The turn of events shocked both the Humans and the Black Ink Clansmen. None of them could clearly see what happened, they only knew that a river appeared out of the blue, after which a Pseudo-Royal Lord vanished out of sight.
As they looked in the same direction, Thunder Shadow appeared with a figure surrounded by lightning. He then turned into a lightning ball and growled before biting a Territory Lord.
The Territory Lord was only an Acquired one and was bitten by Thunder Shadow while he had his guard down. As lightning struck, the Territory Lord trembled uncontrollably, and all his Black Ink Strength dissipated.
Thunder Shadow exerted more force with his mouth and split the Territory Lord’s body in half. With a contemptuous gaze, it spat out the body and roared, “What are you looking at? I’ll bite you to death!”
As soon as he finished speaking, he disappeared. When he reappeared, he was already in front of another Territory Lord. Opening his hideous mouth, he sank his teeth into the opponent.
Thunder Shadow was powerful to begin with. When Yang Kai bumped into him back then, Thunder Shadow was already able to hold off several Territory Lords on his own; then, in the depths of the Infinite River, he devoured a lot of compatible Dao Strength, to the point he became stuffed. Now, he was 30% stronger than in the past.
Naturally, no Acquired Territory Lord was a match for him anymore. In just several breaths of time, two Territory Lords had lost their lives.
No one could find Thunder Shadow when he was hiding, and when he struck, he did so ferociously, making it difficult for his opponents to respond or defend themselves.
While the Black Ink Clan was reeling from the shock, the Humans were ecstatic. They realised that strong reinforcements had arrived.
Apart from Thunder Shadow, who had made a name for himself on the various Great Territory Battlefields, the Human, who had appeared momentarily, wasn’t weak either; otherwise, they wouldn’t have targeted a Pseudo-Royal Lord.
Several Human Race Masters recognised the signature Space-Time River. People like Zhan Tian He, Xiong Ji, and Liu Fei Fei had witnessed Yang Kai using the river before, so they knew he had arrived.
There was no doubt that the person who launched a sneak attack on the Pseudo-Royal Lord and dragged him into the Space-Time River was Yang Kai. They had been doubtful about why Yang Kai, who had caused all this chaos, was nowhere to be seen while the Humans were locked in an intense fight with the Black Ink Clan.
Only now did they finally relax slightly.
Although Yang Kai had only brought a leopard with him, his presence alone gave them massive confidence.
On the battlefield, Thunder Shadow wandered around the Space-Time River and killed several Territory Lords. Just then, a Pseudo-Royal Lord came over and sent out a punch. Thunder Shadow was sent flying away while coughing up blood. Just as the Pseudo-Royal Lord was preparing to end his life though, the leopard disappeared into the void again.
Thunder Shadow’s goal was clear, he only had to target the Territory Lords to keep them at bay. Even Yang Kai couldn’t easily kill a Pseudo-Royal Lord, let alone his Monster Self. If he forced himself to contend with a Pseudo-Royal Lord, Thunder Shadow would be courting death.
Given his Innate Divine Ability and powerful combat skills though, it was easy enough for Thunder Shadow to kill some Acquired Territory Lords, which was what Yang Kai asked him to do.
They had to lift some pressure off the Humans guarding this position.
However, Thunder Shadow soon realised there was nothing much he could do on his own. There were quite a number of Pseudo-Royal Lords; moreover, after suffering some setbacks, the Territory Lords quickly formed Battle Formations, ensuring that Thunder Shadow couldn’t easily kill them.
As numerous Black Ink Clansmen scanned the surroundings, even Thunder Shadow could hardly conceal his figure using his Innate Divine Ability. The Pseudo-Royal Lords discovered his whereabouts and struck several times, causing the lightning around him to dim.
With a pair of amber eyes, Thunder Shadow glanced over at the Space-Time River, which was undulating violently and charged forward. At the same time, it exclaimed, “Save me, Big Brother!”
Several Pseudo-Royal Lords relentlessly raced after him while many rained their attacks on the Space-Time River. Regardless of what technique it was or who activated it, since their opponent was there, they just had to attack.
The Space-Time River shook violently because of external pressure as well as the internal fight.
Right after Yang Kai summoned the Space-Time River and swept the Ox Pseudo-Royal Lord into it, he too dove in. He was so swift that hardly anyone could see him clearly.
Inside the Space-Time River, Yang Kai naturally held the advantage. Although he couldn’t control everything like he did in his Small Universe, he was in a favourable position in the river.
Presently, the Space-Time River was filled with many more Dao Strengths, which formed countless undercurrents and enacted all sorts of wonders. Yin and Yang, Five Elements, 10,000 Grand Daos, Chaos. The entire evolutionary process took place repeatedly, completely confusing the opponent’s senses.
While hiding in the river, Yang Kai waited for a chance to flare up and kill the enemy.
Just as Thunder Shadow called for help, everyone could clearly feel that a powerful aura suddenly vanished inside the raging river.
The next instant, waves spread out as a figure shot out with a corpse with no Black Ink Strength left in his hand.
All the Black Ink Clansmen were flabbergasted. A Pseudo-Royal Lord was killed in such a short time!
Although there were quite a number of Pseudo-Royal Lords present, none of them had lost their lives despite fighting with the Humans for such a long time. Now, one of them had been killed just like that.
Meanwhile, a young man stood above the river with a dispassionate expression before tossing the corpse away as though it was common trash.
“Yang Kai!” A Black Ink Clansman exclaimed, for he finally made out Yang Kai’s face and realised his identity.
On the other hand, a solemn Mo Na Ye, who had been suppressing Yang Xiao, roared, “Yang Kai!”
After entering the Universe Furnace World, he acquired an opportunity to become a Royal Lord and even healed most of his injuries.
He initially thought that if he came across Yang Kai again, he would have a chance to kill him once and for all.
Now, it seemed that while he gained an opportunity, it wasn’t like Yang Kai acquired nothing. Yang Kai had become significantly more powerful than when they parted ways previously.
The strange river was obviously a new technique he had created, one Mo Na Ye had never seen or heard of before.
More importantly, he was concerned about the fact that Yang Kai was now able to pose a serious threat to the Pseudo-Royal Lords.
Although Yang Kai had killed Di Wu before, that was the result of many coincidences and specific circumstances. It wasn’t a reflection of his true power.
Mo Na Ye was deeply astonished. Yang Kai was already at the peak of the Eighth Order, so his power supposedly shouldn’t improve any further in his lifetime. Nevertheless, contrary to common knowledge, Yang Kai’s strength had increased tremendously. Such a person posed a huge threat to the Black Ink Clan, so he had to be killed as soon as possible!
Secretly, Mo Na Ye was glad that Yang Kai wasn’t so capable yet when he dealt with him previously; otherwise, he might’ve ended up in a miserable state, since he was only a Pseudo-Royal Lord at that time.
Unlike how heavy-hearted Mo Na Ye was, Ou Yang Lie was elated as he cheered, “You finally showed up, you stinking brat!”
He initially thought that Yang Kai had lost his life since the latter had not appeared even after all this time. Now, it seemed that he shouldn’t have worried about him, for Yang Kai was still alive and kicking. The moment he appeared, he even managed to end a Pseudo-Royal Lord’s life, which boosted the Humans’ morale greatly.
“Big Brother!” Yang Xue called out as well.
Yang Kai turned to look at her and put on a smile, “Focus on dealing with your opponent!”
An obedient Yang Xue replied, “Yes!”
Then, Yang Kai turned his head back and gently wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. Although he held an advantageous position with the Space-Time River’s help, he had to pay a certain price to kill a Pseudo-Royal Lord in such a short time.
Nevertheless, it was worth it.
“Kill him!” Mo Na Ye roared. Nothing good ever happened when Yang Kai was around, and this time was no exception. Yang Kai was undoubtedly a huge threat. Although the Black Ink Clan was currently at an advantage, Yang Kai might be able to turn things around in some crazy way.
If possible, Mo Na Ye would love to end Yang Kai’s life with his own hands; however, he was unable to shake off Yang Xiao and the others, who were now relentlessly pushing back against him.
Certainly, the Black Ink Clansmen didn’t have the guts to disobey Mo Na Ye’s order. Several Pseudo-Royal Lords rushed towards Yang Kai from different directions, locking their auras onto him before they even arrived.
The Pseudo-Royal Lords had learned their lesson, so they wouldn’t dare underestimate Yang Kai. After they communicated with each other using their Divine Senses, they decided to use their most powerful moves all together.
Yang Kai snorted and called out to Thunder Shadow before retracting the Space-Time River. The next instant, Thunder Shadow activated his Innate Divine Ability, after which both of them disappeared.
“There!” A Pseudo-Royal Lord growled while looking in a particular direction. He then pushed out a fist.
In that direction, a battered Thunder Shadow reappeared, “Why did you hit me? Big Brother isn’t with me!” He yelled while spitting blood, which made him look quite embarrassed.
The Pseudo-Royal Lord, who had struck Thunder Shadow, was startled, but in the next moment, he heard the sound of rushing water.
He immediately turned his head and widened his eyes in disbelief.
Yang Kai was already in a different spot as the river appeared abruptly before retracting.
Like a gale gusting through leaves, over 10 Territory Lords were swept into the river this time.
The next moment, Yang Kai took the river and ran away. While all the Black Ink Clan Masters shifted their attention to Yang Kai, Thunder Shadow activated his Innate Divine Ability and fled.
Mo Na Ye’s expression changed drastically. Seeing that several Pseudo-Royal Lords were now in a daze, he furiously roared, “Go after them!”
Regardless of what kind of technique that river was, after a Pseudo-Royal Lord fell into it, he died just a few breaths later. It was obvious that those Territory Lords were doomed.
It was only then that the Pseudo-Royal Lords came to their senses and raced after them. Nevertheless, how could they possibly capture or even catch up to Yang Kai? His figure flickered several times before he soon got rid of them.
Mo Na Ye’s expression changed again as he ordered, “Come back!”
The Pseudo-Royal Lords stopped in their tracks and returned at once. They looked grumpily at Mo Na Ye, who told them to chase after Yang Kai but then summoned them back the next moment. [What the Hell does he want?]
Mo Na Ye ignored those Pseudo-Royal Lords while feeling vexed.
[The same thing happens every time!]
Whenever he had to deal with Yang Kai, despite being more powerful, he would always lose his temper. That was because Yang Kai could flee swiftly if he was no match for the other party. That was the reason Mo Na Ye had been putting up with him for such a long time.
This time, he could no longer tolerate it or retreat.
“Yang Kai!” He growled as his attacks intensified. Those in the Six Paths Formation, which was led by Yang Xiao, felt immensely pressured in an instant. Still, they gritted their teeth and persevered.
They were initially able to go against Mo Na Ye with six Eighth-Order Masters joining forces; moreover, they had the Flowing Time Temple’s help. However, at this moment, they found it hard to hold on any longer.
It was indeed hard to deal with an enraged Royal Lord.
Yang Xiao and Yang Xue had spent a lot of Military Merits to modify and upgrade the Flowing Time Temple, so it was now just as powerful as Dawning Light back then. Although the temple’s defences had been fully activated, it still shook violently and some cracks began to form.
Meanwhile, Yang Xiao was equally furious. Mo Na Ye had been cursing at Yang Kai but raining the attacks on his Adoptive Son instead, which was outrageous.
Was the Adoptive Son supposed to bear the brunt for his Adoptive Father?
“Stop calling out to me! Do you think I’m your Father or something?”
Yang Kai’s voice was heard all of a sudden. In the meantime, ripples formed in the Void as the man returned with the flowing river in his grip.
Right in front of everyone’s eyes, he shook the river and cast away more than 10 figures. As they looked in that direction, they were shocked.
Those figures were the Territory Lords that had been swept into the river earlier; however, in just several breaths of time, they had lost all vitality. They were still alive and kicking just moments ago.
The problem was, there were no wounds on their bodies, and they appeared oddly at ease. It was as though their lives were snatched from them while they were asleep.
The scene terrified the Black Ink Clan.
Since Yang Kai was able to kill a Pseudo-Royal Lord with his strange river, there was no doubt that the Territory Lords that were drawn into it were doomed. What horrified them though was that they had no idea how those Territory Lords were killed.
It was only natural that people feared the unknown. Yang Kai was able to slaughter those Territory Lords without much effort, which was why they were fearful.
The moment Yang Kai reappeared, the Pseudo-Royal Lords made a move as their powerful Secret Techniques swept across the void.
Yang Kai’s figure flickered as Space Principles undulated. Although he was struck several times, he still managed to break the siege and flee from the attacking Pseudo-Royal Lords. While spitting blood, he charged forward in a particular direction.
In that direction, more than 10 Territory Lords, who had formed different Battle Formations, felt deeply distressed. It was apparent to them what Yang Kai was up to.
They had just witnessed their clansmen’s deaths, and their corpses were still warm. They certainly wouldn’t want to die along with them.
Seeing that Yang Kai was about to reach them, these Territory Lords hurriedly tried to run away. Just then, Thunder Shadow, who had gone into hiding amidst the chaos earlier, reappeared abruptly with a figure surrounded by lightning. With him as the centre, a gigantic lighting ball exploded and formed a giant web. In an instant, the Territory Lords stiffened.
At the same time, the Human Race Masters in that direction cast their Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques at those Territory Lords.
The Humans were in a passive position a while ago because they had to form a defence perimeter to protect Xiang Shan. As such, they were unable to move around. Faced with the bombardment of attacks, they could only focus on defending themselves. Fortunately, with the Warships’ protection, they managed to hold on.
Now that there was a chance to make a move, they certainly wouldn’t hesitate to do so.
The moves from Thunder Shadow and the Human Race Masters ensured that the Territory Lords were unable to run away, and the instant Yang Kai arrived, he swept those Territory Lords into the river.
A heartbroken Mo Na Ye roared, “Yang Kai, you dare?!”
Across from him, Yang Xiao and the others in the Six Paths Formation were in a perilous situation as they felt even greater pressure from their opponent.
Yang Xiao secretly lamented, thinking that he was there to bear Mo Na Ye’s wrath in his Adoptive Father’s stead.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai, who had captured over ten Territory Lords, ran away with the Space-Time River. While spitting blood, he announced, “I’ll be back!”
*Hong long long!*
The Pseudo-Royal Lords fully activated their powers and struck in the direction where Yang Kai was fleeing; however, his figure kept flickering and disappeared soon after.
Mo Na Ye’s face was gloomy as he thought that Yang Kai was indeed a huge threat to them. Whenever Yang Kai appeared, the Black Ink Clan would suffer immense losses. This time, apart from over 20 Territory Lords, even a Pseudo-Royal Lord had been killed.
Moreover, since it took several Pseudo-Royal Lords to even partially restrain Yang Kai, a great deal of pressure had been lifted off the Humans’ defence line. Initially, the Humans were in a passive position, but they were now able to fight back. In some places, they had even gained the upper hand as the Territory Lords were forced to step back.
Seeing this, Mo Na Ye knew that they couldn’t allow Yang Kai to dictate the flow of the battle any longer; otherwise, they would just be led around by the nose.
He had dealt with Yang Kai several times, so he understood the latter very well. Based on past experiences, once Yang Kai managed to influence the war enough, the Black Ink Clan was doomed to fail.
After making up his mind, Mo Na Ye barked, “Focus on breaking their defence line and killing Xiang Shan!”
The Pseudo-Royal Lords immediately turned around and charged towards Xiang Shan. That was what they had been doing before Yang Kai disrupted them, and with the help of these Pseudo-Royal Lords, the Black Ink Clan once again seized the initiative. Although more than 20 Territory Lords had been killed, the overall situation hadn’t changed. They were still at an advantage.
It had to be said that Mo Na Ye was a brilliant strategist and tactician. He didn’t lose his composure because of Yang Kai’s intervention and understood that the key to this battle was whether Xiang Shan would successfully break through or not.
As long as the Black Ink Clan could stop that from happening, the Humans would lose the chance of having a new Ninth-Order Master, and victory would belong to the Black Ink Clan.
They had a great chance of achieving their goal as well as it wasn’t like the Humans could persevere forever. Once Mo Na Ye shattered the Six Paths Formation in front of him, he could provide even more assistance to the siege. By then, Xiang Shan would be doomed.
If not for Yang Kai, the Black Ink Clan would’ve been in control of everything the entire time.
Despite Yang Kai’s appearance, as long as the Black Ink Clan could stick to their plan, the Humans wouldn’t be able to turn things around. The best they could do was to stall for time.
Seeing how intense the battle was, Yang Kai had a solemn expression. Corpses of the Territory Lords in perfect condition dropped out of the Space-Time River again.
Given enough time, he could’ve continued to harass the Black Ink Clan, slaughtering the Territory Lords to weaken their collective power.
Nevertheless, as he observed the battlefield, he knew that time was running out.
It wasn’t that something had happened to the defence line surrounding Xiang Shan. Before his arrival, even though the Humans were at a disadvantage as they had fewer people on their side, they were able to resist the bombardment of attacks from the enemies. Since more than 20 Territory Lords had been killed, they felt less pressured.
The problem was with Yang Xiao and his Six Paths Formation; after all, they were dealing with a true Royal Lord. Despite having the Flowing Time Temple’s help, they were still no match for Mo Na Ye. It was already commendable that that had held on until now.
At that moment, the Flowing Time Temple was about to collapse. While Yang Xiao was pale, some people around him spat blood and their auras plunged.
These six Eighth-Order Masters were a complete entity. If one of them collapsed, the entire Battle Formation would come apart. When that happened, Mo Na Ye would be able to kill all of them.
Mo Na Ye could tell that they were on their last legs, so he bombarded them with attacks that were as violent as a storm. At the same time, he growled through clenched teeth, “Yang Kai, I heard that he’s your Adoptive Son! Are you going to just watch as I kill him!?”
They had been contending with each other for years, but even if he couldn’t kill Yang Kai, he had the confidence to slaughter his Adoptive Son.
In the void, Yang Kai arched his brow.
[Is he trying to provoke me? What is he trying to achieve? What’s the point of him provoking me at this point? Is he worried that I’ll target those Territory Lords instead? Is that why he’s forcing me to confront him to pin me down? It’s possible…]
However, Yang Kai knew that he mustn’t underestimate Mo Na Ye, who was not only very patient, but cunning. Over the years, he dealt with Yang Kai directly a few times, so it was obvious he was up to something by trying to provoke him under these circumstances.
Regardless of what his intention was, Yang Kai had no choice but to help.
Yang Xiao and his Six Paths Formation were on their last legs. As Mo Na Ye rained attacks down on them. The Battle Formation would fall apart at any moment.
As Yang Kai guffawed, he stepped forward and bellowed, “You only know how to bully a child? Why not ask his Father first!”
Yang Xiao rolled his eyes when he heard that. He was an Ancient Dragon who was several thousand years old, after all. How could his Adoptive Father call him a child?
As Yang Kai brushed past the defence line, he released and retracted the Space-Time River like it was a whip, after which several Territory Lords were swept into it.
In an instant, currents surged in the river as 10,000 Grand Daos were stimulated. When Yang Kai arrived at the battlefield, the corpses of those Territory Lords fell out of the river with no vitality left.
He then stepped into the Six Paths Formation, which was led by Yang Xiao, and infused his aura into it.
Instantly, the Six Paths Formation became the Seven Stars Formation. However, Yang Xiao’s face blanched as he roared.
As the Core of the Formation, he had to harmonise the powers coming from all directions, so he felt immensely pressured. Since he was an Ancient Dragon with a figure of over 90,000 metres long, he was better able to bear such pressure, but he had never formed a Seven Stars Formation with others before, so he found it difficult to harmonise everyone’s power at that moment. When he led the Six Paths Formation just now, the Battle Formation could still run smoothly; however, the instant Yang Kai joined them, the Battle Formation started shaking violently, as though it would come apart at any moment.
That was the reason the Human Race Masters found it hard to form stronger Battle Formations. When it came to Battle Formations, more people was not always better. Just like shoes, one had to choose ones that fit.
The Eighth-Order Masters that could form a Seven Stars or Eight Trigrams Formation were those who spent millennia fighting together, so they understood each other extremely well. They also had to rehearse the Battle Formation countless times so that they could achieve the desired result when dealing with enemies.
On top of all that, it was dangerous for Yang Kai to barge into a Battle Formation that was already running to begin with. If something went wrong, instead of forming a higher Battle Formation, he would make the original one break apart.
Once the Battle Formation fell apart while they were dealing with a formidable opponent, they would be doomed; however, Yang Kai had no choice but to take a huge risk.
The Battle Formation trembled as Mo Na Ye’s attacks never ceased. The seven of them were forced to step back. One of the members was badly injured. His aura plunged as he spat blood.
Helpless, Yang Kai activated the Space-Time River to surround them and ward off Mo Na Ye’s attacks, which helped lift some pressure off them.
Nevertheless, even the Space-Time River, which was based on the Dao Strengths of Space-Time and infused with 10,000 Grand Daos, couldn’t fend off a Royal Lord for long.
Faced with the violent attacks, the river was immediately sent into turmoil, which caused Yang Kai’s vitality to undulate.
“Rotate the Core!” He growled through clenched teeth. While sustaining his aura, he stepped towards Yang Xiao, who moved away at the same time.
Although they had never practised forming a Battle Formation before, nor were they really related by blood, Yang Xiao blindly believed in Yang Kai. That was because it was thanks to Yang Kai that Yang Xiao was born safely into this world back then.
The two figures replaced each other in the blink of an eye. Yang Kai became the Core of the Formation while Yang Xiao stood in his Adoptive Father’s previous position. As streams of aura came from all directions, Yang Kai quickly made some adjustments.
The initially turbulent Battle Formation soon stabilised. At the same time, their auras rose rapidly like the Sun at the break of dawn and reached new heights.
There was a price to pay, though. The Space-Time River was almost destroyed by Mo Na Ye. The moment they were done with the change of Formation, Yang Kai quickly took control of the Space-Time River, turned it into a whip, and lashed Mo Na Ye with it.
The Dao Strengths shook as Mo Na Ye staggered upon impact. He was flabbergasted because Yang Kai’s power had increased significantly.
Before the Universe Furnace’s appearance, he was hunting Yang Kai down as a Pseudo-Royal Lord at that time. Yang Kai was powerless to counterattack and could only flee in embarrassment. At the most critical moment, the Universe Furnace appeared all of a sudden and the Space surrounding its projection became something like a trap, which provided shelter for Yang Kai. If not for the Universe Furnace’s appearance, Yang Kai would have been killed.
Now, the Battle Formation that had been formed with Yang Kai as the Core seemed able to go against a true Royal Lord like him.
There was no doubt that the Battle Formation was powerful, but it also showed how formidable Yang Kai was.
It was at that moment that Mo Na Ye knew he had made the right decision. Xiang Shan becoming a Ninth-Order Master was indeed a crisis, but Yang Kai would be a bigger threat to them if he wasn’t killed.
Mo Na Ye believed that he could kill two birds with one stone this time.
With Yang Kai as the Core of the Formation, the Human Race Masters successfully formed the Seven Stars Formation, which was significantly more powerful than the previous Six Paths Formation. Even when dealing with a Royal Lord like Mo Na Ye, they were no longer in a difficult situation.
The fight between them was so intense that space around them heaved and shattered.
Yang Xiao hurriedly stowed the tattered Flowing Time Temple. He and Yang Xue had inherited the artifact from Flowing Time Great Emperor, and it had accompanied them for thousands of years. He had no choice but to use it to deal with the opponent earlier. If it was destroyed, he would be quite heartbroken.
Now, he didn’t have to worry about the Flowing Time Temple being destroyed. He just had to collaborate with Yang Kai. It was much easier than when he had to lead the entire Formation earlier.
While engaging in a hot-blooded fight, Yang Kai frowned.
This wasn’t enough. Although they had formed the Seven Stars Formation with him as the Core, they still found it hard to oppose Mo Na Ye. The crux of the problem wasn’t the Seven Stars Formation, but rather that all of them had suffered various degrees of injury already.
In particular, one of the Eighth-Order Masters was badly injured and his aura was unstable. The power coming from him was much weaker than those of the others. That was the reason the Seven Stars Formation’s power couldn’t be fully activated.
After giving it some thought, Yang Kai sent a voice transmission to the Eighth-Order Master.
Upon hearing that, the Eighth-Order Master nodded, “Please be careful.”
Saying so, he immediately left the Battle Formation. The others were shocked as someone leaving at this point might cause the Battle Formation to fall apart.
Nevertheless, the next moment, someone filled in the position where the Eighth-Order Master previously stood. After a moment of turmoil, the Battle Formation stabilised.
The person was none other than Thunder Shadow.
He had been hiding somewhere nearby and waiting for a chance to make a move, but he had yet to find an opening. After receiving a Divine Sense transmission from Yang Kai, he promptly replaced the injured Eighth-Order Master and ensured that the Seven Stars Formation wouldn’t break apart.
While busy, he flashed a smile at Fang Tian Ci and called out intimately, “Second Brother!”
Fang Tian Ci responded with a smile.
On the other hand, Yang Xiao was astonished, “You’re Brothers? No way. Brother Thunder Shadow is a Monster Race member while Old Fang is a Human. When did you two become family? Why didn’t I know that?”
Furthermore, as far as he was concerned, Fang Tian Ci and Thunder Shadow had rarely come into contact before; after all, Thunder Shadow only started getting active in different Great Territory Battlefields 1,000 years ago. Prior to that, he spent most of his time cultivating in the Myriad Monsters World.
He was a Great Emperor of the Myriad Monsters World where there was a World Tree clone. By cultivating there, Thunder Shadow could increase his power much faster.
As such, Yang Xiao was puzzled as to why they called each other Brothers when they were supposedly not close.
Fang Tian Ci replied meaningfully, “There are many things that you don’t know.”
Yang Xiao felt that there was some underlying meaning in those words, but it wasn’t the right time to probe; therefore, he could only suppress his doubt and focus on dealing with the opponent before them.
It had to be said that with Thunder Shadow joining the Formation, the Seven Stars Formation instantly became more powerful, and they were able to run the Battle Formation far more smoothly.
Despite that, they were still not at an advantage when going against Mo Na Ye.
Yang Xiao was astounded at that, for he didn’t expect a Royal Lord to be so mighty. He initially thought that with his Adoptive Father leading the Battle Formation, it would be easy for them to push Mo Na Ye back, but now it seemed that he had misjudged the situation.
He reckoned that Mo Na Ye didn’t go all out earlier; otherwise, even though they had the Flowing Time Temple’s help, the enemy could’ve easily destroyed him and the Six Paths Formation.
Yang Xiao wasn’t the only one who realised this problem. It seemed to Yang Kai that Mo Na Ye was getting stronger as the battle progressed. Although Thunder Shadow had replaced the wounded Eighth-Order Master, they still couldn’t gain the upper hand.
[Something is off about this guy. Since he’s so powerful, why didn’t he kill Yang Xiao and the others quickly earlier? Was he worried that he’d be injured?]
That was an understandable thought, as it was quite troublesome once a Black Ink Clansman was injured. If Mo Na Ye pushed Yang Xiao and the others over the edge, he might have been seriously wounded if they decided to throw all caution to the wind.
Could it be that he had other considerations?
Regardless of his intention, Mo Na Ye displayed a strong sense of fortitude that Yang Kai had never seen in other Black Ink Clansmen before.
As they exchanged moves, their Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques bloomed. It was undoubtedly a life-and-death battle.
Yang Kai grew apprehensive as time passed. He had the confidence to persevere; after all, he was used to this kind of combat. Yang Xiao, as a Dragon Clan member, would be fine too. As a Monster Race member, Thunder Shadow could hold on as well. Nevertheless, the other Eighth-Order Masters wouldn’t be able to last long, not even his Human Self, Fang Tian Ci.
They were injured to begin with, so if the intense battle dragged on, their wounds would only exacerbate.
Therefore, they had to deal with Mo Na Ye quickly. It was extremely difficult to kill him, for he was a Royal Lord; as such, they could only try to injure him and force him to retreat.
After making up his mind, Yang Kai shouted, “Blood Crow!”
In the defence line surrounding Xiang Shan, a figure looked up in Yang Kai’s direction with bloodshot eyes. His body was covered with a red aura, and he gave off a mad and bloodthirsty vibe.
It was none other than Blood Crow!
With a smug expression, he grinned, “Have you finally realised how important I am?”
Yang Kai replied solemnly, “Cut the crap and come over here!”
“Fine, fine…” Blood Crow shrugged and exploded the next moment. He turned into countless blood-coloured crows and brushed past the Black Ink Clansmen.
Mo Na Ye’s expression changed drastically when saw this and yelled, “Stop him!”
Without the need for him to give an order, the Black Ink Clansmen made a move the moment Blood Crow tried to break through the siege.
Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques were cast, after which half of the blood-coloured crows were killed. The remaining half successfully fled before they came together and transformed back into Blood Crow.
He smiled contemptuously, “Do you think you can stop me?”
The next instant, he charged towards Yang Kai.
Mo Na Ye directly pushed out a palm at Blood Crow, one that seemed to cover the entire void. Since he had realised Yang Kai’s intention, he certainly wouldn’t allow Blood Crow to come over.
“In your dreams!” Yang Kai roared and surged his power before whipping Mo Na Ye’s wrist with the Space-Time River.
As both parties clashed, the Seven Stars Formation shook while Mo Na Ye staggered.
Seizing the chance, Blood Crow approached Yang Kai and announced, “Dawn’s Blood Crow joins the Formation!”
“Come!” Yang Kai adjusted the Battle Formation as he led Blood Crow’s aura to integrate.
The Seven Stars Formation instantly became the Eight Trigrams Formation and their collective power had increased by more than 30%!
On the other hand, Mo Na Ye was shocked as he saw them really form the Eight Trigrams Formation.
Although he had heard that some Human Race Masters were able to form the Eight Trigrams Formation, he had never seen it before; moreover, the Eight Trigrams Formation had only appeared once, and it lasted for a short time. That was because this kind of Battle Formation was extremely taxing for the one acting as the Core.
Moreover, the last time this Formation took shape, the Eighth-Order Master who served as the Core perished.
However, the Black Ink Clan also paid a hefty price as a Pseudo-Royal Lord was killed.
It was at that time that the Eight Trigrams Formation amazed everyone, and no one had yet to make it happen again.
When Yang Kai summoned Blood Crow to come over, Mo Na Ye already suspected that the other party wanted to set up this Battle Formation. After the Black Ink Clan failed in their attempt to stop Blood Crow, Mo Na Ye still hadn’t lost hope though.
It was extremely difficult to establish the Eight Trigrams Formation, and even Yang Kai might not be able to create this miracle.
After all, Yang Kai had been on his own over the years, and he had never rehearsed any Battle Formations with other people. How was it possible that they could form such a Formation at a moment’s notice?
In fact, Mo Na Ye was already surprised that Yang Kai was able to run a Seven Stars Formation with ease.
But now, the Eight Trigrams Formation was right before his eyes. Those eight figures had their aura closely connected and they appeared even more intimidating than a Royal Lord like him.
At that instant, Mo Na Ye knew that he was in trouble.
Mo Na Ye couldn’t figure out how Yang Kai managed to form an Eight Trigrams Formation without much difficulty.
Before Yang Kai summoned Blood Crow, Mo Na Ye was in control of everything, including besieging Xiang Shan and suppressing Yang Xiao and the others in front of him; however, once the Eight Trigrams Formation took shape, he lost control of the situation.
[This guy can always do things that surprise us…]
The Seven Stars Formation that they had formed with Yang Kai as the Core was already able to go against him. Now that the Eight Trigrams Formation had been established, they appeared even more intimidating. How was Mo Na Ye supposed to be a match for them?
He almost couldn’t contain the urge to use the trump card.
Xiao You was the one who set up the trump card, in fact. It was meant to be used at the most critical moment to ensure that they would win this battle and was the reason Mo Na Ye was confident about destroying Xiang Shan and Yang Kai at the same time.
Nevertheless, if he used his trump card now, he certainly could stop Xiang Shan, but Yang Kai would likely escape. In that case, all the waiting and forbearance would be for nought.
If he only wanted to kill Xiang Shan, he could’ve used his trump card early on. He had been tangled up with the Humans because he was waiting for Yang Kai to appear as he was certain that the latter would come.
Just as he expected, Yang Kai arrived, although slightly late, but everything was still going to plan.
Compared to Xiang Shan, Mo Na Ye had a greater desire to kill Yang Kai. He had a feeling that if he allowed Yang Kai to live, he would prove to be a bigger threat than Xiang Shan becoming a Ninth-Order Master.
Everything was within his control before the Eight Trigrams Formation came into existence, which disrupted his arrangements.
After a moment of hesitation, Mo Na Ye suppressed his uneasiness, for it wasn’t time to spring his trap yet. Although Yang Kai had managed to form the Eight Trigrams Formation, it wasn’t easy to kill a Royal Lord like him. As such, Mo Na Ye still had a chance to achieve his goal.
Furthermore, no one was certain how long the Eight Trigrams Formation could last. How long could Yang Kai, as the Core, sustain such an arduous Battle Formation? Once he collapsed, the Eight Trigrams Formation would naturally fall apart.
