World Fruit that corresponded to the Star Boundary and shot towards it. The World Fruit rapidly enlarged in his eyes as a familiar aura came towards him. Before he knew it, Yang Kai was already standing above the Star Boundary.
He stepped forward and appeared in High Heaven Palace next, where a familiar Divine Sense immediately swept over, though it was withdrawn as soon as it scanned him. One of the Great Emperors stationed at the Star Boundary noticed that someone had entered it; however, once they identified that it was Yang Kai, they knew that he was not here to cause trouble.
This time, it appeared to be Ice Feather Great Emperor who was stationed at the Star Boundary. Yang Kai did not have many interactions with this Great Emperor and thus was not too familiar with him.
Yang Kai’s Divine Sense swept over the Spirit Peak where his parents lived, and found that the old couple were happily teaching some young disciples.
With the Black Ink Clan invading the 3,000 Worlds, no one could avoid joining the war effort. In fact, Yang Kai’s parents had applied to join the Army several times; however, High Heaven Palace always refused to allow them to go, claiming that they could contribute most by teaching the next generation of disciples.
Naturally, no one, save for Yang Kai’s parents themselves, raised any complaints about this.
Yang Kai had made many invaluable contributions to the war over the years. In fact, if not for Yang Kai, the Human Race might have lost long ago. His Wives, Adopted Son, and Little Sister were all fighting on the frontlines as well.
Since his parents were not that strong, and there was a high probability of something happening to them if they went to the battlefield, the higher-ups all tacitly agreed to keep them out of the fighting; after all, how could they explain to Yang Kai if something happened to them? Also, who would dare to say anything if his parents remained in the Star Boundary?
Without bothering his parents, Yang Kai called Hua Qing Si and asked about the situation in the Star Boundary. He also asked about the New Great Territory, the Myriad Monsters World.
He learned that everything was fine here at the Star Boundary and the Myriad Monsters World was also doing well. The World Tree clone was showing its power and after thousands of years of nurturing, many rising stars from the Myriad Monsters World had directly broken through to the Fifth, Sixth, and even Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters.
A Monster King had been recognized by the Myriad Monsters World’s Will and been named the first Great Emperor with the title Thunder Shadow. He left the Myriad Monsters World with some Human companions and had now made a name for himself on the various battlefields.
Nowadays, there were several Great Emperors of the Myriad Monsters World. In addition to the original Monster Race Great Emperor with the title of Thunder Shadow, there was one more from the Monster Race and two Humans who had been certified as Great Emperors.
The Myriad Monsters World Bottle still had positions open, so both Monsters and Humans were eager to attain the World’s acknowledgement and seize this position for themselves.
This was not only a matter of honour and prestige of course, as anyone who obtained the Great Emperor position would see a dramatic increase in their speed of cultivation while in Myriad Monsters World, allowing them to grow stronger more rapidly than their peers.
As for the Human Race as a whole, everyone, from the Supreme Commander to the ordinary soldiers could feel the stress of the approaching storm. Everyone knew that in the near future the peace between the Humans and the Black Ink Clan would break down completely and a battle to the death would begin.
Once that happened, only the strong would be able to protect themselves.
On the whole, the expectations of the Human Race were high but filled with potential.
“Have Xiao’er and Xue’er sent any messages back?” Yang Kai asked casually.
Hua Qing Si pursed her lips and said, “Yang Xiao did send back a message. He said that the Palace Master had caused them a lot of trouble. Now, they are constantly being hunted by the Black Ink Clan. Whenever their whereabouts are exposed, they are bound to be pursued. It has taken them a lot of effort to repel the enemy.”
Yang Kai chuckled heartily and said, “It looks like they’re having a good time, I can rest assured then.”
This was probably due to the ‘final lesson’ that Yang Kai gave his three Disciples in Azure Sun Territory. Although Yang Xiao, Yang Xue and the others were not present at the time, the Black Ink Clan had sources of information. They would be able to find out about Yang Xiao and Yang Xue’s relationship with Yang Kai and naturally wanted to handle them.
Yang Kai was not too worried about their safety of course. These little ones had all become Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, so as long as they worked together and joined forces to defend themselves, the Black Ink Clan, though strong, should not be able to harm them.
Yang Kai did not stop for long at the Star Boundary. He exchanged a few words with Hua Qing Si and released a group of disciples who were ready to reach the Open Heaven Realm from the Void Dao Temple, leaving them under her care. He instructed her on some matters and then left.
After passing through the Territory Gate, he arrived at the neighbouring Great Territory, which was numbered but remained unnamed.
Any Great Territory that was only represented as a number on the Universe Chart was ranked as an extremely low-grade Great Territory. It meant that it did not have any notable Great Force overseeing it. A Great Territory such as this usually had few Universe Worlds and sparse resources. Generally speaking, such a Great Territory was isolated from the rest of the world.
High Heaven Territory was like this in the past. In the whole High Heaven Territory, there were only two habitable Universe Worlds. One was the Star Boundary and the other was the Demon Realm. The strongest Masters were the Great Emperors and Demon Saints. There were no Open Heaven Realm Masters here.
However, since the rise of the Star Boundary as an Open Heaven Realm Cradle, High Heaven Territory made a name for itself.
The neighbouring Great Territory was not so fortunate, but it was the place where the Supreme Headquarters of the Human Race was located. Although the Great Territory was previously unknown and even deserted, it was now vital to the Human Race.
Not only because it was the Great Territory that led directly to the Star Boundary, but also because it connected to more than 10 Great Territory Battlefields.
Just as the Barren Territory was the last barrier to the 3,000 Worlds, this unnamed Great Territory was also the last bulwark for the Human Race today! If the Black Ink Clan breached this place, they would be able to push straight into the heart of Human Territory. When that happened, the Human Race would have no choice but to completely fall back to High Heaven Territory and the New Great Territory.
With the Supreme Headquarters located here, this Great Territory was extremely bustling. No matter which battlefield the soldiers headed to or retreated from, they would transit through this place to rest and repair their equipment. Armies would be assembled here and be dispatched by the Supreme Headquarters as reinforcements to the Great Territory Battlefields on a regular basis.
Looking from afar, there were many Human Race soldiers coming and going in the void and the glimmer of light from their bodies was as bright as stars.
Yang Kai suppressed his aura and rushed to the Universe Fragment where the Supreme Headquarters was located. Without informing anyone, he flew straight to the Main Hall.
Inside the Main Hall, Mi Jing Lun was busy pointing at a Territory Map and a few Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters who were in charge of transmitting orders nodded as they took careful notes. Yang Kai took a look and found the Territory Map was of Twin Poles Territory.
Noticing Yang Kai’s arrival, Mi Jing Lun looked up and gave him a light nod, signalling him to wait for a moment. Yang Kai made himself at home, found a seat, poured himself a cup of tea, and leisurely sipped it.
After a little more than half an hour, the Seventh-Order Masters were sent away. Mi Jing Lun stood in place in contemplation for several moments before rubbing his forehead. He then walked over to Yang Kai, sat down, and pushed an empty teacup towards him.
Yang Kai picked up the teapot and poured him a cup. Mi Jing Lun heaved a long sigh and downed the tea like he was draining a bottle of wine.
Yang Kai asked, “Things aren’t going well in Twin Poles Territory?”
Mi Jing Lun replied, “The Black Ink Clan has intensified their attack on Twin Poles Territory. They’ve recently gained more Territory Lords and deployed them there, so we are facing some difficulties.”
Turning his head to look at Yang Kai, he asked with a smile, “Why don’t you take a trip there?”
“Impossible!” Yang Kai waved his hand, “I just got back from harassing the Black Ink Clan at the No-Return Pass. If I go to Twin Poles Territory at this time, wouldn’t I be reneging on the agreement?”
“What happened?” Mi Jing Lun raised a brow and asked curiously.
Yang Kai briefly told them about his experience at the No-Return Pass before handing Mi Jing Lun the supplies he had extorted from the Black Ink Clan.
Mi Jing Lun accepted them politely, and after a quick inspection, he exclaimed, “Wow, the Black Ink Clan was really generous to you!”
In his heart, he knew that this was due to Yang Kai’s notorious reputation. If the Black Ink Clan had to choose between losing Territory Lords or resources, they would definitely choose the latter. They could easily recoup the material losses even if they were given away; however, Territory Lords were all valuable assets, and it would not be beneficial to give Yang Kai an excuse to go on a killing spree.
If Mi Jing Lun tried to take advantage of the Black Ink Clan like this, he would have been torn apart by the Royal Lord. Although he became an Eighth-Order Master much earlier than Yang Kai, he had to admit that he was no match for the latter’s strength.
This was a positive development though. The future of the Human Race would only be bright if the future generation could surpass the abilities of the current one.
“A few days ago, there was a report of many Black Ink Nests scattered all over the Great Territories withering for no apparent reason. I figured it was you who went to the No-Return Pass to stir up trouble. From what you had just said, it seems my assumptions were correct.”
There was a precedent for this. Previously, Yang Kai went on a rampage at the No-Return Pass and destroyed seven High-Rank Black Ink Nests. This naturally disrupted the flow of reinforcements to the Black Ink Clan as all the Mid-Rank and Low-Rank Black Ink Nests spawned from those High-Rank Nests were destroyed.
The Human Race was not sure what had happened at the time, but later found out that it was Yang Kai’s doing.
So, when a similar event happened, it was easy for Mi Jing Lun to make a guess.
“The Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters who returned from the Ancestral Land explained in detail what happened there, and the Small Stone Race Army you provided has also been integrated into our forces.” Mi Jing Lun said solemnly, “Junior Brother, does the Black Ink Clan really have the means to help an Innate Territory Lords become a Royal Lord?”
When they heard this news, many Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters at the Supreme Headquarters were shocked and decided to block the news immediately to avoid damaging the morale of the Army. It was a pity that Yang Kai was like a Dragon who shows his tail but never his face. Yang Kai came over whenever he wanted to see Mi Jing Lun, but the reverse essentially never happened. It was as difficult as ascending to the Heavens if Mi Jing Lun wanted to find Yang Kai.
Yang Kai drank another cup of tea and nodded, “Indeed, the Pseudo-Royal Lord I encountered at the Ancestral Land named Di Wu was created in such a manner. Unfortunately for him, he was too careless and was killed by me!”
“Pseudo-Royal Lord?” Mi Jing Lun exclaimed with his eyebrows raised.
“It seems Senior Brother isn’t aware of this point. Although the Black Ink Clan has the ability to forcibly raise an Innate Territory Lord into a Royal Lord, there are clear flaws with the process. Such a created Royal Lord may have the raw power of a Royal Lord, but they are unable to utilise it properly. I clearly felt this when I fought Di Wu; he could only exert about 70% to 80% of what a Royal Lord should be able to do. Thus, I regard them as Pseudo-Royal Lords.”
Mi Jing Lun heaved a sigh of relief and said, “If that’s the case, then there’s no need to be too concerned.”
A Pseudo-Royal Lord who could only exert an average of 75% of his power was not nearly as threatening to Eighth-Order Masters as a true Royal Lord. It might only take a few Eighth-Order Masters in a Battle Formation to resist such an enemy, though killing one was probably impossible.
“But there is another Pseudo-Royal Lord at the No-Return Pass right now.”
Mi Jing Lun’s eyes narrowed and asked, “Who?”
“Senior Brother, do you remember that Innate Territory Lord named Mo Na Ye?”
“Him?” How could Mi Jing Lun not know who Mo Na Ye was? Mo Na Ye was one of the Innate Territory Lords that the Human Race was highly focused on. This guy was far more intelligent and cunning than other Territory Lords. It was definitely not a good development for the Human Race for this Black Ink Clansman to become a Pseudo-Royal Lord.
Mi Jing Lun thought about it momentarily but decided not to dwell on it any further. Now that Mo Na Ye had become a Pseudo-Royal Lord, it was useless to brood over it. If they really encountered him, they could only directly take him on, “Junior Brother, have you found out how the Black Ink Clan creates these Pseudo-Royal Lords?”
Yang Kai shook his head and replied, “Mo Na Ye was already a Pseudo-Royal Lord when I arrived at the No-Return Pass. I tried to probe them about it, and it seemed like the information those Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters gathered at the No-Return Pass was accurate. Even if the Black Ink Clan has a method to create Pseudo-Royal Lords, they have to pay a huge price. At the very least, they should have to sacrifice a large number of Innate Territory Lords. When Di Wu transformed into a Pseudo-Royal Lord, 13 Innate Territory Lords were sacrificed. In Mo Na Ye’s case, there were at least 12!”
Hearing this, Mi Jing Lun seemed to have suddenly thought of something before snapping his feather fan closed. He gently tapped the fan against his palm and said, “Perhaps… it also involves the sacrifice of a High-Rank Black Ink Nest.”
Yang Kai wondered and asked, “Why do you think so?”
“Perhaps Junior Brother isn’t aware of this. About 400 years ago, some Low-Rank and Mid-Rank Black Ink Nests suddenly withered. When the numbers were tabulated, the Headquarters estimated that a single High-Rank Black Ink Nest had been destroyed somehow. About 100 years ago, a similar situation occurred. Initially, I thought that it was Junior Brother who went on a rampage at the No-Return Pass and destroyed these High-Rank Black Ink Nests, but from your story just now, that seems to not be the case.”
“400 years ago…” After a little calculating, Yang Kai realized that was the time that he had just arrived at the Ancestral Land to cultivate.
He also killed Di Wu just over 100 years ago.
For the Black Ink Clan, Black Ink Nests were their foundation, so they would not be given up easily. There could only be one reason for those Low-Rank and Mid-Rank Black Ink Nests to die all of a sudden. The High-Rank Black Ink Nest that produced them was destroyed!
The timing was too coincidental, and the anomaly was equally obvious. The Black Ink Clan was smart enough to hide the truth from him, but there were enough clues for the Human Race to make the necessary deduction.
Yang Kai kept nodding his head.
More than 400 years ago, when the Black Ink Clan knew that he was cultivating in the Ancestral Land, they created Di Wu, a Pseudo-Royal Lord, and ordered him to go to the Ancestral Land to kill him.
Unfortunately, Di Wu ended up losing everything and died in the Ancestral Land. When they realized that Di Wu had died, the Black Ink Clan at the No-Return Pass created Mo Na Ye.
They did it twice, and each time they not only sacrificed more than 10 Territory Lords, they also lost a High-Rank Black Ink Nest in the process.
“It makes sense now,” Mi Jing Lun’s eyes flashed and continued, “The Black Ink Clan does have the means to transform an Innate Territory Lord into a Pseudo-Royal Lord, but it requires the sacrifice of a dozen or so Territory Lords and a High-Rank Black Ink Nest. No wonder the Black Ink Clan has never used this technique before. The cost is indeed very high compared to the benefits.” He looked at Yang Kai and said with a smile, “Looks like that original Royal Lord is willing to pay any price as long as they can kill you.”
Yang Kai said, “Man proposes, the Heavens dispose.”
If he did not have an Army of Small Stone Race with him when he went to the Ancestral Land, there was a good chance that Di Wu would have succeeded.
The good thing was that this matter was considered resolved in his favour. The Black Ink Clan tried to kill Yang Kai, but he managed to overcome that calamity and gained significant compensation for it. All of this was because the two Races still needed to maintain the status quo.
What happened at the Ancestral Land was considered resolved and there was no point in thinking about it further, so Yang Kai changed the topic and asked, “How are Senior Brother Xiang and the others?”
Xiang Shan had stopped appearing in public and focused on cultivating to break through to the Ninth Order. The Black Ink Clan suspected that Xiang Shan and the other Eighth-Order Masters who were expected to break through and reach the Ninth-Order had already done so secretly; however, that was not the case in reality.
The Ninth Order was the peak of the Human Race’s Martial Dao and was extremely difficult to reach. Now, there were not many Humans who were qualified to make this breakthrough.
There was indeed one person who had succeeded, but it was not Xiang Shan.
When Yang Kai asked, Mi Jing Lun sighed and replied, “It has been 1,000 years since they entered retreat, and still there is no news from them. In fact, with Brother Xiang’s talent, he should have already reached the Ninth Order if nothing went wrong.”
The issue was that Xiang Shan’s cultivation had once regressed. Long ago, in Blue Sky Pass, in the era when Yang Kai had not yet set foot onto the Black Ink Battlefield, Xiang Shan was a famous existence and many Territory Lords died at his hand. However, he was so feared that he became a priority target for the Black Ink Clan. They specifically targeted him and trapped him in a bitter battle where he became corrupted heavily by Black Ink Strength, forcing him to sacrifice a large portion of his Small Universe to preserve himself.
Afterwards, he took a Profound Yin Spirit Fruit to repair his damaged Small Universe; however, the drop in one’s cultivation was not something that was automatically made up for.
For the many years that Yang Kai was stationed at Blue Sky Pass, he had never seen Xiang Shan because the latter was in secluded retreat.
It was not until the leaders of the Human Race decided to form the Great Evolution Army to recover Great Evolution Pass that Xiang Shan returned to the limelight.
What Mi Jing Lun meant was that if that incident had not occurred all those years ago, Xiang Shan would already be a Ninth-Order Master. The Cave Heavens and Paradises were filled with talented people, but throughout history, few could match the reputation of Xiang Shan.
It was a pity that his future accomplishments were greatly delayed, and now it seemed that dark injuries from that incident were preventing Xiang Shan from reaching the Ninth Order.
The current situation between the two Races was rather stable. Although the fighting never ceased, it was all in a managed situation rather than an all-out war. Thus, Xiang Shan took this opportunity to enter retreat and cultivate.
“Brother Xiang did mention that if necessary, he would come out to face the enemy, regardless of whether he had achieved a breakthrough.”
Yang Kai nodded lightly and asked, “What about the Suppressing Black Ink Fortress? What’s the progress?”
The Suppressing Black Ink Fortress was a massive Mobile Palace Artifact that Yang Kai had convinced the Supreme Headquarters to refine in order to deal with the Black Ink Clan. It was quite similar to the Great Passes of old, but far smaller.
The current generation of Artifact Refiners, even compared to those from Late Ancient Era, were not inferior; however, the Human Race sorely lacked resources at the moment.
Great Passes were enormous Mobile Palace Artifacts built up and refined over hundreds of thousands of years, consuming an unfathomable amount of resources. The Human Race could not afford to spend so lavishly in their current situation. If they tried to build such an artifact now, it would likely cripple the cultivation progress of the entire Race, which was a situation that absolutely could not be allowed.
Thus, they could only build the Suppressing Black Ink Fortress, for which Yang Kai campaigned hard some 1,000 years ago, just before he left for the Myriad Monsters World.
This Mobile Palace Artifact was not destined for the Great Territory Battlefields, however.
When Yang Kai asked about the Suppressing Black Ink Fortress, Mi Jing Lun replied, “300 years ago, the superstructure of the Suppressing Black Ink Fortress was completed, and over the subsequent years, various Grand Arrays and artifacts have been installed. It should be almost finished now.”
After a pause, he asked, “Do you want to see it?”
“Indeed!” Yang Kai nodded.
The two of them left the Supreme Headquarters together and shot off into the depths of the Void.
The construction of the Suppressing Black Ink Fortress was kept highly confidential, with only those participating in the project and the heads of the Supreme Headquarters being in the know. This giant weapon of war was located at an extremely remote place in the Great Territory and covered with multiple Arrays to conceal it. Patrolling Human Race Masters also ensured that no one without authorization approached this region.
Yang Kai and Mi Jing Lun travelled for about an hour before reaching a Universe World that seemed to be covered in shadows.
Although this Universe World was ancient, its Grand Dao and Will were imperfect; thus, there was no vitality here. This was a rather common sight throughout the 3,000 Worlds. Although such a Universe World generally had a lot of precious cultivation resources, it was not suitable for the survival of living beings, thus it was essentially dead.
A Divine Sense swept over from afar, but after confirming Mi Jing Lun’s identity, it allowed them through.
Yang Kai, led by Mi Jing Lun, flew for a while around the Universe World before arriving at a certain spot and heading down. They passed through a layer of thick, dark clouds before being hit in the face with an imposing aura.
A huge and lofty object immediately filled their view, one that looked like a massive steel beast.
This was the Suppressing Black Ink Fortress.
The Suppressing Black Ink Fortress was undoubtedly much smaller compared to a Great Pass from the Black Ink Battlefield, being just 10% of the size; however, it was still a massive object.
The entire Suppressing Black Ink Fortress looked like a small city with many structures, high walls and towers.
Yang Kai could see people scurrying about inside the Suppressing Black Ink Fortress, carrying materials and working on construction projects. There were huge artifacts mounted atop of the city walls, and at a glance one could tell how extraordinary they were.
There were also traces of numerous Grand Arrays, but none of them were currently active so it was impossible to assess their might.
The Human Race seemed to be in decline as it only held a dozen or so Great Territories because of the Black Ink Clan; however, no matter how bad things were, they still had a profound heritage.
When the Grand Army was defeated in the war outside the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, the Humans were forced to retreat to the No-Return Pass, and then to the Barren Territory.
The death of countless soldiers was certainly heartbreaking, but the loss of a Great Pass inherited since the end of the Late Ancient Era, was also a massive strategic setback for the Human race.
While many Great Passes were destroyed, others remained mostly intact at the No-Return Pass.
Many wanted to take the Great Passes away with them, but they were too massive even for a Ninth-Order Old Ancestor to fit into their Small Universe; thus, they had no choice but to abandon them.
Presently, those Great Passes outside the No-Return Pass had become platforms for Black Ink Nests.
If the Human Race could defeat the Black Ink Clan and retake the No-Return Pass, there was still hope to regain those Great Passes.
The two landed on the Suppressing Black Ink Fortress and were immediately greeted by someone.
Yang Kai was dumbfounded and exclaimed, “Grandmaster Dong Guo!”
It was Dong Guo An Ping, who Yang Kai had met at Blue Sky Pass. He was an Artifact Refining Great Grandmaster from Divine Cauldron Cave Heaven and also the one who built the first Purifying Black Ink Battleship together with Yang Kai and a number of Array Masters.
However, since Yang Kai left Blue Sky Pass, they had not seen each other again, mainly because Dong Guo An Ping was in charge of Artifact Refining while Yang Kai’s job was to kill the enemy. They fought on different battlefields, so it was natural for them not to meet each other.
“Yang Kai!” Dong Guo An Ping also recognized Yang Kai immediately and reached out his hand to slap his shoulder as he happily declared, “I should call you Junior Brother Yang now.”
Yang Kai returned the greeting, “Senior Brother Dong Guo!”
He was happy to see him. Although Yang Kai had met many people on the Black Ink Battlefield, few survived until today.
Dong Guo An Ping was also a bit emotional. When he first met Yang Kai, the latter was just an unknown Sixth-Order brat. He was only valued by Blue Sky Pass’ leaders at the time because he brought Purifying Light to the Human Race. Now, when Dong Guo An Ping saw him again, Yang Kai was already the powerful Profound Nether Army Commander and a perpetual thorn in the Black Ink Clan’s side.
Such growth was truly immense as only 3,000 years had passed since then!
Mi Jing Lun said with a smile, “Senior Brother Dong Guo is one of the Chief Artifact Refiners on the Suppressing Black Ink Fortress project. Junior Brother Yang, if you want to know more about the Suppressing Black Ink Fortress, please feel free to ask Senior Brother Dong Guo.”
“Many thanks, Senior Brother.”
Dong Guo An Ping simply waved his hand, “Artifact Refining is the job of this Old Master, it’s not a big deal. However, can Junior Brother Yang tell me what this Suppressing Black Ink Fortress is going to be used for? This artifact is massive and took no less than 1,000 Artifact Refiners almost 1,000 years to construct. Although it is powerful, it is not suitable for the current war. Even if it is for a counter-offensive, one Suppressing Black Ink Fortress won’t make much of a difference. If it weren’t for Supreme Headquarters’ special orders, this Old Master would not have agreed to squander so many resources and so much manpower on this. The amount of resources poured into the thing could have benefited the Great Army in many other ways.”
It was clear that Dong Guo An Ping had strong opinions about the Suppressing Black Ink Fortress. As he said, this thing was not very useful for the situation the Human Race was currently in. Unless more Suppressing Black Ink Fortresses were built, they could not be used to attack the enemy.
This was certainly a very sharp weapon of war; however, its disadvantages were also very obvious. It took far too many resources and too much time to build just one, so if it did not achieve its intended purpose, then it was all just a huge waste of time and money.
“Didn’t Senior Brother Mi explain the situation?” Yang Kai was stunned.
Mi Jing Lun said in return, “It’s better that fewer people know about this matter.”
Dong Guo An Ping glared at Mi Jing Lun and snorted, “What nonsense is this guy sprouting? He just said that it was a secret. What can this Old Master do to him if he refuses to say anything?”
Yang Kai smiled before quietly whispering something to Dong Guo An Ping.
Dong Guo An Ping immediately turned solemn and remarked, “I see.”
He had his suspicions considering the situation; however, Yang Kai just confirmed his guesses. He was a veteran from Blue Sky Pass who had experienced thousands of years of war on the Black Ink Battlefield.
If the Suppressing Black Ink Fortress was used in ‘that’ place, it was indeed the perfect tool for the job.
“What are the chances of that happening?” Dong Guo An Ping asked.
Yang Kai replied, “It’s bound to happen, it’s just a matter of time.”
Dong Guo An Ping replied, “Fortunately, this Old Master did not cut corners when I built the Suppressing Black Ink Fortress; otherwise, it would have been a big mistake.”
Yang Kai laughed and said, “Senior Brother, please take us to look around.”
Dong Guo An Ping was immediately reinvigorated. Although he had some reservations about building the Suppressing Black Ink Fortress, it was also the greatest masterpiece of his life. Now that he had succeeded in building it, he naturally wanted to show it off to others. It was pointless for him to brag about it to the builders; thus, when Mi Jing Lun and Yang Kai came, he finally had an audience to lead around and introduce all the wondrous features of his creation.
