“Speaking of which, I haven’t asked for your name yet. My name is Mu, what’s yours?”
It would never forget their first meeting. There was a touch of red blood on the corners of her lips as this quiet and gentle woman stood in the void, looking at it with a smile on her face.
[What is my name?]
It had no idea what its name was. It did not even realize that such a thing as a ‘name’ existed in this world.
Before meeting her, its world was nothing more than endless darkness and desolation.
It was because it met her that its world now had sound, had expectations, and today, light had also become a part of it…
“I don’t know what my name is,” it mumbled in reply. Inexplicably, a lowly feeling of shame took root in it, as if it had blasphemed her just by looking at her like this.
“No name, huh…” Mu walked around it, then she suddenly clapped her hands and smiled, “I know! Seeing as how you’re so dark, your name should be Mo.”
“Mo…” It murmured, and then it slowly beamed, “My name is Mo!”
It had its own name now, and it was Mu who gave it to it. It was determined not to lose it in its life, and one day, it would let everyone know its name!
But soon, it realized that its appearance was not quite the same as Mu’s.
Mu had arms and legs, a head and a body, and she was even wearing pretty clothes. She was such a pretty person. It also wished that it…
As those thoughts ran through its mind, the round black blob, without a fixed shape, began to warp, gradually transforming until it looked just like Mu.
Mu looked at it in surprise, “You can even assume Human Form… but this won’t do, you can’t look like me.”
Mo was puzzled, “Why?”
Mu kindly explained, “Because everyone is unique in this world.”
Mo didn’t quite understand, but if Mu had said it, then it must be true.
It was a shame that it couldn’t look like her. She definitely had the most beautiful appearance in this world, it thought to itself.
“Then, what should I look like?” Mo asked.
“Just the way you were is good, too.” After a pause, she added, “But if you have to assume Human Form, then why don’t I give you a hand?”
“With what?”
“Changing your appearance,” Mu reached out her hands and pounced on it with a teasing grin on her face, then she began to rub and shape it.
Mo did not resist, allowing her to do as she pleased.
Mu worked for quite a while before taking a few steps back and studying Mo carefully, after which she nodded in satisfaction, “There, that’ll be your look.”
Mo held out its hands and spread them out in front of itself, feeling confused as it looked at its small hands.
Seeing its confusion, Mu took the initiative to explain, “This is what my Brother looked like, but he died when he was very young, so you can take his form from now on.”
“Okay…” Mo responded obediently.
Mu then looked up at the Profound Source Gate again and rushed over to it with excitement, “This gate is a treasure. It ate a part of my Space-Time River, so I’ll have to take it with me.” She then turned to Mo, “This is the door to your home, do you still want it?”
Mo waved his hand, “I don’t want it, you can have it.” Who would even want such a thing…
Mu nodded, “In that case, I won’t stand on ceremony.”
The Space-Time River was summoned again and wrapped itself around the strange gate. Perhaps because a piece of her Space-Time River was left inside the gate, this time, Mu was able to collect it with ease.
“Let’s go,” Mu beckoned Mo and led him away into the distance.
On the way, Mo asked the question that was on his mind, “Mu, what is death?”
“Death… If a person dies, then we will never be able to see each other again, and that person will only live on in the memories of others.”
“What is a Little Brother?”
“Well… it’s a sibling born from one’s parents.”
“Then, am I your Little Brother?”
“Yes, you’ll be my Little Brother from now on!”
“You’re my Little Brother, too!”
“That’s not right, I’m your Big Sister. Sixth Sister, to be exact!”
“What is a Big Sister?”
“Hm… A Big Sister is a sibling born from one’s own parents.”
“But isn’t that what a Little Brother is?”
“Hey listen, a Little Brother should speak less because if he talks too much, his mouth will glue shut and he’ll never be able to open it again!”
Shocked, Mo covered his mouth in a panic.
…
“Mu, where did this Little Friend come from?”
“This is the one I told you about, the one who was shut behind that strange gate.”
“You got him out of there?”
A crowd of people surrounded Mu and Mo, their eyes filled with scrutiny and curiosity. Mo clung to the corner of Mu’s clothes and hid behind her.
It had never known that so many people existed in this world, and that they all looked different. It was no wonder why Mu said that everyone was unique.
“Little Friend, what’s your name?” Someone asked.
Mo shook his head and did not answer, a timid look on his face.
The speaker asked with pity in his voice, “Is he mute?”
Mu laughed, “Of course not, the child is just a little shy.”
“There is something odd about this boy. I’ve never seen that power inside his body before. Mu, do you know what you’ve rescued?”
“I’m not sure, but it was too pitiful to see him trapped behind that gate all alone. I couldn’t just leave him after I discovered him.”
“I just hope you know what you’re doing.”
“Rest assured. With how weak he is, he can’t do much even if the power inside his body is a little strange. I’ll keep an eye on him.”
“That’s good. Right now, the Great Monsters are running amok and our people are in a tough spot. We can’t afford to deal with any more trouble.”
It was Mo’s first time meeting someone other than Mu, and after a brief conversation with them, he was led off to rest by Mu.
In the days that followed, they slowly came to know each other better and it became clear that Mo was no mute. Mo had also figured out the relationship between these people and Mu.
The 10 of them had such a close bond that they called each other Siblings.
Mu was ranked sixth out of the 10, which was why Mu asked him to call her Sixth Sister on the way here.
As he was the youngest, he was affectionately called Little Eleventh by everyone…
Mo also finally figured out what a Big Sister and Little Brother was…
It even witnessed death!
In those days, the Great Monsters of the Early Ancient Era were committing atrocities all across the land, and the Human Race chose to stand up to them, thus everything under the Heavens was put under a constant baptism of blood and war.
It was not known just how many Humans had thrown away their lives in those battles.
For a being who had been locked behind a gate all this while, it was a great shock for Mo to suddenly see such an unimaginable scene.
Because of Mu, it began to think of itself as a Human, and as it watched Mu and the nine others busying about, it too wanted to help. It wanted to kill those Early Ancient Era Great Monsters and give the Humans a peaceful place to live.
Mo began cultivating, but the Human Race’s Open Heaven Realm Method did not suit it at all, and no matter how hard it tried, it could not raise its cultivation.
That was until one day it unwittingly felt the power surging deep inside the bodies of some of the Humans, and almost instinctively, it drew that invisible and formless power into its body, refining and absorbing it.
It actually felt as if it had grown a little stronger.
Mo was both pleasantly surprised and horribly terrified by this discovery. It was pleasantly surprised to have found a way to cultivate, but also terrified because it had never heard of this kind of cultivation before.
It went to look for Mu at once to ask for clarification; however, Mu was out fighting at that time. By the time she returned, it was several dozen years later, and Mo had grown significantly stronger.
Mo could not forget the joy on Mu’s face, how happy she was that it became stronger.
The words that reached its mouth were stuck there, but Mo suddenly realised that this was not so bad. As long as Mu was happy, what else mattered?
Having found the right path to cultivate, Mo’s strength soared by leaps and bounds.
One day, it would finally become strong enough to step onto the battlefield!
Mu did not give it any preferential treatment just because of who it was, and Mo simply participated in its first battle against Monster Race as the most ordinary of Human soldiers.
After all, Mu was one of the 10 Commanders of the Human Race of that era and had more important things to do than babysit. It was impossible to keep Mo by her side and watch over it at all times.
During Mo’s first battle, the army that it was in was ambushed by the Early Ancient Era’s Great Monsters and torn to pieces. The casualties they suffered were severe!
Mu rushed to provide support when she received the news, but by the time she reached the battlefield, the fighting was over.
Originally, she thought that Mo was already no more, but what she saw instead stunned her.
The Human Race, which had been at an absolute disadvantage in terms of military strength, had won the battle at a huge cost, with just 30% of their forces surviving in the end.
Mo stood in the middle of the bloody sea of corpses, with many of the Early Ancient Era Great Monsters nearby bowing down in submission as the cheers of the surviving soldiers came like a tide.
It was only after this that Mu learnt that Mo had used its power at the most critical moment, causing Monster Race Masters to change sides, leading to their eventual victory.
It was only now that she realised the special nature of Black Ink Strength, which seemed to have the ability to twist the mind and spirit of living beings.
Mo had no choice but to confess to Mu about its years of cultivation, and that subduing Monster Race Masters with its power was just an idea that happened to crop up. It had never done it before.
For the first time, Mu reprimanded him.
Mo panicked, not knowing what it had done wrong, but seeing Mu’s reaction, it knew it had to have done something wrong.
After scolding Mo, Mu couldn’t help but sigh, saying that it wasn’t its fault before leaving with a grimace.
As it watched Mu’s somewhat sullen back, Mo vowed to itself that it would never use that method of cultivation again, nor would it ever use its power to subdue any living creature.
However, things rarely went as one wished in life.
As the battle between the Humans and Monster Race raged on, the fighting only became more and more fierce.
Even if the Human Race had the 10 Martial Ancestors, the Early Ancient Era Great Monsters had a considerable number of powerful Masters of their own.
Things were looking increasingly dire for the Human Race, and there were even many who had submitted to the Monster Race, willingly becoming their slaves in order to survive.
Battle after battle, Mo, who had witnessed countless deaths, could no longer resist the urge to use its power once more, twisting the hearts of the Humans who turned against them.
Not one person on the entire battlefield was spared during that event! Even those of the Monster Race were subjugated by it.
In that battle, the Human Race Army, which had not seen glory for a long time, received an overwhelming victory!
Once the darkness was unleashed, it was difficult to seal it up again.
While the 10 Martial Ancestors were fighting against the Early Ancient Era Great Monsters at the forefront of the battlefield, Mo subordinated batch after batch of helpers, leading the Human Race at the back and obtaining victory in every battle!
As time passed, it became stronger and stronger.
Mo had achieved what it vowed to do back then, to spread its name and make itself known to all of the Humans.
There was not much that it wanted from this, Mo just wished to end this war as soon as possible, then Mu would have more time to accompany it again
It was willing to use any means to achieve that goal, bestowing great power on the Humans who feared and avoided the war so that they could become fearless.
It even began to spread its power to the various Universe Worlds so that those people could become strong as quickly as possible.
All its hard work and dedication had been worthwhile.
Mu and the other 10 Martial Ancestors slayed many of the Early Ancient Era Great Monsters at the battlefront, achieving a full victory.
Meanwhile, the Human Race Army that Mo led was also very successful on each battlefield.
The living space for Monster Race was constantly being shrunk.
The Human Race was about to usher in their final victory.
Mo was overjoyed to see Mu again, whom it had not been able to see for many years. With great excitement, it told her about his efforts and achievements over the years, not noticing the troubled look in Mu’s eyes.
Mo made a wish in front of Mu, that they would never have to be separated again once the war was over.
Rubbing its head, Mu agreed. From then on, Mu would bring Mo along wherever she went.
Mo was no longer allowed to use the power it had used before, and it was no longer allowed to set foot on the battlefield, but it did not care.
Compared to being extolled by countless Humans and bending the disobedient ones to its will, Mo preferred simply staying quietly by Mu’s side.
The war finally came to an end and the Human Race emerged as the final victors, becoming the Masters of the Universe while the Early Ancient Era Great Monsters were almost slaughtered to extinction. Even though there were still Great Monsters left, it was no longer possible for them to stir up any waves.
Mu took Mo on a journey to witness the beauty and peace of the Universe, acting like true Brother and Sister. During that journey, Mu showered it with nothing but care.
Mo felt that even if it died at that time, it would have no regrets.
Many years later, Mo would ask itself many times why it really didn’t die in that beautiful memory, because its life would have been perfect if that was the case.
One day, Mu said she would bring it home, to visit the place where it was born.
Though it was reluctant to return to that place that had trapped it for so many years, Mo could not deny her since it was Mu who requested it.
The two of them travelled together, returning to that ancient land.
The other nine Big Brothers had already arrived and were waiting for them. After Mu led Mo there, it keenly sensed a massive Array being activated, sealing the void in all directions!
Mo did not understand what was going on.
Until Mu told him the truth.
Mo never would have thought that Mu would one day trick it like this!
Shock, anger, resentment… all sorts of complicated emotions overwhelmed it.
The reason Mu led it here was just so they could suppress and seal it here again, and that last journey would be its final fond experiences.
Mo’s heart felt as if it had been stabbed! The dependence and trust it once had turned into grief, causing Mo to lose its rationale for a moment.
The power that had been built up over the years was released, and Mo’s mind became completely twisted…
Under Mo’s influence, all the beings previously corrupted by his power were turned into slaves.
The Human Race, which had only been at peace for a few years, was once again thrust into an endless war…
…..
Inside the small house, Mo sighed faintly as its small figure grew rapidly, transforming into a handsome young man with delicate features in the blink of an eye.
He got up, walked out of the house, and looked up at the sky, his gaze absent as his mind drifted.
[Such an innocent memory from so long ago…]
Mu came out of the kitchen, wiped her hands on her apron, and looked at him with a faint smile, “Are you leaving?”
Mo turned his head and looked at Mu with a complicated gaze before nodding gently.
Mu said to him, “All these years, it was Sixth Sister who wronged you…”
Mo raised his hand to interrupt her, smiling back, “You did the right thing, Sixth Sister.”
“Huh?” Mu cocked her head at it in confusion.
Mo said, “I was too young then, mistakenly believing that I had full control of that power, but it proved to be too much for me to grasp. If you hadn’t suppressed and sealed me back then, I’m afraid the Human Race would be no more!”
Mu was stunned for a moment, then as if understanding something, her face paled slightly, “You mean…”
Mo sighed, “That power is the root, I am only its consciousness that has been born through many long years of accumulation. Even though you have taught me about all the wonderful things in the Universe, in the end, not everything is good in this world. No matter the kind of consciousness it birthed, its power will continue to grow, and one day even that consciousness will become its slave! When that happens, only one instinct will remain, to conquer and enslave everything! Just as the birth of the Black Ink Cult was inevitable in this world, so too was all this predestined.”
Hearing those words from it, Mu finally understood, “So, when the power was suppressed and sealed once more, it instead led you to rediscover yourself?”
“Exactly,” Mo grinned.
“Then now…”
Mo shook its head, “It will all return soon.”
“Sixth Sister, you have already fulfilled your promise. For that, I thank you!” Mo looked up at Mu, tears faintly welling in his eyes.
Mu promised back then that she would accompany him forever and keep him by her side wherever she went, and she had done exactly that and more. While she was alive, she was constantly watching over the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, and even in her death, the shadows she left behind continued to keep Mo company.
Mu tried to make one last effort, “If you like, we could go on like this.”
Mo shook his head sadly, “I can’t stop it, and besides, since I was born… I, too, should fight for my right to live!”
These words caused Mu’s heart to clench.
Every living being had the right to live since birth, to pursue the good things in life, but what if the existence of this being was in itself, a sin?
Mo looked at Mu with a deep gaze, as if he wanted to brand the figure before him into the deepest part of his mind, into his life, never to be forgotten. He then murmured softly, “Besides, a world without Sixth Sister… no longer needs to exist.”
Mo opened his arms as if to embrace the entire world.
Winds rose and clouds surged!
A black ray of light suddenly descended and entered Mo’s body, causing his aura to swell explosively.
This was followed by a second, then a third…
All the inhabitants of Dawn City looked up in shock, only to see an endless stream of black light coming from nowhere in the sky, falling incessantly towards a certain spot in the city where a terrifying aura was surging!
The inside of the Holy Temple of the Light Spirit Religion was a chaotic mess. The Order Lords wanted to go and find out what was going on, but they could barely even move their bodies when they felt that terrible power.
Everyone’s eyes were filled with horror.
The turbulent wind blew the small house down, but Mu stood still, completely untouched as Mo had enveloped her in a force that was protecting her.
…..
In the 2,639th World, Yang Kai managed to repel the attacking Black Ink Disciples together with Mu’s shadow, but not without difficulty. Just as he was about to use the Profound Source Gate to suppress and seal Mo’s Source piece, the seal opened by itself before he could even act and the piece inside turned into a black light that rushed into the sky, disappearing in the blink of an eye.
“This…” Yang Kai looked on in astonishment at what had just happened.
Mu’s shadow paled and she raised her hand, pressing her palm against Yang Kai’s chest before urging, “He has woken up. Quickly go to the Primordial World, that is the source of my power. Find the shadow I left there and she will tell you what to do.”
[Mo has awakened!]
Despite knowing that this would happen, Yang Kai could not help but feel his chest tightening when the time finally came.
Was it finally time to face the strongest existence in this Universe?
Yang Kai then silently comforted himself. Somewhere between 30% and 40% of Mo’s Source should be suppressed and sealed, so in other words, its Black Ink Strength had also been weakened by that much. Even so, was there anyone among them who could be a match for Mo?
If there was no way to defeat Mo, then all their previous efforts would be in vain.
It was too late to ask any more questions though, so under the pull of Mu’s power, he disappeared in a flash of light.
By this time, the battle outside the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction had subsided.
Zhang Ruo Xi had arrived, bringing with her not only the eight Ninth-Order Small Stone Race Personal Guard, but also a large army of hundreds of millions from the Small Stone Race Soldiers.
The Black Ink Clan at the opening of the Grand Restriction no longer dared to come out to fight, so how could the ones left outside be any match for the Humans?
The Small Stone Race regiments cut through the battlefield one by one, firstly dividing the Black Ink Clan Army before gradually pecking away at their forces. With the two Giant Spirit Gods rampaging through the battlefield, the Black Ink Clan Army was soon decimated.
If this were the past, then the Black Ink Clan Army might have fled if they were being so steeply suppressed.
But this place was the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, where the Source of the Black Ink Clan was, so where could they flee to? If they fought with their lives on the line, they could at least weaken the enemy and take some pressure off those still inside the Grand Restriction.
With this consideration in mind, the only end for those outside the Grand Restriction was death.
The Human Race soldiers who were still recuperating watched this scene from afar with mixed feelings.
What should have been a certain defeat had been turned around by the Small Stone Race Army, but this victory did not dictate the final outcome.
It may take an even more gruelling and brutal battle to actually win this war.
*Kacha…*
Suddenly, a strange sound came from the void. Before the Human Race Masters could figure out what was happening, they heard Wu Kuang’s grave voice call out, “Watch out! The Grand Restriction is about to break!”
*Kacha…*
The sound began to overlap more and more.
The Human Race Army stopped for a moment before immediately getting into formation.
As countless pairs of eyes watched on, cracks appeared in the endless darkness of the void, the lines becoming as dense as a spider web in the blink of an eye.
A figure had also emerged from somewhere in the Grand Restriction, hurriedly moving towards the Human Race Army.
It was Wu Kuang, who had been standing guard at the Grand Restriction for thousands of years.
As the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction was about to break, it was pointless for Wu Kuang to stay connected to it any longer. In fact, he would even have to suffer the backlash if he remained.
So, the moment he realised that the situation was irreversible, he left the Grand Restriction as soon as possible.
With this, he could at least ensure that he would not be injured. As for Yang Kai, who still remained inside, he was no longer able to provide much help to him regardless.
What caught the attention of the many Ninth-Order Masters, however, was the aura that Wu Kuang was displaying at this moment.
Wu Kuang’s existence was known only to a few Human Race Masters. They knew that he was sent here by Yang Kai to guard the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, but no one knows how strong he was, not even Yang Kai; after all, when he sent Wu Kuang here, he was only in the Seventh Order Open Heaven Realm. Even though he later broke through to the Eighth Order and then the Ninth Order, no one had any close contact with him, so they could only speculate on his strength.
At this moment, Wu Kuang’s strength was finally revealed to the world.
He was at the peak of the Ninth Order! He was even stronger when compared to Xiao Xiao and Wu Qing, the oldest veteran Masters of the Human Race.
In the situation they were facing, having another peak Ninth-Order Master would be of great help; however, something unexpected happened before the Humans could even rejoice.
Wu Kuang’s departure from the Grand Restriction sped up its destruction. Even more cracks appeared, and soon, the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, which had persisted for millions of years, shattered like a broken mirror.
Glowing dots of light filled the void, and as the light dissipated, boundless black filled one’s vision
The blackness seemed to possess a life of its own, writhing and rolling as the auras of an uncountable number of beings could be felt inside of it.
Before the Grand Restriction broke, the Black Ink Clan could only leave through that one opening, so even at the height of the Human Crusade Force’s crisis, not too many Black Ink Clan reinforcements could get out at once, this allowed them to maintain a degree of control over the situation.
But now, things have changed. With the complete destruction of the Grand Restriction, all of the Black Ink Clansmen hiding inside of it were instantly released.
No one had any idea just how many Black Ink Clansmen were still hidden in that abyss of darkness; the only thing that the Humans could feel glad about was the fact that they had killed many of the Black Ink Clan Masters before, which relieved some of the pressure they had to face at this moment.
The Human Race Army waited with bated breath, but to their surprise, not a single Black Ink Clansman emerged from the sea of Black Ink Strength even after some time had passed.
They seemed to be fearful of something.
Soon, the Human Race Masters realised what it was. It was Zhang Ruo Xi that the Black Ink Clan was afraid of.
The power she had shown earlier was beyond comprehension, surpassing even that of the Giant Spirit Gods, allowing her to kill Royal Lords like she was cutting melons or chopping vegetables.
At the moment, Zhang Ruo Xi stood at the very forefront of the Small Stone Race Army. Despite standing alone, her presence was still intimidating enough that the Black Ink Clan did not dare to move rashly.
Even though the white wings spread behind her back were small in the face of the darkness that covered everything the eye could see, the light emitting from her was far too bright for any darkness to truly cover.
The Ninth-Order Masters could not help but feel a little embarrassed at this. If Zhang Ruo Xi had not soared across the skies to their aid, their second crusade would have already failed. If that were to be the case, then they would have no choice but to retreat through the path that Yang Kai had prepared for them, to follow him to seek a new life in a new world.
But who would know what that new world would be like?
In front of the massive enemy Army, Zhang Ruo Xi remained calm and steady. On the other hand, in the void before her, the Black Ink Strength surged. The Black Ink Clan were too terrified to even move.
The power of a single person could actually be so terrifying.
All of a sudden, Zhang Ruo Xi’s expression changed. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she stared into the depths of the black abyss.
Seemingly noticing something, her wings flapped behind her and she turned into a stream of white light, instantly disappearing into the sea of darkness.
From afar, a voice reached Mi Jing Lun’s ears, “Sir is inside, I’ll go and check on him.”
In an instant, the Black Ink Ocean became even more agitated. It was clear that Zhang Ruo Xi was not merely going over to check out the situation. Inside the void that was filled with all the Black Ink Clansmen, she couldn’t reach Yang Kai without cutting a bloody path through them.
…
In the Primordial World, the aftermath of the chaos in Dawn City was still lingering. Just now, everyone saw a figure at the edge of the city soaring into the skies before disappearing without a trace, and after that person disappeared, the black lights that fell from the sky also disappeared.
Even though the unusual phenomenon was gone, the panic it caused would not ease for some time.
The Saintess and Li Fei Yu looked in that direction together, a pondering look in their eyes.
They knew that the first Saintess lived in seclusion at that location, and they had a sneaking suspicion that what they saw was related to her.
Shortly after Mo departed, Yang Kai returned to this place, drawn by the power of Mu’s shadow.
The first thing he saw was Mu, who was standing in front of the small house.
“Senior!” Yang Kai shouted.
Mu turned to look in his direction, seemingly expecting him, “You’re here.”
“Where’s Little Eleventh?” Yang Kai looked around; though, he had a vague guess when he did not see his small figure around.
Sure enough, Mu replied, “He has awakened, and the sealed Source pieces have all returned one after the other. This Universe World cannot withstand his power, but he was unwilling to destroy it, so he has left my Space-Time River already.”
Yang Kai nodded lightly, “I understand.”
The final battle was upon him, and he had done all that he could; whether they won or lost would depend on the final fight.
“Senior, since Mo has awakened, it is time for me to go. The power that the Human Race has at this time may not be enough to hold him back, but we will do our best. The last shadow of yours I met told me to come back and see you, and that you would show me the way forward, so I hope that Senior can enlighten me.”
“You have already found your way forward,” Mu looked at him with a smile in her gaze.
“Huh?” Yang Kai did not understand.
“You’ve chosen the same path that I have,” Mu added.
Yang Kai was thoughtful, “Condensing 10,000 Grand Daos in one’s own body and manifesting the Space-Time River?”
Mu nodded lightly, “As I told you before, everyone has their own Space-Time River, which starts flowing from the day they are born and ends at the day they die. However, since the start of time, few have been able to manifest their Space-Time River. I was the first, while you are the second!” Saying so, she suddenly asked Yang Kai a question, “The Open Heaven Realm Method cultivated by the Human Race is flawed. You must have noticed, yes?”
Yang Kai nodded, “The Ninth-Order is the limit of the Open Heaven Realm Method, but I had a vague feeling that the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm is not the end of Martial Dao. There should be a higher realm above the Ninth Order, above the Open Heaven Realm.”
“There is indeed a higher realm above the Ninth Order,” Mu gave him an affirmative answer.
Yang Kai was astonished, “Has Senior reached it?”
Embarrassedly, Mu shook her head, “If I had reached it, the Human Race would not be in this predicament today. Even though I have not reached it… I did touch upon it.”
Yang Kai could not help but praise her in his heart, [as expected of the strongest among the Martial Ancestors.]
Cang told him back then that the Martial Ancestors were still only in the Ninth Order, but they were stronger as they had gone further along the path. It was just that they had still yet to leave the bounds of the Open Heaven Realm.
However, Mu told him today that she had touched the profound realm above the Open Heaven Realm. Even if she had only touched it and not reached it, it was still an extraordinary achievement.
Mu recalled an old memory and slowly began, “The Open Heaven Realm Method was born out of necessity at a time when the Human Race was in a difficult situation. The Early Ancient Era Great Monsters were rampaging throughout the Universe, and without the Open Heaven Realm Method, the Human Race would have been nothing but food and slaves for them. During that time, the Heavens were quietly beginning to favour the Human Race, so it devised a way out for them, the Open Heaven Realm Method. Only with it can the Human Race give rise to a constant stream of Masters, which gave them the capital to contend with the Early Ancient Era Great Monsters.”
“However, even the Heavens have their selfishness. For example, the Primordial World. Once one’s cultivation surpasses the Immortal Ascension Realm, they would receive its repulsion and hostility; that is the selfishness of the Primordial World. One can also see it as its instinct for self-preservation. The Universe is not unchanging as its blessings were first concentrated on the Divine Spirits before moving to the Early Ancient Era Monster Race, then finally to us, the Human Race. Over time, the three Races became the favoured of the Heavens and were given the right to dominate all beneath it.” She turned to Yang Kai, “Why do you think this happened?”
Yang Kai pondered for a moment, “If one Race becomes too powerful, then they are no longer fearful of the Heavens, and once the power they hold becomes strong enough to oppose it, it creates a sense of crisis in the Heavens. Hence, there will be a transfer of its blessing.”
He had considered such a thing before, so he was able to give a quick answer to Mu’s question.
Mu nodded, “Precisely. The Universe lives, and it has its own Will. Principles are a part of its Will, but it is not the same as us living beings. It is above us as all beings are under its Will. If any power that surpasses its control were to come to be, it would move to remedy the situation, but it does not take action itself, and it certainly does not have the power to do so. So, it uses the power of other beings to restore order from chaos and ensure that everything remains on the predetermined path. This is reflected in history from long ago, when the Early Ancient Era Monster Race overthrew the Divine Spirits, and when the Human Race freed itself from the slavery of the Early Ancient Era Monster Race.”
“But Senior, what does this have to do with my path?” Yang Kai looked perplexed.
Mu continued, “Naturally it is all related. Because the Open Heaven Realm Method was a gift Willed by the Heavens, it is also a kind of shackle. It is impossible to break free from these shackles of the Open Heaven Realm Method by using the Open Heaven Realm Method. In fact, there is only one place in existence that the Heavens’ Will cannot cover, and everything that happens and is obtained there is not under the control of the Heavens!”
Yang Kai’s eyes lit up and he blurted out, “The Universe Furnace!” He could just about understand what Mu was getting at now.
“I’ve never understood what the Universe Furnace is, but it is definitely a place beyond the Heavens’ influence,” Mu asserted.
Yang Kai thought to himself, [of course the Heavens can’t interfere with it, because the Universe itself was created inside the Universe Furnace. It could even be considered the origin of the Heavens.]
He had coincidentally seen the true face of the Universe Furnace and witnessed the process of it taking in Chaos and splitting Heaven and Earth apart.
He wanted to discuss all this with Mu, but time was running out and he could not figure out a way to explain everything in a timely manner, so he had no choice but to endure the urge for now.
“You and I have ventured into the Universe Furnace, and we have seen the Infinite River that flows through it, which led to us condensing our own Space-Time Rivers.” Mu turned to Yang Kai, “The Space-Time River is your path forward!”
[The Space-Time River is my path forward!]
Yang Kai pondered, “Senior means to say…”
“The reason why I have placed a barrier outside of my Space-Time River is because I knew no one other than those who have also condensed their own Space-Time River have the power to save the Universe. For those who do not have that ability, it would not benefit them in any way even if they found my Space-Time River. Since that is so, it would be better to cut off the hope for those who approach sooner to avoid them having to go through even greater despair later.”
Mu had hidden her Space-Time River in the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, and when Yang Kai was brought to it under Wu Kuang’s lead, he felt something blocking him when he tried to enter; however, he was able to pass through easily. He thought at first that it was because of his identity as a Human, but it was only later that he discovered this was because he had also condensed his Space-Time River.
If not for that, no other Human would have been able to enter this place, not even if they were in the Ninth Order.
To the Humans of the Primordial World, the so-called Holy Son was the saviour of this World, but the saviour that Mu spoke of was someone who could save the 3,000 Worlds.