At the thought of this, Mo Na Ye stopped being aggressive and started defending himself instead. Faced with the bombardment of attacks, he was forced to retreat. Although he appeared to be in a difficult situation, he didn’t suffer any injuries.
Across from him, Yang Kai couldn’t help complimenting Mo Na Ye in secret, for his opponent had made the right decision. If one wasn’t a match for the enemy, he shouldn’t fight with them head-on. If he were Mo Na Ye, he would’ve made the same decision. Sometimes, being defensive was more effective than being aggressive.
It was fine if your opponent was only on par with you, for as long as one could stall for time, the more aggressive one would generally run out of strength sooner.
Since Yang Kai had to adjust and harmonise everyone’s aura to sustain the Eight Trigrams Formation, he felt immensely pressured. Although he was just one step away from becoming a Divine Dragon, he still found it hard to sustain this Formation for a long time. What was more, Mo Na Ye had decided to stall for time. If they couldn’t injure him and force him to back down within an hour, their advantage would disappear.
[It seems that I have to take a risk…]
If they couldn’t settle Mo Na Ye using the Eight Trigrams Formation, Yang Kai would have no choice but to unite his three Selves and attempt to ascend to the Ninth Order.
Wu Kuang was the one who taught him the Three Selves Source Reconstitution Art, which was a technique devised by Shi to break through the shackles of the Open Heaven Realm Method. No one had ever cultivated it since its invention though, so no one could give Yang Kai any valuable insight.
How was he supposed to unite his three Selves? Could he really break his shackles and ascend to the Ninth Order by doing so?
Yang Kai didn’t have the answers to those questions; therefore, even though his Human Self and Monster Self were by his side, he didn’t choose to unite them. He initially intended to wait for the dust to settle before he returned to the 3,000 Worlds and looked for a suitable place to proceed.
In that case, even if there were any mistakes, he would have some room to rectify them. If he united his three Selves in this situation, once he made a mistake, he would probably be doomed, and the Human Race would be in hot water too.
All the same, Yang Kai had to get prepared given the power and resilience that Mo Na Ye showcased.
Hopefully, he wouldn’t need to use his trump card.
After giving it some thought, Yang Kai still sent a Divine Sense message to Fang Tian Ci and Thunder Shadow, after which they started taking action in silence.
Originally, in the Eight Trigrams Formation, his Human Self and Monster Self had only integrated their aura and energy with Yang Kai. However, upon receiving his transmission, they also released their Spiritual Energy and resonated with Yang Kai.
Suddenly, Yang Kai was able to run the Eight Trigrams Formation nearly effortlessly. Meanwhile, the gazes of Thunder Shadow and Fang Tian Ci became hollow as though their Souls practically left their bodies. Only their auras continued to stream into the Battle Formation.
The Eight Trigrams Formation became effortless to operate not because Yang Kai, as the Core of the Formation, was mighty, but rather because there were two special existences in the Battle Formation.
The Human Self, Fang Tian Ci, and Monster Self, Thunder Shadow, were created by Yang Kai. They were essentially Soul Clones, though different from how one traditionally defined a Soul Clone. They had gone through their formative years separately, so they had their own unique personalities and experiences.
However, if the main body needed their collaboration, they could work seamlessly with him.
Therefore, Yang Kai only had to harmonise the powers of the other five people when sustaining the Eight Trigrams Formation and could ignore the Human Self and Monster Self. Fang Tian Ci and Thunder Shadow as they would perfectly collaborate with him.
In other words, Yang Kai was controlling an Eight Trigrams Formation with the difficulty of a Six Paths Formation. Furthermore, Yang Xiao and Blood Crow were part of the Battle Formation, whom he was very familiar with and had a high degree of trust with, which made the collaboration easier.
If it was anyone else other than Fang Tian Ci and Thunder Shadow, Yang Kai wouldn’t have been able to pull off such a feat.
By resonating their very Souls with Yang Kai, Fang Tian Ci and Thunder Shadow had basically surrendered themselves to him, allowing the main body to take control of their actions entirely. That was the reason they were able to run the Eight Trigrams Formation far more smoothly.
Mo Na Ye was stunned when their attacks suddenly intensified, not having expected their power could still increase at this point.
Given his acute insight, he could naturally see the crux of the problem, which was why he was astonished, [Is Yang Kai that trustworthy? Two people in the Battle Formation have practically abandoned their own Will and turned into a simple source of energy for him! If Yang Kai held even the slightest ill intentions towards them, he could kill them with a thought!]
Certainly, Mo Na Ye was envious of the fact that the Humans were so united. The Black Ink Clan were no match for them in this regard. Although they all came from the most supreme being, they were selfish. Mo Na Ye was no different.
If he was not selfish, he wouldn’t have become a Pseudo-Royal Lord and eventually a Royal Lord.
And so, he gritted his teeth and held on while madly releasing his Black Ink Strength to fend off the intensifying rounds of attacks.
Even if he couldn’t contribute to the battle anymore, Mo Na Ye wouldn’t want to make a mistake either; as such, he decided to persevere and wait for the right opportunity.
Meanwhile, Ou Yang Lie was dealing with Xiao You and two Four Symbols Formations formed by the Territory Lords on his own. Despite that, he remained brave and ferocious. As his violent power surged, Xiao You and the eight Territory Lords could hardly counterattack, leaving them in a perilous situation.
It was thanks to Yang Xue that Ou Yang Lie was able to pull off this display. If Yang Xue hadn’t stealthily approached Xiao You and injured him, Ou Yang Lie would’ve only been able to deal with the latter instead of fighting with a Royal Lord and eight Territory Lords at the same time.
While in an intense battle, he still paid some attention to the entire battlefield. When he saw that Yang Kai had successfully set up an Eight Trigrams Formation to suppress Mo Na Ye, he was ecstatic, but he soon became worried.
An Eight Trigrams Formation was extremely draining for the one acting as the Core, so even Yang Kai couldn’t persevere for long. To suppress a Royal Lord, Yang Kai had to be in top condition at all times; otherwise, the opponent might turn things around.
It was a challenge for Yang Kai as well as the other members of the Eight Trigrams Formation.
An anxious Ou Yang Lie couldn’t help but roar, “Still not done yet, Big Head Xiang!?”
A long time had passed, but Xiang Shan still hadn’t achieved a breakthrough. Although there were some obstacles when Ou Yang Lie attempted his own ascension, he didn’t take nearly this long.
Given their situation, if the Humans wanted to win this fight, they had to pin their hope on Xiang Shan. As long as Xiang Shan could make it to the Ninth Order, they could turn the situation around and slaughter the enemy forces here. They might even be able to kill the two Royal Lords.
However, Xiang Shan had to disappoint them. He was touted as a rare talent, but he couldn’t achieve an ascension as quickly as he should.
Ou Yang Lie had clearly lost his temper; otherwise, he wouldn’t have bothered Xiang Shan at such an important moment.
He could feel that Xiang Shan’s aura was unstable, hovering around the peak of the Eighth Order but unable to break through to the Ninth Order. That was why Ou Yang Lie was so frustrated. With the help of a Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill, it supposedly wasn’t difficult to make it to the Ninth Order. At the very least, it wasn’t too hard for him.
At that moment, Xiang Shan was also aggrieved. He didn’t expect to face so many obstacles when attempting a breakthrough. Undoubtedly, Yang Kai was the one who set off this fight when he snatched a Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill. Nevertheless, Xiang Shan was the one who escalated events when he accidentally revealed his aura while attempting a breakthrough.
If his breakthrough was successful, they could destroy the Black Ink Clan present; however, if this dragged on, the situation would only worsen for the Humans.
He naturally wanted to shatter his shackles and make it to the Ninth Order as soon as possible; nonetheless, the hidden damage leftover from when his Order regressed back then was more severe than he thought.
Although he eventually managed to make it to the Eighth Order again, the boundary wall in his Small Universe seemed to have thickened.
That was the reason Ordinary Grade Open Heaven Pills were useless to him; supposedly, someone like him didn’t need a Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill. He only needed some Ordinary Grade Open Heaven Pills to break the bottleneck and ascend to the Ninth Order.
If the boundary walls of other Eighth-Order Masters were like a thin membrane, his boundary wall was akin to a metre-thick metal wall.
Since the boundary wall in his Small Universe was so thick, the medicinal efficacies of Ordinary Grade Open Heaven Pills were useless to him. Although a Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill was indeed effective, it still took time to break down the boundary wall.
Unfortunately, the thing the Humans were most lacking right now was time.
Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pills were undoubtedly the best opportunities in the Universe. Xiang Shan could clearly feel that, with the help of the Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill, the thick boundary wall surrounding his Small Universe was slowly dissolving. When it was destroyed, he would make it to the Ninth Order.
However, up until now, only 70% had been broken down. The remaining 30% was still stopping his Small Universe from expanding, which made it impossible for him to break through.
Although he was anxious, there was nothing much he could do.
If he gave up, the Humans would no longer be in a passive position. At the very least, they would no longer need to surround and protect him.
Nevertheless, if he gave up now, the Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill would be wasted. In this kind of situation, how could someone like him, a mere peak Eighth-Order Master, do anything to turn things around?
Only by ascending to the Ninth Order could he help the Human Race destroy the Black Ink Clan here.
Just like Ou Yang Lie, Xiang Shan was equally anxious, but there was nothing he could do, as such, he gritted his teeth and madly pushed his strength to refine the Open Heaven Pill’s medicinal efficacies in the hope that the boundary walls in his Small Universe would dissolve faster.
In a particular spot of the defence line made up of Human Race Masters, five Eighth-Order Masters, who had previously parted ways with Yang Kai, formed a Five Elements Formation to ward off the enemies.
Presently, Tian Xiu Zhu, who was an old veteran Eighth-Order Master, served as the Core of the Formation while Zhan Tian He, Xiong Ji, Liu Fei Fei, and Lin Wu supported him. Apart from Lin Wu, who ascended to the Eighth-Order inside the Universe Furnace World, the others were already Eighth-Order Masters before arriving in this place. As such, the Battle Formation they had established was fairly powerful.
As they fought though, Lin Wu suddenly sent a transmission to everyone, “I’m worried that Senior Brother Yang and the others might not be able to hold on for long.”
Before he brought this matter up, the others didn’t give it much thought, but now, even Liu Fei Fei worriedly spoke up, “The Eight Trigrams Formation is too draining for those in the Formation.”
When Yang Kai successfully formed the Eight Trigrams Formation, the Humans were just as surprised as the Black Ink Clansmen; however, because the Core was Yang Kai, a legendary figure who could make the impossible possible, they quickly accepted the situation.
Although the Battle Formation had been established though, no one could tell how long it could last.
Everyone could see that, which was why Mo Na Ye was stalling for time and Ou Yang Lie blew his top.
Tian Xiu Zhu chastised them by saying, “Don’t get distracted! Focus on dealing with the enemy in front of you!”
At this point, they had to concentrate on warding off the Black Ink Clan instead of worrying about others. If the enemy managed to break their defence, Xiang Shan would be in danger.
Tian Xiu Zhu secretly thought that these new Eighth-Order Masters were just not as hardened as the long-time ones.
Under normal circumstances, everyone would’ve just obeyed his order; however, Lin Wu seemed insistent as he went on to say, “Senior Brother Tian, we have to lend a helping hand to Senior Brother Yang. Once their Battle Formation collapses, not just Senior Xiang Shan will be in danger, all of us will be.”
Tian Xiu Zhu furrowed his brow, “How are we supposed to assist them?” He had no idea what was on Lin Wu’s mind. They were surrounded by Black Ink Clansmen, so it was difficult for them to break the siege as it is. Blood Crow managed to escape earlier because his Secret Art was unique, which caught the Black Ink Clan off guard.
None of them had techniques that could replicate what Blood Crow had done, so how were they supposed to leave? Moreover, if they did that, the Humans in this place would surely face greater pressure.
Lin Wu replied quickly, “It’s not that I doubt Senior Brother Yang’s capabilities. Given his strength, he can certainly sustain the Eight Trigrams Formation as its Core for some time, but what about the others? How long can they hold on? Apart from Senior Brother Yang, if any one of them collapses, the Battle Formation will break apart.”
He was only telling the truth, and it was a matter everyone was concerned about.
Then, he continued, “Given the situation, only we can lend Senior Brother Yang a helping hand. If we don’t come up with a way, do we wait until the Eight Trigrams Formation falls apart? Please consider my suggestion, Senior Brother Tian!”
The others fell into their thoughts as well.
Lin Wu said they were the only ones who could give Yang Kai a helping hand because they were faced with less pressure compared to the other Masters; after all, they were dealing with an injured Pseudo-Royal Lord, Meng Que.
There were over ten Pseudo-Royal Lords on the battlefield, and although Yang Kai had killed one of them, there were still many more to deal with. Presently, they were applying pressure on the Humans in different places.
Tian Xiu Zhu and the others were dealing with Meng Que and some Territory Lords.
Certainly, Zhan Tian He and the others were familiar with Meng Que as he, Xiong Ji, and Liu Fei Fei had faced off against him together with Yang Kai, Ou Yang Lie, and Thunder Shadow some time ago, leaving both sides battered.
Since Meng Que was badly wounded before this battle broke out, he was unable to fully utilise all his power.
It was unlike the other Pseudo-Royal Lords, who were all in top condition. As such, the other Human Race Masters were unlikely to break the siege.
If they wanted to provide support to Yang Kai, their group would have the best chance of achieving this goal by settling Meng Que first. It had to be said that Lin Wu was a shrewd person.
After his persuasion, Tian Xiu Zhu couldn’t help falling into his thoughts as well. A moment later, he nodded, “You have a point. Only we can help Junior Brother Yang and the others.”
At that moment, he couldn’t help feeling he had grown too old. Although he was more experienced than the young ones, he wasn’t as flexible as them.
Lin Wu then said grimly, “Senior Brother Tian, we’d better get prepared early so that we can lend them a hand at any moment.”
Tian Xiu Zhu nodded almost imperceptibly, “Follow my lead!”
“Yes!” They all replied.
The next moment, Tian Xiu Zhu surged his Divine Sense and sent a transmission to the Human Race Masters in the nearby Battle Formations. A moment later, they nodded imperceptibly as they were ready to offer their help when Tian Xiu Zhu and the others took action.
Soon, everything was prepared; however, Tian Xiu Zhu didn’t immediately act to assist Yang Kai as it was an arrangement that they would rather not use. Presently, they had to sustain the current situation and protect the defence line. Once it was necessary for them to shift to providing assistance though, they wouldn’t hesitate to do so.
Everyone in the Eight Trigrams Formation felt immensely pressured, and even Yang Kai was injured and soaked in blood.
Every time they attacked, it was a strain on their bodies and Souls. They had no choice though as their opponent was a Royal Lord.
On the other hand, Mo Na Ye was equally battered. Faced with the Eight Trigrams Formation, he could hardly counterattack and was forced back repeatedly as his Black Ink Strength was scattered.
Strictly speaking, a Seven Stars Formation was enough to deal with a newly promoted Royal Lord like him. With Yang Kai as the Core, they could even oppose a veteran Royal Lord like Mo Yu with an Eight Trigrams Formation.
There was no doubt that Yang Kai and the others were at an advantage at that moment as all of them were going all out to kill the Royal Lord before them, but it was still extremely difficult to do so. Regardless of how battered Mo Na Ye looked, he was still a true Royal Lord. Unless they were significantly more powerful, they couldn’t end his life.
Yang Kai and the others were caught in a dilemma. Although they had expected this outcome, they were still unable to turn things around.
The Space-Time River had been turned into a long whip, and every time Yang Kai wielded it, 10,000 Grand Daos evolved and integrated to release awe-inspiring might.
Despite his majestic aura, however, it would inevitably wither as time passed.
When the Eight Trigrams Formation started showing signs of weakening, a battered Mo Na Ye guffawed, “Yang Kai, if you can’t kill me today, you will die!”
Yang Kai glared at him without saying anything and wielded his whip. The attack was supposed to be fierce, but it became sluggish all of a sudden. In the Battle Formation, one of the Eighth-Order Master was no longer able to hold on as he tipped his head back and sprayed out a mouthful of blood. At the same time, his aura plunged.
He had been holding on for far too long.
Over thousands of years, Humans had always formed Battle Formations to deal with their enemies; however, an Eight Trigrams Formation of Eighth-Order Masters had only appeared once before today. At that time, the Formation only lasted for 20 breaths, after which the Eighth-Order Master who served as the Core perished while the other seven were seriously wounded.
Their sacrifice was not in vain though as they managed to kill a Pseudo-Royal Lord and several Territory Lords.
Since then, the Eight Trigrams Formation had never appeared again on any Battlefield until Yang Kai managed to pull off this feat.
This time, they had been holding on for an hour. Although Yang Kai, as the Core of the Formation, had borne half the pressure, the others didn’t have it easy.
The pressure didn’t only come from the Battle Formation, but also Mo Na Ye’s attacks.
Since an Eighth-Order Master was no longer able to persevere, it wouldn’t be long before more people collapsed.
Seeing this, Mo Na Ye stopped being passive and became smug instead, “It’s my turn!”
As soon as he finished speaking, he switched from defence to offence. Black Ink Strength surged and swept over them like a storm.
Yang Kai knitted his brow tightly. Left with no choice, he surrounded them with the Space-Time River to ward off the attacks.
At that instant, the Humans fell into a passive position, and their remaining advantage was gone for good.
Simultaneously, Tian Xiu Zhu, who had been paying attention to the battle over there, sent a transmission to his surrounding allies with a determined gaze, “It’s time. Please lend us your aid, everyone!”
Following that, the Human Race Masters in that section of the defence line surged their Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques. Unlike how passive they were earlier, they took the initiative to attack.
The turn of events caught the Black Ink Clansmen off guard and for a moment, they found it hard to resist their opponents.
Meng Que, who was in charge of this sector of the line, was startled for a moment. He could see members of a Five Elements Formation charging towards him as though they were prepared to sacrifice themselves.
Tian Xiu Zhu, who was at the front, roared, “Black Ink Bastard, go to Hell!”
His imposing aura shocked Meng Que. Although he was the third Pseudo-Royal Lord to be born within the Black Ink Clan, he had never been used or valued.
Now, there were quite a few Pseudo-Royal Lords, and as such, he became even less important.
He had always been ambitious. Initially, he intended to make a great contribution while in the Universe Furnace World. Nevertheless, luck wasn’t on his side. He repeatedly came across powerful opponents and became injured, which was why he was so frustrated.
When Meng Que saw Tian Xiu Zhu and the others charging towards him, he naturally wouldn’t dare take them head-on in his current state; instead, he instinctively moved away.
Much to his surprise, Tian Xiu Zhu didn’t intend to exchange moves with him at all. He and the other four people brushed past him and shot off towards Yang Kai.
After becoming startled for a moment, Meng Que came to his senses and growled, “Don’t even think about leaving! I’ll make all of you stay!”
Although he had no idea what their intention was, he could tell that these five Eighth-Order Masters were moving to assist Yang Kai somehow. Certainly, he wouldn’t allow that to happen.
There were about 10 Pseudo-Royal Lords on the battlefield, and each was doing an excellent job in contending with the Humans. If only his opponents managed to flee, Meng Que would be held responsible.
He had never been valued to begin with, so if these five people ruined Mo Na Ye’s plan, the latter would never let him off.
As such, Meng Que was determined to make Tian Xiu Zhu and the others stay. He forcibly activated his power and chased after the Five Elements Formation. While he was at it, he made countless attacks at the enemies.
Meng Que’s attacks could not be underestimated. Left with no choice, Tian Xiu Zhu and the others had to counterattack. As both parties became entangled with each other, they approached the place where the Eight Trigrams Formation and Mo Na Ye were in a fight.
Soon, Tian Xiu Zhu furrowed his brow. This matter couldn’t drag on. They either had to shake off Meng Que as soon as they could, or send some people to give Yang Kai a hand. Otherwise, they would lure a powerful opponent to Yang Kai’s side and make things worse.
He could see that two Eighth-Order Masters in the Eight Trigrams Formation were no longer able to hold on.
Ou Yang Lie, who was battling against Xiao You and others, noticed what was going on as well and intended to lend them a hand, but he couldn’t break free from Xiao You and the other Territory Lords.
Certainly, they couldn’t expect Yang Xue to help either. Strictly speaking, she was no match for the Chaos Spirit King and had to go all out just to hold it back.
At the most critical moment, Tian Xiu Zhu roared, “Two of you go!”
The other four people in the Formation knew what he meant.
Lin Wu promptly said, “I’ll go!”
Saying so, he left the Battle Formation and charged towards Yang Kai. The next moment, another figure flew away. It was none other than Zhan Tian He.
It was a huge risk to take to move towards Yang Kai and Mo Na Ye’s battlefield. If one wasn’t careful enough, they would lose their lives. Lin Wu was a newly promoted Eighth-Order Master who managed to break through in the Universe Furnace World, but he was willing to take up such a task. As a Senior Brother, Zhan Tian He naturally couldn’t back down.
After two people left, the Five Elements Formation instantly turned into a Three Fortunes Formation. Furthermore, following a long fight, Tian Xiu Zhu and the others were no longer at the peak of their powers, so how were they supposed to deal with a Pseudo-Royal Lord?
Undoubtedly, they were put in a perilous situation.
Fortunately, it wasn’t easy for Meng Que to kill them either. This guy was badly injured to begin with, so his strength had been greatly reduced. If he were at the peak of his power, he could’ve destroyed a mere Three Fortunes Formation quite quickly.
Two breaths later, Lin Wu and Zhan Tian He arrived somewhere near the place where the Eight Trigrams Formation and Mo Na Ye were locked in combat and Lin Wu yelled, “Senior Brother Yang, we’re here to help!”
Yang Kai replied gladly, “You’ve come at the right time!”
He was worried about how to sustain the Eight Trigrams Formation when these two promptly arrived to replace their injured members.
Of the members of the Eight Trigrams Formation, Yang Kai, who served as the Core of the Formation, was close to four of them. They were his Human Self, Fang Tian Ci, his Monster Self, Thunder Shadow, Yang Xiao, and Blood Crow. He wasn’t familiar with the rest. One of them was a veteran Eighth-Order Master while the remaining two were newly ascended Eighth-Order Masters.
The two new Eighth-Order Masters were the problem. Their heritages were not as ample as that of the veteran, nor were their bodies as strong as Yang Xiao and Thunder Shadow. Their foundations were not as solid as those of Fang Tian Ci and Blood Crow. While contending with the enemy alongside Yang Kai, they had borne too much pressure. Their bodies were about to fall apart and their Small Universes were also in turmoil, causing their auras to be unstable.
If this dragged on, they would soon collapse. Once that happened, the Eight Trigrams Formation would break apart.
That was the reason Mo Na Ye started being aggressive. Although he risked injuring himself, he was determined to break the Battle Formation. He even specifically struck as hard as he could at where the new Eighth-Order Masters were positioned.
Once they lost the Eight Trigrams Formation, they wouldn’t be a match for Mo Na Ye. By then, he could kill whoever he wanted.
Nevertheless, his plan was suddenly disrupted by Tian Xiu Zhu and the others. Seeing that two energetic Eighth-Order Masters were about to join the Battle Formation, Mo Na Ye grew anxious. As such, his attacks intensified. He even tried to directly make a move on Lin Wu and Zhan Tian He.
Naturally, Yang Kai wouldn’t allow that to happen, adjusting everyone’s aura to contend with the opponent. At the same time, he secretly told the new Eighth-Order Masters to look for a chance and let Lin Wu and Zhan Tian He replace them.
They nodded in agreement, but they appeared embarrassed and unresigned.
At such a critical moment, they were the problem in the Formation, and they might even cause their side to lose the fight. It was only natural that they felt ashamed.
Nonetheless, they were indeed running out of energy, and the pressure, both internal and external, had caused their Small Universes to descend into chaos. If this dragged on, they would be the cause of the Battle Formation coming apart, and Yang Kai and the others would be even more affected.
Rather than hanging on at all costs, it would be best if they could retreat at this point.
Lin Wu and Zhan Tian He dashed towards Yang Kai. Before they even arrived, they connected their auras with the Formation.
It was extremely risky to replace the members of a Battle Formation during a fight. To begin with, it was already hard to form an Eight Trigrams Formation. Since everyone’s aura was connected, if they replaced the members in the middle of combat and did not manage to maintain the connection, the Battle Formation would break.
It was an especially huge challenge for the person who served as the Core. After all, as the Core of the Formation, Yang Kai had to harmonise and adjust everyone’s power and aura. It could be said that the Core of the Formation was the most important person in any Battle Formation.
The moment Lin Wu and Zhan Tian He connected their auras with the Battle Formation, the two new Eighth-Order Masters were ready to withdraw. Yang Kai had to spend more energy to keep the Battle Formation stable, which worsened their already terrible situation. Naturally, Mo Na Ye seized the chance and struck them with increased intensity. Upon impact, the Battle Formation trembled and staggered backwards.
The next instant, two figures shot out of the Battle Formation while Lin Wu and Zhan Tian He entered it. Yang Kai roared and diverted all his focus to adjusting the Battle Formation, allowing Mo Na Ye to continue to rain down attacks on them.
After a moment of turmoil, the Eight Trigrams Formation stabilised.
The Battle Formation was formed once again!
Finally, everyone became at ease. At the same time, they were amazed and glad that Yang Kai was the one leading the Battle Formation. If the Core was someone else, the Battle Formation would’ve probably fallen apart then and there.
Meanwhile, Tian Xiu Zhu, who was leading Xiong Ji and Liu Fei Fei to deal with Meng Que, shouted, “Come here and help us!”
They were no longer able to hold on.
It seemed that Meng Que felt ashamed because he was at fault for letting the opponents have a chance to replace the members of the Eight Trigrams Formation. As such, he ignored his injuries and madly surged his power to vent his fury on Tian Xiu Zhu and the others.
Given the intensity of the fight, even if he managed to kill his opponents, he would also end up in a terrible state; however, that was the last of his concerns right now.
The two new Eighth-Order Masters, who had just left the Eight Trigrams Formation, quickly stuffed some Spirit Pills into their mouths and approached Tian Xiu Zhu.
When contending with Mo Na Ye earlier, they didn’t even have time to consume pills.
The moment the two new Eighth-Order Masters joined Tian Xiu Zhu and formed a Five Elements Formation, they finally felt a lot less pressured.
Nevertheless, they couldn’t persevere for long; after all, these two new Eighth-Order Masters were badly wounded.
“Come to me!” Ou Yang Lie shouted. Presently, he was dealing with Xiao You and two Four Symbols Formations made up of Territory Lords. Although he wasn’t at an advantage, it wouldn’t be hard for him to protect someone else.
Upon hearing that, Tian Xiu Zhu led the other four to approach Ou Yang Lie without hesitation. Naturally, Meng Que relentlessly chased after them. Soon, both parties came together, and it was now one Ninth-Order Master and a Five Elements Formation facing a Royal Lord, a Pseudo-Royal Lord, and two Four Symbols Formations of Territory Lords. The two sides were almost equally matched now, with the Humans being at a slight disadvantage, but with there not being any risk to Tian Xiu Zhu and the others’ lives for the time being.
When Meng Que realised that he wasn’t able to kill his enemies, he slowed down his attacks. Now, he had calmed down. Knowing that there was no turning back, he prioritized his own safety. Since he was injured, he was better off not overexerting himself.
The battlefield was highly unpredictable. After the replacement of members, the Eight Trigrams Formation led by Yang Kai finally became stable and once again, Mo Na Ye was at a disadvantage.
While Yang Xue’s situation remained unchanged, Ou Yang Lie was faced with more pressure.
Meanwhile, the Humans remained united as their defence line held steady. They were determined to protect Xiang Shan, so although the Black Ink Clan had a far greater number of people on their side, they were unable to break through for now.
In truth, if the Black Ink Clan ignored their own safety and forcefully tried to break the defence line, they might succeed; however, that would require the Pseudo-Royal Lords to endanger themselves. Perhaps half of them would be killed if they wanted to achieve their goal in short order.
These Pseudo-Royal Lords were created using the Source Fusion Technique, and each one represented the sacrifice of more than 10 Innate Territory Lords.
They were the survivors who came out of a cruel process, so they valued their lives more than any other Black Ink Clansmen. Certainly, they weren’t willing to lose their lives in such a place.
Therefore, even though the Black Ink Clan had gained the upper hand, they were unable to destroy the Humans’ defence line.
In the centre of the defence line, Xiang Shan was seated with his legs crossed. The illusory phantom of his Small Universe hovered behind him as his aura continuously undulated. He was on the brink of breaking past the limit of the Eighth Order.
By now, 90% of the boundary wall in his Small Universe had been dissolved. He was on the brink of breaking through his shackles. Once the boundary wall was gone, the territory of his Small Universe would expand. Only then would he make it to the Ninth Order.
While fighting with the numerous enemies, Ou Yang Lie somehow found time to curse at Xiang Shan and urge him to break through fast. Nevertheless, this process couldn’t be rushed.
Yang Kai became slightly at ease. He had been paying close attention to Xiang Shan; after all, the key to winning this battle was whether Xiang Shan could make it to the Ninth Order in time.
As he felt the aura coming from Xiang Shan surging, he believed that the latter would achieve a breakthrough soon.
He had no idea why it took Xiang Shan such a long time to make it to the Ninth-Order. Previously, he stood guard for Ou Yang Lie when the latter attempted a breakthrough, but it was done fairly quickly.
Before his arrival, Xiang Shan had been refining the Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill for quite a while. Now that such a long time had passed, it was a mystery as to why Xiang Shan hadn’t broken through yet.
He speculated that it had something to do with the fact that Xiang Shan’s Order dropped previously, which might have had some unexpected consequences.
Nevertheless, the most difficult time had passed. As long as Yang Kai could hold on for a while longer until Xiang Shan made it to the Ninth Order, the Humans would be able to strike back.
The birth of a new Ninth-Order Master would shatter the deadlock. By then, they might even be able to kill Mo Na Ye and the other Royal Lord.
“Hahaha!” Someone was heard laughing in the middle of the fight. A startled Yang Kai lifted his gaze and saw Mo Na Ye looking at him with a faint grin.
There seemed to be some underlying meaning behind the smile and Yang Kai’s heart clenched as he had a bad premonition.
[Why is this guy laughing under such circumstances?] Both parties had been enemies for millennia, so they understood each other quite well.
Mo Na Ye was a patient and cunning strategist, making him an extreme outlier within the Black Ink Clan. Yang Kai hadn’t suffered a fatal setback when dealing with Mo Na Ye, but he would never underestimate the latter.
At this point, Mo Na Ye shouldn’t be laughing; instead, he should be trying his best to break the Eight Trigrams Formation. So, why did he seem so amused?
His smile was meaningful, as though he was confident about winning even now, mocking Yang Kai for being ignorant.
A sense of danger abruptly rose within Yang Kai.
Alarmed, he realised that he might have missed something, and thinking back, there were some details he had failed to notice before.
He had already felt that something was amiss before now. Since Mo Na Ye was able to face off against the Eight Trigrams Formation for such a long time, it proved that he could’ve destroyed the Six Paths Formation led by Yang Xiao previously; however, he didn’t do that.
Before Yang Kai’s arrival, Yang Xiao and the other five had been dealing with Mo Na Ye on their own.
Initially, Yang Kai thought that Mo Na Ye was worried about injuring himself; after all, it would be troublesome if a Black Ink Clansman was injured in the Universe Furnace World, especially a Royal Lord.
Nevertheless, Mo Na Ye was a shrewd individual, so how was it possible that he would worry about getting injured at such a critical moment? He certainly knew that he had to destroy the Six Paths Formation led by Yang Xiao as quickly as possible so that the Black Ink Clan would win this battle.
At that time, as long as Mo Na Ye was willing to pay a certain price, Yang Xiao and the others wouldn’t have been a match for him, so why did he choose to stall for time?
Many ideas flashed across Yang Kai’s mind, but though he knew that something was amiss, under the tense circumstances, he couldn’t distract himself to ponder it properly.
“Laugh all you want, it won’t change anything!” Yang Kai snorted. Since he didn’t know what the problem was, he had to be patient and play it by ear.
Mo Na Ye laughed again. While warding off Yang Kai’s attacks, he said impassively, “I suppose Xiang Shan is going to break through soon.”
Just like Yang Kai, he had been paying close attention to Xiang Shan. Although he had no idea when Xiang Shan would achieve a breakthrough, the disturbance over there couldn’t be concealed. As such, he could roughly sense how things were going.
Yang Kai’s bad premonition intensified. It was odd that Mo Na Ye was still in the mood to talk about Xiang Shan at this point.
While remaining silent, Yang Kai strengthened his attacks.
Mo Na Ye went on to say, “Yang Kai, you are a wonderful opponent. I’ve always respected you whether I was a Territory Lord, a Pseudo-Royal Lord, or even a true Royal Lord. The Human Race has managed to hold on for such a long time mainly because of you. If not for your hard work over the past few thousands of years, the Humans would’ve already been defeated. Unmistakably, you are my greatest opponent. It’s fortunate that you can never become a Ninth-Order Master; otherwise, we would have been in deep trouble.”
He spoke loudly during the fight to ensure that everyone could hear him.