When the Supreme Headquarters gave the order 1,000 years ago, Dong Guo An Ping led several Artifact Refining Great Grandmasters and brought over 1,000 Artifact Refiners to this place to work.
Those Artifact Refiners had put their all into the Suppressing Black Ink Fortress and it represented their proudest achievement.
Divine Cauldron Cave Heaven contributed a huge amount of resources to create this artifact. Although each Cave Heaven and Paradise contributed a lot to this project, Divine Cauldron Cave Heaven were the experts at Artifact Refining and thus contributed the most.
Presently, the Suppressing Black Ink Fortress had various Grand Arrays, artifacts, and even some architectural uniqueness, making it essentially a mobile city. All of this was influenced by Dong Guo An Ping, so he was intimately familiar with all aspects of the Suppressing Black Ink Fortress, making his introductions detailed and descriptive. Yang Kai soon began to appreciate the might of the Suppressing Black Ink Fortress.
He was very satisfied with what he was hearing. Although the Suppressing Black Ink Fortress was only 10% the size of a Great Pass, its armaments and capabilities were basically on par with one.
They paused for explanations and then resumed along the route. When the three of them arrived near a section of the city wall, Dong Guo An Ping pointed to a huge artifact mounted up ahead. The shape of the artifact looked like a crouching tiger with an elongated neck gazing forward. There were several Artifact Refiners nearby who were busy working on it.
Dong Guo An Ping pointed at the artifact and said proudly, “This is a Tiger Roar Cannon, the main offensive artifact of the Suppressing Black Ink Fortress. Over all four walls, there are a total of 1,200 of these. They were specially designed for the Suppressing Black Ink Fortress.”
Mi Jing Lun looked at it for a while and asked, “How powerful is it?”
Dong Guo An Ping stroked his beard and smiled, “When tested, three Sixth-Order Masters working together were able to unleash a strike equivalent to a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master’s full strength. If three Seventh-Order Masters work together, the power unleashed would be similar to an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master’s attack.”
Mi Jing Lun raised an eyebrow and remarked, “Impressive, but creating such an artifact must have been expensive, right?”
Dong Guo An Ping replied with a solemn nod, “Didn’t Supreme Headquarters say not to skimp on the cost? Creating a single Tiger Roar Cannon consumes resources equivalent to building a standard Warship.”
Mi Jing Lun winced at the thought of the cost. With 1,200 Tiger Roar Cannons, it was like having 1,200 standard Warships, and that was just for the main armaments of the Suppressing Black Ink Fortress. There were other various supplementary artifacts, as well as the Grand Arrays within the fortress, which also required a lot of resources.
The entire Suppressing Black Ink Fortress was practically a weapon of war built from several generations of stockpiled wealth.
It was fortunate that Yang Kai went to the No-Return Pass to pick a fight with the Black Ink Clan and managed to get them to compensate him with so many materials. At least, that could help to replenish a good portion of the stock used in the production of the Suppressing Black Ink Fortress. Otherwise, the Human Race would have to tighten their belts for a few years just to get by.
However, this was something Yang Kai had specially requested. Although the cost was immense, it was worth the expenditure as long as it could produce the desired effect.
As the two spoke, Yang Kai had already walked toward the Tiger Roar Cannon which had several Artifact Refiners busy working on it. One of them became upset when he noticed someone approaching without permission and stood up abruptly with the intention to reprimand him, but was immediately stunned.
Yang Kai smiled at him and said, “Senior Brother Xu!”
The other person smiled and exclaimed, “Junior Brother Yang?”
“Haven’t seen you in years, Senior Brother Xu. You still have the same noble bearing as before.” Yang Kai glanced at the chubby figure in front of him while comparing it to the one in his memories. In fact, there were no significant changes to Fatty Xu Zhen except for the traces of aging after all these years.
Furthermore, Xu Zhen was already an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.
Dong Guo An Ping walked forward and asked curiously, “Junior Brother Yang, you know my Martial Nephew?”
Although they were both in the Eighth Order, since they were born and raised in Divine Cauldron Cave Heaven, Dong Guo An Ping was still Xu Zhen’s Senior and thus of a higher rank compared to a rising star like Xu Zhen. Furthermore, while they were cultivators in the same realm and from the same Sect, there was still some difference in their strength and achievements.
In contrast, although Yang Kai was much younger than the rest, as long as his cultivation was on par with theirs, he was considered equal in terms of seniority to Mi Jing Lun and Dong Guo An Ping.
“Of course, I know him. I was drawn into the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary with Senior Brother Xu. We went through a lot of hardships together,” Yang Kai explained.
Dong Guo An Ping suddenly understood. Over the past 10,000 years, the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary only appeared once. Xu Zhen coincidentally got dragged into it, and apparently so did Yang Kai. Therefore, it was normal that they knew each other from the incident.
Sometime later, Yang Kai and Xu Zhen also met in the Blood Monster Cave Heaven; however, after Yang Kai went to the Black Ink Battlefield, there was no longer any news of him.
Xu Zhen naturally heard about Yang Kai’s exploits when the Black Ink Clan invaded the 3,000 Worlds. It was a pity that they could not meet until today.
To construct the Suppressing Black Ink Fortress, Divine Cauldron Cave Heaven had deployed 30% of their Sect’s Artifact Refiners, which was why Fatty Xu Zhen was here.
After some pleasantries, Xu Zhen cupped his fist and said, “Martial Uncle is here just in time. This Tiger Roar Cannon has some problems linking together with the Grand Array. No matter how we tried, we just can’t get it to work smoothly. Perhaps Martial Uncle can figure out the problem.”
Dong Guo An Ping, who never backed down from a challenge, stepped forward and said, “Let me take a look.”
He approached the Tiger Roar Cannon, carefully investigated and quickly found the crux of the problem. He did not personally resolve it though and instead carefully instructed Xu Zhen and the others and let them do it.
This was also a kind of on-the-spot education.
The few Artifact Refiners soon became busy working on the cannon and forgot all about Yang Kai and Mi Jing Lun who were standing beside them. Yang Kai also knew something about the Dao of Artifact Refining, and although it was not as good as his mastery over the Daos of Time, Space, and Spear, he was still an Artifact Refining Grandmaster, so he could more or less understand what they were discussing and was also interested in it.
On the contrary, Mi Jing Lun, who knew nothing about the subject, stood by the side, bored to tears.
Upon realizing this, Yang Kai said, “Senior Brother Mi, we have basically finished with the tour of the Suppressing Black Ink Fortress, but I would like to remain here and see the rest of the artifacts and Spirit Arrays. You should go on ahead first.”
Mi Jing Lun nodded and said, “Good. I will make the rest of the arrangements at the Supreme Headquarters.”
Yang Kai made his requests without holding back, “I estimate it will take a minimum of 5,000 and up to 8,000 soldiers to fully mobilize the power of the Suppressing Black Ink Fortress. I will have to trouble Senior Brother Mi to prepare them as soon as possible. Additionally, please send the Divine Spirits that I brought back from the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary over here. Although they have been obedient over the years, the agreement I made with them was only for 3,000 years and will soon be up. It will be difficult for me to extend the pact, but there just so happens to be someone over on that side who can handle them.”
Mi Jing Lun immediately understood and replied with a smile, “That’s right, under that person’s watchful eye, these Divine Spirits have no choice but to behave obediently.”
“Naturally, the Suppressing Black Ink Fortress needs a Divine Spirit with Great Sun and Moon Marks to be able to create Purifying Light to protect against the encroachment of Black Ink Strength, “
“I’ll make sure everything is prepared appropriately.”
Mi Jing Lun quickly left and went back to the Supreme Headquarters to organize the troops while Yang Kai stayed.
Once the Suppressing Black Ink Fortress was ready for action, Yang Kai would be responsible for sending it to that place.
Dong Guo An Ping was still instructing Xu Zhen and the others to solve the problem of the Tiger Roar Cannon, when Yang Kai heard a soft voice in his ear.
He was surprised and decided to follow the voice, leaving the Suppressing Black Ink Fortress and heading towards a mountain valley some 3,000 kilometres to the west. He approached it, and was stunned by what he saw within it.
The entire surrounding land was barren and silent, but this mountain valley was full of vitality, with an abundance of fragrant flowers and vegetation.
However, under careful observation and inspection, he realized that all the greenery was nothing but an illusion.
This was obviously an extremely profound manifestation of power.
He then noticed a delicate figure sitting quietly in the middle of the sea of flowers.
As Yang Kai waded through the sea of flowers, the flowers were disturbed, detached from their stems, and flew away from the branches. The flowers turned into yellow, red, and green butterflies dancing among other flowers…
At that moment, the world was colourful and beautiful.
Yang Kai was captivated by this beauty, even stretching out his hand and allowing a butterfly to land gently on his fingertips while flapping its wings.
A few moments later, he approached the figure, bowed, and greeted, “Old Ancestor!”
This was the only Human who had advanced to become a Ninth-Order Old Ancestor since the invasion of the 3,000 Worlds. Only a select few of the upper ranks knew about this.
Yang Kai was curious about where she was after she had reached the Ninth Order, and it was only when he heard her voice that he realized that she had been here the whole time, guarding the Suppressing Black Ink Fortress.
The Supreme Headquarters must have arranged for this newly promoted Ninth-Order Master to secretly guard the Suppressing Black Ink Fortress to ensure that absolutely nothing happened to it.
Luo Ting He smiled slightly, reached out her hand, and spoke gently, “No need for formalities. In fact, I owe everything that I have to you.”
This Ninth-Order Master of Yin-Yang Cave Heaven was trapped in the Samsara Pavilion for 2,000 years. Many years later, Qu Hua Shang had entered the Samsara Pavilion vowing to live and die together with Yang Kai for nine lifetimes or perish inside. Yang Kai managed to overcome this challenge and leave with Qu Hua Shang.
It was through that opportunity that Luo Ting He was also able to leave the Samsara Pavilion.
If Yang Kai had not gone through the ninth reincarnation and succeeded in awakening Qu Hua Shang, Luo Ting He would still be trapped in the Samsara Pavilion. She would not be where she is today.
“Old Ancestor is too kind. What happened that day was pure coincidence,” Yang Kai said respectfully.
Back then, he had no idea Luo Ting He was trapped in the Samsara Pavilion; all he did was break Qu Hua Shang’s Heart Seal and awaken her memories. It was pure coincidence that he managed to get Luo Ting He out as well.
“Coincidence or not, I still owe you a favour,” Luo Ting He insisted.
Yang Kai could not say anything else.
Luo Ting He tilted her head and smiled as she said, “I’ve been thinking about how to repay you for that. I originally thought of giving you some benefits after I reached the Ninth Order; however, your cultivation speed is so fast that the benefits I can give you now related to that are far too limited.”
Luo Ting He would not be in such a tight spot if Yang Kai was only in the Sixth or Seventh Order. All she needed to do was to give him some gifts and give him some pointers for his cultivation, which would not be difficult.
However, Yang Kai’s cultivation had been increasing rapidly over the years, leading to him reach the peak of the Eighth Order.
In terms of strength as an Eighth-Order Master, Yang Kai was definitely the strongest. Even Xiang Shan was incomparable to him.
This made it difficult for Luo Ting He to figure out what she could give him in return. Since she successfully advanced to the Ninth Order and was stationed here to guard the Suppressing Black Ink Fortress, she had been thinking long and hard about this.
“I pondered a lot on this. Since you are always out and about, you should be constantly in danger; so, why don’t I give you something to protect yourself? It might come in handy one day.”
Upon saying so, she did not allow Yang Kai to refuse. Her slender jade finger gently lifted and the sea of flowers that blanketed the mountain valley started to detach and turned into balls of light that converged at her fingertip.
The flowing lights lingered and gathered, slowly converging into one and reconstituted into a colourful butterfly which gently flapped its wings.
When the glow waned, the butterfly completely materialized.
She was not finished yet though as Yang Kai clearly felt Luo Ting He’s World Force surging madly and pour into the butterfly. The little butterfly, which was the size of a baby’s palm, was like a bottomless pit, constantly swallowing World Force from the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.
Yang Kai was immediately dumbfounded.
Although he did not know what mysterious Secret Technique Luo Ting He had performed, he could tell that this Senior, who came from Yin-Yang Cave Heaven, was injecting the heritage from her own Small Universe into this butterfly.
This was undoubtedly a huge loss to her. When this butterfly was activated, it would be as if Luo Ting He was present to take action!
It was truly a treasure! Just as Luo Ting He said, Yang Kai travelled around regularly as he no longer needed to cultivate in retreat. Previously in the Ancestral Land, he was surrounded by powerful Black Ink Clan Masters, and when he went to the No-Return Pass, he faced two Royal Lords and countless Territory Lords.
He really did encounter a lot of danger, so such a defensive treasure could be a life-saving token in certain critical moments.
Setting other incidents aside, if he had this butterfly when he was at the Ancestral Land, would Di Wu have even been a threat to him?
With the infusion of a Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master’s Small Universe heritage, the Secret Technique butterfly became increasingly dynamic, as if it really came alive and was ready to fly.
Luo Ting He soon began to look fatigued.
It was only after half an hour that Luo Ting He exhaled a long breath and severed the connection between her Small Universe and the Secret Technique butterfly. With a flick of her fingertip, the butterfly flew towards Yang Kai.
Yang Kai opened his palm and the butterfly landed on it. The gorgeous light then dissipated and turned into a butterfly-shaped crystal.
“If you encounter a dangerous situation that you can’t get out of, activating this will certainly help. It contains my full power, but remember that it can only last for 30 breaths.” Luo Ting He warned.
Although the butterfly felt light, Yang Kai’s heart was heavy. He estimated that to create this Secret Technique butterfly, Luo Ting He had sacrificed at least 500 years of hard cultivation. In other words, several centuries of effort had been used up to create this butterfly, which only lasted 30 breaths of time.
In some sense, while such a Secret Technique was extremely damaging to Luo Ting He, it was a potentially life-saving treasure to Yang Kai.
Yang Kai put the Secret Technique butterfly away, bowed, and solemnly said, “Many thanks for Old Ancestor’s generosity!”
Luo Ting He smiled lightly and said, “You are now a pillar of the Human Race. We cannot afford any mistakes with your life.” After a pause, she continued, “You have been out and about a lot, and understand far more than others about the situation between the two Races today. Tell me, if the two sides were to go to war today, what are the chances of the Human Race winning?”
Yang Kai pondered for a moment and said, “The odds of our victory are actually quite high, but we cannot just focus on the immediate crisis…”
It was not that the Human Race did not dare to fight back against Black Ink Clan in an all-out war today, but rather that they needed to not be short-sighted.
Yang Kai gave up an absolute advantage in Profound Nether Territory and made peace with the Black Ink Clan to create a relatively safe environment for the next generation to grow up in. He did this because he realized that this was not a war that one person alone could control, and that the Human Race needed more Masters if it truly wanted to win in the end.
Later on, the scope of the peace talks extended to more Great Territory Battlefield, and now that some 2,000 years had passed, the Human Race truly had nurtured many rising stars into powerful Masters. The Star Boundary, the Myriad Monsters World, and even his Small Universe continued to witness the birth of such talents.
Now, the Human Race had one more Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, so it could be said that their situation was much better than 3,000 years ago.
If a full-blown war started today, the Human Race would likely win. Yang Kai alone would have a huge impact as he would be unshackled, able to slaughter Acquired and Innate Territory Lords freely.
Although the Black Ink Clan could create Pseudo-Royal Lords, they would have to sacrifice a lot of Territory Lords to do so, which would not be worth it as a dozen Territory Lords were actually more useful than one Pseudo-Royal Lord.
So, if a full-scale war broke out, the Human Race’s chances of winning were more than 70%, though they would have to pay a terrible price to achieve victory. Such a war would likely result in 50% losses on the Human side.
The problem was what came after. The root cause of the Black Ink Clan was slumbering inside the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction. Even if the Black Ink Clan that invaded the 3,000 Worlds was ruthlessly wiped out tomorrow, the problem would not be resolved until Mo was completely eliminated.
The Human Race needed to be much stronger to deal with what was to come.
The Suppressing Black Ink Fortress was one such preparation for that future.
For the time being, delaying was the Human Race’s best option. The longer they could delay, the greater their advantage would become. However, there was a limit to this. If Mo’s true body completely awakened, the Human Race would have to deal with it, regardless of whether they were prepared or not.
Thus, Yang Kai was willing to accept 1,200 Black Ink Disciples and a multitude of resources to resolve his confrontation with the Black Ink Clan at the No-Return Pass. It was not because he turned soft to them, but that now was not the time to confront the enemy directly.
Speaking of the 1,200 Black Ink Disciples, Yang Kai suddenly remembered that they were still suppressed in his Small Universe. He had forgotten to release them back at Supreme Headquarters when he was there.
There was no hurry though. Furthermore, they posed no danger as they remained in his Small Universe for the moment.
Yang Kai had a long chat with Luo Ting He, describing the situation of the two Races while she listened intently.
Although she was a Ninth-Order Master, after leaving Azure Sun Territory some 1,000 years ago, she had been stationed here the whole time. Thus, she really did not know much about the situation in the outside world.
Yang Kai only knew so much because he was able to move around freely while the others could not.
“I understand now,” Luo Ting He nodded lightly, then smiled and said, “You are so certain of victory? Have you found a way to deal with that Black Ink Giant Spirit God?”
If the two sides were go to war, the Black Ink Clan’s biggest advantage was not the huge number of troops they had, or that the number of Territory Lords exceeded the numbers of Eighth-Order Masters, it was the Black Ink Giant Spirit God who was pinned down by the two veteran Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in the Barren Territory!
That was the true existence that could single-handedly tip the balance of power between the two sides.
The Black Ink Clan now had two Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods. One was held in check by Ah Er, so they did not need to worry too much about it. Those two had been fighting each other for several thousands of years and neither side had gained any kind of advantage. It was the Black Ink Giant Spirit God that had once been subdued by the Divine Spirits in the Ancestral Land that they had to worry about. Once it freed itself from the Old Ancestor’s restraint, it would be an absolute disaster for the Human Race.
Before, while it was seriously injured, it was locked in place by the two Ninth-Order Masters using their Secret Techniques; however, after so many years had passed, most of its injuries should have been healed by now. Nevertheless, that alone would not be enough of a reason for Yang Kai to personally go to the Barren Territory to torment it.
If the Black Ink Clan was in a life-or-death struggle, the Black Ink Giant Spirit God would not stand idly by. In that situation, it would likely sacrifice its arm to fight back.
If it broke free, then it would be difficult for the Human Race to counter it.
However, from what Luo Ting He had heard so far, Yang Kai did not seem concerned about it, so he obviously had a way to deal with it.
Yang Kai failed to stifle his laughter and said, “Old Ancestor is truly sharp!”
While Luo Ting He mentioned this, she did not ask any more questions about it.
Yang Kai left after some more small talk, and Luo Ting He continued to meditate to make up for the heritage that she had just used up.
Instead of returning to the Suppressing Black Ink Fortress, Yang Kai flew directly up into the void, where he opened up his Small Universe and released the 1,200 Black Ink Disciples he had received from the No-Return Pass.
The Black Ink Strength in their bodies had already been purged by Purifying Light and they were now ashamed to face Yang Kai.
If Yang Kai had not got them back from the Black Ink Clan, they would still be working for the enemy.
Yang Kai was not surprised by this and did not say much to them. He only gave them instructions and then provided them in the direction of the Supreme Headquarters.
The 1,200 saluted in unison, turned into a stream of light, and disappeared.
…
The Supreme Headquarters spent months mobilizing the necessary troops. It was not an easy task to gather so many Open Heaven Realm Masters. They could not draw too many from any single battlefield; otherwise, it may affect the situation on the front lines.
They also needed to balance the personnel appropriately, which was no easy task.
Before the arrival of the soldiers, a group of Divine Spirits came to Yang Kai to report.
They were the Divine Spirits that he brought out from the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary.
Since Yang Kai killed Tao Wu in Profound Nether Territory, these Divine Spirits had been performing much better on the battlefield because they were afraid of Yang Kai’s ferocious methods.
Tao Wu, who was comparable to an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master at the time, was beheaded by Yang Kai without being able to resist. None of the Divine Spirits wanted to be the next Tao Wu, so over the years, whatever the Humans requested, they would do their best to complete.
The Divine Spirits all stood in a field near to the Suppressing Black Ink Fortress, but when Yang Kai looked out at them, he suddenly felt rather saddened.
Yang Kai brought just over 100 Divine Spirits from the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary; however, there were only about 60 of them standing in front of him today.
A 40% casualty rate over 3,000 years of fierce battles was by no means small. Each of the Divine Spirits was more powerful than the average Human Race Master in the same equivalent Order, so one could imagine how perilous the war had been.
Although there were not many of them, these Divine Spirits had already constituted an extremely powerful force as many were comparable to an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.
Their Ancestors were imprisoned for various reasons in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary by the Old Tree. In the special environment of the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, it was difficult for their Bloodline to grow as powerful as it could be, even if their bloodline was pure.
For example, Zhu Jiu Yin, who Yang Kai brought out of the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary all those years ago, was as strong, if not stronger, than any Eighth-Order Human Master, but due to the suppression in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, she had only been able to exert the strength of a Low-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master while trapped there. It was not until she left the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary that she began to restore her true strength in the Void Land.
These dozens of Divine Spirits had left the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary for almost 3,000 years and had already adapted naturally to the World Principles of the outside world.
Almost 80% of them were Eighth-Order, while the remaining 20% were Seventh-Order. Among the Eighth-Order Divine Spirits, there were several whose aura was particularly strong, indicating that if there was enough opportunity for them, they could reach the Ninth-Order in the future, which was the peak of the Universe.
After so many years of constant battling, these Divine Spirits were very intimidating, with their cold murderous intent lingering about their bodies, mixed with the innate might of Divine Spirits.
As they stood here, the Artifact Refiners and Array Masters who were busy working on the Suppressing Black Ink Fortress tried their best to keep their distances.
Unfortunately for these Divine Spirits, the refinement of their Bloodline became increasingly difficult the higher they climbed. It was no longer like during the Primordial Era when the Heavenly Way favoured the Divine Spirits, resulting in fewer of them being able to ever advance to the Ninth Order.
Dragon Clan’s Fu Guang had been cultivating in the Dragon Pool for so many years, but in the end, it was only with Yang Kai’s help that he could become a Divine Dragon.
As for the Phoenix Clan, none of them had risen to the Divine Rank since the fall of the previous Phoenix Clan Leader during the Barren Territory War. The refinement of one’s Bloodline was not just a matter of dedication and effort, but also highly dependent on personal inheritance. No matter how long one lived, if their inheritance was insufficient, it would be useless.
Yang Kai glanced at all the Divine Spirits and suddenly cupped his fist and bowed appreciatively, “Many thanks for all your hard work and sacrifice.”
The solemn atmosphere suddenly eased, and a Divine Spirit smiled and said, “This is our duty, Sir.”
Yang Kai glanced at the Divine Spirit who spoke, nodded lightly, and said with a smile, “When I brought you all out of the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, I made a Bloodline Oath with you for 3,000 years, and now that time has basically passed…”
Upon saying so, Yang Kai reached up his fingers and began to count.
A voice from below softly said, “There are 79 years to go before the full 3,000 is up.”
A chorus of voices said, “Yes, yes, yes!”
Yang Kai looked up and chuckled, “All of you remember so clearly.”
The Divine Spirits smiled. How could they not remember this as it was related to their freedom.
Yang Kai put his hands behind his back and said, “When I asked you to make that Great Oath, I said that I would set you free after the expiration of the agreement 3,000 years later. I have no intention of breaking my word; however, all of you must know the situation that we are in, so I would like to ask all of you now. After the expiration of the 3,000-year Great Oath, where do you intend to go?
The Divine Spirits exchanged looks with each other and every one of them could see the indecision in each other’s eyes.
When they came out of the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, they did not know the situation in the outside world was like this, but they were no longer ignorant like back then.
Now, when the 3,000-year agreement was ending, where could they go even when they were free?
A Divine Spirit with an Ox head said, “Sir, now that all life is under threat by the Black Ink Clan, we have nowhere else to go. I’m afraid we can only fight alongside the Human Race to drive out the enemy.”
Yang Kai looked at the Divine Spirit and was surprised that it was Zhu Jian. He thought that these Divine Spirits could not wait to get far away from the battlefields after they regained their freedom. He did not expect them to be so righteous.
He was relieved and asked, “Do all of you feel the same way?”
A Divine Spirit yelled, “We’re already riding this pirate ship, how can we get off now?”
This caused many Divine Spirits to roar in laughter.
Yang Kai nodded and said, “It is a blessing for my people, and all people, that you think this way. I, Yang Kai, hereby swear by my Source and Bloodline that in my lifetime, I will ruthlessly kill the Black Ink Clan and eliminate them from this Universe. When peace is finally restored, I will drink and celebrate with all of you. When that happens, you will be favoured by the Heavens, and perhaps restore the glory of your Ancestors!”
At the end of his sentence, a golden illusory phantom flickered behind Yang Kai, which was a manifestation of his Source Great Oath.
All the Divine Spirits were moved. Zhu Jian immediately cupped his fist and said, “We are willing to serve, Sir!”
The Divine Spirit also shouted in unison, “We are willing to serve!”
“Excellent!” Yang Kai nodded with satisfaction, “I have asked all of you to come here because I have a task for you. This matter is of utmost importance and victory or defeat in this war will depend on it, so you must think carefully before accepting it.”
Zhu Jian immediately asked curiously, “Sir, what task is it?”
Yang Kai smiled profoundly and said, “There is no hurry. We still have to wait for the Human side to finish its arrangements. When the time comes, I will send you to a place. I will explain in detail when the Humans are ready.”
The Divine Spirits did not ask any more questions and Yang Kai allowed them to disperse and find a place to rest, away from the still-busy Artifact Refiners and Array Masters.
The Divine Spirits did not respect ordinary Humans as they were more intimidating and powerful; however, Yang Kai was no ordinary Human. Technically speaking, he was now a powerful Ancient Dragon, who was just one step away from becoming a Divine Dragon.
