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Translator: Silavin & Tia
Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun
Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys
Yang Kai and Ou Yang Lie searched the vicinity at random, but in less than half an hour, they found thousands of cultivation materials of good quality and different attributes. It had to be said that these were simply the ones that could be found in plain sight and there were bound to be more which had either been depleted or buried nearby.
Standing in the void, Yang Kai held an Earth Element material in his hand with a deep frown on his face. [How did these Territory Lords accumulate so many cultivation resources? The dozen or so Innate Territory Lords hiding here to treat their wounds did not have any Black Ink Clan troops under their command. In that case, who brought them these materials?]
He then suddenly recalled an incident that had caught his attention recently. The Black Ink Clan had been increasingly excessive in their embezzlement of cultivation resources during their delivery of supplies…
In all likelihood, the No-Return Pass knew about the existence of this High-Rank Black Ink Nest and the 15 Innate Territory Lords here and diverted resources to this place, cutting into his share…
What if the No-Return Pass was not embezzling the resources? What if the number of cultivation resources in their possession was simply that limited? If they were secretly transporting large amounts of cultivation resources away from the No-Return Pass and delivering them to the Innate Territory Lords hiding outside so that they could hatch a High-Rank Black Ink Nest and treat their wounds…
Combined with the dubious origins of these Innate Territory Lords, a certain thought caused a sudden jolt of horror in Yang Kai’s heart. He immediately turned and instructed, “Senior Brother Ou Yang, join up with the others as soon as possible. Be careful to remain in hiding until I return. More importantly, don’t act rashly even if you encounter something abnormal!”
“What did you discover?” Ou Yang Lie asked. Although he had not considered the matter as deeply as Yang Kai, he could instinctively sense that something was very wrong.
Yang Kai replied, “I’m not sure yet, but I have to investigate further.”
After saying so, he vanished from sight with a ripple of Space Principles.
On the other hand, Ou Yang Lie was left with his mouth hanging open. Swallowing the words he had not been in time to speak, he turned around and went to join the other Eighth-Order veterans on guard duty.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai flew forward at a rapid pace. There was no particular target destination in his mind, he was simply carrying out a careful and sweeping search of the general area. If his guess was correct, then the Innate Territory Lords he encountered were not the only ones hiding outside the No-Return Pass. There were likely more of them in other remote places.
The Black Ink Clan was essentially under Mo Na Ye’s command at the moment, and for that reason, Yang Kai and Mo Na Ye had interacted with each other on several occasions. While Yang Kai did not dare to claim that he had a thorough understanding of Mo Na Ye, he was not completely unfamiliar with his enemy either. Therefore, he placed himself in Mo Na Ye’s shoes and considered the matter from the latter’s perspective.
If the truth was as Yang Kai speculated, then the question was simple, what arrangements would he make for the Innate Territory Lords living outside? The answer came to him quickly. He would never allow them to return to the No-Return Pass. That was because Yang Kai was always standing guard outside the No-Return Pass. If these Territory Lords headed to the No-Return Pass, their whereabouts would definitely be exposed.
These Territory Lords with unknown origins were most likely Mo Na Ye’s hidden trump card. In that case, it was only natural to keep them as deeply hidden as possible until they could all be mobilised at a critical moment. Their sudden emergence was bound to catch the Human Race by surprise.
If that was the case, they could not be placed too near the No-Return Pass! Otherwise, their existence might be exposed. After all, Mo Na Ye could not confirm that Yang Kai would remain in the periphery of the No-Return Pass at all times. If Yang Kai was struck by an impulsive whim and arbitrarily decided to wander deeper into the Black Ink Battlefield, he might accidentally discover something.
Combining his speculations with the location of the High-Rank Black Ink Nest he destroyed earlier, Yang Kai quickly found the answer. The ruins of the Royal City of the major Theatres were located quite far from the No Return Pass, far enough that even if he wanted to take a random walk, Yang Kai would not venture this far.
In reality, there was nothing wrong with Mo Na Ye’s arrangement. What he never expected was that the Human Race had a team of tens of thousands of cultivators mining for resources in the depths of the Black Ink Battlefield, much less that Yang Kai’s considerations would coincide with his own. Yang Kai had also dispatched other Humans to search for resources beyond the ruins of the Royal Cities as he assumed it was absolutely safe from the Black Ink Clan’s patrols.