All of them were puzzled as to what Mo Na Ye was trying to achieve. Why was he in the mood to chat about such irrelevant matters in a life-and-death battle?
Mo Na Ye seemed oblivious to everything and kept speaking, as though he wouldn’t be able to say it again if he missed this chance. Staring at Yang Kai in pity, he muttered, “Just like what you Humans say, you were born in the wrong era. You have to bear the shackles and sins that this era has inflicted on you. Those from the Cave Heavens and Paradises forced you to ascend to the Fifth Order back then, which resulted in the Eighth Order being your limit. Now, they have to rely on you to save the Human Race. Do you not resent them at all?”
His hypnotic voice seemed able to bewitch others.
In all directions, many Human Race Masters, especially those who came from the Cave Heavens and Paradises, appeared guilty. Those from the Cave Heavens and Paradises had indeed made a mistake. Although only several Sects made a move, they represented the collective decision.
Nevertheless, they had no choice but to do so at that time. They had suffered a terrible crisis in the past, so they wouldn’t allow any rogue cultivator to directly ascend to the Seventh Order. Regardless of their intentions, they were compelled to suppress Yang Kai.
After all, a Seventh-Order Master might make it to the Ninth-Order one day. Meanwhile, all the Ninth-Order Old Ancestors from the Cave Heavens and Paradises were on the Black Ink Battlefield. If Yang Kai became a Ninth-Order Master and decided to cause trouble, the Cave Heavens and Paradises wouldn’t be able to contain him.
Over the years, many people thought that if they hadn’t suppressed Yang Kai and let him directly ascend to the Seventh Order back then, given his aptitude and opportunities, he would’ve made it to the Ninth Order by now.
Undoubtedly, that would’ve been a huge boon to the Human Race.
Nonetheless, things had come to such a point where it was pointless to regret anything. When Yang Kai decided to directly ascend to the Fifth-Order back then, his future was set.
Yang Kai snorted, “Are you trying to sow discord between us? Do you think such petty words will work on me at this point?”
Mo Na Ye sighed, “I’m not trying to sow discord, I’m just curious. It seems that I’m not mistaken. Although those from the Cave Heavens and Paradises owe you much, you’re still willing to sacrifice yourself for them.”
After a pause, he went on to say, “Over the years, I’ve constantly been thinking about how to kill you. Unfortunately, there has never been a good opportunity as you are too adept at running away. Your Space Secret Techniques have been a constant headache for me. The previous battle was undoubtedly the best chance so far, but it was disrupted by the Universe Furnace. If not for the Universe Furnace’s sudden appearance, you would’ve lost your life.”
Yang Kai frowned, “What’s the point of you saying all this now? Or are you saying you are certain you can kill me now?”
Something was definitely off. Mo Na Ye was speaking and acting like everything was within his control, so he was undoubtedly up to something; however, Yang Kai didn’t have time to figure out what he was plotting. Since he couldn’t find out what was on Mo Na Ye’s mind, he could only try to glean as much information from him as possible through conversation.
Mo Na Ye seemed to have realised his intention, so he said with a smile, “I’ve been plotting against you for years, but only this time could be considered successful. Please don’t blame me for being verbose, Brother Yang. I should probably stop the small talk now; otherwise, Xiang Shan will really break through.”
All of a sudden, his expression turned cold as he looked grimly at Yang Kai, “Did you know? I was waiting for you to appear, all along. I knew that you would show up. You were the one who set off this fight, so how was it possible that you wouldn’t come? Fortunately, you arrived just in time!”
At that moment, a sense of crisis engulfed Yang Kai, but he had no idea what Mo Na Ye was going to do.
Many ideas flashed across his mind like lightning and he soon thought of something, but it was too late.
Mo Na Ye stared fixedly at him and shouted dispassionately, “Black Ink Eternal!”
Suddenly, Yang Kai turned to look at Xiang Shan and shouted, “Senior Brother Xiang, watch out!”
At the same time, he saw two Eighth-Order Masters leaving their Battle Formations from two different directions and charging towards Xiang Shan while casting lethal moves.
Yang Kai widened his eyes in disbelief.
Black Ink Disciples!
He finally realised what he had failed to take note of. The Black Ink Clan had planted two Black Ink Disciples among the Humans! They had been hiding all this time, waiting for a chance to attack Xiang Shan.
Therefore, Mo Na Ye wasn’t worried about Xiang Shan becoming a Ninth-Order Master, because he knew that the latter would never succeed. He even felt free to chat just now because everything was within his control.
Many Black Ink Clansmen were startled by the turn of events. Similarly, the Humans were caught off guard. No one could’ve expected that their companions, who had been fighting alongside them all this time, would betray them as they were on the brink of victory.
All of them had been negligent.
It wasn’t a surprise that Black Ink Disciples existed. During the fight against the Black Ink Clan in the past, many Humans would be captured by the Black Ink Clan and turned into Black Ink Disciples. The situation was especially bad on the Black Ink Battlefield.
However, after Yang Kai brought Purifying Light with him and then received 10 sets of Great Sun and Great Moon Marks from the Burning Light and Serene Glimmer, the Humans no longer had to worry about Black Ink Disciples hiding amongst their ranks.
There was a Purifying Black Ink Battleship, which contained a large amount of Purifying Light, in every Human camp. Whenever the cultivators returned to base, they had to pass through the Purifying Black Ink Battleship before they were allowed to enter.
The Humans also had Purifying Black Ink Pills. One only had to consume such a pill before they fought with the Black Ink Clan to prevent themselves from being corrupted by Black Ink Strength.
The Black Ink Clan had occupied the 3,000 Worlds for many years, and although they had turned a large number of Hunters into Black Ink Disciples, those people were generally weak.
Many younger cultivators had never even seen Black Ink Disciples before. Also, Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples were extremely rare, even back on the Black Ink Battlefield.
To turn an Eighth-Order Master into a Black Ink Disciple, a Royal Lord had to personally make a move.
As such, whenever the Eighth-Order Masters formed Battle Formations to deal with the enemies, they became less vigilant. No one would think that their companions might be Black Ink Disciples.
Even Yang Kai had not seen this coming; however, everything made sense if these people were not Eighth-Order Masters when they were turned into Black Ink Disciples.
Eighth-Order Masters were not the only ones who had entered the Universe Furnace World this time. There were also many Seventh-Order Masters! They were there not here for the Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pills but for the Ordinary Grade ones.
These Seventh-Order Masters who had entered the Universe Furnace World were new generation cultivators that had received the World Tree clone’s nourishment. As such, they were all talented elites who increased their cultivation rapidly.
Wonderful aptitude and quick increase in cultivation were not always a blessing though, as compared to the experienced cultivators who had gotten to where they were slowly and steadily, these younger cultivators lacked accumulation and experience; therefore, when they reached the peak of the Seventh Order, they often faced bottlenecks, which made it hard for them to break through to the Eighth-Order.
Given their aptitude, they would shatter the bottleneck sooner or later, but that could still take dozens to hundreds of years.
However, in the current situation, time was always short.
Fortunately, Ordinary Grade Open Heaven Pills could solve this problem by helping them break through their bottleneck, saving lots of time.
Many Seventh-Order Masters managed to ascend to the Eighth-Order in the Universe Furnace World this time, and presently, hundreds of them had gathered together, but they were just Seventh-Order Masters when they entered.
Everything made sense if they bumped into Black Ink Clansmen and were turned into Black Ink Disciples before ascending to the Eighth Order.
The two Black Ink Disciples that had betrayed them were undoubtedly such cases.
Time seemed to have frozen at that moment as all the Humans shifted their attention to the two Black Ink Disciples who were charging towards Xiang Shan, in horror. Presently, Xiang Shan was at the most critical moment of his breakthrough. If he was interrupted now, his breakthrough would undoubtedly fail, and there would also be a serious risk to his life.
All the Human Race Masters surrounded him and formed a defence line to fend off the Black Ink Clansmens’ attacks; as such, no one stood guard directly by his side. Even though he had set up a kind of Spirit Array, it couldn’t stop two Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples from killing him.
Undoubtedly, Xiang Shan was powerless to contend with these two Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples.
Just then, another turn of events took place somewhere else.
It had taken Mo Na Ye a long time to devise this plan, and it had all hinged on him being certain that Yang Kai would show up. His trump card was meant to kill Yang Kai and Xiang Shan at the same time; after all, if he only wanted to take out the latter, he wouldn’t have had to wait until now.
Mo Na Ye would have ordered the two Black Ink Disciples to make a move at any point earlier on. He had been patient because he could feel that Xiang Shan would still take a long time to make a breakthrough, so he wasn’t anxious.
In comparison, he was more interested in ending Yang Kai’s life. Over the years, Mo Na Ye had suffered a lot of setbacks because of Yang Kai and could never rest at ease as long as the latter wasn’t dead. It was a knot in his heart, one that had nothing to do with Yang Kai’s cultivation.
Mo Na Ye had been stalling for time because he was waiting for this exact moment.
He needed a suitable person to carry out his plan, and the chance had finally come!
Just as two Black Ink Disciples left their respective Battle Formations and charged towards Xiang Shan while the Human Race Masters watched in horror, the Eight Trigrams Formation, which was dealing with Mo Na Ye, trembled as everyone’s aura descended into chaos. Soon, the Eight Trigrams Formation broke.
Everyone in the Formation was shocked as they had no idea what happened. The moment the Battle Formation came apart, the immense backlash swept across them, causing their vitality to undulate and their Small Universes to fall into turmoil.
They already suffered from various degrees of injuries when contending with Mo Na Ye, and now the situation was exacerbated.
Compared to the Battle Formation’s backlash, a despairing incident took place right before their eyes. One of the members suddenly summoned a sword and thrust it towards Yang Kai’s back. World Force undulated around the weapon as the attacker appeared dispassionate. Without holding back any power, he seemed determined to slaughter Yang Kai.
To make things worse, Mo Na Ye made a move at the same time as the Battle Formation shattered.
The chance he had been waiting for had finally come, so he naturally wouldn’t just watch from the sidelines.
The Battle Formation’s backlash, the betrayal of a member, and Mo Na Ye’s attack happened all at once, engulfing everyone in a sense of great danger.
The members of the Eight Trigrams Formation were flustered, furious, shocked, and despondent. All sorts of emotions broke out from them.
Despite that, Yang Kai remained calm and collected as things were playing out just as he expected.
The moment he realised that there were Black Ink Disciples within their defence line, he knew that there must be a Black Ink Disciple by his side as well.
Mo Na Ye had been beating around the bush earlier, looking as though everything was within his control. It was apparent that he had made some arrangements to target Yang Kai; otherwise, he wouldn’t have been so composed.
Yang Kai was the Core of the Eight Trigrams Formation while his Human Self Fang Tian Ci, Monster Self Thunder Shadow, Yang Xiao, Blood Crow, Lin Wu, Zhan Tian He, and another veteran Eighth-Order Master assisted him.
Of these seven people, apart from Lin Wu, who had ascended to the Eighth-Order in the Universe Furnace World, the others were already Eighth-Order Masters long before entering this place.
The others would not be so easily corrupted; as such, it had to be Lin Wu that was the Black Ink Disciple.
It turned out that Lin Wu was indeed the problem.
Yang Kai couldn’t help recalling the time he came across Lin Wu. At that time, he, Zhan Tian He, Xiong Ji, and Liu Fei Fei were wandering around the Universe Furnace World. When he detected the aura of an Open Heaven Realm Master attempting a breakthrough, he went over and checked on him. Upon realising the person was Lin Wu, he invited him to join the team without worrying too much.
Then, he bumped into Tian Xiu Zhu.
Following that, he decided to take a huge risk by bringing Thunder Shadow with him to snatch a Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill. As such, he told Tian Xiu Zhu to leave with everyone else.
Now, it seemed that before he came across Lin Wu, the latter had already been turned into a Black Ink Disciple who was allowed to move around on his own and ascend to the Eighth Order. Then, Lin Wu joined the Human Race and waited for a chance to act.
It wasn’t necessarily planned for Lin Wu to target Yang Kai, but Mo Na Ye had made good use of a pawn like him.
Initially, Lin Wu wasn’t a part of the Eight Trigrams Formation. He and Zhan Tian He joined at a later time.
Mo Na Ye had been waiting for Lin Wu to join the Eight Trigrams Formation. That way, when he finally gave the order, three Black Ink Disciples would flare up at the same time. Not only could they stop Xiang Shan from achieving a breakthrough, but they could also end Yang Kai’s life. Mo Na Ye planned to remove the two biggest threats at the same time.
Everything became clear now.
A while ago, Yang Kai was still wondering why Mo Na Ye didn’t break Yang Xiao’s Six Paths Formation earlier even though he was capable of doing so. At that time, if Mo Na Ye had been willing to pay a small price, he could’ve defeated Yang Xiao and the others quickly. After that, he could’ve personally attacked the Humans’ defence line and killed Xiang Shan.
However, he didn’t do that. Just like Mo Na Ye said, he had been waiting for him to show up.
When Yang Kai formed the Eight Trigrams Formation to deal with Mo Na Ye, the latter actually fought back hard without being bothered by his injuries. That way, he could force the two newly promoted Eighth-Order Masters in the Formation to withdraw, giving Lin Wu a chance to join them.
It was all part of Mo Na Ye’s plot.
When Lin Wu finally joined the Battle Formation, all the pawns were in the right places and Mo Na Ye was confident that Yang Kai wouldn’t survive. Both of them had been contending with each other for millennia. Since his archnemesis was about to die, he couldn’t help recalling the fights between them over the years. Perhaps he respected a Master like Yang Kai or felt so conceited that he started talking nonsense.
Presently, two Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples were dashing towards Xiang Shan while Lin Wu broke the Eight Trigrams Formation and pushed his sword towards Yang Kai’s back with a gaze filled with murderous intent.
The initially clamorous battlefield fell into dead silence at that moment as every Human Race Master appeared helpless and despondent.
The Black Ink Clansmen still relentlessly attacked the Humans while Mo Na Ye guffawed.
“You dare!” Ou Yang Lie growled as his figure seemed to be burning.
“Big Brother!” Yang Xue exclaimed at the top of her lungs. She wanted to shake off the Chaos Spirit King and save Yang Kai, but she was unable to do so.
The Chaos Spirit King was more powerful than her, so it was difficult for her to even pin him down.
In the midst of this crisis, Yang Kai only let out a sigh.
Before Lin Wu even made a move, Yang Kai had realised that he was in danger; therefore, he had put his guard up. If he hadn’t figured it out, he probably would’ve lost his life.
Since he was well-prepared though, he had a chance to escape.
Nevertheless, if he fled, the remaining six with him would fall into grave danger. They no longer had the Battle Formation’s help, and faced with the backlash and Mo Na Ye’s attack, half of them would undoubtedly die.
Therefore, despite knowing that he was at risk of losing his life, Yang Kai couldn’t escape. Suppressing the undulating vitality within him, he released his Spiritual Energy and brought everyone’s aura together again. In an instant, he made the proper adjustments and formed a new Seven Stars Formation with him as the Core.
At the same time, he flicked his fingers and sent a wooden box flying away.
In the next instant, he summoned the Azure Dragon Spear as the Space-Time River swirled around the weapon like a Dragon. He then thrust the weapon towards Mo Na Ye.
As the violent force exploded, everyone shuddered while Yang Kai sprayed out a mouthful of Golden Blood. Fortunately, he managed to ward off Mo Na Ye’s fatal strike.
Nonetheless, a sword penetrated his chest the next moment. The power around the sword exploded, causing Yang Kai to stagger before he swept his spear across Lin Wu and sent him flying away.
After the sword left his body, blood started gushing out from the wound on his chest. His face turned pale in an instant, and his aura weakened.
Meanwhile, the two Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples reached Xiang Shan. Just as they were ready to make a move, they met Xiang Shan’s furious gaze.
Despite being at the most critical moment of his breakthrough, Xiang Shan extricated himself and got to his feet as he summoned a sabre. As World Force surged, he covered the two Black Ink Disciples with sabre lights.
He had given up on achieving a breakthrough!
It couldn’t be helped. If he tried to persist, he would only be killed as the Spirit Array he had set up wasn’t able to fend off two Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples.
Compared to losing his life, giving up on the breakthrough was the only choice.
The two Black Ink Disciples had only achieved a breakthrough in the Universe Furnace World, so how were they supposed to be a match for Xiang Shan even though there were the two of them? They were soon suppressed.
Nevertheless, considering that they were Humans, Xiang Shan didn’t move to kill them.
During the intense battle, Xiang Shan’s aura, which was initially reaching a peak, plunged. It was a sign that his ascension had failed. Fortunately, despite what happened, it didn’t affect his strength much.
In just several breaths of time, the Eight Trigrams Formation fell apart, Yang Kai was wounded, and Xiang Shan had given up on his breakthrough, sinking the Humans into a perilous situation once again.
No one knew if there were more hidden Black Ink Disciples.
Battle Formations required members to have complete trust in each other in order to operate them smoothly, something the Black Ink Clan couldn’t grasp the essence of, preventing them from forming higher Battle Formations.
Now, the Humans were suspicious of each other, so every Battle Formation had weakened and couldn’t be run smoothly.
They were no match for the Black Ink Clan when it came to numbers and had persevered until now because of their Warships and their powerful Battle Formations, but with the latter undermined, the Humans were clearly in grave danger.
The Battle Formations, which the two Black Ink Disciples were initially part of, had disintegrated, allowing the Black Ink Clan to charge forward and kill several Eighth-Order Masters, which further exacerbated the situation.
It wasn’t that the Humans weren’t still united; if they weren’t, they wouldn’t have held on until now. Nevertheless, in such a situation, they had to be cautious.
The appearance of three Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples had destroyed any advantage that the Humans initially had.
Xiang Shan was supposedly the key to winning the battle. If the Humans wanted victory, they had to hope for Xiang Shan to ascend to the Ninth Order as quickly as possible. With one more Ninth-Order Master, they could still turn things around.
But now, Xiang Shan was forced to give up on his breakthrough, so their only hope was crushed.
Everyone was shrouded in a layer of despair. Would hundreds of Eighth-Order Masters lose their life in this place? If that happened, the Human Race’s future would be bleak.
The outcome of this battle would have a huge impact on future clashes between both Races.
“Why won’t you just die already!” A growl was heard reverberating across the void.
Across from the Seven Stars Formation, Mo Na Ye looked at Yang Kai in disbelief and anger. He had been plotting against him and waiting for the best chance to use his trump card. Initially, he believed that Yang Kai had no chance to survive, but things went contrary to his wishes.
He realised that he had still underestimated Yang Kai. More importantly, he didn’t expect that it would only take Yang Kai an instant to switch the Eight Trigrams Formation to the Seven Stars Formation and ward off his fatal strike.
Fortunately, even though things didn’t go to plan, Yang Kai was badly injured. The Eight Trigrams Formation’s backlash, Lin Wu’s sneak attack, and a long and intense battle had significantly weakened Yang Kai’s aura. As a result, he was still at risk of losing his life at any moment.
Even the Seven Stars Formation couldn’t run steadily and was on the verge of breaking apart.
With a determined expression, Mo Na Ye charged forward. He knew that he couldn’t give Yang Kai even a moment to breathe. Seeing how frail his opponent looked, he certainly wouldn’t miss the chance. He decided to end Yang Kai’s life as quickly as possible. As his Black Ink Strength surged, he roared, “How much longer can you hang on!?”
[How many of my moves can he take? Three? Five?] Given Yang Kai’s condition, Mo Na Ye had the confidence to kill him in 10 breaths of time, after which his goal would finally be achieved.
Xiang Shan’s breakthrough had failed, and the Humans’ defence line was on the brink of collapsing. After Mo Na Ye killed Yang Kai, he could slaughter the other Humans freely.
[I will win!]
Faced with the bombardment of attacks, Yang Kai and his Seven Stars Formation were unable to counterattack. Furthermore, they found it increasingly difficult to maintain the Battle Formation. Everyone struggled to hold on, but they couldn’t see any hope.
They could only take two more moves before the Battle Formation came apart.
Just as the Seven Stars Formation was about to shatter, a stream of fierce aura approached from the distance. Before the person even arrived, a voice was heard yelling, “Mo Na Ye, your opponent is me!”
The next moment, a slender figure joined the battle and slashed her sword out to intercept Mo Na Ye’s attacks.
“You…” Mo Na Ye looked at the person before his eyes in disbelief, unable to figure out how she could be there.
[How did she manage to come over?]
The person was none other than Yang Xue.
Mo Na Ye was naturally aware of this female Ninth-Order Master’s presence; however, since she didn’t seem to be a match for the Chaos Spirit King, he stopped paying attention to her.
She couldn’t meddle in the battle before she could get rid of the Chaos Spirit King; however, at this moment, she was there to deal with him.
[Where’s the Chaos Spirit King?]
Mo Na Ye was determined to kill Yang Kai, so he was filled with fervor and joy; as such, he didn’t pay attention to the battle between Yang Xue and the Chaos Spirit King. It didn’t cross his mind that such a turn of events would take place.
[Was the Chaos Spirit King defeated? Impossible, this woman is incapable of that!] Previously, Xiao You suffered a defeat at the hands of the Chaos Spirit King. He was a new Royal Lord while the woman was a new Ninth-Order Master; therefore, both of them were equally matched.
How did this woman get rid of the Chaos Spirit King and come over the help, then?
Soon, Mo Na Ye realised where the Chaos Spirit King was. He could sense that the Chaos Spirit King was dashing forward in a particular direction for some reason.
“What did you do!?” Mo Na Ye was deathly curious. Although the Chaos Spirit King was a powerful being, its sentience was low. What did this woman do that made the Chaos Spirit King abandon the fight?
Certainly, Yang Xue wouldn’t respond to him as she just fully activated her power as World Force undulated. Her sword turned into innumerable phantoms as she was determined to get revenge for her Big Brother.
A helpless Mo Na Ye could only clash with Yang Xue. Watching as Yang Kai took the Seven Stars Formation somewhere else, he was so frustrated that he almost spat blood.
He almost succeeded in killing Yang Kai, so how did things end up this way?
Across from him, Yang Xue was actually equally puzzled as to why the Chaos Spirit King retreated all of a sudden. When she saw that her Big Brother was in danger earlier, she was quite flustered. She wasn’t a match for the Chaos Spirit King, to begin with, and the situation was exacerbated because she had lost her composure. Then, for some inexplicable reason, the Chaos Spirit King withdrew and shot off into the distance. That was how Yang Xue was able to move to lend them a hand.
Nevertheless, she didn’t have time to ponder on it, for she had to deal with Mo Na Ye.
Suddenly realising something, Mo Na Ye turned to glare at Yang Kai and explained, “The Open Heaven Pill!”
When Lin Wu launched a sneak attack on Yang Kai earlier, Mo Na Ye faintly saw Yang Kai throw out a small wooden box. At that time, he was mid-attack, and the box seemed ordinary, so he didn’t pay any attention to it.
Now, it was apparent to him that the wooden box probably contained a Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill.
As far as he knew, Yang Kai really had one, which was stolen during the intense battle between Xiao You and the Chaos Spirit King previously.
The Chaos Spirit King was lured to this place because it was after the Supreme grade Open Heaven Pills. Xiang Shan was giving off the aura of one such pill, so the Chaos Spirit King attacked, leaving Yang Xue no choice but to intercept it.
Now, Xiang Shan no longer exuded any of the Open Heaven Pill’s aura, so when Yang Kai tossed out another Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill, it was only natural that the Chaos Spirit King would chase after it.
Upon that realization, Mo Na Ye was extremely vexed.
The Chaos Spirit King’s appearance had helped restrain Yang Xue, a Ninth-Order Master. The Black Ink Clan had basically gotten a free helper, which allowed them to suppress the Humans.
However, no one could’ve expected that it was also the Chaos Spirit King who ruined the Black Ink Clan’s plan. It was easily lured away by an Open Heaven Pill, which allowed Yang Xue to come deal with Mo Na Ye.
It was only natural that Mo Na Ye cursed at the Chaos Spirit King for derailing his plans.
Despite his resentment, there was nothing much he could do about it.
Fortunately, Yang Kai was badly injured, and Xiang Shan’s ascension had failed. At the very least, they had achieved something.
While he was thinking so, he suddenly felt that Yang Kai’s aura, which was initially frail, rose sharply. As he turned his head in shock, he saw a river swirling around Yang Kai like a Dragon. Yang Kai was recovering as it happened. Even the wound on his chest caused by Lin Wu was healing rapidly.
Time seemed to be reversing as the river swirled around him.
In just a moment, Yang Kai had basically completely recovered!
[What kind of Secret Technique is that!?] Mo Na Ye was flabbergasted.
Yang Kai had just discovered this wonderful use of his Space-Time River not long ago and used it once in the Infinite River to restore his wounded body. Naturally, he chose to use it again this time.
Lin Wu’s sneak attack and the Battle Formation’s backlash had indeed wounded him, but he managed to reverse time for himself and return to the state he had marked some time ago.
The price he had to pay was a massive consumption of his Dao Strengths; nevertheless, that was the last of his concerns now.
He had already come up with a plan the moment Lin Wu launched his sneak attack; as such, he decided to toss away the precious Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill to attract the Chaos Spirit King’s attention.
Only when Yang Xue was freed from that fight could she deal with Mo Na Ye, allowing Yang Kai to take a breather.
However, at that time, Yang Kai wasn’t confident that he would succeed. If the Chaos Spirit King didn’t retreat, Yang Xue wouldn’t have been freed up. All the same, he had to take the risk.
Fortunately, the Chaos Spirit King was only concerned about getting the Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill back; therefore, the moment it detected the pill’s aura, it chased after it, allowing Yang Xue to deal with other threats.
Overall, the Humans were still at a disadvantage. Ou Yang Lie was doing fine while Yang Xue was dealing with Mo Na Ye and were not at risk of losing their lives; however, the other Humans were in a terrible situation. Although Xiang Shan had joined the battle, it was still hard for them to turn things around.
If this dragged on, many more Humans would lose their lives.
They had to quickly resolve the suspicions the Humans had for each other and catch all the hidden Black Ink Disciples.
Yang Kai soon made a decision. As he continued to recover, he shouted, “Yang Xiao, form a Four Symbols Formation and use Purifying Light!”
Understanding his intentions, Yang Xiao replied, “Yes!”
After informing Zhan Tian He and the others about it, Yang Xiao formed a Four Symbols Formation with him as the Core; then, they charged towards the centre of the battlefield. Before they even arrived, the Great Sun and Moon Marks on the back of Yang Xiao’s hands appeared. As yellow and blue lights swirled around and combined with each other, they turned into a dazzling white light that illuminated the entire battlefield.
“Stop them!” A Pseudo-Royal Lord growled; however, the Purifying Light was their archnemesis, so the Black Ink Clansmen were terrified to get close.
“I dare you to stop me!” Yang Xiao roared and continued to condense more Purifying Light as he led Zhan Tian He and the others forward. Wherever they went, the Territory Lords quickly backed away and even the Pseudo-Royal Lords shrank from the intense Purifying Light.
From the defence line, Xiang Shan and several people came over to help. There was no doubt that Xiang Shan was intelligent as he shared the same sentiment as Yang Kai. They had to quickly resolve the internal problems that the Humans faced, so they had to assist Yang Xiao.
After all, they needed Yang Xiao’s Purifying Light to catch all the hidden Black Ink Disciples.
The war intensified at that moment. Xiang Shan was the Core of a Six Paths Formation, which was exceptionally powerful. After an exchange of moves, they finally joined Yang Xiao’s Four Symbols Formation. They then entered the defence line together while the Black Ink Clan were unable to stop them.
The next moment, Yang Xiao roared as the Great Sun and Moon Marks on the back of his hands became increasingly bright. Copious amounts of Yellow and Blue Crystals were consumed in an instant before an eruption of Purifying Light spread out with him as the centre.
Wherever the white light went, Black Ink Strength dissipated as the light covered all the Human Race Masters and continued to expand. The two Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples, who had attacked Xiang Shan moments ago, had been subdued and were presently unable to move a muscle. As they were shrouded in the Purifying Light, they started trembling as if struck by lightning. They howled in pain while Black Ink Strength left their bodies.
On the periphery, the Black Ink Clansmen had managed to shrink the Human defence line while the latter’s Battle Formations were in turmoil. Some parts of the defence line were about to break, but when the Purifying Light surged forth like a tidal wave, the Black Ink Clansmen had no choice but to retreat.
This kind of large-scale Purifying Light was no different from poison to the Black Ink Clan. Although they wouldn’t be killed, nobody wanted to see their powers significantly weakened.
The Human Race Masters seized the chance to counterattack and stabilize the defence line.
By the time the pure white light dissipated, the Humans had managed to fortify their defence line and all the Battle Formations were operating smoothly again.
As the Purifying Light swept out, no Human Race Masters showed signs of corruption. Apparently, the Black Ink Clan had only planted three Black Ink Disciples among them.
This wasn’t too surprising as it was still quite hard for the Black Ink Clan to turn Seventh-Order and Eighth-Order Masters into Black Ink Disciples.
As the Humans no longer had to worry about being betrayed by their teammates, they naturally focused on dealing with the enemies.
The use of the Purifying Light helped the Humans regain their composure as Yang Xiao’s eyes brightened as he guffawed, “So useful!”
He decided that if the defence line was falling apart again, he would condense another burst of Purifying Light and rush up towards the weak point. Although he couldn’t kill enemies with it, he could at least ensure that the defence line remained intact.
However, this kind of move required a lot of Yellow and Blue Crystals because it had to cover a vast area. His Yellow and Blue Crystals were given to him by Yang Kai back then, and he had consumed quite a number of them over the years; as such, he didn’t have many left. If he used this move two more times, he would run out of crystals.
Once that happened, he would lose the ability to force the Black Ink Clan to retreat, which might result in the defence line collapsing.
Therefore, if the Humans wanted to gain victory, they had to pin their hopes on Ou Yang Lie and Yang Xue. If these two Ninth-Order Masters could kill their opponents quickly, they could help the other Humans out.
Nevertheless, their opponents were Royal Lords. They might be able to defeat their enemies, but it would be hard for them to kill the Royal Lords. How were they supposed to help out?
Ou Yang Lie had apparently realised that as well, so he had been exerting himself even more while ignoring his injury in the hope that he could kill Xiao You quickly. Nevertheless, Xiao You had eight Territory Lords assisting him. Although Ou Yang Lie was madly wielding his strength, he couldn’t achieve his goal in a short time.
To make things worse, he had to spend some energy protecting Tian Xiu Zhu and his group as Meng Que, a Pseudo-Royal Lord, seemed determined to kill them.
A while ago, Tian Xiu Zhu led his Five Elements Formation to leave the defence line and sent two Eighth-Order Masters to lend Yang Kai a helping hand, which infuriated Meng Que. The other Pseudo-Royal Lords were doing fine while something went wrong in his place, so it was only natural that he was embarrassed.
Although he was shocked by Lin Wu’s betrayal and realised that it was Mo Na Ye’s arrangement all along, he knew nothing about it before then. If Mo Na Ye had told him earlier, Meng Que would have held back to allow Lin Wu out more easily.
At the end of the day, it seemed Mo Na Ye still had no regard for him, so he didn’t let him have a hand in such an important plan.
At that time, if Meng Que had managed to stop the Five Elements Formation, Mo Na Ye would’ve probably given him a heads-up.
All the same, everything was within Mo Na Ye’s control. Regardless of what happened, he would make sure that Lin Wu could approach Yang Kai and deal a heavy blow.
Meng Que was resentful. Initially, both of them were Pseudo-Royal Lords, but Mo Na Ye acquired an opportunity in the Universe Furnace World and became a true Royal Lord while Meng Que suffered a setback and became seriously injured.
As he was frustrated, he wasn’t willing to let Tian Xiu Zhu and his Five Elements Formation off. He was determined to kill these weakened Eighth-Order Masters to vent his rage.
The Humans seemed to be on the losing side as the war intensified.
The Black Ink Clan was much stronger when it came to the quantity of their Masters. The Humans had managed to hold on previously because they could see hope as Xiang Shan attempted to break through. They also had their Warships’ assistance.
Now, Xiang Shan’s breakthrough had failed, and after a long battle, the Warships were seriously damaged. Without the Warships’ protection, how were they supposed to fend off the Black Ink Clan’s bombardment?
It was only a matter of time before their lines broke and they were routed.
They also couldn’t pin their hope on the two Ninth-Order Masters as they were both occupied.
Everyone was frustrated, especially the two Eighth-Order Masters who had attacked Xiang Shan earlier. After the Black Ink Strength in their bodies was dispelled by the Purifying Light, they felt guilty and ashamed. As such, they struck with reckless abandon, hoping to kill more enemies even if they lost their lives in the process.
If they hadn’t made a move at the most critical moment, Xiang Shan would’ve become a Ninth-Order Master.
Their sneak attack didn’t only make the Human Race lose a Ninth-Order Master, but also put hundreds of Human Race Masters in peril.
Although no one blamed them, they couldn’t forgive themselves so easily.
They had heard their Seniors mention that after some Black Ink Disciples were saved, they would rather kill themselves out of guilt. They might have hurt other Humans or even killed their friends and relatives; however, those were only stories and not something they personally experienced.