Days later, 6,000 soldiers finally arrived at the Suppressing Black Ink Fortress. These 6,000 soldiers included all sorts of talents and were enough to operate the Suppressing Black Ink Fortress like a real Great Pass.
Mi Jing Lun personally drafted these soldiers from across all the various battlefields. The 6,000 battle-harden veterans gathered in a large courtyard and their combined aura was truly awe-inspiring.
The cultivation of each of these soldiers was no less than the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm, with many Seventh and Eighth-Order Masters among them. Each one of them was battle-tested and had killed many Black Ink Clansmen on the battlefield.
They suddenly received the transfer order from the Supreme Headquarters and were brought here, so none of them knew what was happening and did not know what they should do.
At the very least, they could see the enormous Suppressing Black Ink Fortress; thus, it was clear that something big was going to happen and all of them looked forward to it.
Yang Kai stood in front of the 6,000 men and women and began to look at them in detail, soon noticing many familiar faces in the crowd.
Yu Ru Meng, Su Yan, Shan Qing Luo, Xue Yue, Ji Yao… His Wives were all here except for Xia Ning Chang who had been stationed at the rear because of her mastery over the Dao of Alchemy.
Yang Xiao Yang Xue, Zhao Ye Bai, Zhao Ya, Xu Yi… all of whom were close to him, were also there.
Yang Kai even saw Gu Pan, whom he had not seen for many years, and Zhang Ruo Xi beside her, staring back at him with glittering eyes.
The moment he saw Zhang Ruo Xi, Yang Kai’s heart suddenly began to race. He felt a strange impulse but was not sure what it was about.
Yang Kai did not think much about it though and just quietly said to Mi Jing Lun, “Many thanks, Senior Brother Mi.”
It was obviously Mi Jing Lun’s idea to transfer his Wives, Yang Xiao and his Sister here. It was not so much as to take care of the people close to Yang Kai, but rather because the Black Ink Clan was now targeting them. Once they appeared on the battlefield, they were always swarmed by the Black Ink Clan. If it was not for the fact that some of them were proficient in the Dao of Space, they would have been in deep trouble.
“There is no need to thank me,” Mi Jing Lun, whose insight was exceptionally keen, knew what Yang Kai meant, “They are all heroes and this is the right time for them to contribute. Besides, the situation there might be even more dangerous than on the battlefield here.”
While the two of them were talking, somewhere below within the crowd, Yang Xiao said to Yang Xue, “Little Aunt, what’s wrong with that Big Head Mi? Our whole Squad has been transferred over, so why did he leave Old Fang out? Although Old Fang is a bit laidback, he is very powerful. Hey, why don’t you ask Adoptive Father to transfer Old Fang over?”
Over the years, Yang Xiao and the others had made a big name for themselves. Since the Black Ink Clan knew about his relationship with Yang Xue and Yang Kai, they had targeted them repeatedly. It was Fang Tian Ci who used his mastery over the Dao of Space to lead them out of danger many times.
The years of working together resulted in them bonding strongly with each other. Yang Xiao had high regards for Fang Tian Ci, but unfortunately, for reasons unknown, Mi Jing Lun had transferred all of them here except for Fang Tian Ci!
They did not know why Big Head Mi had seemingly singled out Old Fang, but Yang Xiao was not happy about it. Now, he was encouraging Yang Xue to go to Yang Kai to file an official complaint.
Yang Xue would naturally not want Fang Tian Ci to be excluded as he had helped them a lot of times before. This time, there was no telling what kind of missions they were being sent on, but from the lineup gathered here and the massive fortress in front of them, it was obviously going to be a task fraught with dangers. They would also be much safer with Fang Tian Ci by their side.
Yang Xue faintly nodded and replied, “En, I’ll talk to Big Brother when I find a chance.”
In front of the square, Mi Jing Lun said “Junior Brother Yang, I found an interesting person when I was making the transfers. This person was originally in the same Squad as Yang Xiao and Yang Xue. He is also an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master with great strength and is also highly proficient in the Dao of Space. Apparently, he came from your Small Universe, but he came to me and said that he could not accept this transfer. I asked him for the reason, but he was unable to explain clearly. He only told me to come and tell you about this.”
Yang Kai seemed to know what happened and asked, “Was his name Fang Tian Ci?”
Mi Jing Lun nodded and replied, “That’s him.”
Yang Kai said, “I have a critical task for him, so I can’t afford to send him to that place.”
Mi Jing Lun was relieved and said, “Since it’s Junior Brother’s arrangement, then I see no problems with it.”
Fang Tian Ci had worked together with Yang Xiao and Yang Xue all these years. He was proficient in the Dao of Space and originated from Yang Kai’s Small Universe, which was why the Supreme Headquarters paid attention to him.
Mi Jing Lun had also heard of this person. When Yang Xiao’s Squad was sent to the Suppressing Black Ink Fortress, he did not expect Fang Tian Ci to take the initiative to ask him to send a message to Yang Kai.
With Yang Kai’s confirmation, he was relieved that Fang Tian Ci’s deployment was something arranged by Yang Kai himself. Mi Jing Lun secretly sighed as he looked at the 6,000 soldiers and 60 or so Divine Spirits below. There were great uncertainties ahead. It was fine if everything went well but if the situation went south, then there was no telling how many of them would survive.
Yang Kai was also deep in thought.
[Fang Tian Ci took the initiative to speak to Mi Jing Lun about not being able to be transferred. Was this the result of my memories sealed in his body slowly awakening? Or was it just an instinctive feeling that he could not leave the 3,000 Worlds?]
In the future, Yang Kai would have to perform the Three Selves Source Reconstitution Art to try to advance to the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm. If Fang Tian Ci was to be appointed there, he would be unable to perform the Three Selves Source Reconstitution Art. Thus, both Fang Tian Ci and Thunder Shadow Great Emperor would have to stay in the 3,000 Worlds in case of an emergency.
When Yang Kai looked up, he was glad to see that Thunder Shadow had not been transferred over.
Gathering all eyes on himself, Yang Kai began to speak, “Thousands of years ago, the Great Passes joined forces on a crusade to the depths of the Black Ink Battlefield. 3 million troops rallied under the banner of over 100 Ninth-Order Old Ancestors. They marched towards the Black Ink Clan’s Mother Nest to eliminate the evil we now know as Mo. It was an ambitious and gallant effort by a mighty army with the finest of arms.”
“However, in the war outside the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, the Black Ink Giant Spirit God launched a surprise attack from our Human Army’s rear, causing the collapse of our forces and resulting in heavy losses. The Army was defeated and forced to flee from the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction. Great Passes were destroyed and Ninth-Order Old Ancestors died in that battle, with we Humans suffering massive casualties along the way.”
“The remnants retreated to the No-Return Pass to establish a new defensive position with the assistance of the Divine Spirits; however, the sheer disparity in strength allowed the Black Ink Clan to drive straight in and capture the No-Return Pass. The reconstituted forces were hit hard again with the No-Return Pass being abandoned and many Divine Spirits being killed or injured.”
“Fortunately, with the help of the Giant Spirit God, Ah Er, the Human Race finally managed to stabilize its position in the Barren Territory. However, Mo’s desire to wipe out our kind never waned. After much scheming and plotting, the Black Ink Clan finally opened a passageway from the Barren Territory to Wind Mist Territory. That day, the Human Race lost many powerful elites. All but two of the surviving Ninth-Order Old Ancestors, and both the Dragon and Phoenix Clan Leaders sacrificed themselves in the final moments of that battle, taking with them all but one Royal Lord and severely injuring the Black Ink Giant Spirit God. Their sacrifice allowed the rest of the Army to retreat to safety.”
“Afterwards, the Black Ink Clan invaded our 3,000 Worlds and the Human Race retreated to the current Great Territory Battlefields. So far, we have been guarding High Heaven Territory as the last pure land for more than 3,000 years. Since the Late Ancient Era, our people have always been the Heavenly Way’s favoured, but now, we have been forced by Black Ink Clan into such a desperate state. We have failed to live up to the favour shown us by the Heavenly Way!”
Most of the 6,000 soldiers present had never experienced these great battles, but as they listened to Yang Kai’s words, the tragic scenes from the past seemed to flash in their minds, and their hearts swelled with rage.
“It is undeniable that the Black Ink Clan is strong and our Human Race is weak. In those battles, the Black Ink Clan managed to break our hands and feet, but they could not break our backbone! The Human Race will never compromise with the Black Ink Clan and will never surrender!”
Yang Xiao fumed as his Dragon Blood boiled. He could not help but yell with a high-pitched Dragon Roar, “THE HUMAN RACE WILL NEVER SURRENDER!”
Several dozen Divine Spirits who stood beside him looked at him strangely. They all felt a bit strange that a pure-blood Dragon Clansman would shout such words…
Although they were willing to fight alongside the Human Race to drive away the Black Ink Clan, so that they could find a place to live in the future, they never shouted such words as it was inconsistent with their identity.
However, the eager fighting spirit of the 6,000 soldiers was completely ignited by Yang Xiao’s roar. A loud thunderous roar shook the entire world.
“THE HUMAN RACE WILL NEVER SURRENDER!”
The battle spirit was raging and every soldier thirsted for revenge. Their ferocious auras shot to the sky and seemed to penetrate the Heavens, shaking the world itself.
Thousands of years ago, when the Old Ancestors died in the last battle on the Barren Territory, the same earth-shattering cries could be heard.
Yang Kai nodded lightly, waited for the chants to die down before continuing, “All of you must be curious why you were transferred here. You are all heroes with great merits who have killed countless enemies in the past. All of you can be regarded as the elites of the Army. Since you are all elites though, the duties entrusted to you will also be beyond normal.”
“What you are standing on is the Suppressing Black Ink Fortress, which is an artifact that has taken 1,000 years and countless resources to construct. It is designed specifically to defend against the Black Ink Clan, and you have all been transferred here to operate it and resist the coming crisis.”
“Thousands of years ago, the Human Race Army was defeated outside the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction. The true body of Mo fell into a deep sleep and there is no telling when it will awaken. Although some arrangements have already been prepared and are in place, nothing is certain. We need you all to head to the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction to guard the place!”
The Humans roared while even the Divine Spirits were moved.
Although they all knew that Yang Kai might want them to do something big, they never expected that the reason why they were deployed to the Suppressing Black Ink Fortress was for them to guard the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction!
That was where the Mother Nest was located. In other words, that was where the true body of Mo was. It was the source of all the current chaos. Those survivors of the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction War looked grave as they could not help but recall the tragedy that occurred there.
It could be said that the battlefield over there marked the first defeat of the Human Race which precipitated all the tragedies that followed. It was a traumatic experience for all those who lived through it.
Thousands of years ago, they carried this great humiliation when they escaped from the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction. Now, after thousands of years, they finally got a chance to go back and seek revenge! The fighting spirits in their hearts had never been higher!
They would never retreat again!
Yang Kai continued, “That place is cut off from the world, so you will not be able to receive any assistance from this side. You can only rely on yourselves and the compatriots standing beside you. You may encounter far more dangers than anywhere else in the Great Territories. This mission may very well be your last, so if any here are unwilling to go, leave now and no one will blame you!”
Yang Kai raised his eyes and glanced around, but no one moved. After waiting for more than 10 breaths, all 6,000 soldiers still stood straight, none of them wavering in the slightest.
Yang Kai was greatly relieved and nodded, “Good! With such determination, there is no longer any need to worry about Mo! Today, I, Yang Kai and Mi Jing Lun are here to form the Suppressing Black Ink Army on behalf of the Supreme Headquarters of the Human Race. I wish you all a speedy and triumphant return!”
When the Great Evolution Army was first established, Yang Kai was just a Seventh-Order Squad Leader, like these 6,000 soldiers in front of him. Now, he stood there looking at them with the majesty of an Eighth-Order Army Commander. He could not help but feel proud. Now, times had changed, and the younger generation had also begun to carry the banner of the Human Race, shouldering their share of responsibilities.
Mi Jing Lun stepped forward, took out a jade book, and shouted, “Where is Su Yan?”
In the crowd, Su Yan, who looked solemn and graceful, cupped her fist and shouted, “Su Yan, reporting for orders!”
Mi Jing Lun looked at her and punched out the jade book, “Today you are appointed as the Division Commander of Suppressing Black Ink Army’s First Division. You will be the Commander of 600 soldiers! In this jade book, you will find the names of the soldiers appointed as your subordinates. As for the Squads and their Squad Leaders, you will be the one who decides later!”
Su Yan was immediately baffled. Although she had killed many enemies on various battlefields over the years, and her merits were numerous, she had not done much to be deserving of becoming a Commander.
When their group of women gathered together, it was always Yu Ru Meng who led them. It was not that Yu Ru Meng was stronger than her; in fact, the strongest of all Yang Kai’s Wives was currently Su Yan; after all, she possessed a Phoenix Clan Bloodline and was now in the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm. She was naturally more powerful than the average Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.
However, Yu Ru Meng was a former Demon Saint from the Demon Realm, a leader of billions who held a high status and loft position for 10,000 years. In short, she was used to ordering people around and was naturally better at it. So, Su Yan and the others became accustomed to following her directions.
Su Yan was at a loss when she was suddenly given the heavy responsibility of having 600 soldiers under her.
She glanced towards Yang Kai and saw him looking back at her with confidence. Steeling herself, she nodded lightly and firmly declared, “Su Yan has received the order!”
After receiving the jade book, she used her Divine Sense and was relieved to find out that her personnel included Yu Ru Meng. Mi Jing Lun also knew about the inner workings of their group and had naturally made some arrangements. With Yu Ru Meng with her, she would not have any problems being a Division Commander.
Mi Jing Lun shouted again, “Where is Yang Xiao?”
Yang Xiao instantly shouted with great vigor, cupped his fist with enthusiasm, and shouted, “Yang Xiao, reporting for orders!”
With what just happened to Su Yan, he naturally expected that he was going to be named a Division Commander. He was so happy that he smiled from ear to ear, even winking at Yang Kai, as if to say that he had not disgraced him.
Of course, Yang Kai knew what he was thinking and couldn’t help rolling his eyes to himself, [This Brat, he still hasn’t grown up after all these years.]
Yang Kai did not expect that Mi Jing Lun would appoint Su Yan and Yang Xiao to be Division Commanders. The appointment of a Division Commander of the Suppressing Black Ink Army was a decision made by the Supreme Headquarters itself, so Yang Kai was not involved in the slightest.
However, it wasn’t a big deal. Both Su Yan and Yang Xiao were qualified to be Division Commanders by virtue of having Dragon and Phoenix backgrounds and strengths. No one would accuse Yang Kai of nepotism because of this.
Besides, it was not easy to be a Division Commander. Things were so unpredictable and dangerous at the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction that perhaps the Division Commanders would become the first to lead soldiers into battle, meaning they had to shoulder the greatest amount of risk.
Since 600 men formed one Division, 6,000 soldiers would have to be divided into 10 Divisions. Mi Jing Lun quickly called out the names of the 10 and each of them received their orders!
Among these 10 Divisions, only 5,000 were combatants with the remaining 1,000 taking care of logistics such as maintaining the Suppressing Black Ink Army’s Spirit Arrays, artifacts, and even medical treatment.
These soldiers were no less important and those who fought on the frontlines, but were also at least in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm. Even though these support personnel were not good at fighting, in a critical moment, they were also able to contribute to the battle. It was just that they were less powerful than those who spent their time on the battlefield.
After appointing the 10 Division Commanders, Mi Jing Lun took a step backwards, turned to Yang Kai, and left the rest to him.
Yang Kai nodded, looked down, and asked, “Does anyone have any questions? If not, we will proceed.”
Everyone fell silent, except Yang Xiao, who raised his hand high.
“Go ahead!” Yang Kai glanced at this brat.
Yang Xiao cupped his fist and asked, “Sir, may I ask which Senior is the Army Commander of the Suppressing Black Ink Army? Surely there would be an Army Commander, right?”
His question immediately piqued everyone’s curiosity. They were equally curious as commanding such a big and powerful Army was a heavy responsibility; however, Mi Jing Lun only appointed 10 Division Commanders, but did not even mention anything about an Army Commander.
The Suppressing Black Ink Army must also have an Army Commander who was very strong and highly respected, otherwise the soldiers would not be able to fight effectively in the coming brutal war.
The makeup of the Suppressing Black Ink Army was exceptionally strong, with many Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, not to mention the dozens of Divine Spirits who appeared like they were going along with the Army. Thus, the Army Commander could not be a regular person.
Among the current Humans, there were only two or three people who were qualified to serve as the Army Commander of the Suppressing Black Ink Army. Xiang Shan was one, Yang Kai was the other… while other Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were nowhere near their capabilities.
Yang Kai grinned and said to the curious soldiers, “There is naturally an Army Commander, but that Senior is already standing by at the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction. Be patient, you will soon know who he is.”
His reply immediately sparked speculations. With Yang Kai’s status, there were very few who deserved to be addressed as ‘Senior’ by him. Thus, although it was just a simple reply, many quickly guessed the identity of the Army Commander of the Suppressing Black Ink Army.
If it was who they thought it was… his suitability was truly indisputable.
“Any more questions?” Yang Kai asked one more time.
No one asked.
Yang Kai nodded his head and ordered, “Division Commanders, perform roll-call and then assemble your Squads. You have one stick of incense to deal with this!”
“Yes, Sir!” The 10 Division Commanders shouted in unison.
Soon, the area became rowdy and chaotic as Commanders called out to their troops and organized them into Squads. Everyone knew what was happening and started to move to their respective Divisions as their names were called.
Moments later, the 6,000 soldiers were orderly divided into 10 Divisions. Each Division Commander started to assign members to Squads according to the information provided to them in their jade books.
The Suppressing Black Ink Army did not have Battalions, instead choosing to form the Division of Squads from the start. Each Division had 600 troops, and each Squad had a standard 15 members, that meant that there were 40 squads in each Division. The Squad Leaders were all Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters.
In other words, although the Suppressing Black Ink Army only had 6,000 men, there were 400 Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters among them!
When the Great Evolution Army was formed, it had a grand total of 120 Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters; however, how many ordinary soldiers did the Great Evolution Army have back then? A full 60,000, 10 times more than the Suppressing Black Ink Army!”
Although the Human Race was now facing an existential crisis, its heritage was actually several times stronger than back then, especially in terms of the number of Mid and High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters.
All this was naturally due to the Star Boundary, the Myriad Monsters World, and Yang Kai Small Universe. Setting the Star Boundary and the Myriad Monsters World aside, just Yang Kai’s Small Universe alone had brought out almost 10,000 people over the years, all of them directly advanced to the Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Orders.
And this was with Yang Kai being extremely selective of who was brought out of his Small Universe. The situation was entirely different for the Star Boundary and the Myriad Monsters World which had population bases hundreds of times larger. Together with the influence of the World Tree Clones which could nurture one’s talent and guide them in the Martial Dao, as long as one wasn’t completely hopeless in cultivation, anyone from the Star Boundary could break through to the Fourth Order. There was now no one who directly advanced to the Third Order at all.
Anyone who directly advanced to the Fourth Order had a chance to reach the Sixth Order in the future as long as they had sufficient resources. It could be said that, in time, there would no longer be any Low-Rank Open Heaven Masters in the 3,000 Worlds.
The Suppressing Black Ink Army was the elite of the elites, brought together from every battlefield by the Supreme Headquarters with great care and effort.
The Suppressing Black Ink Fortress, manned by the Suppressing Black Ink Army of 6,000, was much more powerful than the original Great Evolution Army from back then.
Under Su Yan’s command, Yu Ru Meng and the others were assigned as Squad Leaders, while Yang Xiao assigned Zhao Ye Bai and the others as Squad Leaders.
While the Suppressing Black Ink Army was organizing itself, Yang Kai had already connected with the World Tree and communicated with it.
He planned to use the power of the World Tree to travel through the Void and directly reach the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, which would not only be incredibly convenient but also save a massive amount of time.
3,000 years ago, when he sent Wu Kuang to the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, Yang Kai deliberately left a sealed Universe World nearby so that he could go to the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction at any time and from anywhere.
However, after communicating with the Old Tree, Yang Kai realized that its current state was not optimistic…
The World Tree was greatly affected by the destruction of the Universe Worlds of the 3,000 Worlds, so the vast majority of its World Fruits had withered and fallen, making the entire tree look old and sickly.
To move outsiders from the 3,000 Worlds to the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary required the Old Tree to expend its energy. It was not a big problem for just Yang Kai and maybe one or two others to do this as the expenditure was minor; however, trying to move 400 Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters was simply not feasible for the current World Tree and would quite likely be harmful.
Upon realizing this, Yang Kai felt disappointed with himself for not thinking about this before.
The Old Tree had once helped Yang Kai move 10,000 refugees from Acacia Territory and in the process suffered some damage. It was only now that Yang Kai recalled that event and realized how naïve he had just been.
There was no way for Yang Kai to borrow the Old Tree’s strength for this endeavour, so Yang Kai could only adjust his plan. It was a good thing that there were other means of getting to the Black Ink Battlefield.
There were two other ways to get to the Black Ink Battlefield.
First, head to the Shattered Heaven, enter the Barren Territory, and then step into the Black Ink Battlefield.
This path unfortunately led to needing to pass through the No-Return Pass, which would attract retaliation from the Royal Lord.
If they did not go via this main route, then they would have to take the secret passageway in Black Territory.
However, there were also problems with this second plan as the secret passage was a highly dangerous Void Corridor. It was harmless for Yang Kai to go through this Void Corridor alone, and even taking several people with him should be alright; however, 400 Eighth-Order Masters all at once…
Yang Kai would have to monitor and control all 400 at once; after all, in order for him to avoid the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters getting lost in the Void, he would also need to use Space Principles to keep them together. Even for Zhao Ye Bai and the others who practised the Dao of Space, their safety was not guaranteed.
Thinking it over, it seemed they could only travel via the No-Return Pass…
The Black Ink Clan at the No-Return Pass had just suffered quite a big loss at Yang Kai’s hands recently and would not dare to make things difficult for him again; furthermore, they were just passing through.
Yang Kai thus made up his mind.
The Suppressing Black Ink Army had already finished their organization and had lined up quietly to await his next orders.
Yang Kai scanned the troops and was satisfied. They were worthy of being the elites drawn from the major battlefields.
He then shouted, “All Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, open your Small Universes and take in the soldiers of your respective Squads.”
All the Eighth Orders received the order, and the aura of World Force instantly surged as portals to their Small Universes were opened. Those in the Seventh Order and below soon poured inside.
An Eighth-Order Master’s Small Universe was large enough to accommodate a Squad of 15 people; however, it would undoubtedly affect the utilization of their strength.
In an instant, there were only around 400 Eighth-Order Masters left out of the original 6,000 soldiers.
If possible, Yang Kai would rather take these Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters into his Small Universe; however, he was only an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, and although his Small Universe was different from normal, it was difficult to break the shackles and take in other Eighth-Order Masters.
Regardless, he needed to reach the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm as soon as possible; otherwise, travelling around would be extremely troublesome.
He could ask Luo Ting He, who was not too far away, for help. However, she had just reached the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm and could not accommodate so many Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. Furthermore, she was one of the hidden trump cards of the Human Race and it was not the time to reveal her existence.
Next, Mi Jing Lun presided over the dispersion of the unrelated people. There were a number of those who were involved in building the Suppressing Black Ink Fortress. The Artifact Refiners and Array Masters numbered quite a lot. Only a small number of them went with the Army while the rest returned to the major Armies on the various battlefields.
After they left, the 400 Eighth-Orders, as well as the various Divine Spirits, all rose into the air, and Yang Kai was the only one left on the Suppressing Black Ink Fortress.
Even Mi Jing Lun was nervous as numerous pairs of eyes watched curiously.
The Suppressing Black Ink Army was a mighty army with the finest of arms and a lot of elite soldiers, so naturally the Suppressing Black Ink Fortress, which took 1,000 years and countless materials to build, must also be taken with them. This was the foundation of the Suppressing Black Ink Army, and the weapon they would rely on to fight the Black Ink Clan.
Without the Suppressing Black Ink Fortress, these 6,000 soldiers alone would not be able to do much at the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction.
However, the Suppressing Black Ink Fortress was not that easy to take away. To take it away, it had to be put into someone’s Small Universe.
Normally, an Open Heaven Realm Master could open up their Small Universe to accommodate many things. This was not a big deal, as long as the portal opened was not too big.
However, if the portal opened was too large, their heritage could easily leak out from the portal, or worse, crack under the strain, which would result in a disaster.
Mi Jing Lun knew his own limits. With his abilities, there was no way he could open such a large portal and take the Suppressing Black Ink Fortress into his Small Universe.
The reason why the Ninth-Order Old Ancestors gave up on those Great Passes outside of the No-Return Pass was not because their Small Universes couldn’t bear the volume of a Great Pass; rather, they could not open a large enough and stable enough portal to receive something so massive. Trying to force such a heavy object into their Small Universe would be very damaging even to an Old Ancestor. At that time, the Human Race was in a critical situation, and every bit of an Old Ancestor’s strength was precious; thus, although the Great Passes were precious, they had to abandon them at the No-Return Pass, benefiting the Black Ink Clan.
Although the Great Passes were abandoned, each of their Cores was removed. The Core used to build the Suppressing Black Ink Fortress was one of the Cores brought back from the No-Return Pass.
Mi Jing Lun was now curious as to what Yang Kai would do to bring the Suppressing Black Ink Fortress away.
Not only was he curious, but all the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters of the Suppressing Black Ink Army were exchanging puzzled looks. They knew that Yang Kai was powerful and the heritage of his Small Universe was much deeper than the average Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master; however, no one knew how much more powerful he was exactly. This time may be an opportunity for them to gain some new insight.
Of course, Yang Kai had no intention of opening his Small Universe portal as he had other ideas about how to bring the Suppressing Black Ink Fortress away, rather than shoving it into his Small Universe.