“To defeat Mo, the strength of the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm alone is not enough. Mo can only be defeated when someone who can break through the shackles of the Ninth Order and reach the next realm, a realm which I was only a step away from reaching!”
Yang Kai hurriedly asked, “So what is the next Realm? Why was Senior unable to make that breakthrough?”
Mu laughed bitterly before looking at him, “As for what exactly the next realm is, even I am not sure. But as for why I did not manage to reach it… It is because my Space-Time River is incomplete.”
Yang Kai could not help but become lost in thought, recalling the wide and beautiful river that he saw before.
[Even that massive river is incomplete? Then what should a complete Space-Time River look like? In the first place, what makes hers incomplete? And what sort of problem did she encounter for her Space-Time River to remain incomplete?]
“Is there no way to fix it?” Yang Kai asked.
Logically speaking, the Space-Time River was a condensation and manifestation of one’s comprehension of 10,000 Dao Strengths. Even if it were to be damaged in the midst of an intense battle, there should be a chance for it to recover as long as the foundations of one’s Grand Daos remained.
The only possibility that would lead to the complete inability for the Space-Time River to be recovered was if the foundation of one’s Grand Daos got destroyed…
Mu shook her head, “It is not possible to fix.”
Long past memories tumbled around in her mind, leading her to recall the events of that day, and the corners of her mouth could not help but lift up into a smile.
When the Profound Source Gate cut off a section of her Space-Time River, she did not think much of it then. She was immersed in her joy of finally rescuing Mo from behind that closed gate.
She originally thought that she only needed to open the door again to retrieve that part of her Space-Time River…
Who could have expected that when she did open the Profound Source Gate, that there would be nothing behind it, only an endless pool of desolation and darkness.
But even then, she had not realised the severity of the problem.
Not until her Space-Time River continued to grow and her cultivation became more robust. When she tried to break through to the next Realm, it was then that she helplessly realised that the damage to her Space-Time River had cut off all her hopes of taking that final step.
If that incident had not happened back then, she should have already broken through the confines of the Open Heaven Realm and reached that mysterious realm.
Did she regret it?
Not once!
She only blamed herself for not teaching Mo properly when she saved him from the Profound Source Gate. By the time she found out about what happened later, the situation was already too far gone to be salvaged.
And compared to that, it was not as if she was completely without any harvests. If the Profound Source Gate had not devoured a part of her Space-Time River, she would not have been able to refine it so easily. It was one of the most profound Innate Supreme Treasures, after all.
As she dispelled the memories from her mind, Mu withdrew her smile and looked seriously at Yang Kai, “You have already set foot on the path, and you will reach the end point sooner or later where you will have to open up the new way forward, but not much time is left for you now. I hope that you can achieve what I failed to back then.”
At once, the pressure that Yang Kai felt weighing on him was like a mountain, but he still gave a firm answer, “Junior will try his best!”
Mu smiled and walked up to him. Just like the other shadows that Yang Kai encountered in the many Universe Worlds, she gently pressed her hand to his chest, “Go, put an end to it all. The Human Race has suffered since the Late Ancient Era until now. As the favoured children of Heaven, it is time for us to have our own peaceful world to live in.”
The reason why Yang Kai came back here was because the previous shadow had sent him here, but after talking for so long, Yang Kai still did not get a clear answer from Mu.
What did he have to do in order to defeat the current Mo?
Mu did tell him that he had to make a breakthrough to the next realm, but he had not even reached the door to the next realm yet. How could he make a quick breakthrough at such an urgent time?
Mu continued to smile at him as her figure gradually started to fade, “I left you something. You will find out what to do soon enough.”
As she disappeared, Yang Kai’s body rose involuntarily into the sky and soon plunged into the vast and beautiful Space-Time River.
This time, however, he did not feel anything pulling him. He had travelled across about 90% of the 3,000 Universe Worlds in order to suppress and seal the pieces of Mo’s Source, and he had succeeded in sealing more than 1,000 of them.
Right now, Mo had already awoken. The Source pieces that Yang Kai was not able to suppress and seal had returned to Mo, so there was no longer any point in visiting those Universe Worlds.
Yang Kai’s body bobbed up and down in the river as the currents inside of it stirred.
Then, a strange feeling suddenly arose in him. That was, he felt an indescribable sense of affinity and recognition by the Space-Time River that should belong to Mu. What’s more, it seemed as if he was able to mobilise its power!
Yang Kai was astonished by this discovery. This was, after all, Mu’s Space-Time River, the culmination of her lifelong cultivation. Even if Mu had departed from the world of the living long ago, even if he himself had his own Space-Time River, it did not make sense for him to feel this affinity and recognition from it.
Scenes flashed before his eyes, scenes of him in each Universe World at the moment when he parted with Mu.
Whether Yang Kai managed to seal the Source pieces or not in each Universe World, as long as Mu’s shadow still existed, he had not failed to find her and bring her away with him because he was unwilling to see this Senior who had fought alone for countless years continue to wait and suffer endlessly.
The way he brought her away was through taking the last shreds of energy from her shadows into his own body.
Each one was a moment in Mu’s lifetime.
Mu had divided Mo’s Source into 3,000 pieces, suppressing and sealing them in different Universe Worlds, and she had also separated herself into the same number of shadows in order to remain by the Source pieces’ side.
Every person had their own Space-Time River from the moment that they were born, and it ended at their last breath…
Each shadow injected the last of their strength into Yang Kai’s body, which was equivalent to granting Mu’s existence, during the time used to conceive the shadow, to Yang Kai.
During this long journey, the number of shadows that Yang Kai had encountered was over 2,000…
In other words, out of Mu’s many shadows, he had gained the recognition of at least 70% of them.
Yang Kai finally understood what it was that Mu had left him.
She had left him her own Space-Time River!
With the approval and acknowledgement of most of its owner, Yang Kai could now refine her Space-Time River and use it for himself!
This was Mu’s last resort, as well as her final gift.
A tidal wave of grief crashed over Yang Kai, overwhelming his entire being.
However, he had no time for sorrow. Mo had awakened and escaped, so the Human Race was in danger of being annihilated at any moment. He had to receive Mu’s gift as soon as possible and strengthen himself.
However, Yang Kai was acutely aware that despite all of the hidden hands that Mu left behind, it was still not inexhaustible. She must not have thought about the problems with her own cultivation.
Mu had gained enlightenment about her own Space-Time River at a point when she was no longer improving in her cultivation back then.
But Yang Kai was different. He was merely at the peak of the Eighth Order when he trained inside of the Universe Furnace, before he even took the risk to use the Three Selves Source Reconstitution Art to break through to the Ninth Order.
It was there where Yang Kai had condensed his own Space-Time River, long before reaching the peak of the Ninth Order.
When the final war between the Human Race and Black Ink Clan broke out at the No-Return Pass, the time left for Yang Kai to cultivate was cut short, and even if he did borrow the power of the two Open Heaven Realm Cradles and diligently cultivated with the help of his Space-Time River at every opportunity, there was still a considerable distance left between his current cultivation and the peak of the Ninth-Order.
The reason Mu gifted Yang Kai with her Space-Time River was most likely in hopes that Yang Kai could borrow its power in order to break through the shackles of the Open Heaven Realm Method and reach the mysterious next realm in one step.
As long as he could reach that realm, defeating Mo would not be an issue.
But right now, the situation was that Yang Kai’s cultivation was still a great distance from the peak of the Ninth Order, and even if he did receive Mu’s gift, it was impossible for him to make a breakthrough in such a short amount of time.
Mu’s gift would undoubtedly help boost the power of his Dao Strengths greatly, but it could not help to grow his cultivation.
Mu might have considered that, or she might not have; regardless, she had already done all that she could. As one of the 10 Martial Ancestors, she had left absolutely everything she had behind for her Juniors of the Human Race.
After working out Mu’s plans, Yang Kai calmed his mind and summoned his own Space-Time River directly inside of Mu’s.
If Mu’s Space-Time River was like a coiling Grand Dragon, then Yang Kai’s Space-Time River was like a little snake… At the very best, it would be a big python. There was simply no contest.
However, when Yang Kai’s Space-Time River appeared, the waters stirring fiercely around him began to gather around it and merged into it, increasing the size and volume of Yang Kai’s Space-Time River.
Yang Kai could not help but grunt as his mind felt dizzy from the phenomenon. He was almost overwhelmed by all of the mysterious sensations that were crashing down on him, as if to drown out his very being.
The Space-Time River was a condensation of many Dao Strengths with Space-Time Dao Strength as its foundation, and the river’s water was all a manifestation of those Dao Strengths.
With the recognition of Mu’s many shadows, Yang Kai did not feel any resistance when he was refining her Space-Time River, but its mass was simply too great, a manifestation of Mu’s great attainments and insights into all the Grand Daos, and all of it was being stuffed into Yang Kai.
A sense of crisis came over him at that instant. Yang Kai realized that if he failed to withstand the impact of these Dao Strengths, something terrible would happen to him.
Mu and Mo met beforehand. A piece of Mu’s Space-Time River got caught behind the gate.
Mo met the other 9 through Mu and they became close enough to be called Little Eleventh or Xiao Shi Yi.
While fighting the war, Mo tried to help out and corrupted his allies and enemies.
The 10 found out that they fucked up and planned to seal it.
Mu made a plan on how to do it.
After the war, she would take Mo around and sightsee. Meanwhile, the other 9 would build the Grand Restriction. Once it was time, she led Mo inside and they trapped it.
Mo, unhappy, started the great war of that era in an attempt to free itself.
I guess, during that time, the 10 agreed on this lie to say that they met Mo instead of Mu freeing Mo. Else, the other Humans would target Mu in anger.
Sometime later, war got pushed back to create the Spiritless Land. Mu went into the Grand Restriction. I believe she was trying to find the missing part of her Space-Time River. There, she found out that a part of Mo was still inside the gate. Doubt she was able to open the gate fully. But she found a better way to seal away its strength in hopes of defeating Mo.
Anyways, she found out that she can’t go above the Open Heaven Realm. Since the Space-Time River is connected to one’s life and death, she made the preparations to help the next guy get stronger. She had to kill herself. Else, the Space-Time River would not be able to split from her and be left behind.
Well, that’s how I made sense of the story so far.
Yang Kai had a nagging feeling that if he failed to withstand the onslaught of Dao Strengths washing over him right now, he would become part of the Dao Strengths, and both Space-Time Rivers would collapse.
[To be one with the Dao…]
A strange thought occurred to Yang Kai. [This is an obstacle in the path of cultivation. All is well if I make it through, but if we don’t, all is lost. So, this is the hurdle that must be faced when one reaches the pinnacle of the Martial Dao!]
He quickly used the power of the Soul Warming Lotus to protect his consciousness.
The situation improved ever so slightly, but the Soul Warming Lotus, which had been infallible in the past, could not be of any decisive help this time around…
If one were to describe Mu’s final gift as a feast, then the Soul Warming Lotus was stomach medicine.
In the past, whenever Yang Kai’s Soul was threatened by outside forces, the Soul Warming Lotus would keep it well-protected. It ensured that Yang Kai’s Soul did not get destroyed and his consciousness remained intact; however, that was not the case with Mu’s gift. The Dao Strengths within her Space-Time River were not poison; on the contrary, they were the greatest of supplements. The situation came down to whether Yang Kai could digest everything he had been given or not.
The Soul Warming Lotus could not do much in this situation as it was Yang Kai who took the initiative to refine and absorb everything inside Mu’s Space-Time River. It was up to him to take the many Dao Strengths in for himself.
Yang Kai’s Space-Time River, which had been like a snake earlier, was rapidly expanding. As it grew bigger, its speed of devouring and refining increased as well.
A sudden surge of pressure made Yang Kai’s skin split apart and blood poured out at once.
It was hard for him to withstand everything with his current strength.
Not daring to hesitate for even a breath, a sonorous Dragon Roar rang out and a massive Dragon manifested. Now that Yang Kai had assumed his Dragon Form, the burden on his body eased a lot.
However, the shining golden light of the Divine Dragon looked different now. The concentrated Dao Strengths circled Yang Kai’s Dragon Form in an attempt to transform him into Dao Strengths, but his Dragon Scales tensed up to block the encroachment.
Dragon Roars kept ringing out inside the meandering Space-Time River.
Meanwhile, outside the Space-Time River, Mo growled softly as his Source pieces which had been suppressed and sealed in the past were returning to him. His power was increasing at an alarming rate.
While Yang Kai was struggling with himself, Mo calmly observed the situation occurring inside the Space-Time River.
The Source pieces he regained were the ones that had been taken away from him in the past, so he was simply reabsorbing them now. Still, he had not fully regained everything yet.
Instead of hatred or resentment though, Mo merely had a complicated look on his face.
Just as he had said in his final conversation with Mu, although his mere existence brought harm, since he had gained sentience, he had the right to fight to survive. It was not fair for him to be locked behind a door forever.
Black Ink Strength was the root of his existence, and his consciousness had simply emerged from it. Even without Mo, something else that was similar would have come out of the darkness eventually…
“I should thank you!” Mo murmured as he cupped his fist lightly, reabsorbing all of the remaining Source pieces.
In the past, he could barely control his own strength as it had grown beyond his ability to manipulate; however, Yang Kai’s earlier efforts had sealed over 30% of his Source Strength behind the Profound Source Gate.
Although this weakened Mo’s maximum strength, it came with the silver lining of granting him far better control of what strength remained.
Thus, in Mo’s current state, he was even more threatening than when he was at the peak of his power!
He raised his hand and made a grabbing motion directed at the river as he snarled, “Come out!”
He did not want anyone to touch what Mu left behind. Previously, to protect the Primordial World from destruction, Mo even voluntarily left the Primordial World and jumped out of the Space-Time River as he feared that his overwhelming strength would destroy it.
The Space-Time River was the final piece of Mu that remained!
A Dragon Roar escaped from the Space-Time River. Yang Kai, who was busy refining the Dao Strengths, suddenly felt something grabbing onto him to drag him out of the river.
He did not sense Mo’s presence, but he was certain it was the latter’s doing.
All along, Yang Kai had been curious to know the extent of Mo’s power, about what the legendary Creation Realm was like.
At last, Yang Kai personally experienced just how terrifying Mo’s might was.
Mo’s strength remained this immense despite the two of them being separated by two Space-Time Rivers. Without the Space-Time Rivers, Yang Kai estimated that he, a Ninth-Order Master and a Divine Dragon, would not be able to withstand more than three of Mo’s attacks before he perished!
[I can’t let him drag me out!]
There was a chance for him to put up a fight if he remained hidden inside Mu’s Space-Time River, but if he did get pulled out, he was doomed to die!
Yang Kai knew what he had to do, and with a roar, he began harnessing the strength of the Space-Time Rivers in a frenzied manner to attempt to cut off the force that was constraining him.
Even though the force came from outside the rivers, it could not be cut off so easily. Furthermore, Yang Kai could not wield his full strength in his present condition.
His Space-Time River was busy refining the Dao Strengths from Mu’s river, and as the complex and mysterious mix of Dao Strengths surged, much of his focus was diverted to protecting his Soul to avoid being refined into Dao Strengths himself.
Both parties had their reasons for holding back, so for the moment, it was a stalemate.
Outside the river, Mo’s eyes flashed with surprise. He did not think that Yang Kai would be able to put up a fight, but he doubled down and called out impatiently, “Come out on your own, or else, I don’t mind heading in myself!”
Mo did not want to destroy the final memory he had of Mu. He knew that some shadows of Mu remained inside the Space-Time River, so he wanted to preserve them. If he entered the Space-Time River, he was undoubtedly going to inflict irreparable harm and the shadows could very well be destroyed. This was not an outcome he could accept.
However, all Mo received in response was even more ferocious Dragon Roars that came from within the river.
Mo’s eyes flashed with displeasure, “How stubborn! I’m giving you one last chance! I can promise you that once this battle is over, I’ll give the Humans a Great Territory where they can carry on living free of the corruption from Black Ink Strength, which will never enter that Great Territory!”
This was the most it was willing to compromise.
Mu was gone and the remaining Humans no longer mattered to him. He was only willing to give the Humans the space of a single Great Territory for their race to survive for the sake of protecting Mu’s Space Time River!
“In your dreams!” The Dragon Roar exploded out of the Space-Time River. Through the restriction of the Dao Strengths, Mo could vaguely see a pair of large golden eyes staring in its direction.
“Foolish impudence!” Mo coldly snorted in response. He then took a step forward to enter the Space-Time River.
However, as soon as he stepped into the river, the water surged and the power of all the Dao Strengths rushed about to block his path. He had to pause outside the river instead.
It looked as if Mo was stuck outside the river as endless waves crashed down upon him, but he was still slowly making his way forward.
Mo could not be stopped!
Yang Kai’s expression hardened. He had refined quite a lot of the Dao Strengths from Mu’s Space-Time River in a short span of time and strengthened his own Space-Time River greatly. He was even able to use a bit of the strength from Mu’s river itself; but even so, it was not his strength so he could not wield it freely.
He had no way of keeping Mo out if the latter chose to force his way in.
Soon, Yang Kai made up his mind. Since he could not keep Mo out, he was not going to even try. The Space-Time River was a mysterious place made up of the solidified Grand Daos with Space-Time Dao Strength as its foundation.
Even if Mo entered the river, it would not be easy for him to locate Yang Kai.
The only thing Yang Kai could do now was to avoid Mo’s attacks while doing his best to refine the river and strengthen himself.
As long as he could grow powerful enough, he could put up a fight against Mo.
Just as Yang Kai prepared himself for this final gambit, Mo, who was busy pushing his way into the river, abruptly turned his head around and looked over his shoulder.
He had sensed something strange…
A brief moment later, a spark of white light appeared in the distance where countless Masters from the Black Ink Clan were stationed. The white light shrouded a figure which was travelling at astonishing speed.
Everywhere this figure passed, all of the Black Ink Clansmen turned into a sea of black blood, be they simple soldiers or Royal Lords.
In just a flash, the white light arrived at the Space-Time River and Zhang Ruo Xi’s figure appeared.
She looked around and immediately established the situation, her eyes flashing darkly as they fixed on Mo.
When their eyes met, Mo froze in place.
He did not expect a Master like her to exist! Based on the information he had, the strongest Humans were only the Ninth-Order Masters, and even among their other allies, the strongest were merely Giant Spirit Gods.
Yet, the woman who just arrived… had an aura that seemed even stronger than that of a Giant Spirit God.
When Mo sensed the clean and pure strength of the new arrival, his expression suddenly contorted as he roared, “It’s you!”
He recognised the source of that strength!
Zhang Ruo Xi understood what Mo meant. When the Burning Light and Serene Glimmer’s strength finally harmonized in the Chaotic Dead Territory, the memories of her Heavens Order Bloodline began awakening, so she was not completely clueless about the events of the ancient past.
Thus, when she heard what Mo said, she cooly replied, “Yes… and no!”
“It is! It’s you!” Mo’s expression had changed rather drastically. Even when Yang Kai suppressed and sealed over 30% of his Source, he took everything in stride and could even thank the latter; however, when Mo saw Zhang Ruo Xi, the darkness hidden deep within him overtook everything else. He leapt out of the Space-Time River and murderously flew over to Zhang Ruo Xi, but all of a sudden, he stopped and shook his head as he muttered, “No. That can’t be!”
Black Ink Strength continued to surge through him before he suddenly lifted his head and levelled a vicious glare at Zhang Ruo Xi and bellowed, “No, it is you!”
Mo behaved as if he had lost his mind and he began to mumble and contradict himself, seemingly completely out of sorts.
All of a sudden, he flashed forwards and reappeared in front of Zhang Ruo Xi, sending his fist flying as he roared, “Why!?”
When the gate formed, Primordial Light and Primordial Darkness came into existence.
From then on, their paths differed entirely. The Primordial Light signified all that was good and wonderful in the Universe, and as soon as it was born, it left and became the colours of everything in existence.
On the other hand, the Primordial Darkness remained suppressed and sealed behind the gate. Time went on, and even when it developed its own consciousness, it could not escape. It was stuck in an endless sea of darkness and loneliness.
Even the Primordial Darkness craved the light!
If it had not been for Mu’s pity and its own persistent efforts, it would still be suppressed and sealed inside the gate right now, with no hope of ever getting out.
[Why!? We both came into existence together, so why did the Primordial Light get to leave while I, the darkness, had to remain in isolation?]
Mo sent his fist crashing down at Zhang Ruo Xi, but his interrogative cry for an answer was not directed at her, it was directed at the Heavenly Way which had been so unfair.
Zhang Ruo Xi’s Heaven’s Order Sword rose to block Mo’s furious strike which sent her flying away in a flash of white light.
A mere breath later, she flew back and stood in front of Mo, her brow furrowed as she studied him.
She could sense that there was something amiss about Mo’s present state.
Just as Mo had previously said to Mu, Mu and the Humans had made the right choice when they suppressed and sealed him inside the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction.
As his power grew, his consciousness was barely able to control his own power. If Mu and the other Humans had not suppressed and sealed him, everything would have already been wiped from existence.
Yang Kai traversed across over 2,000 Universe Worlds and suppressed and sealed about a third of Mo’s Source Strength. Although this weakened Mo’s maximum power, it proved to be of great help to Mo as well, for he was now able to have full control over his strength.
However, when Mo saw Zhang Ruo Xi and sensed her power which entirely opposed its own, Black Ink Strength consumed his mind.
Light and darkness had always been opposing forms of existence.
The separation of the gate was the only reason why both came into existence at the same time.
Now that both of these opposing powers stood before each other, it turned into a battle that would not end until one was vanquished!
Black Ink Strength surged and gathered into an endless sea that seemed to drown out the entire void before charging straight at Zhang Ruo Xi and completely shrouding her.
Zhang Ruo Xi’s wings flickered behind her as her Heaven’s Order Sword lightly tapped the spot at her feet. All at once, light burst forth and vanquished the spreading darkness.
However, Mo seized this chance to draw nearer, swinging both his fists down at Zhang Ruo Xi.
She blocked with her sword but was once again sent tumbling.
After her many years of hard cultivation back in the Chaotic Dead Territory, her power had grown by leaps and bounds thanks to her Heaven’s Order Bloodline as well as the power of the Sun’s Burning Light and Moon’s Serene Glimmer.
In terms of pure prowess alone, she was stronger than a Giant Spirit God and no Royal Lord could withstand more than three attacks from her.
That being said, now that she was up against Mo’s frenzied attacks, she was at a complete disadvantage and could not even hold her ground against him.
The Primordial Light had left as soon as it came into existence, it then split the power of Yin and Yang from itself. Afterwards, it crashed into what would become the Divine Spirit Ancestral Land and brought forth the many Divine Spirits and a Human woman who possessed the Heaven’s Order Bloodline.
If Zhang Ruo Xi could have gathered the pure power of Yin and Yang, and all of the Divine Spirits, then with the help of the Heaven’s Order Bloodline, she could have brought forth the full power of the Primordial Light once more.
Alas, too many Divine Spirits had perished, and the surviving ones numbered far too few in comparison to their peak.
Even if Zhang Ruo Xi wanted to try and bring forth the true power of the Primordial Light, there was no way for her to accomplish that.
In other words, the strength she possessed now was incomplete.
However, Black Ink Strength was incomplete as well. Zhang Ruo Xi could sense the many gaps in Mo’s Source.
Nevertheless, even in this state, Mo was still the one with the upper hand as he had continued to grow stronger over millions of years.
After just a brief exchange, Zhang Ruo Xi knew full well that she was not Mo’s equal. She could only hold out for another half-hour or so before she would be defeated.
And, from the ruthless, murderous look on Mo’s face right now, if she were to be defeated, death was the only outcome that awaited her.
She had no choice!
Zhang Ruo Xi let out a soft sigh, and after blocking yet another one of Mo’s attacks, she raised her hand and made a grabbing motion as she cried out, “Come!”
A devastating battle had broken out outside the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction.
When Zhang Ruo Xi was around, her strength alone had been enough to deter the Black Ink Clan, making them fearfully hide in the darkness.
However, once she left, the Black Ink Clan sensed that their Supreme One had regained its power so they jumped into action.
They emerged from the darkness and challenged the Small Stone Race Army.
All at once, brutal fights exploded across the void.
The Small Stone Race Army numbered in the hundreds of millions, but the Black Ink Clan Army that emerged from the endless darkness far surpassed even that. This was the result of Mo’s accumulation over millions of years, so it was impossible to imagine just how many Masters from the Black Ink Clan there were right now.
There was no lack of Royal Lords either.
Faced with such a massive Army, the Human Race Army which only numbered a couple tens of millions was nothing more than a drop in the ocean.
It was only now that the Humans realised just how ridiculous their crusade was. If the Human Race had to face off against that many Masters from the Black Ink Clan alone, they had no chance of winning.
Thankfully, Zhang Ruo Xi brought the Small Stone Race Army with her!
Hundreds of millions of Small Stone Race Soldiers bore the brunt of the battle, so the Humans had a fighting chance.
Though the Human Race Army was far smaller in number, it consisted entirely of elite Masters whose strength could not be underestimated.
Under Mi Jing Lun’s command, the Human Army moved in an organized fashion to attack the Black Ink Clan and grind down their power. If someone from the Black Ink Clan was targeted by the Humans, their fate was sealed as they had no means of escaping. The Humans had grown stronger too and had dozens of Ninth-Order Masters among their ranks.
Furthermore, Wu Kuang no longer needed to control the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, and thus, the terror of the Heaven Devouring Battle Law was unleashed for all to see.
Relying on the heritage of a Peak Ninth-Order Master, Wu Kuang weaved through the Black Ink Clan Army alone and killed all in his path. Even the Royal Lords could not stop him.
The situation with the two Giant Spirit Gods had changed as well. At the start of the battle, they had to guard the opening at the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction and had been besieged by swarms of Royal Lords as a result.
Now that the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction was no more, they were no longer pinned down. Nothing held Ah Da and Ah Er back anymore, so they worked together to rampage through the Black Ink Clan Army.
Everywhere they went, they crushed the enemy in their path.
Furthermore, there were also the eight Ninth-Order Small Stone Race Masters!
These eight were scattered across the Black Ink Clan Army as they slaughtered their opponents. Though it looked as if they were fighting separately, their auras remained connected in a Battle Formation that could bolster the strength of any one of them at any moment.
Some of the more arrogant Royal Lords had suffered due to ignorance and died from a single blow from them as a result.
Even though the Royal Lords might be as powerful as the Ninth-Order Small Stone Race Masters, their opponent could borrow the strength of their fellow Masters at any time, completely blindsiding the Royal Lords.
In this, the fiercest battle to have ever taken place in Human history, huge swaths of soldiers from the Small Stone Race and Black Ink Clan died every second.
The Divine Spirits who received the Great Sun and Great Moon Marks from Yang Kai weaved through the battlefield to wield the power of the two Marks.
Each time they did so, yellow and blue light would shoot out from the rocks left behind by the fallen Small Stone Race members. The two lights merged and turned into dazzling Purifying Light that killed scores of the Black Ink Clan Army. At the same time, it cleared the Black Ink Strength left behind by the deaths of the Black Ink Clansmen, thus changing the environment of the battlefield.
The Human Race Army kept snaking their way around the battlefield without ever coming to a stop as they would be surrounded by the Black Ink Clan if they did.
The situation was dire and fraught with tension.
Even an old veteran like Mi Jing Lun could not predict how this battle would ultimately go.
The Armies on both sides were too great in numbers; the battle had to proceed for some time before the chances of victory grew clearer.
The Human Race and the Small Stone Race Armies simply had to work together to persistently slaughter their enemy and fight to emerge victorious!
Everyone knew that this was the final battle. If they won, peace would return to all the lands, but if they lost… The Humans had come to terms with the outcome of a defeat. All they could do now was give their all for one last time.
Even though the Humans focused on the outskirts of the battlefield, they were still under a lot of pressure. Now and then, the Black Ink Clan Army would try to cut them off and they would have to carve out a path for themselves through blood and slaughter.
One after another, numerous Warships exploded and the Human Race Masters died alongside them. Amidst this battlefield, even the Divine Spirits were at risk of peril.
A clear Phoenix cry echoed through the void as the 30 or so different-coloured Phoenixes transformed into their True Forms and spread their wings.
They were the only remaining clansmen of the Phoenix Clan!
The Phoenix Clansmen were carefully guarding the giant Parasol Tree in their centre, their Sacred Treasure.
They had not used their Sacred Treasure in any of their precious battles as it was the foundation of their existence. All of the Phoenix Clan came from the Immortal Parasol Tree.
However, this was the final battle, so the Phoenix Clan no longer held back.
A white Phoenix, together with its clansmen, sat on the Parasol Tree and wielded the power of the Sacred Treasure, causing space to twist and contort.
The contortions circled the Human Race Army, and as the Space rippled, the Humans vanished.
At the very next breath, the Human Race Army emerged in a completely different part of the battlefield where the situation was dire.
The Small Stone Race Army’s defence lines were on the verge of breaking; however, the Black Ink Clan had been caught off-guard by the sudden appearance of the Human Race Army and soon, the situation stabilised as the Black Ink Clan suffered heavy casualties.
Once again, Space rippled…
With the help of the power of the Phoenix Clan and the Immortal Parasol Tree, the Human Race Army shuttled the Void to different parts of the battlefield to stop the Black Ink Clan’s frenzied attempts to break through the front lines.
Nevertheless, the Phoenix Clan’s aid could not be sustained forever. After numerous uses of their strength, they could no longer maintain their True Forms and reverted back to their Human Forms, the Immortal Parasol Tree then weakened and dimmed.
Without the blessing of the Immortal Parasol Tree, the Humans lost their ability to freely traverse the battlefield. Worse, what they had done earlier drew the attention of countless Masters from the Black Ink Clan, and now, the Black Ink Clan charged at the Humans in a bid to seek vengeance by wiping them out for good.
