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Translator: Silavin & Raikov
Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun
Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys
The situation was different now. The Black Ink Clan’s foundation in the Great Evolution Theatre had been severely damaged and even the Royal Lord himself had sustained heavy injuries. Moreover, Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao would go and visit him every now and then, leaving him no opportunity to recover.
Under such circumstances, the Humans could make use of this Mid-Rank Black Ink Nest that fell into their hands.
The entire Black Ink Nest was moved over here after the reoccupation of Great Evolution Pass, where Array Masters set up barriers to isolate and contain the Black Ink Strength which was regularly released from it.
The current situation on the universe fragment was clear. The huge Black Ink Nest was located at the centre and isolated by Spirit Arrays so that no Black Ink Strength was spreading out into the periphery, allowing the Human soldiers to move around it freely.
The one currently standing guard here was the Great Evolution Southern Army Commander, Ou Yang Lie.
Even though there was little worry that the Black Ink Clan would try to come and snatch this Black Ink Nest, one could never be too careful. A strong Master was needed on standby, and an Army Commander was undoubtedly the strongest available.
The reason why Ou Yang Lie was here was because he had taken the initiative to volunteer for the post. Since he was still recovering from his wounds, it made no difference whether he stayed inside of Great Evolution Pass or here since the two were now just half a day’s travel apart.
The Southern Army’s temporary Army Headquarters was also located here, so after arriving, Yang Kai received permission to enter and as soon as he did, he saw a slightly pale-faced Ou Yang Lie reprimanding his Disciple.
“You lazy brat! Even dragging your feet when I asked you to go to Great Evolution Pass to pick up some wine! I don’t know what those legs of yours are even for!”
Gong Lian stood in front of Ou Yang Lie with downcast eyes, allowing his Honoured Master to spit all over him without moving. He was clearly no stranger to this situation.
After Ou Yang Lie finished reprimanding him, Gong Lian answered lazily, “Honoured Master, Martial Uncle Mi said that your body is still injured, so you should not drink excessively. He asked me to watch over you so that you can recuperate well.”
Ou Yang Lie glared at him and almost raised his nostrils into the air as he said stubbornly, “Martial Uncle Mi, Martial Uncle Mi, am I your Honoured Master or is Big Head Mi your Honoured Master?”
He jabbed Gong Lian’s head with his finger, “I taught you since young to listen to your Honoured Master, and now look at you! Not listening to anything I say anymore, but you’re happy to listen to anything Big Head Mi says! Tomorrow, I’m going to expel you from my Sect, then you can go and look for Big Head Mi and ask him to be your Master!”
Poor Gong Liang was still a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, so watching him being reprimanded like a small child made Yang Kai widen his eyes in surprise.
Moreover… Big Head Mi? Mi Jing Lun’s head was not particularly big…
This scene of a Master scolding his Disciple was so intense that Yang Kai felt that it was better for him not to watch it at all. Just as he was about to withdraw, Ou Yang Lie suddenly turned his head over as if he just saw him and called out, “Yang Boy, you’ve come?”
Yang Kai had no choice but to grit his teeth and cup his fist, “Greetings, Senior Ou Yang!”
Then, he turned to Gong Lian, “Senior Brother Gong!”
Gong Lian returned his greeting.
Ou Yang Lie walked over with a laugh and wrapped his arms affectionately around Yang Kai’s shoulders, “You’ve come just in time. The Inner Sanctum has just sent word that they want you to set up a Space Array here. The materials have already been prepared. Have a look and see where it’s more suitable to set this thing up.”
Yang Kai came to this universe fragment for his own reasons regarding the Black Ink Nest, but he did also have proper business. Xiang Shan wanted him to help them set up a Space Array here so that those from the Inner Sanctum could come and go with ease. Naturally, Ou Yang Lie had been informed beforehand.
“Anywhere is fine, I can arrange the Space Array wherever Senior Ou Yang finds suitable.” Yang Kai smiled back.
