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Translator: Silavin & Tia
Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun
Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys
Zhong Liang was shocked to his core!
The fact that Yang Kai possessed a World Spring had astonished him greatly; nevertheless, that was nothing compared to learning about the existence of the Purifying Light!
It was true that the World Spring was a powerful treasure, allowing one to never fear the corrosion of the Black Ink Strength or worry about being corrupted by it. But, that was something that would only benefit one individual. Nobody else could enjoy the benefits of the World Spring but its owner.
On the other hand, Purifying Light was different. Purifying Light was the means to dispel and purify Black Ink Strength, which was something that could benefit the entire Human Race. The hundreds of people who Feng Ying led back here were living examples.
The conflict between the Human Race and Black Ink Clan had gone on for far too long.
Although the Black Ink Clan had been trapped in the Black Ink Battlefield and could not invade the 3,000 Worlds easily, the Human Race was helpless to destroy the Black Ink Clan. That was especially true when it came to the corrosion of Black Ink Strength.
Since ancient times, many elites among the Human Race had been corrupted by the Black Ink Strength and turned into enemies. Faced with these people who used to be comrades, close friends, and even relatives who fought side-by-side with each other on the battlefield, they could only suppress their tears and ruthlessly kill them.
It was not that they had never tried to rescue these people. In the past, they had captured the Black Ink Disciples alive and tried various means to dispel the Black Ink Strength from their bodies. Unfortunately, even the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Old Ancestors were powerless to do anything about the Black Ink Strength.
And yet, there was now someone who could do what even an Old Ancestor had failed to.
How could Zhong Liang not be shocked? He immediately realised that Yang Kai’s very existence was critical to the entire Human Race. The means to dispel and purify Black Ink Strength would surely rewrite the unchanging situation that had existed since time immemorial on the Black Ink Battlefield.
Grabbing Yang Kai by the arm, Zhong Liang tightened his grip with an emotional expression on his face, “Come! We must meet the Old Ancestor!”
This matter was far too important and had to be reported to the Old Ancestor directly. Besides, they had been trapped on the Black Ink Battlefield for so many years, so such good news would absolutely boost morale greatly.
“Please make the arrangements, Senior!” Yang Kai nodded. In any case, he had been planning to meet the Ninth-Order Old Ancestor who was in charge of Blue Sky Pass already since he needed to make a report about the Void Corridor.
Zhong Liang grabbed Yang Kai and hurried inside. All of a sudden, he seemed to recall something and turned back to look at Feng Ying, “How many people know that he has the World Spring?”
He did not ask how many people knew about Yang Kai’s Purifying Light. Since everyone who came with them was rescued by Yang Kai, they would surely have seen the white light before; hence, there was no need to ask. That was not something that needed to be concealed anyway. On the contrary, it would be better if the news were to spread. Such good news would greatly reduce their worries on the battlefield and allow their allies to fight the Black Ink Clan without fear.
Good news like this could greatly affect the trend of the battlefield by allowing the Human Masters to let loose and fight the Black Ink Clan without reserve.
Feng Ying replied, “Among those who came back, the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters should know since they were hiding in his Small Universe.”
The 300 or so Black Ink Disciples who were rescued previously had been divided and hidden inside the Small Universe of Feng Ying and the other Seventh-Order Masters. Since Yang Kai was only in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm, he could only take Fifth-Order Masters along with him.
Zhong Liang frowned slightly at those words. That was going to be troublesome. Purifying Light was something that should be heavily publicised, but the existence of the World Spring was something that needed to be concealed. Once this matter was exposed, it might attract trouble instead.
After hearing the exchange, Yang Kai chimed in, “Don’t worry, Senior. I might have accepted some of the Fifth-Order Masters into my Small Universe, but I did not reveal the existence of the World Spring to them.”
There were too many secrets in his Small Universe. If nothing else, there was the large population of the Small Stone Race and various other living beings that he raised in his Small Universe. The mountains of Yellow and Blue Crystals were also being stored in his Small Universe. These were not things that Yang Kai would expose so easily; therefore, he had deliberately blocked the perception of the Fifth-Order Masters when he took them into his Small Universe and only delineated a small area for them to use. In that way, they were unable to see anything that was placed beyond the boundaries of this area.