Dragon Roars then rang out as the Dragon Clan combined their strength and summoned the Crystal Palace.
Similarly, numerous Sacred Treasures were summoned across the battlefield. These were the foundation of the various Divine Spirit Clans, and every single one of them had gone through countless years of accumulation and refinement. The Divine Spirits would not summon them unless their very existence was threatened.
The Divine Spirits harnessed the power of their Sacred Treasures to aid the Human Race Army in the fight to slaughter their common enemy. There were also two Giant Spirit Gods and eight Ninth-Order Small Stone Race Masters thundering across the battlefield. Meanwhile, the Small Stone Race Army which numbered hundreds of millions staunchly held the front lines. As a result, compared to the Small Stone Race and the Humans, the Black Ink Clan suffered far greater casualties on the battlefield.
At some point, the Human Race Masters began to see glimmers of hope for a victorious outcome.
Alas, their hopes were soon dashed.
The eight Ninth-Order Small Stone Race Masters who had been busy exterminating the enemy seemed to have been summoned by someone. With their aura connected, they charged through the Black Ink Clan Army and headed deep within the darkness. Soon, they disappeared from sight.
No one knew where they went exactly; however, Zhang Ruo Xi had gone off in that direction earlier, and terrifying shockwaves were now rippling out from that area.
Atop the tattered Pure Yang Pass, Mi Jing Lun’s heart sank as he realised that Zhang Ruo Xi must have encountered some kind of trouble.
Based on the strength Zhang Ruo Xi exhibited earlier, the only threat against her had to be Mo!
The Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction had been destroyed and Mo had awakened; thus, the battle reached its final, most critical climax.
The departure of the eight Ninth-Order Small Stone Races greatly eased the pressure on the Black Ink Clan.
The eight of them had focused on killing off Territory Lords and Royal Lords, with many of the latter suffering or even dying to the targeted attacks.
Now that the Ninth-Order Small Stone Race Masters left the battlefield, there were only the two Giant Spirit Gods remaining, and Ah Da and Ah Er could not kill off the Royal Lords as swiftly as the eight Ninth-Order Small Stone Race Masters.
In the end, size was the deciding factor.
Naturally, the Ninth-Order Small Stone Race Masters were weaker than the Giant Spirit Gods, but they were the same size as Humans and could move around deftly. Any Royal Lord they had their eyes on could not escape from them.
The same could not be said for the Giant Spirit Gods; they were too massive, and though their strength was unparalleled, they were not nearly as nimble or flexible.
Each time they attacked, large swaths of the Black Ink Clansmen would die, but those who reacted in time could still escape.
Thus, now that the eight Ninth-Order Small Stone Race Masters left the battlefield, the Royal Lords were a lot less hindered and could do much more, such as grouping up to besiege the Human Race Army!
The Black Ink Clan realised that even though the Small Stone Race Army made up the majority on the battlefield, the Humans were the true driving force behind the battle. Furthermore, compared to the hundreds of millions of Small Stone Race Soldiers, it was easier to wipe out the Humans, who only numbered in the tens of millions.
As long as they killed off all the Humans, they would emerge victorious, regardless of the casualties they suffered.
All at once, the Human Race Army was under great pressure as they became the primary targets of the Black Ink Clan.
…..
Deep inside the void, the intense battle between Zhang Ruo Xi and Mo continued. It was the first time that the Primordial Light and Darkness were together again since the dawn of creation, and as they clashed, the Universe seemed to shatter and break.
Mo seemed to have lost all reason as the fury that built up throughout all the aeons poured out at once, leaving Zhang Ruo Xi with barely any room to fight back.
From a distance, the light and darkness could be seen clashing, with the ocean of darkness keeping the light completely surrounded. Only a feeble flicker of light could be seen coming from the centre of the conflict.
Darkness was constantly clawing at the light, and it looked as if the latter would be extinguished at any moment.
Despite having over 30% of his Source suppressed and sealed, Mo’s might was still immeasurable and impossible to imagine. At the very least, he was more than what Zhang Ruo Xi could handle.
Earlier on, she estimated that she could hold out for half an hour, but now that they were well and truly engaged, she realised she had underestimated her opponent.
The power of the Primordial Light had been dispersed, much of it disappearing with the death of the Divine Spirits. All that was left were the Heaven’s Order Bloodline and the power of the Yin and Yang. Therefore, the Primordial Light had lost even more of its strength than Mo.
As the fight went on, Mo grew fiercer. Black Ink Strength surged and it looked as if he was on the verge of completely devouring Zhang Ruo Xi.
Zhang Ruo Xi was at a great disadvantage, and her situation only eased once she summoned the eight Ninth-Order Small Stone Race Masters over.
They left the main battlefield and swiftly headed straight over to Zhang Ruo Xi. From a distance, their connected auras linked up with Zhang Ruo Xi’s, and a Battle Formation was instantly formed!
Previously, the Eight Trigrams Formation formed by the eight Ninth-Order Small Stone Race Masters had stunned the Human Race Masters, but if they saw what was happening now, they would have no words to describe their shock and awe.
Zhang Ruo Xi and the eight Ninth-Order Small Stone Race Masters formed a Nine Palaces Formation, the most powerful of all Battle Formations!
Zhang Ruo Xi acted as the Core while the eight Ninth-Order Small Stone Race Masters formed the base.
All at once, Ruo Xi’s power soared and she was no longer cornered without any means of fighting back.
The flash of light expanded amid the darkness and broke free of its restraints. It now had the power to fight back and cover a greater area in brightness.
Mo sensed this change and grew even more furious, unleashing even more concentrated Black Ink Strength from his body.
The two continued to clash, and each time light and darkness collided, darkness would spread out behind Mo, while light and the eight Ninth-Order Small Stone Race Masters followed closely behind Zhang Ruo Xi.
Time and time again, the two smashed against each other, neither side showing any signs of backing down!
With each clash, the Void crumbled and shattered. A battle of such immense power had never occurred before, and it would never occur again. This was a battle between the primordial forces of existence.
The intense fight went on for hours, with no side able to overwhelm the other.
With the help of the Battle Formation with her Small Stone Race Personal Guard, Zhang Ruo Xi could finally oppose Mo on even footing.
Nevertheless, this was merely a Battle Formation and not her own strength.
The prolonged fight not only continued to add to the pressure that Zhang Ruo Xi faced, but even the Ninth-Order Small Stone Race Masters were struggling.
The Ninth-Order Small Stone Race Masters had tough bodies, weaker than Yang Kai’s Divine Dragon physique, but not by much. Under normal circumstances, they would not be facing any issues.
However, the long and intense fight proved to be a burden that was slowly exceeding their ability to bear.
Cracks began to appear on the bodies of the Ninth-Order Small Stone Race Masters, and as Zhang Ruo Xi and Mo continued to clash, these cracks grew. Soon, the cracks weaved across their bodies like spider-webs.
It could be seen that once the cracks reached a certain point, even the Ninth-Order Small Stone Race Masters would crumble into a pile of rocks.
These Small Stone Races were Ruo Xi’s Personal Guard. They had been groomed with great difficulty and were intrinsically connected to her, so she could sense the state of every single one of them. Therefore, when she picked up on their injuries, she realised that things were looking bad for them.
She was only able to fight Mo because she had formed a Battle Formation with her Small Stone Race Personal Guard, but if something happened to the latter, the Battle Formation would collapse, even if only one of them died. Once that happened, it would be impossible for her to hold her own against Mo.
Once this thought occurred to her, Zhang Ruo Xi changed her strategy. Instead of confronting Mo head-on, she took a defensive stance to drag the fight out.
She did not know what her Sir was doing now, but all along, she knew that he was capable of doing things no one else could and she held strongly to this belief. [Sir can always make a miracle happen even in a hopeless situation!]
Therefore, regardless of what he was doing now, she had to try and buy him enough time.
Her new strategy worked. When two opponents were evenly matched, one could not accomplish much if the other was determined to prolong the fight.
The intense fight turned into a chase instead. Ruo Xi and her eight Small Stone Race Personal Guard kept flitting about, and even though Mo wielded his immense power wildly, he could not pin down and suppress her.
Mo, who had already lost his senses, became even more incensed, releasing bestial snarls and roars in an unending cacophony.
When Mo first emerged from the Space-Time River, he looked no different from a regular Human, apart from his Black Ink Strength. However, when Zhang Ruo Xi showed up, the Black Ink Strength surged and overtook his mind.
At this point, Mo no longer looked Human. Ruo Xi’s appearance and subsequent actions seemed to have driven him mad.
All of a sudden, Mo stopped chasing Zhang Ruo Xi.
As Zhang Ruo Xi puzzled over this, Mo abruptly turned around and charged towards the Space-Time River.
Ruo Xi’s expression stiffened!
Although Mo had been so agitated that he lost his senses, his battle instincts remained. Since Zhang Ruo Xi was equal in strength to him, he could not get rid of her, so he changed his target to Yang Kai who was still within the Space-Time River.
Even in his blurry state, he was still determined to protect the Space-Time River. He was not going to let anyone touch the final trace of Mu!
Upon seeing that Mo was turning back, Zhang Ruo Xi swiftly chased after him. Light flashed as she stopped him and engaged in a frontal battle again.
After a brief skirmish, Ruo Xi repeated her old tactic and quickly retreated. This led to a furious Mo pursuing her in the opposite direction of the Space-Time River.
Mo kept up the chase for a while, but when his efforts proved fruitless, he turned around again.
Once again, Ruo Xi caught up to him…
By doing this over and over again, she managed to occupy Mo’s attention.
Nonetheless, Zhang Ruo Xi knew this was only a temporary measure. She could tell that Mo was not in the right state of mind at the moment, which was why he did not notice what she was doing with her fairly crude strategy.
However, with each clash, the power of the light would wipe out some of the darkness, and similarly, the darkness would devour the light. In other words, both light and darkness were weakening each other each time they collided.
Zhang Ruo Xi could clearly sense that she was greatly weakened by the many hours of fighting, and the same was true of Mo.
Once the Black Ink Strength was weakened to a certain extent, Mo would most likely regain his senses, and when that time came, she would no longer be able to use this strategy to keep him occupied.
Furthermore, Ruo Xi was even more worried by the fact that the eight Ninth-Order Small Stone Race Masters would not be able to hold out much longer. Their bodies were covered in cracks now and it looked as if they would crumble at the slightest touch.
She was doing her best to keep the head-on confrontations with Mo to a minimum, but if she wanted to stop Mo from heading to the Space-Time River, she had to resort to things that she knew she should not!
Now that things had come to this, Zhang Ruo Xi had no other choice. She could only do her best to keep Mo occupied as she fervently hoped that Yang Kai sped up whatever he was doing; otherwise, once her Personal Guards could no longer hold out anymore, she would not be able to stop Mo alone.
Within Mu’s Space-Time River, Yang Kai was shrouded in his own Space-Time River as he used it to greedily devour everything around him.
The river was made out of Dao Strengths. Every single undercurrent and wave surged with Dao Strength, and as time passed, Yang Kai’s Space-Time River grew bigger while Mu’s river shrank.
It was entirely by chance, but it could not be denied that Yang Kai and Mu had walked the same path. This gave meaning to Mu’s countless years of patience and perseverance.
Due to trying to open the Profound Source Gate in the past, Mu’s Space-Time River was no longer complete, which cut off her future path. She could not explore the deeper mysteries of the Martial Dao; therefore, she passed down her hopes to those who came after her.
Among all the hidden hands she left behind, her Space-Time River was the final gift she had to offer; however, if a person wanted to harness this gift to make themselves more powerful, it would take time.
Perhaps even Mu would not have expected Yang Kai to be approved by so many of her remnant shadows.
Under normal circumstances, if Black Ink Strength had the irrefutable advantage in any of the 3,000 Universe Worlds and there was no hope of suppressing and sealing that particular Source piece, there would be no reason for Yang Kai to waste any time on that Universe World.
Nevertheless, during Yang Kai’s previous travels, he did his best to find every single remaining shadow of Mu. He wanted to save them all from their suffering and take them away from the Universe Worlds.
Each one that disappeared signified that the Mu of that time approved of Yang Kai.
After moving through some 2,700 Universe Worlds, Yang Kai received approval from over 2,000 of them, which was a massive number.
This allowed him to devour and refine Mu’s Space-Time River with greater efficiency.
As Yang Kai’s river kept expanding, his command over the many Dao Strengths increased as well. The enlightenment from the many mysteries exploded in his mind.
Yang Kai was deeply engrossed and could not extricate himself from what was happening inside his mind.
The joy of glimpsing into the mysteries of every Grand Dao was impossibly tantalising for any Master.
Grand Daos were the basis behind all existence and the ultimate goal of all cultivators. If someone were to be entirely immersed in this, there was a chance that they would forget all else and transform into Dao Strengths themselves.
This meant that Yang Kai’s situation was tricky as well; on the one hand, he had to resist the lure of the Dao Strengths, while on the other, he had to do his best to take them in to strengthen his own mastery of the Grand Daos.
He tried his best to maintain the balance of refining as quickly as possible while still remaining in control over his senses, making sure to not let himself be lost in the process.
All of a sudden, his mind felt as if it had received an awakening. It was as if he had broken through a barrier that had been preventing him from growing stronger.
Yang Kai realised that his mastery of the Dao of Time had reached the Ninth Level!
A Master’s strength was essentially divided based on their cultivation. Of the nine Orders of the Open Heaven Realm, each higher Order was much stronger than the previous. It was a clear and easy way of distinguishing between Masters.
However, this kind of division was not comprehensive and there could be great disparity in power even among Masters in the same Order of Open Heaven Realm.
The disparity came from the difference in accumulation of each Master, the power differential in the heritage of the Master’s Small Universe, as well as… the Master’s understanding of their Grand Daos.
The Open Heaven Realm involved the discovery and mastery of Grand Dao. In a sense, the higher the mastery of one’s Grand Dao, the stronger the Master.
Since the dawn of existence, no one had a clear way of defining the levels of mastery of the Grand Dao.
Thus, Yang Kai had split the mastery of Grand Daos into nine levels based on his own growth.
Superficial Contact, Peering Through the Doors, Taking the Initial Steps, Traversing a Familiar Path, Attaining Mastery Through Comprehensive Understanding, Exceeding the Ordinary to Reach the Extraordinary, Standing Above All Others Within Sight, Summiting the Peak, and finally Shocking History and Dazzling the Present!
This was merely his own method of division, one he shared with others, and some had adopted it. Until now, none tried to correct it.
Yang Kai felt that he had differentiated them correctly.
His primary Grand Daos were the Dao of Time and the Dao of Space. These were the Dao Strengths that formed the basis of the Space-Time River; however, despite his many opportunities and his mastery over the Grand Daos, after all this time, he had only managed to cultivate the Dao of Time and the Dao of Space to the Eighth Level.
All this while, Yang Kai did not know how to break through to the Ninth Level; however, he had a vague feeling that if his mastery of the Dao of Time reached the Ninth Level, an indescribable change was bound to happen.
Finally, as Yang Kai refined Mu’s Space-Time River, he was able to make a breakthrough on one of his primary Grand Daos, allowing it to reach the Ninth Level!
[To think it’s the Dao of Time first! Not the Dao of Space!] Yang Kai had always thought it would have been the latter that would be the first to reach the Ninth Level of mastery.
Yang Kai was a little taken aback as the Dao of Space was the first one that he truly cultivated. He had his Dragon Source to thank for his ability to cultivate the Dao of Time to its current level.
The Dao of Time was the Bloodline Talent of the Dragon Clan.
All at once, Yang Kai gained a mysterious sense of understanding. As he lifted his hand ever so slightly within the Space-Time River, he seemed to be able to grab onto the flow of Time!
In the past, he was able to make Time flow quicker within his Space-Time River to cultivate 10 times faster, but he could not truly control the passage of Time.
But, he could do so now!
With the increase in Yang Kai’s command over the Dao of Time, his Dragon Vein surged and he could not stop himself from raising his head and letting out a Dragon Roar. His Dragon Scales rustled as his Dragon Form enlarged!
His Dragon Vein had advanced even further.
This was a great surprise.
However, before Yang Kai could dwell on his joy, his mastery over his other primary Grand Dao broke into the Ninth Level as well.
This time, it was the Dao of Space!
Once again, the mysterious sense of enlightenment flooded Yang Kai’s mind. He felt his mind grow hazy. It was as if it had been stuffed full with the truth of the Grand Daos, which he did not understand in the past. The truth of existence was unfolding in front of him.
He quickly harnessed the strength of his Soul Warming Lotus, even though he was uncertain whether it would help.
The clarity that poured back into his mind made him feel a little better.
Now that Yang Kai’s mastery of both the Dao of Space and the Dao of Time had reached the Ninth Level, his Space-Time River became even more massive.
Previously, his Space-Time River looked like a blade of grass in comparison to Mu’s river, which was like a tall tree; however, after all the refining he had done thus far, his river grew bigger and could now be likened to a shrub instead.
While the tree was still a tree, it had grown a lot smaller.
That was not the only difference. At first, Yang Kai had a hard time keeping up with his frenzied attempt to refine Mu’s river to strengthen his own.
The Dao Strengths of Space and Time formed the foundation of the river, and without a strong enough command over both, it was hard for Yang Kai to control the colossal river.
It was akin to a building. If a building’s foundation had only been built for five storeys, the building ran the risk of collapsing if 10 storeys were built instead.
Yang Kai’s command over the Daos of Time and Dao of Space was the foundation in this scenario, and by having a greater mastery over these two Grand Daos, his foundation became stronger. This transformation was evident in the river’s physical state. While it looked a little scattered earlier, it was now a lot more concentrated.
With the Grand Daos of Space and Time breaking through to the Ninth Level of mastery, Yang Kai’s Space-Time River now had a stronger foundation; thus, it began devouring and refining Mu’s Space-Time River at a far quicker rate.
As the frenzy of devouring and refining continued, Yang Kai’s mastery over the Grand Daos increased as well.
Next was a breakthrough in the Spear Dao…
Then, a breakthrough in the Sword Dao…
Breakthroughs in the Alchemic Dao, Array Dao, and Yin-Yang Dao soon followed…
Yang Kai’s understanding of each Grand Dao rose in rapid succession. The barriers were broken through and he achieved a new height of mastery.
With each breakthrough, Yang Kai’s mind was filled with strange and wondrous enlightenment, granting him further clarity in each Grand Dao.
Outside the Space-Time River, light and darkness continued to clash.
Both the Primordial Light and Primordial Darkness did not possess their full power anymore, but as the darkness remained whole and continued to grow over the years, Mo had become a lot more powerful than Zhang Ruo Xi.
This held true even when Yang Kai had used the Profound Source Gate to suppress and seal a third of his Source.
Mo would have regained all of his strength and be even more powerful right now if it had not been for the many hidden hands Mu left behind.
Zhang Ruo Xi could only just barely challenge Mo to a fight with the help of the Nine Palaces Formation she formed with her eight Small Stone Race Personal Guard.
In just a few hours though, the eight Small Stone Race Masters were littered with cracks. It looked as if they could crumble into a pile of rubble at any moment now.
Zhang Ruo Xi tried her best to buy time, but she did not know how much longer she could continue to hold out. All she could do was fervently hope that Yang Kai could hurry up.
Each time light and darkness collided, their respective powers wore down the other. Light dispelled darkness while darkness devoured light.
Time and time again, Zhang Ruo Xi and Mo continued to weaken each other. This was most evident in the way Ruo Xi’s white wings had dimmed and Mo seemed to have lost some of his prior madness.
[This is not a good sign,] Zhang Ruo Xi could tell that Mo, as the consciousness that sprung from Primordial Darkness, did not have full control over Black Ink Strength. The years of growth and accumulation had made the power increase beyond Mo’s ability to freely wield.
That was the reason why her arrival bearing the strength of the Primordial Light had drawn out the frenzied resentment of the Primordial Darkness and caused Mo to lose his rationality.
At the same time, Mo had an instinctive, obsessive yearning and protectiveness of Mu’s Space-Time River. Even his subconscious would not allow anyone to touch what Mu had left behind.
As Black Ink Strength clashed with Mo’s consciousness, his actions began displaying contradicting desires. At times, he fiercely chased down Zhang Ruo Xi, but at times, he turned back around to head for the Space-Time River.
Zhang Ruo Xi relied on this dichotomy to provoke Mo and keep him occupied; however, once Mo regained his senses, it would not be so easy for her to do so.
Although Mo currently possessed strength that surpassed all others, he was currently behaving like a wild beast without a sense of rationality, so Zhang Ruo Xi could still deal with him by employing the right strategy.
Even though Mo regaining his rationality meant that his raw power would be weaker, Zhang Ruo Xi was not confident that she could stop him then.
What one feared the most was often the very thing to occur. As the clashes continued, Zhang Ruo Xi could sense that Mo’s gaze was getting clearer.
To make things worse, her Personal Guard could barely hold out anymore.
That was not the only bad news though. Even her strength, which relied on her Heaven’s Order Bloodline to harmonize the powers of Yin and Yang, was beginning to show signs of instability.
Her Heaven’s Order Bloodline was indeed powerful. It was the only thing that could bridge the powers granted by the Burning Light and Serene Glimmer. Thanks to Zhang Ruo Xi’s many years of diligent cultivation, she was finally able to reconcile the two opposing powers and draw them into her. As a result, she possessed superior strength.
However, her Ninth-Order cultivation was still quite weak in comparison to the powers of the Burning Light and Serene Glimmer. She could not withstand a prolonged fight that involved such overwhelming power.
On the other hand, Zhang Ruo Xi dared not hold back in a fight against Mo. She went all out with every strike, and as the number of clashes increased, her power became more and more unstable.
Her Personal Guards were in bad shape and her strength was becoming unstable, so she knew she did not have much time left.
Even so, she never once considered retreating; instead, her eyes filled with determination as she made a decision.
After yet another ferocious clash, the two figures separated.
Zhang Ruo Xi could clearly sense that even more cracks emerged on the bodies of the eight Personal Guard behind her.
Her grip on the Heaven’s Order Sword tightened and she exhaled softly as her wings began to flap and her presence grew even more imposing.
In the void opposite her, Mo stood unmoving with his head lowered.
Just as Zhang Ruo Xi prepared to strike once more, Mo raised his hand to block her, “You should stop now.”
Zhang Ruo Xi did not listen. Her presence continued to intensify with no signs of stopping; nevertheless, she could not ignore Mo’s present state and could not help asking, “Have you regained your rationality?”
Mo raised his head and looked at her. Although his eyes showed signs of a struggle, it was no longer in a state of madness.
“I have to thank you for that,” he replied.
Zhang Ruo Xi knew what Mo meant.
Initially, the power of Primordial Darkness was still too strong for Mo to bear, causing his consciousness to devolve into a frenzied state; however, as he and Zhang Ruo Xi continued to clash, the powers of light and darkness ate away at each other. Both their powers were weakened in the battle.
Now that Mo’s consciousness could overpower his strength, he regained some rationality.
“That won’t be necessary,” Zhang Ruo Xi coolly replied.
Mo’s brows furrowed ever so slightly, “You will die if you use that attack!”
Mo could tell that Zhang Ruo Xi wanted to harness all of her remaining power to engage him in a final clash that would determine life or death.
“You probably won’t die, but you will suffer,” Zhang Ruo Xi said.
“That’s why you should stop. I don’t wish to kill you,” Mo urged.
Zhang Ruo Xi showed no signs of stopping. She did not respond to Mo at all. Instead, she continued to harness her power and strength to prove her determination with her actions. Cracking sounds could be heard from the eight behind her.
With this strike, the eight of them would turn into dust.
Mo’s gaze turned cold as he snarled, “If you insist on dying, I am willing to fulfil your desire for death, but have you thought about what would happen to Yang Kai if you died?”
Zhang Ruo Xi was a little startled.
[Sir would be deeply saddened by my death, right? That’s enough for me…]
Zhang Ruo Xi still showed no signs of backing down; instead, she let out a faint smile. This made Mo exasperated as he could not resist saying, “Why are Human women so stubborn? You think it’s worth it to die at my hands to protect him, but have you ever thought about the guilt and torture the living would have to endure? If you truly want to act in his best interests, I advise you to calm down and look at things from his perspective. You staying alive should come before everything else.”
Zhang Ruo Xi stared at Mo in shock this time, brimming with confusion.
[What’s going on? The one who wields the darkest of all powers that exist is attempting to reason with me during a life-and-death moment…]
She could not help but find it unbelievable, especially since Mo made a good point.
Instinctively, she suddenly felt that Mo was scheming something.
“Don’t look at me like that,” Mo curtly snorted, “I lived among you Humans for more years than you have lived. We once worked together and protected each other.” [There was even someone very important to me once. All I wanted to do was to help her, but in the end, I was destined to ruin everything…]
When Mo saw what Zhang Ruo Xi was about to do, he could not help but recall his own past. [Mu must’ve felt great anguish when she decided to lock me up. In the end, I let her down.]
Mo turned towards the Space-Time River and said, “Why don’t we just wait here? When he comes out, I will fight him.”
Zhang Ruo Xi frowned as she looked at Mo, too afraid to let her guard down.
Mo turned back to her once more, “There’s nothing for you to worry about. You are free to strike me at any given moment and engage me in a fight to the death. As you said, even if I kill you, I will suffer in the process, and when he comes out, perhaps I won’t be able to hold my own against him.”
Zhang Ruo Xi simply could not figure out what Mo was thinking.
It would indeed be great for her if she did as Mo suggested.
She had enough strength to unleash a powerful final strike, and she could do so at any time, so the only one who had anything to gain by agreeing to Mo’s suggestion was her.
Besides, even if Mo was plotting something sinister, would she be able to stop him?
[If Mo is truly willing to simply stop and wait now, once Sir comes out, he and I can attack Mo together.]
“You better not do anything rash,” after hesitating for a brief moment, Zhang Ruo Xi withdrew her imposing aura.
“Naturally,” Mo smirked as it remained standing in place.
Zhang Ruo Xi nodded.
The two Masters who had been dueling in a brutal, all-out fight to the death now stood together in the void, waiting in silence. Sure enough, life was unpredictable.
Zhang Ruo Xi was still on guard, so she led her eight Personal Guards over to a spot between Mo and the Space-Time River to block Mo.
Mo saw what she was doing and showed no inclination of stopping her, puzzling her even further.
That being said, she had never encountered Mo before. She imagined Mo to be a brutal, sinister, and vicious existence, but after interacting with him herself, she realised that was not the case.
Though confused, as Zhang Ruo Xi stared into Mo’s eyes, she had a vague inkling and could not help but ask, “What do you want to do?”
Mo’s gaze went past her and stared at the massive Space-Time River as he asked, “It’s very grand and beautiful, isn’t it?”
Zhang Ruo Xi did not answer Mo’s question, instead frowning in doubt, “So what if it is?”
“It saved me from endless darkness,” Mo replied, “So, to me, it is the light. This is what she left behind, and since she has chosen a Successor, I want to see what happens. If her Successor can kill me, it won’t be a bad way for me to die.”
After a pause, Mo continued with a heavy heart, “When it comes down to it, I did something I shouldn’t have. It only stands to reason that I pay the price for it.”
“If you wish to die, I can fulfil your wish for you!” Zhang Ruo Xi shot back.
Mo eyed her coolly, “Only the person who gave me my new life can kill me. No one else has the right to do so.”
Alas, the one who had the right to kill Mo was no longer around and nothing mattered to him anymore. Everything and everyone in existence was meaningless and he could kill them off as he desired without feeling any hesitance.
Zhang Ruo Xi and Mo stood opposite each other outside the Space-Time River. She remained vigilant at all times, but Mo did not do anything, he simply stared at the Space-Time River that cut through the void and watched as it churned.
Meanwhile, the Human Race Army was snaking its way through the large battlefield as it constantly attacked the Black Ink Clan Army’s frontlines to weaken them.
The Humans were actually able to make good progress.
Furthermore, the Small Stone Race Army was fearlessly confronting the Black Ink Clan. Many lives came to an end with every breath.
A battle of this scale had never been seen before. The three parties out on the battlefield numbered into the billions when combined.
The Small Stone Race Army consisted of hundreds of millions while the Black Ink Clan Army was twice as large. On the other hand, there were less than 20 million Human Race Masters left, which was not even a tenth of either of the other two.
Despite being much lower in numbers, the Humans came out on top when it came to the average power. Only Fourth-Order Masters and above could directly join in the crusade, and after many millennia of cultivation, the Human Race now had a large number of Seventh-Order and Eighth-Order Masters.
In this respect, neither the Small Stone Race nor the Black Ink Clan could compare to the Humans. Even though they had massive numbers, weak soldiers who could not contribute much made up most of their ranks. This was especially true of the Black Ink Clan. Whenever the Human Race Army crossed paths with large groups of the Black Ink Clan’s cannon fodder, all of the latter would be exterminated in great sweeping waves of death.
Nevertheless, being so few was still an undeniable disadvantage. Although the Human Race Army was able to attack the Black Ink Clan and wipe them out in large groups, they could not persist for long.
The Humans started this battle, but it was the Small Stone Race Army that enabled them to keep going. If Zhang Ruo Xi had not brought the Small Stone Race reinforcements over, the Humans would have been defeated the moment the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction broke. These were sorrowful times.
Many of the Small Stone Race Soldiers died and turned into rocks and pebbles that littered the battlefield. The Divine Spirits who had the Great Sun and Great Moon Marks kept using the power of the marks to draw out the power of Yin and Yang inside the remains of the Small Stone Race who had been ‘sacrificed’. These powers were then transformed into Purifying Light which not only killed many Black Ink Clansmen, but also purified the environment of the battlefield.
It was thanks to this that the Humans and the Small Stone Race could still put up a fight against the Black Ink Clan.
Initially, Ah Da and Ah Er, the two Giant Spirit Gods, were able to move about with impunity. Without enough Royal Lords to keep them pinned down, they were completely invincible and seas of blood formed wherever they went.