It wasn’t until this moment that they realised how despairing it was. Sometimes, living was more painful than death.
As such, they were looking for a chance to die while taking out several powerful opponents. However, the Territory Lords were naturally vigilant, so these Eighth-Order Masters didn’t have a chance to do so.
They had almost gone mad because of their fury and self-blame.
“Calm down! There is still hope for all of us! Don’t go throwing your lives away just yet!” A voice was suddenly cut through the noise. The person must have realised their intentions, so he decided to persuade them.
Both of them were startled. Was there still hope for all of them? But they didn’t see it!
The person went on to say, “Don’t forget that my Adoptive Father isn’t dead yet. As long as he’s alive, there’s still hope! He’s best at creating miracles in the most despairing situations!”
It was only then did they realise who was speaking to them.
He was none other than Yang Xiao!
The Adoptive Father he talked about was Yang Kai.
Indeed, during their formative years, they had heard their Seniors talk about Yang Kai’s numerous achievements. They knew that he had done many incredible things and the Human Race managed to hang on despite having to deal with the mighty Black Ink Clan largely thanks to his efforts and victories.
He was so powerful that he could kill Territory Lords like they were chickens and dogs, and was even used to dealing with opponents that were more powerful than him. He had even escaped from the pursuit of Royal Lords.
It was also rumoured that he had killed a Royal Lord on his own.
Certainly, it was a strange rumour; after all, there was a huge gap in power between an Eighth-Order Master and a Royal Lord. No one would believe it without any verification.
He was undoubtedly a legend and all the younger generation cultivators hoped to be the next Yang Kai.
One of them was even touted as ‘Little Yang Kai’. Such a title was enough to make many new cultivators feel envious.
Apart from these inconceivable rumours, they had seen how Yang Kai managed to form an Eight Trigrams Formation to push back a true Royal Lord and even gain the upper hand, a shocking and amazing feat indeed.
An Eight Trigrams Formation of Eighth-Order Masters had only appeared once before that, and at that time, it only lasted for 20 breaths. However, the Eight Trigrams Formation led by Yang Kai this time lasted for over an hour. If not for the fact that Lin Wu was a hidden Black Ink Disciple, Yang Kai could’ve kept the Formation running for much longer.
However, was there really hope for all of them?
The Eight Trigrams Formation had shattered, and Yang Kai was heavily injured. He was unable to make it to the Ninth Order as the Eighth Order was the limit in his lifetime.
What else could he do in such a situation?
If Yang Xiao hadn’t mentioned Yang Kai, they would’ve forgotten about him. That was because regardless of what he did, he wouldn’t be able to turn things around now.
Instinctively, they turned to look at Yang Kai, after which they were astounded.
If they remembered correctly, Yang Kai was supposed to be badly wounded with a weekend aura; however, even though he wasn’t in peak condition at this moment, he wasn’t nearly as battered as they believed.
They were amazed by his restorative ability.
Presently, Yang Kai was hovering in the void with Fang Tian Ci and Thunder Shadow.
With the Space-Time River’s help, Yang Kai had mostly recovered; however, everyone seemed to have forgotten about him.
Only Lin Wu was looking at him warily at this moment.
Yang Kai was famous and powerful, after all. Although Lin Wu was resolute when launching a sneak attack earlier, he didn’t have the guts to fight Yang Kai head-on. Nevertheless, he couldn’t rashly have a hand in other battles. As such, he decided to stay there and keep an eye on Yang Kai.
Noticing Lin Wu’s stare, Yang Kai turned to look at him and put on a faint smile, one without resentment or anger.
After all, after getting corrupted, a Black Ink Disciple would place Mo and the Black Ink Clan before all else. As a Black Ink Disciple, everything Lin Wu did was against his will. Yang Kai had encountered countless Black Ink Disciples over the years. He would save them if he could; otherwise, he would not hesitate to kill them as that was a kind of extrication as well. As such, he wouldn’t blame Lin Wu for anything.
However, it seemed that he now had no choice but to use his trump card. Undoubtedly, he was unresigned.
No one had ever cultivated the Three Selves Source Reconstitution Art devised by Shi before, so no one knew if it could shatter the Open Heaven Realm Method’s shackles. It would be wonderful if Yang Kai succeeded, but if he failed, he would be left with numerous concerns.
From what he had gathered, the Secret Art should be feasible. At the very least, both the Human Self and Monster Self had grown to be powerful; moreover, these two seemed closely connected to his own, true body.
Putting Thunder Shadow aside for now, Fang Tian Ci had the potential to directly ascend to the Seventh Order back then; nevertheless, when he made it to the Open Heaven Realm, he became a Sixth-Order Master for seemingly no reason.
That was the restriction from the main body. Yang Kai’s limit was the Eighth Order; therefore, as the Human Self, regardless of how good Fang Tian Ci’s aptitude was or how solid his foundation had been, he was unable to directly ascend to the Seventh Order.
It was the same case for Thunder Shadow. He had come to a point where his cultivation was impossible to improve further.
In fact, if he was not Yang Kai’s Monster Self, he could’ve stayed in the Myriad Monsters World and continued to improve his cultivation since he had cultivated the Primal Art to refine his Monster Core. Someone from the Monster Race who had cultivated the Primal Art didn’t have any shackles to speak of.
Yang Kai initially wanted to wait for his Human Self and Monster Self to reach the absolute limits of their cultivation; then, he would look for a safe place and use the Three Selves Source Reconstitution Art to attempt a breakthrough.
If possible, he could also ask some friends and relatives to stand guard for him to avoid any accidents.
He didn’t know the kind of problems he would face after he used the Three Selves Source Reconstitution Art, so he had to make some preparations.
Nevertheless, things went contrary to his wishes. Now, Xiang Shan’s breakthrough failed while Ou Yang Lie and Yang Xue had their respective opponents. If this dragged on, the Humans’ defence line would break. Faced with more than 10 Pseudo-Royal Lords and countless Territory Lords, Yang Kai, an Eighth-Order Master, wouldn’t be able to achieve anything even if he joined the battle.
Therefore, he had to take the risk despite being in less-than-ideal circumstances.
After giving it some thought though, Yang Kai realised that if he managed to successfully achieve a breakthrough, he could immediately kill many Masters from the Black Ink Clan to celebrate his breakthrough, which sounded like an excellent idea.
At that moment, he became high-spirited.
Yang Kai was a resolute person, and since he had made a decision, he wouldn’t hesitate. The only problem was that his Human Self, Monster Self, and himself were not in the best of conditions.
With the Space-Time River’s help, he had managed to heal 80% of his injuries; however, Fang Tian Ci and Thunder Shadow didn’t have such incredible restorative power and were still heavily injured from the prolonged battle.
Resolving himself, Yang Kai muttered, “Are you ready?”
Fang Tian Ci replied with a faint smile, “I’ve always been ready.”
Thunder Shadow nodded, “We’re all Brothers. As long as we’re united, we can achieve anything!”
Fang Tian Ci couldn’t help but refute, “We’re merely part of his Soul…”
Thunder Shadow cut him off by saying, “So what if we’re part of his Soul? Can’t we be Brothers? Moreover, we’re not Soul Clones in the traditional sense. What do you say, Big Brother?”
Yang Kai nodded, “You’re right. This time, the three of us will be going for broke!”
A smug Thunder Shadow pulled a face at Fang Tian Ci, who smiled helplessly.
“Enter my Small Universe!” Yang Kai ordered and opened up the portal to his Small Universe.
Without hesitation, Fang Tian Ci stepped forward and disappeared into it, followed by Thunder Shadow. Before that, Thunder Shadow said to Yang Kai, “I owe Qin Xue and her Husband from Great Feather Pavilion a favour. Please take care of them on my behalf.”
“Don’t worry,” Yang Kai replied quickly.
After the Human Self and Monster Self were gone, Yang Kai shuddered as his entire Small Universe trembled. Even the World Tree clone was unable to suppress the turmoil.
Yang Kai’s expression turned solemn as he focused on suppressing the upheaval in his Small Universe.
The moment Fang Tian Ci and Thunder Shadow entered Yang Kai’s Small Universe, Yang Xiao was flabbergasted.
Earlier, he consoled the two Eighth-Order Masters, who had attacked Xiang Shan, and told them not to lose hope yet because his Adoptive Father was still alive. Yang Kai had created many miracles in his life, so as long as he was still alive, there was hope for all of them. Naturally, Yang Xiao took a look at his Adoptive Father as he spoke.
That was when he saw the inconceivable sight.
[Old Fang and that Monster Race Great Emperor entered Adoptive Father’s Small Universe? What the Hell is going on!?]
Yang Xiao felt dizzy all of a sudden. He even suspected that he was seeing things because of his injuries.
Both Yang Kai and Fang Tian Ci were Eighth-Order Masters, so how did the latter enter Yang Kai’s Small Universe?
Since time immemorial, only Open Heaven Realm Master in a higher Order could allow one in a lower Order enter their Small Universe. It couldn’t be achieved when both of them were in the same Order.
That was because the Small Universes of two Open Heaven Realm Masters in the same Order had similar capacities. As such, one couldn’t keep the other person inside their Small Universe. If they forcibly did so, their Small Universe would explode.
Moreover, as far as Yang Xiao knew, the Monster Race Great Emperor was equivalent to an Eighth-Order Master. How did he enter Yang Kai’s Small Universe?
Yang Xiao found everything inconceivable, so he couldn’t help but look around, after which he saw that Blood Crow appeared equally shocked.
“Did you see that?” Yang Xiao asked.
Blood Crow glanced at him and nodded faintly.
Yang Xiao was stunned, “It wasn’t a hallucination?” Was what he saw real?
Blood Crow snorted, “Why are you so surprised? Didn’t you say he’s the best at creating miracles in the most despairing situations?”
Yang Xiao was startled for a moment before coming to his senses. If anyone else had done such a thing, that would’ve been shocking. However, that person was his Adoptive Father, so everything made sense.
Although he had no idea how Yang Kai managed to take Fang Tian Ci into his Small Universe, there wouldn’t be a problem as it was his Adoptive Father doing that.
Having said that, he still felt that something was off. What was the relationship between Fang Tian Ci and Yang Kai? Since both of them were Eighth-Order Masters, how and why did Fang Tian Ci enter the latter’s Small Universe?
Yang Xiao was aware that Fang Tian Ci came from Yang Kai’s Small Universe; moreover, Fang Tian Ci was well-versed in the Dao of Space, Dao of Time, and Spear Dao, all of which he had inherited from Yang Kai. He was known to be Little Yang Kai because of that.
Also, Zhao Ye Bai and the others said that Yang Kai had travelled around his own Small Universe before. It was during that time that he took him and Zhao Ya as his Disciples.
At the thought of this, Yang Xiao gasped in shock as a bold idea formed in his mind.
[Could Old Fang be my Adoptive Father’s illegitimate Son?]
When Yang Kai travelled around his Small Universe, he might have come across a beautiful lady and fallen in love with her, leading to Fang Tian Ci being born.
Later, Yang Kai would have kept Fang Tian Ci in his Small Universe and taught him how to cultivate, which was how the latter inherited all three of the former’s Grand Daos.
Assuming that it was the truth, Yang Xiao nodded gently. He couldn’t believe that Fang Tian Ci was related to Yang Kai by blood, and he had never heard about it from him before. For that reason, he decided to teach Fang Tian Ci a lesson for hiding it from him at a later time.
“What are you doing? Don’t get distracted!” Blood Crow suddenly snapped.
Since Yang Xiao was having such wild thoughts, the Four Symbols Formation began to become unstable.
Yang Xiao quickly pulled himself together and guffawed, “We’re going to win this one!”
Blood Crow looked at him like he was a fool. The Humans were in a difficult situation, so what made Yang Xiao believe that they could still win? Was it merely because Yang Kai had put an Eighth-Order Master and a Monster Race Great Emperor in his Small Universe? Was he supposed to break through to the Ninth Order by doing that?
While they were secretly shocked, two more people were equally astonished when they saw what Yang Kai did.
Lin Wu had been looking at Yang Kai warily; therefore, he could clearly see what Fang Tian Ci and Thunder Shadow did. At that moment, he was puzzled as to how Yang Kai managed to put two cultivators in the same equivalent Realm in his Small Universe.
On the other hand, Mo Na Ye became agitated. Although he couldn’t shake off Yang Xue, he had still been paying close attention to Yang Kai.
This couldn’t be helped as he had suffered too many setbacks because of Yang Kai, leading to a kind of paranoid trauma when it came to the latter. Before Yang Kai was dead and buried, Mo Na Ye could never relax.
When he saw Fang Tian Ci and Thunder Shadow dashing into Yang Kai’s Small Universe, he felt his chest tightening as a bad premonition came over him.
Although he had no idea what Yang Kai was up to, he had to be cautious whenever the latter did something unusual, which was usually a sign that Yang Kai was about to achieve something shocking.
Mo Na Ye immediately made a decision and sent a Divine Sense transmission.
The next moment, three Pseudo-Royal Lords, who had been trying to break the Humans’ defence line along with the Territory Lords, suddenly left their positions and charged towards Yang Kai from different directions.
It was a difficult decision to make for Mo Na Ye to send three Pseudo-Royal Lords to deal with Yang Kai at such a critical moment.
Without these three Pseudo-Royal Lords, a great deal of pressure had been lifted off the Human Race’s defence line, especially now that Xiang Shan was free to contend against the Black Ink Clan. Presently, he was charging around while leading a Seven Stars Formation, and after those three Pseudo-Royal Lords left the battle, the advantage that the Black Ink Clan had would probably be wiped out.
However, Mo Na Ye had no choice but to make such a decision to kill Yang Kai as quickly as possible. Despite that, they might not be able to end Yang Kai’s life. If it was so easy to kill Yang Kai, he wouldn’t have remained alive until now.
Nevertheless, if they could kill Yang Kai, Mo Na Ye wouldn’t mind letting the rest of the Human Race Masters here escape.
Faced with the approaching imposing auras, Yang Kai sported a cold expression and snorted, “It seems you all still consider me a huge threat, huh?”
Yang Kai knew that when he got started, the Black Ink Clan would definitely notice and attempt to stop him. As such, he was well-prepared.
Seeing that three Pseudo-Royal Lords were about to reach him, he certainly wouldn’t stay there and wait for death.
Space Principles undulated and his figure blurred.
By the time the Pseudo-Royal Lords arrived, Yang Kai had disappeared. In a different direction, his aura slowly reappeared.
Yang Kai was certainly no match for three Pseudo-Royal Lords; in fact, given his condition, he couldn’t even deal with one Pseudo-Royal Lord. He had been contending with the Black Ink Clan for many years, and he frequently came across opponents he couldn’t defeat, but he managed to survive until now because he firmly believed that even if he couldn’t defeat the other party, he would be able to run away.
Given his mastery over the Dao of Space, he was unmatched when it came to escaping.
A temporary retreat wasn’t a sign of weakness; he just needed to wait for a chance to strike back.
Including Mo Yu, Yang Kai had been hunted down by three different Royal Lords before. One of them was killed by him even though he had no idea how, and the other was lured to the Chaotic Dead Territory and eliminated by Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan. Only Mo Yu was still alive and kicking.
Since Yang Kai could escape from true Royal Lords, he naturally wasn’t afraid of mere Pseudo-Royal Lords. More importantly, the Black Ink Clan didn’t have any Heaven Sealing and Earth Locking techniques. If he freely manipulated Space Principles, these Pseudo-Royal Lords wouldn’t even be able to touch him despite joining forces.
However, the situation was unusual at that moment.
With his Human Self and Monster Self inside his body, his Small Universe was in turmoil; as such, as Yang Kai manipulated Space Principles, he realised that he was unable to use his Space Secret Techniques smoothly.
The turmoil in his Small Universe caused everything to destabilise. Even the Space-Time River around Yang Kai could hardly be sustained. The moment he reappeared, the Space-Time River suddenly came apart and dispersed.
Yang Kai turned pale as he sported a solemn expression.
He didn’t expect that such a thing would happen after he let his Human Self and Monster Self inside his Small Universe; now, it seemed that he was in a perilous situation.
No one had cultivated the Three Selves Source Reconstitution Art before, so no one could teach him anything about it or warn him of any dangers of cultivating it. He had planned to choose a safe place and prepare thoroughly before using this Secret Art; however, the situation the Humans were facing didn’t allow him to make any preparations at all. As such, he could only take a risk.
The three Pseudo-Royal Lords hadn’t noticed this anomaly, but the instant they detected his aura, they still turned around and charged towards him.
Yang Kai certainly wouldn’t stand still and wait for death, so he promptly dashed off to widen the gap between him and his enemies. At the same time, he spent some energy circulating the Three Selves Source Reconstitution Art.
Strictly speaking, the Secret Art devised by Shi was divided into two parts. The first part was about splitting one’s Soul to cultivate two Selves. That was the foundation as well as the preliminary preparation, the key to success so to speak.
Yang Kai had completed this part. Over the years, both his Human Self, Fang Tian Ci, and his Monster Self, Thunder Shadow, had grown to be independent beings. They had reached the limits of their respective Realms, so there wasn’t much room for improvement for them.
The second part was what Yang Kai was currently doing. By circulating the Three Selves Source Reconstitution Art, he could unite his three Selves. After integrating the powers of the two other Souls, he would be able to massively expand his Small Universe and thereby shatter the Open Heaven Realm Method’s innate shackles.
When Fang Tian Ci and Thunder Shadow entered Yang Kai’s Small Universe, the powers of the two caused everything to descend into upheaval, especially Fang Tian Ci. He was also an Eighth-Order Master, so he too had a massive Small Universe in his body, which caused an enormous impact on Yang Kai’s own Small Universe.
That was the reason a person couldn’t accommodate another cultivator in the same Order into their Small Universe.
As Yang Kai’s Small Universe trembled, everyone in the Void World was apprehensive. The World Tree clone’s illusory phantom appeared, its gigantic tree crown like an umbrella that covered the entire sky.
Meanwhile, a battered Yang Kai was dashing forward to escape from the three Pseudo-Royal Lords while madly circulating the Three Selves Source Reconstitution Art at the same time.
Just then, a Dragon Roar was heard reverberating across the Small Universe. The next moment, a Golden Dragon phantom that was 99,999 metres long appeared. The Golden Dragon was the visual manifestation of Yang Kai’s Divine Spirit Source.
The Phantom Dragon covered a large part of the World, and when it appeared, all the living creatures were exposed to its Dragon Pressure and felt the urge to bow to it.
After his trip to the Dragon Pool back then, Yang Kai could be considered a pure-blooded Dragon Clan member. That was the reason the Ancient Dragon Elders from the No-Return Pass wanted him to record his name on the Dragon Tome and found the Yang Family lineage so that there would be more Dragon Clan descendants in the future.
However, Yang Kai had never considered himself a true member of the Dragon Clan. Turning into a Dragon was his way to deal with large swaths of weak opponents or singular powerful enemies. He would always regard himself as a Human.
All the same, his beliefs wouldn’t change the fact that he was a pure-blooded Dragon Clan member.
The appearance of the Golden Dragon showed that his Source had been fully stimulated at this moment.
If he wanted to integrate the powers of his other two Selves, he had to make use of his Source.
The instant the illusory phantom Golden Dragon appeared following the Dragon Roar, Fang Tian Ci and Thunder Shadow sported solemn expressions.
Thunder Shadow looked at the Golden Dragon while feeling his power stir in his body. Suddenly, he asked, “Second Brother, have you flirted with many women over the years?”
Fang Tian Ci broke into laughter, “Why are you asking this question at this point?”
Thunder Shadow smiled meaningfully, “Think about it. Since both of us are Big Brother’s Soul Clones, if you’ve been intimate with some woman, after Big Brother assimilates both of us, the women you’re in love with will probably go looking for him.”
Fang Tian Ci was stunned and wondered, “Is that so?”
Thunder Shadow replied matter-of-factly, “Of course. Both of us come from him, after all. Regardless of what we’ve done, he’ll have to take responsibility for everything.”
Fang Tian Ci couldn’t help teasing him, “It seems that Big Brother will be in big trouble, then. You must’ve been with many female Monsters in the Myriad Monsters World over the years.”
Thunder Shadow refuted seriously, “Nonsense. I focused on cultivating while in the Myriad Monsters World and have never done anything I would feel ashamed of.”
Then, he winked at the other man, “So, have you really flirted with some women?”
“No,” Fang Tian Ci shook his head, “I’ve always been honest and righteous, so why would I flirt with random women?” Then, he sighed, “However, when a man is brilliant, he’ll always attract many women’s attention. I’ve been feeling troubled because of that.”
Hearing that, Thunder Shadow pursed his lips and muttered, “It seems that Big Brother isn’t such a good thing compared to us.”
Both of them were Yang Kai’s Soul Clones, so strictly speaking, they had inherited Yang Kai’s temperament. As such, they were the reflection of Yang Kai’s disposition.
The two of them exchanged glances and guffawed.
“If you two are done chit-chatting, hurry up and help, otherwise, I’ll be killed soon!” Yang Kai shouted.
As even his use of Dao Strengths was in turmoil, Yang Kai found it hard to use his Space Secret Techniques. Since three Pseudo-Royal Lords were hunting him down, he was in a perilous situation. He could still run away for a while as he had put some distance between him and them, but as time passed, that distance would surely shrink.
Moreover, he could feel that Mo Na Ye had been paying attention to him and trying to shake off Yang Xue, but to no avail.
Faced with the Chaos Spirit King, Yang Xue wasn’t a match for it, but it wasn’t hard for her to keep Mo Na Ye pinned down; after all, Mo Na Ye was her equal in cultivation, and wasn’t in peak condition. He was injured even before the current battle broke out, and then he had spent some effort fighting the Eight Trigrams Formation, leaving him both wounded and weakened.
Since Yang Xue could tell that Mo Na Ye wanted to harm Yang Kai, she naturally wouldn’t let him go.
Inside Yang Kai’s Small Universe, Fang Tian Ci and Thunder Shadow sported serious expressions. Although they had no idea what was going to happen next, they were aware of their fates after the memories in their Souls were fully unsealed.
They had been cultivating for many years for this moment.
At the very least, they had lived their lives to the fullest, travelling around and experiencing many wonders of the Universe.
Without resistance, they emptied their minds and let their Soul turn into nothingness.
The Golden Dragon continued to roar, and as its Source Strength shook, Fang Tian Ci and Thunder Shadow resonated with it. Gradually, their figures became blurred and were engulfed in a layer of golden light.
A moment later, two gigantic golden figures shot into the sky.
Everyone in the Void World was paying respects to the Golden Dragon when they saw such a shocking sight. Presently, a gigantic golden leopard surrounded by lightning and an equally majestic Human figure were flying up towards the Golden Dragon.
No one had any idea what was going on; however, they had experienced several fantastical phenomena in the Void World over the years, and these incidents always subsided quickly; as such, they were already somewhat used to it.
Seven Stars Sect was the dominant Great Force in the Void World without any question. No one had yet managed to challenge their status over the past 100,000 years.
This couldn’t be helped though as the Dao Lord used to be a Supreme Elder in Seven Stars Sect. They still kept his position in the Sect and everyone from the lowest disciple to the Sect Master himself would frequently pay homage to his statue.
With such a natural advantage, it was only expected that they had an edge over other Sects.
As the most powerful Great Force on the continent, Seven Stars Sect had many satellite cities around it. The area could be considered the centre of the World.
About 20 kilometres away from one such city was the Fang Family Village. It used to be an ordinary village, but they had an Ancestor who grew to be a powerful cultivator and became part of the Void Dao Temple many millennia ago. The village had been thriving since then.
Presently, there were many descendants and cultivators in the Fang Family Village, including some Emperor Realm Masters. Their inheritance was just as great as some of the Sects with equally long histories.
When such an anomaly took place in the Void World, the Patriarch led the Fang Family members to salute the Golden Dragon and pray for their safety.
Nonetheless, when the Patriarch looked up and saw the face of the golden Human figure, he was thoroughly startled because he found the face familiar.
The commotion behind him made him realise that he wasn’t mistaken. The golden Human figure looked just like their famous Ancestor that used to live in their village over 10,000 years ago.
Fang Tian Ci was a legendary figure within the Fang Family, and it was because of his identity as a Void Dao Temple disciple that the Fang Family was able to thrive all these years.
It could be said that this Ancestor was the reason the Fang Family rose to power. Before him, the Fang Family was just one of many ordinary families in the Void World.
[Is that… Honoured Ancestor?]
The Patriarch could not be certain. After the Ancestor joined the Void Dao Temple, he gave the Fang Family some benefits before he left the Void World. There had never been any news about him since.
While the Fang Family’s Patriarch was doubtful, the colossal golden figure seemed to have sensed something and looked in their direction. Despite the distance, Fang Tian Ci could clearly see what was going on in the Fang Family Village.
Then, he flicked his fingers and shot out a white light, which soon landed in front of the Patriarch with a faint thrum.
As the Patriarch looked on intently, he realised there was a sword in front of him. Despite the modest appearance, the sword was actually an extremely high grade artifact.
The Patriarch hurriedly straightened up and grasped the hilt. To his surprise, he was able to pull out the sword easily.
When he saw the character ‘Fang’ on the hilt, he realised something and shouted, “It is Ancestor Tian Ci! Heavens bless Ancestor Tian Ci!”
Behind him, countless Fang Family’s descendants called out, “Heavens bless Ancestor Tian Ci!”
The golden figure that Fang Tian Ci had turned into nodded gently and shot towards the Golden Dragon along with Thunder Shadow. Before they even arrived, their figures started dissipating into millions of points of light before assimilating into the Golden Dragon.
Although Fang Tian Ci was only a Soul Clone, he was born and raised in this World. In the end, he still had sentiments for the Fang Family. That was the reason he left behind his sword before leaving. As long as the sword was still around, the Fang Family would continue to thrive.
The entire Void World was the true body’s Small Universe, so why would the Soul Clone’s sword be lost? It could be said that as long as the true body was still alive and the Small Universe remained intact, the Fang Family would continue to prosper.
Despite being a Soul Clone, Fang Tian Ci wanted to do something for his family at the end of his life.
Following the integration of the two Soul Clones, the colour of the golden Phantom Dragon thickened. Its figure trembled and expanded in length.
The Phantom Dragon was already 99,999 metres long, which was only a step away from 100,000 metres. Now that Yang Kai had merged with the two, he had finally shattered the bottleneck.
At that, he was surprised.
Back then, when his Dragon Vein was stuck and couldn’t be improved any further, Yang Kai figured that he would have to ascend to the Ninth Order before he could break this bottleneck and become a Divine Dragon.
It never crossed his mind that he would become a Divine Dragon first.
After giving it some thought though, he realised it wasn’t so surprising. Both his Human Self and Monster Self were split and had to combine with his Source. Now that the two had integrated with him, his Source would naturally be strengthened. It naturally allowed him to become a Divine Dragon first.
Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling ecstatic, for he managed to become a Divine Dragon at the perfect time.
Presently, he was no longer able to escape from the three Pseudo-Royal Lords. Although he had repeatedly used his Space Secret Technique, his Dao Strength was in turmoil, which made it impossible for him to use Instantaneous Movement smoothly. As such, he was unable to shake off these powerful opponents. Now, he was cornered by the three Pseudo-Royal Lords in a particular spot in the void.
They were madly activating their aura to strike at Yang Kai and the Void around him. They were trying to disturb Yang Kai and make it impossible for him to run away.
Since Yang Kai was no longer able to flee, the murderous intent of these Pseudo-Royal Lords surged as one of them yelled, “Kill!”
They then charged towards him from different directions. As their Black Ink Strength surged, they cast powerful Secret Techniques at Yang Kai, who staggered while appearing battered.
If Yang Kai had not just become a Divine Dragon, he wouldn’t have persevered for long when faced with the bombardment of attacks from three Pseudo-Royal Lords. He would’ve had to spend some energy evading their attacks before, but the difference of one metre allowed him to ascend to the next stage, increasing his powers tremendously.
The difference between an Ancient Dragon and a Divine Dragon was similar to that between an Eighth-Order Master and a Ninth-Order Master.
It could be said that since Yang Kai was now a Divine Dragon, he was already able to deal with three Pseudo-Royal Lords; however, it was still hard for him to defeat them. This couldn’t be helped as he was at the most critical moment of using the Three Selves Source Reconstitution Art. If he wanted to make it to the Ninth Order, most of his focus had to remain on that.
Yang Kai’s Dragon Vein was only one of the reasons why he was powerful, while his Small Universe was his true foundation.
He had a feeling that he couldn’t reach the Creation Realm by relying on his Dragon Vein alone. It was only when his Small Universe grew stronger that he could peek at a higher Realm of the Martial Dao.
Yang Kai had to spend most of his energy monitoring his Small Universe and circulating the Three Selves Source Reconstitution Art while only a small part of his energy was diverted to deal with the three Pseudo-Royal Lords. That was the reason he still appeared to be in danger.
Fortunately, after becoming a Divine Dragon, his body became much more resistant to beatings.
Dragons had thick skin and strong flesh to begin with, not to mention that he was a Divine Dragon now, the most powerful of all Dragons.
From the outside, it appeared to everyone that Yang Kai was in mortal peril. Facing three Pseudo-Royal Lords, Yang Kai stood no chance of surviving and it was only a matter of time before he was defeated and killed.
Ou Yang Lie had thrown all caution to the wind as he raged. Although Xiao You felt bitter, he didn’t dare to let his opponent go. He could only grit his teeth and hold on as he joined forces with eight Territory Lords to ward off Ou Yang Lie’s violent storm of attacks.
Yang Xue bit her lip so hard that it started bleeding. Now, it was Mo Na Ye trying to make sure she couldn’t leave, not the other way around.
Since Yang Kai was about to be killed, Mo Na Ye certainly wouldn’t let Yang Xue stop that from happening.
Everyone assumed that Yang Kai was doomed and he might lose his life at any moment. Nevertheless, the three Pseudo-Royal Lords fighting him felt that something was off. Although they had indeed managed to gain the upper hand, the feedback from the battle they received was strange somehow.
It was as if something was greatly amiss.
Supposedly, since Yang Kai was only a peak Eighth-Order Master, he could only rely on Space Secret Techniques to escape in this situation. Regardless of how powerful he was, there had to be a limit.
Now that he was unable to flee, he should have lost his biggest advantage. With three Pseudo-Royal Lords joining forces, they should be able to kill him with ease.
However, despite how battered Yang Kai appeared and how frequently he spat blood, they were unable to kill him.
In fact, he still seemed full of life.
What’s more, when their attacks landed on him, they couldn’t cause any serious impact. It was as though a mysterious force was undermining their powers, making it impossible for them to deal a fatal blow.
Yang Kai even counterattacked from time to time, and the power he exhibited didn’t seem to belong to an Eighth-Order Master.
Feeling uneasy, the three Pseudo-Royal Lords intensified their attacks.
Faced with this kind of barrage, Yang Kai could only clench his teeth and persist. He was at the most critical moment of uniting his three Selves. He had been waiting for this moment for thousands of years, so he wasn’t willing to just give up because once he failed, he probably wouldn’t get a second chance.
The final war between the Black Ink Clan and the Human Race had begun, so he didn’t have time to nurture another Human Self and Monster Self.
Therefore, he was determined to succeed.
Although he was now a Divine Dragon, Yang Kai couldn’t hold on for long while dealing with three Pseudo-Royal Lords. He had to make it to the Ninth Order before he lost all strength; otherwise, he could only give up.
When Fang Tian Ci and Thunder Shadow merged with his Source, he managed to become a Divine Dragon, but on top of that, he could feel that there was something else added to his Small Universe.
It was something Yang Kai couldn’t describe or identify.
He tried to calm himself down and investigate, but it was to no avail. Nonetheless, he could feel that this indescribable thing had filled his entire Small Universe.
The Golden Dragon phantom roared. As Dragon Pressure spread across the World, the robust boundary walls around his Small Universe started wavering.
Yang Kai was elated, thinking that the Three Selves Source Reconstitution Art was working.
When he reached the limit of his cultivation, Yang Kai could feel the boundary wall’s presence in his Small Universe. It could be said that every peak Eighth-Order Master unable to ascend to the Ninth-Order could feel this boundary wall in their Small Universe.
That was the shortcoming of the Open Heaven Realm Method. The shackles within a cultivator couldn’t be broken by using ordinary means.
It had been quite some time since Yang Kai reached the peak of the Eighth Order; however, regardless of how hard he tried, he was unable to expand or break the boundary wall at all. Although the boundary wall was invisible, it was extremely robust, as it engulfed his entire Small Universe.
Nevertheless, at this moment, the boundary wall was shaken. This was undoubtedly a good start. As long as the boundary wall was broken, his Small Universe would continue to expand, which would then allow him to make it to the Ninth Order.
The Phantom Dragon continued to roar and smash into the boundary wall. Every time it did that, the boundary wall would shake, and as time passed, the intensity of the boundary wall’s trembling increased.
As such, Yang Kai spent even more energy to circulate the Three Selves Source Reconstitution Art.
Gradually, small cracks formed on the boundary wall. As long as he spent enough time and effort, he would be able to shatter the boundary wall!