Ou Yang Lie sighed, “If only my Disciple was as obedient as you are, constantly talking back to me, it’s just aggravating, wouldn’t you say?”
What could Yang Kai say? He just turned a deaf ear to it.
Ou Yang Lie lowered his voice, “Have you got any wine?”
Before Yang Kai could answer, Ou Yang Lie glanced over with a stern gaze, “Don’t tell me you don’t. I know you’re raising living beings in your Small Universe, so you should have anything and everything.”
The killing intent in those eyes seemed to suggest that he would slaughter him without a burial if Yang Kai dared to let the word ‘no’ slip from his mouth.
Yang Kai sighed, “Senior Ou Yang, you haven’t fully healed yet. You shouldn’t drink.”
Ou Yang Lie bristled, “Don’t lecture me like Big Head Mi. We’ve campaigned against the Black Ink Clan for 150 years, and I’ve been enduring all that time. Now, I can’t even celebrate with alcohol after we’ve won the war? What kind of reasoning was that? Enough with the nagging, bring me some wine!”
Saying so, the arm around Yang Kai’s shoulder grew increasingly heavy, which made Yang Kai feel at once that his bones were about to dislocate…
A short time later, in an open space, Yang Kai was busy setting up a Space Array.
On the side, Ou Yang Lie was sitting in the middle of a pile of wine bottles, drinking happily, cheering in glee after finishing each one in a wonderful mood.
Not far from him, Gon Lian was eyeing Yang Kai with a grimace, which made Yang Kai feel embarrassed to meet his gaze.
Something like setting up a Space Array could not be easier for Yang Kai. With all the materials in place, it took him less than an hour to finish everything.
An Array had already been set up at Great Evolution Pass that synced with this one. Yang Kai personally stepped onto the array to check and made sure that there were no problems before handing it over to their use.
By now, Ou Yang Lie had already drunk his fill and was sitting slumped on the ground, tapping his knees and singing his heart out.
Even though Ou Yang Lie had a gruff appearance, his voice was actually pretty good. Even though Yang Kai had no idea what he was singing, his song had a boldness to it that was quite interesting.
After walking over to Ou Yang Lie’s side, Yang Kai cupped his fist, “Senior Ou Yang, the Space Array is completed.”
“En, good work,” Ou Yang Lie spoke in a good mood, wine bottle still in hand.
“Furthermore, this Junior has a presumptuous request.”
“Speak!” Ou Yang Lie spoke with narrowed eyes that showed an indescribable sense of carefreeness.
“This Junior wishes to obtain a sub-nest to place inside of his Small Universe to aid in the cultivation of the disciples in my Small Universe. Senior should know that many Sixth and Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters have walked out of this Junior’s Small Universe. Unfortunately, before stepping into the Black Ink Battlefield, none of them have ever encountered the Black Ink Clan before. If they were able to face some Black Ink Clansmen during their growth period, it will be beneficial to them when they truly enter the battlefield in the future.”
Ou Yang Lie nodded at his words, “Fair enough, but it is useless to speak to me about this. I’m just the doorman here. You’ll have to ask the Old Ancestor for permission.”
Yang Kai answered, “The Old Ancestor has already agreed. She told me to come see you.”
Ou Yang Lie suddenly grinned meaningfully, “It’s useless even if the Old Ancestor agrees.”
Yang Kai was confused, “This Junior does not understand.”
Ou Yang Lie reached out and pointed at the Black Ink Nest enveloped by the Spirit Array behind him, “Because there’s nothing we can do about it right now either.”
“What do you mean?” Yang Kai was even more confused.
Ou Yang Lie guzzled another mouthful of wine before directing Gong Lian, “Take him in and show him.”
After accepting his order, Gong Lian turned to Yang Kai, “Brother Yang, come with me.”
“Many thanks!”
Halfway through following Gong Lian into the Black Ink Nest, Yang Kai laughed bitterly, “Brother Gong, please don’t blame me. I had no other choice.”