Even for Yang Kai, there would be great risk trying to force such a heavy object into his Small Universe. Even if he could open a portal big enough to fit the Suppressing Black Ink Fortress through, the strain produced when actually trying to do so might crack his Small Universe, significantly damaging his heritage.
As such, the next moment, Yang Kai surged his Space Principles. The world thrummed as space rippled.
The Suppressing Black Ink Fortress was at the centre of these ripples and soon began to blur and distort, like a disturbed reflection in the surface of the water.
It became increasingly blurred with time until even the Eighth-Order Masters could not make out the original appearance of the Suppressing Black Ink Fortress. It felt as though the layers of the Void were warping around it, obscuring their vision.
Among those present, cultivators such as Zhao Ye Bai, who also cultivated the Dao of Space, showed looks of both surprise and admiration. It was obvious that they could tell what was happening.
This was clearly a clever method of using Space Principles. It was difficult for those who had not cultivated the Dao of Space to clearly tell what was happening.
“Rise!” Yang Kai suddenly shouted and pointed his hand at the Suppressing Black Ink Fortress.
In an instant, the Void where the Suppressing Black Ink Fortress was located, including the land, floated up, as if there was a giant, invisible spade that had dug it out.
Mi Jing Lun was dumbfounded and could not believe his eyes.
Only cultivators who had cultivated the Dao of Space could do this and it was difficult for anyone else to emulate it.
It seemed Yang Kai had no intention to put the Suppressing Black Ink Fortress into his Small Universe; instead, he planned on cutting this whole space away and…
By now, Mi Jing Lun had an idea of what Yang Kai was going to do.
As expected, Space Principles continued to undulate. The large piece of Space that had been cut away continued to tremble, and with each tremor, the Space seemed to shrink down.
After a full hour of constantly trembling and shrinking, the entire isolated space was now about the size of a table. It looked like a pure and flawless glass sphere which had the Suppressing Black Ink Fortress sitting inside of it.
Such a glass could be called a Universe Fragment, but it was not formed naturally. It was refined by Yang Kai directly.
Yang Kai had successfully refined entire Universe Worlds into World Beads, so cutting off a piece of Space and refining it into such an orb was not a big deal to him.
If he continued, he could shrink it even further, but this was enough for now.
The round table-sized glass was casually thrown into his Small Universe; thereafter, he took out a Purifying Black Ink Battleship, and shouted, “Board!”
Everyone embarked on the Purifying Black Ink Battleship and went about operating it without Yang Kai having to give any instructions.
Yang Kai stood on the deck, cupped his fist to Mi Jing Lun, and called out, “Senior Brother Mi, I’ll give them a ride. I’ll trouble Senior Brothers to handle the rest over here.”
Mi Jing Lun returned the salute and said, “May you all have a safe journey ahead and a swift return!”
“Let’s go!” Yang Kai waved forward and the Purifying Black Ink Battleship buzzed and immediately turned into a stream of light, heading straight for the Territory Gate.
Mi Jing Lun stared in the direction of the Purifying Black Ink Battleship’s departure until the huge Warship disappeared from view, a certain sense of solemnity covering his face.
There was no telling how many, if any of these 6,000 soldiers could come back alive.
Turning back, the space that had been cut was filled with Void Turbulence and would likely take many years to fully heal itself.
Mi Jing Lun again turned his head to look in a certain direction, bowed and saluted respectfully as he said, “It’s done. While there is no need to remain here, the time is still not ripe yet. Old Ancestor, please continue to wait.”
“Sure!” A response sounded in his ear, though he could not tell how the Old Ancestor did this.
Nonetheless, Mi Jing Lun did not stay long and soon departed. For the first time in 1,000 years, this whole place fell silent.
After passing through the Territory Gate, the Purifying Black Ink Battleship crossed the battlefield and attracted the attention of the Black Ink Clan Armies, all of them wondering what the Humans were up to with this single Warship sailing forward.
Naturally, Black Ink Clansmen were shocked when they took a look inside the ship.
There were hundreds of Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters gathered openly on this ship…
Even in the current situation, hundreds of Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters gathered in one place was enough to cause a lot of damage to the Black Ink Clan. Soon, news of this discovery would be transmitted in all directions via the Black Ink Nests and the constant fighting on the original battlefield calmed down for a while.
Naturally, the Black Ink Clansmen quickly went into hiding until the Purifying Black Ink Battleship left the current Great Territory Battlefield.
Yang Kai had already informed everyone of the goal of their trip; thus, the Eighth-Order Masters were excited that they would be crossing the No-Return Pass this time.
Among the 400 Eighth-Order Masters, only a few had seen the majesty of the No-Return Pass, while rising stars like Su Yan and Yang Xiao had never been to the No-Return Pass, let alone the Black Ink Battlefield.
They had long heard about the final line of defence of the Human Race, the Black Ink Battlefield, and how the Grand Army was defeated there.
Yang Xiao, who was eager for a fight, was thinking about whether the Black Ink Clan would try to stop them at the No-Return Pass. If they did, the 400 Eighth-Order Masters and his Adoptive Father could defeat them and retake the Great Pass from the Black Ink Clan, which would be a great achievement!
It was a pity that Old Fang was not with them; otherwise, he could experience the excitement of this journey!
The Purifying Black Ink Battleship crossed one Great Territory after another, with the Black Ink Clan keeping a watchful eye on it from afar as Yang Kai and the others could not hide their movements from the Black Ink Clan.
Meanwhile, the No-Return Pass went on high alert, because the route of this Purifying Black Ink Battleship seemed to be heading straight for them.
It was not the hundreds of Eighth-Order Masters who they were worried about though. They were most concerned with the presence of the killing star on the Purifying Black Ink Battleship, Yang Kai. Both the Royal Lord and Mo Na Ye were particularly concerned by his presence.
The Royal Lord was still fuming about what happened when Yang Kai was here previously. Although the loss of a large amount of supplies and 1,200 Black Ink Disciples were nothing to the Black Ink Clan, the loss of face was difficult for him to stomach.
Now, Yang Kai was leading so many Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in the direction of the No-Return Pass. [Does that bastard have no regard for me at all!?]
In the Main Conference Hall, Mo Na Ye remained silent as he listened to the Royal Lord’s rantings.
After finally calming down a bit, the Royal Lord asked, “Mo Na Ye, what do you think Yang Kai is up to?”
Mo Na Ye deliberated for a moment before saying, “Judging from the route of that Purifying Black Ink Battleship, it is indeed heading towards the No-Return Pass. From the reports of our scouts, they have already reached the Shattered Heaven and will soon enter the Barren Territory.”
The Royal Lord snarled furiously, “Yang Kai is really asking for it now! If he dares to come, he will not leave this place alive!”
Previously, the Royal Lord ordered his men to set up the Heaven Sealing Earth Locking Array at the Territory Gate. However, Yang Kai did not come through the Territory Gate and instead showed up from the depths of the Black Ink Battlefield. Hence, the arrangements proved useless.
Now, since Yang Kai was coming through the Territory Gate, the previous setup would work!
Mo Na Ye quickly said, “Sir, please calm your anger. Although Yang Kai is despicable, we just settled the incident of the Ancestral Land. We should not provoke him and give him an excuse to act out against us. If he was alone, there might be a chance to trap him in the Grand Array at the No-Return Pass; however, with hundreds of Eighth-Order Masters accompanying him. Even if we can trap him with the Grand Arrays, he would immediately be able to break out with so many strong helpers.”
The Royal Lord was filled with anger, but he had to admit that Mo Na Ye had a point. Even he could not take lightly the presence of hundreds of Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, and there was certainly no way the Grand Array could not trap so many powerhouses.
“Then, what should we do?” The Royal Lord asked.
Mo Na Ye asked, “Sir, do you think that Yang Kai is trying to renege on our deal after extracting so much compensation from us? Do you believe he is coming to go on another rampage at the No-Return Pass?”
“Isn’t he?”
“I can’t deny such a possibility, but I believe that Yang Kai’s objective is not the No-Return Pass this time.”
“Why do you think so?”
Mo Na Ye said, “From what I know about him, although he puts on the face of a reckless madman, he is an extremely cautious person. He is a master of the Dao of Space and can come and go as he pleases, so bringing so many Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters with him is more a burden than a benefit.”
The Royal Lord pondered about the previous times Yang Kai came to the No-Return Pass, and just as Mo Na Ye said, Yang Kai always came alone whenever possible and never acted in conjunction with anyone.
Thus, it seemed that he might not be coming to the No-Return Pass to cause trouble this time.
“Then, where is he heading?” The Royal Lord frowned.
“Sir, do you remember the White Divine Dragon from 1,000 years ago?” Mo Na Ye mentioned.
The Royal Lord pondered for a while and then it suddenly dawned on him, “You mean…”
Mo Na Ye said, “If I’m not mistaken, their destination should be the Source Domain!”
“How dare he!” The Royal Lord was furious and slapped the armrest of the bone throne, his Black Ink Strength radiating through the hall like a tsunami.
1,000 years ago, a White Divine Dragon passed through the Territory Gate, through the No-Return Pass, then flew into the Black Ink Battlefield, and had not been heard from since. At that time, the Royal Lord felt the intense Dragon Pressure and was reluctant to start any conflict with the Divine Dragon; thus, he helplessly watched as it soared through the No-Return Pass and strutted away.
It was a good thing that the Divine Dragon was not interested in the Black Ink Clan and was just passing by.
At that time, he didn’t know what the White Divine Dragon was going to do, but later, he realized that the only thing in Black Ink Battlefield that a Divine Dragon would care about was the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction.
The Divine Dragon was probably rushing to the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction to monitor the situation there.
In this regard, the Black Ink Clan could not do anything.
Now, after more than 1,000 years, Yang Kai led hundreds of Eighth-Order Masters aboard a Purifying Black Ink Battleship towards the No-Return Pass. The Royal Lord thought that Yang Kai was going to create trouble at the No-Return Pass, but Mo Na Ye saw his real objective with a glance.
Thus Human force was most likely heading to the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction.
The Mother Nest was the root of the Black Ink Clan, and it was also the place that the Human Race feared the most. How could they not pay more attention to it?
If a Divine Dragon wanted to go to the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, no one in the current Black Ink Clan could stop it, but if Yang Kai and these Eighth-Order Masters wanted to follow, how could the Royal Lord allow them to do so? If they had any ill intentions towards the Mother Nest, it would have a great impact on the entire Black Ink Clan.
Thinking this, he shouted immediately, “Mo Na Ye, quickly recall the Territory Lords who can fight! Those Humans must not leave here alive!”
Mo Na Ye, however, shook his head, “Sir, it’s too late to recall the Territory Lords.”
The Purifying Black Ink Battleship should have reached the Barren Territory by now, and would soon arrive at the No-Return Pass. There was no time to recall the other Territory Lords.
The Royal Lord got up and paced back and forth several steps, before declaring with determination, “If that’s the case, then let’s gather all our strength and fight.”
Mo Na Ye exclaimed, “No!”
The Royal Lord turned and glared at Mo Na Ye angrily, as he was displeased that he had opposed his order. He suppressed Mo Na Ye so forcefully with his pressure that the latter quickly bowed and explained, “Sir, if a war breaks out at the No-Return Pass, countless Black Ink Nests will be destroyed regardless of who wins.”
There were hundreds of Territory Lords stationed here, many of them healing in the Black Ink Nests at the No-Return Pass. Together with a true Royal Lord, a Pseudo-Royal Lord, advantageous terrain, and a huge Black Ink Clan Army, they could certainly put up a good fight with the incoming Humans; however, as Mo Na Ye said, once the fighting started, the Black Ink Clan would incur enormous losses. Furthermore, many Black Ink Nests would be lost.
The Black Ink Nests were critical to the Black Ink Clan as without them, they could sustain themselves.
What Mo Na Ye said immediately dampened the Royal Lord’s anger. He took a deep breath, sighed and frowned for several moments, before sitting back down on the bone throne. He then said with some resignation, “Yes, there is a need to guard the Black Ink Nests. Mo Na Ye, you are right!
Mo Na Ye understood the Royal Lord’s near depression well. In some sense, it was torture for a powerful being like the Royal Lord to be sitting here at the No-Return Pass for thousands of years, unable to do anything.
The Black Ink Nests were the foundation of the Black Ink Clan, but they were also an invisible shackle that bound the only Royal Lord here.
In the battle at the Barren Territory, almost all of the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were killed, including the Dragon and Phoenix Clan Leaders. That final battle was a huge victory for the Humans as they killed almost all the Royal Lords and even managed to seriously hurt the Black Ink Giant Spirit God…
The battle that took place over 3,000 years ago and had a profound impact on both sides to this day. In fact, the impact of that battle would continue on for many years into the future.
Perhaps only when the number of Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters and Royal Lords recovered would a new era begin.
After a moment of deliberation, Mo Na Ye asked, “Sir, is there any news from the Mother Nest?”
The Royal Lord slowly shook his head and replied, “There has been no news since the Supreme One fell into deep sleep. Obviously, it is not time for the Supreme One to awaken.”
Mo Na Ye nodded and said, “Sir, there is no need to worry too much about the Mother Nest and the Supreme One’s situation. Since it has been the same for so many years, obviously there would be no changes in the short term regardless of what the Humans attempt. What can a mere Divine Dragon do to the Supreme One other than monitor it?”
The Royal Lord suddenly snorted coldly, “A lone Divine Dragon? If it dares to penetrate the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, then I have to thank it for contributing to the war effort!”
Though they could not do anything to a Divine Dragon, the Supreme One was different. If the Supreme One was awakened, even a Divine Dragon could be corrupted by Black Ink Strength. If that Dragon dared to go deeper into the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, he would definitely make a fool of himself.
“That’s right!” Mo Na Ye agreed, “If that is the case for the Divine Dragon, then it would be the same for Yang Kai and the others!”
The Royal Lord suddenly understood what Mo Na Ye meant, looked at him, and asked, “You suggest we just let them go?”
Mo Na Ye calmed down and was secretly relieved that the Royal Lord was convinced by him. At least his efforts were not in vain. As such, he nodded and said, “If they are just passing through the No-Return Pass, then we should let them go. This can also take some pressure off the battlefield.”
The intel mentioned that the number of Eighth-Order Masters with Yang Kai numbered in the hundreds. If so many Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters went to the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, that would mean that the Great Territory Battlefields would have less of them and the pressure on the Black Ink Clan would be reduced significantly.
“But we can’t let our guard down!” Mo Na Ye added, “We should still make some preparations in case Yang Kai decides to attack the No-Return Pass. If that happens, we will need Sir to deal with him personally!”
The Royal Lord nodded and said, “If that is the case, he will not be spared.”
“Sir is the only Royal Lord left and represents the face of the Black Ink Clan…”
Before Mo Na Ye could finish his sentence, the Royal Lord responded, “I know, I will enter a Black Ink Nest later to heal my old wounds.”
Mo Na Ye shouted, “Sir is wise!”
…..
The Purifying Black Ink Battleship swiftly flew across the Barren Territory. Powerful Divine Senses spread out from inside the ship. They could see two Giant Spirit Gods from afar, continuing their 3,000-year-long battle. In another direction of the void, another Black Ink Giant Spirit God was sitting cross-legged with one of his arms stuck through the boundary wall…
The rising stars who saw the Giant Spirit Gods for the first time were awed by their sheer size.
Even those who had encountered the Giant Spirit Gods before were just as unsettled as when they first saw them.
No one could help but wonder how there could be such huge beings in this Universe. If such a huge being was to sneeze in their direction, the ship full of Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters would be smashed and many would undoubtedly die.
Their forefathers and the Ninth-Order Old Ancestors who died in the Barren Territory thousands of years ago had faced such frightening figures. To think that they had launched such a brave attack on such a powerful foe and managed to seriously wound it!
If the Black Ink Giant Spirit God was so powerful, then what about Mo, the being who created them? Was this an enemy that could be defeated?
There was an ominous feeling all around. Yang Kai remained silent and had no intention of encouraging the ship full of Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. After so many years of cultivating, if they gave up their will to fight just after a glance at the enemy, then the Human Race was doomed no matter what he said.
Naturally, those who had reached the Eighth Order had strong wills.
In fact, if Yang Kai wanted to, he could have activated the Purifying Black Ink Battleship’s Defensive Arrays to prevent them from looking outside so that they would not be intimidated by the Black Ink Giant Spirit God; however, he did not do so.
He wanted them to realize how powerful the enemy really was and to let them know that the road ahead was long and arduous! Their Eighth-Order cultivation was far from enough. If the Human Race wanted to defeat the Black Ink Clan and eliminate Mo, the only way was to get stronger! Much, much stronger!
They silently travelled through the vast Barren Territory, and soon arrived at the Territory Gate.
Yang Kai had planned to go to the No-Return Pass first to check if the Black Ink Clan had set up an ambush on the other side. He thought that if the Black Ink Clan had any intelligence, they would not do something so stupid; after all, it would not do the Black Ink Clan any good to fight at the No-Return Pass. However, he had to take some precautions.
Before the Purifying Black Ink Battleship could reach the Territory Gate though, a voice shouted from afar, “Is that Sir Yang Kai?”
Yang Kai looked up and saw a sturdy figure waiting in the distance and felt the aura of an Innate Territory Lord…
[Interesting, did the Black Ink Clan arrange for someone to welcome us?]
Aboard the Warship, the group of Eighth-Order Master had a change in expression. Most of them had already fought against Territory Lords on the battlefields, but they hardly spoke with one another and instead just fought to the death.
It was also the first time they heard a Human addressed as ‘Sir’ by a Territory Lord.
Yang Xiao whispered to Yang Xue, “Little Aunt, Adoptive Father is so powerful! Even before we arrived, a Territory Lord came from afar to welcome him. His fame from all his killing rampages must be truly remarkable!”
Yang Xue lightly pursed her lips and smiled, “There is no need to envy him. The Dragon Clan is not bad, either.”
Yang Xiao sighed and said, “It’s not the same. I’m afraid I can only look up to my Adoptive Father in my entire life. However, Old Fang… still has some hope.”
Old Fang had also made a name for himself amongst the Black Ink Clan over the years and was widely known as Little Yang Kai. Not only was he proficient in the Dao of Space, but he was also extremely powerful and had a deep heritage. He was much stronger than average Eighth-Order Masters, but although that was the case, he remained calm and honest.
Yang Xiao felt sorry for Old Fang as he knew that the latter had always regarded his Adoptive Father as his role model. If Old Fang was here and saw this scene, he would surely have been proud of Yang Kai.
He had complained about Mi Jing Lun’s decision that the entire Squad was transferred to the Suppressing Black Ink Army, but Old Fang was left behind.
While Yang Xiao was sulking, Yang Kai shouted a response from the front of the deck, “It is this Yang!”
In fact, there was no need to respond. The Territory Lord had already seen his figure from afar. To all the Black Ink Clansmen, they need not remember any Human except for Yang Kai. His image and features had been sent across the entire Black Ink Clan, for all of them to study him closely.
Everyone in the Black Ink Clan was very familiar with this face…
The Purifying Black Ink Battleship stopped not far from the front of the Territory Gate. The Territory Lord who shouted the greeting was clearly tense, his Black Ink Strength involuntarily undulating. He never expected to be placed in such a position before, staring down a Warship with Yang Kai at the front. He suddenly felt that the world was dark and there was no hope or future for him…
This Territory Lord could barely resist the anxiety in his heart, which compelled him to charge towards Yang Kai in a desperate bid to attack!
However, he managed to calm down, because he knew that if he tried to strike Yang Kai, he would die! Yang Kai had already proven his ability and skill with countless of his dead comrades.
He cursed Mo Na Ye in his heart. Just because he had some verbal disputes with Mo Na Ye when they were both Innate Territory Lords, he was sent here by the latter in a kind of personal vendetta. If he was killed by Yang Kai, Mo Na Ye would not be bothered by it. There need not be any mention of avenging his death or even a report to the Royal Lord.
With fear and trepidation, the Territory Lord mustered a smile on his face and cupped his fist towards the Human and said, “By order of Sir Mo Na Ye, I am here to receive Sir Yang. Sir Mo Na Ye has instructed me to ask Your Excellency one question. What is the purpose of Sir Yang Kai’s visit today?”
Although he was smiling, he seemed to be whimpering as his voice trembled.
Aboard the Warship, the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters watched on coldly while they marvelled at how much guts it took for this lone Territory Lord to face Yang Kai and hundreds of Eighth-Order Masters.
This ship did not just contain ordinary Eighth-Order Masters, but the elite amongst the elite of the Human Race. Of course, the Black Ink Clan only feared and respected Yang Kai while they scorned the rest and did not even bother to remember their names.
“Mo Na Ye…” Yang Kai murmured. [This guy is as perceptive as ever. Though I did not hide our movements, stationing a Territory Lord here means that he must have figured out what we are up to.]
“What if I say that I’m just passing through?” Yang Kai responded indifferently.
The Territory Lord’s tense heart immediately relaxed and his smile became much more sincere as he side-stepped and made a welcoming gesture, “Sir Mo Na Ye said that if the Humans are only passing through, then go ahead. Please! “
[Interesting…] Yang Kai grinned and did not want to waste any time on this Territory Lord, so he ordered, “Defensive positions!”
Although Yang Kai believed the Black Ink Clan would not risk starting a fight here, they still had to be on guard. Once he gave the order, the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters immediately took up a defensive stance.
Yang Kai waved his hand forward and the Purifying Black Ink Battleship sailed into the Territory Gate and disappeared.
After the Purifying Black Ink Battleship entered the Territory Gate, the Territory Lord heaved a long sigh of relief, feeling as if he had returned from the gates of death.
At the No-Return Pass, the Purifying Black Ink Battleship emerged from the Territory Gate. Yang Kai stood alone at the front of the deck, straight as a post, and saw a gathering of powerful foes ahead.
Territory Lords gathered in large numbers, led by Mo Na Ye.
Fortunately, all the Territory Lords had revealed their whereabouts and there was no sign of any Grand Array being activated; otherwise, Yang Kai would have suspected that the Black Ink Clan were here to ambush them.
On the Warship, the Eighth-Order Masters surged their World Force as they met the Territory Lords in front of them with a tinge of anxiety. Both sides exchanged solemn looks as the atmosphere grew extremely tense.
The two Races had long fought ruthlessly for innumerable years, and a vicious blood feud now existed between the two sides. Peace was impossible between them.
The only reason why they did not fight immediately was because they had other priorities right now.
Just after the Purifying Black Ink Battleship crossed the Territory Gate, Mo Na Ye cupped his fist and said with a smile, “Sir Yang, we meet again!
Though he was outwardly smiling, he was actually cursing Yang Kai in his heart. It had only been a year or two since Yang Kai’s last rampage at the No-Return Pass…
“Sir Mo Na Ye!” Yang Kai also returned the salute with a smile, “Sorry to impose on you again!”
Many of the Eighth-Order Masters looked dumbfounded. If for a moment they pretended that there was not a blood feud between the two Races, just seeing how Yang Kai and Mo Na Ye greeted one another, they would think that it was a reunion of old friends.
However, this seemingly warm reunion was accompanied by many secret Divine Sense probes between the two sides, which would be extremely strange.
“No worries, you’re always welcome!” Mo Na Ye smiled eagerly and continued, “This was once a place for the Humans, there’s no imposition at all.”
Yang Kai’s eyes slightly narrowed as he heard the double speak in his words… But Yang Kai was no pushover and simply laughed as he said, “Indeed, one day, we will have to play hosts to you here.”
Mo Na Ye smiled and replied, “I hope that I’ll be around to see that day.”
Yang Kai nodded and said firmly, “You will be!”
Mo Na Ye’s smile froze as he was slightly off-put by this subtle threat; still, he quickly composed himself and asked, “Sir Yang Kai’s purpose for coming here is…”
“Rest assured, I’m not here to stir up trouble with the Black Ink Clan. I just want to take a trip to the depths of the Black Ink Battlefield.”
“So that’s how it is!” Mo Na Ye appeared as if his suppositions were correct, “The two sides seemed to be constantly fighting recently. Since Sir Yang Kai is leading so many Human Masters, obviously it must be something important. In that case, I won’t delay you any longer!”
Extending his hand, he gestured, “Please!”
“Many thanks!” Yang Kai replied courteously and took a step out of the Purifying Black Ink Battleship. The next moment, Mo Na Ye realized that Yang Kai was standing side by side with him.
Mo Na Ye was surprised by this move, and could not resist as he turned to look at Yang Kai for a moment.
He would not have thought of anything if Yang Kai had stayed aboard the Purifying Black Ink Battleship, but now that he suddenly came so close to him, things were different. Was Yang Kai not afraid of being attacked?
With his strength as a Pseudo-Royal Lord, if Mo Na Ye struck, Yang Kai might not be able to retreat even with his Space Secret Techniques. If the Royal Lord came out from the Black Ink Nests, they might very well have the chance to trap Yang Kai!
[No, it is impossible for him to be that foolish. If he was, then he would have died many times over. But what does he want to do? What the hell is he up to?] Mo Na Ye nervously thought.
Yang Kai grinned at him and casually asked, “Where is Sir Royal Lord? Why haven’t I seen him?”
If it was before, he really would have kept his distance from Mo Na Ye. A Pseudo-Royal Lord was also a Royal Lord and not someone he should take lightly, but now that he had a life-saving trump card, he was not afraid of Mo Na Ye.
Acting in a way that seemingly disadvantaged oneself was a good way to confuse one’s opponents. When dealing with a smart guy like Mo Na Ye, Yang Kai could not just force his way through things. He should act with a certain degree of eccentricity to keep the other side off-balance.
The fact that Yang Kai asked him about the Royal Lord made Mo Na Ye even more wary. It was one thing standing so close to him, but Yang Kai was now even casually inquiring about the Royal Lord…
[What the Hell is this bastard up to?]
Many thoughts flashed through Mo Na Ye’s mind, before in the end he still casually answered, “Sir Royal Lord has minor injuries to deal with and is now resting in the Black Ink Nest.”