However, as more and more of the Royal Lords joined forces to besiege Ah Da and Ah Er, the latter pair slowly lost their ability to act freely.
The fierce battle continued.
Every few days, the Human Race Army would retreat behind the Small Stone Race’s lines to rest and regroup before charging out again.
Pure Yang Pass, which led the Human Race Army into battle, was now a wreck. It did not look like it could hold out much longer, and the Suppressing Black Ink Fortress was in a similar state. The extreme intensity of the battle was a taxing trial for all the Humans, with even the Ninth-Order Masters having a hard time, let alone those of lower Orders.
Nevertheless, the Humans could not stop. This was the final confrontation, and if they backed down, total extermination was the only fate that awaited them; therefore, all of them grit their teeth and persevered.
A month after the start of the battle, the situation on the battlefield grew clearer.
Mi Jing Lun was fatigued and ashen-faced as he stood atop the worn Pure Yang Pass, his forehead covered in a layer of sweat.
He had overexerted himself. As the Supreme Commander of the Human Race Army, he faced the most pressure. Not only did he have to keep an eye on the situation on the battlefield to promptly make the right strategic decisions, but as a Ninth-Order Master, he was also in charge of controlling Pure Yang Pass to attack the enemy.
At this point, he had expended so much energy that his foundation had suffered heavy damage.
However, his sense of helplessness stemmed not from his exhaustion, but from the fact that the situation was not in the Human Race’s favour.
There were far too many of the Black Ink Clansmen inside the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, twice as many as there were Small Stone Race Soldiers, and after a month-long battle, the Black Ink Clan was beginning to show signs of suppressing the former.
If this continued, in less than two weeks, the Small Stone Race Army would be defeated.
Once the Small Stone Race Army was vanquished, the Humans would not be able to survive. They were bound to follow the Small Stone Race Army to their deaths.
Mi Jing Lun could not be resigned to this. The fight between the Human Race and the Black Ink Clan began towards the end of the Late Ancient Era and had carried on for millions of years since then. Was it going to end in tragedy for the Human Race?
Still, there was not much he could do to change things now. In a massive battle like this, there was not a single strategy that could lead to a decisive outcome. Victory hinged on the strength of both parties.
Mi Jing Lun could not stop himself from casting a glance into the depths of the void.
Over a month ago, Zhang Ruo Xi had abruptly left the battlefield and the eight Ninth-Order Small Stone Race Masters followed soon after. Nothing had been heard from them ever since.
Initially, great aftershocks of an intense battle reverberated out from that part of the void, but soon, everything went silent.
Even now, Mi Jing Lun did not know what was happening over there.
All he knew was that Zhang Ruo Xi and her eight Personal Guards were there. Yang Kai was there too, along with… Mo!
If anything could turn the tides of this battle, it had to come from that part of the void!
[Stay strong! We must persist!]
As long as the worst did not happen, they still had a shred of hope of survival.
…..
The churning of the Space-Time River became even more ferocious. After a month of devouring and refining Mu’s Space-Time River, Yang Kai’s Space-Time River had grown unimaginably large, while Mu’s river, which was outside his, was turning into an empty shell.
Thanks to this final gift, Yang Kai’s Space-Time River had enlarged to the point where it could rival that of Mu’s.
Outside the river, Zhang Ruo Xi and her eight Personal Guards were still in a Battle Formation. They were intrinsically connected and kept their guards up the whole time.
Thankfully, throughout this whole time, Mo did not move, he merely stood quietly and waited.
At last, a resounding splash sounded and the Space-Time River which had meandered across the void for countless eons was completely destroyed.
It was replaced by another river that was comparable to it, but the new one was churning even more ferociously and its water seemed even more forceful.
This was not a sign that Yang Kai had surpassed Mu in strength; instead, it was a result of his inability to fully control this sudden growth in strength.
If Yang Kai had full control over the power of his river, it would be completely still and silent, not causing such a huge commotion like now.
Zhang Ruo Xi had to fight the urge to turn around and look, her expression grim.
Just a moment ago, she clearly sensed a flash of murderous intent coming from Mo.
Mo did not bother to hide it at all. Apart from the clear murderous intent, Zhang Ruo Xi also picked up a sense of hatred and regret.
As she sensed the churning of the Dao Strengths behind her, she knew that Yang Kai had succeeded.
Though, she had no idea what he did…
Amidst the churning waves, Yang Kai’s figure appeared as the Dao Strengths surged around him.
Based on strength alone, he was stronger than both Mo and Zhang Ruo Xi after their earlier fight. This was a result of his heightened mastery of Grand Daos.
The clearest evidence of this was the size of his Space-Time River.
Yang Kai’s Space-Time River was comparable to the one Mu left behind and it had grown colossal beyond imagination.
A baby Dragon was bound to become a Divine Dragon someday. Although Yang Kai’s cultivation did not increase by much, his strength was leaps and bounds above what it once was.
A piercing gaze shot over at him.
Yang Kai immediately spotted Mo, who was standing in the distance. The abhorrence and murderous intent in its eyes were plainly visible.
Mo looked a lot like Little Eleventh whom Yang Kai met inside the Primordial World. If Little Eleventh grew up as a normal Human, he would resemble Mo’s current appearance.
Ruo Xi stood between Yang Kai and Mo with a grim and vigilant expression.
Yang Kai had been busy refining Mu’s final gift and knew nothing of what was happening outside the river all this while. Upon sensing Mo and Ruo Xi’s present states though, he realised that they had engaged in a fight earlier. Both seemed to have walked away injured as neither one of them felt as powerful as he expected them to be.
His Divine Sense tingled as it spread out like a gush of water. Soon, he picked up on the situation out on the battlefield in the distance.
Yang Kai’s brow furrowed slightly.
Compared to the situation over here, the Human Race Army and the Small Stone Race Army were in a bleak situation. If things continued as they were, they would certainly be defeated.
“Ruo Xi!” Yang Kai called out at once.
“I’m here, Sir,” Zhang Ruo Xi swiftly replied.
“Head to the battlefield and help them.”
Zhang Ruo Xi was startled.
She figured that since Yang Kai had emerged, they could work together to take on Mo now.
While she could not face off against Mo alone, if she and Yang Kai worked together, they had a good chance of winning this fight.
Mo was a lot weaker now thanks to both Yang Kai’s deed of suppressing and sealing his Source as well as the earlier fight with Zhang Ruo Xi. Light and darkness had clashed and worn each other down.
If they got rid of Mo, they would completely eradicate the threat against the 3,000 Worlds.
Yang Kai seemed to have deduced Zhang Ruo Xi’s thoughts as he said, “The Human Race Army is the only remaining strength we have now. A victory against Mo is meaningless if they get wiped out. Go and help them at once, Ruo Xi. Leave things here to me.”
Zhang Ruo Xi knew that Yang Kai was right. If the Human Race Army was entirely vanquished, then even if she and Yang Kai managed to defeat Mo, it was a pointless victory.
The goal of this battle was to ensure the survival of the Human Race, and victory hinged on bringing the entire Army to victory.
She clenched her jaw and said, “Be careful, Sir! I’ll come back as soon as possible!”
After glaring viciously at Mo one last time, her wings fluttered and she turned into a streak of light before shooting off towards the battlefield.
Once she left, Mo and Yang Kai were left alone in the void.
“A wise decision!” Mo remarked.
Yang Kai quirked his eyebrows, “How so?”
“She’s in a poor state right now,” Mo commented with a faint smile, “You asked her to leave to save her life, right?”
Yang Kai’s brow was tightly knitted, “I thought I was going up against an evil being who has lost all its rationality. I didn’t expect to be facing off against an intelligent opponent. This makes things a lot more challenging.”
With just one look, Yang Kai noticed Zhang Ruo Xi’s condition. Although he did not know what would happen when the Heaven’s Order Bloodline harmonized the powers of Yin and Yang, he could tell that the eight Ninth-Order Small Stone Race Masters behind Ruo Xi were on the verge of crumbling apart.
As the Core of the Nine Palaces Formation, she was undoubtedly shouldering the heaviest burden.
If she stayed here and partook in the fight against Mo, once the eight fell apart, Ruo Xi would be doomed once Mo found the chance to strike her down.
Naturally, protecting Ruo Xi was not the only reason why Yang Kai told her to leave. The Human Race and the Small Stone Race were in dire need of help too. They were bound to lose if they did not receive any outside intervention on the battlefield.
Now that Zhang Ruo Xi had gone back to the battlefield, it was unlikely for her to be involved in any fight as taxing as the one against Mo earlier. As long as she was careful and ensured that her eight Personal Guards did not die, she would not be in any grave danger.
That being said, Yang Kai was taken aback by the current Mo.
As Yang Kai said, he thought he would be facing an evil being without any sense of rationality; however, Mo was evidently able to think and act calmly…
Yang Kai would much rather go up against a senseless killing machine as it was easier to deal with an opponent like that.
“I’m surprised you didn’t stop me from devouring and refining Mu’s Space-Time River,” Yang Kai spoke up.
While refining the gift from Mu, he was vigilant against the possibility of Mo interfering, but the latter did not do anything else after his initial attempt was interrupted.
Although Zhang Ruo Xi had come over in time to occupy Mo, what Yang Kai saw when he came out was simply a silent standoff between Mo and Ruo Xi.
It was entirely unexpected.
He knew that Mo could have chosen to forcefully break away from Ruo Xi, though he would have to pay a price; however, from Mo’s standpoint, stopping Yang Kai from refining Mu’s river had to be the primary goal, and it would have been worth paying a price to accomplish that.
After hearing Yang Kai’s comment, Mo lowered his eyes and let out a soft sigh, “Did Mu leave something in the river to be used against me?”
Yang Kai nodded, “You noticed that, as expected.”
Mu had left her Space-Time River for someone who would succeed her, but it was impossible to refine the entire river in the blink of an eye. During that time, Mo was bound to interfere.
It was not surprising that someone with as much intelligence and foresight as Mu had considered this and left something behind inside the river to target Mo. If Mo entered her river, he would end up stumbling around the endlessness of Space-Time in a hazy daze and would not be able to find Yang Kai.
What Mo said to Zhang Ruo Xi earlier was simply for the sake of convincing her. Even if she did not try to stop him, he would not enter the river unless absolutely necessary.
But without entering the river, he would not be able to locate Yang Kai, and thus, he would not be able to stop the latter from devouring and refining it.
With all that Mu had set in place, Yang Kai had guaranteed success at refining the river.
Mu had been wise and insightful, and naturally, Mo knew her incredibly well. After spending all those years together, both she and Mo had a thorough understanding of each other. Just as Mu predicted the possibility of Mo entering the river, Mo also figured that Mu would have left behind countermeasures to deal with him as well.
It was yet another confrontation after all these years that resulted in a stalemate.
Yang Kai was the only one who benefited from the situation. He had a major leap in his mastery over the 10,000 Grand Daos and his Space-Time River had grown to an indescribable size.
“Even if you obtained the power Mu left behind, so what?” Mo’s eyes were filled with disdain, “Do you think that’s enough for you to defeat me?”
Yang Kai smirked, “Let me see what someone in the Creator Realm can do!”
As he spoke, he raised both his hands and the Space-Time River beneath him began churning violently. It was as if the river turned into a rampaging Dragon as the waves crashed in thunderous splashes while Dao Strengths surged.
All at once, scores of rope-like Water Dragons formed from Dao Strength shot out of the river and flew straight at Mo.
Mo raised his fist and punched forcefully at the void. The space in front of him shattered and the myriad of Void Cracks that formed as a result turned into a barrier that blocked the onslaught of the Water Dragons.
Then, Mo took a step forward and moved past the shattered space, arriving right in front of Yang Kai as he stared down at him with an indifferent expression, “Your ability to wield Dao Strength is less than a thousandth of what Mu was capable of!”
Black Ink Strength rippled forth and its destructive power wrapped around Mo’s fist which came crashing down.
Yang Kai’s eyes hardened. He could instinctively sense the might of this punch and knew he could not allow it to make contact with him; otherwise, death would be his only fate.
The river churned and formed a layer of Dao Strength that acted as a barrier.
However, the Dao Strength barrier only lasted for a blink of an eye before the fist shattered it apart.
Thankfully, that had given Yang Kai enough time to summon his Azure Dragon Spear. Now that he had his weapon in hand, he harnessed the Dao Strengths and sent his spear flying out at the fist.
A gust of unstoppable power came at Yang Kai from the front and he felt as if he had been struck by lightning. His body froze up for a brief moment before he went flying backwards. He stumbled into his river and nearly lost his grip on the spear.
“Weak!” Mo looked down at his fist. There was a tiny white mark left behind from the Azure Dragon Spear, but it soon vanished.
The invincible Azure Dragon Spear could not even scratch Mo despite Yang Kai landing a strike with all his strength. This was a clear sign of the power disparity between the two.
A powerful and imposing manner did not necessarily translate into true might. A real Master could easily keep his power hidden and undetectable from the outside. Yang Kai’s outward display of dominance and imposingness was in fact a sign that he could not fully control the power he had.
A figure stepped out of the river. It was Yang Kai who had been pushed back inside it earlier. His expression was grim. Even though he deduced that he was not strong enough to be Mo’s equal right now, he did not expect their disparity to be this big.
[Is this the might of someone in the Creator Realm?]
Yang Kai had suppressed and sealed over 30% of Mo’s Source, so what would Mo be able to do if that had not been the case?
[His earlier punch would’ve probably been enough to kill me.]
While Yang Kai was caught up in these thoughts, Mo was already storming over. Even though Yang Kai used the Dao Strengths of the river to form barriers and restraints, it was not enough to stop Mo.
Apart from Black Ink Strength, yet another mysterious power was swirling around Mo. It was most likely Creation Force. All of the Dao Strengths that came near Mo would instantly shatter without accomplishing anything.
As soon as Yang Kai managed to steady himself, Mo arrived in front of him, his fist flying out again, aiming to pulverize his opponent.
Yang Kai was not about to let that happen. Waves rippled out of the Azure Dragon Spear with Dao Strengths circling it as it moved forward once more.
Mo did not change his attack, but the simple blow was hiding an unfathomable strength that allowed it to easily deflect Yang Kai’s attack before closing in on its target.
In that moment of crisis, Yang Kai’s Azure Dragon Spear suddenly vanished from his hand as he stowed it away.
Following that, he grabbed Mo’s shoulder with both hands and flung himself backwards in an attempt to drag Mo into the Space-Time River.
The short exchange just now made it clear to Yang Kai that he was unable to hold his own against Mo right now.
Since that was the case, he needed to bring the fight to an advantageous environment for him, and the Space-Time River was an excellent choice.
Yang Kai was confident that as long as he was able to drag Mo into his Space-Time River, he would be able to unleash even more powerful attacks that could perhaps be enough to deal with this enemy.
However, before Yang Kai could do anything else, Mo kicked him.
Yang Kai felt his chest caving in as he fell into the river.
“Waste!” Mo stood above the river. The torrential waves fiercely charged at Mo, but they would die out once they were within 10 steps of him, filling his eyes with disappointment.
[Mu’s successor is weaker than I thought. He’s not even stronger than that woman earlier who wielded a portion of the Primordial Light’s power. At the very least, she’d been able to cause a bit of trouble for me, but Mu’s successor is nothing more than a child.]
As Mo quietly eyed the Space-Time River beneath him, he lightly raised his hand…
[In that case, I shall destroy it all!]
A gust of pure and concentrated Black Ink Strength unlike any that had been seen before poured out towards the Space-Time River as the might of a Creator began to emerge. Any part of the river that was touched by Black Ink Strength immediately showed signs of being corrupted by it.
The river was made out of Dao Strengths. Ordinarily, Black Ink Strength from the Black Ink Clan was only capable of corrupting living beings; however, as the source of Black Ink Strength, Mo was even capable of corrupting Dao Strengths.
As Yang Kai’s body sank downwards into the river, his heart sank along with it. With just two strikes, he had a clear understanding of just how powerful Mo was.
[I definitely won’t be able to defeat him.]
Yang Kai coughed lightly and the stench of blood filled his mouth.
He was now a Divine Dragon with thick skin and hard flesh, impervious to most ordinary strength, but a simple kick from Mo was enough to break a few of his ribs.
It had been a long time since he last suffered such injuries.
The pain of his broken bones sticking into his organs cleared his mind, and in the very next breath, he sensed the changes happening to his Space-Time River.
He realised the severity of the situation. If Mo was allowed to continue what he was doing, sooner or later, his Space-Time River would be completely corrupted by Black Ink Strength. He would lose all his Dao Strengths, and even if he did not die, he would become crippled and useless.
The urgent sense of danger consumed Yang Kai and he knew that if he did not do something soon, it would be too late.
After stabilising himself, Yang Kai gathered his thoughts and wielded all the strength he could muster.
The next instant, his body turned into an invisible black hole that devoured large amounts of the river’s water!
He was refining the Dao Strengths and absorbing them into his body!
Yang Kai had been able to put away his original Space-Time River and summon it out when he wanted to deal with his opponent because he had gained the river through hard work and diligent cultivation. It was the manifestation of his own Dao Strengths.
However, the gift from Mu had been too overwhelming. Even though he used his Space-Time River to devour and refine Mu’s Space-Time River, which led to a great increase in his mastery over the 10,000 Grand Daos, he now had a problem on his hands too.
He did not have full control over his new Space-Time River!
Currently, he was like a three-year-old who was trying to wield a massive sledgehammer. Though the sledgehammer was powerful, he could not even lift it.
That was the reason why he could not fight back against Mo. It was to the point where he seemed even weaker than Zhang Ruo Xi; after all, Ruo Xi had diligently cultivated for some 2,000 years in the Chaotic Dead Territory. By using her Heavens Order Bloodline to harmonize the powers of Yin and Yang to a level where she could control it, she was able to unleash all of that power freely.
There was only one way for Yang Kai to deal with his current situation, and that was to refine the Dao Strengths and absorb them into his body! That was the only method for him to gain control over his new Space-Time River and be strong enough to oppose Mo.
It was an extremely dangerous move. If he were careless for even a moment, he would explode from the overwhelming power of the massive Space-Time River and would undoubtedly die.
That was the reason why Yang Kai did not choose to do so earlier, but under the present circumstances, he had to throw caution to the wind and take the risk.
As he did this, a huge vortex emerged on top of the river. It looked like a large mouth that was swallowing the water.
Meanwhile, Mo was still channelling his Black Ink Strength and corrupting the river. By doing so, Mo could even absorb the river and strengthen itself.
After seeing the appearance of the vortex though, Mo’s eyes flashed with an unreadable glimmer as he scoffed, “You finally realised it?”
Mo had spent many years with Mu and understood the Space-Time River far better than Yang Kai did, so he could immediately tell what Yang Kai was doing when he saw the movement of the river.
Both of them continued to refine the power of the Space-Time River which rapidly shrank before them.
When it came down to it though, this was still Yang Kai’s Space-Time River. Thus, Mo could not refine it as quickly as Yang Kai could. It could be said that Yang Kai and Mo were devouring the river at a ratio of seven to three.
Beneath the river, Yang Kai’s face had turned red as his Dragon Vein throbbed with ferocity within him. The Dao Strengths he devoured and absorbed into his body made him feel as if he were going to explode. He even had the urge to transform into a Divine Dragon.
Nevertheless, he squashed down this thought. Although turning into a Divine Dragon could ease the pressure on his body, there was still a limit. It would not make a difference if he could not find a way to surpass that limit.
Therefore, he chose to grit his teeth and bear it.
Thankfully, he had endured a similar kind of pressure when he first started taking in the gift Mu left behind and was now able to have a marginally easier time with it.
As time passed, the massive Space-Time River had shrunk by about 30%.
Beneath the river, Yang Kai was surrounded by Dao Strengths, while above the river, Mo’s aura had grown a lot stronger too.
All of a sudden, Yang Kai’s eyes hardened. As he continued to devour the power of the river, he raised his hands and snarled, “Rise!”
The Space-Time River that cut across the void seemed to abruptly come to life as the water churned and the waves came crashing down at Mo.
Mo’s gaze darkened as he swiftly backed off.
He knew that even with his present strength, he would have a hard time if he was struck by the full force of the Space-Time River.
His eyes briefly flickered with surprise as he did not think that Yang Kai would be able to gain control over the Space-Time River so quickly.
If Yang Kai was previously likened to a three-year-old attempting to wield a sledgehammer and failing due to his lack of strength, then he was now a young child able to raise the sledgehammer, though luck and fate would determine whether or not he could strike his opponent with it.
As the river surged, Yang Kai’s figure appeared out of it. It was clear that something was not right with his present state. It was as if an indescribable power gathered within his body. He looked like he was about to explode at any given moment.
That was indeed the case. He was at his limit from the Dao Strengths that had built up inside him. He felt a pressing need to let it all out of him, so with that thought in mind, he shot up and charged at Mo.
As he moved, the colossal Space-Time River followed behind him like a shadow.
In a flash, the two silhouettes collided and a fight broke out.
Yang Kai took the offensive and pushed out Dao Strengths with each strike. He had to release the Dao Strengths which had accumulated inside his body; otherwise, he ran the risk of exploding.
As a result of his ferocious attacks, Mo had to focus and fight back as well, using Black Ink Strength to clash with and wipe out the rampaging Dao Strengths.
Even in the midst of the fight, Yang Kai did not stop devouring the Space-Time River. There was a large vortex behind him that was sucking the river water into his body.
As Yang Kai continued absorbing Dao Strength into his body, the power he could wield grew stronger and his attacks became more intense.
After exchanging a dozen blows, Yang Kai suffered a hit from Mo and flew backwards into the river; however, he soon emerged and charged at Mo once again.
Although he faced setbacks, Yang Kai showed no sign of despair. Instead, his thirst for battle grew even stronger.
During the first clash between the two, Mo could send Yang Kai flying back into the river as soon as he emerged. Despite being a Ninth-Order Master, Yang Kai could not fight back at all.
Yet, he could now hold out against Mo for a brief moment.
This was the result of his absorbing the Dao Strengths into his body. It was also the reason why he could control even more of the river’s power.
[I can do better than this!] Yang Kai firmly believed, [As long as I can control the entire river, I’ll be powerful enough to challenge Mo!]
Time and time again, he shot out at Mo and was knocked back.
The Space-Time River continued to shrink as Yang Kai’s aura grew even more powerful.
As time passed, Yang Kai was able to hold out against Mo for increasing amounts of time. From withstanding an exchange of 10 or so blows, he was able to slowly increase that number to 20, 30, eventually reaching 100 without showing any sign of falling behind.
This seemed to set Mo off and his attacks grew even more vicious as murderous intent surged.
Yang Kai used the Profound Source Gate to suppress and seal over 30% of Mo’s Source, which weakened the latter by a fair amount. Mo’s power had also been further weakened after the fight with Zhang Ruo Xi. That being said, he had corrupted a sizable chunk of the river’s power with Black Ink Strength, which allowed him to make up for what he lost in the fight with Zhang Ruo Xi.
Mo was even more powerful now than when he first woke up.
In a short amount of time, Yang Kai was able to go from being completely powerless against Mo to just barely holding out against him, but that was already his limit. He couldn’t defeat Mo in his current state.
[Not enough! Not nearly enough!]
[Even if I gain control over the remaining river, it’s unlikely that I’ll be able to kill him.]
If Mo, the one behind everything, did not die, then the threat against all of existence would endure.
Using the Profound Source Grate to suppress and seal Mo’s Source had been the right thing to do. Yang Kai’s previous journey had proved that the Profound Source Gate could indeed accomplish that feat; however, when one went up against an entity this powerful, how was one supposed to suppress and seal them without defeating them first?
The only way to end this once and for all was to break out of the shackles of the Open Heaven Realm and ascend to a higher realm.
However, this was something impossible for the current Yang Kai.
It had not been long since he became a Ninth-Order Master, and although he used the two Open Heaven Realm Cradles and the power of his Space-Time River to speed up his cultivation dramatically, it was only effective for him to grow within the Ninth-Order Realm. It was not enough for him to reach the realm beyond.
Throughout history, the best and most talented Humans had been limited by the shackles of the Open Heaven Realm Method. They could not break through them at all. Only Mu had been able to vaguely peek into the mysteries of an even higher Martial Dao.
Nevertheless, her Space-Time River was incomplete and she could not step over the barriers to enter the mysterious realm she touched upon.
Even though Yang Kai had received Mu’s gift, it was unlikely that he could accomplish what Mu and all the Human Race Ancestors could not in such a short time.
He did not have the barest inkling of enlightenment regarding the next realm.
If he wanted to break out of the shackles of the Open Heaven Realm, at the very least, he had to familiarise himself with his present strength and continue to gain knowledge and understanding through many years of accumulation and cultivation.
Since he could not overcome the shackles of the Open Heaven Realm, he had to find another way.
Yang Kai dared not allow himself to be distracted for even a moment in his battle against Mo. He was up against an opponent who could kill him off at any moment.
Over and over again, Yang Kai was sent flying backwards into the river. Although he looked completely battered, his situation was slowly taking a turn for the better.
Only about 30% of the Space-Time River behind him was left now. The moment he absorbed all of the river, he would be able to wield strength far beyond what he could before.
…..
As the intense fight had broken out between Yang Kai and Mo, the fight on the battlefield in the distant void was just as ferocious.
The Black Ink Clan Army was too numerous and the allied Armies of the Human Race and the Small Stone Race were beginning to show signs of defeat. If nothing changed, sooner or later, both Armies would be completely wiped out. Once that happened, even the Ninth-Order Masters could not be certain whether they could escape with their lives. Only the two Giant Spirit Gods could most likely leave safely.
This was not an outcome they could accept.
Just as the battle reached its most pressing climax, a dazzling light shot out from the depths of the void.
It was a familiar scene that renewed the Human Race Masters’ spirits as they knew who had come.
As per Yang Kai’s instructions, Zhang Ruo Xi rushed back to the battlefield. The moment she arrived, she turned into a bolt of light that weaved across the battlefield multiple times.
The flowing light acted like a sharp blade that slaughtered countless Black Ink Clan Soldiers and wrecked the seemingly impenetrable formations they had set up.
All at once, the Humans and the Small Stone Race were relieved of much of the pressure they had been under.
Soon after that, Ruo Xi headed over to Ah Da and Ah Er.
The two Giant Spirit Gods had proved to be invaluable allies to the Humans, be it during the reoccupation of the No-Return Pass or the battle that broke out against the Black Ink Black reinforcement army. In both situations, the Giant Spirit Gods had played pivotal roles.
Ah Da and Ah Er were currently in a tough situation once again. They were surrounded and besieged by many Royal Lords and could not provide any help to the rest of the battlefield.
Therefore, after relieving the pressure against the allied Armies of the Human Race and the Small Stone Race, Zhang Ruo Xi chose to aid the two Giant Spirit Gods.
As long as the two Giant Spirit Gods were unencumbered, they would be able to draw the attention of a large number of Masters from the Black Ink Clan. The Black Ink Clan would have to send even more Royal Lords over to keep these two occupied, thus, relieving the pressure on the rest.
Ruo Xi alone was enough to rampage through enemy lines and leave the Royal Lords scared witless, let alone when she had formed a Nine Palaces Formation with her eight Personal Guard.
In the blink of an eye, the flash of light appeared beside Ah Er. The eight Small Stone Race Masters scattered around to seal the surroundings, their Battle Formation encapsulating a large portion of the void.
The Royal Lords who had been attacking Ah Er paled in response.
They had learned the hard way just how terrifying this winged woman could be. Before the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction had even broken, she had charged inside alone and exterminated all the Masters who lingered at the opening, which included dozens of Royal Lords.
Her actions back then terrified the Masters inside the Grand Restriction, so much so that they were too afraid to make any rash moves.
Many Royal Lords had remained hidden in the darkness. They had personally witnessed how powerful Zhang Ruo Xi was and were afraid of her strength. This was the reason why the Black Ink Clan Army did not rush out the moment the Grand Restriction broke.
They only gained the courage to leave the shelter of darkness when she rushed into the depths of the void to deal with the Supreme One.
No one expected this woman to come charging back out on the battlefield at such a critical moment.
Naturally, if Mi Jing Lun could tell which way the battle was going, the Royal Lords could as well. The Black Ink Clan Army had the upper hand right now, and as long as no unexpected variables were introduced, the Black Ink Clan would eventually be able to vanquish the Humans and Small Stone Race. When the time came, all of existence would belong to the Black Ink Clan as the Human Race would be wiped out in totality.
They were only a step away from their grand success, so how could the Royal Lords back down now?
Thus, even though Zhang Ruo Xi and her Personal Guard were wielding the might of their Nine Palaces Formation, a large number of Masters from the Black Ink Clan still fearlessly charged forward to stop them.
Once again, the allied Armies of the Humans Race and the Small Stone Race were relieved of even more pressure.
As the sword light of the Heavens Order Sword flashed, the part of the battlefield where Zhang Ruo Xi was seemingly turned into an abyss of death. Be it Territory Lords or Royal Lords, none could escape from her or even put up a fight. Each time sword light flashed, numerous Masters from the Black Ink Clan perished.
Their glory and dignity as Masters was completely trampled on. Once someone reached a certain level of power, it became child’s play for them to slaughter those in their path.
In just a few moments, over 20 Royal Lords were killed. Ah Er, who had been harassed by the Royal Lords all this time, was finally freed from those who had been keeping him pinned down. With a loud roar, he began attacking the nearby Royal Lords.
However, before he could truly unleash his strength, a new group of Royal Lords rushed over.
The Black Ink Clan could tell that the allied Armies no longer posed a threat to them, and they could use their advantage in numbers to keep them occupied.
At this moment, the only ones who posed a threat to the Black Ink Clan were Zhang Ruo Xi and the two Giant Spirit Gods.
Thus, they had to stop these three no matter what.
Even if it cost them the lives of their Royal Lords!
