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Translator: Silavin & Tia
Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun
Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys
Upon hearing those words, Meng Qi waved his hand dismissively, “You don’t need to blame yourself. For me, I would rather die in this manner than to become a servant of the Black Ink Clan again. Being enslaved is worse than death. In the future, no matter which Black Ink Disciple you meet, you don’t need to show them mercy. If you can kill them, then you should without hesitation. You will be liberating them from their suffering. We have long prepared ourselves for death the moment we stepped onto the Black Ink Battlefield.”
Yang Kai remained silent…
Meng Qi continued, “If… I’m just saying; if you can safely arrive at the great passes guarded by the Cave Heavens and Paradises, you must keep the Void Corridor a secret from all others. The only one you can inform is the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Old Ancestor defending this area, no one else can be entrusted with this information!”
This was clearly a preventive measure in case anybody who was privy to this information became corrupted by the Black Ink Strength. Masters like the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Old Ancestors were essentially immune to the Black Ink Strength. Throughout the countless years of battle since ancient times, there had been several incidents where Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters became corrupted by the Black Ink Clan; however, there was no precedent of a Ninth-Order Old Ancestor becoming corrupted.
“This Junior will not forget!” Yang Kai nodded seriously.
Meng Qi glanced at Yang Kai and sighed again. Yang Kai had the World Spring, so there was no need to worry about becoming corrupted by Black Ink Strength; moreover, his strength was far superior compared to the average Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. Be that as it may, Meng Qi did not believe that Yang Kai could leave the Black Ink Clan’s territory and safely return to the great passes guarded by the Cave Heavens and Paradises. There were all kinds of dangers lurking along the way after all. The slightest careless mistake was enough to result in death.
Yang Kai asked, “Senior, do you have any message you wish delivered to Exquisite Paradise?”
Meng Qi’s gaze went blank, but after pondering for a moment, he shook his head and said, “No. There’s nothing to tell them. I was dead the moment I became corrupted by the Black Ink Strength.”
Raising his head, he looked at Yang Kai once more, “It’s getting late. You should leave. Sealed Worlds also contain World Force, so they are very attractive to the Black Ink Clan. It’s just that there are treasures that will benefit Black Ink Disciples inside, so the Black Ink Disciples are allowed to enter for exploration first. In short order, the Black Ink Clan will enter this place to devour the World Force here. At that time, this Sealed World will be destroyed.”
Yang Kai frowned upon hearing those words, “Is the Black Ink Clan waiting outside the Sealed World?”
Meng Qi nodded, “These are several Feudal Lords outside! That is why you will be facing a crisis as soon as you exit this Sealed World. Unfortunately, you can only rely upon yourself to resolve this crisis. The Black Ink Clan will be very interested in a servant without a Master like you, but if you can demonstrate that you have great value, you might be able to retain your life; otherwise, you will only become food.”
Yang Kai immediately felt a headache coming. As soon as he exited this Sealed World, he would be met with several Black Ink Feudal Lords. That was no laughing matter.
After explaining the exit route to Yang Kai once more, Meng Qi shooed Yang Kai away, “Go! This matter cannot be delayed!”
Yang Kai opened his mouth, but in the end, he swallowed all the words he wanted to say. He did not try to persuade Meng Qi again. Standing up, he bowed deeply, “Take care, Senior!”
Meng Qi nodded and closed his eyes silently.
Yang Kai turned and left. Walking out of the karst cave in the belly of the mountain, he determined his bearings for a moment before he flew in the direction Meng Qi had pointed out to him earlier. He had not gone far when his figure came to an abrupt halt.
The disturbance caused by the collapse of a Small Universe spread out from behind him. The World Force dispersed into the surroundings and disappeared in a fleeting moment. Yang Kai could tell that Meng Qi had committed suicide; after all, in order to keep the secret of the Void Corridor, Meng Qi’s only choice was to die.