“Sir Royal Lord’s injuries… were caused by me years ago, weren’t they?”
Mo Na Ye was dumbfounded by this question.
A rather odd scene was now playing out at the No-Return Pass. Yang Kai and Mo Na Ye were chatting casually as they walked side by side, the Purifying Black Ink Battleship following closely behind, and a mass of Territory Lords lining up on either side. The atmosphere was tense but peaceful.
The two sides continued to walk further and further away.
Only after sending them a million kilometres away from the No-Return Pass, did Mo Na Ye stop and say, “I believe this is far enough, Sir Yang!”
Yang Kai said with a smile, “Good, I will return to the No-Return Pass to enjoy a drink with you soon, when I have time. The fine wine of the Human Race cannot be missed.”
Mo Na Ye immediately declared, “I never drink wine!”
“All the more reason to try it!” Yang Kai laughed and said, “It has been decided.”
After saying that, he did not care how Mo Na Ye reacted and just dashed back to the Purifying Black Ink Battleship before giving the order. The Purifying Black Ink Battleship immediately turned into a stream of light and shot off into the Black Ink Battlefield.
Looking at the direction where the light disappeared, Mo Na Ye felt a headache setting in…
Yang Kai was leading so many Eighth-Order Masters to the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction and certainly would not be back soon; nonetheless, he would soon return to the frontlines of the battlefield. As for how long ‘soon’ was, that could not be determined.
In other words, Yang Kai had hit the final nail with that one statement. The No-Return Pass currently had Mo Na Ye and the Royal Lord jointly stationed here so that they could keep the Black Ink Nests safe. If Mo Na Ye left and the Royal Lord was alone, he might not be able to stop Yang Kai from causing trouble. While Mo Na Ye could freely roam the battlefields, Yang Kai could then freely destroy the Black Ink Nests at the No-Return Pass.
[He sure is a tough nut to crack!]
After leading the Territory Lords back to the No-Return Pass, Mo Na Ye thought about it, but eventually decided not to leave unless another Pseudo-Royal Lord was created by the Black Ink Clan.
Unfortunately, the cost of creating a Pseudo-Royal Lord was immense and the Black Ink Clan could not afford it.
Aboard the Purifying Black Ink Battleship, the group of Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters fell silent. It was not because they had transited the No-Return Pass peacefully, but rather because they felt a strong sense of shame.
This could not be helped. When passing through the No-Return Pass, they saw the Great Passes that had been abandoned by the Human Race. Within the Great Passes, were a large number of Black Ink Nests which were buzzing with activity.
Those were the Human Race’s greatest weapons of war against the Black Ink Clan on the Black Ink Battlefield, inherited from their Ancestors dating back to the Late Ancient Era. Countless soldiers had shed blood to defend those Great Passes, and recorded on the Monument of Heroes within each one were the names of all those heroes who sacrificed their lives to defend the 3,000 Worlds.
But now, they had become trophies of the Black Ink Clan!
After leaving the No-Return Pass, a tense silence fell on everyone on the Warship. Even Yang Xiao, who was normally the most boisterous, had become solemn and filled with trepidation.
However, there seemed to be a fire burning in the eyes of every Eighth-Order Master, the flame of hatred and humiliation. One day, this fire would burn so intensely that it would sweep across the Universe and burn away all their enemies.
It was not until several days later that the oppressive atmosphere gradually dissipated.
Aboard the Warship, the Eighth-Order Masters were chatting among themselves in various groups.
Among the 400 Eighth-Order Masters, most of them were rising stars like Yang Xiao, but some veterans of the Human Race Army had successfully retreated from the Black Ink Battlefield.
These veterans had spent a lot of time on the Black Ink Battlefield, with many of them having made the breakthrough to the Eighth Order in the various Great Passes. Unfortunately, the Human Race Crusade was defeated, lost the Black Ink Battlefield, and had to retreat with its remnants to the 3,000 Worlds.
After thousands of years, they finally returned to this place.
Those rising stars who had never set foot onto the Black Ink Battlefield were naturally eager to ask these veterans for some advice about this place. All of them wanted to hear stories about the Human Race Army of the past and the majestic Great Passes.
The Great Passes were all either broken or abandoned now. Many were around the No-Return Pass while the rest were scattered about. It was hard to imagine what it was like in the past.
Yang Kai was standing at the front of the deck, keeping watch, and at the same time guiding the Purifying Black Ink Battleship forward. The journey to the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction would take at least 10 years at the Warship’s cruising speed, so if there was even a slight deviation from the proper course, they would be thrown off by millions of kilometres and delayed for a significant amount of time. Yang Kai did not dare to be careless.
Zhu Jian, encouraged by a group of Divine Spirits, came to Yang Kai at one point and said with a smile, “Sir.”
Yang Kai asked, “What is it?”
On the Warship, the Divine Spirits and the Eighth-Order Masters rarely interacted. It was not that the Eighth-Order Masters did not want to socialize with them, but rather that these Divine Spirits from the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary still held onto their aloof arrogance that made it hard to interact with them. If not for their abrasive personalities, Yang Kai would not have thought of bringing them to the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction.
These Divine Spirits could only be subdued by two people, so until Yang Kai could pass that responsibility onto the other individual, keeping an eye on them personally was really the only choice he had.
Zhu Jian scratched his head and said, “Sir, that chap, Fei Yi, asked me to ask you about the situation in the Ancestral Land.”
On hearing this, Fei Yi could not help but roll his eyes and cursed this bastard for tossing the responsibility onto his head.
The Divine Spirits were naturally concerned about the Ancestral Land, which was their birthplace. When a Divine Spirit reached adulthood, they would feel a Bloodline Calling and be able to sense the existence of the Ancestral Land.
They also knew that living in the Ancestral Land would be extremely beneficial to their cultivation. Nowadays, most of these Divine Spirits had reached the equivalent of the Eighth Order. If they wanted to improve and refine their Bloodline further, the Ancestral Land was their only hope.
It was a pity that although they came out from the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary 3,000 years ago, they had not been to the Ancestral Land as they had been busy fighting this whole time.
The Black Ink Clan had spread everywhere, and the Ancestral Land had been abandoned by the Divine Spirits who originally lived there, so no one knew how things were over there now.
Perhaps only Yang Kai knew! He was the only one who had been running around over these years, so he had the most comprehensive understanding of the outside world.
On hearing Zhu Jian’s question, Yang Kai more or less knew what was on their minds. He knew that he had to assure them if he wanted their continued support for this venture, so he casually explained, “Don’t worry, the Ancestral Land is fine. I just returned from there a year ago; however, I’m afraid it will take some time for it to restore its Ancestral Strength.”
Zhu Jian ignored the second half of the sentence and said excitedly, “Just as I thought! The Ancestral Land is a Holy Land. How could it possibly suffer anything untoward? That fool Fei Yi even said that the Black Ink Clan had irreparably ravaged the Ancestral Land.”
Yang Kai chuckled and said, “Rest assured that the Ancestral Land is very special. Even if the whole Universe falls apart and crumbles, the Ancestral Land will not be broken!”
Yang Kai witnessed the birth of the Ancestral Land when he watched its history in reverse; thus, he was more qualified than anyone else to come to this conclusion. The battle between him and Di Wu in the Ancestral Land was fierce enough to destroy countless Universe Worlds, but the Ancestral Land remained unscathed.
A long time ago, the battle between the Dragon Emperor, Phoenix Empress, and the Black Ink Giant Spirit God raged across the entire Ancestral Land, but even that was not enough to break it…
The Ancestral Land would have been destroyed long ago if it had been as fragile as an ordinary Universe World.
“If the Black Ink Clan problem is eliminated, you and the others can return to Ancestral Land to cultivate,” Yang Kai said, reassuring them.
Zhu Jian’s eyes lit up and nodded firmly, “I’m certain that day will come.”
In the past, these Divine Spirits who came out of the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary were bound by their Bloodline Oath and participated in the war between the Human Race and the Black Ink Clan. Now, the time of the Great Oath was coming to an end, so it was important to provide them with some hope so that they would still give their best efforts.
The Ancestral Land was where their hope lay.
Yang Kai asked them about the Divine Spirit’s dealings with other Divine Spirits.
The Divine Spirits who were on the side of the Human Race were not only the ones who came out of the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary. There were three groups of Divine Spirits in fact.
One of the other groups was the Dragon and Phoenix Clans, originally from the No-Return Pass, while the other was from the Ancestral Land.
These two groups of Divine Spirits were fundamentally from the same source and got along fairly well.
However, they did not like Zhu Jian and the others.
This could not be helped as the Divine Spirits from the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary were all basically imprisoned there for their Ancestors’ crimes. Their initial performance on the battlefield was unreliable as well; thus, the different groups of Divine Spirits did not interact much with each other.
Zhu Jian was also rather helpless when it came to this matter.
If he ever returned to the Ancestral Land in the future, he would have some problems trying to get along with those Divine Spirits.
At that moment, another person walked over, drawing Yang Kai’s attention, “Junior Sister Gu!”
“Senior Brother Yang,” Gu Pan replied with a smile. She was a Core Disciple of Lang Ya Paradise from Yang Kai’s generation that he had met in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary. After thousands of years of cultivation, she had also reached the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm and became one of the pillars of the Human Race.
Zhu Jian also knew Gu Pan and nodded to her.
It was not surprising that they knew each other, as Gu Pan was chosen as a Bearer by Kui Niu in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary and had gained some benefits from the latter. Gu Pan had naturally met Zhu Jian back then.
Seeing how his business was finished, Zhu Jian said, “Sir, please excuse me, I’ll take my leave now.”
On saying so, he turned around and left.
When he passed by Gu Pan, she opened the portal of her Small Universe and a figure came out.
Zhu Jian instantly froze as he seemed to sense something. He turned his head and looked towards the figure that had just appeared. Before him was a Human woman whose cultivation was only at the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm.
This made him frown slightly. After a brief look at her, he did not notice anything worthy of his attention, so he just shook his head and left.
When he returned to the Divine Spirits, they saw his serious expression and a Divine Spirit asked, “What happened?”
Zhu Jian scratched his head, looked back, and said, “Nothing, perhaps I was mistaken.”
The moment he brushed past that female Seventh-Order Human who appeared from Gu Pan’s Small Universe, he suddenly had an ominous feeling, as if he had met some kind of nemesis…
He would naturally not mention this to Fei Yi and the rest, lest they laugh at his cowardice; however, that feeling did not seem to be an illusion…
Something was odd about that Seventh-Order woman.
The woman who appeared from Gu Pan’s Small Universe was none other than Zhang Ruo Xi. Over these years, she and Gu Pan were essentially inseparable. With a Core Disciple like Gu Pan and Yang Kai having close relationships with her, Zhang Ruo Xi’s life in the Lang Ya Paradise was quite comfortable.
It was a pity that she only advanced directly to the Fifth-Order; otherwise, she would have been more valued by Lang Ya Paradise.
Earlier, Yang Kai asked the Eighth-Order Masters to take in the other Suppressing Black Ink Army Soldiers; thus, Zhang Ruo Xi was taken into Gu Pan’s Small Universe.
“Sir!” Zhang Ruo Xi bowed elegantly.
Yang Kai reached out and helped her up, smiling happily as he said, “Ruo Xi is now in the Seventh Order too!”
Back at the Star Boundary, many Great Emperors joined hands to fight Great Demon God Mo Sheng. He and Zhang Ruo Xi also participated in that great battle, after which they left the Star Boundary together. Unfortunately, halfway through their trip, they were separated. Yang Kai was stranded in the Seven Wonders Land while Zhang Ruo Xi went through some difficulties, but eventually managed to reach Lang Ya Paradise. She then became a disciple of Lang Ya Paradise through the relationship it shared with her Ancestor.
Over the years, although they had met each other, their interactions had been quite limited.
The last time Yang Kai saw her, Ruo Xi had just broken through to the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm, yet now, she was already in the Seventh-Order.
There was nothing better in life than to see a familiar face in the crowd after thousands of years of war.
Lang Ya Paradise had also contributed some manpower to the Suppressing Black Ink Army, among which, Gu Pan, a rising star, was their leader. Since Gu Pan came, Zhang Ruo Xi naturally came along with her.
Thinking of Zhu Jian’s look of uncertainty, Yang Kai laughed again and said, “It looks like your Bloodline has also become much purer.”
Zhang Ruo Xi possessed the Heaven’s Order Bloodline. Yang Kai did not know what exactly was the name of this Bloodline, he only knew that in the Star Boundary, Heavens Order was the nemesis of all Divine Spirits.
There was a place in the Star Boundary known as the Ancient Wild Lands, which was a paradise for the Monster Race. Over there stood the Blood Gate, behind which were many Divine Spirit Sources. If a Monster Beast could obtain the appropriate Source, they would have a chance to inherit the power of a Divine Spirit.
The Blood Gate was created by Zhang Ruo Xi’s Ancestor, the original owner of the Heavens Order Bloodline. Legend has it that when the Star Boundary was overrun by Divine Spirits, Heaven’s Order took pity on the World and killed many Divine Spirits who were causing trouble, extracting their Sources and sealing them behind the Blood Gate as punishment!
The Blood Gate was forged by Heaven’s Order with her Blood Essence. It was the Restricted Area of the Ancient Wild Lands that even the most powerful of Monster Race dared not approach carelessly.
Only the successor of the Heavens Order Bloodline was qualified to open the Blood Gate!
Unfortunately, after the death of Heaven’s Order, her Bloodline fell into obscurity. Her descendants were unable to revive their ancestral glory and gradually fell into decline and risked disappearing entirely.
Later, Zhang Ruo Xi’s Bloodline was awakened and she entered the Blood Gate, taking Xiao Xiao with her. Xiao Xiao’s current strength was inherited from the Source of the Divine Spirit, Tai Yue.
Many Monster Race Masters from the Star Boundary had benefited from the Divine Spirit Sources inheritance from the Blood Gate, and some were still active in the Great Territory Battlefields today. This included Luan Feng and Fan Wu. While they only had a trace of Divine Spirit Bloodline in them originally, which was far from pure, when they obtained the appropriate Source, they could be called true Divine Spirits. Afterwards, many of them even journeyed to the Divine Spirit Ancestral Land to cultivate, further purifying their Bloodlines.
Yang Kai suddenly looked a bit confused when he thought about this.
If the Divine Spirits had their Bloodline, then what was the Heaven’s Order Bloodline Zhang Ruo Xi had? This kind of Bloodline had a natural restraint on all Divine Spirits, which could be seen only from Zhu Jian’s reaction just now.
Just by walking by each other, a Master on Zhu Jian’s level felt uneasy around Zhang Ruo Xi, a mere Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.
In fact, when Zhang Ruo Xi stood in front of Yang Kai, even he could not help but feel an innate sense of unease coming from his Dragon Vein!
However, due to their familiarity with each other, and knowing that Zhang Ruo Xi couldn’t harm him, this uneasiness was easily ignored.
If it had been someone else, that feeling would be enough to trigger Yang Kai to be more cautious.
Oddly, he had never felt this way in the past. Either Zhang Ruo Xi’s Heavens Order Bloodline had grown tremendously, or Yang Kai’s Dragon Vein had grown so pure that it was now able to sense Ruo Xi’s Bloodline more strongly.
“Sir, you are very knowledgeable, so Ruo Xi has a question for you.” Zhang Ruo Xi spoke softly.
Gu Pan had already waved her hand and created a barrier that surrounded the three of them, separating them from the outside.
Yang Kai immediately understood that what Ruo Xi wanted to say must be extremely personal to her; otherwise, Gu Pan would not have been so cautious. He immediately nodded and said, “Go ahead.”
Zhang Ruo Xi said, “Sir, you know that after Ruo Xi condensed her Dao Seal, refined appropriate materials, and became a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, the final realm I could reach was the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm, right?”
Yang Kai nodded. He naturally knew about this matter, because he had once asked Zhang Ruo Xi if she wanted to start over and refine Sixth-Order materials. After all, there was still a gap between the Fifth-Order and Sixth-Order. Back then, he still had some Tai Yi Soul Cleansing Water on hand. As long as Ruo Xi was willing to try, then she could wash away the Powers accumulated in her Dao Seal and begin from scratch.
However, doing so involved a great deal of risk, as the Dao Seal was at stake and any slight carelessness could be fatal. Ruo Xi also felt that refining Sixth-Order materials was a bit too much for her aptitude, which was why Yang Kai did not insist on it.
“Now that Ruo Xi is a Seventh-Order Master and has reached the peak of her cultivation…” Zhang Ruo Xi then continued to explain.
She followed Gu Pan around the battlefield over the years to kill countless enemies and had accumulated countless Military Merits, so she was never short of cultivation resources. The current environment for the Human Race soldiers had a multitude of dangers as well as opportunities. As long as they dared to dedicate themselves to the war, they could use their Military Merits to exchange for anything they wanted. It was unlike before when all the good stuff was hoarded by the Cave Heavens and Paradises, out of reach of ordinary cultivators.
Zhang Ruo Xi was very hardworking and exchanged her Military Merits for lots of resources; thus, she was always cultivating, which was why it was not surprising that she could reach the peak of the Seventh Order.
“But Sir…” Ruo Xi appeared bewildered as she looked up at Yang Kai, “Ruo Xi still feels that her cultivation has not reached its limits, like there are no shackles on my Small Universe.”
Yang Kai was listening attentively, and now his expression was even more intense as he asked, “Is that true?”
What Zhang Ruo Xi said was not that alarming initially, but her final words sent shockwaves through Yang Kai’s heart.
[Why can she not feel the shackles on her Small Universe? It’s too strange]
The moment Yang Kai broke through the Eighth Order, he could already feel the shackles on his Small Universe, and they only became more noticeable the more he cultivated.
The Human Open Heaven Realm Method had a major flaw which limited one’s ultimate potential, a fact that Yang Kai only recognized recently.
Cang and his nine compatriots went to the World Tree to gain enlightenment regarding the Open Heaven Realm method, so that the originally weak Human Race could rise up. It could be said that these Martial Ancestors had contributed immensely to the Human Race.
Without the Open Heaven Realm method, the Human Race would not be what it is today.
It was because of these 10 Martial Ancestors that the future generations of the Human Race were able to achieve their current success and Yang Kai was full of respect for them.
However, it was undeniable that the Open Heaven Realm method was imperfect. If it was perfect, then it would not put unbreakable limits on one’s future achievements. A truly perfect method would allow one to continue treading their Martial Dao as long as they were willing to put in the necessary effort.
In a sense, the Open Heaven Realm method was a dead end.
Anyone who initially broke through to the Fifth Order would have a hard limit of the Seventh Order in the future. The Sixth-Order would end at the Eighth-Order.
A World Fruit from the World Tree could extend that limit by a single Order, allowing a person to climb a little higher on their Martial Dao, but it was still limited.
Yang Kai achieved the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm, then took a Mid-Rank World Fruit. He was now at the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm, and although he was not quite at the peak, he was nearly there.
When he was still cultivating in the Star Boundary’s World Tree Clone, he felt the invisible shackle on his Small Universe growing tighter with time. The shackle was like a lock that pinned down his Martial Dao to prevent any possibility of it moving forward. It also locked his Small Universe from further expansion. This became more obvious as Yang Kai’s own heritage increased.
Every Master who had reached the end of their own Martial Dao could clearly feel this invisible shackle on their Small Universe.
The shackle existed with the birth of one’s Small Universe when advancing to the Open Heaven Realm; however, Zhang Ruo Xi said that she could not feel this shackle, which was rather unbelievable.
If Ruo Xi’s cultivation was at the peak of Seventh Order, she should have clearly felt this restriction long ago.
It was no wonder Gu Pan blocked this area. This was a big deal and would spread like wildfire if it got out.
“Who else knows about this?” Yang Kai asked solemnly.
Ruo Xi turned her head, looked at Gu Pan, and said, “Besides you, only Senior Sister Gu knows about this.”
She wanted to ask Yang Kai for advice as soon as she realized her situation; unfortunately, Yang Kai was now in a high position and his whereabouts were highly unpredictable. Strong in will but weak in strength, Zhang Ruo Xi could only keep this secret to herself for the time being. Luckily, she was able to see Yang Kai during the formation of the Suppressing Black Ink Army; otherwise, she really did not know what she should do.
In Lang Ya Paradise, although some Elders cared for her, she could not totally trust them. Furthermore, she believed only Yang Kai could handle this.
Yang Kai was the only person in the world who could make her feel totally unreserved.
Yang Kai nodded slightly as Ruo Xi’s caution was appropriate.
The limits of one’s Small Universe was the eternal bane of all Human Masters. If they could find a way to break this shackle, the Human Race would certainly have many more Masters.
Most old Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters had reached the end of their Martial Dao long ago, so even if it was only a faint hint of a chance to break through to the Ninth-Order, they would not hesitate to risk everything to seize it.
If Zhang Ruo Xi’s situation was leaked, the Supreme Headquarters would undoubtedly try to investigate, regardless of the possible drawbacks or consequences.
When that happened, Zhang Ruo Xi would lose all freedom and become a test subject.
“Can I see your Small Universe?” Yang Kai asked.
Ruo Xi agreed immediately and opened her Small Universe.
Yang Kai’s Divine Sense entered it and immediately felt the aura of her World Force, which was extremely pure and strong.
This Small Universe itself was nothing special, other than its territory being larger than a normal Seventh-Order Master’s. Indeed, as Ruo Xi said, she was already at the peak of the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm.
However, Yang Kai soon chuckled and asked, “Why are you hoarding so many Small Stone Race members?”
Ruo Xi’s Small Universe had fully materialized as she was in the Seventh Order, and it seemed she had purposely transplanted many flowers and plants into it, making it both beautiful and vibrant.
However, in a corner of her Small Universe, there were some 200 Small Stone Race members of both the Yang and Yin variety. They were both equally distributed, and most were very strong. There were even some 1,000-metre-tall Eighth-Order Small Stone Race Masters among them.
Yang Kai naturally knew the origin of these Small Stone Race members. Previously, in the Ancestral Land, he handed the Small Stone Race Soldiers he ‘borrowed’ from Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan and passed them to those Seventh-Order Array Masters, tasking them with bringing them back to the Supreme Headquarters.
The Supreme Headquarters naturally distributed these Small Stone Race members to strengthen the Human Race soldiers.
Naturally, the cost for a Small Stone Race Soldier would correspond to its Order, so the powerful ones were not cheap. Human Soldiers would obtain these Small Stone Race members from the various bases in the Great Territory Battlefields and then refine them to use against the enemy.
Generally speaking, a single person could only refine a handful of Small Stone Race Soldiers as their sentience was too low. They were very rebellious and even when refined, it was very difficult to command them when there were too many.
Yang Kai was well aware of this; thus, nowadays, when the Human Race soldiers were fighting with the Black Ink Clan on the various battlefields, most of them had a few Small Stone Race members with them. Quite often the Human Race soldiers relied on the bravery of these Small Stone Race soldiers to get out of tricky situations or to kill strong enemies.
In this way, they were of great help to the Humans.
Yang Kai was a bit puzzled about why Ruo Xi hoarded so many though; after all, these things were exchanged for Military Merits and their cost was not cheap, especially for those in the Eighth Order. After all, having something equivalent to an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master would give her a significant boost in fighting strength.
These 200 Small Stone Race members alone represented a massive amount of Military Merits.
What made Yang Kai feel even stranger was that he did not feel any traces of refinement from these Small Stone Race members.
It was as if Zhang Ruo Xi was just hoarding them and had no intention of using them.
Ruo Xi’s voice echoed within the Small Universe, “Ruo Xi can tell you more about this later. Actually, this is also something Ruo Xi wants to consult Sir about.”
Yang Kai was slightly surprised. Could there be any special purpose for Ruo Xi to hoard these Small Stone Race members? However, since Ruo Xi already mentioned this, he could only set aside his concerns and continue to investigate her Small Universe.
His Divine Sense soon reached the edge of her Small Universe.
The Small Universe of an Open Heaven Realm Master was not fundamentally different from a real Universe World. The edge of it could be called the World Boundary, which was both a natural protection to ensure that the World Force of the Small Universe would not leak out, and also a shackle to limit the cultivator’s growth and strength.
When an Open Heaven Realm Master cultivated using materials and pills, their heritage would grow, which would result in the expansion of their Small Universe.
For example, although a new Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master and a veteran Fifth-Order Open Heaven Master were technically in the same Order, there was a huge difference in the density of their World Force and even the size of their Small Universe.
The size of their Small Universe, and the richness of their World Force directly affected the strength of an Open Heaven Realm Master.
Therefore, on the Black Ink Battlefield, cultivators who were invaded by Black Ink Strength and had to give up a portion of their Small Universe to save themselves would see a drastic drop in their strength. If one sacrificed too much of their Small Universe, they might even see their Order regress. In the worst-case scenario, an Open Heaven Realm Master’s Small Universe would completely destabilize after large portions of it were sacrificed, resulting in death.
Moreover, once a Master gave a large part of their Small Universe, it would become incomplete and have a great impact on any attempts at a breakthrough in the future.
In this Universe, only a Profound Yin Spirit Fruit could repair one’s Small Universe.
Xiang Shan once gave up too much of his Small Universe and regressed to the Seventh Order. Now, he had repaired his Small Universe and cultivated back to his peak; however, because of his actions back then, there were still some flaws in his foundation, making it extremely difficult for him to advance to the Ninth Order despite having the capital and aptitude to do so.
The Four Universe Pillars and the World Tree clones could stabilize and insulate one’s Small Universe from outside influence, making it both impervious and flawless. It was precisely because the mysterious power of these treasures affected the World Boundary of a person’s Small Universe, making it resistant to external invasion. On top of that, even if Black Ink Strength somehow made its way into the Small Universe of a person with one of these treasures, it could be easily suppressed and sealed.
A cultivator would reach a bottleneck when the expansion of their Small Universe reached its limit. If they broke through this limit, the Master would advance to the next Order and their Small Universe would expand greatly. Naturally, the strength of that cultivation would dramatically change as well.