On this part of the battlefield, Royal Lords and Territory Lords fell like leaves from a tree in a howling storm.
The black blood and Black Ink Strength that escaped their corpses turned the void into a patch of darkness, which seemed to want to devour everything in its wake.
Amidst it all, the sword light of the Heavens Order Sword shone brilliantly.
Despite the show of force she was putting on, Zhang Ruo Xi’s original plan had actually been foiled.
Initially, she wanted to save Ah Er before working together with him to extricate Ah Da. Then, the three of them could charge out onto the main battlefield and rampage. Even though the Black Ink Clan was massive in numbers, they would not be able to stop the three of them from slaughtering those in their path if they remained mobile.
Given enough time and room to take action, these three powerful existences could massacre the entire Black Ink Clan Army on their own; however, the Black Ink Clan promptly reacted to the situation and Zhang Ruo Xi ended up being tied down to this part of the battlefield. Even Ah Er, whom she had only just rescued, was once again completely surrounded by Royal Lords and could no longer do much.
Now that it had come to this, Zhang Ruo Xi acted per the hand she was dealt.
Since they wanted to impede her, they would have to pay an exorbitant price.
Compared to her original plan, the present situation was actually even more beneficial for the Human Race Army. The more the Masters from the Black Ink Clan focused on her, the less pressure the Humans faced.
In fact, if she managed to kill off enough Royal Lords, she would undoubtedly be helping the allied Armies secure the final victory.
Thus, Zhang Ruo Xi was not upset by the Black Ink Clan’s actions. On the contrary, it suited her just fine.
The Royal Lords came at her one after the other. They all turned into corpses under the Heavens Order Sword, but even so, none of those from the Black Ink Clan showed any inclination to retreat.
For both the Human Race and the Black Ink Clan, this was the final battle that would decide their fate. They could not back down no matter what.
This was a make-or-break battle that would determine who would go down in history as the ultimate victor!
Zhang Ruo Xi persistently swung her sword, and every swing of her sword brought about significant results. Ever since her return, no fewer than 300 Royal Lords had died at her hands in just two days! That was an extremely terrifying number.
It had to be said that there were only a few dozen Ninth-Order Masters among the Human Race at present. The number of Royal Lords was many times more than the number of Ninth-Order Masters.
Furthermore, the inheritance accumulated in the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction over millions of years could not be underestimated. Even though Zhang Ruo Xi had slaughtered so many Royal Lords, many more Royal Lords were surrounding Zhang Ruo Xi and the two Giant Spirit Gods still.
Zhang Ruo Xi relentlessly slaughtered her enemies, and the movement of drawing her sword had almost become an instinctive reaction by now.
The Black Ink Clan had shifted the focus of the battle around her, which certainly resolved the crisis that had been looming over the Human Race Army. At this moment, the allied Armies of the Human Race and the Small Stone Race finally regained their ability to hold their own against the Black Ink Clan even though they continued to face some pressure on the main battlefield. The situation was no longer as hopeless as before, where their defeat had been imminent and there was no hope for victory.
The Black Ink Clouds condensed from the dissipated Black Ink Strength had reached extreme concentration. Even the Ninth-Order Masters felt apprehensive when they saw the dense Black Ink Clouds that encompassed the huge void. Aside from Zhang Ruo Xi and the two Giant Spirit Gods, nobody could easily venture into the depths of the Black Ink Clouds to fight against the Black Ink Clan.
Meanwhile, the immaculate white wings behind Zhang Ruo Xi’s back began to glow with a faint yellow and blue hue. The subtle change resembled an omen of something to come.
At a certain moment, one of the Royal Lords fearlessly charged towards a Ninth-Order Small Stone Race Master. He gathered all his strength in his fist and punched the Personal Guard with all his might.
The Personal Guard staggered from the blow, then it immediately followed up with a violent counterattack that immediately killed the Royal Lord.
Although the Small Stone Race Personal Guard was equivalent to Ninth-Order Masters, these were currently joined in a Nine Palaces Formation with Zhang Ruo Xi as its Core. Any one of them could borrow the power of the Battle Formation at any time, so their current strength could no longer be judged by their mere cultivation alone.
It could be said that Zhang Ruo Xi and her eight Personal Guards were one. The attacks unleashed by any party in the Battle Formation carried the culmination of their combined powers. Even if the Royal Lords were strong, they could not withstand such attacks; therefore, many Royal Lords had died at the hands of the Personal Guard over the last two days.
The Personal Guard who slaughtered the Royal Lord earlier prepared to make its next move, but just as it raised its fist to attack, its hand shattered to dust. It was immediately followed by its arm, which then spread to its body… In the blink of an eye, the powerful Personal Guard was reduced to a pile of rubble.
The surrounding Royal Lords and Territory Lords besieging it froze in surprise.
When Zhang Ruo Xi returned, her Personal Guard had all been covered in deep cracks. It was only natural for the surrounding Royal Lords and Territory Lords to notice such an obvious thing. They initially thought that the Personal Guards wouldn’t last for long which is why they targeted them while simultaneously attacking Zhang Ruo Xi.
It was not until they paid a horrendous price that they realised one thing. These Personal Guards might look like they were about to fall apart at any moment, but they remained capable of unleashing a despairing amount of power with every blow.
That was until this moment!
In the end, the Personal Guard could not withstand the pressure of the drawn-out battle and shattered to pieces. At the same time, the yellow and blue hue of the wings behind Zhang Ruo Xi’s back increased significantly when the Personal Guard crumbled to dust.
Fortunately, Zhang Ruo Xi seemed to have anticipated the situation and immediately switched the Battle Formation to the Eight Trigrams Formation!
An increasingly violent barrage of attacks ensued. After the first Personal Guard shattered to pieces, the Black Ink Clan suddenly saw hope in regard to their struggle to defeat Zhang Ruo Xi. Their assault only became more and more aggressive as a result.
Half a day later, the second Personal Guard shattered to pieces and the Eight Trigrams Formation subsequently changed to the Seven Stars Formation. Another half day passed, and the third one broke apart…
When Zhang Ruo Xi led her Personal Guard against Mo, they sustained indelible damage during the battle. If there had been enough time, she would have allowed them to rest and recover. Unfortunately, they were in the middle of a large-scale battle. There was no time for them to even catch their breaths, much less recuperate from their wounds.
They only managed to persist until now because the intensity of the current battle paled in comparison to her solo battle against Mo. Even so, her Personal Guard had finally reached their limits.
One after another, they crumbled to pieces. Their destruction also signified that the Battle Formation was steadily weakening. As the Battle Formation weakened, the power they could exert was also considerably reduced.
At the same time, the yellow and blue hue of the wings behind her back became extremely obvious.
When the sixth Personal Guard shattered, Zhang Ruo Xi forcefully changed the Battle Formation to the most basic Three Fortunes Formation. At that moment, the Black Ink Clan finally saw the light at the end of the tunnel. It would not take much longer to defeat her.
A voice abruptly sounded in Zhang Ruo Xi’s mind, “Silly girl, you can’t carry on in such a reckless manner! At this rate, you will soon struggle to maintain the balance between Yin and Yang. You will die if that happens!”
In the Chaotic Dead Territory, Zhang Ruo Xi spent 2,000 years harmonizing the power of Yin and Yang using her Heavens Order Bloodline. By doing so, her strength surged to unprecedented heights. She rapidly grew from an Eighth-Order Master to a mighty existence who could fight against Mo alone.
Nevertheless, she was still just a Master at the peak of the Ninth Order without the power she was granted by the Burning Light and Serene Glimmer.
Previously, she had maintained a balance between the powers of Yin and Yang with her Bloodline and both Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan had remained sleeping deep within her body. However, they were beginning to regain consciousness as a result of her continuous fights and the deaths of her Personal Guard.
That was not a good thing for her. The situation indicated that her Bloodline was starting to have trouble maintaining a balance between the power of Yin and Yang. Just as Big Brother Huang said, if she were to lose control now, a Master at the peak of the Ninth Order like her would not be able to withstand the pressure of their rampaging power and would instantly perish!
Zhang Ruo Xi remained silent. Forming the Three Fortunes Formation with her two remaining Personal Guards, she persisted in her slaughter.
At this moment, the number of Black Ink Clansmen gathered around her had reduced significantly. Their numbers were far less than their initial numbers due to her desperate slaughter of her enemies. No matter how many there were, there was bound to be a time when they were completely obliterated.
At this juncture, the Masters from the Black Ink Clan were no longer as desperate as they were before though; instead, they constantly wandered around her and forced her to expend her energy while keeping themselves safe from harm. They were evidently waiting for the destruction of her two remaining Personal Guards. Once she lost the support of the Battle Formation, the threat she posed towards the Black Ink Clan would be greatly reduced.
Realising that, Big Brother Huang sighed and said no more. He knew that Zhang Ruo Xi couldn’t stop fighting at this time; after all, this battle was related to the survival of the entire Human Race. The slightest wavering would lead to their eternal doom.
There was only one thing he could do for her at this moment. He attempted to cooperate with Big Sister Lan, trying to coordinate the power of the Yin and Yang in her body and prevent the balance between their respective strengths from being broken. Unfortunately, what they could do was extremely limited…
The situation gradually developed in the direction that the Black Ink Clan were hoping for. When the seventh Personal Guard shattered to pieces, it became impossible for Zhang Ruo Xi to form a Battle Formation with just her last Personal Guard!
The Black Ink Clan had been waiting a long time for this very moment and they immediately swarmed forward and tore the last Personal Guard apart.
In an instant, Zhang Ruo Xi sunk into the dire situation of fighting a solo battle. Meanwhile, Ah Da and Ah Er were also being restrained by many Masters from the Black Ink Clan. They could not break free to help her.
Death slowly approached her… Just as she was at her most vulnerable, something resembling a violent torrent suddenly tore through the dense layers of the Black Ink Clan Army and swiftly approached the battlefield where she was located. It was none other than the Human Race Army that had been fighting fiercely this whole time!
When the Human Race Army first departed from the No-Return Pass on their second crusade, there were over 20 million Masters! Unfortunately, their numbers had dwindled by more than half at this moment.
What’s more, their current numbers were only possible because the Small Stone Race Army had withstood the brunt of the pressure from their enemies. If not for the Small Stone Race Army, the Human Race Army would have been defeated in battle long ago.
Countless heroes fell on this vast battlefield. The severed limbs and dismembered corpses of the Black Ink Clan littering the void were basically a manifestation of their Military Merits.
The period when Zhang Ruo Xi had penetrated the depths of the void and fought with Mo had been the most difficult for the Human Race Army. Countless Black Ink Clansmen had besieged and intercepted the Humans, leading to the deaths of many brave soldiers. Even the Ninth-Order Masters had suffered several casualties, with their deaths hitting morale particularly harshly.
However, the pressure faced by the Human Race Army decreased substantially when Zhang Ruo Xi returned with her Battle Formation of Personal Guard. She was the reason why so many Masters from the Black Ink Clan were killed!
In such a fierce and chaotic battlefield, the slightest negligence could be fatal. Most of the Human Race Masters on the battlefield were unaware of Zhang Ruo Xi’s dire state. Be that as it may, how could Mi Jing Lun, who had been keeping an eye on the overall situation on the battlefield, be oblivious to her circumstances?
The Black Ink Clan had shifted the focus of the battle to Zhang Ruo Xi. During this period, Mi Jing Lun could only watch anxiously as the Personal Guard around her were destroyed one by one until she fell into a critical condition.
Zhang Ruo Xi was undoubtedly one of the keys to winning this war. If she were defeated and killed, then the Human Race Army would lose their only hope at victory; therefore, she had to be protected no matter the cost!
Even though that was the case… what strength did the Human Race Army have to help her right now? Mi Jing Lung racked his brains for an answer but could not think up a good plan. Recklessly charging forward with what remained of the Human Race Army without a suitable plan would not help her. In fact, his actions would only place the Humans in greater danger instead.
At this moment, the Human Race Army could borrow the strength of the Small Stone Race Army to offset the pressure from their enemies; however, that was only possible thanks to the cooperation between the Human Race Army and the Small Stone Race Army. If they charged out, they would be separated from the Small Stone Race Army. Under such circumstances, the pressure that the Humans would have to withstand on their own was unfathomable.
At the critical moment, a blood-drenched Yang Xiao suddenly rushed towards Mi Jing Lun, and after a brief conversation, the latter made up his mind. Under his command, the Human Race Army instantly condensed their forces into an attack formation, broke through the Black Ink Clan’s heavy encirclement, and charged towards Zhang Ruo Xi like a violent storm.
At this moment, many top Masters from the Black Ink Clan had been slaughtered by Zhang Ruo Xi, and out of those that remained, more than 100 Royal Lords were working together to restrain Ah Da and Ah Er while nearly 200 surrounded Zhang Ruo Xi.
Therefore, the Human Race Army was not facing much pressure at the moment. It could even be said that the Black Ink Clan no longer considered the Human Army a worthy opponent. As long as the Royal Lords defeated Zhang Ruo Xi, the Humans would be helpless to resist when they finally turned around to deal with them. The Black Ink Clan’s underestimation was the reason the Human Race Army successfully broke out of the encirclement.
The strange movements of the Human Race Army naturally caught the attention of many Masters from the Black Ink Clan. They might not know what the Human Race Army was planning, but they had finally pushed Zhang Ruo Xi to the brink of desperation after sacrificing so many of their Masters. How could they allow for any external interference at this time?
Dozens of Royal Lords immediately turned around and charged towards the Human Race Army while a massive number of Black Ink Clan Soldiers pursued the Humans from the rear.
Under these circumstances, the Human Race Army would be facing enemies from the front and back if they did not quickly escape the besiegement of the Royal Lords. Only an extremely disastrous ending awaited them if they were engulfed by the enemy in their current state.
When the Royal Lords took action, Zhang Ruo Xi also made her move. She attempted to slash her way through the heavy blockade and join the Human Race Army; however, numerous Masters from the Black Ink Clan fearlessly threw themselves at her to obstruct her path. They did not seem to hesitate even though their lives were on the line. Hence, she was successfully prevented from escaping for some time.
By this time, Zhang Ruo Xi was exhausted beyond her limits. After she departed from the Chaotic Dead Territory, she rushed to the battlefield without delay. Once she arrived, she not only fought countless Royal Lords, but she also expended her strength to open the Void Corridor that connected to the Chaotic Dead Territory. Afterwards, she delved into the depths of the opening in the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction and wreaked havoc there for some time before she engaged Mo in an intense battle…
It could be said that she had not rested at all since she stepped foot on the battlefield. She had simply been moving from battle to battle without any breaks in between; therefore, she could only bring out 70% of her full strength. The most obvious change was her combat effectiveness. She used to be able to kill a Royal Lord in one blow, but now it took her multiple strikes to kill one. It would not be easy for her to join up with the Human Race Army when she was being besieged by so many Masters from all directions.
At this moment, a figure abruptly soared into the sky. Raising both hands high, he clenched his fists and roared furiously, “Burn!”
The two Marks on his clenched fists flashed with a blinding light!
Seven figures rushed into the sky behind him. Every one of them also had mysterious Marks shining brightly on the backs of their hands. These Marks indicated that these people were blessed by the Sun’s Burning Light and Moon’s Serene Glimmer. Yang Kai had brought these Marks from the Chaotic Dead Territory and bestowed them to 10 Divine Spirits many years ago.
These Divine Spirits had been scattered throughout the various battlefields. Thanks to the Great Sun and Moon Marks in their possession, they could mobilise and transform the power of the Yellow and Blue Crystals into Purifying Light. Consequently, they were essential to the logistical support of the Human Race Army. It was precisely thanks to this method that the threat of the Black Ink Strength to the Human Race was greatly reduced. The Purifying Black Ink Pills alone would not have been enough otherwise.
Even before this incident, these Divine Spirits had been mobilising the power of the Great Sun and Moon Marks constantly during the war. So many Small Stone Race Soldiers had died on the battlefield that they could easily summon a large burst of the Purifying Light without much effort. In this way, they could not only purify the battlefield, but they could also cause great damage to the Black Ink Clan, killing two birds with one stone.
When the Human Race Army charged in Zhang Ruo Xi’s direction, the Divine Spirits with the Great Sun and Moon Marks quickly activated the marks on the backs of their hands under Yang Xiao’s leadership.
Zhang Ruo Xi, who was besieged by countless Royal Lords, saw the scene from a distance and immediately understood their plan. A smile appeared on her exhausted face. Feeling the strength of the people around her, she knew she was not fighting alone! It was just that she had never even contemplated what they were about to attempt, much less tested it, so she did not know if she would succeed!
“Seniors, please assist me!” Closing her eyes, she gripped the Heaven’s Order Sword tightly with both hands and pleaded.
The sighs of Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan sounded in unison, but they did not refuse her.
In the next moment, the wings behind Zhang Ruo Xi’s back glowed in two-coloured light. When she opened her eyes, the colour of her eyes had also changed. One eye was yellow and the other eye was blue. It was a strange sight to behold!
At the same time, with Yang Xiao in the lead, the two Marks on the backs of the hands of the Divine Spirits abruptly burst forth and transformed into a two-coloured light that enveloped their bodies as a powerful Divine Sense simultaneously penetrated their Knowledge Seas.
It was the Divine Senses of the Burning Light and Serene Glimmer.
Under normal circumstances, they would never allow any external Divine Sense to encroach on their minds; however, they abandoned all defences at this moment and allowed the Divine Sense to link with their own.
One by one, the eyes of the Divine Spirits went blank as though they had lost themselves…
“Link!” Zhang Ruo Xi cried out.
With herself as the source point, various rays of aura instantly connected with each other across the distance and became closely intertwined. Her aura, which had initially begun to dwindle, suddenly surged and shook the surrounding void.
The Royal Lords paled at the sight!
“Success!” Relief washed over Mi Jing Lun at the sight.
This was Yang Xiao’s suggestion…
When the eight Personal Guards shattered to pieces, it became impossible for Zhang Ruo Xi to form a Battle Formation. She would never escape from the besiegement of so many Masters from the Black Ink Clan in her current condition, so it was only a matter of time before she suffered a tragic death. The Black Ink Clan would be free to attack the Human Race Army once Zhang Ruo Xi died, which would undoubtedly result in the Human Race’s defeat.
Be that as it may, the Human Race Army had no extra resources to spare in their current condition. The very idea of helping Zhang Ruo Xi was nothing more than a fool’s dream unless somebody could form a new Nine Palaces Formation with her!
Although they had enough Ninth-Order Masters to fulfil the requirements to form a Nine Palaces Formation, it was not easy for them to actually pull off such a feat. Even if eight Ninth-Order Masters were sent to help Zhang Ruo Xi, even if they trusted her wholeheartedly, it would be impossible for them to join forces and form a Nine Palaces Formation in such a short time; after all, this was not solely a matter of trust but also of compatibility.
That was why Yang Xiao had suggested attempting to form the Nine Palaces Formation with the Divine Spirits who owned the Great Sun and Moon Marks instead. He believed that they might achieve a pleasantly surprising result.
The Great Sun and Moon Marks were derived from the Burning Light and Serene Glimmer’s Sources. Since Zhang Ruo Xi had united the power of Yin and Yang with her Bloodline, her body was brimming with the Source Strength of the Burning Light and Serene Glimmer.
In other words, to her, Yang Xiao and the other Divine Spirits should not be that much different from her destroyed Small Stone Race Personal Guard.
At this point, their only option was to attempt this unprecedented feat. If they succeeded, then it would be a joyous success. If they failed, then there was nothing that could be done regardless. In any case, they would only know the result after they made the attempt.
For that reason, Mi Jing Lun ordered the entire Human Army to charge out and separate from the ranks of the Small Stone Race Army.
It was their final desperate attempt to overturn their current predicament. If this plan failed, they would not only fail to rescue Zhang Ruo Xi, but also face the imminent destruction of the Human Race Army.
Fortunately, the plan had worked.
When the power of the Nine Palaces Formation enveloped the enormous void, Mi Jing Lun smiled from the bottom of his heart.
Dozens of Royal Lords were currently on the way to intercept the Human Race Army and bombarded them with a storm of powerful Secret Techniques before they even arrived.
The defences of the Human Race Army could be said to have fallen apart at this moment, with only the Ninth-Order Masters being capable of blocking such an onslaught.
Just as the Ninth-Order Masters were confronting the Royal Lords though, the hollow-eyed Divine Spirits charged forward with Yang Xiao in the lead. Every one of these Divine Spirits was enveloped in a blue and yellow light, and the aura surrounding them was so strong that the void shuddered in their presence.
Yang Xiao headed straight towards one of the Royal Lords, and under that Royal Lord’s astonished gaze, Yang Xiao slammed his fist forward. Half of the Royal Lord’s body instantly exploded into mist when the punch landed. Meanwhile, Yang Xiao did not stop his movements and charged towards the second Royal Lord with a blank expression on his face.
Yang Xiao was an Ancient Dragon, equivalent to a peak Eighth-Order Master; naturally, killing a Royal Lord in one blow was the result of the Battle Formation and not his own strength. It was a pity that the attack cost him a heavy price. The arm he used to punch the Royal Lord became twisted and broke, with blood pouring out of it from multiple wounds…
Most of the Divine Spirits displayed similar performances.
With no leader coordinating their movements, the Royal Lords blocking the Divine Spirits were swiftly cut down without much resistance. The remaining Royal Lords were frightened and quickly moved aside to open up a path.
Such a feat was only possible because Yang Xiao and the others were Divine Spirits.
The physical body of each Divine Spirit was extremely powerful in comparison to any other existence. If they were ordinary Eighth-Order Human Masters who had supported Zhang Ruo Xi in this Battle Formation instead, their bodies would not have been able to withstand the backlash from launching such powerful attacks.
The eight Divine Spirits broke through the heavy blockade of the Royal Lords and headed straight towards Zhang Ruo Xi, who did not remain idle either. At this moment, she released a powerful burst of energy and tore through the besiegement of the Royal Lords to join the Divine Spirits as soon as possible. With the power of the new Nine Palaces Formation, the original crisis that loomed over her was resolved in an instant.
When Zhang Ruo Xi united with the eight Divine Spirits, a huge change took place in the overall situation.
The Human Race Army escorting the Divine Spirits did not stop forging ahead and instead acted like a raging current that swept across the void in a wide arc before returning to their original battlefield via a huge detour. With tremendous help from the Small Stone Race Army, the two Armies reunited once more and resumed their endless battle against the Black Ink Clan Army.
At this point, Pure Yang Pass was completely destroyed and the Suppressing Black Ink Fortress had been shattered. Most of the Warships were also gone with just a few barely surviving. The Human Race no longer had many external aids to rely upon at this last juncture of the war. The only thing they had left was the barrier of flesh and blood!
In the void, Zhang Ruo Xi had united with the eight Divine Spirits. She gripped the Heavens Order Sword tightly with both hands, surrounded by many Royal Lords in all directions, she murmured softly under her breath, “We won’t have much time…”
The strength of the eight Divine Spirits could not compare with her Personal Guard, so not only would forcefully forming a Battle Formation cause immense damage to the bodies of the Divine Spirits, but even the powerful Divine Sense of the Burning Light and Serene Glimmer which directed their auras caused hidden dangers.
If Zhang Ruo Xi could not end the battle as soon as possible, the Divine Spirits who joined up with her would eventually explode. Even if their physical bodies somehow managed to endure, their Souls might be extinguished. What’s more, Yang Xiao and Su Yan were among the eight Divine Spirits… These two were Yang Kai’s important family members. She could not lose this fight!
Even setting aside the weakness of the Divine Spirits, Zhang Ruo Xi could hardly last for much longer. At this very moment, she was burning the Heavens Order Bloodline in her body just to forcefully maintain a balance between the power of Yin and Yang, despite Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan doing everything they could to assist her. It would not be long before the balance would be broken and her Bloodline was burned out entirely.
Forcing down her worries, Zhang Ruo Xi lifted her sword and boldly charged towards her enemies, followed closely by the eight Divine Spirits!
The sudden burst of power left the Royal Lords scrambling in a panic. One after another, the Royal Lords fell prey to Zhang Ruo Xi’s sword, but when she finally broke through the encirclement, she did not escape. On the contrary, she turned around and led the Divine Spirits to attack once more!
Thanks to the Nine Palaces Formation which was formed with Zhang Ruo Xi as the Core and the eight Divine Spirits as the foundation, she had once more become an unstoppable blade that repeatedly swept across the battlefield. Every charge resulted in the deaths of many Royal Lords.
10, 20, 30, 50…
Zhang Ruo Xi’s vision went blurry, and she could not see the scenery in front of her clearly. Furthermore, the power of Yin and Yang in her body was faintly showing signs of imbalance. Even so, she did not stop. She had no choice but to charge forward and swing her sword.
Meanwhile, the eight Divine Spirits following behind her were covered in blood; after all, the Nine Palaces Formation placed an extremely heavy burden on their bodies. The only reason they could maintain the Formation at all was because the Divine Spirits had relinquished all control over their own bodies and fully surrendered themselves to become part of the Battle Formation. By doing so, even with their bodies on the verge of collapse, they managed to persist.
The bones in Yang Xiao’s arms had been shattered to pieces. Meanwhile, Su Yan’s internal organs were crushed. She was also bleeding from her seven orifices, which made her appearance extremely ghastly…
After fighting for some time, Zhang Ruo Xi suddenly felt a change in the Battle Formation. One pillar of the foundation had failed; thus, she hastily readjusted the Battle Formation!
The Nine Palaces Formation became the Eight Trigrams Formation. Unable to withstand the pressure of the Battle Formation any longer, one of the Divine Spirits fighting behind her had exploded and died.
The death distressed her greatly, causing a sharp stab of pain in her heart. Nevertheless, she did not dare to check the identity of the deceased Divine Spirit. She could only persist and swing her sword to cut down her enemies.
At a certain point, Zhang Ruo Xi could no longer detect any Royal Lords around her. She looked around with bleary eyes, but no matter where she looked, she could find none of the Masters who had previously besieged her. She had cut down all 200 Royal Lords!
When the realization struck her, she nearly burst into tears. Her entire body was covered in countless wounds, and the fresh blood that drenched her entire body had dyed what was left of her robes scarlet.
She had not been too concerned when she teamed up with her Personal Guard to form the Battle Formation; after all, her Personal Guard each had the strength of a Ninth-Order Master. Not to mention, their bodies were robust. They were capable of withstanding the pressure of the Battle Formation for an extended time.
However, there were too many things to worry about when she entered a Battle Formation with the Divine Spirits. There were times when she could not dodge the attacks from the Royal Lords, so she was forced to bear the brunt of these attacks or the Divine Spirits would be killed instead. In this way, she had taken more damage in this shot battle than in all her previous fights.
It was not until this moment that she had the time to check on the condition of the Divine Spirits. Eight Divine Spirits had forced their way through the enemy blockade to help her, but only three remained behind her! Even so, the aura of these three was weak and unstable, like they could be snuffed out at any moment.
Although she was heartbroken by the losses, Zhang Ruo Xi was relieved to see that Yang Xiao and Su Yan had survived… The Dragon Clan and Phoenix Clan were certainly worthy of being the strongest among the Divine Spirits. Besides, both Yang Xiao and Su Yan had been at the peak of their cultivation for a long time, which was another reason why they managed to persist until the end.
“Seniors, please release the Battle Formation!” Zhang Ruo Xi anxiously urged.
Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan immediately released control over their Source Strength at the same time. In the next moment, the three hollow-eyed Divine Spirits regained consciousness. Three muffled groans of pain sounded in unison. They had not been aware of their states when their consciousness had been taken over, but a wave of boundless agony washed over them when their consciousness was restored.
All the bones in Yang Xiao’s body made cracking sounds as he revealed his true Form without hesitation. Changing into his Dragon Form would give him greater endurance against his wounds. The injuries might be fatal to his Human Form, but the same degree of injuries would only be considered critical in his Dragon Form. Still, his 90,000-metre-long Ancient Dragon Form was tattered and covered in terrible wounds; moreover, the aura around him was weak and unstable.
Similarly, the other Divine Spirit revealed his true Form. He was a Pi Xiu who had survived for innumerable years and was thus an old veteran with an incredibly solid foundation.
Neither of these two suffered from major problems. Although they were very heavily wounded, their lives were not in danger.
Then, Zhang Ruo Xi turned to look at Su Yan, and her eyes immediately widened in horror at the sight.
Su Yan’s body was breaking apart and crumbling into dust. Like Yang Kai, she was originally part of the Human Race and only became part Divine Spirit after obtaining her Phoenix Source.
She had repeatedly entered the Phoenix Nest to cultivate over the years, and in the end, she completely integrated the Third Generation Phoenix Empress’ Source to become a pureblood member of the Phoenix Clan. Be that as it may, her foundation and physique were still inferior compared to someone born and raised in the Phoenix Clan.
Yang Xiao and Pi Xiu just barely survived the ordeal, but Su Yan failed to pull through until the end.
Yang Xiao evidently noticed Su Yan’s condition because he released a sorrowful wail at the sight.
Su Yan, who was covered in various wounds, looked down at her hands which were beginning to disintegrate into ash. A look of remembrance flashed through her eyes at the sight. Raising her head once more, she looked at the weeping Zhang Ruo Xi and smiled, “Please don’t blame yourself. The Phoenix Clan has our Phoenix Flame. There might be a chance for me to revive from death… But, if I fail… Please pass a message to him for me. Tell him that meeting him was the greatest blessing in my life!”
Zhang Ruo Xi nodded desperately, her tears streaming down her face uncontrollably.
The Phoenix Clan’s Phoenix Flame was also known as the Flame of Rebirth. It was only natural for Su Yan and Zhang Ruo Xi to know about such things. Unfortunately, the Flame of Rebirth did not always succeed. It was simply a possibility of Rebirth; after all, the Phoenix Clan would be truly immortal if their Rebirth succeeded in every attempt.