Both sides had assumed that the other would not venture so deep into the Black Ink Battlefield for no reason, so they had hidden their activities in the same place. That was how Ou Yang Lie had accidentally stumbled upon the High-Rank Black Ink Nest while investigating his surroundings! One could only sigh at the irony. It was truly an occasion befitting the saying ‘the calculations of man cannot compare to those of Heaven’.
Despite Yang Kai’s conjectures, trying to find something in the vast void was like trying to find a single shell in a vast sea. He was lucky that his Divine Sense was powerful and he could use Space Principles to rapidly move from one place to another. One month later, his efforts bore fruit.
In a dead Universe World located deep in the void, Yang Kai came across a scene similar to the one he had seen previously. A High-Rank Black Ink Nest was standing there quietly. Furthermore, the High-Rank Black Ink Nest was not fully hatched to avoid any wastage of resources or Black Ink Strength. All the Black Ink Strength was condensed around the Black Ink Nest with no sign of it spreading into the surroundings.
That was part of the countermeasures to conceal the existence of the Black Ink Nest. If the Black Ink Nest had been fully hatched, it would tower many thousands of metres into the sky and the Black Ink Strength surging from it would easily cover the entire Universe World and the surrounding space, making it very easy to spot.
On the contrary, restraining its growth and emission of Black Ink Strength could provide adequate concealment. If Yang Kai had not investigated the area carefully and simply passed by without much care, he might not have discovered the Black Ink Nest.
Thanks to his previous experience, Yang Kai did not show mercy in his actions this time around. He had not been certain whether there was a Royal Lord in the previous Black Ink Nest, so he had only used Golden Crow Casts the Sun to test the waters. This time, he did not hesitate to use his Sun and Moon Divine Seal!
The Space-Time Strength emerged as a giant seal comprised of a Crescent Moon and Great Sun slammed fiercely into the Black Ink Nest. Time and Space warped greatly at the moment of impact, seemingly shredding reality itself in the surrounding region.
Once the full power of the Sun and Moon Divine Seal dissipated, the local Time and Space began to repair itself. The enormous High-Rank Black Ink Nest disintegrated like a tower of sand, and most of the Innate Territory Lords hiding within the Black Ink Nest to recuperate from their wounds were instantly annihilated.
The Sun and Moon Divine Seal was Yang Kai’s strongest single trump card at the moment. Supplemented by his current cultivation at the peak of the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm, even a Pseudo-Royal Lords like Mo Na Ye might not be able to defend against this attack, so what more need be said about a bunch of injured, defenceless Innate Territory Lords?
The Territory Lords who were lucky enough to survive this blow all suffered severe damage to their foundations. Awakening from their deep slumber, they looked absolutely terrified and barely had any time to understand the situation before they were massacred.
The slaughter this time around went much faster than before, with the main reason being that the power of Yang Kai’s Sun and Moon Divine Seal was much higher than his Golden Crow Casts the Sun. Many of the Territory Lords were slain before they even caught a glimpse of their attacker, while those who survived were left on the verge of death. The entire process took no more than several dozen breaths of time.
As Yang Kai retrieved the Azure Dragon Spear, there was not a single living being left in his surroundings; however, he did not show the slightest joy on his face. Instead, his expression was extremely solemn.
Compared to finding another High-Rank Black Ink Nest after just one month, he would rather have spent several years searching with no results. If that were the case, then it would have meant that his speculations were wrong and the situation faced by the Human Race would not worsen much further. Unfortunately, looking at the current situation… everything seemed to be heading in the worst direction!
To obtain results in just one month… could not be just because he had been lucky or his search efforts had been careful enough. Looking at the situation from the most obvious perspective, this meant that many Territory Lords were living outside the No-Return Pass. It was precisely because their numbers were so high that Yang Kai was easily able to find them. If he continued his search, Yang Kai was certain he would find even more Black Ink Nests filled with Territory Lords.
[We’re in big trouble!]