Ruo Xi was now at the peak of the Seventh Order, and her Small Universe should have hit its limit, one that should be insurmountable in her life. It was reasonable to say that her World Boundary couldn’t expand any further.
Knowing this, Yang Kai conducted a small test to push the limit.
In an instant, a mountain shook in the Ruo Xi’s Small Universe and the World Boundary rippled.
Yang Kai was surprised and immediately withdrew his energy.
After all, a cultivator would feel uncomfortable when their Small Universe was disturbed from the inside. Luckily, Yang Kai was able to quickly retract his energy and did not cause any harm to Ruo Xi.
Gu Pan asked from the side, “How is it?”
“It’s really strange…” Yang Kai frowned and continued, “Ruo Xi does have the potential to continue improving her cultivation.”
Through this test, Yang Kai was able to determine that Zhang Ruo Xi’s cultivation had reached a bottleneck, but not the end of her Martial Dao.
With a little more effort, she could break through this bottleneck and advance to the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm!
This was shocking!
Yang Kai had travelled all over the Universe for many years and had come into contact with all kinds of cultivators, including many High-Ranking Open Heaven Masters, but none of them could overcome their innate shackles like Ruo Xi could.
Even he himself was now restricted by the invisible shackle of his Small Universe.
Gu Pan was both happy and relieved to hear Yang Kai’s assessment. She had looked into Zhang Ruo Xi’s situation before and came to the same conclusion; however, she was not confident in her own judgment.
Now that Yang Kai had come to the same conclusion, it was basically a certainty.
This was good for Zhang Ruo Xi. Previously, her peak was the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm; however, now she might be able to become an Eighth-Order or even a Ninth-Order Master!
Yang Kai thought for a moment and asked, “Has Ruo Xi ever eaten a World Fruit?”
Zhang Ruo Xi shook her head and said, “No, I haven’t.”
Yang Kai nodded at the expected answer. World Fruits were so precious that ordinary people could not get a hold of one. If Ruo Xi had eaten a World Fruit, then she would not be as doubtful of her situation.
“Sir, can you figure out what’s going on with Ruo Xi?” Zhang Ruo Xi asked.
Yang Kai shook his head, “I’ve never heard of a situation like this before, but I can see that the foundation of your Small Universe is solid and your heritage is strong. So, there’s nothing wrong with it, and it should be beneficial to you, rather than harmful. As for why this is the case… I have a speculation.”
“Please enlighten me, Sir!” Zhang Ruo Xi looked at him eagerly.
Yang Kai said, “It concerns your Bloodline! The Heavens Order Bloodline you awakened should have some peculiarities. It should be this peculiarity that allows you to overcome the innate shackles of the Open Heaven Realm.”
“What Sir means is…”
“Let’s put it this way,” Yang Kai explained, “Your Bloodline is different from that of the Human Race. If you look at the vast Universe, only the Divine Spirits have true Bloodline Inheritances. The Divine Spirits do not have limits on their cultivation; they just need to constantly refine their own Bloodline and awaken their ancient inheritance to advance. In other words, they can continue to get stronger as long as they put in enough effort and have enough resources. Humans on the other hand, who cultivate using the Open Heaven Realm method, have innate limits. Divine Spirits clearly have incomparable advantages. Your Heaven’s Order Bloodline may also be related to a Divine Spirit Bloodline, so the growth of your strength is somewhat similar to that of a Divine Spirit…”
At this point, Yang Kai suddenly realized a problem with his theory.
If the Heavens Order Bloodline was really a Divine Spirit Bloodline, then Zhang Ruo Xi should also have innate shackles because she relied on the Open Heaven Realm method of the Human Race to cultivate.
Take Yang Kai himself, he could be considered a pure-blood Dragon Clan member now, but because he used the Open Heaven Realm to cultivate, no matter how pure his Dragon Vein was, he was still limited by his innate shackles to the peak of the Eighth-Order. Even his powerful Dragon Vein was restricted. It seemed he could not take that last one-metre step to become a Divine Dragon even when he cultivated in the Ancestral Land.
Only when he reached the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm would his Dragon Vein naturally be able to advance to the next stage.
Although Su Yan had a Phoenix Clan Bloodline, as long as she relied on the Open Heaven Realm method, she would suffer from this shortcoming as well.
The Open Heaven Realm method was inherited from the 10 Martial Ancestors, which was in line with the Heavenly Way. It was certainly not perfect, but it had helped with the cultivation of the Human Race for countless aeons.
If the Masters wanted to be free from the restrictions, then they should not cultivate using the Open Heaven Realm method; however, as soon as they used it to cultivate, they would definitely be limited by it in the future.
Divine Spirits did not need to cultivate using the Open Heaven Realm method. They were the first to be blessed by the Heavenly Way and ruled all under the Heavens long before the 10 Martial Ancestors gained enlightenment about the Open Heaven Realm method. They have been using their Bloodline as their main way to cultivate since ancient times. The purer their Bloodline, the more powerful they were.
Zhang Ruo Xi also used the Open Heaven Realm method to advance to the Open Heaven Realm though, so even if the Heavens Order Bloodline was really a kind of Divine Spirit Bloodline, it should be limited by the restrictions of the Open Heaven Realm method, but she was not.
Unless…
The Heaven’s Order Bloodline was more powerful than any Divine Spirit Bloodline! Such power would be sufficient to overcome the innate shackles of the Open Heaven Realm method.
Considering all these, Yang Kai could not help but feel bothered.
[Was the Heavens Order Bloodline much more powerful than the Divine Spirit Bloodlines?] He really had not thought about it before.
However, after careful consideration, it seemed that… it was possible!
Back in the Star Boundary, Heaven’s Order was the nemesis of all Divine Spirits. All the Divine Spirits that plagued the world were captured by Heaven’s Order and stripped of their Sources, which she then sealed in the Blood Gate for countless years.
Even when Zhang Ruo Xi was only in the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm, an Eighth-Order Divine Spirit like Zhu Jian could feel a sense of suppression just being near her. Even Yang Kai felt so when she was close to him!
All signs indicated that Zhang Ruo Xi’s Heavens Order Bloodline was much more powerful than any Divine Spirit Bloodline!
[What exactly is the Heavens Order Bloodline?] Yang Kai was now considered to be very knowledgeable and had seen many things; however, he had never heard of the Heavens Order Bloodline anywhere else except in Zhang Ruo Xi!
Yang Kai had a hunch about the truth, but he was unsure about it…
“Sir?” Zhang Ruo Xi whispered when she saw that he was lost in his thoughts.
“Hmm?” Yang Kai came back to his senses.
“As Sir said, my current situation is similar to the Divine Spirits, so can I become an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master?” She asked excitedly.
The Human Race was now at war for its very survival, and although a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master wasn’t weak, any random Territory Lord could easily kill them, especially the Innate Territory Lords who were far more powerful than the Acquired ones.
Zhang Ruo Xi had been able to stay safe and sound all these years mainly because she had been following Gu Pan around. Due to her relationship with Yang Kai, Lang Ya Paradise had taken great care of her. If she was just an ordinary Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, it would be much riskier for her on the battlefield.
However, if she could become an Eighth-Order Master, then she would be much safer in the future and more lethal to the enemies on the battlefield.
Yang Kai nodded and said, “Advancing to the Eighth Order is not a problem. I saw your Small Universe and you are at the limit of the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm. Once things have settled down, you should enter retreat and cultivate hard. I will personally stand guard for you until you break through to the Eighth Order!”
“Many thanks, Sir!” Zhang Ruo Xi said with a beautiful smile.
There was no doubt that Zhang Ruo Xi would advance to the Eighth Order; nevertheless, Yang Kai could not be absolutely sure if what he thought was correct.
If it was as he thought, it would still be astonishing that the Heavens Order Bloodline could circumvent the drawbacks of the Open Heaven Realm method, which was something that even a Divine Spirit Bloodline could not achieve.
Yang Kai was still thinking about the Heaven’s Order Bloodline when Ruo Xi said, “Sir, I have one more thing to ask advice about, and it concerns my Bloodline.”
“Oh?” Yang Kai was intrigued and said, “Go ahead.”
Zhang Ruo Xi glanced around and then said, “It’s not convenient to talk about it here; however, I can show it to you, Sir. Can you please come to the void with me?”
“En!” Yang Kai nodded and sent a message to let the Purifying Black Ink Battleship continue to follow its current course before leaving a Space Beacon on the deck to facilitate his return. He then manipulated Space Principles, wrapped Zhang Ruo Xi in them, and darted away.
After a few Instantaneous Movements, Yang Kai and Ruo Xi were out of sight range of the Purifying Black Ink Battleship.
They came to a stop and Yang Kai said, “This should be good enough.”
The void was so vast and endless that Zhang Ruo Xi would not be limited in whatever she wanted to demonstrate.
Zhang Ruo Xi nodded, opened her Small Universe portal, and a member of the Small Stone Race stepped out.
Those of the Small Stone Race usually look simple and unassuming. However, those who were familiar with their racial characteristics would know that their peaceful look was just an illusion as they were truly war-like.
After the Small Stone Race member appeared, it immediately made a move that made Yang Kai’s jaw drop. It came to Yang Kai, cupped its fist and bowed to him!
Yang Kai swore that this was the most polite Small Stone Race member he had ever met in his life!
Under normal circumstances, when Humans summoned one, a Small Stone Race Soldier would definitely immediately rush towards the nearest source of Black Ink Strength in a fit of rage. Human soldiers would have to refine them in advance to command them; otherwise, they would definitely run off and soon become lost.
When Yang Kai handed out the first batch of the Small Stone Race Soldiers, the Humans had not figured out an appropriate method to control them and ended up wasting a lot of them.
However, he could also see that this Small Stone Race member was so courteous and mindful of etiquette because Zhang Ruo Xi had exquisite control over it.
Yet, this Small Stone Race member had no trace of being refined at all.
The Small Stone Race member was not finished after saluting Yang Kai. He started to display his fighting skills to Yang Kai and demonstrated with vigour and power. Finally, it finished its show by cupping its fist once more.
Yang Kai was more than a little dumbfounded and alternated his gaze between the Small Stone Race member and Zhang Ruo Xi’s smiling face.
“How did you do this?” Yang Kai asked in amazement.
In fact, Yang Kai could have done this too if he had been the one controlling this Small Stone Race Soldier, but that was because he had the Great Sun and Great Moon Marks given to him by Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan.
This Small Stone Race member was brought out from the Chaotic Dead Territory, where the Burning Light and Serene Glimmer had spent the last millennium nurturing it. These Small Stone Race members could be regarded as pieces of living Yellow and Blue Crystals; thus, the Great Sun and Great Moon Marks condensed from the Burning Light and Serene Glimmer’s Source held absolute authority over them.
Yang Kai could even use the power contained within them to generate Purifying Light!
On the other hand, Zhang Ruo Xi did not have the Marks, which Yang Kai had brought out of the Chaotic Dead Territory and distributed to the Divine Spirits.
Zhang Ruo Xi said, “Sir, please continue to watch.”
She did not answer Yang Kai’s question immediately because there was more to show him.
As she spoke, two more Soldiers came out of her Small Universe, joined together with the previous one, linking their auras. Their bodies vibrated and then in the blink of an eye, they formed… a Three Fortunes Formation!
This Three Fortunes Formation was far more solid than a Battle Formation formed by ordinary Human Soldiers. Their auras were completely connected, without any form of roughness or instability.
Next, a continuous stream of Small Stone Race members emerged from Zhang Ruo Xi’s Small Universe and joined the Battle Formation.
The Three Fortunes became a Four Symbols, then a Five Elements, a Six Paths, and finally a Nine Palaces Formation…
But that was not the end as more and more Small Stone Race Soldiers rushed out and formed more Nine Palaces Formations.
With the Nine Palaces Formation as the base, the formation grew again. 27 Small Stone Race members, forming what could only be called a Great Three Fortunes Formation, 36 Small Stone Race members formed the Great Four Symbols Formation, and finally, the 81 Small Stone Race members formed a massive Great Nine Palaces Formation…
Yang Kai was in absolute awe as he watched this scene in utter bewilderment.
He finally understood why Zhang Ruo Xi had accumulated so many Small Stone Race members in her Small Universe.
He thought that she was keeping them as backup for some kind of emergency; after all, they were easily killed on the battlefield, so it was prudent of her to keep more in reserve if she planned to take on powerful Masters like a Territory Lord.
However, now it seemed that this was not the case. Zhang Ruo Xi was really capable of commanding and controlling this many Small Stone Race members!
Yang Kai could as well. Not to mention 81 Small Stone Race members, he could even control an Army of millions of Small Stone Race Soldiers; however, he needed to use the Marks to command them in a general manner, while the scene before him was completely different.
He could only give simple orders to such a Small Stone Race Army; however, it was essentially up to the individual Soldiers to figure out how to carry out his commands.
The 81 Small Stone Race members controlled by Zhang Ruo Xi on the other hand were like extensions of herself, akin to her hands and feet, completely within her ability to control.
The massive Nine Palaces Formation before Yang Kai should only have existed in theory and was supposedly impossible for cultivators to actually achieve.
This was because each base point of this Great Nine Palaces Formation was a First-Order Nine Palaces Formation. Nine cultivators were needed to form the initial Battle Formation, and these nine people had to adjust their auras to link with each other without clashing. Essentially, they needed to become one in both heart and mind.
On a real battlefield, forming a Nine Palaces Formation was already the absolute limit, so trying to form this kind of Great Nine Palaces Formation was nothing but a fantasy.
Considering the Small Stone Race members’ low sentience, it was unbelievable that Zhang Ruo Xi was able to control them to such a fine degree.
Yang Kai had already sensed the crux of how this happened though and remarked, “Bloodline Power?”
When the number of Small Stone Race members was small, Yang Kai did not sense anything; however, with Zhang Ruo Xi using 81 Small Stone Race Soldiers, he did notice that there was a faint fluctuation of Bloodline Power from her body. So, it was obvious she was controlling the Small Stone Race members with her Bloodline.
“En,” Zhang Ruo Xi nodded. This was exactly the Bloodline mystery that she wanted to seek Yang Kai’s advice on.
It was only recently that she had discovered this ability.
There were only two times that Yang Kai had provided the Human Race with Small Stone Race Soldiers. Once was 3,000 years ago when he was travelling around the Great Territories to refine Universe Worlds. When he met many Great Forces of the Human Race who were evacuating, he gave them large numbers of Small Stone Race Soldiers as escorts.
However, almost all of those Small Stone Race Soldiers he sent out at that time had their own owners, and Zhang Ruo Xi was not able to attain any.
Recently though, Yang Kai tasked some Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in the Divine Spirit Ancestral Land to bring back several million members of the Small Stone Race. Thereafter, the Supreme Headquarters distributed them to the Armies in the Great Territory Battlefields. They were placed in the individual Army’s War Materials departments for the soldiers to exchange for Military Merits.
Out of curiosity, Ruo Xi acquired a few of them and found that she could very easily control them. Thus, she began to exchange her Military Merits for more.
If the Army’s resource department did not stop her, her Small Universe would have many more Small Stone Race members inside, at least far more than a mere 200.
Yang Kai did not know about any of this, but looking at the Nine Palaces Formation in front of him, he was amazed that such a Battle Formation formed by 81 Small Stone Race Soldiers could be this powerful. The strength of the Small Stone Race that made up this Formation was not high, generally only equivalent to Second or Third-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. However, after they assumed this Formation, the aura they radiated reached the intensity of the Seventh Order!
If these Small Stone Race Soldiers were stronger to begin with, then the power of the Formation would grow even further.
“Can you control more?” Yang Kai asked.
Ruo Xi nodded and replied, “En, but I don’t have enough to form another complete Battle Formation layer.”
The corners of Yang Kai’s face twitched. He just asked Zhang Ruo Xi if she could control more, but this little girl was even more ambitious. She actually wanted to use this Great Nine Palaces Formation as the base to form an even higher Order Formation!
Having 81 Small Stone Race members as a base to form the simplest Three Fortunes Formation would require 243 Small Stone Race Soldiers, so Zhang Ruo Xi really did not have enough.
But Yang Kai had them…
Although he gave the Human Race several million Small Stone Race Soldiers, he kept a few million for his own use.
With the wave of a hand, an army of Small Stone Race Soldiers flew out of his Small Universe, appearing both grand and majestic.
“Go all out. Let me see what your limit is.”
Zhang Ruo Xi agreed readily as she also wanted to know her limits. She immediately surged her Bloodline Power to draw many from the Army released by Yang Kai.
Soon, a new Nine Palaces Formation was formed using Great Nine Palaces Formations as nodes. The number of Small Stone Race Soldiers involved had now reached 729! Their combined power had surpassed the Seventh Order and almost reached the Eighth Order!
Yang Kai was dumbfounded by the Formation in front of him.
The Great Nine Palaces Formation existed in theory and was basically impossible to be formed by Humans, but what about this Nine Palaces Formation formed from Great Nine Palaces Formation as its base be called?
A Third-Order Nine Palaces Formation?
If a normal Nine Palaces Formation was the First-Order and a Great Nine Palaces Formation was the Second-Order, then there should not be any problem calling this one Third-Order.
The Bloodline Power coming from Zhang Ruo Xi’s body became more and more intense, and Yang Kai began to feel a slight pressure that caused his Dragon Vein to roil and riot.
This kind of pressure was somewhat similar to a Dragon Clan bloodline suppression…
So, it seemed like his suspicions were true. This Heaven’s Order Bloodline was more powerful than any Divine Spirit Bloodline. All of a sudden, his thoughts became clear and he understood what was happening with Zhang Ruo Xi and her Bloodline!
After a few moments, the Third-Order Nine Palaces Formation had turned into the Fourth-Order Nine Palaces Formation.
The number of Small Stone Race Soldiers who made up the Formation now reached an astonishing 6,561!
It was unbelievable that one person could perfectly control more than 6,000 Small Stone Race.
Although the individual strength of the Small Stone Race participating in the Formation was generally not high, the aura of the Battle Formation at this moment made even Yang Kai feel a lot of pressure.
In other words, if he were to fight against them and did not find a way to break the Battle Formation, he might lose!
It was an astonishing feat!
With this ability alone, Zhang Ruo Xi was as valuable as any Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master!
Yang Kai also saw the manifestation of the Heaven’s Order Bloodline Power once again.
Perhaps the Bloodline Power became too intense so Zhang Ruo Xi was now surrounded by a blood-coloured haze. Suddenly, at some critical point, a huge figure of a woman emerged behind her. The figure looked extremely imposing as she looked down on the world, a greatsword at the ready. As she stood quietly behind Zhang Ruo Xi, the Void trembled and an awe-inspiring pressure pervaded the surrounding space.
Yang Kai was stunned!
This figure and the memory of another extremely vague figure quickly overlapped. Although there was a difference in size, the image was too similar to ignore.
Yang Kai was so happy that he had stumbled upon this great fortune. He never expected that he would stumble across such a grand discovery during this meeting with Ruo Xi.
He was suddenly enlightened and many uncertainties in his mind became clear.
[So, that’s how it is! If that is really the case, then everything makes sense!]
The Heaven’s Order Bloodline was basically a Divine Spirit Bloodline, but it was not a Divine Spirit Bloodline in the ordinary sense.
In terms of ranking, the Heaven’s Order Bloodline was higher than all other Divine Spirit Bloodlines; thus, it was not accurate to call it the Divine Spirit’s nemesis. The Heaven’s Order Bloodline was not born to restrain Divine Spirits, it was actually from the same vein as the Divine Spirit Bloodlines, only higher up the hierarchy, which was why it could suppress all other Divine Spirit Bloodlines!
The Dragon Clan itself also had the concept of bloodline suppression, but the Dragon Clan’s bloodline suppression only affected those within the Clan or those from Monster Race too weak to resist. A Dragon Clansman with a purer Bloodline had a natural restraint on any other Dragon Clansman with a less pure Bloodline! In a fight, the strength of a Dragon Clansman with the purer Bloodline could suppress the strength of the other.
A Dragon Clan’s Bloodline may have some deterrent effect on other Divine Spirits, but it was far less obvious.
A Dragon Clan Bloodline’s ranking may be higher than that of other Divine Spirit Bloodlines, but not by much.
In this World, there were two other Divine Spirit Bloodlines that stood above the Dragon Clan.
The Burning Light and Serene Glimmer!
Technically speaking, these two were also Divine Spirits! The ancient legends stated that they were the ancestors of the Divine Spirits; however, Yang Kai knew that that was a misrepresentation after he found out the truth about the Primordial Light.
If all the Divine Spirits were considered to be in one big family, then the higher the ranking, the higher their position would be within the Divine Spirit family.
Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan could also be considered the Big Brother and Big Sister of all Divine Spirits!
This was also the reason why when Yang Kai first went to the Dragon Pool, his Great Sun and Great Moon Marks allowed him to draw in the power of the Dragon Pool and help Fu Guang break through his shackles and become a Divine Dragon.
The powers of the Burning Light and Serene Glimmer and the Dragon Clan were fundamentally related. The Primordial Light first stripped its Yin and Yang Elements in the Chaotic Dead Territory, then moved to the Ancestral Land. It then transformed into thousands of lights and evolved into the first Divine Spirits.
The first time Yang Kai went to the No-Return Pass, he used the Great Sun and Great Moon Marks to completely suppress Ji Lao San, who was a Grand Dragon. He did this while he was still only in the Seventh-Order and a Grand Dragon himself. In fact, the difference in strength between them at the time was not big; however, when he used the two marks, Ji Lao San was captured by Yang Kai almost effortlessly.
Yang Kai also used the power of the Great Sun and Great Moon Marks to suppress Tao Wu when he killed the latter in Profound Nether Territory. Otherwise, Tao Wu’s Eighth-Order Divine Spirit’s strength could easily handle a Soul Rending Thorn head-on and he would not have been so easily killed!
This was basically akin to the Big Brother and Big Sister exerting their power over the Little Brother of the Divine Spirit Family!
When they learned about this, Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan would surely be overjoyed. They had been bickering for countless aeons about who was the Elder Sibling between them, so if they knew they had so many Younger Brothers and Sisters, they might not quarrel anymore and instead ‘play’ with their little siblings instead.
In such a sense, it was completely appropriate for Yang Kai as a Dragon Clan member to address them as Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan.
The Burning Light and Serene Glimmer were the Big Brother and Big Sister of the Divine Spirits Family; however, in this family, there seemed to be another high-ranking existence!
The Heaven’s Order Bloodline!
The Small Stone Race could be seen as an extension of the power of Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan so even Yang Kai had to use the two Marks to control them. This was natural because the ranking of the Dragon Clan was lower than that of the Burning Light and Serene Glimmer.
On the other hand, Zhang Ruo Xi only relied on her Bloodline to precisely control thousands of Small Stone Race Soldiers to form a massively complicated Nine Palaces Formation.
When Yang Kai understood this, he immediately recalled the strange scene that he had witnessed in the rewinding time.
When the Primordial Light was stripped of its Yin and Yang in the Chaotic Dead Territory, the latter evolved into the Sun’s Burning Light and Moon’s Serene Glimmer. After a long journey, what was left of the Primordial Light collided with an ancient Universe World, showering it with thousands of multi-coloured lights. From those lights, all Divine Spirits were born. The Divine Spirits thus rose and the Universe World came to be known as the Ancestral Land. With this evolution, the Ancestral Land became the home of all Divine Spirits and was virtually indestructible.
At that time, Yang Kai saw a vague image of a human figure through the blinding light…
He did not have time to look closely that day as he was distracted by Di Wu’s relentless attacks and was shaken out of his state of enlightenment.
However, he remained haunted by the figure in the haze, which left him puzzled. It had become the last piece of the mystery behind the Primordial Light.
Today, all the mysteries seemed to be solved.
The hazy figure, although its face could not be seen, had an outline incredibly similar to the Heaven’s Order figure that stood behind Zhang Ruo Xi.
That figure must be the original source of the Heaven’s Order Bloodline!
When Yang Kai first saw Zhang Ruo Xi at the Suppressing Black Ink Fortress, he had a strange hunch, but he could not figure out what it was about.
When Zhang Ruo Xi asked about her cultivation limits, or rather lack thereof, and Yang Kai looked into her Small Universe, he felt that hunch again but he still could not understand it.
Yang Kai finally understood after seeing Zhang Ruo Xi control the Small Stone Race Army.
The Bloodline of an ordinary Divine Spirit was insufficient to break through the shackles created by the Open Heaven Realm method. Even a pure Dragon Clan Bloodline was insufficient; otherwise, Yang Kai could continue to refine his Bloodline and advance to the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm by first becoming a Divine Dragon. At that time, he would even be stronger than an ordinary Ninth-Order Master.
However, there were always exceptions to everything. Though a Divine Spirit Bloodline could not accomplish this, that did not mean that the Heaven’s Order Bloodline could not break through these innate shackles.
In the Divine Spirit Family, the Heaven’s Order Bloodline was most likely the highest in ranking. In fact, the Burning Light and Serene Glimmer might be inferior to it.
Instead of saying that the Heaven’s Order Bloodline was the Big Sister of all Divine Spirits, it might be more appropriate to call it the Matriarch of this entire Family!
Yang Kai wore a look of composure as he observed the massive Fourth-Order Nine Palaces Formations that was formed by over 6,000 Small Stone Race Soldiers, but inside he was in a state of complete and utter shock.
A few moments later, Zhang Ruo Xi exhaled a long breath and all the Small Stone Race Soldiers within the Formation orderly dispersed, gathering quietly behind her, waiting for further orders.
In the end, the number of Small Stone Race she could control precisely was less than 10,000, so she could not form a Fifth-Order Nine Palaces Formation.
This was not because her Bloodline was not strong enough, but rather because of her low cultivation. With her concentration being spread out over so many Small Stone Race Soldiers, she eventually hit a limit. In other words, her Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm cultivation was the bottleneck.
However, this was already an eye-popping feat.
“Sir, this is the most I can do,” Although she was exhausted, Zhang Ruo Xi’s eyes were gleaming. She always wanted to know what her limits were; however, she could not test them with a mere 200 Small Stone Race Soldiers.