This Sealed World was not small, and Yang Kai was not very familiar with the area even though Meng Qi had pointed him towards the exit; therefore, it took him two full days to arrive at the entrance of the Sealed World after wandering around in circles.
Along the way, Yang Kai encountered many Black Ink Disciples. What surprised him was that the cultivation of these Black Ink Disciples was very uneven. There were Masters like Meng Qi, who were in the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm; however, there were even cultivators as weak as the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm!
This discovery puzzled Yang Kai greatly. Logically speaking, the Cave Heavens and Paradises were aware of the power of the Black Ink Clan. For that reason, the Open Heaven Realm Masters dispatched to the Black Ink Battlefield over the years could not be weak. It was obvious that Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were not qualified enough to step onto this battlefield, so the Sixth-Order should be the lowest limit!
After giving it some thought though, Yang Kai realised that the Black Ink Disciples in the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm might have experienced a situation similar to Meng Qi’s. Meng Qi’s strength had fallen sharply because he sacrificed a part of his Small Universe in the past. Although he barely managed to maintain his cultivation of the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm, he could not display the proper strength of a Seventh-Order Master. If he had continued to sacrifice parts of his Small Universe though, then there was a high possibility that his Order would have regressed!
These Black Ink Disciples in the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm might have been created in such a manner. They could have originally been in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm, or even the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm, but after repeatedly sacrificing parts of their Small Universe, their Order declined to its current state.
That was the only reasonable explanation for this situation.
Faced with these Black Ink Disciples, Yang Kai did not stir up any trouble with them. Although he really wanted to use his Purifying Light to dispel the Black Ink Strength in their bodies and restore their original self, doing so would only cause more trouble right now.
Fortunately, the Black Ink Disciples had no intention of attacking each other either. The Black Ink Disciples might be under the command of different Black Ink Clansmen, but the only reason they entered this Sealed World was to search for treasures that would be useful to them. Without the orders of their Black Ink Clan masters, they rarely bothered to confront each other; after all, such actions were meaningless.
The reason why Meng Qi had tried to silence Yang Kai was mainly to prevent the latter from exposing the existence of the Profound Yin Spirit Fruit to others. This treasure was extremely rare and precious. More importantly, the Spirit Fruit was very useful for repairing a damaged Small Universe.
What’s more, the Black Ink Clansmen themselves hoped that the Black Ink Disciples under their command would become as strong as possible. Only then could they gain more achievements in the war. Why else would they allow the Black Ink Disciples under their command enter the Sealed World for exploration before they made their move? They would have devoured the World Force as soon as they discovered the Sealed World if they didn’t have such calculations.
The entrance was a Void Crack that could not be considered small as it was as big as a house. Once Yang Kai stepped through this entrance, he would arrive at the Black Ink Battlefield.
Nevertheless, Yang Kai was in no rush to leave after arriving at this place. He did not know what was waiting for him outside; however, according to Meng Qi, there were at least a few Black Ink Feudal Lords waiting outside. That was not good news for him.
For the next two days, Yang Kai watched as several Black Ink Disciples rushed out of the entrance and vanished from sight. Meanwhile, he lurked in hiding and waited patiently. He used Exile to hide himself in the Void so that both his figure and aura were completely concealed. With his current attainments in the Dao of Space, there was no risk of exposing his whereabouts as long as nobody was deliberately searching his hiding spot.
Another day passed when all of a sudden, ripples spread out from the entrance.
Yang Kai, who had been watching the entrance for movements all this while, immediately raised his brow and paid close attention. These ripples clearly indicated that somebody was passing through the entrance. Since nobody was exiting the Sealed World at this moment, then it could only be that someone was entering from the outside.
A few days ago, Yang Kai had formed a vague plan when he heard that the Feudal Lords were going to enter the Sealed World to devour its World Force.
It was obviously inappropriate for him to brazenly walk out of the Sealed World as the other Black Ink Disciples would surely head to the side of their respective Masters when they exited. If he went out and revealed that he was alone, he would surely be targeted by the Black Ink Clan immediately. Things would inevitably become very troublesome if that were to happen.