If the Flame of Rebirth failed, their Phoenix Source would return to the Phoenix Nest and be reborn as a new member of the Phoenix Clan.
After the battle, Zhang Ruo Xi’s crisis was resolved. Unfortunately, the price of her rescue was not small. Five out of the eight Divine Spirits who came to help her had lost their lives in battle. Only three of them had survived to the end.
Be that as it may, Su Yan had already set one foot across the gates of death.
After Su Yan finished speaking to Zhang Ruo Xi, her entire body dissolved into tiny points of fluorescent light, which did not dissipate into the Void but condensed into a dim blue flame instead. It was her Phoenix Flame, as well as her Phoenix Source. It was the inheritance she received from the Third Generation Phoenix Empress, who lived back in the Late Ancient Era.
Zhang Ruo Xi anxiously stared at the small ball of fire.
The Phoenix Flame flickered, going from light to dark. In just a short moment, the dim blue Phoenix Flame became dim and dull, as though it would be extinguished in the next moment!
Despite facing hundreds of Royal Lords without the slightest change in her expression, Zhang Ruo Xi now was as pale as a sheet; moreover, her body was enveloped in a layer of boundless chill.
The extinguishment of the Phoenix Flame would mean that Su Yan was gone forever. Even if the Phoenix Flame returned to the Phoenix Nest and produced another member of the Phoenix Clan, that person would no longer be Su Yan.
“…e… ey… Hey!” Big Brother Huang’s voice abruptly sounded in Zhang Ruo Xi’s mind, causing her to snap back to her senses.
“Grab that ball of fire!” Big Brother Huang urgently urged.
Although Zhang Ruo Xi did not know what Big Brother Huang was planning, she quickly did as she was told. She stepped forward and wrapped her hands around the weakened flame. In the next moment, she clearly sensed Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan pouring power from their Sources into the Phoenix Flame. She immediately understood their plan and hurriedly activated her Heaven’s Order Bloodline to help balance the flow and harmonize their power.
The flame that was on the verge of being snuffed out slowly stabilised. In addition, faint hues of yellow and blue gradually seeped into the flame. The hues of yellow and blue were none other than the Source Strength of the Burning Light and Serene Glimmer.
Shortly after the Primordial Light left its birthplace, the power of Yin and Yang were split from it. The Primordial Light later collided with the Divine Spirit Ancestral Land, and the dissipated energy transformed into the various Divine Spirits. In the end, its remaining essence turned into a woman bearing the Heaven’s Order Bloodline.
Strictly speaking, the Burning Light and the Serene Glimmer originated from the same source as all Divine Spirits. Although they could be classified as Divine Spirits, they were different from ordinary Divine Spirits. That was because they were the first to split from the Primordial Light. Be it in terms of the purity or strength of their Source, ordinary Divine Spirits were simply incomparable to the Burning Light and Serene Glimmer. Even the Dragons and Phoenixes were no exception in this regard.
Therefore, the pure Source Strength of the Burning Light and Serene Glimmer was a great supplement to the Divine Spirits. Their Source Strength could help in the refinement of a Divine Spirit’s Source and enhance the Bloodline of these Divine Spirits.
Yang Kai was the best example of this.
When Yang Kai first met Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan, he had only just become a 10,000-metre-long Grand Dragon, but after receiving a gift of Source Strength from the two of them, his Dragon Vein improved at an astonishing pace, allowing him to grown to 20,000 metres in just half a month. What’s more, the gift of Source Strength from Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan was nowhere near exhausted and had helped Yang Kai several more times over the years, eventually allowing him to become an Ancient Dragon less than 1,000 years later. This rate of growth for a member of the Dragon Clan was unheard of in history.
At this moment, the same effect took place when they injected their Source Strength into the Phoenix Flame. The Phoenix Flame reacted as though it suddenly received significant nourishment and began burning brighter and stronger until the small ball of flame gradually resembled a blue-coloured Great Sun.
Zhang Ruo Xi watched the flame intently. Then, she vaguely noticed the figure of a Phoenix Clan member flying about within the flames. When the burning brightness of the Phoenix Flame reached a certain point, the blue-coloured Great Sun abruptly expanded and exploded!
The sudden turn of events left her dumbfounded. She couldn’t help thinking that something extremely awful had happened; however, she immediately revealed an expression of joyous surprise. That was because a clear and striking Phoenix Cry resounded throughout the void when the blue Phoenix Flame erupted. It was followed by the unfurling of a giant pair of dazzling wings, then the gradual appearance of a beautiful and graceful figure.
Having received help from the Source Strength of Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan, Su Yan had succeeded in her Rebirth!
Zhang Ruo Xi wept tears of joy.
A Phoenix’s Rebirth generally came with great risks. If they failed, they would lose their life on the spot. On the other hand, they would receive immense benefits if they succeeded. That was because the strength of the Phoenix Clan members would improve significantly with each Rebirth. Not to mention, Su Yan received aid from the Source Strength of the Burning Light and Serene Glimmer during her Rebirth.
At this moment, her Ice Phoenix aura radiating from the Flame of Rebirth was at a height that Su Yan had never been able to achieve in the past. She would not lose even if compared to Divine Dragon Fu Guang! She was now a Divine Spirit that was on par with a veteran Ninth-Order Master!
While the Divine Spirits’ population was far from their peak back in the Primordial Era, there was no small number of them nowadays; nevertheless, Fu Guang was the only living Divine Spirit who had achieved such a level of power. Naturally, Yang Kai could also be included in this list.
The rest of the Divine Spirits were at most equivalent to peak Eighth-Order Masters. Although these Divine Spirits were generally stronger than average Human Race Masters at the peak of the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm, that did not change the fact that they had yet to reach the highest peak of their strength.
Therefore, the Phoenix Clan no longer had a designated leader, much less a Phoenix Empress after the death of the former Dragon and Phoenix Clan Leaders during the battle in the Barren Territory. Only a Phoenix who had reached the realm of Ninth-Order Masters had the right to command the Phoenix Clan and vie for the position of Phoenix Empress.
Su Yan had reached the peak of the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm; in addition, her Phoenix Clan Source had reached a realm equivalent to the Eighth-Order. Having inherited the Source of the Third Generation Phoenix Empress, she was expected to become a Phoenix Empress in the future if she had enough time to develop and grow.
The entire Phoenix Clan had placed their hopes in her.
Nevertheless, the enhancement of a Divine Spirit’s Bloodline and Source was extremely difficult. Even though Su Yan repeatedly entered the Phoenix Nest to cultivate over the years, she had remained stuck at a bottleneck. She simply could not overcome the bottleneck and advance to the final step.
That was until this moment.
Su Yan, who was reborn thanks to the Flame of Rebirth, had finally shattered her bottleneck. Her Bloodline had improved significantly, allowing her to advance. She even overcame the shackles of the Open Heaven Realm, which was nothing short of a miracle.
Amidst the ringing notes of the Phoenix Cries, Su Yan who had transformed into an Ice Phoenix, gave Zhang Ruo Xi a slight nod of acknowledgement. Then, she turned around and charged towards the vast battlefield, leaving a long and flickering tail of blue light in her wake.
Another Phoenix Cry sounded a moment later, and a large part of the void froze as a result. Countless Black Ink Clansmen were turned into ice sculptures that maintained their final appearance before their deaths, drifting aimlessly in the void. Even the surviving Royal Lords were too intimidated by the icy aura to step forward and challenge this new enemy. They were certain that things would not end well for them if they were touched by that kind of power. At the same time, the enormous Black Ink Cloud that had condensed above the battlefield was also enveloped in huge ice crystals.
One after another, Phoenix Cries sounded from various directions across the battlefield. It was the Phoenix Clan welcoming their newly-crowned Empress. Their sonorous cries pierced through space itself, sounding a horn of counterattack.
“Hou!” A high-pitched Dragon Roar sounded next.
Zhang Ruo Xi, who finally managed to collect her emotions, looked up into the void and saw Yang Xiao writhing around in his Dragon Form. The power of the Dragon Vein in his body fluctuated wildly, showing faint signs that he was about to break through.
Moreover, he was not the only one! Pi Xiu, the final survivor, was also exhibiting similar signs!
The previous battle was an arduous struggle that they had never experienced before. Although their consciousnesses had been dormant at the time, their bodies did not forget the details of the battle. The enormous pressure had brought them closer to the limits of their Bloodline.
Nonetheless, what truly allowed them to break through their limits was the pure Source Strength of the Burning Light and Serene Glimmer which had poured into them. Both Yang Xiao and Pi Xiu were bearers of the Great Sun and Moon Marks, which were the manifestation of a piece of the Burning Light and Serene Glimmer’s Source.
In order to successfully form the Nine Palaces Formation with Zhang Ruo Xi, Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan had integrated their Marks into the Divine Spirits and assumed control over their bodies; hence, all eight of the Divine Spirits received the blessing of the Burning Light and the Serene Glimmer’s Source Strength, which stimulated the growth of their Bloodline greatly. The benefits that they obtained after surviving their near-death experience were unimaginable.
The power of Yang Xiao’s Dragon Vein boiled. He roared endlessly, filled with the faint realisation that he had touched up the barrier that hindered his growth. As long as he could break through this barrier, he would be able to successfully become a Divine Dragon!
He had been under tremendous mental pressure ever since he returned from the Universe Furnace. Although Yang Xue had advanced to the Ninth Order, he remained stuck as an Ancient Dragon. Consequently, there were many occasions in which they could no longer fight side-by-side with each other. The main reason was the difference in their strengths, which caused him to become a burden for Yang Xue.
For this reason, Yang Xiao had been desperately trying to improve his Bloodline. He had asked Fu Guang for advice on countless occasions, but the path to becoming a Divine Dragon was not easy. Even with Fu Guang’s careful guidance, he simply could not find a way to overcome his bottleneck.
The number of people in each generation of the Dragon Clan who could successfully advance to become Divine Dragons could always be counted on one hand. Most of the time, the Dragon Clan had only one Divine Dragon, and even at the peak of the Dragon Clan, there had only been a total of three Divine Dragons.
At this moment, Yang Xiao could almost see his breakthrough on the horizon. He knew that this might be his opportunity to overcome his bottleneck; therefore, he could not afford to miss it. In order to break through the shackles of his Bloodline, he was willing to sacrifice everything!
The same was true for Pi Xiu!
While the Dragon and Phoenix Clans generally had the protection of a Dragon Emperor or a Phoenix Empress in each generation, no equivalent Divine Spirit had appeared among the rest of the Divine Spirits since the end of the Primordial Era.
The Primordial Era had been the turning point for the Divine Spirits, who lost the blessings of the Heavens and earned the malice of the Universe instead.
During the Primordial Era, the Divine Spirits had been the favoured of the Heavens. They were unrestrained in their actions, doing whatever they wanted without any fear or scruples. Their reign came to an end after countless years of warring against each other for dominance, and they were eventually supplanted by the Monster Race. By that point, countless Divine Spirits had perished. Afterwards, the blessing and favour of the Heavens gradually shifted to the Monster Race.
Innumerable Divine Spirits were again wiped out during the Early Ancient Era when the Monster Race ruled, and the number of Divine Spirits who survived was less than one percent of their numbers at their peak. If the Monster Race had continued to reign over the Universe, the Divine Spirits would have gone extinct completely. Even the Dragon and Phoenix Clans would not be an exception.
What happened next was amusing indeed. The Monster Race ultimately walked down the same path as the Divine Spirits after they overthrew the reign of the Divine Spirits. Once again, the blessing and favour of the Heavens shifted, now falling upon the Human Race!
It was for that reason that the Divine Spirits cooperated with the Human Race. By taking shelter under the wings of the Human Race, they managed to preserve the lives of the surviving Divine Spirits until today!
In short, the Divine Spirits lost the favour of the Heavens after the Primordial Era and could no longer reproduce the glory of their Ancestors. The greatest sign of their decline was the huge reduction in the number of Divine Spirits that could touch what was equivalent to the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm. Only those born in the Dragon Clan and Phoenix Clan had produced such Masters after the Primordial Era. It had to be said that every single Divine Spirit Clan had the protection of their respective ‘Ninth-Order Divine Spirits’ during the Primordial Era. In fact, their numbers could range from a few to several dozen in each Divine Spirit Clan back then.
Countless aeons had passed since then, and at this moment, there was a Pi Xiu who finally experienced the opportunity to overcome the shackles of his Bloodline on this vast battlefield. He was ecstatic beyond imagination. Forcefully enduring the damage caused by his injuries, he pushed his Bloodline Power with reckless abandon. The vitality surrounding his body became more and more intense as time passed.
All over the battlefield, the Divines Spirits revealed their true bodies and roared in excitement. If Su Yan’s transformation was a joyous event for the Phoenix Clan, then Pi Xiu’s current state was a joyous event for all the Divine Spirits. Regardless of whether he succeeded in overcoming his bottleneck or not, he had already given the other Divine Spirits a glimpse of hope.
On the main battlefield, the difficult situation faced by the allied Army had been greatly eased, all thanks to Zhang Ruo Xi.
The Black Ink Clan had paid an exorbitant price to take down Zhang Ruo Xi, resulting in the loss of hundreds of Royal Lords and yielding less-than-desirable results.
If the Human Race Army had not desperately escorted the eight Divine Spirits to aid her at the last moment, the Black Ink Clan’s plans to kill Zhang Ruo Xi would most likely have succeeded, and once she was dead, there would no longer be anybody on the battlefield with sufficient strength to pose a threat to the Black Ink Clan.
At that moment, the two Giant Spirit Gods were trapped by over 100 Royal Lords. They were too busy fending for themselves to spare any energy to rescue the Human Race Army.
Fortunately, Zhang Ruo Xi eventually won the battle. The price of her victory was the lives of five Divine Spirits, but all the Royal Lords surrounding and besieging her had been eliminated in exchange. Furthermore, Su Yan had successfully been crowned as the Phoenix Empress. The enormous figure of the Ice Phoenix radiated with a bone-chilling cold that froze everything in its wake. Even space itself was no exception.
Be that as it may, the situation remained bleak.
The Black Ink Clan had twice as many troops as the allied Army, which gave them a numerical advantage that was difficult to overcome. Furthermore, not all of the Royal Lords had been eliminated in the skirmish with Zhang Ruo Xi. The enemy had preserved enough Royal Lords to maintain the situation on the main battlefield despite their attempt to kill Zhang Ruo Xi.
At this moment, the difference in strength between the two sides had not shrunk, but instead increased significantly. The main cause for this was that the Small Stone Race died at a much faster rate than the Black Ink Clan.
Su Yan’s Rebirth had only managed to help stabilize the situation by a small margin. The Human Race Army would need an even greater injection of strength to prevent things from deteriorating, much less win the battle.
A continuous wave of Dragon Roars reverberated throughout the void. When the power of Yang Xiao’s Dragon Vein reached a certain limit, the aura of the Divine Dragon erupted. Then, the body of a 100,000-metre-long White Dragon emerged, its enormous Dragon Head rising high above, overlooking all living creatures from a lofty height. Yang Xiao had succeeded in ascending to the realm of Divine Dragon!
At the same time, the aura of a ‘Ninth-Order Divine Spirit’ radiated from Pi Xiu.
Eight Divine Spirits had stepped forward to help Zhang Ruo Xi, and though five had died in battle, the remaining three had successfully overcome their respective shackles and risen to greater heights.
It was important to note that the difference in impact a Ninth-Order Divine Spirit like Pi Xiu could play on the battlefield compared to a newly advanced Ninth-Order Human Master was enormous. That was because the Divine Spirits were inherently stronger than Ninth-Order Humans by a large margin.
As soon as Yang Xiao and Pi Xiu joined forces and charged into the battlefield, a large swath was cut into the ranks of the Black Ink Clan Army. The overwhelming aura of the Divine Spirits flooded the void, causing countless Black Ink Clan Soldiers to perish.
In the distant void, another silver Divine Dragon was rampaging across the battlefield. His entire body was drenched in blood, and many of his tough Dragon Scales had been torn or blasted off. This silver Divine Dragon was none other than Fu Guang. Regardless of his immense strength, he was bound to sustain injuries in such a chaotic and intense battlefield.
When Fu Guang saw Yang Xiao charging into the battlefield after becoming a Divine Dragon, he immediately rushed over towards him. At the same time, a series of Dragon Roars were exchanged between them, as though they were communicating with each other. It did not take long before Yang Xiao seemed to understand the situation, and he quickly sliced a bloody path through his enemies to approach Fu Guang.
A short while later, the two Divine Dragons gathered at the same place. In terms of size alone, Fu Guang was undoubtedly larger than Yang Xiao. This was only natural as Fu Guang had been a Divine Dragon for a much longer time.
The two behemoths began to draw upon the power of their Dragon Veins, causing their vitality to surge and boil within them. That was not all. They also began to spin in circles at a high speed, with their bodies connected together from end to end. In the beginning, their figures could still be seen; however, they soon blurred into a rapidly rotating blur.
Something could vaguely be seen amidst the rapidly spinning circle of light, as though being summoned into existence.
Many of the Royal Lords in the Black Ink Clan Army couldn’t help feeling uncomfortable at the sight. Although they did not know what the two Divine Dragons were attempting, they knew that their actions would undoubtedly be detrimental to the Black Ink Clan. They had to stop the Divine Dragons at all costs; hence, more than a dozen Royal Lords immediately rushed towards the two Divine Dragons from various directions.
Despite their efforts though, another shocking scene entered their eyes before they could approach the Divine Dragons.
Under the joint efforts of the two Divine Dragons, a large amount of turbid liquid suddenly gushed out from the dazzling circle of light. The unknown liquid splattered across the void like a spray of mist from a mountain spring, covering everything around them. Then, a torrent of water emerged and swept out in all directions.
Many of the Divine Spirits who knew what was happening couldn’t help feeling moved by the scene before them. They knew that the Dragon Clan had brought out their strongest trump card in order to obtain victory in this war. The torrent gushing into the void without restraint was clearly the waters from the Dragon Pool!
The Phoenix Clan had the Phoenix Nest, while the Dragon Clan had the Dragon Pool. These were the foundations of their respective Clans.
When the Phoenix Clan mobilised the power of the Phoenix Nest against their enemies, the Dragon Clan had not unleashed the power of the Dragon Pool. It was not that the Dragon Clan did not want to bring out their trump card, but rather that they lacked the ability to perform such a feat.
Under normal circumstances, the act of summoning the Dragon Pool would have required various complicated rituals in addition to the concerted efforts of many Dragon Clan members. Unfortunately, the Dragon Clan simply could not afford the time and energy to perform such intricate rites on such a crisis-ridden battlefield.
That was the case until Yang Xiao became a Divine Dragon. With Fu Guang’s cooperation, the two Divine Dragons joined hands and forcibly summoned the Dragon Pool to the battlefield.
The Dragon Pool was the foundation of the Dragon Clan; after all, the existence of the Dragon Pool was the prerequisite for the Dragon Clan to produce endless descendants. Not to mention, the power of the Dragon Pool was diligently accumulated over countless generations of the Dragon Clan.
Regardless of whether the war would end in victory or defeat today, the Dragon Clan would inevitably suffer unimaginable losses by summoning the Dragon Pool on such a chaotic battlefield. It would be impossible to restore the lost energy without several hundreds of thousands of years of recuperation. Nevertheless, there was no denying that the effects of summoning the Dragon Pool were remarkable.
The waters of the Dragon Pool turned into a raging torrent that swept out in all directions, and the Black Ink Clan Soldiers caught within this flood instantly perished. The power of the Dragon Pool was an unstoppable force. If a Dragon bearing the Dragon Clan Bloodline came into contact with the Dragon Pool’s waters, they would be able to enhance their Bloodline and increase their strength. On the contrary, the waters of the Dragon Pool were a lethal poison to living creatures without the power of a Dragon Vein in their bodies.
Everywhere the mighty current flowed, death followed. Even one of the Royal Lords rushing towards the two Divine Dragons who accidentally got caught in the current only managed to struggle for a few breaths before he dissolved into the rampaging waters. It was a grand display of the terrifying power within the mighty current of the Dragon Pool.
Needless to say, the current did not pose any threat to beings like the Royal Lords and the Territory Lords as long as they remained on guard. The power emanating from the Dragon Pool might be impressive, but powerful Masters only needed to avoid the waters by a certain margin to remain unaffected.
However, it was never Fu Guang’s intention to target the enemy Masters when he joined forces with Yang Xiao to summon the Dragon Pool. His goal had always been the Black Ink Clan Army! The Royal Lords and the Territory Lords could easily dodge the raging currents, but the Black Ink Clan Soldiers weaker than the Territory Lords were not so capable; therefore, the troops of the Black Ink Clan Army were now perishing in droves.
Some Small Stone Race members fighting the Black Ink Clan Army were also caught in the raging torrent, but this couldn’t be helped. Although Fu Guang had done his best to summon the Dragon Pool in an area where only the Black Ink Clan was heavily concentrated, he could not exert fine control over the direction in which the mighty current of the Dragon Pool would flow; hence, accidental injuries among friendly troops was inevitable.
What shocked him though was that the Small Stone Race members caught in the raging torrent of the Dragon Pool did not lose their lives. On the contrary, they simply struggled in the current for some time before they quickly rushed out and resumed fighting.
After pondering on it for a moment though, Fu Guang realized what had happened. These Small Stone Race Soldiers might be simple-minded, but their bodies contained a significant amount of power from the Burning Light and Serene Glimmer.
Even if the power of the Dragon Pool was both ancient and pure, it was still incomparable to the original powers of Yin and Yang born alongside the Universe. The realization completely relieved Fu Guang of his worries. With hindsight, he had to admit that summoning the Dragon Pool at such a perilous juncture had been a stroke of genius.
Following the raging torrent that swept out in all directions, the Black Ink Clan Army suffered enormous losses, completely eliminating the numerical advantage they originally held.
On the other hand, the Human Race Army was small in number and extremely agile in their movements; hence, it was not difficult for them to avoid the mighty current under Mi Jing Lun’s command. As for the Small Stone Race… only their formations were scattered by the impact while they did not suffer any actual casualties.
After a while, the Dragon Pool vanished without a trace. The release of the waters that the Dragon Pool had accumulated over countless aeons instantly changed the entire situation on the battlefield. It was finally time for a counterattack of the allied Army of the Human and the Small Stone Races!
Among the remaining Black Ink Clan Army, all the Royal Lords wore solemn expressions on their faces. They simply could not understand this sudden turn of events. How did the Black Ink Clan, who should have had an absolute numerical advantage, end up in such dire condition all of a sudden?
Without sufficient numerical advantage, it was impossible for the Black Ink Clan to be a match for the allied Army of the Human Race and the Small Stone Race. To make matters worse, that terrifying woman was also beginning to take action again.
After the three Divine Spirits advanced to the Ninth Order in quick succession, they immediately charged into the battlefield to resolve the most critical crises. Zhang Ruo Xi finally had the chance to catch her breath as a result. She had watched the entire chain of events unfolding before her, beginning with the Dragon Pool’s summoning, the raging current sweeping out across the battlefield, and finally, the Black Ink Clan Soldiers being washed away and vanishing from existence.
Tightening her grip around the Heavens Order Sword, she murmured under her breath, “Seniors, I’m heading into battle!”
Big Brother Huang sighed softly, like he wanted to make a comment, but in the end, he said nothing and silently cooperated with Big Sister Lan to help Zhang Ruo Xi maintain the balance of power in her body.
The Heavens Order Bloodline burned once more, and the wings behind Zhang Ruo Xi’s back glowed with a blue and yellow hue. She charged into the battlefield without hesitation, aiming directly at the Royal Lords besieging Ah Da and Ah Er.
At this moment, the pressure faced by the allied Army on the main battlefield was not that serious; in fact, they were beginning to gain the upper hand. That was why Zhang Ruo Xi did not head for the main battlefield.
She would not last much longer in battle, so there was no point in slaughtering some miscellaneous Black Ink Clan troops with what little time she had left. It was undoubtedly more cost-efficient to spend her limited strength slaughtering some Royal Lords instead.
Besides, Ah Da and Ah Er would be freed as long as she killed enough Royal Lords. The allied Army of the Human Race and the Small Stone Race would also receive the support of the two Giant Spirit Gods if she succeeded, which might be more effective than providing support by herself.
In a flash of yellow and blue, Zhang Ruo Xi entered the range of the battle where Ah Da and Ah Er were located.
At this moment, the Royal Lords besieging the two Giant Spirit Gods were forced to suffer in silence.
The Royal Lords besieging Zhang Ruo Xi had been completely eradicated, and the numerical advantage of the Black Ink Clan Army on the main battlefield was quickly being overturned. At this point, the Human Race Army had gained the upper hand in this battle.
Even if the Royal Lords fighting the two Giant Spirit Gods wanted to help their comrades, they did not dare to leave their positions easily. They were only able to keep the two Giant Spirit Gods in check by relying on sufficient numbers to harass them. If any of them stepped away from their position, there was a risk that the delicate balance would be broken.
Once the two Giant Spirit Gods broke free of their restraints, it would be impossible to pin them down again. However, it was evident that Zhang Ruo Xi was coming to help the two Giant Spirit Gods.
The Royal Lords would only be waiting for their imminent deaths if they continued to confront the two Giant Spirit Gods, but showing their backs to these three terrifying enemies would likely just result in them dying faster… At this point, they were stuck in a situation with no hope of escape. Any choice they made would result in a tragic end; thus, every one of them felt aggrieved and hopeless.
The Black Ink Clan’s plans to use the Royal Lords to keep the two Giant Spirit Gods under control failed as soon as Zhang Ruo Xi came to the latter’s aid.
With a flash of her sword, several Royal Lords perished on the spot.
Upon receiving Zhang Ruo Xi’s assistance, Ah Er immediately struck out at the same time. He reached out his hand and smacked at a Royal Lord who was hovering around him. Thanks to Ah Er’s Heaven-destroying, Earth-shattering strength, the Royal Lord struck by his blow was instantly smashed to pieces.
However, Ah Er paid a heavy price for his actions. The other Royal Lords immediately took the opportunity to leave numerous wounds on his body, causing blood and flesh to splatter everywhere. Nevertheless, Ah Er did not back down. Abandoning all defences, he switched to a violent offensive instead.
As time passed, the Royal Lords steadily perished. When the number of Royal Lords besieging Ah Er dropped to half their original number, the restraints and shackles holding him down could no longer be sustained.
Ah Er was freed!
Afterwards, his offensive became increasingly violent and vicious. He worked together with Zhang Ruo Xi to quickly slaughter a few more Royal Lords around him, and as a result, the remaining Royal Lords could no longer withstand the pressure of the assault and scattered in various directions. Zhang Ruo Xi and Ah Er did not give chase but instead took the opportunity to rush towards Ah Da.
A feeling of doom washed over the Royal Lords at this sight. Zhang Ruo Xi had resolved Ah Er’s predicament by killing off many of the Royal Lords in the encirclement with her strength alone. And now, she was joining forces with Ah Er to attack the remaining Royal Lords. How were they supposed to survive this onslaught?
Seeing that the situation was not looking good for them, the Royal Lords besieging Ah Da hastily abandoned their opponent and fled in all directions. Ah Da naturally flew into a rage and chased after the fleeing Royal Lords, but his movements were slow and clumsy due to his enormous size, so how could he catch up to them? In the end, he was stopped by Ah Er.
At this point, Ah Da had practically lost his ability to think rationally and was acting purely on his instincts. Thus, he immediately turned around and punched out. The punch caused Ah Er to stagger and lose his balance. Fortunately, Ah Da realised that he had attacked the wrong person after the first strike and his anger immediately vanished. He then stood there awkwardly scratching his head.
Among the two Giant Spirit Gods, Ah Da had always been the most simple-minded. In comparison, there was no doubt that Ah Er was the smarter one. That was also why Zhang Ruo Xi had decided to rescue Ah Er first when she had the opportunity to help them.
“Come with me, we’ll beat them up together!” Ah Er told Ah Da, then he turned around and charged towards the main battlefield.
Ah Da obediently followed after his brother, quickly forgetting about how he was bullied by the Royal Lords earlier.
On the main battlefield, the appearance of the three Ninth-Order Divine Spirits and the mighty current of the Dragon Pool had long since levelled the gap in military strength between the two sides. These changes allowed the allied Army to gain the upper hand in the battle over time. Moreover, their advantage swiftly widened when the two Giant Spirit Gods came forward to provide support.
Everything had gotten better, and the situation was bound to improve even more.
On the other side, Zhang Ruo Xi was relentlessly chasing down the fleeing Royal Lords. Her speed was extraordinary. With the slightest flap of her wings, she could ignore the barriers of space and appear before any one of the Royal Lords in an instant.
None survived the slash of the Heavens Order Sword.
One… Two… Five… Ten…
The Royal Lords who scattered and fled in all directions had no hope of surviving. On the contrary, their actions simply accelerated the arrival of their demise. When the Royal Lords finally realised their mistake, they hastily gathered together once more.
Unfortunately, there were only some 40 Royal Lords remaining at this point.
These Royal Lords were originally responsible for surrounding and besieging the Giant Spirit Gods. There had been more than 100 of them in the beginning, but more than half had perished in such a short span of time.
Having seen the situation on the main battlefield, they knew that the Black Ink Clan had already lost the battle, but so what? As long as they had the Supreme One, they would never be defeated. What they needed to do now was preserve their strength as much as possible. When the Supreme One finished dealing with whatever matters it had to, they would rule the Universe under the command of the Supreme One.
With these considerations in mind, the Royal Lords gathered together but did not attack Zhang Ruo Xi. They simply waited quietly and assumed a defensive posture.
Holding the Heavens Order Sword in both hands, Zhang Ruo Xi smiled slightly even though her complexion was as pale as a sheet.
Their response perfectly aligned with her desires. If they had scattered and fled in different directions, then she would not have been able to eliminate them all. On the contrary, the fact that they gathered together in one place had certainly saved her the trouble of hunting them down.