With Yang Kai’s help, she was able to get an answer today!
This way, she would be able to play a much bigger role on the battlefield than using her own Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm strength.
Moreover, as long as she could advance to the Eighth Order, she had the confidence to form a Fifth-Order Nine Palaces Formations.
Who knows, maybe she might even be able to break through and become a Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master one day!
“Well done.” Yang Kai nodded his head in admiration and began to collect his Small Stone Race Army before saying, “After this, I will bring you to a certain place.”
Zhang Ruo Xi did not ask anything and just nodded obediently, “Yes, Sir.”
“Let’s go back. You must be exhausted. When we return, get a good rest. The journey ahead is long and there is no need for you to rush to advance to the Eighth Order.”
Zhang Ruo Xi nodded with a smile.
He manipulated Space Principles and the two figures instantly disappeared.
With the help of the Space Beacon, Yang Kai easily returned to the Purifying Black Ink Battleship with Zhang Ruo Xi. She then went back to her cabin to rest while Yang Kai continued to stand at the helm. He could not help but wonder what interesting things would happen if he took Ruo Xi to that place.
The journey continued through the Black Ink Clan’s territory, and then past the breached Royal Cities before heading into the depths of the Black Ink Battlefield.
Several years later, many strange Celestial Phenomena appeared, bewildering and dazzling the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters.
The 3,000 Worlds had once been filled with these huge Celestial Phenomena, but almost all of them had been exhausted after millions of years of Human activities. However, in the rear of the Black Ink Battlefield, far away from any activity at all, these Celestial Phenomena had been preserved.
These Celestial Phenomena were all left behind from the beginning of time, when Heaven and Earth first split apart. The large ones were the size of whole Great Territories, while the small ones were even smaller than Universe Worlds, but each Celestial Phenomenon contained its own mysterious power and was extremely dangerous.
At one point, Yang Xiao could not stand the boredom, so when they passed by a certain Celestial Phenomenon, he rushed out in curiosity and was almost caught in it. If not for Yang Kai’s quick actions, he might have been lost within the Celestial Phenomenon, never to return. When Yang Xue found out, she punished him severely until he promised never to do that again. The dramatic event was a rare comic relief to their otherwise mundane journey and became the butt of everyone’s joke throughout the Warship.
A few years later, the Purifying Black Ink Battleship entered the Late Ancient Era Battlefield, and the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters who saw this place for the first time were all shaken to their core. The veteran Eighth-Order Masters who told them all the events of the past were also totally captivated.
Only at this time did they know that at the end of the Late Ancient Era, there were Humans who fought and were victorious over the Black Ink Clan on this magnificent battlefield. Although they failed to kill Mo, at least they managed to contain the Black Ink Clan within the Black Ink Battlefield.
Now, the Black Ink Clan had invaded the 3,000 Worlds, the world had withered, Universe Worlds had collapsed, and the Human Race was trapped in a mere handful of Great Territory Battlefields.
The situation had never been worse, and everyone’s heart was heavy and eager for revenge.
After the Late Ancient Era Battlefield, there was the Spiritless Land. They were getting close to the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction!
Nearly 13 years after the departure of the Purifying Black Ink Battleship from the Supreme Headquarters Territory, Yang Kai finally led a group of Eighth-Order Masters to the place where the last Human Race Crusade Force was defeated. This was also where the Mother Nest was located and where the true body of Mo was sealed!
The Purifying Black Ink Battleship flew past a lot of wreckage and debris. There were even damaged Warships quietly floating across the void as well as skeletons and corpses of Humans and Black Ink Clansmen alike.
These were the remnants of the last great war, the final battle outside the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction. Yang Kai was not present during that battle as he was targeted by a Royal Lord because of Cang and had no choice but to flee. He fled for years before entering the Great Sea Celestial Phenomenon and started his cultivation to break through to the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm. After he emerged from the Great Sea Celestial Phenomenon, Yang Kai managed to kill the Royal Lord who was chasing him.
It was only after that that he learned of the fierceness of this final battle.
The Human Race should not have been defeated here. They had more than 100 Great Passes and a grand Army numbering in the millions, all of whom were in the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm and above, with over 100 Ninth-Order Old Ancestors assuming command. With such a lineup they were definitely the strongest Army the Human Race had mustered since the Late Ancient Era millions of years ago.
However, from within the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, a Black Ink Giant Spirit God emerged to challenge the Army. From the opposite side, another fallen Black Ink Giant Spirit God, who roamed the Late Ancient Era Battlefield, was revived by the Black Ink Clan.
The two powerful Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods pincered the Human Army and together with countless Royal Lords and Territory Lords, the Human Race Grand Army was defeated and forced to retreat.
The sight in front of everyone was tragic, and even if they were not personally involved in that battle, they could easily imagine its fierceness. The atmosphere aboard the Purifying Black Ink Battleship was heavy as people were scurrying about, trying to collect the corpses of the Human Race soldiers.
When the Great Army retreated back then, they did not even have the time to collect the bodies of the fallen, so the battlefield was still littered with corpses.
Su Yan activated her Great Sun and Moon Marks to create Purifying Light to disperse the Black Ink Cloud in the void; however, she soon gave up as there were far more dead Black Ink Clansmen than Human Race soldiers, causing the residual Black Ink Cloud to be too large to disperse. Although they did not lack Yellow Crystal and Blue Crystal, they should not waste them unnecessarily.
A potent Divine Sense suddenly spread over from afar, and all the Eighth-Order Masters were astonished when they felt its might!
This was not the Divine Sense of an Eighth-Order Master, but that of a Ninth-Order Master!
The Eighth-Order Masters became excited by the possibility that there was a Ninth-Order Master stationed here!
A moment later, the Divine Sense was withdrawn after having found out the identity of Yang Kai and the others.
Following the battlefield’s numerous ruins, the Purifying Black Ink Battleship soon came to a huge piece of debris.
It was debris that belonged to a Great Pass that had been destroyed. Looking at its appearance, it should be the Great Pass’ Main Square.
On top of the debris stood a figure with flowing white hair and white robes, his arms folded behind his back, looking in the direction of the Purifying Black Ink Battleship.
Upon seeing this person, many Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters immediately realised that it was not just any Ninth-Order Master here, it was ‘him’.
[No wonder we’ve not heard about this Senior for so many years, he must have been stationed here by the Supreme Headquarters a long time ago.]
Yang Kai jumped down from the Purifying Black Ink Battleship, came to the white-haired man, and cupped his fists, “Greetings, Senior Fu Guang!”
This man in all white was the current Dragon Clan Leader and the only Divine Dragon.
Yang Kai had sent Wu Kuang here a long time ago, but although the latter claimed that he would advance to the Ninth Order within 3,000 years, and that he could guard the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction effectively at that point, Yang Kai had to prepare for the unexpected.
Therefore, over 1,000 years ago, Yang Kai had already suggested that the Supreme Headquarters prepare someone to assist Wu Kuang outside the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, just in case.
However, the Humans had limited manpower and very few were capable of carrying out such a mission. There were two Old Ancestors who met the requirements, but they had to stay in Wind Mist Territory to restrain the Black Ink Giant Spirit God. Part of restraining the Black Ink Giant Spirit God was that they too could not move.
After much consideration, only Fu Guang could be deployed.
However, during the battle of the Barren Territory, Fu Guang was severely injured and almost died on the spot. If the Dragon Clan Leader at that time did not go all out to rescue him, Fu Guang would have been among those who fell that day.
After the retreat from the Barren Territory, Fu Guang spent many, many years in the depths of the Dragon Pool, drawing upon its power to heal himself. It was not until some 1,000 years ago that he finally recovered from his injuries.
He immediately set off for this place after his recovery.
On the way, Fu Guang passed by the No-Return Pass, which caused the Black Ink Clan to panic as they thought that he was there to pick a fight. Fortunately for them, Fu Guang had no such intentions and just passed by. The Black Ink Clan had since been wondering what a Divine Dragon from the Dragon Clan was doing in the Black Ink Battlefield.
By all accounts, Fu Guang had been here, alone, for at least 1,000 years.
“Many thanks for your hard work, Senior,” Yang Kai said. 1,000 years of solitude was not easy to endure, even for a powerful Divine Spirit.
Fu Guang smiled and shook his head. His eyes then looked up and down Yang Kai and said with a little surprise, “Your Dragon Vein…”
Yang Kai secretly praised this Divine Dragon for his strong perception. It should also be because they were both part of the Dragon Clan; so, even if Yang Kai did not use the powers of his Dragon Vein, Fu Guang would sense something about it.
Yang Kai explained, “I obtained some gifts from the Ancestral Land.”
Fu Guang understood what he meant and replied, “That is indeed a great opportunity.”
He was wondering how Yang Kai’s Dragon Vein had grown so quickly. The Last time Fu Guang saw Yang Kai, the latter was just a 70,000-metre Ancient Dragon. Now, Yang Kai gave off a similar feeling to his own from back in the Dragon Pool.
In other words, it was very likely that Yang Kai was in the same situation as he was back then, stuck at the last step before becoming a Divine Dragon.
The power in the Dragon Pool had been greatly consumed after more than 2,000 years of healing, so Yang Kai could not have benefited much from it, certainly not enough to improve his Dragon Vein to such a degree.
It turned out that it was a gift from the Ancestral Land.
While they were talking, a group of Eighth-Order Masters and 60 Divine Spirits all came forward and saluted. No one dared to disrespect a Divine Dragon.
The Eighth-Order Masters finally confirmed who the Army Commander of their Suppressing Black Ink Army was. Although there had been some speculation beforehand, it was only today that they became certain.
A Master like Fu Guang was naturally qualified to be the Army Commander of the Suppressing Black Ink Army.
Zhu Jian and the rest of the Divine Spirits felt increasingly ready to be part of this fight. Given the circumstances, they knew that they would still be fighting alongside the Human Race after the 3,000-year agreement had expired; however, now they were working under the current Dragon Clan Leader and there was no room for sloppiness.
After exchanging some pleasantries, Yang Kai said, “Sir, how is the situation here?”
Fu Guang replied, “Nothing unusual, except that… he talks a lot!”
“Talks a lot?” Yang Kai was slightly stunned and then realized that Fu Guang should be referring to Wu Kuang.
Yang Kai could not help but chuckle and his tense mood also relaxed a lot. It also meant that there were no problems with the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction. If there really was any problem, Wu Kuang would not be able to waste his energy on chatting.
At that moment, Wu Kuang’s voice came from the depths of the void, “There is quite literally no one here besides the two of us, and it’s been that way for over 1,000 years. Does it matter if we talk more? And… don’t you know that it’s not a good habit to badmouth someone behind their back?”
Fu Guang laughed helplessly and cupped his fist. After so many years of chatting, he also knew Wu Kuang’s background. He had much respect for this Late Ancient Era Martial Ancestor.
Furthermore, anyone who single-handedly guarded the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction deserved the utmost respect.
The Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters and even the Divine Spirits were all astonished. They were all previously focused on Fu Guang and never expected there to be a second person here; after all, there was only endless darkness as far as they could see!
The deep darkness seemed to be able to devour everything, and even their souls seemed to be sucked into it when they stared for too long.
Fortunately, everyone was strong and when they perceived the anomaly, they immediately collected the mind which eased the discomfort.
Someone said with palpitations, “Is this where the Mother Nest resides?”
They had heard that the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction had sealed the Mother Nest along with Mo’s true body. Now, they were able to see it with their own eyes.
This was the source of all the chaos and the birthplace of the Black Ink Clan.
Even the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters could not help but feel a sense of powerlessness and defeat in their hearts at this moment.
“Don’t be so glum. For countless aeons, your heroic ancestors spilled their blood on this battlefield to resist the Black Ink Clan, all to give future generations a chance to live and grow. Now, this burden has fallen on your shoulders. If you and the others fail here, then the Human Race and all the Divine Spirits will cease to exist. When that happens, everything will come to an end. The Martial Ancestors were able to seal this evil here. Don’t you, their descendants, have the courage to fight it?”
Fu Guang was not reprimanding and neither was his tone intense. Though it seemed like a simple question, it caused everyone’s heart to feel heavy. How could they face the true enemy if just gazing upon its shield of darkness was enough to frighten them?
Yang Kai immediately cupped his fist and said respectfully, “Junior understands!”
Yang Kai took a step forward and said, “I’ll check out the situation.”
He disappeared in a flash as Fu Guang looked on with his brow raised. The way Yang Kai utilised Space Principles was at a level no different from the late Phoenix Clan Leader.
The Dragon Clan’s Bloodline Talent was the Dao of Time while the Phoenix Clan’s was the Dao of Space.
Fu Guang was surprised that Yang Kai, a Dragon Clan member, was so proficient in both the Dao of Time, and the Dao of Space.
Amidst the great struggle between the Human Race and the Black Ink Clans over the dominion of everything under the Heavens, there was always a need for special existences to rise up.
Looking at the direction Yang Kai went, Fu Guang became lost in his thoughts as he realised that he was not one of those special beings.
Outside the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, a portal seemed to open up in the darkness when Yang Kai arrived. Yang Kai followed the portal, took a step inside, and saw Wu Kuang sitting cross-legged.
Yang Kai swiftly activated the Great Sun and Great Moon Marks. Yellow and blue rays burst out and merged into a huge beam of Purifying Light that rained down on Wu Kuang’s head.
Wu Kuang, whose body was so black that his face could barely be seen, was instantly enveloped by the Purifying Light, and with a piercing sound, the huge mass of Black Ink Strength was purified.
The light dissipated and Wu Kuang returned to his original appearance. He appeared grim as he asked, “What the hell are you doing?”
Yang Kai replied casually, “I need to make sure that I see a Human Wu Kuang, not a Black Ink Disciple Wu Kuang!”
Anyone else who saw Wu Kuang’s appearance would have thought he had been completely corrupted by Black Ink Strength, mainly because this guy was covered in it and looked very abnormal.
“What about now?” Wu Kuang asked rhetorically.
Yang Kai said, “It should be fine, but I’d like to check your Small Universe if you don’t mind.”
Wu Kuang snorted and replied, “If I were a Black Ink Disciple, I would have awakened the old thing inside and unlocked the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction long ago.”
“Who knows? The Heaven Devouring Great Emperor is quite the schemer, who can tell what you’re up to?”
Wu Kuang rolled his eyes. The rich Black Ink Strength continued to be pulled in, and under Heaven Devouring Battle Law, he seemed to have turned it into a bottomless pit. Still, he warned Yang Kai, “Refrain from acting out. Do you know how tricky it is to steal something from someone’s home without disturbing the sleeping owner? Besides, didn’t you give me a World Tree clone which can stabilize and isolate my Small Universe? How could Black Ink Strength corrupt me so easily?”
When he saw that Yang Kai was unconvinced, Wu Kuang immediately sneered and snarled, “You’re going to get your ass kicked!”
As he said that, he revealed his aura threateningly.
Yang Kai immediately sat cross-legged in front of him and said, “Your fist is bigger. Fine, you win.”
Wu Kuang had already become a Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. He was clearly not exaggerating when he said that he would achieve this within 3,000 years.
Yang Kai was more and more amazed at the power of the Heaven Devouring Battle Law. Unfortunately, only Wu Kuang could truly bring out the full power of this Heaven-defying cultivation technique.
Wu Kuang was able to advance from the Seventh Order to the Ninth Order in just 3,000 years with this Secret Art and special environment.
In the end, Black Ink Strength was also a kind of power. While sitting here, the Black Ink Strength was endless and inexhaustible. With the help of the Heaven Devouring Battle Law and the protection of Flawless Purifying Golden Lotus and a World Tree clone, Wu Kuang was able to achieve the unimaginable in just 3,000 years.
Without even one of these conditions, Wu Kuang would not have been able to advance to the Ninth Order in such a short time.
“Senior, I would like to ask you something,” Yang Kai said solemnly.
Wu Kuang chuckled softly.
“Hmph! So, you call me ‘Wu Kuang’ when you want and then address me as ‘Senior’ when you want something. Brat, you’re as disrespectful as ever.” Wu Kuang sneered and thought to himself scornfully.
“Speak!” Wu Kuang snarled.
“The 10 Martial Ancestors all must have understood the Open Heaven Realm method is flawed. How did Senior overcome the limitations of the Open Heaven Realm method to cultivate the Ninth Order?”
Wu Kuang’s current body originally belonged to Mo Sheng, the Great Demon God, who was killed back in the Star Boundary. Wu Kuang’s Soul took over that fallen Master.
Yang Kai still remembered that when he saw Wu Kuang again after leaving the Star Boundary, Wu Kuang was just a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master at that time.
In other words, Wu Kuang should have been an ordinary Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master back then; so theoretically, his limit was the Seventh-Order. How did he become a Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master?
“You want to know?” Wu Kuang grinned, “You won’t be able to do it. The Three Selves Source Reconstitution Art is enough to keep you busy.”
Yang Kai probed and asked, “Is it related to the Secret Art practised by Senior?”
Back in the days when Wu Kuang was still Shi, he already perceived the drawbacks of the Open Heaven Realm method and knew that the 10 Martial Ancestors alone could only confine Mo but could not completely destroy it. He needed more power and to reach a higher Realm to destroy Mo!
The Three Selves Source Reconstitution Art was one of the methods Shi deduced that could potentially solve the limitations of the Open Heaven Realm method; however, this method had extreme limitations. If Wu Kuang did not know that Yang Kai had the Soul Warming Lotus, he would not have taught it to him; after all, the mere process of cutting one’s Soul in half was essentially like committing suicide if not for the Supreme Treasure.
Since Shi had formulated the Three Selves Source Reconstitution Art, but did not practice it, there must be another way to overcome the drawbacks of the Open Heaven Realm method.
Yang Kai guessed that this should be the Heaven Devouring Battle Law!
Wu Kuang nodded, “En, it is related to the Secret Art that I practice. The Heaven Devouring Battle Law was not only the fastest method to improve one’s strength, there are other subtleties involved with it that you cannot understand right now. To avoid the limitations of the Open Heaven Realm method, the Flawless Purifying Golden Lotus is also indispensable, so only I can do this in this world. As for the others…” Wu Kuang slowly shook his head and his message was self-evident.
Yang Kai was silent for a moment and then he suddenly said, “Senior, I saw the Primordial Light.”
Cang told the Ninth-Order Masters that finding the Primordial Light was the best and most secure way to resolve the issue of Mo and the Black Ink Clan.
Yang Kai overheard this when he was serving tea to them; otherwise, he would not have known about such a secret, as he was just a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master back then.
However, of those Ninth-Order Old Ancestors who were present, only two of them were still alive today.
Wu Kuang was the reincarnation of Shi and naturally knew more about the Primordial Light than anyone else.
Wu Kuang was stunned for a moment before he became incomparably excited, his eyes widening as he asked, “Where is it?”
He was so agitated that he even grabbed Yang Kai’s shoulders and shook him.
Yang Kai felt his shoulders were about to be crushed and his body shaken apart, and hastily said, “S-Senior, don’t get so excited! I only witnessed the Primordial Light by chance when travelling back through millions of years of time.”
“You travelled back in time!?” Wu Kuang gawked as this was an impossible feat as far as he knew.
After his eyes stopped spinning, Yang Kai explained exactly what happened in the Ancestral Land, causing Wu Kuang’s expression to change as he listened.
After Yang Kai finished explaining, Wu Kuang’s expression became extremely odd and he could not tell whether he felt relief or not, “So, that’s what happened! The Primordial Light has long since ceased to exist…”
Back then, the 10 Martial Ancestors theorized that the only way to deal with Mo once and for all was to find the Primordial Light. That was naturally a source of hope for them.
However, today, Yang Kai had confirmed that the Primordial Light had disappeared from the Universe, and its remnants had evolved into the Divine Spirit Family. Thus, this hope no longer existed.
Wu Kuang couldn’t help feeling some disappointment in his heart.
However, he had also long expected this situation. Even if he was disappointed, he did not despair.
The Primordial Light was certainly the safest and simplest solution to resolve the issue of Mo, but it was not necessarily the only solution!
Mo was in the Creation Realm, so if he could break through the Ninth Order and reach the Creation Realm, he would be able to compete with Mo directly!
Collecting himself, Wu Kuang quickly said, “Brat, since the Primordial Light has long since dissipated, the only hope for the Human Race now is to further strengthen themselves and rise above the Ninth Order as soon as possible.”
“Yes,” Yang Kai answered, but after thinking about it, he did not say anything about Zhang Ruo Xi; after all, her story was still just his own speculation. Thus, he would have to take her to that place before he could say for certain his hypothesis was the truth.
After a moment of silence, Yang Kai said, “I brought some men and a powerful weapon with me this time to ease the burden on Senior. If Senior needs any help from them, just order them as needed.”
“There is always a need for more help,” Wu Kuang said seriously, “Previously, Mo was hit by whatever Mu left behind and has been in deep sleep ever since. Over these years, although there have been some faint mental activities, it has not awakened yet. Fortunately, I have made it to the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master and my control over the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction is much stronger now; otherwise, all Hell would have broken loose already.”
Yang Kai was astonished and asked, “Then, can Senior estimate when Mo will awaken?”
Wu Kuang spread his hands helplessly and replied, “It’s impossible to say, maybe it will wake up in the next moment, or perhaps it will continue to sleep for a few thousand more years.”
Yang Kai’s anxiety increased greatly as he asked, “If it really wakes up, can Senior suppress him?”
“Perhaps for a short while, but certainly not for long; after all, I have not yet reached Cang’s level of strength. Although Cang was still technically in the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm, he was much, much further along that path that I am right now. It was for that reason that he could single-handedly stay here and maintain the Grand Restriction. Still… I am also growing stronger all the time. In short, the longer it takes Mo to wake up, the better it is for the Human Race.”
After a pause, Wu Kuang said, “There are many Black Ink Clansmen inside the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, including many Royal Lords. If the Grand Restriction were to be broken now, it would be difficult to stop them. However, if you have brought enough capable people, we might be able to reduce the power of Black Ink Clan in advance. When the day comes, and make no mistake, it will come, the burden on the Human Race would lessen if we act now.”
Yang Kai listened and asked eagerly, “How should we go about eliminating them?”
Wu Kuang replied, “Simple, I’ll create a small opening in the Grand Restriction and release some of them out in batches. You guys just need to kill them as they emerge!”
Yang Kai winced and whispered, “Senior may not know, but more than 3,000 years ago when the Human Crusade Force came here, Cang did what you suggested and it ended in disaster!”
Of course, when Cang chose to open a gap, it was based on the same reasoning.
Before the Human Crusade Force arrived, Cang had guarded this place alone for over 100,000 years and was approaching his limit. The Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction not only sealed Mo’s true body, it also held back all of Mo’s creations. Cang could not bear the burden by himself and eventually he would not be able to contain them.
If the seal broke and Mo and its true body escaped, the Human Race would not be able to handle the subsequent catastrophe.
So, after the Human Crusade Force arrived, Cang proposed, as Wu Kuang did now, to open a gap in the Grand Restriction, to relieve some of the pressure.
Initially, everything had gone according to Cang’s expectations, until the appearance of a Black Ink Giant Spirit God!
Unexpectedly, a Black Ink Giant Spirit God emerged from the Grand Restriction and forcefully held the gap open. The Black Ink Clan Army swarmed out and overwhelmed the Human Race Army.
All the Black Ink Clansmen who died in that battle left behind massive amounts of Black Ink Strength, which was then absorbed by the Black Ink Giant Spirit God, increasing its power.
In the end, Cang was forced to use the last card Mu left behind and sacrificed his body to reseal and reinforce the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction while Mo fell into a deep slumber.
However, the Black Ink Giant Spirit God who had been roaming in the Late Ancient Era battlefield had been awakened and struck from the rear to rout the Crusade Force.
Although Yang Kai was not present for many of those events, he was at least involved up until the emergence of the first Black Ink Giant Spirit God.
Thus, when Wu Kuang proposed this same strategy 3,000 years later, Yang Kai was naturally a little worried.
Wu Kuang had obviously heard about what happened back then and chuckled, “Accidents are inevitable.”
Yang Kai said solemnly, “Is Senior certain that you can reseal the Grand Restriction at any moment?”
Wu Kuang said bluntly, “There is no guarantee.”
Yang Kai’s face twitched. If Wu Kuang did not dare to make this guarantee, then how could he propose such a risky plan? The hidden ace that Mu had left behind had been used up. The Human Race could not afford another mistake of that magnitude.
However, Yang Kai soon realized what the problem was and asked, “Is Senior’s burden so great that you are unable to bear it?”
Yang Kai hit the nail on its head, so Wu Kuang could not help but sigh and reply, “I just became a Ninth-Order Master and my strength is incomparable to Cang. It’s only a matter of time before the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction breaks apart.”
“Why didn’t Senior just say so then?” Yang Kai said with some displeasure. Listening to Wu Kuang’s tone earlier, he thought this guy was having an easy time staying here at the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction. Who would have thought that his life was hanging by a thread all this while?
Wu Kuang simply replied, “Don’t I need some face?”
Yang Kai was immediately incensed and did not know how to respond. He fumed for a moment before asking, “If we do as Senior said, will there be any effect on Mo’s true body?”
“Would you believe me if I said that there will be no effect? Mu left a strong gambit behind. Now, we can only trust her.”
“Then what about Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods?” Yang Kai asked again.
“There is no way a newly promoted Ninth-Order Master like me could sense what’s going on inside the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction when even Cang, Shi, and the others could not back at their peak. Only Mu ever dove deep into the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction. We have never done so. Unfortunately, she died after we resealed the Restriction and did not leave any clues as to what she saw inside. That is why no one knew a Black Ink Giant Spirit God was lurking inside. The only thing I can do now is to try to re-seal the gap when I notice any anomalies and try to avoid things getting out of hand.”
What Wu Kuang meant was that if there was a Black Ink Giant Spirit God that wanted to break out of the Grand Restriction, he would immediately close the opening. It was pointless for Yang Kai to ask if he was able to do it at this point.