In that case, he simply needed to wait until the Black Ink Clan entered the Sealed World. He would not stand out if he left this place after the Black Ink Clan entered.
The ripples continued to spread outward, and a short while later, a tall and strong figure stepped out from the Void Crack.
Yang Kai narrowed his eyes slightly and watched.
In truth, this was only his second time seeing a Black Ink Clansman in person. This individual was different compared to the Black Ink Royal Lord he met in Black Territory last time. Judging by the external appearance of this Black Ink Clansman who barged into the Sealed World from the outside, he did not look very different from a Human. There were no traces of any Monster Beast features, but his physique was several times larger than what would be considered normal. With his size, he could be considered a small giant.
Yang Kai estimated that he would only reach the knees of this Black Ink Clansman if he were to stand in front of the other party. What stood out the most was that this Black Ink Clansman’s skin was completely pitch-black. His entire body also seemed to be enveloped in a dense layer of Black Ink Strength. Only his eyes shone brightly like two great suns. They were a huge deterrent to others.
This was a Black Ink Feudal Lord comparable to a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master in strength!
After the Black Ink Clansman resembling a small giant entered, he looked around for a bit and was quickly attracted by the rich World Force in this land. Taking a deep breath, he revealed a look of intoxication.
The ripples continued to spread outward behind him. It didn’t take long before another small giant figure stepped out of the Void Crack, followed closely by another figure… A total of six Feudal Lords entered the Sealed World at the same time. From their outer appearance, four seemed to be male while the other two were female.
Yang Kai did not dare to continue watching, lest he revealed his whereabouts. Exile might be an excellent concealment technique, but he could not afford to be careless.
After the six Feudal Lords arrived in this place, one of them spoke in a thunderous voice, “Let’s split up and act independently. We will be able to eat our fill this time.”
The sound of something slicing through the air rang out in the next moment, and the six figures sped off in different directions. It was evident that they were preparing to devour the World Force of this Sealed World.
Yang Kai waited in place for a short while. After confirming that no other Black Ink Clansmen were going to enter, his body flickered and he rushed towards the entrance. Without any hesitation whatsoever, he plunged directly into the Void Crack.
In the next moment, the world spun around him and he appeared in an unfamiliar void. Before he could react though, his entire body went stiff. That was because numerous Divine Senses had locked onto him from all directions, making him feel as though he had thorns stabbing him in the back. The power of his Small Universe automatically surged around him in response.
Looking around, his expression became solemn. There were countless figures standing nearby. Divided into six different camps, they surrounded the entrance so tightly that not a drop of water could pass.
There were many people among these six groups of people. Some had seven or eight members while others had only two or three. Moreover, many of them were familiar faces. These were the Black Ink Disciples Yang Kai leave through the Void Crack over the past few days.
It was clear that they had been in no hurry to leave after exiting the Sealed World. On the contrary, they had waited for their Masters to enter the Sealed World and were now keeping watch outside while their Masters were inside.
These six groups of people corresponded with the six Feudal Lords from before; thus, Yang Kai immediately panicked as he did not belong to any one of them!
Fortunately, these Black Ink Disciples showed no intention of doing anything. Yang Kai only hesitated for a moment before he grit his teeth and dodged out of the encirclement from below, immediately shifting his body to escape into the distance.
There was no other choice. After waiting for so many days, the Black Ink Clan Feudal Lords finally entered the Sealed World. If Yang Kai did not leave now, his situation would only become more dangerous. As for whether the Black Ink Disciples would suspect anything after his sudden departure, he could not afford to care. Even if he was being suspected, he could only flee.
Yang Kai could clearly sense the numerous gazes staring into his back like leeches hanging onto him during his escape. Fortunately for him, the Black Ink Disciples had no intention of taking action. It was not until he disappeared from their field of vision that they finally retracted their gazes.
F