To his chagrin though, after he made some calculations, Yang Kai helplessly realised that he didn’t have enough time.
Presently, he didn’t only have to attempt breaking through to the Ninth Order but also deal with three Pseudo-Royal Lords.
They were Pseudo-Royal Lords, not Territory Lords, so while they weren’t on par with true Royal Lords, it did not mean they were weak.
Despite being a Divine Dragon, Yang Kai was unable to hold on for long while remaining passive against such foes. At this rate, he was worried that he would be killed before he managed to break the barrier around his Small Universe.
As such, he had to hurry up.
However, he was circulating the Three Selves Source Reconstitution Art at its supposed maximum, so there was nothing else he could do to enhance the process.
[Should I just give up?]
If he gave up at this point, he certainly could contend with the three Pseudo-Royal Lords since he was a Divine Dragon; nonetheless, his dream of becoming a Ninth-Order Master would be crushed, and the integration of his Human Self and Monster Self would be rendered meaningless.
If he refused to give up, his injuries would only worsen until he was no longer able to hang on. Even if he gave up at that point, he would be too battered to fight three Pseudo-Royal Lords.
At that moment, Yang Kai fell into a dilemma.
It was because of all these risks that he had wanted to look for the right time and place to unite his three Selves; however, things had come to a point where he had no choice but to take a chance. To his dismay, things went contrary to his wishes.
The sudden appearance of the Universe Furnace, the start of the war in this place, and the disadvantage that the Human Race was facing made Yang Kai fall into such an awkward situation.
He secretly let out a sigh. If he couldn’t achieve his goal, he would have no choice but to give up. Even though he couldn’t make it to the Ninth Order, he had become a Divine Dragon at the very least, so he was glad that he had achieved something.
After making up his mind, Yang Kai scanned the entire Small Universe and felt sorrowful as he figured he would never make it to the Ninth Order in his lifetime.
Just as Yang Kai was sweeping his gaze over his Small Universe, an anomaly in a particular place caught his attention.
The source of the anomaly was the Fang Family Village.
At that moment, in the small Fang Family Village, everyone was saluting and calling out to Ancestor Tian Ci in a sincere manner with the Patriarch in the lead.
Before Fang Tian Ci merged with Yang Kai’s Source, he had left behind his sword to the Fang Family. He wanted to do something for his family, and Yang Kai had seen it.
Although the Fang Family members didn’t know what their Ancestor was going through or doing, it wouldn’t affect their admiration for him. That was because it was thanks to this Ancestor that the Fang Family had been thriving. The Ancestor brought about the Fang Family’s rise to power.
If not for the fact that the Ancestor had become a successful cultivator and joined the Void Dao Temple, the Fang Family wouldn’t have flourished to such an extent.
Over the years, countless families appeared and then disappeared in the Void World, unable to pass down their inheritance as they didn’t have sufficient heritage.
The Fang Family members were sincerely paying respects to their Ancestor because they were grateful for his contributions to the family. They were doing so for their descendants.
There seemed to be a mysterious power that gathered in the Fang Family Village before it integrated with the Golden Dragon phantom.
Yang Kai fell into his thoughts when he witnessed this. Moments ago, his entire focus was on circulating the Three Selves Source Reconstitution Art to break his shackles, so he didn’t notice this small anomaly in the Fang Family Village. Moreover, the mysterious power was so weak that it was almost imperceptible, so it failed to catch his eye.
As he looked intently though, Yang Kai realised that he wasn’t mistaken. A mysterious power was indeed emerging from the Fang Family Village. The power was like a long thread that connected the Fang Family Village and the Golden Dragon phantom in the sky above.
At that moment, many ideas flashed across Yang Kai’s mind, and he soon realised something critical.
[I see! This is the true nature of the Three Selves Source Reconstitution Art!]
He had learned the Three Selves Source Reconstitution Art from Wu Kuang and spent thousands of years nurturing a Human Self and Monster Self; however, he didn’t know how he could make use of the Three Selves Source Reconstitution Art to shatter his shackles so that he could ascend from the Eighth-Order to the Ninth-Order.
Initially, Yang Kai speculated that he just had to combine the powers of the Human Self and Monster Self to forcefully shatter his shackles and achieve a breakthrough; however, after activating the Three Selves Source Reconstitution Art, he realised that things were different from what he had imagined. The integration of three Peak Eighth-Order Masters’ powers was not enough to allow him to blow away the innate shackles and break the boundary wall around his Small Universe. Nevertheless, after the two Selves merged with the Source, he managed to become a Divine Dragon.
The secret of the Three Selves Source Reconstitution Art wasn’t just about uniting his three Selves, it was about cultivating this mysterious power!
The Power of Destiny!
Destiny was a combination of Fate, Luck, the Will of the People, and the Source of the Heavens and Earth.
In the expansive Universe, since the birth of the Primordial Light, there had been three major eras.
The Divine Spirits, who were transformed from the Primordial Light, ruled over all under the Heavens during the Primordial Era.
Then, the Great Monsters rose to power, leading to the Early Ancient Era.
When the Open Heaven Realm Method was popularized, it ushered in the Late Ancient Era, where the Human Race dominated the Universe.
In every era, the Race that ruled over everyone else was the favourite of the time, and fortune was on their side. The Divine Spirits, Monster Race, and the Human Race. Each represented three different eras.
On the other hand, the Three Selves Source Reconstitution Art combined the powers of three Selves to transcend the barriers between the eras. By integrating the Power of Destiny of the three eras, one could shatter the Open Heaven Realm Method’s shackles and achieve a breakthrough.
That was the secret of the Three Selves Source Reconstitution Art. Integrating the Power of Destiny from different eras was the key.
Upon that realization, Yang Kai couldn’t help thinking that Shi was indeed a genius. The Three Selves Source Reconstitution Art wasn’t just a Secret Art, it was a method of condensing the essence of all past eras into one.
After giving it some thought, Yang Kai realised it wasn’t so surprising. If Shi were not brilliant enough, he wouldn’t have been able to devise a Heaven-defying Secret Art such as the Heaven Devouring Battle Law.
Since Yang Kai had figured out the secret of the Three Selves Source Reconstitution Art, he realised that there was still hope for him. He didn’t have to give up just yet!
Although time was running out, he decided to give it a try. If he succeeded, he would ascend to the Ninth Order in addition to becoming a Divine Dragon. If he failed, he would be stuck at the peak of the Eighth Order forever.
Having made up his mind, Yang Kai spent most of his energy observing his Small Universe, and soon, he saw even more Power of Destiny streaming towards the Golden Dragon from different parts of his Small Universe.
The Power of Destiny was invisible and intangible, so one could hardly notice it in their day-to-day life. Nevertheless, since this was inside Yang Kai’s Small Universe, he was able to see more than normal and could spot traces of this mysterious force.
Inside Yang Kai’s Small Universe, apart from those from the Fang Family Village paying respects to their Ancestor, many people from other places were also praying for safety.
The Fang Family members were mainly saluting their Ancestor, who had merged with the Golden Dragon’s Source. As such, their Power of Destiny naturally integrated with the Source as well.
Other people from different places were offering their prayers to this world, so their Power of Destiny streamed towards the Golden Dragon as well.
However, that wasn’t enough.
The next moment, the people in the Void World, regardless of their cultivation, gender, or age, saw something so shocking that they would never forget it.
A figure suddenly appeared in the sky, one that was both enormous and authoritative.
Soon, a sense of unease washed over the entire World. Most of them had no idea what was going on. Their initially peaceful lives had descended into chaos as a Golden Dragon and a gigantic figure appeared. The faint-hearted thought that the end had arrived, so they started bawling their eyes out in panic.
On the other hand, the disciples from the Void Dao Temple or those who had cultivated in that place before recognised the figure and exclaimed loudly.
That was because the person was none other than the Dao Lord!
The disciples of the Void Dao Temple were aware of secrets that ordinary people didn’t know. They knew that the entire Void World was the Dao Lord’s Small Universe. When one had reached an adequate cultivation realm, they would be brought out of this place by the Dao Lord and allowed to break through.
The Dao Lord had rarely shown up since time immemorial, so it surprised them when he appeared all of a sudden.
At that moment, the disciples of the Void Dao Temple were excited as they fell to their knees and called out to the Dao Lord.
With a solemn expression, Yang Kai swept a glance over the entire Small Universe. He initially wanted to put on an imposing act, but when he noticed the unease in the Small Universe, he decided to just cut to the chase, “My name is Yang Kai, the lord of this World!”
Everyone fell silent as billions of people stared up at the figure in a dazed state. Some of them were in disbelief while some of them were excited.
“This World is in turmoil now because I am facing powerful enemies. So first, I must ask all of you to remain calm.”
Upon hearing that, the people of Void World were astonished, especially those from the Void Dao Temple. The disciples there knew that the Dao Lord had been contending with some powerful enemies over the years. Their Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters had left this World to help the Dao Lord in his fight.
However, they assumed that the Dao Lord was mighty and that there was nothing he couldn’t achieve; as such, they wondered how powerful his opponents had to be to cause the World they lived in to fall into upheaval.
They had rarely experienced such turmoil before.
Needless to say, the opponents that the Dao Lord was dealing with must be formidable.
“Alone, I am no match for these enemies, so I need all of you to lend me your aid.”
In the Void Dao Temple, an old cultivator shouted, “Please tell us what we can do to help you, Dao Lord!”
Since the Dao Lord was in danger, they wouldn’t hesitate to offer their assistance. The entire Void World was his Small Universe, after all. If the Dao Lord was defeated, the entire world would fall apart as well. Their fates were intertwined with the Dao Lord’s.
Therefore, the moment the old man heard that the Dao Lord needed help, he had the urge to leave this World at once and fight alongside him.
The other cultivators shouted, “Please tell us what we can do, Dao Lord!”
They knew that they were too weak to help the Dao Lord in his fight; however, he must have his reasons for saying that he needed their aid.
Regardless of what they were required to do, they just had to put in the effort.
Just then, a hot-headed man yelled, “Who are those people who have the guts to fight you, Dao Lord? Although I am weak, I am willing to do anything to help! Even if I may die, I will make sure to take a piece of the enemy’s flesh before I fall!”
Yang Kai flashed a smile at that disciple and continued, “There’s no need for that. The enemy is too powerful, so even if all of you combine your might, you will not be able to oppose them. As for how you can help… Uh… I need you to cheer for me! Chant things like ‘Dao Lord is unrivalled’, ‘Dao Lord is mighty’, ‘Dao Lord will never be defeated’, and so on…”
All the disciples in the Void Dao Temple and the people in the Void World were dumbfounded. Could they really help the Dao Lord just by cheering for him? Was he pulling their leg? He certainly sounded uncertain just now, so they didn’t understand how this could help him contend with the enemies.
Fixing his expression, Yang Kai shouted solemnly, “Time is running out! Whether I win this battle depends on all of you now!”
The moment he finished speaking, the figure dissipated.
In the Dao Temple, the disciples exchanged shocked glances for a moment before all of a sudden, the same hot-headed disciple lifted his arms and shouted, “Dao Lod is unrivalled!”
He was so agitated that the veins on his neck throbbed. His unwavering attitude showed that he truly believed that the Dao Lord was unrivalled under the Heavens.
Then, he raised his arms and shouted again.
Soon, the other disciples joined in. Several moments later, all the disciples of the Dao Temple were cheering for the Dao Lord. They even circulated their powers to spread their voices far and wide.
Their fervour spread like wildfire. In the Void World, the people from all the cities, villages, and Sects cheered for the Dao Lord, their voices reverberating out across the sky.
Soon, all the people in the entire World were cheering for the Dao Lord at the same time.
Words like ‘Dao Lord is invincible’, ‘Dao Lord is almighty, and ‘Dao Lord is the most powerful’ could be heard everywhere.
All were united to boost the Dao Lord’s morale.
Just like the Divine Spirits in the Primordial Era and Monster Race in the Early Ancient Era, the Humans were the favourite of this era and the rulers of the Universe. As such, the Humans’ Power of Destiny was the strongest.
Presently, there were billions in Yang Kai’s Small Universe, so when so many were united to cheer for the Dao Lord, a torrent of Power of Destiny flooded into the Golden Dragon phantom.
Everywhere in the Void World, regardless of how flourishing or rural it was, the Humans of different ages, genders, and cultivation cheered for the Dao Lord at the top of their lungs with utmost sincerity.
Streams of Power of Destiny with various degrees of strength flowed towards the Phantom Golden Dragon from these billions of people.
As Yang Kai looked internally, he could see countless threads of Destiny connecting the Golden Dragon and the citizens of his Small Universe, forming a gigantic and dense web.
The Power of Destiny from a small number of people was weak, but when billions of people cheered for him, their Power of Destiny could move the World.
As a result, the Dragon Pressure intensified.
The Dragon phantom roared and swam through the air. Like snowflakes under the scorching Sun, the boundary wall that engulfed Yang Kai’s Small Universe started melting away.
The Three Selves Source Reconstitution Art was fully activated. The Power of Destiny from three different eras integrated with each other with the Humans’ era being the most prominent. The shackles were shattered, and the Small Universe expanded.
At the same time, Yang Kai’s aura rose rapidly.
The three Pseudo-Royal Lords, who were contending with him, realised that something was off. Since they had joined forces, Yang Kai, a Peak Eighth-Order Master, was supposedly not a match for them. Considering the fact that he was unable to flee, it should have been a simple matter to kill him.
However, the fact that he had persevered until now puzzled the three Pseudo-Royal Lords.
What was more, his aura was now rising sharply, as though he was about to achieve a breakthrough, an inconceivable occurrence.
No one knew what Yang Kai had done that allowed him to be so resilient and unwavering. They speculated that it might have something to do with the fact that he had opened up his Small Universe and put an Eighth-Order Master and a Monster Race Great Emperor, but they had no idea how that was possible.
His already magnificent aura was still strengthening.
A Pseudo-Royal Lord exclaimed, “Kill him now!”
Something was definitely amiss. If they allowed Yang Kai’s aura to continue to strengthen, he would probably break through and reach the Ninth Order, which would be a disaster. As far as the Black Ink Clansmen knew, Yang Kai could never ascend to the Ninth Order in his lifetime, but he now showed signs of doing just that.
The other two Pseudo-Royal Lords needed no reminder as they used their most powerful moves. They madly channelled their strength in an attempt to end Yang Kai’s life in that instant.
Nevertheless, regardless of how hard they tried and how battered Yang Kai appeared, they were unable to end him.
A Divine Dragon was already stronger than an average Ninth-Order Master or Royal Lord, so while Yang Kai focused on his Small Universe and only spent a bit of his energy fending off the enemies, it still wasn’t easy to kill him.
On the other side, Mo Na Ye was growing apprehensive as well. He knew that something must’ve gone terribly wrong. It seemed that Yang Kai was indeed about to make it to the Ninth Order, so he was anxious to race over and kill him once and for all. However, before getting rid of Yang Xue, he could never have a hand in the fight over there.
Just as the Black Ink Clan was growing anxious, Yang Kai’s aura seemed to have broken through a limit and exploded.
The imposing aura coming from him suggested that he was no longer an Eighth-Order Master. In fact, it seemed that he was now even more powerful than an ordinary Ninth-Order Master!
At that moment, Yang Kai, who was seemingly no match for the three Pseudo-Royal Lords, suddenly opened his eyes, which shone as brightly as a pair of Great Suns.
Although his entire figure was covered in blood, he was full of vigour and vitality.
He swept a glance over the three Pseudo-Royal Lords and growled, “Had fun beating me up? It’s my turn now!”
The moment he finished speaking, he clenched the Azure Dragon Spear and surged his Dao Strengths. A splashing sound was heard all of a sudden and the Space-Time River, which disappeared previously when his Dao Strengths fell into turmoil, reappeared and swirled around the spear like a Water Dragon.
He then thrust his spear out and stabbed it into the Pseudo-Royal Lord nearest to him.
The Pseudo-Royal Lord was dumbstruck and hurriedly tried to retreat; however, the instant he made a move, the spear broke past the barriers of Time and Space and penetrated his figure.
He fell into a dazed state as he felt a sharp pain in his chest and looked down, realizing he had been hit.
His eyes were filled with disbelief as he looked up with difficulty and stared at Yang Kai, “How?”
He was a Pseudo-Royal Lord, after all. Although he had just become one before entering the Universe Furnace, he was still a Pseudo-Royal Lord. He had the power of a Royal Lord, and though he couldn’t use all of it, he shouldn’t be that different from a Ninth-Order Master.
Any other Ninth-Order Master wouldn’t have been able to kill him with such ease. They would’ve exchanged over 100 moves at the very least.
However, he was gravely injured by Yang Kai with just one attack.
The attack didn’t look like anything special, but he had somehow fallen into a dazed state and failed to dodge it.
Before his death, the Pseudo-Royal Lord suddenly realised something. He couldn’t help recalling the moment Yang Kai extended his spear earlier. Despite how ordinary the attack looked, the spear seemingly thrust out from a vague point in the past before piercing into him at a particular moment in the future. As such, he stood no chance of dodging it.
[The Dao of Space-Time!] He finally figured out what happened.
“Too weak!” Yang Kai snorted. Despite how battered he appeared, he still appeared extremely aggressive. As he wielded his spear, the Pseudo-Royal Lord exploded into a blood mist, after which his ample Black Ink Strength dissipated.
Everyone suddenly fell silent in shock.
Yang Kai managed to kill a Pseudo-Royal Lord with only one attack, so how were the others in the Black Ink Clan supposed to be a match for him?
Although it had clearly something to do with the fact that the Pseudo-Royal Lord was caught off guard, that did not diminish how powerful Yang Kai was.
This kind of strength was beyond their comprehension.
Mo Na Ye, who was contending with Yang Xue, turned pale and felt a crawling sensation on his scalp.
There was no doubt that Yang Kai was now a Ninth-Order Master.
[He broke through to the Ninth Order! How!? How did this happen!? How is it possible for him to even have the chance to make it to the Ninth Order!?]
Mo Na Ye heard that Yang Kai had snatched a Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill, so he was worried that the latter would refine it and reach the Ninth Order. As such, even though the Black Ink Clan had gained the upper hand, and he had also prepared a trump card, he still waited patiently for that opportunity to take Yang Kai down.
There was no denying that Xiang Shan was a formidable opponent, but in comparison, Yang Kai posed a bigger threat; therefore, Mo Na Ye had to wait for Yang Kai to show up before taking action.
Yang Kai indeed appeared at a later time, and he was still an Eighth-Order Master, which made Mo Na Ye breathe a sigh of relief.
At the most critical moment, Yang Kai threw away the Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill to divert the Chaos Spirit King’s attention, but without that pill, how did he manage to reach the Ninth Order? Did it have something to do with him taking an Eighth-Order Master and Monster Race Great Emperor into his Small Universe?
Mo Na Ye was unable to figure out the answer.
All the same, it was an irrefutable fact that Yang Kai was now a Ninth-Order Master; otherwise, he couldn’t have killed a Pseudo-Royal Lord with one thrust of his spear.
When Yang Kai was still an Eighth-Order Master, he was already able to easily kill Innate Territory Lords by using his Soul Secret Technique, though he would also hurt himself during the process. Mo Na Ye was worried that things would only get worse if Yang Kai managed to make it to the Ninth Order, and now it seemed that his greatest fear had become reality.
At that moment, he intended to flee, but how was he supposed to do that when he was engaged in a fight with Yang Xue?
“Hahaha! I told you we were going to win!” Yang Xiao, who was part of the Humans’ defence line, guffawed while Blood Crow, who was fighting alongside him, was speechless.
Earlier, Yang Kai opened up his Small Universe and put Fang Tian Ci and Thunder Shadow, Yang Xiao had already made such a bold claim. At that time, Blood Crow dismissed it. The Humans were in a perilous situation as the two Ninth-Order Masters were tangled up in fights, and the defence line was on the brink of coming apart. The Humans were bound to collapse at any moment.
No one could’ve expected that barely an hour later, things would take such a drastic turn. Since Yang Kai was now a Ninth-Order Master, the Black Ink Clan had lost their advantage. Presently, the Humans had gained the upper hand instead.
Just like Mo Na Ye, Blood Crow was puzzled as to how Yang Kai ascended to the Ninth Order. Even if he had refined a Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill, he couldn’t have achieved an ascension so quickly; moreover, he had already lost that Spirit Pill.
However, it was just like what Yang Xiao had said. His Adoptive Father could always create miracles in the most despairing situations and turn the tides of fortune around. Perhaps that was why the people who had fought alongside him before had blind trust and admiration for him.
In fact, Blood Crow was one of those people. Back then, he was a terrible fellow; he still couldn’t be considered a good one now. Nevertheless, after going through bloody battles and witnessing how much the Humans were willing to sacrifice for the greater good, Blood Crow, who was also a Human, sincerely hoped that the Black Ink Clan would be destroyed once and for all one day.
“Good, good, good! Kill them all!” Ou Yang Lie became energetic in an instant. When he saw that Yang Kai was in danger earlier, he was anxious, but now, he could be at ease.
Nonetheless, he was doubtful as well. He knew that Yang Kai had made use of the Three Selves Source Reconstitution Art to ascend to the Ninth Order, but the latter seemed to have a greater heritage than him.
As a new Ninth-Order Master, Yang Kai’s attack earlier was surprisingly powerful.
After giving it some thought, Ou Yang Lie realised it wasn’t so shocking.
Yang Kai had said that after he used the Three Selves Source Reconstitution Art, his three Selves would unite. In that case, Fang Tian Ci’s Small Universe would merge with Yang Kai’s.
In other words, Yang Kai’s Small Universe didn’t only have his own heritage but also Fang Tian Ci’s heritage, which helped save him a lot of cultivation time. Therefore, it was only natural that he was more powerful than the average newly ascended Ninth-Order Master.
After Yang Kai killed a Pseudo-Royal Lord with just one attack, everyone was shocked.
When the other two Pseudo-Royal Lords saw how ferocious Yang Kai was, they naturally wouldn’t dare to fight him head-on. They quickly retreated together as they stared warily at Yang Kai.
However, Yang Kai only shot them a glance but didn’t pursue them.
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to, but rather that since he was a new Ninth-Order Master, his Small Universe was still a bit unstable. He had fully surged his power to kill the Pseudo-Royal Lord a moment ago to intimidate the others so that they would back off.
At this moment, the boundary wall in his Small Universe had been shattered and it was still expanding rapidly.
Besides that, Fang Tian Ci’s Small Universe was also assimilating into his, which brought with it a lot of pure World Force. Since Fang Tian Ci was his Human Self, his power could perfectly blend into Yang Kai’s Small Universe without any contamination concerns.
Even Thunder Shadow’s Monster Core, which he had nurtured all his life, was melting and turning into a very pure power, which was then assimilated into Yang Kai’s Small Universe and helped strengthen his heritage.
Yang Kai’s many years of cultivation were a path with bumps and thorns. Moments ago, his Martial Dao had come to a standstill, but now that he had finally reached the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm, he couldn’t help but sigh with a multitude of emotions!
With the expansion of his Small Universe, his heritage strength, which was already powerful, grew at a steady pace.
Nevertheless, there was still a limit to this kind of growth, and soon after, his Small Universe calmed down and stabilized at a new peak.
Taking advantage of Yang Kai’s momentary distraction, the two Pseudo-Royal Lords had already fled back to the Black Ink Clan. The sudden death of their companion had left them terrified, so how could they have the courage to remain behind to face Yang Kai? At this moment, it was only natural for them to run to a place with more allies to seek a sense of security.
The Black Ink Clan’s side had some 10 Pseudo-Royal Lords and a large number of Territory Lords, so even if Yang Kai had reached the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm and decided to pursue them, they might still be able to put up a fight.
In any case, Yang Kai did not seem to have any intention of killing his way over; instead, he simply stretched out his hand and made a grabbing motion. The next moment, a figure appeared out of thin air.
It was none other than Lin Wu, who had ambushed him and caused the Eight Trigrams Formation to break apart previously. He had been staying nearby, probably looking for an opportunity to sneak attack Yang Kai again, but everything happened too fast. Yang Kai somehow advanced the Ninth-Order and killed a Pseudo-Royal Lord with a single thrust of his spear, so Lin Wu basically had no suitable opportunity to make his move.
Furthermore, he was only a newly promoted Eighth-Order Master, so even if he really attacked, he might not be able to play any role in such a battle.
Lin Wu instinctively tried to resist after being captured by Yang Kai, but bound by Space Principles, he was unable to move a finger.
The next moment, a dazzling pure white light enveloped Lin Wu. He instantly started screaming miserably as Black Ink Strength was purged from his body completely.
After finishing this, Yang Kai let go of him. Guilt instantly blanketed Lin Wu as he stuttered, “S-Senior Brother Yang, I…”
Yang Kai interrupted him, “You don’t need to explain, killing the enemy is what you should do now!”
Lin Wu grit his teeth before nodding, “Yes!” He then looked around for a moment before turning around and flying off towards Tian Xiu Zhu and the others.
At this time, the huge battlefield was divided into four battlefronts. The first battlefront was naturally Yang Xue versus Mo Na Ye, the second battlefront was fought between the Black Ink Clan Masters and the besieged the Human Race Masters, the third battlefront was fought between Ou Yang Lie and Xiao You and his eight Territory Lord allies, and the last battlefront involved Tian Xiu Zhu leading the Five Elements Formation confronting the Pseudo-Royal Lord, Meng Que.
Previously, Tian Xiu Zhu, who was leading his Battle Formation, sent Lin Wu and Zhan Tian He to assist Yang Kai in maintaining the Eight Trigrams Formation, but because of this, they were stranded outside the main battlefield and unable to return to their own side. Ultimately, they had no choice but to enter a battle with Meng Que.
Lin Wu checked the four battlefronts. Obviously, he could not intervene in the battle between a Ninth-Order Master and a Royal Lord, nor could he break through the defensive line of the Black Ink Clan who were besieging the Humans. The only fight he could join was the one Tian Xiu Zhu was leading. Perhaps after joining Tian Xiu Zhu and the others, they could form a Six Paths Formation and repel the enemy.
Originally, there was another battlefield where Yang Kai was fighting against three Pseudo-Royal Lords alone; however, after the death of one of the three Pseudo-Royal Lords, the rest had fled, leaving Yang Kai completely free.
After Lin Wu left, Yang Kai flew in another direction with his Space-Time River flowing over his spear.
Suddenly, Mo Na Ye’s thoughts fell into complete disarray; and why not? After all, Yang Kai was coming straight for him!
At first, he was able to fight evenly with Yang Xue. Although he was at a slight disadvantage because of his injuries, it did not bring him that much harm. In this battle, they were basically mutually restraining each other, so he could neither kill Yang Xue, nor could she kill him.
But if Yang Kai joined in, he would definitely not be able to survive in the face of Yang Kai’s treacherous methods.
In the blink of an eye, Mo Na Ye shouted, “Kill all the Humans at all costs, or it will be too late!”
After he gave the order, the Black Ink Clan’s offence immediately became fiercer; originally, the Humans on the other side of the battlefield were no match for the Black Ink Clan, be it in quality or quantity, so things were not looking good for them. The main reason they were able to hold on until now was because of the protection of many Warships and superior Battle Formations.
But at this point in the battle, most Warships had been destroyed, so now, the Humans were only holding their ground thanks to the joint efforts of the Eighth-Order Masters and the Black Ink Clan’s fear of death, but they could not last long.
Once the defensive line was broken, the Black Ink Clan, under the leadership of the many Pseudo-Royal Lords, would definitely massacre the Human Masters, causing tremendous casualties.
Previously, the Black Ink Clan had been acting cautiously against the Humans, but after Mo Na Ye had given the order, they no longer had any scruples and were willing to pay any price to kill the enemy.
Yang Kai, who was heading straight towards Mo Na Ye, momentarily stopped before continuing with his original intention. At the same time, he thrust his spear out at Mo Na Ye before he even arrived while shouting in a cold voice, “Clever!”
Mo Na Ye, who was still entangled with Yang Xue, had a drastic change in his expression. Clearly, Yang Kai had thrust his spear from quite a distance, but he had a feeling that he would not be able to block it even from afar. The oncoming spear gave the feeling as if it was thrust from right in front of him.
Mo Na Ye’s figure shook as his Black Ink Strength gushed out. While he was pulling back, he saw the tip of the spear rapidly expanding in his eyes, quickly filling his vision.
Unable to defend and unable to dodge, Mo Na Ye let out an indignant roar before gathering all his energy in his palm and smacking it towards the oncoming spear with all his might.
As the spear and palm met, a powerful shockwave spread across the void. In the wake of the clash, as Mo Na Ye was sent flying, three sword lights shot towards him at an incredible speed.
These attacks were launched by none other than Yang Xue!
Mo Na Ye had clearly noticed these three sword strikes coming at him, and had Yang Xue been acting alone, he would have had no problem dealing with them, but Yang Kai was also attacking him at the same time, so how could he have any extra strength to spare?
These three sword strikes seemed to contain the mysteries of the Grand Dao of Time as Mo Na Ye clearly saw Yang Xue swing her sword, but was already struck by the attack before she completed the motion.
Immediately after, pitch-black blood sprayed out of three gaping wounds on his body!
Mo Na Ye somehow withstood this fearsome attack and barely managed to stabilize himself, but the clash had left him in a sorry state.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai was still slowly making his way towards Mo Na Ye from far away; he was walking at such leisure that it looked like he was taking a stroll in his own courtyard. The long spear in his hand was also slightly flickering, leaving spear shadows behind. Yang Kai then calmly stated, “Xue’er, go help the others, I’ll deal with this guy.”
Holding her sword, Yang Xue looked at Mo Na Ye with some unwillingness before finally nodding, “Big Brother, be careful.”
Saying so, she transformed into a streak of light as she flew towards the main battlefield.
Although she wanted to stay behind and kill Mo Na Ye together with her Big Brother, the Human defensive line was on the verge of collapse. She was the only one who could help stabilize their position now.
This was also the reason why Mo Na Ye had ordered the Black Ink Clan troops to slaughter the Humans at all costs.
He knew that he was definitely not an opponent of two Ninth-Order Masters, especially when one of them was Yang Kai. If he didn’t find a way to restrain one of them, he would certainly die.
The best option he could use was the Humans’ defensive line.
Although he had successfully removed Yang Xue, Mo Na Ye still did not have much confidence. His sharp intuition told him that today would definitely be disastrous. Since he was targeted by Yang Kai, he would definitely die.
For many years, he had been a Pseudo-Royal Lord while Yang Kai was only an Eighth-Order Master. Although he was clearly stronger, Mo Na Ye never acted to confront Yang Kai because he knew that without a thorough plan, he would never be able to kill someone so good at escaping.
Once he provoked Yang Kai, it would definitely cause a lot of trouble, so he had been tolerating Yang Kai’s rudeness so far. It was only after he had become a Royal Lord in the Universe Furnace World that he finally gained the confidence to scheme for Yang Kai’s life.
Everything was going according to plan, but then Yang Kai’s sudden breakthrough to the Ninth Order messed everything up.
Even now, he still could not understand how Yang Kai managed to break through to the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm right under their noses!
Mo Na Ye was certain that the information he had obtained from the Black Ink Disciples was not wrong. Yang Kai should have had no chance of reaching the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm in his life. The peak of the Eighth Order had to be his limit.
Furthermore, Yang Kai had yet to refine a Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill, so how could he have advanced?
Mo Na Ye could not understand it at all, but in any case, Yang Kai was already in the Ninth Order. Now, a life-and-death battle was definitely going to be fought between them!
In the void, Yang Kai was still walking towards Mo Na Ye at a leisurely pace, but every time he took a step, Mo Na Ye’s heart would jump to his throat.
Distance was basically meaningless to a Master proficient in the Dao of Space, so Mo Na Ye had to be on guard against Yang Kai as the latter could attack at a moment’s notice!
“Mo Na Ye, you seem a bit nervous!” Yang Kai suddenly chuckled.
Mo Na Ye’s heart tightened as he replied in a shaky voice, “No one can remain calm and indifferent when facing someone like Brother Yang.”
Yang Kai gently nodded, “You used to call me Yang Kai, but now that I’ve advanced to the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm, you’re addressing me as Brother Yang. But even if you speak with me in such a friendly manner, I won’t let you off. Among everyone in the Black Ink Clan, I am most wary of you. You seem to be a bit different from the others of your kind.”
Mo Na Ye’s brow slightly rose, “I am honoured to receive such praise from you, Brother Yang. In fact, the Black Ink Clan has many talented members, it’s just that Brother Yang’s vision is too high, so you seem to not have noticed them.”
“Perhaps,” Yang Kai noncommittally replied, “As an old rival of many years, I’ll give you a chance to leave behind your last words. If you have anything you want to say, say it quickly.”
Mo Na Ye couldn’t help but break into laughter, “Does Brother Yang really want to fight me to the death? Why don’t you and I withdraw and meet again on the battlefield some other day? In fact, if we continue fighting like this, it won’t end well for either of us. Although your Sister has already gone to support them, how many people can she protect by herself? My Black Ink Clan has many Pseudo-Royal Lords here.”
“You make a good point!” Yang Kai nodded lightly.