Needless to say, the situation was also a risk to her. If she failed to handle the situation properly, she would most likely suffer catastrophic consequences.
“Come!” Zhang Ruo Xi exhaled lightly and stabilised the power in her body. When she looked up, the vitality surrounding her began to boil and burn and she transformed into a stream of light that charged towards the Royal Lords.
This was her last burst of strength, so she had to act swiftly. She had to finish dealing with these Royal Lords before the situation fell out of control.
When the stream of light crashed into the Royal Lords, various howls of fury resounded. Blood splattered everywhere and dismembered limbs scattered across the void. Under the rain of sword slashes that ruthlessly came pouring down, the Royal Lords perished one after another.
The entire incident seemed to last for only a brief moment, but at the same time, there was also a feeling that hundreds of thousands of years had passed in that brief moment.
When Zhang Ruo Xi finally stopped swinging her sword, the void was littered with the dismembered remains of the Royal Lords. The few survivors opposite her looked petrified. Those short few moments had deeply instilled the true meaning of despair in their hearts. In the face of absolute might, even Royal Lords like themselves were as weak as ants!
Nevertheless, something unexpected occurred.
Under the horrified gazes of the Royal Lords, Zhang Ruo Xi’s hands suddenly fell limply to the sides. The vitality that enveloped her body also became extremely weak at this moment. On the other hand, the terrifying aura within her became increasingly intense and unstable.
“She’s at her limits!” One of the Royal Lords yelled in pleasant surprise.
The Royal Lords had extremely keen vision, so they immediately noticed the changes when Zhang Ruo Xi showed abnormal symptoms. At this moment, the few surviving Royal Lords finally glimpsed an opportunity to defeat this woman; hence, they charged forward without hesitation.
A sharp look flashed through Zhang Ruo Xi’s eyes, and she struggled to lift the Heavens Order Sword up again. Big Brother Huang’s anxious shout entered her ears at that moment, “You’ll die at this rate!”
A faint smile appeared on her face, but her hands did not loosen their grip on the sword, instead tightening even more as she answered calmly, “We all have a predestined time.”
Big Sister Lan called out anxiously, “If you die, Big Brother Huang’s and my power will surely go out of control! Are you willing to watch this place turn into another Chaotic Dead Territory?”
There was no denying that Big Sister Lan was much better at reading hearts when it came to persuading others.
Zhang Ruo Xi was not afraid of death. If her death could bring victory to the Human Race, she would sacrifice herself without a second thought. However, there would be catastrophic consequences if she lost her life here.
Without the coordination of the Heavens Order Bloodline, the power of the two ancient Supreme Beings would definitely spiral out of control. The enormous void would become another Chaotic Dead Territory in an instant. If that were to happen, the Black Ink Clan Army would surely be eradicated, but unfortunately, the Human Race Army scattered across the battlefield would also be dragged down with them.
The Human Race had been fighting for millions of years just to obtain peace… At this point, they were only one step away from the dream of so many generations. How could Zhang Ruo Xi destroy everything at such a critical moment?
After a brief hesitation, Zhang Ruo Xi abruptly retreated. She no longer dared to carelessly activate the power within her; therefore, she could only avoid the attacks of the Royal Lords who were charging forward desperately.
Seeing that, the Royal Lords pursued Zhang Ruo Xi even more fiercely than before.
Ripples suddenly spread out across the void, and in the next moment, a dark blue Ice Phoenix wrapped in a bone-chilling cold stepped out from the ripples and shot a blast of icy aura at the Royal Lords who were pursuing Zhang Ruo Xi.
The Royal Lords were startled by the unexpected arrival and quickly dodged. When they raised their heads once more, their hearts ran cold with fear.
Following the appearance of the Ice Phoenix, several other figures stepped out from the ripples. They were none other than the Ninth-Order Human Masters!
The allied Army had completely seized the initiative on the main battlefield. They marched forward in high spirits, with their overwhelming advantage in battle steadily growing larger. Under such circumstances, the outcome of the battle was no longer in question. Their victory was only a matter of time at this point.
It was for that reason that Mi Jing Lun immediately sent reinforcements when he noticed Zhang Ruo Xi’s predicament. For the sake of ensuring Zhang Ruo Xi’s safety, he did not even hesitate to mobilise Su Yan, who had only just become a ‘Ninth-Order Divine Spirit’.
After repelling the Royal Lords who were pursuing Zhang Ruo Xi, a flash of light appeared around the Ice Phoenix. The figure shrank rapidly to reveal Su Yan’s appearance. She took a step forward and came to Zhang Ruo Xi’s side. Grabbing Zhang Ruo Xi by the arm, she quickly made a few manoeuvres and withdrew from the battlefield. Her next task was to protect Zhang Ruo Xi until the battle ended.
Once Su Yan retreated from the battlefield with Zhang Ruo Xi, the Ninth-Order Masters promptly found an opponent for themselves and clashed with the surviving Royal Lords.
As time passed, powerful auras were eliminated one after another. The Masters from the Black Ink Clan suffered heavy casualties, and the Black Ink Clan Army was steadily being eradicated.
The Small Stone Race Army also suffered terrible casualties, but even their deaths played a huge role in the battle.
From time to time, flashes of dazzling light would burst out across the battlefield. Those flashes were none other than Purifying Light. Everywhere the light illuminated, Black Ink Strength dissipated and Black Ink Clansmen howled in agony.
The Royal Lords and Territory Lords were perishing all over, and this only accelerated with the destruction of the Black Ink Clan Army. At a certain moment, the last stubborn Royal Lord was finally eliminated. The remaining Human Race Army looked around and realised that there were no other enemies around…
The battle that lasted for several months with almost no time for respite finally ended with the victory of the allied Army.
The Small Stone Race Army had suffered a heavy price for the victory. At this moment, less than 30% of their original numbers remained.
As for the Human Race Army… About 10 million troops remained when the entire Human Race Army assembled together in one place. Even the number of Ninth-Order Masters had reduced by more than half. Among the Ninth-Order Masters who lost their lives in battle, most of them were those who advanced recently. Although they managed to break through to the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm, they barely had any time to stabilize and strengthen the foundation. Compared to the veteran Ninth-Order Masters, their heritage and control over their own strength was undoubtedly weaker by a significant margin.
Furthermore, there were also many injured and crippled among the survivors.
The price of victory was extremely heavy, but the victory was ultimately worth the sacrifices.
A Heaven-shattering burst of cheers rang out soon after. The survivors screamed and rejoiced at the top of their voices, revelling in the ecstasy that overflowed from their hearts.
Meanwhile, unlike the ordinary soldiers, the higher-ups in the Human Race Army knew that this war was not over.
Although they had finally eradicated the entirety of the Black Ink Clan that escaped from the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, as long as Mo, the Source of the Black Ink Clan, was still alive, the Black Ink Clan could rise once more.
Despite fighting for months, Mo had never appeared on the battlefield. Yang Kai had not shown up either. It could be conceived that these two were battling each other somewhere in the depths of the void, and the outcome of their clash would determine the ultimate fate of the Universe.
Nobody knew the situation in the depths of the void. Zhang Ruo Xi had indeed exchanged blows with Mo for a period, but so much time had passed since then that she could no longer judge the situation on the other side. For that reason, the allied Army only took a brief moment to rest and reorganise their formation after their victory. Then, they began marching into the depths of the void in hopes of helping Yang Kai.
There was only one piece of good news that could be confirmed. Yang Kai was definitely alive. That was because they could sense a series of disturbances that were caused by a battle somewhere deep in the Void. Those disturbances could only mean that Yang Kai currently had the capital to exchange blows with Mo!
Passing through the site where the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction was originally located, the Human Race Army was shocked by the sight that greeted their eyes.
There were countless Black Ink Nests scattered throughout the void; moreover, precious High-Rank Black Ink Nests could be found everywhere. It was just that there was no sign of activity from any Black Ink Clansmen even though there were so many Black Ink Nests. Having dispatched all their military strength to the battlefield for the earlier battle, the Black Ink Clan had been completely wiped out as a result. These Black Ink Nests were nothing more than decorations now.
However, what shocked the Human Race Army was not the countless Black Ink Nests scattered everywhere, but the gigantic figures dispersed throughout the void. Those figures were none other than Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods!
The outcome of the previous battle would have been even harder to determine if the Black Ink Clan had dispatched these Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods to the battlefield. In fact, there was a high possibility that the battle would have ended with the defeat of the allied Army.
Fortunately, the Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods were Soul Clones of Mo, so Mo had to inject a strand of his Soul into these behemoths to make them move. Without a strand of Mo’s Soul, these Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods were nothing more than empty shells. There was nothing the Black Ink Clan could do about the Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods even if they wanted to mobilize them.
After passing through the void where the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction was previously located, the allied Army increased their pace; however, Mi Jing Lun’s expression grew increasingly solemn as they steadily marched forward.
He originally brought the allied Army with the intention of helping Yang Kai, but he also knew that Mo was extremely powerful. The rumours claimed that Mo had reached the legendary Creation Realm. Even if the allied Army boasted massive numbers, they might not be of much help to Yang Kai.
Be that as it may, he was currently faced with a dilemma. At present, it was no longer a question of whether the allied Army could provide any help to Yang Kai, but whether the allied Army could even continue their forward march under the current circumstances.
As they marched forward, the shockwaves from the battle up ahead became increasingly terrifying. Even now, the mere fallout was enough to shake the entire void. The countless ripples that constantly spread out from the depths of the void were powerful enough to warp space despite their origin being beyond the horizon…
Mi Jing Lun soon realised that the intensity of the battle between Yang Kai and Mo was unprecedented. At this rate, it was evident that the allied Army would not be of any help. That was because they did not even have the qualification to approach the battlefield. If they forced their way forward, they would be crushed by the fallout before they even arrived.
After considering the situation for a time, Mi Jing Lun made a decisive decision. He ordered the allied Army to remain on standby at their current position; then, he brought only the Masters in or stronger than the Ninth Order with him and resumed their trek to the depths of the void.
The small group travelled for some time before the situation on the battlefield finally came into view, but the sight that entered their eyes stopped them cold in their tracks and turned them pale with horror. It did not matter whether they were a Ninth-Order Master or a ‘Ninth-Order Divine Spirit’. Even Ah Da and Ah Er were no exception.
Yang Kai stood in the void with the Azure Dragon Spear in his hand. There seemed to be a small and slender Spirit Snake wrapped around the body of the spear. In addition, every thrust of his spear contained a Heaven-destroying, Earth-shattering force. The Spirit Snake was the manifestation of his Space-Time River
He had completely refined and absorbed Mu’s Space-Time River into his body now, and although he was robbed of many benefits by Mo during the process, the benefits he gained had already pushed him to his limits. Hence, the fact that Mo had stolen some of the benefits did not affect the overall situation by much. The stolen benefits had only restored some of Mo’s strength at most.
The Spirit Snake wrapped around the Azure Dragon Spear was Yang Kai’s Space-Time River. It was the result he obtained after countless near-death encounters with Mo. The ability to condense the Space-Time River into this shape undoubtedly indicated that he had complete control over the power of the Space-Time River.
The intensity and ferocity of this battle were something Yang Kai had never experienced before either. The slightest negligence would lead to his death, and he had indeed suffered several near-death experiences because of Mo. It was fortunate that he had always managed to avoid the worst outcome at the last moment.
Mo’s vicious attacks had allowed Yang Kai to rapidly gain control over the power of his Space-Time River. He had been no match for Mo in the beginning, but it had only taken him a few days to reach his current mastery.
Originally, Yang Kai could only absorb the Dao Strengths into his body by force. When he devoured and refined Mu’s Space-Time River, he had swallowed Mu’s Space-Time River whole and did his best to grasp as much of Mu’s last gift as possible.
If the Yang Kai from then was compared to a piece of raw ore, then his battles with Mo had been various forms of tempering and refinement. Every application of Dao Strengths and every encounter with Mo had gradually increased his control over the power of the Space-Time River. The rough and ugly ore had been forged into a fine piece of metal now.
At this moment, Yang Kai’s understanding of the 10,000 Dao Strengths had truly reached the peak of enlightenment. The strength he could now exert was no weaker than what Zhang Ruo Xi had previously displayed at her peak. Unfortunately, it was still not enough.
If he wanted to slaughter Mo, then he had to overcome his limits in the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm and advance into a higher Realm. Only then would he have hope of victory; however, his heritage was insufficient. How could Yang Kai easily overcome his limitations under these circumstances? Not even Mu could achieve such a feat.
The more perfectly he could control his powers, the more aware Yang Kai became of his shortcomings. He couldn’t reach a higher level of the Martial Dao in such a short span of time. He would need to spend long years of precipitation and accumulation before he could ascend.
Therefore, he sank into a vicious loop. As long as he failed to overcome his limitations, he would not be able to slaughter Mo. If he wanted to break through to a higher Realm of the Martial Dao, he would require more time. But, how could Mo allow him to have enough time to grow and develop?
Ever since Yang Kai condensed his Space-Time River in the Universe Furnace, he had found his path to the future. It was just that he failed to realise his discovery until Mu pointed it out to him.
Although he could now oppose Mo to a certain extent, he knew in his heart that this situation would not last for long. There were times when one simply lacked the necessary strength, and he was bound to become exhausted at some point. Unfortunately, the same could not be said of Mo. Mo was a strange existence that was born when Heaven and Earth split apart. As long as his Source remained intact, his strength would never be depleted. Furthermore, he was supposedly in the Creation Realm already! Even if more than 30% of his Source had been suppressed and sealed, he was still a mighty being in a Realm above the Open Heaven Realm.
Yang Kai had finally seen the bizarre means of a being in that Realm. Black Ink Strength that permeated the void could be transformed into a Royal Lord with a single touch from Mo. The ability to create something out of thin air was simply unimaginable.
It was truly fortunate that Yang Kai’s current strength was extraordinary, so even a Royal Lord would only pose a minimal threat to him. That was why Mo stopped using such ineffective tactics after a few attempts and decided to fight Yang Kai with his own strength instead.
With each vicious exchange of blows, the violent aftermath that spread out in all directions caused the void to shudder and crack.
During one of their confrontations, Yang Kai suddenly heard a slight sound coming from deep within his heart. At the same time, a strange sensation was also transmitted from his arm. Looking down at his arm, he couldn’t help being shocked by the sight. A crack had appeared on the as-till-now indestructible Azure Dragon Spear!
The Azure Dragon Spear was given to Yang Kai by Ah Da when he was still living in the Star Boundary. In other words, the spear had accompanied him for thousands of years, during which they experienced numerous battles and slaughtered countless enemies together.
As the spear was an artifact refined from the body of a Divine, its Grade was so high that it was practically unmatched. Be that as it may, Mo had managed to cause a crack to appear in such an amazing spear. It was easy to imagine the intensity of this battle; after all, even the body of a Divine Dragon could not withstand the force of Mo’s attacks.
After the first crack appeared on the spear, a second and third crack quickly followed. It did not take long before the entire body of the spear was covered in fine cracks. The spear was on the verge of shattering to pieces.
When Mo noticed the cracks on the spear, a hint of mockery appeared in his eyes and his attacks became fiercer and fiercer.
Yang Kai suppressed the reluctance in his heart and summoned his Dao Strengths with all his might; then, he thrust out with his spear. As soon as the violent forces collided with each other, the impact caused his body to freeze for a moment. The spear that had accompanied him for thousands of years simultaneously shattered into a million pieces in his hand.
Mo had been waiting for this very opportunity. When the Azure Dragon Spear shattered to pieces, he jumped forward and punched Yang Kai. This punch was meant to become the deciding factor of this battle. He strongly believed that Yang Kai would be forced to avoid his blows after losing his weapon. If that was the case, then he could steadily press forward and gain complete control over the flow of the battle until Yang Kai became powerless to fight back.
Contrary to expectations though, Yang Kai did not retreat from the blow even after the Azure Dragon Spear shattered to pieces. The Space-Time River, which was originally wrapped around the body of the spear, seemed to have gained spirituality and clung tightly to his arms. Facing Mo’s attack directly, Yang Kai threw a punch in Mo’s direction.
The Dao Strengths fluctuated violently.
At the moment when both forces collided with each other, a powerful impact manifested as a visible halo of light centred around the two opponents flashed. The halo of light swiftly spread out in all directions. Everywhere the light passed, space shattered and collapsed. It was quickly followed by the appearance of numerous enormous Void Cracks…
The Ninth-Order Masters who had arrived at the periphery of the battlefield turned pale with fright. Faced with the approaching fallout of the battle, they quickly summoned their strength to defend themselves against the impact. Nevertheless, they were still sent flying.
They, who were no longer at their peak strength, were instantly thrown into disarray by the impact. Luckily, the two Giant Spirit Gods stood in front of them and bore the brunt of the shockwave. It was only thanks to the protection of Ah Da and Ah Er that there were no casualties.
Once the effects of the aftermath passed, they couldn’t help looking slightly flustered and bitter.
They originally came here intending to help Yang Kai. Halfway into the journey, the allied Army was forced to stop at a distance and discontinue their forward march because the troops could not withstand the overwhelming pressure of the battle.
At this moment, they were horrified to discover that even Ninth-Order Masters like themselves could not approach the battlefield. They would be torn apart by the aftermath of such powerful attacks. As things stood, the only ones who could be depended upon were the two Giant Spirit Gods, Ah Da and Ah Er…
Mi Jing Lun looked up at the two behemoths and instantly realised that the two Giant Spirit Gods could not be counted on either. The survivors were exhausted after the arduous battle. Even Ah Da and Ah Er were no exception. While the two Giant Spirit Gods managed to resist the shockwave just now, they were still pushed back significantly by the impact.
Under these circumstances, it was impossible for any of them to intervene in the battle. They would only be a burden for Yang Kai if they recklessly charged forward. Mi Jing Lun was abruptly struck by a saddening realization. The only thing they could do after coming here was to witness the unique battle with their own eyes. That was an unimaginably heartbreaking truth.
When the aftermath fully dissipated, everyone looked towards the battlefield from behind Ah Da and Ah Er. The scene that greeted them made their hearts tighten with fear. Yang Kai was steadily being pushed back, seemingly at a complete disadvantage. Compared to an ancient entity like Mo, Yang Kai’s heritage was simply too shallow. The slightest negligence or careless mistake could become fatal.
“Waste!” During the battle, Mo suddenly yelled in frustration.
Yang Kai flew backwards like an arrow released from the bowstring following a vicious strike. The Space-Time River wrapped around his arm suddenly emerged behind him and he fell into the river, diffusing some of the impacts from the blow. It did not take long before he stepped out of the river once more. His complexion was pale, and a trickle of blood dripped from the corners of his mouth.
Mo did not pursue Yang Kai. He simply stared coldly and calmly stated, “My offer from before still stands. Give up your futile resistance and hand over Mu’s inheritance. I guarantee that the Human Race will have a place to live in the future!”
Yang Kai turned his head to the side and spat out a mouthful of blood. Then, he grinned wickedly, “Kill me, then you can deal with the Human Race as you please!”
Mo closed his eyes gently. When he opened them once more, his murderous intent overflowed. He did not bother to speak again, and his figure abruptly vanished from where he was standing. By the time he reappeared again, he was already standing in front of Yang Kai. The sudden disappearance and reappearance were not a trick of Space Principles; rather, his speed had simply reached such an extreme.
Yang Kai did not seem surprised by these movements. With a backward grab, the Space-Time River that was originally flowing behind him transformed into a whip and appeared in his hand. The long whip then lashed out towards Mo.
Mo frowned slightly but did not dodge aside, he simply threw a punch instead.
The punch struck Yang Kai squarely in the head. The blow made his head arch backwards, and his skull seemed to crack from the impact. He was immediately drenched in blood; nevertheless, the long whip wrapped around Mo…
Standing so close to each other, the blood-drenched Yang Kai grinned at Mo, “I finally caught you!”
He seemed to have been waiting for this moment. After he finished speaking, he gave the long whip in his hand a sharp flick. The Space-Time River manifested once more, and the raging currents instantly engulfed the two figures.
Before their figures vanished from view, the Masters standing in the distance vaguely heard Mo’s mocking voice sounding in their ears, “Since you’re so eager to die, I will fulfil your wishes!”
Afterwards, the Space-Time River that stretched out into the void suddenly boiled and bubbled violently. Meanwhile, the Grand Dao Strengths trembled agitatedly. These were the results of the battle between Yang Kai and Mo in the Space-Time River.
The Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters couldn’t help being extremely nervous at the sight.
The Space-Time River was the condensed crystallization of Yang Kai’s 10,000 Grand Daos. Even if fighting in the Space-Time River would give him a considerable advantage over his opponent, that was not enough to overcome the fact that Mo’s cultivation was in a higher Realm than his.
Besides, the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters had seen the previous battle with their own eyes. Under Mo’s powerful offensive, Yang Kai could only parry and defend at most; he had no strength to fight back whatsoever. That was the result of the undeniable gap in their strengths. Rashly dragging his enemy into the Space-Time River was both an opportunity and a danger. If he failed to defeat Mo in the Space-Time River, then he would not be able to guarantee his own safety in the Space-Time River.
The churning of the river waters became increasingly turbulent. Waves rose and fell, splashing around fiercely. At the same time, countless Dao Strengths appeared and disappeared mysteriously. Although the Ninth-Order Masters could not see the ongoing battle, they could deduce that Yang Kai was at a disadvantage just by looking at the changes in the Space-Time River.
The situation lasted for several days. The Ninth-Order Masters were about to rush forward to help when the churning river suddenly turned calm. With their hearts in their throats, they watched the Space-Time River intently. They knew that the outcome of the battle had been decided.
Mi Jing Lun immediately sent a transmission to his companions, ordering them to be ready for action at any time.
A figure suddenly stepped out of the river… To their horror, the figure that stepped out turned out to be not one but two figures. Mo held Yang Kai by the head, dragging him with one hand. Yang Kai hung limply from Mo’s grasp as though every bone in his body had been broken.
Standing above the Space-Time River, Mo held Yang Kai’s head as though holding a chicken in his grasp and snorted, “Useless waste! You don’t have the right to continue living!”
Then, he abruptly exerted great strength in his hand.
How could Yang Kai, who had lost his ability to fight, withstand such an attack? His head instantly exploded from the impact; however, Mo did not stop there. It punched out and smashed the crippled body to pieces.
The scene was imprinted in the eyes of the Ninth-Order Masters who were watching the battle from afar. They stood frozen in shock and stared in disbelief.
Yang Kai died? The man who was the best at creating miracles and turning the tides of war countless times? The man who had saved the Human Race from various catastrophes? Did he die just like that?
They instinctively refused to believe the scene before them and subconsciously wondered whether they were looking at an illusion; however, the dissipation of his aura that followed the destruction of his body could not be faked. Everything indicated that he was really dead! Yang Kai had died at the hands of Mo!
Only a short moment had passed from the time Yang Kai was dragged out of the Space-Time River by Mo; moreover, Mo had not hesitated in the slightest when he killed Yang Kai. Everything happened so quickly that the Ninth-Order Masters had no time to even think about rescuing Yang Kai.
A shrill but mournful Phoenix Cry rang out, accompanied by a furious Dragon Roar. Su Yan and Yang Xiao transformed into their Divine Spirit Forms and charged towards Mo. The rest of the Ninth-Order Masters also followed suit and sprang into action. Despite knowing that they were no match for Mo, nobody hesitated in the slightest.
Now that Yang Kai was dead, there was nobody in this World who could compete with Mo. Black Ink Strength would soon gain complete control over the Universe. When that happened, the Human Race would no longer have a place to live. This was the final struggle!
Su Yan was the fastest; after all, the Dao of Space was the Bloodline Talent of the Phoenix Clan.
She had lost her mind after being consumed by her feelings of rage and sorrow. At this moment, there was only one thought left in her heart. She wanted revenge, and if she could not have it, she would accompany Yang Kai to the afterlife!
A gorgeous trail of light lingered behind the enormous blue figure. With a few flickers, she arrived on the battlefield. However, a bizarre phenomenon occurred before she could unleash her strength. Ripples suddenly emerged in the originally calm Space-Time River. Following the splashing waves, a figure leapt out.
Upon seeing the appearance of the figure, Su Yan froze in shock. Even the Ninth-Order Masters behind her were dumbfounded by the sight. The figure who stepped out from the Space-Time River was none other than Yang Kai, who should have been killed by Mo earlier!
[He’s alive!?] Everybody stared at the scene in front of them in disbelief. Their reactions were similar to when they watched Yang Kai being killed just now.
He had clearly died right before their very eyes, and his death had not been an illusion. Nevertheless, he just walked out of the Space-Time River alive! The bizarre phenomenon was beyond their comprehension. This kind of resurrection after death was simply impossible.
After stepping out from the surging waves, Yang Kai immediately noticed Su Yan and the others. He seemed to have anticipated the current situation and breathed out deeply, “I’m glad I made it back in time. Step back.”
Su Yan, who had transformed into an Ice Phoenix, only hesitated for a brief moment before she turned around and retreated backwards. She also manipulated Space Principles and quickly transported the people behind her away from the battlefield.
The Ninth-Order Masters were forcefully returned to their previous positions. This location could barely be considered safe from the aftermath of the battle.
Xiang Shan frowned deeply, “What just happened?”
Yang Kai had clearly been killed, so how did he come back alive from the Space-Time River? Although Xiang Shan had lived for many years, he had never encountered such a bizarre sight before.
A light flashed through Mi Jing Lun’s eyes, “Creation Realm… Could it be the mysteries of the Creation Realm?”
“What do you mean?” Ou Yang Lie raised an eyebrow at those words, “Are you saying that Yang Kai has stepped into the Creation Realm?”
Mi Jing Lun shook his head, “It doesn’t seem like it.”
The Yang Kai who stepped out of the Space-Time River only had the aura of a Ninth-Order Master. It did not seem as though he had ascended to a new Realm.
Be that as it may, Mi Jing Lun had no other explanation for the bizarre phenomenon that they just witnessed. What’s more, could reaching the Creation Realm really allow one to revive from the dead? It was simply outrageous and inconceivable.
On the battlefield, Mo watched Yang Kai reappear from the Space-Time River and turned to look at the scattered pieces of the dismembered body. After confirming that he had indeed slaughtered Yang Kai earlier, he immediately understood the situation, “A Shadow?”
Yang Kai smiled at Mo, “I can’t fool your eyes after all.”
Mu and Mo had lived together for such a long time. It was only natural for Mo to know about Mu’s methods. Besides, two identical individuals could not exist together unless they originated from different Space-Times.
Mu’s Shadow Technique had transcended the limits of the mundane. In order to suppress and seal Mo’s Source, she had divided her entire life into 3,000 shadows to protect the 3,000 Universe Worlds inside her Space-Time River. Each shadow represented a part of her past, an illusion of sorts that was also real and tangible.
Yang Kai had obtained Mu’s final gift. Devouring and refining her Space-Time River had allowed him to massively increase the volume of his own Space-Time River. At the same time, he also enhanced and improved his attainments and comprehension of the 10,000 Grand Daos. The benefits he received were enormous.
Nevertheless, those were not his greatest gains. The greatest benefit he obtained was Mu’s Shadow Technique. That Secret Technique was definitely the pinnacle of the mysteries of the Grand Daos.
After fighting Mo, Yang Kai had deeply understood that he was no match for his opponent. That was because he could not overcome his limits and advance to a higher Realm within a short time. As long as he could not advance to a higher Realm, then his battle with Mo would only end with his defeat and death. Be that as it may, he could not afford to die. The Human Race would be doomed if he fell here.
Since he had no means to advance to the next Realm within a short time, his only chance of victory was to master Mu’s Shadow Technique!
Just one or two of him could not compete with Mo, but what about three of him? Or, five? Or, 10?
Mastering the mysterious Shadow Technique was Yang Kai’s only chance at defeating Mo; therefore, he had mainly been buying time during his previous fight with Mo so that he could integrate the many Dao Strengths into his body completely.
Mu had not been able to teach Yang Kai about the mystery behind the Shadow Technique. It was not that she had no intention to teach him the Secret Technique; on the contrary, it was a Secret Technique that resulted from reaching the pinnacle of the Grand Daos, so it was not something he could learn even if she tried to teach him. The Secret Technique was something he had to comprehend with his own abilities. Fortunately, Yang Kai had embarked on the same path as Mu. It was for that reason she believed that he would eventually comprehend the mysterious Secret Technique and understand her intentions for giving him her Space-Time River.
Having come into contact with more than 2,000 of Mu’s shadows, Yang Kai already had some vague ideas about the Shadow Technique before he devoured and refined Mu’s Space-Time River. Furthermore, Mu’s final gift had laid down a solid foundation for him. It was thanks to the foundation that he finally understood the secrets of the Shadow Technique and was able to perform it through his Space-Time River.
There was no denying that Mo had killed him, but the one who died was a copy of himself who had existed at a certain time in the past. Nonetheless, the demise of a shadow was not without cost. Although it was Yang Kai’s first time performing the Shadow Technique, he quickly noticed that something was wrong. He raised a hand to his head in confusion, “It feels like I’ve forgotten something…”
He had completely lost his memories of the time during which the deceased shadow of him had existed.
“Never mind. It probably wasn’t anything important.” He gave a carefree laugh and looked up at Mo, “Shall we go for round two?”
Mo’s lips curled upwards. His expression had been sullen throughout the battle with Yang Kai, as though he owed him a massive debt. He also repeatedly made rude and disparaging remarks, but he broke into a smile at this moment, “Interesting!”
“The interesting part has yet to come!” As soon as the words left Yang Kai’s mouth, the Dao Strengths lingering around his body began to fluctuate. He arrived in front of Mo in the blink of an eye. The Space-Time River surged behind him. Raising his arm, Yang Kai summoned the Azure Dragon Spear and thrust it at Mo.
