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Translator: Silavin & June
Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun
Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys
Decades had passed and most of the traces of that great battle had faded away, but Yang Kai could still sense the tragic atmosphere looming over this place.
In the last moments of the battle in the Barren Territory, 33 Old Ancestors sacrificed their lives here, along with the Dragon and Phoenix Clan Leaders. Only Old Ancestors Xiao Xiao and Wu Qing were spared from that tragedy.
The 33 Old Ancestors managed to kill 44 Royal Lords and over a million Black Ink Clan soldiers in their final blaze of glory.
There was no denying how tragic the battle had been.
And, this was the very battlefield where the fight had taken place.
Even though Yang Kai was not present during that last battle and could not witness it, as he stood here now and took in the traces left behind, he could almost imagine what it was like then.
When the Black Ink Giant Spirit God left the Shattered Heaven and came to the Barren Territory, he smashed through the Human Race Army’s defence lines and came here before using his arm to force open the passage between the two Great Territories. This allowed the Black Ink Clan Army to swarm into Wind Mist Territory.
For the Humans, the battle was lost at that moment as the invasion of the 3,000 Worlds could no longer be stopped.
Under those circumstances, the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters had two choices. One was to lead the Human Race Army’s retreat and leave the Barren Territory. They could then preserve their strength to fight another day.
They were the most powerful of all the Human Race Masters, and if they chose not to engage in battle, the Black Ink Clan could not do anything to them.
However, the Ninth-Order Old Ancestors chose the second option.
They chose to fight to the bitter end!
The 33 Old Ancestors showed no regard for the cultivation and longevity that they had attained with great difficulty and fearlessly launched a final assault on the Black Ink Clan.
The Dragon and Phoenix Clan Leaders followed suit.
44 Royal Lords had been killed in that battle, which was every single Royal Lord there was save for the one who left the Barren Territory earlier to pursue Yang Kai and the one who stood guard over the No-Return Pass.
Too much had been sacrificed in that battle, but it had also cleared the obstacles that stood in the way of the Human Race’s future.
The Old Ancestors had sacrificed their lives in exchange for giving the younger generation, including people like Yang Kai, time to grow stronger.
It had been over 20 years since then, but as Yang Kai stood in this place, it was as if he had travelled back in time and witnessed the tragedies of that battle. His heart constricted and his Dragon Blood started to boil.
When confronted with 33 Old Ancestors, along with the Dragon and Phoenix Clan Leaders, the Black Ink Clan would have also put up a fierce resistance to withstand their sudden attack. Still, they could not resist the dying determination of these valiant souls.
Once the Royal Lords had been wiped out, the surviving Old Ancestors did not retreat though and instead continued to attack the Black Ink Giant Spirit God who was pinned down here.
In the end, none of them survived.
What they had accomplished in that battle was still showing its effect now as the Black Ink Giant Spirit God did not come out of the fight unscathed. His colossal body was covered in wounds that could not heal due to the many Dao Strengths that crisscrossed around them. Black Ink Strength kept leaking out of the wounds, but the Black Ink Giant Spirit God would absorb it back into his body, and the cycle repeated.
This was most likely the reason why Xiao Xiao and Wu Qing could restrain the Black Ink Giant Spirit God from afar.
If he was completely fine, then even if the two Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm had the advantage of making the first move, it would still be incredibly difficult for them to keep this Black Ink Giant Spirit God locked in place.
It was the heroic sacrifice made by the Old Ancestors back then that allowed the current stalemate to exist.
Yang Kai narrowed his eyes and looked over at the Black Ink Giant Spirit God as he coldly snorted, “Look at you now, Mo!”
Every Black Ink Giant Spirit God was one of Mo’s Soul Clones, but because Mo was so powerful and was already in the Creation Realm, his Soul Clones were also powerful beyond comparison.
Mo could not be bothered to trifle with Yang Kai. He ran into this Human boy when he awakened in the Divine Spirit Ancestral Land and knew that while he was a weakling, he was incredibly proficient when it came to escaping. It was not as if he did not want to kill this Human back then, but the latter did not give him the chance to act.
It was even more impossible for him to kill this Human now that it was restrained and could not move.
Thus, Mo did not wish to respond to Yang Kai’s taunting. What it needed to do now was to build up its energy and break free from the two Old Ancestors. Once it regained its freedom, no one in all of the 3,000 Worlds could stop it.
However, what Yang Kai said next would put an end to Mo’s silence.
“Mo, I just came back from Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction after bringing someone over there. Who do you think it was?” Yang Kai asked with a chuckle.
Mo finally glanced at Yang Kai before answering coolly, “It makes no difference who you sent over there. Mu’s trump card has already been used and Cang is dead. When my true body awakens, the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction will easily crumble apart!”
Yang Kai slowly shook his head, “Don’t be so sure about that. Since I sent that person over, it means I’m confident about this; after all, that person… is an old friend of yours.”
Mo’s expression changed for a moment, but it soon snorted, “Stop trying to scare me. All of this Supreme One’s ‘old friends’ died long ago.”
“Since a Soul Clone like you knows that Mu’s trump card has been used, then you should also know that Senior Cang left me something before he died. You’ve lived since ancient times, so you must be very knowledgeable. Why don’t you try guessing what it was? Why did Senior Cang pass it to me just before he died?” Yang Kai slowly said.
Mo stayed silent.
Yang Kai continued, “How many years will it take before your true body awakens? A few thousand years? Over 10,000 years? What Mu left behind must have been quite powerful, right? But, let me give you a word of advice, you should wake up sooner rather than later, otherwise, it will be too late. Even if your true body wakes up, you still won’t be able to do anything if you loiter for too long.”