Mo Na Ye’s expression suddenly changed as he threw a powerful punch forward, releasing a blast of Black Ink Strength before him. Meanwhile, Yang Kai, who had been strolling in the distance, suddenly appeared right in front of him and thrust out his spear. The Space-Time River was continuously swirling around his spear as Dao Strengths converged and transformed, displaying endless mysteries.
He was just talking about stopping the fight, but now he suddenly became violent. Of course, Yang Kai was going to go all-out when confronting the enemy.
“That’s why I need to kill you as soon as possible!” Yang Kai’s next words were accompanied by a powerful attack.
Mo Na Ye clenched his teeth and did not say a word. He had been on guard against Yang Kai all this time as he knew that he could not move the latter with words alone. So, when Yang Kai suddenly attacked, he immediately reacted.
Yang Kai’s figure kept moving along with his spear as Dao Strengths fiercely fluctuated with every attack. On the other side, Black Ink Strength surged around Mo Na Ye. The two of them had completely given up on using any Divine Abilities or Secret Techniques. They were attacking only based on their subtle sense of danger and their grasp of the situation. For a time, the two were locked in a heated battle, shattering the Void every time they clashed.
Ever since the Black Ink Clan invaded the 3,000 Worlds and started occupying various Great Territories, Ninth-Order Masters and Royal Lords had not fought each other, until today.
The devastating battle in the Barren Territory robbed both sides of almost all of their top Masters. The Black Ink Clan was left with only one Royal Lord, Mo Yu, who was guarding the No-Return Pass, while the Human Race’s situation was slightly better, having a total of two Ninth-Order Masters, Xiao Xiao and Wu Qing. But, as they needed to contain the Black Ink Giant Spirit God, these two Ninth-Order Masters were unable to participate in other matters. So, naturally, the top powerhouses of both sides never met, much less fought.
The older generation’s cultivators were slightly better off as they had witnessed battles of that level before, but how could the younger generation of Humans have had the opportunity to witness such a sight? Throughout their growth, the Ninth-Order Masters were akin to legendary figures!
But today, on this battlefield, battles between Royal Lords and Ninth-Order Masters occurred for the first time after the Barrier Territory War! First, a battle between Ou Yang Lie and Xiao You broke out, then between Yang Xue and Mo Na Ye, and now, Yang Kai took Yang Xue’s place and fought with Mo Na Ye.
The fallout of their battle seemed to shake the entire World.
Only now did the younger Humans finally get to witness and experience the true might of a Ninth-Order Master. Furthermore, the strength displayed by Yang Kai was obviously much more devastating than Yang Xue’s; he completely suppressed Mo Na Ye the moment they clashed. His Azure Dragon Spear moved back and forth with the Space-Time River swirling around it, making use of 10,000 different Dao Strengths. All kinds of unfathomable methods appeared one after another, causing even a Royal Lord like Mo Na Ye to be unable to resist.
The morale of the Humans immediately soared!
The moment of crisis for the Human Race had already passed with a Ninth-Order Master like Yang Xue personally coming to their aid. Although it was still difficult for them to turn the tide, the situation on the defensive line would not worsen at the very least.
With Xiang Shan and many other veteran Eighth-Order Masters taking command, it would not be easy for the Black Ink Clan to break through their defensive line anymore.
After seeing this, Ou Yang Lie quickly calmed down and stabilized his state of mind. He was fighting Xiao You and eight Territory Lords all this while. He had not suffered any major losses, but neither had he occupied any significant advantages. This was mainly because he was having a real hard time focusing on his battle with the dire state of the Humans around him and all kinds of unforeseen events popping up.
Now that he had calmed down, Ou Yang Lie saw a way to defeat his enemy. He kept only as much focus on dealing with Xiao You as necessary while he diverted most of his strength attacking the eight Territory Lords who were arranged into two Battle Formations.
So long as he could take out these Territory Lords, killing them one by one, Xiao You alone would not be his opponent; after all, Xiao You had suffered serious injuries at the hands of Yang Xue before, which made it difficult for him to display his full strength.
The battle on various battlefronts instantly grew even more heated than ever.
Suddenly, a laugh originated from somewhere in the void, carrying a hint of surprise and relief.
It was Mo Na Ye!
No one knew why he laughed, as he was clearly in a tight spot; he could lose his life at any moment under Yang Kai’s relentless and powerful attacks, but he was still able to laugh.
Across from him, Yang Kai, who was relentlessly attacking, coldly rebuked, “What’s so funny? Be careful or you might lose your teeth!”
Mo Na Ye, while defending himself, slowly shook his head, “Brother Yang, you’re very strong, but… you’re weaker than I expected!”
These words sounded somewhat contradictory, but they were indeed true.
When Yang Kai had broken past the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm’s shackles, advancing to the Ninth-Order, Mo Na Ye thought he was dead for sure!
If he was facing any other Ninth-Order Master, Mo Na Ye was confident that even if he could not defeat them, he could at least escape, but against someone like Yang Kai who was proficient in the Dao of Space, he thought that only death awaited him if he could not win outright in battle.
So, when he saw Yang Kai advance to the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm and kill a Pseudo-Royal Lord with a single thrust of his spear, Mo Na Ye resigned himself to death already.
But after a brief exchange with Yang Kai, he was surprised to discover that Yang Kai was not as powerful as he had imagined!
It had to be known that when Yang Kai was an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, he could kill Territory Lords and Innate Territory Lords like he was slaughtering chickens and dogs. Up against him, the Acquired Territory Lords and Innate Territory Lords could not put up a fight, and were often slaughtered before they even saw his face.
When he was in the Seventh Order, Yang Kai was rumoured to be capable of butchering Feudal Lords in just the same way.
So, in Mo Na Ye’s estimations, once Yang Kai advanced to the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm, no Royal Lord would be able to survive against him. He had always regarded Yang Kai as the greatest threat to the Black Ink Clan. If he had to choose between killing Xiang Shan or Yang Kai, he would pick Yang Kai without hesitation.
He had devised many arrangements and had been waiting for Yang Kai to appear all this time just for that purpose.
But all his schemes had come to nought as Yang Kai still broke through to the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm.
During this exchange, Yang Kai’s momentum was still unstoppable and his attacks were devastating to the point that Mo Na Ye was unable to even lift his head, but this kind of Yang Kai was still within the realm of what seemed normal. He was not strong to the point of absurdity.
It had to be known that Mo Na Ye’s current state was quite bad. He was already injured even before arriving here, and then he still fought Yang Kai in an Eight Trigrams Battle Formation for a long time, which added more wounds to his body. After that, he even fought with Yang Xue…
The current Mo Na Ye was nowhere near his peak.
Yet, Yang Kai was unable to quickly finish him off, which painted a clear picture.
That was why Mo Na Ye laughed, not because he thought that he could escape from this crisis, but because even if Yang Kai had advanced to the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm, there were still members in the Black Ink Clan who could go against him!
At the very least, a veteran Royal Lord like Mo Yu was definitely not inferior to the current Yang Kai! If the two fought right here and now, it would probably end in a draw.
Of course, Mo Na Ye knew that Yang Kai was also not in peak condition, but so what? In the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm, Yang Kai’s strength was not currently beyond his understanding, and that was more than enough!
Yang Kai roughly knew what his opponent was laughing about, but he was also helpless in this matter.
Since even Mo Na Ye had suffered heavy injuries and his strength had taken a hit, how could he remain unscathed?
At this moment, Yang Kai had just advanced to the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm and was not in great shape. Not to mention, he was injured in the previous battle and also suffered serious injuries when Lin Wu’s sneak attack landed. Although he had recovered to about 80% of his peak thanks to the profound power of the Space-Time River, it was still not a complete recovery.
Furthermore, his Human Self Fang Tian Ci and Monster Self Thunder Shadow’s injuries were far more severe than his own. The fusion of his three Selves in his Small Universe was imperfect. Although the union of three Selves had allowed Yang Kai to break through his shackles, his gains had been very limited.
Had his Divine Spirit Self, Human Self, and Monster Self all been in top condition, Yang Kai would have definitely been stronger and could have easily killed Mo Na Ye.
Be that as it may, his hands were tied at that moment. Luckily, Yang Kai was able to lure the Chaos Spirit King away thanks to the Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill. He had executed the Three Selves Source Reconstitution Art in haste and did not have much time to consider other things. He had no choice but to rely on this method to help the Humans here escape their current crisis.
In any case, both Yang Kai and Mo Na Ye were not in their best condition; as such, the intensity of their battle had greatly reduced.
A fierce struggle ensued!
Yang Kai quickly glanced over at the Humans’ defensive line and found that even with Yang Xue’s help, it was still difficult for them to gain the upper hand. He could do nothing about this though as the Pseudo-Royal Lords and Territory Lords far outnumbered the Eighth-Order Masters. Furthermore, after receiving Mo Na Ye’s order, the Black Ink Clan were attacking without any care for their own casualties and were using all means possible to break through the defensive line.
Territory Lords and Eighth-Order Masters were dying frequently as Black Ink Strength exploded, World Force dispersed, and Small Universes shattered.
Everyone knew that in today’s battle, the outcome of any battlefront would affect the overall situation. As long as one side won any battlefront, they would win the entire war!
Yang Kai knew that he could not delay any longer. He was still confident that he could kill Mo Na Ye, and judging by the current situation, Mo Na Ye would definitely die under his spear within half an hour.
But half an hour was too large a variable as the Humans’ defensive line might be breached at any time.
After hesitating for a moment, Yang Kai made his decision.
As Yang Kai thrust the Azure Dragon Spear, the opposing Mo Na Ye promptly pulled back, wanting to avoid the blow; however, he didn’t expect that this spear was just a feint. The Space-Time River that had been swirling around it suddenly flew out like a Water Dragon and expanded with a loud splash, transforming into an enormous river that gushed through the void.
Mo Na Ye’s expression immediately changed at the sight of the enormous river crashing towards him.
He had suffered many losses because of the Space-Time River previously. At that time, Yang Kai, who was leading an Eight Trigrams Battle Formation, had used the Space-Time River as a whip. When Mo Na Ye was struck by the Space-Time River, the various Dao Strengths had thrown his mind into a disarray, rendering him stunned.
So, when he saw Yang Kai use the strange river once more, he naturally became vigilant. His figure flickering as he tried to escape in between the gaps.
“Seal!” Yang Kai shouted as the overflowing river suddenly connected end to end, taking a circular shape. The next moment, the turbulent river water started spreading outward, filling the entire Void.
Mo Na Ye had never expected for the river to transform like this and was struck by a wave, which immediately destabilized him.
By then, Yang Kai had already arrived, hurling his spear at him and shouting, “Die!”
The spear attack felt as if it was piercing through space and time. It was emanating fearsome murderous intent and was extremely powerful. Mo Na Ye definitely could not take it in his current condition. If he really got impaled by this spear, he would be dead or not that far from it.
In a hurry, his figure suddenly sank, plunging into the enormous river.
Yang Kai’s spear missed Mo Na Ye and pierced the empty void, but he did not stop even for a moment and also plunged into the river in a flash.
From the start, Yang Kai wanted to force Mo Na Ye into the Space-Time River. He had used this method to kill some Territory Lords before, but this was the first time he had forced a Royal Lord into the Space-Time River. The Space-Time River was the manifestation of his Dao Strengths and took his Space and Time Dao Strengths as its foundation. 10,000 Dao Strengths fused and clashed with each other in the Space-Time River. Although Yang Kai had an absolute geographical advantage when fighting in the Space-Time River, once the battle became too intense, it would definitely impact his own Dao Strengths.
This was no different than trapping a thief in one’s own house and throwing him against the walls. Although it was possible to borrow the terrain to one’s advantage, it could also possibly wreck their house.
It was still alright if it was just a Territory Lord as their strength was not enough to shake the foundation of the Space-Time River, but a true Royal Lord was another matter.
As such, Yang Kai was putting himself at a huge risk, but this was the only way to kill Mo Na Ye in the shortest time possible. Yang Kai really could not worry too much about it if he wanted to win.
Yang Kai was dead set on killing Mo Na Ye; his murderous intent soaring to a whole new height. When the Space-Time River sealed off the void, it forced Mo Na Ye inside, whereupon Yang Kai rushed after him.
In an instant, the Space-Time River that had formed a large sphere became extremely turbulent. Waves rose and fell, spewing Dao Strength and Black Ink Strength randomly.
With the Space-Time River isolating everything, no one could see the battle, but they could clearly tell how dangerous it was from the upheaval in the Space-Time River.
The Black Ink Clansmens’ hearts all jumped to their throats!
If Mo Na Ye was defeated and died here, the Black Ink Clan would not be able to survive much longer; after all, they would have to face the infamous killing star!
With his means and brutality, he would not stop until he killed all of the Black Ink Clansmen here.
All of them were now thinking how they could get out of this situation.
Perhaps the Pseudo-Royal Lords could rush into the river to help Mo Na Ye, but at this moment, the Pseudo-Royal Lords were unable to move about freely as they were tied up with their respective opponents.
This was especially true for the Pseudo-Royal Lords who were fighting against Yang Xue. Once they withdrew, she would definitely launch a fierce counterattack, which would result in far greater casualties. And once the Black Ink Clan their advantage, they would no longer be able to turn the tide.
More importantly, even if they really went to help, no one could say for sure how useful they would be; after all, Yang Kai’s Space-Time River was too mysterious.
Somewhere in the void, Tian Xiu Zhu and several other Eighth-Order Masters formed a Six Paths Formation to pin down Meng Que.
This was the steadiest battlefront of them all as both sides were quite lacking in comparison to other fights both in number and strength.
On top of that, the Eighth-Order Masters as well as Meng Que were heavily injured.
Although the Eight-Order Masters were barely able to maintain their Battle Formation, it was still a little difficult for them to display its full power. It could not be helped as two of the Eighth-Order Masters in it had originally withdrawn from the Eight Trigrams Formation because they could not withstand the pressure due to their wounds. They had been fighting Mo Na Ye with Yang Kai and were completely exhausted already.
The only reason they were still able to fight was because they refused to back down. It was a shocking display of pure grit and willpower.
After this battle, these two Eighth-Order Masters’ foundations would definitely be severely damaged regardless of whether they won or lost.
Thus, Tian Xiu Zhu and the others only managed to gain a slight upper hand against a heavily injured Pseudo-Royal Lord like Meng Que, and were unable to kill him.
Amidst the heated battle, Meng Que angrily shouted, “Old dog, I’ve had it with you!”
He was furious. Usually, even if a group of old, weak, and injured people like them assumed a Six Paths Formation, they would not be able to do anything to him, but he too was not in a good condition, allowing him to be suppressed by the enemy.
If this continued, he would quite likely die.
Two Pseudo-Royal Lords had already perished in this battle, both of them at Yang Kai’s hands. One of them was killed by Yang Kai’s sneak attack, while the other was killed after Yang Kai broke through to the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm.
Be that as it may, if a Pseudo-Royal Lord like him was really to die at the hands of ordinary Eighth-Order Masters, it would be too embarrassing.
He was the third Pseudo-Royal Lord born in the Black Ink Clan. If not for the unlucky timing, he would have become famous throughout the 3,000 Worlds, standing on equal footing with Mo Na Ye!
For someone like Meng Que, even if he died, he wanted to die at the hands of famous figures like Yang Kai or Xiang Shan. He would never allow himself to die at the hands of these nameless ants!
Meng Que’s attacks became fiercer, fueled by his anger. He knew that his end was nigh, as such, he did not care about his own safety.
“Old dog?” Right across from him, Tian Xiu Zhu, who was covered in blood, had his expression become fierce as he roared, “Today, I’ll let you know that this old dog still has a few teeth left!”
Facing Meng Que’s powerful counterattack, not only did he not retreat, he instead charged straight at him, leading the Battle Formation, seemingly intent on perishing together with his enemy.
The other Eighth-Order Masters, including Lin Wu who had joined last, followed after him without any hesitation.
Under the violent collision, the already unstable Six Paths Formation nearly collapsed. Fortunately, Tian Xiu Zhu quickly adjusted everyone’s aura, ensuring its continuous operation.
However, this clash further worsened everyone’s injuries, with the two most severely injured Eighth-Order Masters nearly fainting.
It wasn’t like Meng Que didn’t suffer from this desperate attack though, as his aura suddenly waned and Black Ink Strength spurted uncontrollably from his wounds.
Looking at the fearless Eighth-Order Human Masters and the Human he had called old dog, Meng Que could not help feeling some admiration.
[The Human Race is indeed incredible!]
Adjusting his chaotic aura and state of mind, he suddenly burst into laughter and pointed his halberd at Tian Xiu Zhu, “What a sharp-tongued old dog. Come, let’s see who dies here today, you or I!”
[I, Meng Que, am just unlucky. I am not inferior to you, Mo Na Ye. Even if I die, I will still shine brilliantly in the end!]
As soon as he finished speaking, his aura soared as he charged straight at the Six Paths Formation.
How could Tian Xiu Zhu and the others back down when challenged so openly? They quickly adjusted the Battle Formation before rushing forward to meet Meng Que.
Both sides clashed a few more times, without even the slightest sign of retreating. Meng Que was nearly demented in his onslaught as his body bordered on collapse. The Eighth-Order Masters led by Tian Xiu Zhu did not fare any better. Their Battle Formation was unstable, and all of them had suffered critical wounds.
All were hovering between life and death!
The next clash would decide the victor and loser, who would live and who would die!
Tian Xiu Zhu shouted loudly, “This Tian is lucky to have fought with you all today! If there is a next life, I hope that we will fight shoulder to shoulder once more to kill the enemy!”
“Kill, kill, kill!”
Everyone’s eyes turned red. Although their auras were unstable and figures unsteady, their murderous intent shot through the sky.
After forcefully adjusting everyone’s chaotic aura and stabilizing himself, Tian Xiu Zhu let out a long sigh before shouting, “Kill!”
The Six Paths Formation left a streak of light as it charged straight towards Meng Que.
A grim and dignified look appeared on Meng Que’s face as he glanced towards the Space-Time River, coldly snorting in his heart, [Whether you see it or not, I, Meng Que, will not disappoint the title of Black Ink Clan Pseudo-Royal Lord!]
“Kill!”
As he shouted, Meng Que surged his Black Ink Strength as he smashed into the Six Paths Formation.
In this stretch of the void, where violent shockwaves appeared everywhere, the collision between six Eighth-Order Masters and one Pseudo-Royal Lord was far from spectacular, but it was the last glimmering of both sides who were willing to lay down their lives for their convictions.
When the two streaks of light, one bright and one dark, crashed into each other, the entire world seemed to have frozen for a moment before seven figures were sent flying in different directions.
Immediately after, Small Universes collapsed and World Force dissipated as someone’s vitality began to wane…
Of the six Eighth-Order Masters who formed the Six Paths Formation, three of them died on the spot!
Meng Que’s vitality had also become dismal and his strength started to dissipate. At this moment, he didn’t even have the strength to lift a finger.
Furthermore, there were no allies around him on this battlefront who could save him.
As he lay there dying, he could not help but glance over at the Space-Time River and mock himself silently. He was the third Pseudo-Royal Lord to be created, but he had never imagined that he would become the third Pseudo-Royal Lord to die today. It was truly ironic.
[When Humans die in battle, their names are engraved on the Monument of Heroes for future generations to remember their sacrifices, but what about the Black Ink Clan? What do we gain from sacrificing our lives?]
The Space-Time River was still full of upheavals, naturally due to the clash between two top Masters. Every time a wave rose, everyone could hear a faint dragon roar.
Suddenly, a fearsome blast of energy blew up a part of the Space-Time River off, opening a hole in the already unstable flow.
Immediately after, a figure in a wretched condition leapt out of that hole. Surprisingly, it was Mo Na Ye. At this moment, Mo Na Ye was in an extremely sorry state. There was a huge gaping hole that went from the front of his chest to the back. The Black Ink Strength in his body was surging and fear was written on his face.
Yang Kai had gone mad and resorted to every means possible to kill him as quickly as possible.
Mo Na Ye was simply no match for Yang Kai in the Space-Time River. All Yang Kai needed to do was fight steadily while controlling his Space-Time River and Mo Na Ye would certainly have perished.
However, Yang Kai didn’t choose this route. After gaining a bit of upper hand, he directly summoned his Dragon Bead.
Yang Kai was no longer a 99,999-metre-long Ancient Dragon. After his three Selves merged, and his Source had fused with them, he immediately became a Divine Dragon.
With the strengthening of his Dragon Vein, Yang Kai’s Dragon Bead received a significant boost in power.
Using their Dragon Bead to launch an attack was the final trump of a Dragon Clansman, one they would not resort to unless it was absolutely necessary. Yang Kai had once used this method in the past to great effect each time.
He was currently many times stronger than before, so how could the heavily injured Mo Na Ye resist the Dragon Bead’s attack?
The hole in his chest was the result, and this injury was more than enough to push Mo Na Ye half into the grave!
However, the Dragon Bead’s fearsome attack also allowed Mo Na Ye to escape.
The battle between the two top Masters had already made the Space-Time River unstable, and the flow of Dao Strengths inside chaotic. The Dragon Bead’s attack had not only severely injured Mo Na Ye, but it also blew open a hole in the Space-Time River.
Yang Kai had already expected this, but he had no choice but to do it. Only such an attack could quickly kill Mo Na Ye.
When Mo Na Ye escaped, Yang Kai followed close behind, but the turbulence in the Space-Time River caused his Dao Strengths to become unstable, making it difficult for him to gather his strength. As such, he had no choice but to stabilize his Dao Strengths first.
Right then, an indignant roar suddenly reverberated across the void.
“Mo Na Ye, this Old Master won’t submit to you, I’ll never bow to someone like you!”
It was Meng Que, who was also just a moment away from dying.
[Why is it that you have always been in charge of the Black Ink Clan? Why is it that the Sir Royal Lord never gave me a chance? Why must I hide in the No-Return Pass all this time just because you became the Pseudo-Royal Lord before me!? If I, Meng Que, could wield greater authority, I would not have been any worse than you!]
With this roar, Meng Que used all his remaining strength to rush towards Mo Na Ye.
No one knew what he wanted to do, and even Mo Na Ye was stunned for a moment before a heavy sigh escaped his lips.
Others might not have any idea what Meng Que was about to do, but he did. Mo Na Ye never thought that in the critical moment between life and death, it would be Meng Que, whom he had always looked down upon, who would come to his aid.
Meng Que was on the verge of death, his entire body was covered in wounds and his vitality was fading. Even if no one did anything to him, he would not last more than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea. And naturally, Mo Na Ye could also see this.
Perhaps it was because he was about to die that he was making such a surprising move.
On the other hand, although Tian Xiu Zhu and the others did not know what Meng Que was planning to do, his actions were definitely far from normal. While Tian Xiu Zhu and the others may have been oblivious, they still wanted to stop Meng Que, but how could they do anything about it when they could not even gather their strength? Three of their members had perished in the last exchange, and the three who were still alive were hanging by a breath. They had no choice but to helplessly watch Meng Que approach Mo Na Ye, shining brilliantly like the last radiance of a setting sun. He looked like he wanted to kill Mo Na Ye immediately.
And coupled with Meng Que’s furious roars, they all thought that there was some kind of irreconcilable grudge between these two; otherwise, why would Meng Que still be so indignant even on the verge of death?
In a flash, Meng Que arrived before Mo Na Ye and their eyes met. Mo Na Ye’s eyes happened to be filled with bitterness, while Meng Que’s eyes were shining brilliantly like raging fire, fueled by his last remaining life force.
The next moment, Meng Que’s body quivered as he gathered all his strength and his Black Ink Strength madly surged out. The richness and purity of that Black Ink Strength had far exceeded the norm.
In the blink of an eye, an enormous Black Ink Cloud appeared in the place where Meng Que once was and wrapped itself around Mo Na Ye before pouring into his body through his nose, mouth, and wounds like a living creature.
Subsequently, Mo Nay Ye’s fading aura began to recover at a rate visible to the naked eye. Even the hole in his chest began to slowly close up. Correspondingly, Meng Que’s aura and vitality rapidly dwindled.
“Damn it!” Tian Xiu Zhu cursed through his teeth. After seeing this, how could he not tell that Meng Que was not trying to harm Mo Na Ye, but was instead trying to heal him?
Although he had no idea what kind of profound Secret Technique Meng Que had used, it was an undeniable fact that Mo Na Ye was recovering.
Never had this Secret Technique appeared before, nor had the Humans ever seen it, so no one had been on guard against Meng Que’s actions before his death. Furthermore, no one had any strength to stop him either.
After sparing no effort, Yang Kai finally critically wounded Mo Na Ye, but if the latter were to recover, all previous efforts would go down the drain.
Tian Xiu Zhu grit his teeth and gathered his strength, wanting to stop Meng Que; however, as soon as he circulated his strength, his face turned pale and his mind went blank.
The previous battle had exhausted all his Small Universe’s strength, so now when he forcefully tried mustering it, his Small Universe immediately became unstable.
At this moment, Tian Xiu Zhu no longer had any strength left to fight, and the other two Eighth-Order Masters were in even more precarious states; after all, the foundation of a veteran Eighth-Order Master like Tian Xiu Zhu was still sturdier than that of the new generation Eighth-Order Masters.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai too wanted to stop it after seeing this, but he too was powerless to do anything. His Dao Strengths was left in extreme disarray after his Dragon Bead attack had blown open a hole in the Space-Time River. As such, he needed to quickly stabilize it.
A short while later, the Black Ink Cloud around Mo Na Ye finally disappeared, but Meng Que’s figure was nowhere to be seen. It was as if this Pseudo-Royal Lord had poured all of his energy into Mo Na Ye’s body before his death, helping him heal and recover.
Mo Na Ye had indeed recovered a little and many of his wounds had healed, but it was far from enough. Mo Na Ye was a Royal Lord now, so the more serious his injuries were, the harder it was for him to recover. The infusion of a dying Pseudo-Royal Lord’s essence could do nothing about it.
If he wanted to recover completely, he would need the infusion of the Source of all the Pseudo-Royal Lords present here. But this type of infusion could only be used voluntarily, and why would these Pseudo-Royal Lords voluntarily kill themselves?
Meng Que’s act of coming to his aid at the last moment already came as a surprise to Mo Na Ye; after all, they had never been on good terms.
For that reason, Meng Que’s last words seemed to echo so loudly in his ears.
[Live, you must live on! The Black Ink Clan is too stupid and ignorant, only by living can you finally help the Supreme One complete its grand plan!]
Mo Na Ye suddenly realized that he had been underestimating Meng Que all along. The reckless arrogance Meng Que had displayed before him might have just been a front.
[I misjudged him!]
Mo Na Ye silently mocked himself.
Suddenly, ripples appeared in the Void as Yang Kai furiously shouted, “Mo Na Ye, today you die!”
Mo Na Ye, who had just recovered a little, immediately looked up, only to see Yang Kai hastily stabilizing his mind and his Dao Strengths before charging straight at him with his spear.
Mo Na Ye’s heart was filled with bitterness, knowing that he had failed to live up to Meng Que’s expectations.
Against someone like Yang Kai, if he couldn’t defeat him, the only thing that awaited him next was death! As for escaping, it was naturally impossible to do so against a Master of the Dao of Space.
Yang Kai escaped from the pursuit of the Black Ink Clan many times, the reverse had never happened.
Since there was no way out, Mo Na Ye had no choice but to fight!
If Meng Que was willing to sacrifice himself, so why could he not?
“Yang Kai!” Mo Na Ye furiously roared, grinding his teeth. He did not retreat this time, but rather took the initiative to charge Yang Kai.
The two clashed again.
In the last confrontation, Yang Kai had the absolute upper hand. He even managed to fatally injure Mo Na Ye using his Dragon Bead. Although Meng Que had used a Secret Technique to help Mo Na Ye steady himself, this kind of injury could not be so easily healed.
So, when they were locked in another round of confrontation, Mo Na Ye was still no match for Yang Kai. Had he not recovered a little thanks to Meng Que’s help, he would have died within five moves.
It was only because of Meng Que’s sacrifice that Mo Na Ye was able to even fight back against Yang Kai.
Various Daos Strengths converged and merged, while Black Ink Strength fiercely surged as the two figures clashed with each other. They flew around the void, attacking each other with deadly intent.
Every clash would leave them injured, splashing their Golden and Black blood everywhere!
After an extremely fierce collision, the two figures respectively flew backward.
Yang Kai quickly came to a stop and stood completely still. His face kept distorting with various expressions as if something was terribly wrong.
Mo Na Ye, on the other hand, flew far away, tumbling many times through the void. After he somehow stabilized himself, he spurted a mouthful of black blood. Immediately afterwards, he looked in Yang Kai’s direction, seemingly sensing something.
He did not know whether it was all an illusion, but he felt that Yang Kai’s strength was unstable at the moment!
Regardless of whether it was an illusion or not, the fact was that Mo Na Ye was on the verge of dying again. Regardless of what happened to Yang Kai, he would definitely end up dead if the fight continued.
Meng Que’s last words once again echoed in his ears.
[Live, you must live on!]
It was indeed difficult to escape before someone proficient in the Dao of Space, but how would he know if he didn’t even try? He wasn’t someone who was afraid of death, but how could he be willing to die when the Black Ink Clan’s great task of unifying the 3,000 Worlds was still not complete?
He wanted to live not for himself, but for the Black Ink Clan’s grand ambition!
Having made his mind, Mo Na Ye instantly turned around and fled.
“You want to run!? In your dreams!” Yang Kai grit his teeth and shouted when he saw Mo Na Ye flee. He promptly activated his Space Secret Technique to chase after him.
But right then, the entire Universe Furnace World suddenly started quaking as another Grand Dao evolution took place.
The Grand Dao of the Universe Furnace had evolved many times already, and with each evolution, the chaotic Shattered Dao Essence that filled the Universe Furnace World disappeared, replaced by order and stability.
At the same time the Grand Dao started evolving, everything suddenly went blurry before Yang Kai, making it impossible for him to pursue Mo Na Ye. It was only after a short while that he could finally see clearly again.
The Grand Dao evolution had also come to an end by then.
However, Yang Kai still appeared to be in a daze. He stood in his place, looking around, exclaiming, “What’s going on?”
This question left members of both the Human Race and the Black Ink Clan confused.
Ou Yang Lie even more anxiously shouted, “Quickly kill Mo Na Ye!”
This was a rare opportunity. If they let Mo Na Ye escape this time, it would be difficult to find him again. Right now, Mo Na Ye was not just an intelligent commander of the Black Ink Clan, but also a true Royal Lord. He was a massive threat to the Human Race!
What was Yang Kai hesitating about? This was a good opportunity to cut weeds and pull out roots!
Yang Kai remained dazed for a moment before immediately releasing his Divine Sense. After sensing the direction of Mo Na Ye’s escape, he promptly gave chase.
Ou Yang Lie finally breathed a sigh of relief.
However, Yang Kai soon returned with the Azure Dragon Spear in hand, and a helpless look on his face. He kept moving his joints from time to time, raising his arms and legs as if he were very uncomfortable.
“Is he dead?” Ou Yang Lie hurriedly asked, finding it very strange that he had not sensed Mo Na Ye’s fall. Even if he had escaped far away, it was still impossible for a Royal Lord to die without any sound or disturbance.
“I couldn’t catch up!” Yang Kai angrily lashed out.
[Couldn’t catch up!?]
Ou Yang Lie simply thought that he heard it wrong, [How could you not catch up? How could anyone escape from you? What the Hell is wrong?]
Ou Yang Lie tightly furrowed his brow. He instinctively felt that something was off. If he was not so familiar with Yang Kai, he would have thought someone was pretending to be him.
But after carefully observing him, he felt that the current Yang Kai was indeed a little different from the one he was familiar with…
As for what was different about him, he could not put his finger on it.
In any case, he did not have much time to think about it now, so Ou Yang Lie just shouted, “Then let’s kill this one!”
It was a pity Mo Na Ye had escaped, but another Royal Lord was still present; killing him would also be a big haul. Thanks to the appearance of the Universe Furnace, the Black Ink Clan had managed to gain two Royal Lords. One of them might have escaped with serious injuries, but they could not let the other one run away as well.
“Fine, fine!” Yang Kai lifted his Azure Dragon Spear and waddled towards the battlefield like a penguin.
“Something’s wrong!” Elsewhere, Yang Xiao, who was leading a Six Paths Formation to fight a Pseudo-Royal Lord, had also noticed this. Although he had not spent much time with Yang Kai, the latter was still his Adoptive Father. As such, Yang Xiao was quite familiar with him.
At this moment, his Adoptive Father gave him a very strange feeling, as if he was a completely different person…
“What’s wrong?” Blood Crow asked casually.
“I think that’s not my Adoptive Father!” Yang Xiao frowned.
Blood Crow sneered, “If that’s not your Adoptive Father, who else could it be?” His Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm aura was unmistakable. How could anyone pretend to be Yang Kai down to the most minute details and even carry the Azure Dragon Spear?
If someone could imitate another to the point that he was absolutely indistinguishable from the original, it would be truly shocking.
While Yang Xiao and Blood Crow were secretly communicating, Yang Kai broke one of the Four Symbols Formation formed by the four Territory Lords with his spear.