The Azure Dragon Spear should have been destroyed, but the Azure Dragon Spear in the Space-Time that Yang Kai’s shadow originated in remained intact. That was why the shattered spear could display its great strength once more!
As before, the violent fallout produced by their exchange of blows continuously spread to the surroundings. The spectating Ninth-Order Masters couldn’t help widening their eyes at the sight. They secretly rejoiced that Yang Kai had resurrected in time. With their strength, Mo would have effortlessly killed them if they had rushed forward at the time.
It was initially assumed that Yang Kai would be able to persist for a long time even though the battle was not evenly matched in strength; after all, he had displayed his immense strength previously. Unexpectedly, the battle only lasted for four hours before Mo found an opening and slammed his fist into Yang Kai’s chest.
A gaping hole appeared in Yang Kai’s chest, then his body exploded into pieces. His aura also swiftly dwindled away into nothing. Despite knowing that he would not experience a true death, the Ninth-Order Masters could not help being overwhelmed by sorrow at the sight.
After eradicating Yang Kai’s second shadow, Mo raised his eyes to look in the direction of the Space-Time River. He had lived with Mu for such a long time, so he was well aware of the Shadow Technique’s strength. The true strength of the Secret Technique was not power, but the prominent ability to survive that was granted to the users of the Secret Technique.
The Shadow Technique was created based on the Space-Time River, so the foundation of the Secret Technique was the Space-Time River itself. In order to completely eradicate a user of the Shadow Technique, the Space-Time River must first be destroyed; otherwise, the user of the Shadow Technique would never perish.
For that reason, Mo immediately aimed for the Space-Time River as soon as he slaughtered Yang Kai’s second shadow. Black Ink Strength around his body surged to cover the entire river. He planned to corrupt the entire Space-Time River with Black Ink Strength in order to destroy Yang Kai’s Shadow Technique.
But before Mo could make a move, another of Yang Kai’s shadow jumped out of the Space-Time River. Yang Kai instantly summoned the Azure Dragon Spear and launched himself at Mo, he even made a mocking remark, “Why are you in such a hurry?”
The two figures resumed their vicious battle once more. During that time, Yang Kai fought Mo while gathering various information on the Shadow Technique. It was his first time performing the Secret Technique, so his understanding of it was quite lacking. He had to perfectly master the Secret Technique as soon as possible because that was the only way he could turn the situation around and obtain victory!
If he only relied on a never-ending series of battles via his shadows, he would never be able to defeat Mo. However, Yang Kai would need to make countless attempts and gain experience from actual practice to perfectly master the Secret Technique as soon as possible.
“I’ve forgotten more things, but the memories I deliberately preserved have not been forgotten. That’s good news…” Yang Kai quietly muttered to himself and resumed battle against Mo. Although he was no match for Mo still, he no longer needed to worry about death. That was why he could afford to act more recklessly than before. Shortly afterwards, Yang Kai gained another important piece of information, “The shorter the span of Space-Time allocated, the weaker the shadow’s fighting ability. That is certainly worth noting!”
When that thought passed through his mind, the strength of his shadow faltered. Yang Kai showed weaknesses in his defences, so Mo instantly found an opening and slaughtered him!
Blood rained all over the void. Despite witnessing similar scenes on several occasions already, the Ninth-Order Masters watching the battle from afar still widened their eyes at the sight. What reassured them was that the next Yang Kai had already leapt out of the Space-Time River almost as soon as the previous Yang Kai died.
One after another, Yang Kai’s shadows stepped out from the Space-Time River only to perish at Mo’s hands. There were no exceptions. The first one had survived the battle for over four hours. The second one lasted for less than four hours. As for the third… the battle had ended even faster.
“This is bad!” Among those who were watching the battle from a distance, Mi Jing Lun’s expression turned solemn. He had noticed the issue at hand.
It was an extremely serious issue. Although Yang Kai’s Shadows were endless in supply, his strength seemed to be weakening over time. It was as though time was flowing backwards for him, causing his condition to return to an earlier period with each shadow.
At this moment, Yang Kai’s aura was only comparable to a newly advanced Ninth-Order Master; hence, he was effortlessly slaughtered by Mo as soon as he stepped out from the Space-Time River.
If the situation continued in this manner, he would not even be able to maintain his cultivation in the Ninth-Order. If that were to happen, Mo would be able to exterminate him without even breaking a sweat, no matter how many shadows were to appear.
Another one of Yang Kai’s shadows in the newly advanced Ninth Order stepped out from the Space-Time River. Raising a hand, Mo captured the shadow in its grasp and stared at Yang Kai faintly, “You’re a disgrace to Mu’s legacy!”
Yang Kai did not panic even though he was captured by Mo. After the repeated deaths of his shadows, he was now very familiar with the feeling of death. Raising an eyebrow at those words, he denied the statement, “That might not be true!”
Mo looked surprised, “Do you have another trick up your sleeve?”
Yang Kai grinned, “Indeed, a trick you’ve never seen before.”
“Very good!” Mo made a faint smile. While saying so, he exerted some strength into his grip and crushed the shadow in his grasp.
In the next moment, another Yang Kai leapt out from the Space-Time River; however, the aura lingering around him was different this time. Something had obviously changed as his aura was once again at the peak of his strength.
If the foundation of the Shadow Technique was said to be the Space-Time River, then the Core of the Secret Technique was the user of the selected Space-Time. In Yang Kai’s case, he was manipulating the 10,000 Dao Strengths with his Self from this Space-Time as the Core and his Space-Time River as the foundation. That was how he gained the ability to summon shadows from previous Space-Time periods.
All those who were slaughtered by Mo previously were his shadows; however, the one who walked out of the Space-Time River now was his main body. It was the him of the current Space-Time!
The foundation and core were extremely important to the Shadow Technique; therefore, it was necessary to destroy both aspects to overcome it.
Mo had initially wanted to refine the Space-Time River but was hindered by Yang Kai’s numerous shadows, which prevented it from taking action. However, he saw a ray of hope when Yang Kai’s main body emerged from the Space-Time River. The Shadow Technique would be destroyed as long as the Yang Kai standing before him was eliminated!
But, could it be that simple? For Yang Kai’s main body to emerge from the Space-Time River at this point… His actions certainly seemed like a desperate move; after all, the shadows that he summoned earlier had been cleanly eradicated. If he summoned any more shadows from earlier Space-Time periods, he would only have the cultivation of an Eighth-Order Master, which would not be able to cause any trouble for Mo at all.
Combining the situation with what Yang Kai mentioned just now, Mo had the vague feeling that Yang Kai was about to reveal his trump card. Oddly enough, he found himself looking forward to what was to come for some reason.
Yang Kai did not disappoint. When his main body stepped out of the Space-Time River, he lightly chanted, “I offer 1,000 years of my past in exchange for a contribution from the future! Come!”
As soon as those words left his mouth, the Space-Time River behind him began to rumble turbulently. The enormous river abruptly shrunk by a large margin, then another of Yang Kai’s shadow emerged from within the waters.
Seeing this, Mo’s eyes narrowed slightly. That was because the aura lingering around this shadow was slightly stronger than Yang Kai himself.
That should have been impossible. It had to be said that the Shadow Technique was performed with one’s self in the current Space-Time as the core. For that reason, the summoned shadow could only be formed from one’s self that existed in previous Space-Times. In other words, the summoned shadow should never be stronger than the main body, because the main body was ultimately the strongest. Be that as it may, an exception had appeared in Yang Kai’s case.
Mo instantly figured out the truth behind the situation and exclaimed in astonishment, “You summoned a shadow from the future!?”
Only Yang Kai from the future could be stronger than the main body of Yang Kai, who existed in the current Space-Time!
Mo did not remain idle when he raised this question. After realising that Yang Kai’s attainments in the Shadow Technique had surpassed Mu’s, he knew that Yang Kai could not be allowed to continue, so he charged forward even while asking this question.
In response, Yang Kai just stood calmly in place.
On the other hand, the summoned shadow stepped forward and immediately engaged in an intense battle with Mo. Although he came from 1,000 years in the future, his strength was still limited even though he was slightly stronger than the main body. He was no match for Mo either, but he would have no trouble buying some time for Yang Kai.
Furthermore, Yang Kai did not need much time!
He then shouted again, “Come!”
A second shadow stepped out from the Space-Time River. It was another Yang Kai who came from another 1,000 years into the future. When the second shadow appeared, the size of the Space-Time River shrunk again. On the other hand, the aura of Yang Kai and the two shadows instantly became closely interconnected. A Three Fortunes Formation was established!
The aura of the second shadow was again stronger than the first…
The first shadow had been steadily pushed back by Mo’s intense assault, but his situation improved as soon as the Three Fortunes Formation was established even though he remained at a disadvantage.
“Again!” Yang Kai shouted. The Dragon Blood in his body boiled and churned, while at the same time, his face began to flush red.
A third shadow stepped out from the Space-Time River. Glancing at the main body, he nodded lightly before he directly charged onto the battlefield. The Three Fortunes Formation also instantly transformed into the Four Symbols Formation!
“Again!” Golden Blood trickled out of Yang Kai’s nose as a fourth shadow emerged and the Four Symbols Formation evolved into a Five Elements Formation!
Shadow after shadow emerged from the Space-Time River without pause; only when the eighth shadow was summoned did Yang Kai finally stop. It was not that he no longer wanted to continue, but rather that the volume of his Space-Time River would shrink by a certain extent whenever he summoned a shadow from the future, and the Space-Time River had vanished completely after he summoned the eighth shadow.
He had reached the absolute limit of his Shadow Technique!
At this moment, Yang Kai’s main body was bleeding from all seven of his orifices. It was evident that he had endured tremendous pressure in order to pull this feat off.
The shadows that appeared towards the end possessed increasingly powerful auras. When the sixth shadow emerged, its aura had already reached the absolute peak of the Ninth Order. It was a stage that even Yang Kai’s main body had not achieved. The seventh and the eighth shadows also had auras at the peak of the Ninth Order, but their auras had become even more profound.
Looking at Mo who was being besieged and steadily repelled by the shadows on the battlefield, Yang Kai smiled even though he was covered in blood.
In truth, the shadows were already capable of fighting Mo on an equal footing when the Six Paths Formation was formed; therefore, Mo’s situation then became more and more critical when it later evolved to become the Seven Stars, Eight Trigrams, and ultimately Nine Palaces Formation!
The ones who established the Battle Formation were all ‘Yang Kais’. To be more precise, they were Yang Kais from future Space-Times! This was a feat that even Mu could not achieve. Her Shadow Technique could only summon shadows of her past because her Space-Time River was incomplete, but that was not the case for Yang Kai. His Space-Time River had been perfected, so the power of the Shadow Technique he wielded was even more terrifying!
Each shadow represented a Yang Kai from subsequent 1,000-year periods in the future. In other words, the eight shadows represented 8,000 years worth of future Space-Time.
These eight shadows combined with Yang Kai’s main body to establish the Nine Palaces Formation. For that reason, the power of the Battle Formation was even greater than the Nine Palaces Formation formed between Zhang Ruo Xi and her eight Personal Guard.
Zhang Ruo Xi, who had harmonized the power of Yin and Yang with her Heavens Order Bloodline, was certainly stronger than any of Yang Kai’s individual shadows. Be that as it may, the strength of the eight Personal Guards had held her back. Taking the overall situation into account, Yang Kai’s Nine Palaces Formation was undoubtedly the strongest Nine Palaces Formations that had appeared on the battlefield. Moreover, the difference in strength was significant!
After establishing the Nine Palaces Formation, Yang Kai’s main body took a step forward and charged towards Mo with the combined strength of the other eight shadows.
The Six Paths Formation was already sufficient for Yang Kai to fight Mo on even terms, so the Seven Stars Formation and Eight Trigrams Formations had left Mo at a complete disadvantage. At this moment, Yang Kai was practically invincible thanks to the Nine Palaces Formation. With the combined forces of the main body and eight shadows, Mo was powerless against their intense assault.
Black Blood and Black Ink Strength splattered everywhere.
The nine Yang Kais moved around swiftly, each one of them having mastered the 10,000 Grand Daos. As they were shadows of Yang Kai himself, there was no need for them to worry about their cooperation. The connection between the shadows was so close and firm that there were no flaws in their movements at all!
Mo naturally wanted to break free, but it was not easy to escape the besiegement of the Battle Formation.
The Ninth-Order Masters watching the battle from afar were stunned. Nobody could have imagined that such a strange scene would appear during the final battle. The mysteries of the Shadow Technique had exceeded their comprehension and imagination.
Looking at the current situation, they couldn’t help feeling hopeful and excited. That was because they finally saw a glimpse of hope in defeating Mo. In the past, the issue of defeating Mo had always been a plague to the Human Race. Although they never deliberately avoided the topic, the reality was that they simply did not have sufficient means or strength to oppose Mo.
Zhang Ruo Xi’s support had certainly been a pleasant surprise; unfortunately, even she was not strong enough to compete with Mo in battle.
The battle on the main battlefield was over, and the entire Black Ink Clan had been obliterated. If Yang Kai could defeat Mo, then the Black Ink crisis that had been plaguing the Human Race since the Late Ancient Era would be resolved in one fell swoop. A bright future was awaiting the Human Race! The light would eventually expunge all darkness!
However, the veteran Ninth-Order Masters soon began to look worried. The current situation might be favourable for them, but nobody knew what price Yang Kai had paid to wield the Shadow Technique like this. Seeing as the Secret Technique far exceeded his own abilities, the price he paid would correspond to the strength he obtained. In other words, the greater the strength Yang Kai obtained, the greater the price he had to pay! Furthermore, they did not know how long he could persevere in such an intense battle.
The truth was just as they feared. Yang Kai had indeed paid an unimaginable price to wield the Shadow Technique in such a fashion. His body was also forced to bear the incredible pressure that came from obtaining strength that exceeded his own abilities. In other words, he could not maintain this state for long! He had to finish this battle as soon as possible, and for that reason, he did not hesitate to join the battle himself just to defeat Mo a little faster!
Mo was steadily being pushed back under the suppression of the Nine Palaces Formation. At this point, he was backed into a corner with no ability to fight back.
The vexing situation infuriated Mo. As the ancient Supreme Being, he was a Master who not only originated from the same era as Mu, but also once held the opportunity to reign over the entire Universe. Even if more than 30% of his Source had been suppressed and sealed, he could still not tolerate a Junior acting so presumptuously in front of him; especially when this particular Junior had stolen Mu’s final legacy from him.
Amid the intense battle, Mo abruptly turned to look in a certain direction and fixed his gaze on one of Yang Kai’s figures. Naturally, it was Yang Kai’s main body.
The main body was easy to identify. Not only was the aura of the main body the weakest among the other shadows, but the appearance of the main body was also the most dishevelled and worse for wear due to the effects of performing the Shadow Technique.
To break the Shadow Technique, it was necessary to either destroy the Space-Time River that acted as the foundation or the main body that acted as the Core. At this moment, the Space-Time River was nowhere to be seen because it had been evenly divided between Yang Kai’s eight shadows. In that case, Mo only had one option left.
Mo turned to face the storm of attacks coming from so many shadows and disregarded the injuries he sustained, even when the strongest shadow chopped off his arm. In the end, the heavy price he paid was worthwhile indeed. He successfully broke out of the encirclement created by the shadows and arrived in front of Yang Kai’s main body.
Black Ink Strength surged. Raising his remaining hand, Mo blasted his fist at Yang Kai. The punch was quite a distance away from Yang Kai; nevertheless, the force of the punch was enough to cause space to shatter, time to stop, and the universe to collapse. The blow containing Mo’s full strength could not be dodged or avoided.
Mo could almost see Yang Kai’s main body being smashed into paste, and a hint of triumph flashed through the fury in his eyes, but unexpectedly, the imagined scene did not appear.
Despite the incoming blow, Yang Kai’s main body did not show the slightest trace of panic; on the contrary, he stepped forward and threw himself in the direction of the blow.
Mo was stunned by the strange turn of events.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai’s main body suddenly unleashed a burst of power that far exceeded his own strength. The force directly penetrated the shackles of Space and caused the stagnant Time to flow again. Then, he punched out at the same time.
[Damn it!] Mo abruptly realised that he had fallen into a trap.
For a long time now, the Core of the Nine Palaces Formation had always been sustained by the strongest shadow. Nevertheless, the fact that Yang Kai’s main body could exert such a powerful burst of strength indicated that the Core of the Nine Palaces Formation could be transferred to the main body.
The method to break the Shadow Technique was to defeat the body which existed in the current Space-Time. That was something both Mo and Yang Kai knew. Seeing as the former was bound to target the main body, how could the latter not take precautions? It could even be said that Yang Kai had been waiting for this very moment.
A violent force swept out, pushing Mo’s figure backwards. In the meantime, the eight shadows attacked from all directions. Dao Strengths fluctuated wildly, and the barrage of attacks left Mo staggering from the impact.
If that were all, Mo’s situation would have been bad enough; however, each of the eight shadows actually exerted strength that far exceeded their limits with every blow that they unleashed. The position as Core of the Formation was constantly being transferred around! To be precise, the position as Core was instantly transferred to whichever shadow was attacking Mo at the time.
Such a feat would have been impossible to achieve if it was any other configuration for the makeup of the Battle Formation, but Yang Kai could freely transfer the position as Core between his main body and his shadows without any obstruction.
This was the same strategy that Zhang Ruo Xi had carried out previously. She and her eight Personal Guard had both been the Cores and not the Cores at the same time. Such a perfect Nine Palaces Formation could be said to have no flaws whatsoever. More importantly, there was no need to fear the weak links being targeted; in fact, there was only one method to destroy this Battle Formation, which was to totally annihilate it by brute force!
The biggest reason why Zhang Ruo Xi had been defeated by Mo was that her Personal Guard could not withstand the intensity and ferocity of the battle. Transferring the Core position to her Personal Guard was a huge burden on their bodies. Each time they became the Core, they would also suffer heavy damage from the pressure; hence, there was a risk of their bodies collapsing after numerous transfers.
The same was also true for Yang Kai! In fact, the burden was greatest on his main body! The main body had already been greatly weakened after performing the Shadow Technique. With the addition of the pressure from being the Core of the Formation, he couldn’t help vigorously coughing up blood, his complexion turning as pale as a sheet.
Be that as it may, he did not hesitate in the slightest. Taking full advantage of the opening created by the eight shadows who were besieging Mo, Yang Kai stepped forward and approached Mo’s arm that had been severed earlier. Although the arm was bleeding profusely, it was not a fully physical body part.
“Open!” Yang Kai raised his arm and pointed at the arm. His Divine Sense surged turbulently. A moment later, a huge set of doors suddenly appeared in front of him. The door opened slightly to reveal a small gap, and then an indescribable pulling force seeped out from within and devoured the entire severed arm.
This arm contained part of Mo’s Source! Previously, some 30% of Mo’s Source had been suppressed and sealed by Yang Kai with the help of the Profound Source Gate.
If Yang Kai could not suppress and seal this piece of Mo’s Source quickly, the opportunity to retrieve his severed arm and reabsorb the piece of his Source he had lost would remain. Once Mo did so, he would return to full strength again.
Now that this piece of his Source had been sealed, Mo’s aura dropped significantly. Although Black Ink Strength surged at the spot where his arm had been severed and formed a new limb in the blink of an eye, the power that had been suppressed and sealed could no longer return.
With the success of this attack, Yang Kai’s confidence increased tremendously! This was the first crucial step towards victory. It was also the hardest and most dangerous step in the entire process! This step had paved the way for the rest of the path, making what came next easier.
Retrieving the Profound Source Gate, Yang Kai turned around and charged towards Mo. The furious battle resumed once more!
The secret that the position as Core of the Nine Palaces Formation could be freely transferred between the shadows had already been exposed; therefore, Yang Kai had no reason to hide his movements anymore. Dao Strengths fluctuated violently around him, and his offensive grew increasingly vicious.
Mo was already no match for Yang Kai when the Nine Palaces Formation was formed, so now that he had lost a part of his Source, his situation worsened even more.
After a brief but intense battle, one of Yang Kai’s shadows found an opening and chopped off one of Mo’s arms again.
Mo immediately attempted to retrieve his severed arm, but Yang Kai was already prepared for such an opportunity in advance. In the end, Mo was incapable of extricating himself from the battle due to the constant assault by the various shadows.
Yang Kai’s main body swiftly approached the severed arm, and for the second time, he summoned the Profound Source Gate and devoured the Source piece!
After completing his task, Yang Kai coughed up another mouthful of blood. He raised his head and glanced at the battlefield. Perceiving the condition of his shadows, he knew that he could not persist for much longer.
His main body was not the only one who was severely wounded by now, the rest of the shadows were also in a similar condition. However, only a small portion of these wounds were caused by Mo. Most of them had come from carrying the burden of being the Nine Palaces Formation Core.
Yang Kai’s immense strength and heritage had allowed him to bear an unimaginable amount of pressure from being the Core. That was only possible because it was him. If it were any other Ninth-Order Master instead, they would not have been able to withstand the pressure after being a Core three times in such a situation, regardless of their strength.
“I have to end this as quickly as possible!” Yang Kai muttered under his breath; then, he stepped forward and joined the battlefield.
In the next moment, his strongest shadow took on the boundless pressure from being the Core and unleashed a continuous storm of attacks without care whether his body could withstand the burden or not!
Mo clearly faltered under the violent bombardment of the strongest shadow.
While Mo was busy stewing in rage, the strongest shadow threw himself forward and disregarded Mo’s counterattack to restrain Mo firmly. At such a close distance, he grinned at Mo and revealed a sinister row of fangs!
Mo immediately understood Yang Kai’s intentions. Roaring furiously, he desperately struggled to escape; however, the attacks that came blasting from all directions rained down on Mo and the shadow the next moment!
Even the strongest shadow could not withstand this barrage of attacks; thus, he exploded and disintegrated completely! Likewise, Mo’s body was battered from the attack. The left part of his body was gone, revealing the internal organs within his abdomen cavity.
Mo staggered backwards weakly, a strange light flashing through his eyes for a moment. Before he could do anything though, another shadow charged towards him.
The strongest shadow had already been shattered, and with that, the Nine Palaces Formation had also been reduced to the Eight Trigrams Formation, which significantly reduced its might.
At the same time, Mo’s aura was not as strong as before. After two pieces of his Source were sealed by Yang Kai, his aura had been notably weakened.
As the remaining seven shadows attacked Mo, Yang Kai’s main body summoned the Profound Source Gate for a third time, suppressing and sealing another piece of Mo’s shattered body.
Mo’s aura weakened once again! The Eight Trigrams Formation was now sufficient to deal with the current Mo.
A series of fearsome attacks struck back the Battle Formation, destroying another of Yang Kai’s shadows; in exchange, Mo once again suffered heavy injuries.
The Eight Trigrams Formation had been reduced to the Seven Stars Formation.
Previously, Yang Kai’s shadows had emerged from the Space-Time River one after another, joining the Battle Formation and making it stronger, but the situation had reversed now.
As more of these shadows perished, the might of the Battle Formation also began to weaken.
The only benefit was that Mo also weakened.
Each time a shadow perished, Mo’s body would shatter and Yang Kai’s main body would seize the opportunity to suppress and seal another piece of the former’s Source.
In the end, all of the shadows disappeared, leaving Yang Kai bleeding all over, staring right across at a miserable and weakened Mo.
The current Mo had a large amount of his Source suppressed and sealed, which significantly decreased his strength. He was no longer as mighty as before, and even the rich and dense Black Ink Strength lingering around him was now extremely faint, almost invisible.
The current Mo had lost more than 90% of his Source. In other words, he only had 10% of his peak strength, which was far from prime condition.
Right then, several figures flew over and formed a circle, surrounding the battlefield.
They were the Human Race Masters who had been watching from afar, as well as the Giant Spiritual Gods Ah Da and Ah Er.
Previously, it was impossible for them to intervene in the battle. Even the two Giant Spiritual Gods were unable to approach, let alone the Ninth-Order Masters; however, as Mo’s strength suffered with the destruction of Yang Kai’s shadows again and again, the spectating Masters finally had a chance to be useful.
Mo… had lost!
It was simply impossible for him to deal with so many Masters with his current strength. Just the two Giant Spiritual Gods alone were enough to overpower him now.
Nonetheless, Mo was laughing, his voice sounding extremely cheerful.
Zhang Ruo Xi stood before Yang Kai with the Heavens Order Sword in her hand, vigilantly staring at Mo. Although Mo was in a miserable state right now, no one knew what kind of methods this ancient being still had hidden up his sleeve. As such, they still had to take necessary precautions.
“Yang Kai!” Mo’s smile faded as it shouted at Yang Kai, “Let’s settle this!”
Behind Zhang Ruo Xi, Yang Kai calmed his roiling vitality and replied, “Good!”
“Sir!” Zhang Ruo Xi shouted, “Allow me!”
She still had the strength to launch one last attack and was confident that she could take down Mo with it; so, she naturally wouldn’t let Yang Kai take the risk.
“No. There’s no need!” Yang Kai stepped forward and walked past Zhang Ruo Xi, staring at the nearby Mo. Even as victory was within his grasp, there was no trace of the pride or arrogance on Yang Kai’s face as a victor should have, rather there was only a complicated expression.
“None of you is to interfere!” Yang Kai gently ordered.
The gathered Masters furrowed their brows ever so slightly. In the current situation, the best course of action was undoubtedly to attack together and take down Mo in an instant, ending this disaster that had lasted for millions of years once and for all; however, Yang Kai actually told them not to interfere.
No one knew what Yang Kai was thinking or up to.
However, out of their trust in Yang Kai, everyone still acquiesced to his demand. Be that as it may, they still maintained their encirclement, and focused their auras. If anything happened to Yang Kai, Mo would immediately be attacked from all directions.
When dealing with Mo, there was no need to discuss honour or morals.
Despite being surrounded on all sides, Mo’s expression still remained calm. He simply stared at Yang Kai and shouted, “Come!”
As soon as he spoke, his figure rushed straight towards Yang Kai, leaving a streak of black light behind him.
Simultaneously, Yang Kai also charged towards Mo.
The moment the two figures collided, everyone’s hearts jumped to their throats.
However, the next thing that entered their sight left them relieved.
Yang Kai’s fist had smashed into Mo’s chest, while Mo’s fist had stopped right before Yang Kai’s head.
*Pu…*
Mo spurted a mouthful of black blood as his raised fist limply fell.
Standing at arm’s length from one another, when their eyes suddenly met, Mo smiled at Yang Kai.
“Many thanks!” Yang Kai nodded to him, and thought for a moment before adding, “I will let you see the world Mu wished for you to see.”
Despite the jet-black blood flowing from the corners of Mo’s mouth, a free and relieved expression appeared on his face after hearing this, “Then, that’s enough!”
Yang Kai didn’t say anything more and summoned the Profound Source Gate. As the gate cracked open, it swallowed Mo whole!
Right afterwards, the door slowly closed itself, sealing the endless darkness behind it.
Back then, it was Mu who had rescued Mo from behind this door, and after more than a million years, Yang Kai had sent him back through it.
This ancient being had lived his life. He did not dare say he didn’t have any regrets, but at the very least, his life had certainly been quite an exciting one.
*Pu…* Yang Kai spurted a mouthful of blood before sitting down cross-legged, taking out a handful of pills from his Space Ring and stuffing them into his mouth.
Everyone immediately rushed to him upon seeing this. Su Yan flew straight behind Yang Kai and sat down, allowing him to lean on her.
After a while, Yang Kai’s chaotic aura finally started to stabilize. As he opened his eyes, he saw many pairs of eyes gazing at him with worried looks.
“I won’t die,” Yang Kai comforted everyone, allowing them to relax.
Mi Jing Lun finally couldn’t hold back his curiosity and asked, “Why did you thank Mo at the last moment?”
Although no one heard Yang Kai’s words of thanks, they could tell what he was saying by reading Yang Kai’s lips.
Yang Kai heaved a sigh, explaining, “From beginning to end, Mo never went all-out.”
“What?” Ouyang Lie was shocked, “He didn’t go all out? How is that possible?”
The others also had a look of incredulity on their faces. To their surprise, their battle almost ended in mutual destruction even when Yang Kai had given it everything he had. Did that mean Mo would have obtained the final victory if he had not held back?
Yang Kai continued, “It’s not that Mo didn’t use his full strength, but rather that he didn’t resort to any of his other tricks.”
Yang Kai had always been on guard against certain methods.
The Royal Lords had their Royal Lord Secret Technique, which could instantly corrupt Eighth-Order Masters. As the Black Ink Clan’s Creator, how could Mo not have similar methods? What’s more, such a method when used by Mo would surely be far more profound than what a Royal Lord could produce.
Of course, Yang Kai had the Soul Warming Lotus protecting his Soul, and the World Tree clone protecting his Small Universe, but even so, he could not say with absolute certainty that they would be able to defend against such a move.
Cang once mentioned that a mere clone could not completely negate Mo’s Black Ink Strength, only the World Tree itself would be capable of that!
So, when Yang Kai fought with Mo, he had always been on guard.
But from beginning to end, Mo had not used that mysterious method.
Was it that Mo couldn’t? Impossible!
He just didn’t want to!
Even after Yang Kai summoned his eight shadows, Mo still held a trump card that could have instantly turned the tables. Furthermore, he never needed to fight Yang Kai head-on, he could have just stalled for time, and the eight shadows from the future Space-Times would slowly have dissipated.
Not to mention, there was even a decent chance Mo could have broken away from the Nine Palaces Formation’s blockade and escaped. At the very least, it was clear Mo had no such intention. From beginning to end, he had fought with Yang Kai head-on!
At first glance, it seemed like Mo wanted to kill Yang Kai, no matter the cost, but was that really the case?
Therefore, although Mo had been fighting with all his strength against Yang Kai, he had not truly gone all out.