Just like the time when he allowed Zhong Liang to inspect his Small Universe, Yang Kai had only revealed the World Spring and the existence of the Black Ink Strength that was suppressed and sealed inside his body. He only allowed Zhong Liang to see what he wanted Zhong Liang to see. Nothing else had been revealed.
Zhong Liang nodded lightly in response, “Good.”
He had planned to ask Feng Ying to warn those Fifth-Order Masters so that they kept the existence of the World Spring a secret, but it would now seem that he was saved the trouble of doing that. From this incident, it could be seen that Yang Kai was a meticulous person who acted cautiously.
“You should get some rest. I’ll take him to the Old Ancestor,” Zhong Liang instructed before he hurried inside.
Feng Ying respectfully saw them off.
As soon as Yang Kai and Zhong Liang exited the Grand Hall, they saw a large crowd waiting for them outside. These people were allies who fought side-by-side on the battlefield earlier and the 300 or so Black Ink Disciples that Yang Kai and the others brought back.
Upon seeing Yang Kai emerge from the Grand Hall, the cultivators, who were former Black Ink Disciples corrupted by Black Ink Strength, stepped forward with Shen Ao and the others in the lead. They cupped their fists to express their overflowing gratitude. It was just that Zhong Liang was also here, so they could not thank Yang Kai in person.
For them, it could almost be said that they had gained a new life. If Yang Kai had not removed the Black Ink Strength from their bodies, they would still be Black Ink Disciples right now. They might even have followed their Black Ink Clan Masters to this battlefield to kill their own clansmen in battle.
On the other hand, the Seventh-Order Masters in charge of guarding and monitoring the Revealing Black Ink Array stared at Yang Kai in amazement. The Revealing Black Ink Array had reacted to him, which could only mean that his body contained Black Ink Strength. In other words, he was a Black Ink Disciple; even so, Zhong Liang had ushered him into the Inner Sanctum for some reason.
The situation left them puzzled indeed. What’s more, judging from the reactions of the surrounding crowd, this young man who was suspected of being a Black Ink Disciple seemed to hold great prestige among this group of people.
[Just what is going on?] The Seventh-Order guards looked at each other, feeling speechless.
Zhong Liang ignored them and waved the crowd away, “Why are you all loitering around here!? Quickly get some rest and recover your strength! This war is not over yet!”
Although they had obtained an absolute victory in the battle earlier, based on their experience over the years, the Black Ink Clan’s forces would not be pushed back in such a short amount of time. That feat would require years of effort. The Black Ink Clan would only withdraw their forces when they could not endure the losses any longer. For that reason, the duration of the war could be long or short. The shortest battles had lasted for three to five years, while the longest ones had dragged on for several decades to a century.
In any case, even if the Black Ink Clan withdrew their forces, the Human Race had no means to annihilate the Black Ink Clan completely; therefore, the Black Ink Clan would always rise again after a period of time.
For countless years, this vicious cycle had been repeated over and over again. The Human Race had stationed themselves at the various great passes to guard the last line of defence for the sake of the 3,000 Worlds.
Walking behind Zhong Liang, Yang Kai looked around in amazement.
The scenery inside Blue Sky Pass did not look very different from what one would see inside a city. There were houses situated along both sides of the wide and spacious streets, but of course there were no shops. Although these houses looked like places for people to live in, they seemed to be deserted at this moment. Even the occasional passing cultivator seemed to be in a hurry.
“Isn’t there a little too few people?” Yang Kai muttered.
Zhong Liang explained, “The great passes are basically made up of two lines of defence. The first line of defence is the outermost barrier that you saw earlier. The second line of defence is where the Revealing Black Ink Array is located. Now that war has broken out, most of the people have rushed to the first line of defence. Even if some of them withdrew from battle, they would be resting in their respective residences. That is why the Inner Sanctum is relatively deserted at the moment. Truthfully, the Inner Sanctum is quite lively when we are not at war…”
After saying that, he turned to glance at Yang Kai, “I forgot to ask. Where do you hail from?”