Wu Kuang followed up, “You do not have to worry too much though. Even if Mo is already at the Creation Realm, there will not be many Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods.”
“How do you know?” Yang Kai asked.
“Mo must have paid a huge price to create such a powerful being. Every Black Ink Giant Spirit God must require a part of its true essence. Although Mo is very powerful, its Soul and essence cannot be divided too many times; otherwise, it will be in great danger itself.”
“Is Senior certain of that, or is it just a guess?” Yang Kai frowned.
“I have evidence this time,” Wu Kuang smiled, “Thousands of years ago, the Black Ink Clan laid out an elaborate scheme and made many sacrifices to awaken the Black Ink Giant Spirit God in the Divine Spirit Ancestral Land, just like they did with the one from the Late Ancient Era battlefield. If Mo could freely create Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods, why would it bother going through all that trouble? Sending even one more out of the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction would have ended everything right from the start, right?”
Yang Kai pondered over it a little and had to admit that Wu Kuang’s analysis had some truth to it. Of course, he could not rule out the possibility that he just wanted to believe a comforting lie rather than face an unwelcome truth.
Wu Kuang continued, “So, even if there are still Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods in this Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, there won’t be many of them. Perhaps just one or two!”
Yang Kai pondered silently before exhaling a long sigh, “In that case, we can only act and see what happens.”
It was necessary to open up a gap in the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction as Wu Kuang needed to ease his burden. They could only hope that he could control the situation after.
Yang Kai was glad that he had convinced the Supreme Headquarters to build the Suppressing Black Ink Fortress 1,000 years ago; otherwise, he would not have known how to handle the current situation.
The original purpose of the Suppressing Black Ink Fortress was to prevent problems that might emerge from the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, including when the Grand Restriction would be broken.
“Senior, please wait a moment, I will go make some arrangements!” Yang Kai said and got up to leave.
Wu Kuang suddenly said, “Wait. There’s one more thing I need to explain to you.”
“What is it?”
Wu Kuang said solemnly, “The Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction has existed for a very long time, which means that it has fallen into disrepair. Every time the Grand Restriction opens and closes, it will impact its stability to a certain degree. Do you know why Cang did not dare to open the gap to relieve its pressure even when he had reached his limits?”
Yang Kai frowned and said, “Fear of collapse of the Grand Restriction?”
Wu Kuang nodded gravely, “Indeed! Even if there was only a one-in-a-million chance, Cang did not dare to take that risk. Thus, he kept holding on until the arrival of the Human Crusade Force. It was only then that he took the risk as others were around to help him contain the situation. After that, the Source Grand Restriction should have become extremely unstable.”
“Should?” Yang Kai raised an eyebrow.
Wu Kuang smiled lightly and replied, “This happened many times during the long existence of the Grand Restriction. Otherwise, why do you think my old friends chose to strengthen the restriction by sacrificing themselves? Do you think they didn’t cherish their lives?”
Yang Kai finally realized something when he heard this.
“The Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction was created by us under Mu’s instructions. Mo struggled violently when it was in the Grand Restriction. For countless years, it has struggled and attempted to break out a few times, which put a great strain on the Grand Restriction. As a result, whenever there are signs of collapse, someone would make the sacrifice and merge with the Grand Restriction!” As he spoke, Wu Kuang’s eyes glowed in remembrance, clearly lost in his memories of a time long past.
“When one of us merged with the Grand Restriction, it was equivalent to reinforcing it. Therefore, it has been maintained until today without collapsing. 3,000 years have passed since Cang did just that, and today’s Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction is no longer the same as when it was first built. When I open the Grand Restriction, you will have to deal with all the Black Ink Clansmen that leak out by yourselves. I won’t close it unless a Black Ink Giant Spirit God is trying to break out.”
Yang Kai nodded lightly and replied, “I understand. I will explain this to the Army.”
He knew the reason why Wu Kuang had told him this. It was because he did not want the Suppressing Black Ink Army to expect any help from him. Wu Kuang could only take care of the opening and be ready to close it at any moment. He could not provide any direct assistance to the Suppressing Black Ink Army. He also wanted the Suppressing Black Ink Army to be prepared for anything horrendous that may occur.
After leaving the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, Yang Kai returned to the debris of the Great Pass and explained what he had discussed with Wu Kuang.
Fu Guang nodded his head and said, “We can only deal with it as it is.”
Yang Kai continued, “I can’t stay for long, so I must ask Senior to take care of things here.”
Fu Guang smiled and said, “Not a problem. I’ll take care of it!”
Yang Kai looked at the numerous Human Eighth-Order Masters and shouted, “Prepare for battle!”
Small Universe portals opened up and numerous figures emerged from each of them, the soldiers soon assembling according to their Divisions and Squads.
Yang Kai moved away from the debris and his World Force surged to clear a space in the void. Afterwards, he took out the orb that contained the Suppressing Black Ink Fortress and threw it forward with force.
Manipulating Space Principles, the orb shattered and Space inside expanded rapidly.
In the blink of an eye, a large area of space was added to the Void, causing ripples in space. Yang Kai rapidly formed a set of hand seals and surged both World Force and Space Principles to smooth the disorder.
After everything calmed down, the huge Suppressing Black Ink Fortress came into view, in all its intimidating majesty. This was a true weapon of war. It sat in the void like a fierce beast, facing the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction like a tiger that was watching its prey.
In the square, Fu Guang raised his brow slightly when he saw this.
With such a powerful platform in hand and the 6,000 elites of the Suppressing Black Ink Army, they should not have any problems dealing with a few Black Ink Clansmen from the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction.
“Suppressing Black Ink Army!” Fu Guang pointed his hand to the front and shouted, “Assume your positions!”
“Yes Sir!”
Under Fu Guang’s command, the 10 Divisions rapidly entered the Suppressing Black Ink Fortress from all sides. Division after Division was assigned to each of the artifacts and everything was ready after just two hours.
Fu Guang stood proudly in the middle of the void as this huge Suppressing Black Ink Fortress came to life and prepared for war.
At the Suppressing Black Ink Fortress core, 10 Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters sat cross-legged in a circle, ready to activate its power to provide all possible assistance to the soldiers outside.
Yang Kai looked on from afar. The Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction was the battlefield of the Suppressing Black Ink Army. As he told Fu Guang earlier, he could not stay here for long; thus, he could only observe and did not intend to intervene in this battle.
Everything would be fine if the Suppressing Black Ink Army and the Suppressing Black Ink Fortress could deal with the Black Ink Clan Army that rushed out of the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction. If they could not, then there would be problems.
There was another figure standing beside him at this moment.
It was Zhang Ruo Xi, who asked, “Sir, don’t I have to go and help?”
She thought that she could provide a lot of assistance with her Small Stone Race Army, which could form a Fourth-Order Nine Palaces Formations. Even if she was facing an Innate Territory Lord, she could put up a hard fight.
Yang Kai slowly shook his head and said, “Your battlefield isn’t here!”
If his guess was right, then Zhang Ruo Xi could play a much bigger role in the future than merely controlling a Fourth-Order Nine Palaces Formation!
Upon hearing this, Zhang Ruo Xi felt a bit confused, but she listened to Yang Kai’s instructions and watched quietly beside him.
For the last few thousand years, she and Yang Kai had barely met, but ever since she was young, she had built an unconditional trust in Yang Kai. Even after growing up and becoming a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, she would still obey any request Yang Kai made of her.
Now, both the Suppressing Black Ink Army and the Suppressing Black Ink Fortress were ready.
Yang Kai looked over at Wu Kuang and said, “Senior! Please do your best to control the gap and not put too much burden on the Suppressing Black Ink Army.”
Wu Kuang said, “Rest assured, I have been considering this ever since I first began guarding this place. I will only open the gap wide enough for those weaker than Royal Lords to smoothly pass through. Perhaps one or two Royal Lords might occasionally rush out, but with that Dragon here, it shouldn’t be a problem.”
Yang Kai nodded lightly. This was also the reason why he arranged for Fu Guang to come here in advance. As a Divine Dragon, Fu Guang was significantly more powerful than the average Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, so dealing with one or two Royal Lords should not be an issue for him.
The battle would soon begin!
In the endless darkness, a spinning vortex suddenly emerged in front of the Suppressing Black Ink Fortress. The initial speed of the vortex was not fast, and its scale was not large; however, as time passed, the vortex gradually began to expand, and the speed of its rotation became increasingly faster!
This was obviously Wu Kuang manipulating the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction to open a hole.
Looking at this, Yang Kai felt much more assured.
He remembered when Cang opened the gap in the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction back then. A huge opening had appeared at that time and countless Black Ink Clan Soldiers poured out of it.
It was not that Cang was not as good as Wu Kuang at controlling the Grand Restriction, but rather that the situation was vastly different.
At that time, the Human Race had more than 100 Great Passes and an Army which numbered in the millions. Cang did not need to be so careful with his control of the gap.
However, things were different now. The Suppressing Black Ink Fortress was less than 10% the size of a Great Pass, and the Suppressing Black Ink Army was composed of only 6,000 Soldiers. Although there were 400 Eighth-Order Masters, that was still far fewer than the initial Crusade Force.
If Wu Kuang did the same as Cang had, then the Suppressing Black Ink Army would be overwhelmed and wiped out in no time.
Wu Kuang was undoubtedly far more cautious in his approach than Cang was back then.
Rich Black Ink Strength escaped from the vortex, but there was no sign of the Black Ink Clan, which puzzled the Suppressing Black Ink Army soldiers.
Soon, the Human Race Masters sensed an anomaly. From within the vortex, a powerful Divine Sense extended outward, spying on the situation outside.
Apparently, after that event 3,000 years ago, the Black Ink Clansmen inside the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction became more cautious.
However, even if they were more cautious, they could not resist the rare opportunity to rush out to the outside world.
Thus, it did not take too long before a large number of Black Ink Clansmen charged out of the vortex. These Black Ink Clansmen were on average stronger than those fighting on the Great Territory Battlefields. The Black Ink Clan Soldiers on the Great Territory Battlefields were mostly cannon fodder that any Open Heaven Realm Master could kill a swath of in a single blow.
However, these Black Ink Clansmen that rushed out from the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction were all Low-Rank Clansmen at least. In other words, they were equivalent to Low-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters.
This was not surprising as the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction has been sealed for so many years. Since these Black Ink Clansmen were spawned inside and had nothing else to do, there was plenty of time for them to grow in strength.
The last time the Crusade Force was here, they were faced with such a situation as well.
The first wave of Black Ink Clansmen that emerged numbered less than 300, but everyone knew this was only the beginning. This batch of Soldiers immediately rushed in the direction of the Suppressing Black Ink Fortress. After this first wave, more batches rushed from the vortex, each one containing a few hundred to 1,000 mixed Soldiers.
In the blink of an eye, tens of thousands of Black Ink Clansmen had emerged from the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, with more still pouring out.
On top of the walls of the Suppressing Black Ink Fortress facing the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction sat the Tiger Roar Cannons. These artifacts were all armed and ready. Several tens of Tiger Roar Cannons hummed as energy built up within them before a dozen thick pillars of light flashed out from the Suppressing Black Ink Fortress like arrows released from their string.
Wherever the pillars of light struck, the Black Ink Clansmen would be wounded or killed!
By the time the first volley of Tiger Roar Cannons faded, thousands of Black Ink Clansmen had been killed or injured.
Immediately after, a dozen more Tiger Roar Cannons spewed out dazzling columns of light!
Then a dozen more!
Beams of light from the Suppressing Black Ink Fortress shot out continuously.
By the time all the Tiger Roar Cannons on this side of the wall had fired, the Black Ink Clan had already suffered tens of thousands of casualties, with not one of them even able to approach the Suppressing Black Ink Fortress.
The vortex in the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction expanded again as Wu Kuang was very relieved to see the immense power of the Suppressing Black Ink Fortress.
As time passed, more Black Ink Clansmen continued to emerge from the vortex, including Feudal Lords and Territory Lords. Outside of the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, a battle that might last for many years had begun. In this battle, the Black Ink Clan would constantly be attacking while the Suppressing Black Ink Army would be constantly defending. Each side would persist in such an environment for who knows how long.
The key to this war lay in the hands of Wu Kuang. If he controlled the situation properly, the Suppressing Black Ink Army would be able to keep this effort up indefinitely; however, if Wu Kuang did not control the situation well, it would lead to an irreversible collapse.
The Territory Lords from the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction were all Innate Territory Lords, but although all of them were quite powerful, the moment they emerged they were greeted by Tiger Roar Cannons from the Suppressing Black Ink Fortress.
Even Territory Lords would inevitably be wounded by the Tiger Roar Cannons when they appeared, and if they could not respond in time, they would quickly be overwhelmed by the continuous bolts of light.
Yang Kai saw some Innate Territory Lords coming out of the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, but as they emerged, they would all go from being lightly wounded, to seriously wounded, to dying…
There were some Innate Territory Lords who barely survived the bombardment of the Tiger Roar Cannons and wisely did not charge straight at the Suppressing Black Ink Fortress and instead chose to flank it.
However, while the Suppressing Black Ink Fortress was seemingly fixed in place, the Suppressing Black Ink Army was very mobile. Those Innate Territory Lords who barely survived the Tiger Roar Cannons’ attack were all swiftly intercepted by Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters before they could get too close. The Eighth-Order Masters worked in teams to take down these flanking Territory Lords swiftly and decisively.
The entire Suppressing Black Ink Fortress soon began spinning at a low speed, thanks to the 10 Eighth-Order Masters powering the Core.
With this rotation, the fixed Tiger Roar Cannons on the four walls of Suppressing Black Ink Fortress could take turns to fire, allowing the soldiers time to rest and recuperate so that the power of the Suppressing Black Ink Army could be maximized.
Days went by and soon an entire month had passed with the situation still under the Human’s control. The Black Ink Clan had suffered countless casualties with more than 100 Innate Territory Lords having been killed while not one soul from the Suppressing Black Ink Army had died. The rate of consumption of the soldiers was also under control, and as long as they received enough supplies, the Suppressing Black Ink Army could continue fighting like this indefinitely.
However, accidents and unexpected situations finally began to appear.
From the vortex, the aura of a Royal Lord revealed itself, followed by the figure of a Royal Lord struggling to emerge from within the Grand Restriction.
Wu Kuang had carefully controlled the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction so that the gap he opened was only large enough to allow those weaker than Royal Lords to pass through smoothly. Any Royal Lord trying to emerge would have difficulty exiting through the current opening.
The Royal Lord was only delayed for a few breaths of time while passing through the vortex, but during that brief moment, he was naturally struck by multiple attacks from the Suppressing Black Ink Fortress, causing numerous injuries. Naturally, this caused the Royal Lord to roar in anger.
With great difficulty, he struggled out of the vortex and nimbly dodged the attacks from Suppressing Black Ink Fortress before charging out towards it.
However, he was immediately met with the intense Dragon Aura of a Divine Dragon!
Fu Guang, who had been waiting on the Suppressing Black Ink Fortress, personally intercepted the Royal Lord, forcing him into the nearby void to fight.
The Royal Lord was ripped apart by Fu Guang’s claws after only half an hour of fighting, his Black Ink Strength exploding out like a final desperate gasp before he perished.
Even in his prime, this Royal Lord was no match for a Divine Dragon, let alone after he was seriously wounded by the Suppressing Black Ink Army’s focused barrage.
The combination of the Suppressing Black Ink Army with the Suppressing Black Ink Fortress and a Divine Dragon proved to be a solid defence.
Of course, the prerequisite was that Wu Kuang maintained proper control of the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction and that nothing changed within the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction!
Yang Kai was relieved to see this.
There was no need for him to intervene in this matter. In fact, he could hardly resist the temptation to join; however, there was truly no need for him to be here since there was a Divine Dragon present.
Looking at all the familiar faces aboard the Suppressing Black Ink Fortress, Yang Kai felt guilty for not participating in the fight, but he could do nothing about it.
After taking Zhang Ruo Xi into his Small Universe and transmitting a few words to Fu Guang, Yang Kai connected with the Old Tree and soon followed its traces to the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary.
Three months later, in the desolate and vast void of the Chaotic Dead Territory, the two forces of Yin and Yang entwined, sparking violent explosions and shaking the Universe each time they collided.
Even an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master would not be able to withstand the fallout of such an explosion. This was a sight that had not been seen in the Chaotic Dead Territory for many thousands of years. Such a chaotic and dangerous place certainly had a lot of opportunities, yet the dangers far, far outweighed those lucky chances.
If it wasn’t for the protection of Giant Spirit God Ah Er when Yang Kai arrived here the first time, he would have already died many times over with his Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm cultivation.
After the Black Ink Clan invaded the 3,000 Worlds, they had also set their sights on this place, but when they realised how dangerous it was, they gave up on it entirely.
They couldn’t hold their ground in a place this dangerous. The Royal Lord was previously worried that these two Supreme Beings would direct animosity towards the Black Ink Clan and attack, but after so many years of observation, these two showed no signs of leaving. Subsequently, he discovered from some Black Ink Disciples that, though these two had a fierce reputation, they had never left the Chaotic Dead Territory since ancient times, allowing the Royal Lord to breathe a sigh of relief.
Yang Kai arrived in this place without difficulty and soon found Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan, who were nurturing another Small Stone Race Army.
Both Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan were speechless when they saw Yang Kai again.
Ever since Yang Kai gave them these unique creatures, the two of them had been fixated on this type of game-like combat to establish their seniority.
However, the last two times Yang Kai visited, nothing good happened. In addition to taking away a massive amount of Yellow and Blue Crystals, he also took away their entire Army which they had worked so hard to nurture.
It was as if every time Yang Kai appeared, they would be robbed clean of all that they owned.
So, seeing Yang Kai appear so soon after his last visit, Big Brother Huang’s headache and he couldn’t help grumbling, “Why are you here again?”
Big Sister Lan later added, “You can take some Yellow and Blue Crystals, but there are no more forces for you to take. It has only been a short time, and they haven’t grown much yet.”
It had only been a few hundred years since the last time Yang Kai visited, so, naturally, they had yet to recover from the damage he caused last time.
Yang Kai cupped his fist with a smile and bowed to the two in front of him, “Little Brother greets Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan. You two seem to have some misunderstanding about this Little Brother!”
Big Brother Huang snorted sarcastically.
Seeing this, Yang Kai hurriedly explained, “The reason this Little Brother came this time is not to ask for anything. Instead, I am purely here to visit you both. Of course, if you have anything to give… No, if you were to give me anything, I would not dare to refuse!”
“No!” Big Brother Huang shook his head like a rattling drum, “There’s nothing for you here! Now that you’ve visited us, you can go.”
Yang Kai suddenly felt a little heartbroken, “Big Brother Huang, why are you treating me like an outsider?”
If the names Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan felt like a joke before, after seeing records of the Primordial Light and uncovering the truth of what happened in the past, Yang Kai no longer felt any reservations about addressing them as such.
Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan really were the Big Brother and Big Sister of the Divine Spirit Family.
Big Brother Huang sighed, looking a little exasperated and helpless, “If I don’t treat you like an outsider, I’m afraid you’d really take away everything we own.”
Despite having a thick skin, Yang Kai couldn’t help but flush. He certainly did go overboard the last two times he visited.
“Alright. Why did you come this time?” Big Sister Lan empathetically questioned. Now that the Black Ink Clan had invaded their land and the Human Race was in a dire situation, how would Yang Kai come here to chit-chat with them for no particular reason?
Yang Kai’s expression turned serious, “Indeed, I have something to discuss. Do Big Brother and Big Sister remember the Primordial Light I mentioned the last time I came to visit you?”
Big Brother Huang couldn’t help but look up at him, “Did you discover something?”
The Primordial Light was also related to Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan’s origins, thus they were naturally concerned about it. It was simply that despite having lived for so long, they had no clue about it and didn’t even know where to go for information, leaving them with no choice except to place their hopes in Yang Kai.
Yang Kai nodded and said, “By coincidence, I happened to see the Primordial Light when I experienced the events of the past!”
Following, he narrated all the things he experienced in the Divine Spirit Ancestral Land, including the blurry Human figure that emerged when the Primordial Light first arrived there.
“Everything I saw should be the events that occurred in the Ancestral Land during the Primordial Era, and these memories were borne by the Ancestral Land itself. When this Little Brother was cultivating, I resonated with the Ancestral Land itself and got a glimpse of the mysteries of the Primordial Era. But from what I saw, before the Primordial Light hit the Ancestral Land, it was not as stable and powerful as it should have been. It undoubtedly separated its Yin and Yang components from it. This Little Brother believes that before the Primordial Light arrived at the Ancestral Land, it had already separated from Big Brother and Big Sister in the Chaotic Dead Territory!”
After Yin and Yang were separated from the Primordial Light, they did not immediately become Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan; rather, it took many years of evolution for the pure Yin and Yang to become the Burning Light and Serene Glimmer of today.
Big Brother Huang previously mentioned this too. In the beginning, they were muddled and only felt as though they had been abandoned somehow. It was only a long time after they gained full sentience that they realised that they were in the Chaotic Dead Territory and had never left this place since ancient times.
Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan exchanged glances, their expressions unreadable.
Sometime later, Big Brother Huang finally murmured, “So, we were really born from the Primordial Light?”
He had this conjecture the last time Yang Kai discussed the Primordial Light with them, but he had no way to prove it. Now, Yang Kai’s words had eliminated all his doubts.
Yang Kai said with a smile, “This is no surprise. The Primordial Darkness of this World also awakened its sentience and became Mo, so it is not strange that both of you were born from the Primordial Light. Besides, the Primordial Light not only created both of you, but all the Divine Spirits as well!”
After giving it some thought, Big Sister Lan said in a daze, “In that case, we are a Family with the Divine Spirits. Xiao Huang and I were born first, followed by those Divine Spirits…”
Xiao Huang remained silent.
The corner of Yang Kai’s brow twitched as he acted like he didn’t hear this name.
Big Sister Lan cheered, “Xiao Huang, this means all the Divine Spirits are our Little Brothers and Sisters!”
She was delighted beyond belief to realise such a relationship. She had been fighting with Big Brother Huang since time immemorial about who was the Elder Sibling, but now, all of a sudden, they both had so many Younger Brothers and Sisters. Big Sister Lan was filled with satisfaction.
When he heard this, Big Brother Huang’s eyes glistened too. He would usually be irritated if Big Sister Lan called him ‘Xiao Huang’, but at this moment, he couldn’t be bothered about it. Compared to all the Little Brothers and Sisters he now had, what did it matter if he had to be called Xiao Huang for a time?
He couldn’t help but stand up, spread his arms akimbo, and laugh proudly!
He then turned his head to look at Yang Kai again and said proudly, “Come come, call me Big Brother.”
Yang Kai cupped his fist with a smile, “Little Brother greets Big Brother Huang.”
Not forgetting Big Sister Lan who was looking at him eagerly from the side, Yang Kai paid his respect to her as well.
Previously, when they were addressed in this manner, the two of them were secretly on guard, wondering whether Yang Kai had any other intentions; however, at present, the same way of addressing and greeting sounded much more comfortable.
Yang Kai felt a little sentimental at this moment. Although these two were Supreme Beings with great seniority and profound strength, something as simple as having Little Brothers and Sisters actually brought them such joy, showing their innocence and cuteness, the polar opposite of how ferocious they were reputed to be outside.
The only thing of concern now was how these two would react if they discovered that they still had another Divine Spirit who might have higher seniority above them.
Considering all this, Yang Kai quickly remarked, “Big Brother and Sister, Little Brother brought a guest for you this time.”
With his brows lifted, Big Brother Huang asked, “Oh? Is it a Divine Spirit?”
Yang Kai nodded, “Yes.”
Strictly speaking, Heaven’s Order could be considered a Divine Spirit too; however, her Divine Spirit Bloodline wasn’t exactly the same as the others…
“That being the case, let me see which Little Brother it is!” He was already thinking about the greeting gift he should give to this new younger sibling. Since they all originated from the Primordial Light and he and Big Sister Lan were the firstborn, he shouldn’t be too stingy with the gift as the Big Brother of the Family.
In response, Yang Kai opened up his Small Universe right away, and a figure emerged.
When he decided to bring Zhang Ruo Xi to the Chaotic Dead Territory to meet Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan, Yang Kai imagined many different ways this first contact would go, but nothing could have prepared him for what happened next.
Just as Zhang Ruo Xi stepped out of his Small Universe, she sensed a peculiar aura and looked over at Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan.
A different kind of smile appeared on Big Brother Huang’s face all of a sudden as he stared straight at Zhang Ruo Xi. Though it was their first time meeting each other, he felt incredibly warm and close to this person in front of him, like a long-lost child finally meeting a family member…
Big Sister Lan tilted her head as she gazed at Zhang Ruo Xi, her eyes somewhat lost. Like Big Brother Huang, she felt at home with this person. This overwhelming feeling filled her with a sense of anticipation, even though she had no idea what she was anticipating.
This feeling was seemingly reciprocal. Yang Kai had not told Zhang Ruo Xi where they were heading or who she was about to meet; she only stayed in Yang Kai’s Small Universe and waited for his instructions.
The moment Zhang Ruo Xi stepped out of the Yang Kai’s Small Universe, she was attracted to the two tiny children in front of her. Maternal love flooded her heart as she reached out and stroked Big Brother Huang’s hair and patted Big Sister Lan’s head.
Yang Kai felt chills all over his body and secretly thought that women were definitely bolder than men. No one other than Zhang Ruo Xi in this Universe would dare act so intimately with the Burning Light and Serene Glimmer.
Immediately after, something much more terrifying happened though. Ruo Xi seemed to have misunderstood something as she asked, “Are these your children, Sir? They’re so adorable.”
[I don’t dare! I don’t have one!] Yang Kai screamed in his heart. [They are the Sun’s Burning Light and Moon’s Serene Glimmer. Never mind about you patting their heads, you even dare to say such things in front of them. If this angers them both, how can the Chaotic Dead Territory contain their rage?]