After engaging in a fierce battle, although both Yang Kai and Mo Na Ye were dead tired, a starving camel was still bigger than a horse. In any case, he was a Divine Dragon, and a Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, so how could four mere Territory Lords resist him?
In addition, Yang Kai’s infamy also made the Territory Lords extremely fearful. Seeing Yang Kai charging towards them, whether it was the Territory Lords or Xiao You, who was fighting Ou Yang Lie, all of them became fearful.
Under such circumstances, how could a Four Symbols Formation stop Yang Kai’s rampage charge? He easily broke the Battle Formation after just a few attacks.
Without the support of the Battle Formation, the four Territory Lords were quickly slaughtered by Yang Kai one after another.
But suddenly, Yang Kai frowned and stowed the Azure Dragon Spear back in his Small Universe all while muttering, “Annoying!”
Saying so, Yang Kai’s body went down on his fours as an intense hostility and murderous intent broke out from him, like he was a ferocious beast that had been trapped for 10,000 years!
He then slightly raised his head and stared in the direction of the other Four Symbols Formation. The next moment, a mysterious energy surged from him before he disappeared, as if he had never been there.
Inside the Four Symbols Formation, the four Territory Lords were frightened like birds startled by the mere twang of a bow-string; after all, they had just witnessed their four companions being easily killed by Yang Kai. Now that it was their turn, how could they remain indifferent?
Even before Yang Kai reappeared, the four Territory Lords, who had been struggling to maintain their Battle Formation, became extremely unsettled.
Suddenly, a flash of lightning appeared before Yang Kai’s figure emerged behind a Territory Lord out of thin air, his hand suddenly thrusting towards the Territory Lord like a beast’s claw. Furthermore, lightning was crackling around his palm.
By the time Yang Kai pulled his hand back, a huge gaping hole had appeared in that Territory Lord’s body while lightning crackled around the wound. The violent lightning energy made the Territory Lord shake uncontrollably!
Immediately after, Yang Kai burst into laughter, “Better!”
Ou Yang Lie’s eyes shrank upon seeing this!
He had immediately realized something.
On another side, Yang Xiao’s eyes involuntarily widened as he blurted out, “Thunder Shadow Great Emperor!”
That strange offensive stance, the brutal way of killing his enemies, even the Concealing Divine Ability and those violent Thunder Principles were exactly the same as Thunder Shadow Great Emperor whom Yang Kai had taken into his Small Universe!
Blood Crow was also shocked beyond words.
The other Human Race Masters who saw this were also puzzled.
[What’s going on!? How did Yang Kai suddenly become Thunder Shadow Great Emperor? Was he possessed?]
At the same time, they also finally understood why Yang Kai had failed to kill Mo Na Ye. Indeed, it was meaningless to flee before someone proficient in the Dao of Space, but what if Thunder Shadow Great Emperor had occupied Yang Kai’s body? He was not proficient in the Dao of Space, so if Mo Na Ye wanted to escape, he could be helpless.
While everyone was still in shock, Thunder Shadow had already killed all four remaining Territory Lords, cutting them down like vegetables. After that, he had concealed himself once more, and thanks to Yang Kai’s Ninth-Order foundation, Thunder Shadow’s concealment became even more mysterious and unpredictable. Even Ou Yang Lie could not find any trace of him.
As for Xiao You, he was incomparably depressed!
Originally, he was seriously injured by Yang Xue’s sneak attack and was already having a hard time fighting Ou Yang Lie. The only reason he had been able to hold on until now was thanks to the eight Territory Lords who were assisting him, but now that they had been killed by Yang Kai, he would definitely not be able to hold on anymore. The only reason he was still alive was because Ou Yang Lie was somewhat dazed and confused.
However, with a powerful enemy like Yang Kai lurking nearby, ready to attack at any moment, Xiao You’s heart was firmly lodged in his throat. He didn’t feel safe at all even when he was on full alert.
“Thunder Shadow, what happened to Yang Kai!?” Ou Yang Lie grit his teeth and shouted, not letting down his guard just because the Thunder Shadow had killed the eight Territory Lords. He knew about the Three Selves Source Reconstitution Art, and that the union of three Selves was the key to Yang Kai’s breakthrough to the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm, but by the looks of it, something had gone wrong with the Three Selves Source Reconstitution Art which resulted in Thunder Shadow occupying Yang Kai’s body.
Of course, Thunder Shadow was also part of Yang Kai, but he was not Yang Kai, so Ou Yang Lie had no choice but to ask.
Suddenly, Yang Kai’s figure appeared with a flash of lightning as he ruthlessly clawed towards Xiao You’s head. Xiao You had been on guard the entire time, so when he sensed danger, he promptly turned around and threw a punch, barely managing to resolve the crisis. But taking advantage of this opportunity, Ou Yang Lie also attacked Xiao You, and his attack managed to land.
Thunder Shadow couldn’t help but click his tongue before he once again concealed himself while sending Divine Sense transmission to Ou Yang Lie, “Big Brother’s Dao Strength became unstable in the last battle. Also, he was too exhausted after suffering repeated serious injuries. He’s currently in a deep sleep, but don’t worry, he should recover after a while!”
After a momentary pause, he added, “Stop wasting your breath, let’s get this over with first!”
Ou Yang Lie nodded lightly in agreement. Long story short, Yang Kai’s problem wasn’t very big, but there was a big problem with the Three Selves Source Reconstitution Art.
Regardless, it was not the time to mull over such matters. Whether Yang Kai would suffer a mishap or not remained to be seen. The most important thing right now was to deal with the remaining Black Ink Clan.
Immediately, Ou Yang Lie straightened his thoughts and attacked again with renewed focus.
With Ou Yang Lie suppressing Xiao You and creating opportunities, it became much easier for Thunder Shadow to launch sneak attacks. Every time Xiao You was caught off guard, Thunder Shadow would suddenly appear and fiercely attack before going into hiding again. Every strike put Xiao You in agony, gradually worsening his injuries further.
From the start, Xiao You was not Ou Yang Lie’s opponent because of his grave injuries, so when an expert like Thunder Shadow was hiding in the dark nearby, attacking him at every opportunity, it became impossible for Xiao You to survive.
Compared to Ou Yang Lie, the hidden Thunder Shadow posed a much greater threat to Xiao You.
[We lost! The Black Ink Clan completely lost this time!]
At first, the Black Ink Clan had the advantage, but things took a turn for the worse when Yang Kai suddenly advanced to the Ninth Order.
The straw that broke the camel’s back was Mo Na Ye’s escape at the last moment, which ruined the Black Ink Clan’s last hope of victory. Nonetheless, Xiao You also knew that if Mo Na Ye had not run, he would have been the first to die!
At that time, escaping was the only option for Mo Na Ye.
As such, although Xiao You held some resentment towards Mo Na Ye, he did not hate him. If he was in Mo Na Ye’s position, he would have made the same choice.
Now that he was being targeted by two Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters though, Xiao You knew his death was assured, so his mindset changed as he became determined to make the most of the time he had left.
There were many Black Ink Clansmen on the battlefield; Xiao You could not let them all die!
“Withdraw and escape!” Xiao You suddenly shouted to the Black Ink Clan troops who were besieging the Human Race’s defensive line.
The moment he gave this order, the Black Ink Clansmen scattered without a moment of hesitation, as if they had been waiting for those exact words all along.
The tides were already not in their favour, which anyone could see. Mo Na Ye had already fled, and it was difficult to tell whether Xiao You would survive or not. If the remaining Territory Lords and Pseudo-Royal Lords didn’t run now, when Xiao You was killed and the two Ninth-Order Masters became free to act, none of them would be able to escape.
Previously, they had not fled because they didn’t dare to, but now that Xiao You had given them the order, how could they hesitate?
All the Black Ink Clansmen fled, and the Human Race Masters, who were originally having a hard time, were freed all of a sudden. Yang Xue let out a cold snort and stared at a Pseudo-Royal Lord, before giving chase.
She also knew that it was impossible to eliminate all of the Black Ink Clan troops, so she decided to target the Pseudo-Royal Lords, who were stronger than the others, and eliminate as many as possible.
“Pursue them!” Xiang Shan shouted. Having been an Army Commander for millennia, he was well-versed in the art of war. In battle, the best time to get results was when chasing a fleeing enemy. At least half of all kills were generally obtained during this time, while it was extremely hard to eliminate an opponent when two Armies were confronting each other head-on.
So naturally, when the Black Ink Clan started fleeing in every direction, it was a good opportunity for the Humans to chase and slaughter them. As for how many they could kill, that would depend on luck and methods.
The faster Black Ink Clansmen fled into the distance in the blink of an eye, while the slower ones suffered.
The Humans had been suppressed since the beginning of this battle, so after having gone through so much hardship, they had a lot of anger and resentment bottled up in their hearts, which they finally got a chance to vent.
Suddenly, small battles broke out all across the void, with the sound of Territory Lords falling occurring frequently.
Seeing this, Ou Yang Lie shouted anxiously, “Finish him quickly!”
As long as Xiao You was alive, he and Thunder Shadow would be tied down with him. They had to kill Xiao You as soon as possible so that they could join the pursuit of the other Black Ink Clansmen.
This was a rare opportunity. If they could kill even half of the Black Ink Clan Masters present here, it would definitely lift a lot of pressure from the Human Race in the near future.
With two Ninth-Order Masters acting together, one in the open and one in the dark, it was impossible for the injured Xiao You to survive even if he was a true Royal Lord.
Under the repeated sneak attacks of the Thunder Shadow, Xiao You’s injuries slowly piled up, but he still went all out to hold on as long as possible, just to buy more time for the other Black Ink Clansmen to escape.
However, there was still a limit.
Thunder Shadow, controlling Yang Kai’s body, suddenly reappeared behind Xiao You and punched out. Lightning flashed and the power of thunder exploded, almost blowing his head off on the spot.
Surrounded by lightning, Xiao You violently convulsed and lost all control over his body. At that exact moment, he saw Ou Yang Lie’s long blade swinging towards him, but he was unable to defend himself.
“Die!” Ou Yang Lie roared as he used all his strength to cut Xiao You in half.
The aura of a Royal Lord suddenly flared up before vanishing!
The next moment, Black Ink Strength along with pitch-black blood gushed out from Xiao You’s two halves.
In response, Ou Yang Lie did nothing. He just stood there with his sabre, letting the black blood stain his body as he shouted, “Good!”
Thousands of years had passed since the devastating war in the Barren Territory, and this was the first time a Royal Lord had been killed since then, and he was killed by Ou Yang Lie!
It was a glorious moment.
The next instant, Yang Kai, who was moving like a beast the entire time, also appeared nearby.
Ou Yang Lie glanced at him as the corner of his mouth twitched. He could not help but wonder what kind of expression Yang Kai would make when he recalled this scene after regaining consciousness.
However, Thunder Shadow could not be blamed for this either. Thunder Shadow had always lived in the Myriad Monster World, cultivating the Primal Art and tempering his Monster Core. He had never taken on Human Form, nor did he have the ability to do so. He had always maintained his beast-like appearance, so suddenly asking him to smoothly control Yang Kai’s body and act like a Human was impossible. So, it was better for Thunder Shadow to simply act in accordance with his original nature.
“Don’t just stand there! Kill!” Thunder Shadow shouted as lightning crackled around him before he transformed into a streak of light that chased after the fleeing enemies.
Ou Yang Lie followed closely behind.
A short while later, shockwaves of a fierce fight could be felt coming from the distant void.
The Human Race Masters were not pursuing the enemy aimlessly and haphazardly, especially since the Black Ink Clan outnumbered them still. If they gave chase without any plan, it was likely the Human Race would suffer unnecessary casualties.
Fortunately, Xiang Shan had quickly coordinated their efforts during the initial moments of the pursuit. All the Humans assumed Battle Formations, and each Battle Formation would work in conjunction with one or two others, covering each other as they chased after the Black Ink Clan. Although moving like this would result in fewer kills, it would ensure the safety of their troops.
Furthermore, Xiang Shan had warned them not to maintain the chase too long. Those Black Ink Clansmen here were definitely not all that had entered the Universe Furnace World. There were definitely many more of them hiding in the shadows, so it was imperative to act cautiously lest they fall into the enemy’s trap.
In short, the order was to kill all it was safe to kill before retreating.
Nothing could be done about this, as after having fought continuously for days, every single Human, whether weak or strong, whether newly promoted or veteran, had suffered some degree of injury, making it difficult for them to fight another prolonged battle.
Only the three Ninth-Order Masters were free to move about as they pleased. Whether it was Yang Xue, Ou Yang Lie, or Thunder Shadow who had taken over Yang Kai’s body temporarily, no Black Ink Clansman in this Universe Furnace World could stop them.
Thunder Shadow was on a rampage as all the Black Ink Clansmen he encountered were killed without exception, even the Pseudo-Royal Lords did not escape.
The chase lasted for several days before everyone started returning one after another.
When Thunder Shadow returned from the distant void, he saw a large group of Humans gathered at the original battlefield. Upon sensing an aura approaching, many Divine Senses swept over him, one after another.
The corner of Thunder Shadow’s mouth twitched as he muttered, “Second Brother, you explain, I’m not good with words.”
Saying so, his eyes suddenly became dim and dull, but turned bright and lustrous once more the next moment. A bitter smile appeared on Yang Kai’s lips as he slowly shook his head.
The one that took over couldn’t help but rebuke in his heart, [He did not show any restraint when killing the enemy, but now he ditched explaining himself to our allies! Shameless!]
Nonetheless, some things were unavoidable and one had to see them through whether they wanted to or not. He then straightened his clothes and surged Space Principles as he took a step forward. By the time he appeared next, he was already standing before the Human Race Masters.
“Big Brother?” Yang Xue, who had been on tenterhooks all this time, had her eyes light up as she suddenly called out in surprise.
She too had noticed that change in Yang Kai’s behaviour, but at that time, she was not that clear about the situation, nor did she have the time to inquire about it. Only after listening to Ou Yang Lie’s explanation did she learn that her Big Brother had cultivated a special technique that allowed him to tear his Soul apart and form two Soul Clones.
By uniting his three Selves and fusing them into his Source, he ultimately broke the shackles of the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm and ascended to the Ninth-Order, allowing him to turn the tide of the battle.
Unfortunately, something had gone wrong with this technique, which caused Yang Kai’s consciousness to fall into a deep sleep and allowed Thunder Shadow Great Emperor’s consciousness to take over his body.
After listening to Ou Yang Lie’s explanation, everyone’s doubts were finally cleared.
The reason why Yang Kai’s Small Universe was able to accommodate Fang Tian Ci, who was also an Eighth-Order Master, and Thunder Shadow Great Emperor who was in the same equivalent realm, was because those two were basically part of him to begin with.
When Mo Na Ye fled, ‘Yang Kai’ had given chase, but to no avail, because Thunder Shadow, who was not proficient in the Dao of Space, was in control of Yang Kai’s body, which made it hard to catch up to Mo Na Ye.
Everyone was secretly shocked by this revelation.
Much to their surprise, there was such a profound method in this world that could allow one to break through the shackles of the Open Heaven Realm, other than using a Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill. This was definitely good news.
It had to be known that there were countless Human Race Masters stuck at the peak of the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm. They had no chance of reaching the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm in their lives as they had already reached the limit of their Martial Dao. Furthermore, it was extremely difficult to find Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pills, so if they could spread this technique, the Human Race might gain many more Ninth-Order Masters in the near future!
Although judging by Yang Kai’s previous performance, there were still some problems with this technique, compared to advancing to the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm, these trivial problems counted for nothing.
This was definitely a technique that could change the current cultivation system of the Human Race!
Thunder Shadow was not a Master of the Dao of Space, so Yang Kai returning using a Space Secret Technique caused Yang Xue to misunderstand.
‘Yang Kai’ gently shook his head and explained, “Big Brother is still asleep, I am Old Fang.”
Everyone looked at each other in dismay, [First, Thunder Shadow took over Yang Kai’s body, and now Fang Tian Ci! It looks like this Three Selves Source Reconstitution Art is quite problematic.]
A trace of disappointment flashed across Yang Xue’s eyes, but since she was well acquainted with Fang Tian Ci, she pursed her lips and worriedly asked, “Can he wake up?”
Fang Tian Ci replied, “Probably.”
“Probably?” Ou Yang Lie furrowed his brow. This uncertain answer made him a little worried.
Fang Tian Ci explained, “In order to kill Mo Na Ye as quickly as possible, Big Brother used his Dragon Bead to attack, which blew a hole in the Space-Time River, causing his Dao Strengths to become unstable. Furthermore, the prolonged high-intensity battle further aggravated his injuries, which sent his consciousness into a kind of defensive deep slumber. However, it still hasn’t reached the point of no return, so there’s a good chance he will wake up. As for when, it’s hard to say.”
Having finished explaining, a light chuckle escaped his lips before adding, “Everyone, there is no need to worry. Whether it’s me or Thunder Shadow, both of us originate from him. In the end, we are basically only his Soul Clones. We might have our own thoughts, but we will not harm ourselves.”
He could also tell that the Masters of the Human Race were worried that Yang Kai would never wake up again, or that one of the two would take his place; thus, Fang Tian Ci had to give an explanation.
Yang Xiao, who was hiding behind Yang Xue, repeatedly nodded, “Old Fang, I trust your character.”
Fang Tian Ci glanced at him, smiling meaningfully.
Yang Xiao’s face twitched as many complex emotions raged around inside him. He could not wait to tear open a Void Crack and crawl inside…
Old Fang knew a lot of his secrets, many of which he had never told to anyone else. How could he have known that the seemingly honest and upright Old Fang was actually a Soul Clone of his Adoptive Father!
Had he known about this, he would have never confided his private thoughts all these years…
[It’s over! I’m afraid I won’t be able to face Adoptive Father again…]
[Now that I think about it, Old Fang’s behaviour had indeed been a bit strange these past few years. He would occasionally give me that meaningful smile…]
“Junior Brother Fang, do you think that we can promote the Three Selves Source Reconstitution Art to the rest of the Human Race?” Xiang Shan asked.
The group of veteran Eighth-Order Masters, cultivating and recovering in the vicinity these past few days, couldn’t help but perk up their ears…
This matter was of grave importance as it was related to their future and whether they could advance to the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm or not!
Fang Tian Ci replied calmly, “This Three Selves Source Reconstitution Art was passed down to us by Wu Kuang. Wu Kuang can be considered Martial Ancestor Shi’s reincarnation, and this Secret Technique was also derived from him. This Secret Technique may seem profound and powerful, but it actually has a lot of limitations. First of all, you need to be able to split your Soul basically in half to create a special Soul Clone. That step alone is easier said than done for most.”
“You need to split your Soul in half!?” Ou Yang Lie couldn’t help but exclaim. Although Yang Kai had told him about the Three Selves Source Reconstitution Art, he did not tell him the exact details or how it was executed. After hearing the actual process from Fang Tian Ci, he finally understood how dangerous it was.
Severing one’s Soul was no joke and was extremely difficult to recover from.
Fang Tian Ci nodded his affirmation, “When you split your Soul in two, the corresponding pain and injury is not something an ordinary person can endure. If something goes wrong, you might lose your mind and become crazed, which is the best-case scenario. In the worst case, your Soul will simply be extinguished and you will die on the spot. Furthermore, this process must be done twice!”
To cultivate two Clones, one naturally had to split their Soul twice, so the risk of dying was also doubled.
“The reason why Big Brother was able to bear this pain is because he has often used Soul Rending Thorns over the years to fight the Black Ink Clan, so he is somewhat used to the pain of his Soul being torn apart. Moreover, he also has the Soul Warming Lotus that can nourish and protect his Soul, so even if his Soul is split into two, he can recover. Of course, the Soul Warming Lotus can be lent out, so if someone is willing to try it, I think Big Brother won’t mind.”
Realization immediately dawned upon Ou Yang Lie, “No wonder Yang Kai had to enter retreat for many years every once in a while, it turns out that he was recuperating. That’s also why there was such a large gap between your and Thunder Shadow’s first appearance.”
Fang Tian Ci nodded, “First, Big Brother nurtured me in his Small Universe, then after repairing his Soul, he nurtured Thunder Shadow. In addition, severing one’s Soul isn’t the most difficult part. Comparatively speaking, there is another problem that the current Humans cannot solve.”
“What’s that?” Xiang Shan asked.
Fang Tian Ci explained, “The Three Selves Source Reconstitution Art requires one to have a Divine Spirit Self, Monster Self, and Human Self. Only by combining these three Selves can one break through the shackles of the Open Heaven Realm. As a Human, the Human Self is naturally available, and it’s not difficult to obtain a Monster Self either. There are many Monster Beasts in the Myriad Monster World now, so it’s easy to find a newborn Monster Beast cub that would otherwise die if left alone, but where can one find a Divine Spirit to create a Divine Spirit Self?”
The current era was not the Primordial Era when the Divine Spirits ruled the Universe and could be found anywhere.
As the Universe changed and evolved, the Divine Spirits’ population dwindled. Many Divine Spirits and their respective bloodlines vanished in the river of time.
Although there were still a few Divine Spirits remaining, most had already reached the point where it was difficult to pass down their bloodline, leading them to the brink of extinction.
The Divine Spirits that had the greatest number was the Dragon Clan, but even they had 200 members at most.
A Monster Self could be cultivated by going to the Myriad Monster World and nurturing a Monster Beast cub, but what about a Divine Spirit Self? Could they ask a Divine Spirit for their descendants?
Who would dare to do that? Who could even be successful?
The Divine Spirits would definitely not agree, and forcefully doing so would only enrage the Divine Spirits. The cons heavily outweighed the pros.
The difficulty of tearing apart one’s Soul and the difficulty of cultivating a Divine Spirit Self were huge obstacles in using the Three Selves Source Reconstitution Art.
“Haa…” Ou Yang Lie heaved a heavy sigh. Although he had expected this, he still couldn’t hide his disappointment, “It really isn’t that easy.”
If it was easy, or if there was even a bit of hope, with Yang Kai’s character, he would have never kept this method to himself. He would have disseminated it ages ago before anyone even asked him to.
Since Yang Kai had not passed down this cultivation technique for so many years, it meant that it was not suitable for others.
He had a Divine Spirit Self, as well as the Soul Warming Lotus, so it could be said that the Three Selves Source Reconstitution Art was simply tailor-made for him and no one else could imitate his success.
All the Eighth-Order Masters in the vicinity, who were listening to this conversation, had a disappointed expression appear on their faces.
The Three Selves Source Reconstitution Art was an astonishing technique, but it was unsuitable for the general public to cultivate and thus couldn’t be disseminated. As such, it didn’t have much value.
A silent and heavy air descended on everything, as Fang Tian Ci didn’t know how to comfort them.
In fact, there was one more thing he didn’t mention, and that was that there was an even bigger issue with this technique.
In order to cultivate this technique, one needed to cultivate two Soul Clones, and these two Soul Clones were different from ordinary Soul Clones. Whether it was the Divine Spirit Self, Monster Self, or the Human Self, although they were inextricably connected to the true body, they could basically be considered independent entities with their own unique characters and thoughts.
It was also because of this reason that after the union of three Selves, the consciousnesses of the two Soul Clones were not actually lost, which led to the coexistence of these Soul Clones with the true body.
During the battle, Yang Kai’s consciousness had suddenly fallen into a comatose state as his Dao Strengths had become unstable, allowing his Monster Self and Human Self to emerge.
Although Yang Kai was now a Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, his body contained three different consciousnesses, which was a big hidden danger. Perhaps one day, during a great battle, his original consciousness would fall into a coma again, transferring the possession of the body to Thunder Shadow or Fang Tian Ci; however, neither of them could bring out Yang Kai’s true strength.
This was a grave concern. Now that Yang Kai was a Ninth-Order Master, his future opponents would definitely be Masters like Royal Lords or Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods.
In a fight with such a powerful opponent, the slightest mistake could lead to eternal damnation.
Fang Tian Ci couldn’t help but be a little worried about it, but he had no idea how to resolve this issue. In his and Thunder Shadow’s original plan, when the three Selves united, his and Thunder Shadow’s consciousness would also fuse back into the main body. At that time, Fang Tian Ci and Thunder Shadow would no longer exist in this world; however, things didn’t go as they had envisioned.
Yang Kai’s consciousness suddenly fell into deep slumber, and Thunder Shadow’s consciousness woke up. After he was left in-charge of the original’s body, even Thunder Shadow took some time to adapt.
After a moment of silence, Fang Tian Ci changed the subject, “What are our casualties this time?”
Ou Yang Lie heaved a sigh as he replied, “Everyone is injured and needs to rest, and over 100 fell in battle!”
The fallen ones he was talking about were not Sixth-Order or Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, but Eighth-Order Masters; more than 100 Eighth-Order Masters had died in this battle alone!
The number of Eighth-Order Masters gathered here in the last battle was only a few hundred in total, and about 20% of them had died. Such losses were not insignificant.
The fall of so many Eighth-Order Masters was mainly because of two reasons; first, because the Human Race had lost the protection of their Warships, and second, because Mo Na Ye had ordered the Black Ink Clan to kill at all costs.
The Human Race hadn’t suffered many casualties during the early stages of the battle. At that time, Xiang Shan was refining the Open Heaven Pill’s medicinal efficacies and trying to break through to the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm. Mo Na Ye had hidden his trump card and was waiting for Yang Kai to appear, so naturally he wouldn’t force the Human Race too hard.
Furthermore, the Human Race’s Warships were still displaying their full power at that time.
After Yang Kai advanced to the Ninth Order, both sides began to suffer massive casualties.
Although the Human Race had Yang Xue’s assistance, she was still just one person. The best she could do was defend one side of the defense line; she was unable to deal with the combined attacks of the Black Ink Clan Army.
After the last battle of the Barren Territory War, there had never been a fight in which the Human Race had lost so many Masters in thousands of years.
“We might have suffered significant losses, but the results of the battle were also great. The Black Ink Clan definitely lost more,” Ou Yang Lie encouraged, after seeing everyone become low-spirited.
While the Human Race had lost over 100 Eighth-Order Masters, the Black Ink Clan had lost at least 500 Territory Lords and a few Pseudo-Royal Lords.
Most of these casualties were wrought during the final pursuit, when the Territory Lords fled like stray dogs. Basically, not a single Black Ink Clansman who was caught survived.
As such, this was still a huge victory!
Not to mention, the Human Race now had three more Ninth-Order Open Heaven Masters! Including Xiao Xiao, Wu Qing, Luo Ting He, and Wei Jun Yang, the Human Race already had as many as seven Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters!
This was definitely an inspiring force.
Although Mo Na Ye had become a Royal Lord and had escaped, he was just one man.
The Human Race had also produced many newly advanced Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters and harvested many Ordinary Grade Open Heaven Pills. If these Ordinary Grade Open Heaven Pills were to be distributed, the Human Race would gain even more new Eighth-Order Masters.
It could be said that the Human Race had a great harvest with the appearance of the Universe Furnace.
“Unfortunately, we were too careless and caused Big Head Xiang to fail his breakthrough!” Ou Yang Lie glanced at Xiang Shan and indignantly sighed.
Had he been on guard and quickly caught the hidden Black Ink Disciples, Xiang Shan would probably be a Ninth-Order Master right now, but during that kind of battle, who would have expected for a Black Ink Disciple to be hiding amongst the Eighth-Order Masters.
When the three Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples started rampaging at two battlefronts, not only did they cause Xiang Shan to fail in his breakthrough, but they also broke Yang Kai’s Eight Trigrams Battle Formation, severely injuring him in the process.
Everyone was befuddled and had really fallen into despair. Fortunately, they managed to turn things around and turn defeat into victory.
“There’s nothing to be sorry about,” Xiang Shan, on the other hand, looked completely calm, “In that situation, not realizing the Black Ink Disciples’ existence was a good thing. If we had caught Black Ink Disciple earlier, the consequences would have been unimaginable!”
The Black Ink Clan actually had the absolute upper hand before Yang Kai’s appearance, but Mo Na Ye had been holding back and hadn’t displayed his true strength as he wanted to engage in a long-drawn battle with the Six Paths Formation led by Yang Xiao.
Judging by the strength Mo Na Ye displayed later on, he was completely capable of quickly defeating Yang Xiao, even with the Six Paths Formation at a cost, but he didn’t, because he was waiting.
If they really disrupted Mo Na Ye’s plans, they would have only forced him to act in advance. At that time, Yang Xue was fully occupied with the Chaos Spirit King, so there was only one Ninth-Order Master on the Human Race side, Ou Yang Lie, who was preoccupied with Xiao You and the Territory Lords led by him. So, who could stop Mo Na Ye?
Breaking Mo Na Ye’s arrangements would only force him to go on a killing spree, which would definitely have ended tragically.
Hearing Xiang Shan’s words, Ou Yang Lie pondered for a moment before agreeing with him, “You’re right.”
This was the perfect example of the popular adage ‘Man proposes but Heaven disposes’.
Mo Na Ye thought he had everything under control, but unforeseen events kept throwing his plans off. For instance, had the Chaos Spirit King not suddenly appeared, eyeing Xiang Shan’s Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill, Mo Na Ye’s plan would have failed from the start.
The appearance of the Chaos Spirit King was equivalent to the Black Ink Clan finding a helper for free. This was also the main reason why the Human Race was in such a difficult situation.
“Not to mention…” Xiang Shan suddenly smiled, “Who said I failed my breakthrough?”
Everyone was taken aback for a moment and Ou Yang Lie couldn’t help but size up Xiang Shan a few times, his Divine Sense constantly scanning him as he muttered curiously, “You’re not a Ninth-Order Master!”
It was an irrefutable fact that Xiang Shan was still an Eighth-Order Master and had yet to break through; moreover, everyone had witnessed him failing in his breakthrough. At that time, when the two Black Ink Disciples were rampaging, Xiang Shan had no choice but to stop his advancement. It was already pretty good that he did not suffer any backlash, so how could he possibly break through?
After that incident, everyone believed that Xiang Shan’s path to reaching the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm was cut off, and he would remain at the peak of the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm for the rest of his life.
“I didn’t say I was a Ninth-Order Master!” Xiang Shan shot a glance at him.
A thoughtful look appeared on Yang Xue’s face, “Senior Brother Xiang’s situation is different from other veteran Eighth-Order Masters. In that case… does that mean the Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill was useful to you?”
Xiang Shan nodded slightly in affirmation, “Over 90% of my Small Universe’s boundary wall has been destroyed, leaving only a thin barrier behind. I think I can now break through with my own strength!”
From the beginning, Xiang Shan was qualified to reach the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm as he broke through directly to the Seventh-Order millennia ago. However, because of a harrowing battle on the Black Ink Battlefield in the past, during which his Small Universe was corrupted by Black Ink Strength, he had no choice but to sacrifice a large portion of it to protect himself, which caused his Order to regress.
Although he managed to recover his fallen Order by repairing his Small Universe using a Profound Yin Spirit Fruit, his Small Universe’s boundary wall seemed to have become much thicker because of that experience.
These circumstances basically made it extremely difficult for him to break through with his own strength.
While Luo Ting He and Wei Jun Yang had broken through to the Ninth Order during the last 1,000 years in secluded cultivation, Xiang Shan had not made any progress.
The boundary wall was so solid that even Ordinary Grade Open Heaven Pills couldn’t put a dent in it. It wasn’t until he had refined a Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill that he felt a difference.
Mo Na Ye had allowed him to refine the pill until the very last moment before ordering the Black Ink Disciples to launch a sneak attack, clearly thinking that was enough to completely destroy Xiang Shan’s path forward. But what Mo Na Ye never expected was that Xiang Shan would still be left with a ray of hope precisely because of this delay.
Currently, the boundary wall in Xiang Shan’s Small Universe was no longer as thick and solid as it used to be; rather, it was even thinner than an average peak Eighth-Order Master. Such a boundary wall could not stop him.
Although he had not tried yet, Xiang Shan was completely confident!
Xiang Shan could actually break through to the Ninth Order! Everyone was overjoyed by this news.
Yang Kai was a symbol of the Human Race among the trillions of Humans, but so was Xiang Shan. Yang Kai had already advanced to the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm, but there were some problems with his cultivation because of the mysterious technique he used. If Xiang Shan could also break through to the Ninth-Order, it would greatly boost the morale of the Human Race’s soldiers.
Although Ou Yang Lie had always had a kind of rivalry with Big Head Xiang, at this moment, he was genuinely happy and broke into a hearty laughter, “So you’re saying that the effects of the Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill haven’t been wasted? Mo Na Ye’s plan was also in vain?”
Previously, in order to lure the Chaos Spirit King away, Yang Kai had thrown out a Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill, which was enough to make one’s heart ache. That was a chance to grain another Ninth-Order Master.
If Xiang Shan couldn’t break through, it would be tantamount to losing another Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill. The Human Race had only managed to obtain a total of four such pills this time, that’s all. Losing half of them one after another would be hard for anyone to accept.
But by the looks of it, the only pill they had lost was the one Yang Kai had thrown away, while the one Xiang Shan had refined still played its role.
Everyone was overjoyed.
“There’s no time to lose, quickly break through to the Ninth Order,” Ou Yang Lie urged.
Xiang Shan agreed with a nod, “That’s what I was planning to do.”