Yang Kai pondered for a moment, “This Junior can be considered part of Yin-Yang Cave Heaven, but I was not born into Yin-Yang Heaven.”
Whenever he introduced himself to others before, he had always claimed to be a Yin-Yang Cave Heaven disciple. The main reason was that he couldn’t be bothered to explain the nuances of his situation. Be that as it may, Zhong Liang’s status was different. He was an Eighth-Order Ancestor, so it would be better to tell him the truth.
Zhong Liang was curious, “If you were not born in Yin-Yang Heaven, then how are you considered part of it?”
Yang Kai blushed slightly as he explained, “This Junior married a Yin-Yang Cave Heaven disciple, so I can be considered a Yin-Yang Heaven’s Son-in-law.”
Zhong Liang’s mouth fell open slightly. All of a sudden, he patted Yang Kai on the shoulder, “How lucky. The women of Yin-Yang Cave Heaven are quite a catch.”
Generally speaking, the female disciples of the major Cave Heavens and Paradises would not marry outside their respective Sects; however, if an individual had outstanding aptitude, the Cave Heavens and Paradises would not hesitate to win these individuals over.
Yang Kai’s various performances had not escaped Zhong Liang’s notice. This boy was truly outstanding.
In Zhong Liang’s opinion, it was not strange for Yin-Yang Cave Heaven to use the marriage of their female disciples as a means to win over a rising star like Yang Kai. Nevertheless, he would never have imagined that Yang Kai was not just marrying a Yin-Yang Cave Heaven disciple but two Yin-Yang Cave Heaven disciples, one of which was a Core Disciple. If he knew, he would have been shocked.
“There are also some people from Yin-Yang Cave Heaven here at Blue Sky Pass. I’ll introduce you to them if I get the chance!” Zhong Liang said casually.
“Many thanks, Senior.” Yang Kai cupped his fist and said curiously, “Isn’t Blue Sky Pass the great pass guarded by Blue Sky Paradise? Why are there people from other Cave Heavens and Paradises here?”
This was something he noticed earlier. Some of the Open Heaven Realm Masters who appeared on the battlefield earlier were clearly not from Blue Sky Paradise; he could tell because their Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques clearly came from other Cave Heavens and Paradises.
Zhong Liang replied, “Blue Sky Pass is indeed named after Blue Sky Paradise, and the one overseeing Blue Sky Pass is an Old Ancestor from Blue Sky Paradise. Be that as it may, the people here come from all over the 3,000 Worlds. In fact, there are people from almost every Cave Heaven or Paradise here. How could there only be people from Blue Sky Paradise? You should know that every Cave Heaven and Paradise has their own strengths and weaknesses. Only with sincere cooperation can we bring together each other’s strengths and make up for our respective weaknesses. That is the case at Blue Sky Pass and all other great passes.”
After listening to the explanation, Yang Kai immediately understood. It would seem that his previous understanding had been flawed.
Zhong Liang furrowed his brow slightly at that moment as he muttered, “You don’t seem to have much knowledge about the great passes.”
Logically speaking, as long as a person resided in any of the great passes for a few days, they would naturally learn about such common knowledge; however, Yang Kai’s behaviour seemed to indicate that this was his first time at one of the great passes.
Yang Kai quietly said, “I will be truthful, Senior. I am mostly ignorant about the great passes. Moreover, this is also my first time coming to one of the great passes.”
Zhong Liang was astonished, “How can that be? If that’s the case, then how were you captured by the Black Ink Clan?”
He previously assumed that Yang Kai had been captured by the Black Ink Clan on one of the battlefields. Consequently, Yang Kai had been forced to disguise himself as a Black Ink Disciple and followed the Black Ink Clan back to their territory. But now, that did not seem to be the case.
Yang Kai cupped his fist, “I cannot tell you the exact reason, but the truth will come to light when this Junior meets with the Old Ancestor.”
Zhong Liang stared at Yang Kai for a while. He could not understand what in the world could be so difficult to say to him. As an Eighth-Order Ancestor, what was there that he was not allowed to know? Nevertheless, seeing as Yang Kai had said as much, there must be some sort of secret involved. It was not right for him to probe further, so he simply said, “Good. However, you might not be able to meet the Old Ancestor right now.”
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