Yang Kai was curious to know how much longer Mo’s true body would remain unconscious. Wu Kuang had shamelessly boasted that he could become a Ninth-Order Master in 3,000 years, but if Mo’s true body awakened before then, the situation would become a lot more challenging.
If that happened, Yang Kai would have to find a way to take Xiao Xiao and Wu Qing over to see if they could help Wu Kuang.
However, if he did that, then the Humans’ only remaining two Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters would be permanently occupied, and the Black Ink Giant Spirit God here would be completely free.
Mo remained quiet for a long time before asking, “Who did you bring over there?”
Yang Kai chuckled and started to reply, “That person…”
“Don’t tell it too much,” A voice suddenly cut in from somewhere else and interrupted Yang Kai.
Yang Kai was startled at first but he soon snapped out of it and asked hesitantly, “Old Ancestor Wu Qing?”
Wu Qing did not respond; instead, it was Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao’s voice that rang out, “The Black Ink Giant Spirit God is exceedingly powerful. Be careful. It might try to corrupt you.”
Yang Kai was overjoyed, “How are the two of you doing, Old Ancestor? Is everything alright?”
He never thought that Xiao Xiao and Wu Qing could communicate with him across the different territories, but now that he thought about it, the Black Ink Giant Spirit God had cleared the passage between the Barren Territory and Wind Mist Territory, which meant that the passage was open the whole time. It was unsurprising that the two Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters on the other side could still communicate through that gap.
“We’re alright,” Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao replied, “As for you… You should hurry up and return to the Star Boundary. Your Wives miss you dearly.”
Yang Kai chuckled embarrassedly, “You met them, Old Ancestor?”
“Of course,” Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao responded in a huff, “They joined the Great Evolution Army earlier on.”
[Not only did I meet them, but that Yu Ru Meng! That annoying little girl never gave me face at all each time we met, always demanding I compensate them for losing their Husband.]
As Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao recalled this, she felt the urge to give Yang Kai a good beating.
“Don’t stay here too long,” Wu Qing said.
Yang Kai nodded and solemnly replied, “Junior understands.”
Mo had been silent for a time, but now, it could not resist cutting in and asking, “Who did you bring over there?”
Yang Kai grinned at Mo, “Why don’t you tell me how many years it will take for your true body to wake up first?”
Mo stared fixedly at Yang Kai and chose not to answer, “Did Cang teach you how to control the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction?” [Why would he be asking about my true body if that wasn’t the case? It’s obvious that he’s afraid my true body will wake up and break open the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction.]
Yang Kai snorted, “Mo, don’t waste time on these unnecessary questions. Why would I need Cang to teach me how to control the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction?”
Mo frowned, “What do you mean?”
Yang Kai looked at Mo dismissively, “Why would I need someone to teach me what I already know?”
Mo’s expression changed as a thought flashed across his mind, “Who are you?” he asked quietly.
“Take a guess!” Yang Kai flashed him a smile.
Mo was furious as it realised just how exhausting it was to communicate with the Human in front of it. After a moment of silence though, it said, “I can answer your question, but in return, you must tell me who you are.”
Yang Kai was startled. There was no rhyme or reason to the things he was saying at random, he merely wanted to see if he could trick Mo into telling him what was going on with its true body. It would be great if he did get the information he wanted, but even if he failed, there was no harm in that either. Plus, his vague and mysterious answers might even serve to rattle Mo.
He was just doing it because he could.
He did not expect Mo to actually lose its cool this quickly.
However, after giving it more thought, Yang Kai realised that this was indeed a child’s temperament!
Regardless of how old Mo was and how many years it lived, it barely had any life experience; thus, it had a childish personality which could be seen in the way it kept pressing on to find out what it wanted to know and was relentless if it did not get what it wanted.
Yang Kai nodded at once, “That works, but how will I know whether you’re telling the truth?”
“Why would I need to lie to you?” Mo retorted arrogantly, “I can’t prove whether you’re telling me the truth either.”
Yang Kai agreed with him on that.
“Don’t tell him any secrets,” Wu Qing reminded.
Yang Kai chuckled, “Rest assured, Old Ancestor. I know what I’m doing.”
Wu Qing hummed in acknowledgement and did not say anything else.
Yang Kai looked at Mo and said, “Go on. Tell me what’s happening with your true body.”
Mo scoffed, “I won’t stoop so low as to lie to you, but how do I know whether or not you’ll keep your promise?”
Yang Kai raised his eyebrows, “Shall I swear an oath first?”
Mo’s expression became extremely unpleasant, “Humans’ oaths are all worthless!” From the looks of it, it had been tricked by a Human’s oath before.
Yang Kai shrugged, “There’s no other way, then. You’ll just have to take the risk.”
Mo stared closely at Yang Kai as if it was trying to see right through him. After a long time, it finally said, “There’s no harm in telling you anyway. My true body will awaken sometime between 2,000 and 5,000 years from now.”
Yang Kai frowned, “That’s such a wide time frame.”
The answer was of no help at all. If Mo’s true body awakened in 2,000 years, then Wu Kuang would definitely not be able to become a Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, but 5,000 would be ample time.
Mo shook his head and said, “I’m just a Soul Clone of my true body and can only make speculations regarding what’s happening. How can I be sure of anything? However, my true body created three Soul Clones and was affected by the trump card Mu left behind, so it won’t be waking up anytime soon.”
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