Naturally, he was talking about Ou Yang Lie’s request for wine.
Gong Lian waved his hand, “Honoured Master insisted, so Brother Yang was in no position to resist. I understand. In fact, Honoured Master’s injuries have already stabilized so a little wine won’t hurt him. Martial Uncle Mi is only worried that he might drink excessively, which is why he told me to keep an eye on him.”
Yang Kai sighed, “It’s tough for you too, Brother Gong.”
Gong Lian chuckled, “I owe Honoured Master for raising and teaching me. Now that this Gong has made some achievements in cultivation and can take care of himself, it is naturally necessary to repay those favours to Honoured Master. This much is nothing.”
As they were speaking, they arrived at the interior of the Black Ink Nest.
Yang Kai was naturally incomparably familiar with things like this Black Ink Nest. He had been in and out of many Black Ink Nests, including Low-Rank and Mid-Rank Black Ink Nests.
He was also the one who first found out that the Black Ink Nests could communicate with each other. Before that, the Humans had an inkling but had no proof on the matter.
It could be said that there was nobody more familiar with the Black Ink Nests than him in the entire Human Race.
“Martial Uncle Mi asked the Black Ink Clan to leave this Black Ink Nest behind because he hoped to create an intelligence network for the Humans using it. If we can use the Black Ink Nest the way the Black Ink Clan uses them, then in the future, passing information around will be much easier for our Race. Brother Yang should also know how far away each Great Pass is, and once a war breaks out, it becomes very difficult for Armies to contact each other. If this network could be established, it would be very useful for our future crusade.”
Yang Kai nodded in agreement.
“Currently, there are no problems with feeding it resources. The Black Ink Nest is able to absorb materials instinctually; however, after absorbing the materials, all of the energy will automatically be put towards the birth of new Black Ink Clansmen. We’ve not been able to create sub-nests.”
“Why is that?” Yang Kai frowned. He had seen how higher Rank Black Ink Nests created sub-nests before, so he knew it should not be anything difficult.
“Because we Humans have no way of controlling the Black Ink Nests currently,” Gong Lian explained, “Brother Yang may know that to control the Black Ink Nest, one needs to connect one’s Divine Sense with it Black Ink Nest’s consciousness and become one with it to control it.”
“Indeed!”
“And that is where the problem lies. Connecting to the consciousness of the Black Ink Nest was not a problem, the problem is that the Black Ink Clan has already set up an ambush inside the existing network, so as soon as any Human makes a connection, they are instantly attacked by the force of more than a dozen Territory Lords in an instant. In a contest of Spiritual Energy alone, our Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters are naturally unafraid of any single Territory Lord. However, our people can only fight alone, while the Black Ink Clan can borrow the strength of several Black Ink Nests in order to attack in a group, meaning no Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master can withstand it. The few Eighth-Order Division Commanders who tried before have all suffered varying degrees of injuries to their Soul.”
Yang Kai finally understood.
He had experienced something similar before. Previously, he had also connected to the Black Ink Nest’s consciousness to locate other Black Ink Nests, and it was then that he was attacked by the consciousnesses of many Feudal Lords in the strange space.
Fortunately, he had the protection of the Soul Warming Lotus, so even though he was facing off against many foes alone, he still managed to defeat the Black Ink Clan.
What the Humans were encountering now was exactly the same issue Yang Kai encountered back then.
The Black Ink Clan must have known that the Humans would try to connect to the Black Ink Nest to make use of it, so they had prepared over a dozen Territory Lords to wait in ambush inside of that strange space. As soon as they sensed the intrusion of a Human’s consciousness, they would immediately attack.
Under such circumstances, would any Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master be able to resist? Furthermore, if the few Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters had not withdrawn in time, then they might have incurred irreparable damage to their Souls and perished.
Gong Lian continued, “The Old Ancestor has tried it once, but the Territory Lords must have sensed the Old Ancestor’s strength and took the initiative to withdraw when they sensed her. As such, even the Old Ancestor is helpless in this matter.”
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