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Translator: Silavin & VictorN
Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun
Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys
Just when he was worrying about this, Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao suddenly said, “The news from Theatres everywhere show that there is only one Royal City in each Theatre, and only one High-Rank Black Ink Nest in each Royal City!”
Yang Kai listened with doubts as his eyes narrowed and asked, “No exceptions?”
The Old Ancestor shook her head and replied, “No exceptions! Moreover, there are no extra Royal Lords that we have not accounted for participating in all the Theatres!”
Yang Kai was silent and sighed, “That’s not necessarily good news.”
Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao did not say anything, but lowered her eyes and pondered.
When Yang Kai reported what he found in the Black Ink Nest Space, Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao asked Great Evolution Pass to send another message to the other Great Passes, telling the other Old Ancestors to be on the lookout for a possible surprise attack.”
By now, every Theatre had been pacified. The Black Ink Clan was badly beaten with many killed and wounded. More than half of the Royal Lords were killed, and no additional Royal Lords participated in the battle.
All the Royal Lords who participated in this battle were those who had been fighting with the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in their Theatre already, and there were no unfamiliar faces.
It was fortunate that there were no interferences on the battlefield; otherwise, there was no way that the Human Race Army could be victorious in such a short time.
The 20 or so Royal Lords Yang Kai saw were undoubtedly real as well; yet, they did not hide in the shadows, waiting for an opportunity to sneak up on the Old Ancestors.
In the Royal City of each Theatre, there was only one High-Rank Black Ink Nest, even in the Great Battle Theatre.
There were 2 Royal Lords there, and since there are 2 Royal Lords, there should be two High-Rank Black Ink Nest, but there was only one!
It seemed that the 2 Royal Lords shared a High-Rank Black Ink Nest, or one of the Royal Lords did not have his own Black Ink Nest.
This was indeed not good news for the Humans.
There were exactly as many Theatres as there were High-Rank Black Ink Nest.
But how many Divine Senses did Yang Kai see in the Black Ink Nest space at that time?
120 to 130!
There should be as many High-Rank Black Ink Nests as there were Souls in that space!
This meant that the 20 Royal Lords who were watching from the sidelines were not involved in the war at all, and their Black Ink Nests remained undiscovered by the Humans.
Where could they be hiding?
Could the previous speculation about the Mother Nest be true? Were they really the Mother Nest’s guards?
Then, where was the Mother Nest?
Yang Kai suddenly had a bad feeling that the war between the two Races… was far from over.
Other than that, the dozens of Royal Lords that escaped from the major Theatres were an immediate problem. Now that it was confirmed that there were at least 20 more Royal Lords and corresponding High-Rank Black Ink Nests that were not discovered, these issues needed to be resolved.
Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling vexed.
He had thought that after this great battle, the Black Ink Battlefield would be completely pacified, but now this unforeseen situation had popped up.
This Black Ink Clan situation was more complicated than anyone had expected.
Yang Kai suddenly remembered the phrase ‘Black Ink Eternal’ that Mo Zhao shouted before he died. As a Royal Lord, Mo Zhao should have known the secrets of the Black Ink Clan. He naturally knew that even if the Black Ink Clan of all the other Theatres fell, the Black Ink Clan would not be easily defeated.
At that time, Yang Kai had scoffed at him. The cries of a defeated enemy were laughable, especially when they were about never being defeated.
However, now it seemed that everyone had underestimated the Black Ink Clan, including the Old Ancestors!
Although there were still unseen problems, it was a fact that the Black Ink Clan were defeated in the major Theatres.
When the news of the victories in all the other Theatres was received, the entire Great Evolution Pass fell into a celebratory mood.
Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao left to discuss important matters with the Army Commanders, while Yang Kai kept his Small Universe and recuperated in silence.
A few days later, Yang Kai felt clear Space Principle fluctuations coming from the Grand Hall where the Space Array was located, followed by Xiang Shan’s aura.
The reinforcements deployed by Great Evolution Pass were led by Xiang Shan, who brought about a dozen Eighth-Order a few hundred Seventh-Order Masters to support other Great Passes. They had finally returned.
Xiang Shan departed with more than 10 Eighth-Order Masters, but only returned with seven.
Those Eighth-Order Division Commanders who did not return would probably never return.
This made Yang Kai angry as so many people had died, yet the Black Ink Clan endured. When would this war finally be resolved?
This also made him realize that he was still too small and weak.
He thought that after this battle he could return to the 3,000 Worlds and the Star Boundary. That he could spend his days with his parents, return to his beautiful Wives, frolic in the rivers and gaze up at the stars. Now, it seemed that he had to quickly break through to the Eighth-Order in preparation for another war!
He had a vague sense of urgency in his heart, like the entire Human Race was facing a huge challenge ahead. Unless he became an Eighth-Order Master, he might not be able to protect himself.
However, cultivation in the Open Heaven Realm was basically a matter of accumulation over time, one that could not simply be skipped over.
Yang Kai’s Small Universe reared countless living beings and had a World Tree clone helping maintain and strengthen it. Time even flowed faster in his Small Universe allowing his cultivation speed to be much faster than any others. Still, it was not that easy to break through to the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm for him.
In the following days, Yang Kai did not engage in the celebrations; instead, he was madly refining various cultivation materials so that he could enhance the heritage of his Small Universe.
All of Dawn was inspired by him and did not waste any time, all of them entering retreat.
Half a month later, several figures flew out of Great Evolution Pass, followed by a voice in Yang Kai’s ears, “Follow me!”
Yang Kai opened his eyes, looked up, and flew off without saying a word.
With a few movements, he had caught up with the ones ahead of him.
Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao was among them, along with the four Army Commanders.