Xiang Shan left to focus on his breakthrough. Perhaps, it would not take him long to become a Ninth-Order Master.
Almost everyone on the Human Race’s side was busy recuperating as all of them had been injured in the last battle, the only different thing was the severity of their injuries.
Ou Yang Lie looked at Fang Tian Ci, who was controlling Yang Kai’s body, and suggested, “You should also go and recuperate. Junior Sister Xue and I will act as protectors.”
Ou Yang Lie was also injured, but his wounds were not that serious. As for Yang Xue, she was completely unharmed, just exhausted from having consumed a great deal of energy in the last fight. She would just need a little time to recuperate.
Currently, most of the Human cultivators were recovering, but with two Ninth-Order Masters personally overseeing everything, there should be no problems at all.
Fang Tian Ci nodded, “Good!”
He really did need to heal himself as his physical injuries were still quite serious. Yang Kai might have become a Divine Dragon and had astonishing healing abilities, but his consciousness was still in a coma. Fang Tian Ci had to find a way to awaken Yang Kai’s consciousness.
He immediately found a secluded spot and sat down cross-legged before stuffing a handful of pills into his mouth.
The cacophonous battlefield suddenly sunk into silence. All the Black Ink Clansmen had either died or fled, leaving behind traces of a horrific battle in the void. Most of the corpses of the Human Race Masters had been collected, but as most of them had died without an intact corpse, it was impossible to gather everyone’s remains.
As the number, as well as quality of the Masters participating in this battle were both extremely high, the loss of so many at once was extremely tragic and heart-wrenching.
“How many times has the Grand Dao evolved?” Ou Yang Lie suddenly asked.
When Yang Kai attacked and almost killed Mo Na Ye, the Grand Dao of the Universe Furnace World had undergone another evolution, but as the battle was quite intense at that time, no one had paid any attention to it.
“The last one was the eighth time,” Yang Xue replied, stuffing some recovery pills into her mouth.
Ou Yang Lie slowly nodded, “The Universe Furnace is about to close.”
According to the information provided by Blood Crow, after the Universe Furnace World’s Grand Dao underwent nine evolutions, the Universe Furnace World would close and everyone would be expelled.
The place they would reappear would be the same as the place from where they entered.
In other words, the Humans and Black Ink Clansmen would appear in the same location they entered the Universe Furnace after they were expelled from the Universe Furnace World.
This information was extremely important and could be used by the Human Race.
If things went well, they could deliver a huge blow to the Black Ink Clan; after all, the Black Ink Clan outside did not know this matter.
They knew that Black Ink Disciples couldn’t keep any secrets, but even if the Black Ink Clansmen inside the Universe Furnace World now knew, so what?
The appearance of the Universe Furnace had suddenly triggered wars across various Great Territory Battlefields. Many Black Ink Clansmen forced their way through the Human Race’s defensive lines and entered the Universe Furnace World through the projections. At that time, their entire focus was on destroying the Human Race’s opportunity, but it would have never occurred to them that when the Universe Furnace closed, everyone would return to their original location!
Currently, all the locations where the Universe Furnace’s projection space had appeared should be heavily guarded by the Human Race Army, waiting for the Black Ink Clansmen to appear to destroy them!
Of course, the Human Race had no way of interfering in places like the Barren Territory and Black Ink Battlefield; after all, they were completely under the Black Ink Clan’s control. The Black Ink Clan would be able to return safely from these two locations, but it would be difficult for them to safely return from the other entrances.
It was foreseeable that the day this Universe Furnace closed would be the day the Humans slaughtered many of them. The Human Race would definitely bag another glorious victory!
As time passed, everyone separated to recover.
Inside Yang Kai’s body, Fang Tian Ci immersed his consciousness and tried to awaken Yang Kai’s consciousness with Thunder Shadow’s help. He had thought that it would be difficult, but much to their surprise, Yang Kai’s consciousness woke up after a casual attempt!
“Big Brother, you’re finally awake!” Thunder Shadow’s surprised voice rang out in his mind.
Yang Kai couldn’t help but be stunned for a moment, thinking that he was hearing things; however, when he realized that something was wrong with his body, he finally reacted.
[Fang Tian Ci and Thunder Shadow’s consciousnesses are now sharing my body! What the Hell is going on!?]
Yang Kai’s thoughts were still stuck at the moment he had injured Mo Na Ye and was preparing to pursue him, so he had no idea what had happened after that.
“Is Mo Na Ye dead?” Yang Kai asked.
“He escaped,” Fang Tian Ci replied, “At that time, your consciousness suddenly sank into a coma and Third Brother’s consciousness awakened a step ahead of me, putting him in control of your body. As he doesn’t understand the Dao of Space, he couldn’t chase after Mo Na Ye.”
Thunder Shadow unhappily explained himself, “There’s nothing I can do about it. After Big Brother’s consciousness fell asleep, I just suddenly woke up. I also chased after him, but he was too fast. It’s all Second Brother’s fault. If he had woken up earlier than me, perhaps Mo Na Ye would be dead now.”
Fang Tian Ci was also proficient in the Dao of Space, and although his mastery wasn’t as high as Yang Kai’s, had he been in control of Yang Kai’s body at that time, Mo Na Ye would have been unable to escape.
It was just that at that time, Thunder Shadow had indeed awoken a step sooner, and by the time Fang Tian Ci’s consciousness had awakened, Mo Na Ye had already fled out of their sight. At that time, it was already meaningless for him to take control of Yang Kai’s body.
Listening to their explanations, Yang Kai roughly understood what had happened. Although he found it a bit regretful, he still stated, “As expected, a scourge will live for 1,000 years.”
Who would have thought that his consciousness would suddenly go haywire at such a critical moment? Just like how all of Mo Na Ye’s schemes had come to nothing, Yang Kai never expected that one of his schemes would lead to so many variables.
“Then what about us? What’s our situation now?” Yang Kai felt a headache coming on.
Originally, he had thought that after combining the three Selves, all of his Soul Clones would merge into one, but after waking up, he discovered that there were two other egos in his body.
He couldn’t help but recall what befell Bustling World Great Emperor all those years ago.
During the battle in the Shattered Star Sea, Bustling World Great Emperor had fallen to Wu Kuang’s scheme and had almost had his body seized by the latter. Although Wu Kuang had ultimately failed, he had still managed to fuse with Bustling World Great Emperor and share his body.
As a result, the Souls of these two Great Emperors had to reside in one body for many years, fighting openly and covertly. Wu Kuang had also used Bustling World Great Emperor’s body to accomplish many things.
Ultimately, after killing Great Demon God Mo Sheng in the Star Boundary, Wu Kuang left the Bustling World Great Emperor’s body and seized Mo Sheng’s body.
Duan Hong Chen and Wu Kuang only had two Souls in one body, but Yang Kai now had a total of three…
The only silver lining he had over Duan Hong Chen’s situation was that the two others would not oppose him; after all, these two originated from him and shared the same ideals as him.
Be that as it may, it was not good news either. If Yang Kai remained in this state for a long time, problems would inevitably appear.
“The current situation is probably a hidden danger brought about by the Three Selves Source Reconstitution Art. Although Third Brother and I originated from you, we are still independent individuals. Perhaps because the differences are too great, the fusion of three Selves is incomplete,” Fang Tian Ci postulated.
Everything from their strength, Source, and their own destiny had all fused into the main body, but their egos remained untouched, and this was the root cause of Yang Kai’s current situation.
Yang Kai lightly nodded in acknowledgement, thinking that there should be a reason. He couldn’t help but curse in his heart, [That bastard Wu Kuang, he really harmed me!]
At that time, if he hadn’t cultivated the Three Selves Source Reconstitution Art, he could have used a Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill to advance to the Ninth Order and would not be in this awkward situation.
But he had no other choice at that time either. Yang Kai could not place his hopes on the ethereal Universe Furnace. He had to try to find some definite way to break through to the Ninth Order. Wu Kuang’s Three Selves Source Reconstitution Art happened to give him that hope.
“Actually, this problem shouldn’t be difficult to overcome,” Fang Tian Ci suddenly stated, “Third Brother and I are basically complete entities, so as long as you cut off a portion of your Soul that contains our essence, Third Brother and I will just need to find suitable physical bodies. The best option would be an infant who has just been born or is about to be born.”
This was equivalent to cultivating from the start again, but the goal this time was not the fusion of three Selves.
Yang Kai had done this before, so it shouldn’t be difficult for him to do it again.
Wu Kuang could have used this method to separate himself from Duan Hong Chen back then, but he wasn’t willing to do so mainly because he would definitely enter a period of weakness after separating. He was afraid Duan Hong Chen would finish him off during that time, which was why he was entangled with him for many years.
Yang Kai nodded in agreement, “There’s no rush, we can discuss it after we’ve dealt with Mo.”
Not to mention, he would definitely be weakened for many years after splitting his Soul. Now that the war had fully broken out between the Black Ink Clan and Human Race, and he had reached the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm, how could Yang Kai allow himself to become weak when he should be focusing on destroying Mo?
Furthermore, he didn’t know if he would suddenly fall unconscious in the future. If that happened again, having these two to take over his body was a kind of safety measure. Even if the two were unable to display his full strength, they wouldn’t be completely helpless against even powerful enemies.
“I’m not in a hurry. Big Brother can do as you see fit,” Thunder Shadow indifferently stated. At the very least, he didn’t have to worry about where to go to kill his enemies.
“What’s going on over there?” Yang Kai looked up again.
Someone seemed to be breaking through in that direction, giving off a fierce aura and energy fluctuations. Furthermore, they were giving a familiar feeling.
It was none other than Xiang Shan!
[Didn’t Xiang Shan fail to break through? Why is he breaking through again?] Yang Kai couldn’t understand.
In his mind, Fang Tian Ci repeated what Xiang Shan had said before, after which, Yang Kai understood everything.
In other words, Xiang Shan’s Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill had not been wasted. He had indeed been interrupted at the critical moment of his breakthrough, but at that time, his Small Universe’s boundary wall had almost been completely broken. As such, even if he was interrupted, the progress he made towards a breakthrough hadn’t been lost.
This was good news. In that case, the Human Race would be able to gain four new Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters thanks to the Universe Furnace, which was in line with his initial expectations.
This time, the Universe Furnace had produced a total of nine Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pills. Yang Xue had obtained one, Xiang Shan had obtained one, and Yang Kai alone had obtained two. The main reason for this was because he had the Great Sun and Moon Marks; otherwise, it would have been impossible to find the whereabouts of these two pills so easily.
Of the two pills Yang Kai obtained, one of them had allowed Ou Yang Lie to reach the Ninth Order while the other was used to lure away the Chaos Spirit King.
On the Black Ink Clan’s side, Mo Na Ye obtained one while Xiao You had obtained another. In other words, the whereabouts of the other three Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pills were still unknown. If the Human Race and Black Ink Clan hadn’t seized them, there was a high chance they had fallen into the hands of the Chaos Spirit Clan. The Chaos Spirit Clan were natives to the Universe Furnace World and had a massive population, which gave them a natural advantage in this place.
As he was conversing with the two, Ou Yang Lie and Yang Xue seemed to notice the change in his situation and quickly rushed over.
When he got closer, Ou Yang Lie sized up Yang Kai, furrowing his brow, wondering who was in control of Yang Kai’s body.
Yang Xue tentatively called out, “Big Brother?”
Yang Kai gently nodded, “You’ve worked hard.”
Yang Xue’s eyes immediately turned red, “Big Brother, you’re finally awake.”
Ou Yang Lie also let out a long sigh of relief, “Great, you’re awake!”
Although Fang Tian Ci had assured that there was nothing wrong with Yang Kai, it was still worrying. After confirming that Yang Kai had woken up, he finally put his worried heart to rest.
“Mo Na Ye got away,” Ou Yang Lie reported.
Yang Kai nodded, “I’m aware, but there is still a chance. How many times has the Grand Dao evolved?”
In fact, he had been keeping track of the number of times the Grand Dao had evolved, but because he had entered the Infinite River to comprehend the mysteries of the 10,000 Grand Daos, he was unable to perceive the evolutions during that time. So, he had no idea how many times the Grand Dao in this Universe Furnace World had evolved.
Ou Yang Lie succinctly replied, “Eight.”
Yang Kai nodded his acknowledgement before declaring, “We still have some time. When the Universe Furnace closes, and Mo Na Ye and I leave this place, we should appear at the same location. His current injuries must have reduced his strength. I should be able to kill him at that time!”
He and Mo Na Ye had entered the Universe Furnace from the same location, so when they were expelled from the Universe Furnace World, they would definitely appear at the same location. At that time, the heavily injured Mo Na Ye would be completely at Yang Kai’s mercy; all he could do was helplessly wait for his death.
Ou Yang Lie added as his face turned serious, “That guy is indeed difficult to deal with. As long as he is alive, he will remain as a hidden danger.”
This time, Mo Na Ye had nearly predicted all the turns of events of the battle between the Human Race and the Black Ink Clan. Thinking back now, Ou Yang Lie still felt some lingering fear. Had Yang Xue not timely rushed over to support him, severely injuring Xiao You and restricting the Chaos Spirit King, and had Yang Kai not turned the tide after breaking through, it would have been hard to say how many of the hundreds of Eighth-Order Human Masters would have survived.
Even a Ninth-Order Master like him would not have been able to escape this disaster.
In the past, Yang Kai had sent a message to the Supreme Headquarters to warn the Human Race to be wary of Mo Na Ye, but at that time, the latter wasn’t that strong, at most only a Pseudo-Royal Lord, and with Mi Jing Lun overseeing the war, Mo Na Ye was not able to display much of his strength.
This time, however, everyone present had witnessed just how terrifying he was. The danger of Mo Na Ye was not from his power alone, but rather from his shrewd schemes. Now that he had become a Royal Lord and his strength had greatly increased, he was like a tiger with wings.
Such an enemy should naturally be killed as soon as possible to put everyone’s heart at ease.
Fortunately, they still had one more chance! The moment the Universe Furnace closed, Mo Na Ye would undoubtedly die!
While they were talking, Xiang Shan’s breakthrough had reached its final juncture. His aura had already soared to its limit and was violently fluctuating. His Small Universe’s illusory phantom had almost materialized, floating behind him.
Along with the fluctuations of World Force, Xiang Shan’s aura, which had reached its limit, suddenly increased by a tremendous amount. Correspondingly, the illusory Small Universe also seemed to have greatly expanded in an instant.
Today, the Human Race’s eighth Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master was born!
Ou Yang Lie looked in his direction before a sigh filled with emotions escaped his lips, “He really had it hard!”
It truly wasn’t easy. Xiang Shan was just like the current Yang Kai of his era, a peerless talent who had the chance to reach the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm and possessed strength to outclass his peers. It was also because he had shown too much of his abilities that he was targeted by the Black Ink Clan and fallen prey to an insidious ambush. When he was fighting the Black Ink Clan, he was corrupted by Black Ink Strength and forced to discard a large portion of his Small Universe to protect himself.
This led to the fall of his Order, and he had to lie low for thousands of years. Although he somehow recovered his lost cultivation, it was extremely difficult for him to advance to the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm.
Xiang Shan’s luck turned around when he came to the Universe Furnace World, where he got his hand on a Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill. But once again, some unforeseen events threw his plans off as his breakthrough was interrupted by the Black Ink Clan at the last moment, forcing him to give up on it.
In comparison, Ou Yang Lie felt that he was both lucky and blessed…
Before entering the Universe Furnace, he had never thought that he would one day be able to advance to the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm. He was a hot-tempered and straightforward man, and many years of fighting against the Black Ink Clan had left him with numerous hidden injuries, causing his strength to drop from its peak.
In the past, his only wish was to die on the battlefield one day while taking a few Territory Lords with him. This way, he would not have lived his life in vain.
Even if he had entered the Universe Furnace, it was only to find a Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill for Yang Kai or Xiang Shan so that they could advance to the Ninth Order. He had never thought of refining such a pill himself.
Unexpectedly, Yang Kai gave him a Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill and protected him while he was refining it.
Although there were some twists and turns in the process of his breakthrough, it was still smooth sailing overall. Ou Yang Lie had somehow managed to reach the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm without much difficulty.
When comparing like this, Ou Yang Lie felt sorry for Xiang Shan.
“The road to happiness is strewn with setbacks,” Yang Kai chuckled as he observed Xiang Shan for a while, making sure that his breakthrough was completed. Nonetheless, Xiang Shan’s cultivation would be a bit unstable due to the recent expansion of his Small Universe, so he would need to consolidate his foundation for some time.
“Xue’er, what about you?” Yang Kai turned to look at Yang Xue, “How did you reach the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm?”
In truth, when he had rushed over from the Infinite River and noticed that Yang Xue was a Ninth-Order Master, he had thought he was mistaken.
While he, the Big Brother, hadn’t even broken through to the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm, his Little Sister had already reached that step. This made Yang Kai feel a little embarrassed. Fortunately, he had also successfully broken through and was barely able to maintain his prestige and status as the older sibling.
Yang Xue replied, smiling, “It was just luck.”
A few days after she entered the Universe Furnace World with Yang Xiao, the latter suddenly noticed something. Following the Great Sun and Moon Marks’ guidance, they found a Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill.
After hearing this, Yang Kai understood that Yang Xue also obtained the pill thanks to some luck and his helping hand.
If it weren’t for the fact that he had left behind some hidden means in the nine pills, how could Yang Xiao have sensed it?
However, there was no need to explain such things in detail.
“In that case, didn’t Xiao’er make a great contribution?” While speaking, Yang Kai glanced towards the location where Yang Xiao was healing. Yang Xiao, who happened to be secretly looking around, quickly closed his eyes and sat up straight.
Yang Xue gently nodded, but then hesitated to speak.
Yang Kai roughly knew what she was trying to say. Although Fang Tian Ci’s consciousness had been completely preserved after the three Selves had united, all of his life’s experiences had still been integrated into Yang Kai’s Soul, so Yang Kai knew exactly what Fang Tian Ci had experienced over the years. Naturally, this also included the little secrets Yang Xiao had shared with him…
Yang Kai had expected this though. The two children had grown up together and could be considered childhood sweethearts. The two cultivated for thousands of years together, never separating from one another, so how could they not have feelings for each other?
However, due to the difference in seniority between the two of them, they had never crossed that last line. They probably didn’t want to make things difficult for him.
If it weren’t for this, Yang Xiao would have never told Fang Tian Ci about these things either. It was mainly because he had been suppressing the bitter feelings in his heart. It was rare to have a friend who shared the same ideals as him, so he often came to talk to him.
However, not even in Yang Xiao’s wildest dreams did he expect the secrets he had been hiding for so many years would be exposed in such an outrageous manner. In the past, Yang Xiao and Yang Kai were extremely close. Whenever Yang Kai appeared, Yang Xiao would always fly around him. But now, Yang Xiao couldn’t wait to be as far away from his Adoptive Father as possible, hiding from him and quietly healing his injuries; he was obviously feeling guilty.
Yang Kai withdrew his gaze as a smile appeared on his lips, “His Dragon Vein is already quite pure, so let him quickly break through to become a Divine Dragon. If he has any doubts, he can ask Senior Fu Guang. Since both of them belong to the same clan, he won’t refuse to help if he can.”
Yang Xue nodded faintly in agreement.
Yang Kai then turned to her and advised, “If nothing happens after the Universe Furnace closes, you should return to the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction. Now that you’re a Ninth-Order Master, you must assist Senior Fu Guang in guarding the Grand Restriction. Also, tell Wu Kuang that the Black Ink Clan inside the Great Restriction may show some unusual movements. He needs to be extra vigilant.”
Yang Xue nodded more firmly, “Yes.”
Ou Yang Lie solemnly asked, “What may happen at the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction?”
Yang Kai shook his head, “I’m just preparing for any contingency. The war between the Human Race and Black Ink Clan has entered a new phase. Comparing our current strength, the Human Race is far inferior to the Black Ink Clan in terms of numbers, but we have a slight advantage in terms of top Masters. This war will be the final one. If we win, the Human Race won’t have to worry for the rest of their lives, but if we lose, the Black Ink Clan will rule the Universe, and no Human will be left alive. With such stakes, the Black Ink Clan in the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction will definitely take action, so we must be on guard against their internal and external forces coordinating with each other. It will be extremely difficult for us to win this battle, but no matter how difficult it is, we must persevere!”
To win, the Human Race would not only have to eradicate the Black Ink Clan that had invaded 3,000 Worlds, but they would also have to find a way to deal with the ones inside the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, as well as Mo!
This was especially true for Mo, which was suspected to have reached the Creation Realm. Yang Kai still hadn’t found a way to deal with it. In the past, Cang and the others had chosen to seal it within the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, but unless Mo was eliminated, it would still remain a hidden danger. Perhaps after 100,000 years or 200,000 years, another Black Ink Clan disaster would engulf the entire world, and this cycle would continue on, endlessly.
Yang Kai then turned to Ou Yang Lie, “Senior Brother Ou Yang, you’ll be in charge of the 3,000 Worlds after the Universe Furnace closes. I will rush back to join you as soon as possible.”
Ou Yang Lie nodded his acknowledgement, “As a Human, I am duty-bound.”
Pausing for a moment, he asked, “Junior Brother, what are you planning to do next?”
“I’ll go take a look around,” Yang Kai slowly stood up, “There’s still some time before the Universe Furnace closes. I don’t know where the Chaos Spirit King, who took my pill, went, but I want to see if I can get it back. Also… I have some doubts and want to find an answer.”
Previously, Yang Kai had no choice but to throw away the Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill to lure the Chaos Spirit King away. Now that the crisis had been resolved, Yang Kai naturally wanted to get it back. Furthermore, there were still three pills in this Universe Furnace World whose locations remained unknown. He could still try to find them.
Of course, if he ran into Mo Na Ye, that would be even better. He could kill him along the way.
However, Mo Na Ye wasn’t a fool and would surely be hiding somewhere, silently licking his wounds at this moment. It would not be that easy to find him.
“Junior Brother can move freely, Junior Sister Xue and I will take care of things here,” Ou Yang Lie stated. Many Human Race Masters happened to be recovering from their injuries and needed someone to look after them. Even so, not everyone had to remain. Since Yang Kai had some plans, it was naturally better for him to set off immediately.
If he could recover the pill taken away by the Chaos Spirit King, that would be a good thing.
Yang Kai nodded, “I’ll be going then.”
Bidding goodbye, Yang Kai took a step forward and in the next moment, Space Principles undulated as his figure disappeared. As a matter of fact, he still had not recovered from his injuries, but as he didn’t have much time on his hands, Yang Kai didn’t want to waste any on healing. Not to mention, his injuries didn’t impede his movements. Furthermore, now that he was a Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, even if he were to encounter a Chaos Spirit King, he could still put up a fight!
Just after he left, a figure suddenly appeared beside Yang Xue. Impressively, it was none other than Yang Xiao, who had been pretending to be healing.
Yang Xiao’s face was slightly pale. He had consumed a great deal of energy in the previous battle and had suffered some heavy injuries. Be that as it may, he was still a member of Dragon Clan. He had a powerful physique and possessed outstanding recovery abilities, so he could heal several times faster than an ordinary Eighth-Order Master.
Staring in the direction Yang Kai had left, Yang Xiao nervously asked, “Little Aunt, what did Adoptive Father say just now?”
Yang Xue slowly shook her head as she replied, “He did not say anything.”
“Nothing!?” Yang Xiao’s eyes widened in shock, “He didn’t ask anything about me?”
[How is that possible? Why did he not say anything?] This made Yang Xiao feel even more uneasy.
Yang Xue thought for a moment before replying, “Big Brother wants you to become a Divine Dragon as soon as possible.”
Yang Xiao paused for a moment, but when he saw that Yang Xue had nothing else to add, he asked in a huge surprise, “That’s it?”
Yang Xue couldn’t help but glare at him, “What else do you want to hear?”
“Well…” Yang Xiao couldn’t help but frown, [Could it be that he doesn’t know anything? Impossible, Old Fang was his Soul Clone, and now that his Selves have united, he should know everything by now… shouldn’t he!?]
Yang Xiao wore a distressed expression and thought for a moment before his eyes suddenly lit up and he broke into a loud laugh, “I understand!”
Yang Xue tilted her head and looked at him with a dumbfounded look.
[What do you understand?]
Yang Xiao then shouted towards the direction Yang Kai had left, “Don’t worry, Adoptive Father! The day I become the Divine Dragon will be the day I go to the Yang Family to ask for Yang Xue’s hand in marriage!”
Yang Xue’s face turned red as she stomped her foot, “What the Hell are you spouting!?”
Ou Yang Lie also couldn’t help but turn his head and look at Yang Xiao in surprise before looking at Yang Xue. Suddenly, he seemed to have realized something.
Yang Xue’s face became even redder as she shot an angry glare at Yang Xiao. Immediately after, she turned around and left.
Yang Xiao looked at Ou Yang Lie innocently, “Did I say something wrong? Did Adoptive Father not mean that?”
Ou Yang Lie heartily laughed, “No, you’re right, that’s what Yang Kai meant. You brat, you’re really astute! Women get easily embarrassed though, are you not going to chase after her!?”
“Oh, en!” Yang Xiao suddenly came to a realization. He bowed to Ou Yang Lie before chasing after Yang Xue.
Gazing over, Ou Yang Lie couldn’t help but nod his acknowledgement, “Young and vigorous, hot-blooded and unyielding. Good, very good!”
He couldn’t help but think back to when he was young. At that time, he too was bold and daring. He would do whatever he wanted and couldn’t care less what others thought about him!
Turning his head, Ou Yang Lie saw a figure slowly approaching from the distant void. When he got close, Ou Yang Lie sized him up before asking, “You just broke through, don’t you need to stabilize your foundation?”
Xiang Shan replied, shaking his head, “We don’t have that kind of time. The Universe Furnace will close before I can consolidate my realm.” He then turned his head to look in the direction Yang Xiao and Yang Xue had left, and asked, confused, “What happened?”
Ou Yang Lie immediately became spirited and explained what he had seen and heard.
Xiang Shan nodded in understanding, “Since they have feelings for each other, let them do whatever they want. It’s not like they’re related by blood, they are just related because of their relationship with Yang Kai. It doesn’t count. I’m sure Junior Brother Yang won’t mind.”
Ou Yang Lie nodded in agreement, “That’s right, we cultivators don’t have so many worldly customs, and that brat, Yang Kai, doesn’t seem to care about this matter either.” Sighing, he continued, “Moreover, if the Human Race doesn’t win this time, I’m afraid we won’t have a future at all. If we stop them now, they’ll only be left with regrets”
Xiang Shan nodded and dropped this matter before changing the subject, “I’m going to kill some enemies, I’ll have to trouble you to take care of things here.”
Saying so, he turned into a streak of light and left, not caring if Ou Yang Lie agreed or not.
Ou Yang Lie was mouth agape. He did not expect Xiang Shan to do something like this, and by the time he wanted to stop him, it was already too late. Nonetheless, he could not help but shout, “Big Head Xiang, get back here!”
But why would Xiang Shan return? The streak of light gradually disappeared into the distance, as if it hadn’t heard anything.
Ou Yang Lie was enraged, “This is too much!”
He also wanted to go kill some enemies. He thought that Xiang Shan would want to stabilize his new Ninth-Order cultivation, so he was planning on entrusting overseeing things here to him. After that, he would be free to do whatever he wanted, but he never expected Xiang Shan to beat him to it.
But after giving it another thought, he understood why Xiang Shan was in such a hurry.
When the Universe Furnace opened this time, Xiang Shan didn’t even have time to do anything before he was drawn into the great battle between the Human Race and Black Ink Clan. Now that he had just broken through to the Ninth Order, he couldn’t wait to test his newfound strength.
Xiang Shan had left, Yang Xue had also left…
Looking around, Ou Yang Lie found that only he among the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters was left to guard this place. He could not leave. With so many Eighth-Order Masters recovering here, they would need someone to protect them.
[Miserable!] Ou Yang Lie cursed in his heart, [When the Universe Furnace closes, I will definitely make Big Head Xiang pay for this!]
Although the battle between the Human Race and the Black Ink Clan here ended with the Human Race’s victory this time, the war was far from over.
Not to mention that the number of Black Ink Clansmen who had entered the Universe Furnace was not limited to the ones who had appeared before, and many even managed to escape at the last moment.
With two Royal Lords, one dead and one seriously injured, and the Pseudo-Royal Lords who had managed to escape all wounded, the Black Ink Clan was at a significant disadvantage at the moment. As such, this was the perfect opportunity to slaughter them.
If they missed the current opportunity, the Human Race would have to wait for the Universe Furnace to close before they got another chance.
If they could eliminate some of the Black Ink Clan forces in advance, the pressure on the Human Race would decrease by some degree once the Universe Furnace closed.
Perhaps they could also kill some of the Black Ink Clansmen who had entered the Universe Furnace from the Black Ink Battlefield and the Barren Territory.
As time passed, the Human Masters began recovering one by one, but they didn’t remain in place for long. Ou Yang Lie ordered them to form Battle Formations and spread out to search for the Black Ink Clan survivors.
By the time the last batch of Human Race cultivators had recovered, a lot of time had already passed, but finally, Ou Yang Lie, who had been guarding this place, was able to move again.
Naturally, he showered Xiang Shan with curses in his heart.
.….
Somewhere in the void, a battle had just ended and Yang Kai happened to be standing there alone, surrounded by the corpses of several Black Ink Clansmen.
Calling it a battle could not be farther from the truth though, as it was really just a one-sided massacre.
Even if the Territory Lords assumed Battle Formations, they were unable to do anything in front of the current Yang Kai. He was a Ninth-Order Master with the body of a Divine Dragon. Even if he hadn’t fully recovered, killing a few Territory Lords was still as easy as chopping vegetables now.
The advancement of one Order had brought about an earth-shattering change in his strength. His Small Universe’s size had expanded by several times. Of course, it was partly due to the increase in his cultivation, but the integration of Fang Tian Ci’s Small Universe had played no small role in it; otherwise, how could Yang Kai, a newly advanced Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, have such a strong foundation?
Not only that, but his Small Universe also had another World Tree clone at the moment.
In the past, Yang Kai had handed his last World Tree clone to Fang Tian Ci to help him rapidly grow, but with the fusion of Fang Tian Ci’s Small Universe with his, that World Tree clone had also merged with it.
Yang Kai already had a World Tree clone to begin with, so there was not much point in having a second.
[After returning to 3,000 Worlds, I should find a suitable candidate and give it to them. It should help them save some time in cultivation and allow them to advance to the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm earlier.]
After separating from Ou Yang Lie and the others, Yang Kai began searching the void, mainly because he wanted to find the Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill he had thrown away.
One more Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill meant the birth of one more Ninth-Order Master, and currently, the Human Race did not have many Ninth-Order Masters.
Yang Kai especially wanted to bring a Supreme Grade pill back for Mi Jing Lun. The war would definitely become more intense and fierce in the future. Mi Jing Lun, who was the Supreme Commander of the Human Race Armies might not be able to control the overall situation if he remained in the rear, and his Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm cultivation would make it risky for him to stand on the front lines. If he could break through to the Ninth Order however, it would be much better for the Human Race!
Unfortunately, Yang Kai failed to find anything even after searching for so long, but that did not mean that his search was without harvest. He ran into some Black Ink Clansmen along the way, so naturally he finished them all off.
Thunder Shadow’s voice rang out in his mind, “Big Brother, isn’t my Innate Divine Ability quite useful?”
Although Yang Kai’s strength was great and he had always been unrivalled among his peers, he was not proficient in stealth and assassination. Under normal circumstances, when he ran into enemies, he would usually just fight them head-on.
But after merging with his Monster Self, Thunder Shadow’s exceptional mastery over the Dao of Thunder and Dao of Concealment also became available to Yang Kai.
Just now, he had given Thunder Shadow’s Innate Divine Ability a try and hid himself. When he suddenly attacked the Territory Lords, they did not even have the chance to react. It could be said that they had no idea who had killed them.
Yang Kai lightly chuckled, “There is some truth as to why Great Monsters ran rampant in the Early Ancient Era.”
The different types of Monster Race had different Innate Divine Abilities. Thunder Shadow was a member of the Shadow Leopard Race and was innately proficient in the Dao of Concealment, which was one of the reasons Yang Kai chose him as his Monster Self.
At that time, Yang Kai had to go into a retreat to recuperate, so he didn’t have much time to take care of his Monster Self. Choosing Thunder Shadow would give the latter more opportunities to survive.
As for the Dao of Thunder, that was something that Thunder Shadow had cultivated on his own, so it was not an Innate Divine Ability.
As for the title Thunder Shadow, it was also the title he had obtained as a Great Emperor, not his race.
“In any case, I’m more useful than Second Brother!” Thunder Shadow proudly proclaimed.
Fang Tian Ci was the Human Self Yang Kai had cultivated in his Small Universe, and the Grand Daos he cultivated were basically inherited from Yang Kai. It could be said that everything he was proficient at was the same as Yang Kai, while the one he wasn’t proficient at, Yang Kai was proficient at. So, naturally, there was nothing Yang Kai could take advantage of…
Thus, from this fact alone, Thunder Shadow felt a sense of superiority.