It turned out that Wu Kuang was unreliable after all; however, it was not entirely his fault either. Although Wu Kuang was the reincarnation of Shi, who had the qualifications to control the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, his cultivation was limited. It was only natural that Wu Kuang could not control the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction as well as Cang.
Yang Kai pondered for a while before activating Space Principles and returning along the same route he came with the help of the Space Beacons that he had hidden. It had taken him a month to arrive at this spot, but it only took him a few hours to return and successfully meet up with Ou Yang Lie and the others.
Faced with the inquiring gazes of the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, Yang Kai did not know how to explain the situation; thus, he decided not to say anything. He simply opened his mouth and declared, “Senior Brother Ou Yang, please accompany me back to the Supreme Headquarters!”
Ou Yang Lie was startled, but he quickly responded, “Good!”
Yang Kai glanced at the other veteran Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters and spoke to them urgently, “Be sure to remain hidden as much as possible during this period. Many Territory Lords are wandering around, though most of them should be recuperating in deep slumber. As long as you remain cautious, you should be safe.”
The rest of the veteran Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters nodded in response.
They could not deny that the safest solution at the moment was to send the mining teams back to safety; however, the Human Race needed supplies to maintain the war effort. If the cultivators here were sent back now, then there would be one less channel for the Human Race to obtain supplies in the future. It might not affect them in the short term, but it would be very unfavourable to them in the long term. After all, the resources mined by this team here on the Black Ink Battlefield made up a considerable fraction of the Human Race’s consumption over the past 1,000 years.
Therefore, Yang Kai could only leave them in place despite knowing that it was dangerous. He could only hope that they were careful enough to prevent being discovered by the Innate Territory Lords; otherwise, not many of the tens of thousands of cultivators here would survive the ordeal.
After issuing these instructions, Yang Kai immediately wrapped his power around Ou Yang Lie and connected his mind to the World Tree. The whole world turned upside down, and their field of vision shifted. Under the guidance of a mysterious power, the pair arrived at the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary.
It was Ou Yang Lie’s first time visiting the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, but he was in no mood to be curious about his surroundings. He only spared a quick glance at the Old Tree before him in amazement before he questioned solemnly, “Junior Brother, what happened?”
Yang Kai explained, “Something has probably gone wrong at the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction. Many Innate Territory Lords have somehow managed to escape.”
Ou Yang Lie’s expression changed drastically, “Are you referring to the ones we encountered previously?”
Yang Kai nodded.
Ou Yang Lie finally understood the situation, “No wonder they did not head to the No-Return Pass. They were afraid of being discovered by you.”
If Yang Kai had not been lurking around the No-Return Pass, then these wounded Innate Territory Lords would not have remained drifting outside. More than a dozen Territory Lords couldn’t remain crowded in a High-Rank Black Ink Nest.
“Do you have any idea how many more Territory Lords are out there?” Ou Yang Lie probed further.
Yang Kai shook his head, “It’s hard to say for certain, but their numbers are definitely low.”
Ou Yang Lie had discovered the first High-Rank Black Ink Nest 10 years ago. Considering the effort required for the Territory Lords to sneak out of the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, it was most likely that the problems at the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction started many decades ago. Who knew how many Innate Territory Lords had escaped from the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction over a period of decades?
There was a reason why Yang Kai had associated the presence of the Territory Lords with a problem at the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction. When Yang Kai had previously sent the Suppressing Black Ink Army to the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, he had personally witnessed a Royal Lord breaking through the gap opened by Wu Kuang.
Fortunately, the gap opened by Wu Kuang only allowed Territory Lords to enter and exit freely while a Royal Lord would need to pay a high price to force their way through the gap.
Consequently, the Royal Lord had been covered in wounds even though he managed to emerge from the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction. That Royal Lord’s strength had been greatly reduced as a result, allowing Fu Guang to swiftly defeat and execute him.
The Innate Territory Lords whom they encountered previously had all been seriously injured, which was certainly thought-provoking. Their conditions were exactly the same as the Royal Lord whom Yang Kai had met in the past, allowing him to make the association.
(╭ ರ_⊙) should say “definitely NOT low”
Hello!
Many thanks for the chapter, as always.