With such a lineup, it appeared that something big was about to happen.
Yang Kai, braced himself, approached Xiang Shan, and asked, “Sir, what is our plan.”
Xiang Shan did not hide anything from him as he said, “To find out what’s going on with the Black Ink Clan!”
Since Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao wanted him to follow them, there was no need to hide what they were going to do.
Yang Kai instantly understood, “We’re going into the Black Ink Nest Space?”
They were flying towards the Royal City. If they were going to find out what was going on with the Black Ink Clan, they had to use the High-Rank Black Ink Nest to enter its Black Ink Nest Space.
Xiang Shan nodded.
Yang Kai immediately looked at the Old Ancestor and said, “Old Ancestor, this Junior would like to serve as the vanguard!”
Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao glanced at him briefly and shook her head, “No, you are too weak.”
Yang Kai felt as if his heart had been pierced; however, when he thought about it, there were six of them. A Ninth-Order Old Ancestor, four peak Eighth-Orders Master, and him, a Seventh-Order Junior.
Indeed, he was too weak.
“You were lucky to escape last time. If there are really 20 Royal Lords lying in wait inside that Black Ink Nest Space as you said, you won’t be coming back if you enter again this time.”
Yang Kai could not refute her.
Although his Soul was as strong as any Eighth-Order Master’s, there was still an enormous gap between him and a Royal Lord. Even with the Soul Warming Lotus’ protection, he may not be able to resist the combined attack of several Royal Lords.
Moreover, even if he could block such attacks, once the Black Ink Nest Space was completely closed like the last time, he would also be trapped inside, unable to get out.
Last time, Yang Kai was trapped in the High-Rank Black Ink Nest Space for years in order to help Great Evolution Pass fully control their seized Mid-Rank Black Ink Nest. However, he relied on his Soul Rending Thorns to kill or cripple several Territory Lords, forcing them to open the Black Ink Nest Space.
If he was trapped this time, what would he use to fight with the Royal Lords?
“I asked you to come this time so I could borrow your Soul Warming Lotus.” Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao explained, “No one knows what is going on in that Black Ink Nest Space, so we have to take precautions.”
Hearing this, Yang Kai frowned, “Old Ancestor, last time I was there, I saw some 20 Royal Lords inside. It is not safe for you to enter alone, even with the Soul Warming Lotus.”
Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao smiled and said, “I will not be entering alone.”
Yang Kai was amazed and asked, “Others are going with you?”
Suddenly, Yang Kai thought of something and asked, “With the Old Ancestors from the other Theatres?”
Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao nodded and said, “Since you sent out that warning that day, the Human Race naturally became concerned. The other Theatres all searched for the location of the other High-Rank Black Ink Nest, but so far they’ve yet to discover anything. At the same time, instead of outright destroying them, orders were passed down to preserve as many High-Rank Black Ink Nests as possible in the other Theatres. Although we didn’t manage to capture many, there are still more than 20.”
It was not an easy task to keep a High-Rank Black Ink Nest intact during the crusade. In fact, it was more of a coincidence that the High-Rank Black Ink Nest in Great Evolution Theatre survived than anything else.
Yang Kai had not hesitated or held back when he attacked the Royal Lord Black Ink Nest. At that time, he just wanted to destroy it so that Mo Zhao would have no way to borrow strength from it. He wanted to help Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao gain a decisive advantage.
As a result, the Black Ink Nest collapsed and Mo Zhao could not draw Black Ink Strength from it, causing his combat strength to be greatly reduced. However, the Black Ink Nest itself was not completely destroyed.
If the other Theatres wanted to preserve these Black Ink Nests though, they would have to pay a much higher price.
With over 100 Theatres, it was not easy to leave more than 20 High-Rank Black Ink Nests behind; however, this meant that more than 20 Old Ancestors could join hands to explore the Black Ink Nest Space!
If those Royal Lords really ambushed them, the Old Ancestors need not be afraid of them!
Of course, no one could say if those 20 Royal Lords were still in the Black Ink Nest Space at this moment; so, the Old Ancestors were just taking precautions.
In line with that thinking, borrowing Yang Kai’s Soul Warming Lotus would indeed provide another layer of safety.
Yang Kai naturally did not refuse such a small request.
The Soul Warming Lotus was a Supreme Treasure which ordinary cultivators would conceal at any cost for fear of its existence being exposed, leading to their death.
However, this was the Black Ink Battlefield and Yang Kai would never be wary of Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao. It was impossible for her to hold the intention to harm him; thus, he did not hesitate to take it out.
A seven-coloured lotus suddenly emerged from the Knowledge Sea. The lotus looked ethereal and illusory, almost as if it was material and immaterial all at once. As soon as it appeared, a wondrous aura permeated from it, one that allowed everyone present to feel their Soul being nourished.
Even Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao felt the same, and she was in the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm where very, very few treasures could benefit her.
Only innate Supreme Treasures like the Soul Warming Lotus were of some use to her.
Without standing on ceremony, Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao accepted the Soul Warming Lotus into her body and refined it a little.
At the same time, everyone arrived in front of the Black Ink Nest, where several Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were standing guard in the shadows. When they saw the Old Ancestor arrive, they only verified her identity but did not show themselves.
Following the passage opened by Yang Kai, the group of six soon arrived at the center of the Black Ink Nest.
Xiang Shan checked around and bellowed, “Assume your positions!”
Mi Jing Lun, Ou Yang Lie, Liu Zhi Ping quickly dispersed and blended in with the shadows.
Xiang Shan remained on guard in the open, while Yang Kai simply observed. As a Seventh-Order Master, there was no other role for him to play here.
Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao searched for a place and sat down cross-legged, not interacting with the Black Ink Nest, but just waiting patiently.
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