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Translator: Silavin & Raikov
Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun
Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys
It was an awkward situation that the Great Evolution Army was facing.
Despite having the Black Ink Nest in their hands, they had no way of using it effectively, yet it was too much of a waste to just destroy it.
Naturally, the Old Ancestor was not afraid of the Territory Lords; however, after they sensed the Old Ancestor’s strength, the Territory Lords lying in ambush would immediately escape, leaving the Old Ancestor helpless.
Also, it was not as if they could just have the Old Ancestor wait on standby inside of the Black Ink Nest forever.
Yang Kai did not anticipate this situation. He thought that the Humans would long have begun preparing the information network after having obtained the Black Ink Nest for so long, but now it seemed that more consideration was required for this matter.
It was true that he severely injured and even destroyed many Feudal Lord consciousness back then in the strange space of the Black Ink Nest. With the Soul Warming Lotus’s protection, he left the Feudal Lords in a miserable state despite fighting one against dozens, but he was only facing Feudal Lords and one Territory Lord back then.
Now, it was numerous Territory Lords who had set up an ambush in that strange space, and they had a clearly defined plan this time… Whether it be the scale or the situation, it was very different from before.
Yang Kai was confident that his Soul was by no means inferior to any Territory Lord, so in a one-on-one, he didn’t fear defeat. Moreover, with the protection of the Soul Warming Lotus, he was fearless against any attack on his Soul.
However, if the number of Territory Lords was too great, then there was not much he could do about it either.
That was unless he could borrow some kind of powerful external force.
After a short pondering, Yang Kai said, “Many thanks, Brother Gong. I will return and see if I can come up with a solution to the situation here.”
Gong Lian didn’t give him a hard time and just smiled, “Take your time with it, Brother Yang, it’s not an urgent matter. What’s more, the higher-ups are also thinking up ideas. Surely it will be solved sooner or later.”
Yang Kai nodded and parted with Gong Lian. Without disturbing Ou Yang Lie who was still enjoying his drinks, he teleported back to Great Evolution Pass through the Space Array that was just completed.
While they were in Blue Sky Pass, Dawn Squad’s members all lived in their own scattered residences; however, now that they had arrived at Great Evolution Pass, the higher-ups took account of the fact that many Squads had been reorganized recently and the members needed to get to know each other better, so basically all the members of each Squad were housed in one place or area.
Dawn was assigned to a large courtyard near the outskirts of Great Evolution Pass with a few dozen houses, enough for all the members to share.
After returning to the courtyard, it was quiet. Save for Ning Qi Zhi, who was still recovering, the rest were nowhere to be seen.
Currently, the entire Great Evolution Pass was in a state of disarray and practically all of the Great Evolution Army’s soldiers were busy reorganizing everything, building or repairing various facilities around Great Evolution Pass, so there was no time for them to idle.
Yang Kai went to see how Ning Qi Zhi’s injuries were doing first and was relieved to see that he had improved a little. It was Ning Qi Zhi’s Small Universe that was damaged in the previous war, an extremely troublesome injury to have for an Open Heaven Realm Master, so the recovery process was also extremely slow.
However, the fact that there were improvements meant that there was nothing to worry about.
This allowed Yang Kai to breathe a sigh of relief. During the bloody battle at the Royal City, losing Qi Tai Chu was already a great heartache for him, so Ning Qi Zhi could not encounter any accidents.
After telling Ning Qi Zhi to take care of himself, Yang Kai left to see the Old Ancestor.
He needed the Old Ancestor’s help to deal with the matter concerning the Black Ink Nest; after all, they had to face off against many Territory Lords who were lying in ambush. Since the Old Ancestor was not able to handle it alone, he could only borrow her strength.
After interacting with Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao for so many years, the two of them had already grown incredibly close with each other, so after arriving at the Old Ancestor’s chambers, Yang Kai entered straight away without having to announce himself or inform anyone.
In a stone pavilion located in a small garden, the Old Ancestor was joyfully chewing on candied fruit, leaving crumbs all over her mouth.
Yang Kai sat down on a chair in front of her and casually poured himself a cup of water, drinking it all, and then sighing deeply, looking preoccupied.
The Old Ancestor didn’t even spare a glance at him.
After finishing one stick of candied fruit, she took out another and continued eating.
If one had to say what kind of thing Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao’s Space Ring carried the most of, then it had to be snacks. During the days she spent recovering in Yang Kai’s Small Universe, he often took her to the most bustling cities, and even he did not know how much food she had bought and hoarded up during those years.
“Something you need?” The Old Ancestor finally spoke after finishing another stick of candied fruit.
“Nope!” Yang Kai chuckled, “Just thought I’d pay a visit.”
“En,” the Old Ancestor responded casually and did not pay him any more attention.
Yang Kai was wondering how he should bring this up to the Old Ancestor in a less abrupt way. He was mainly here to borrow something from her, and despite how well they knew each other, he would inevitably find it embarrassing to just outright ask for it.
The Old Ancestor had seen through that, but since Yang Kai did not speak, she just left him to stew in his thoughts.
Soon, a small handful of bamboo skewers had already piled up in front of the Old Ancestor. Candied fruits were very sweet, but too much of them were bad for the teeth. Clearly, the Old Ancestor had quite the craving, but after a satisfied sigh, she looked around before her eyes finally stopped on Yang Kai, and she beckoned him with her finger.
Yang Kai quickly straightened his back and put his ear forward, ready to listen to the Old Ancestor’s instructions.
However, the Old Ancestor simply wiped her sugary hands on his sleeve…
Yang Kai’s mouth twitched, “If you wanted to wipe your hands, wouldn’t it have been better if I fetched you some water instead?”
“I prefer it this way!” The Old ancestor snapped back, “What are you going to do about it?”
Yang Kai held his forehead.
After a moment, with her hands cleaned, the Old Ancestor took out a cup from somewhere and pushed it in Yang Kai’s direction.
Yang Kai diligently filled it up for her.
After taking a sip of water, the Old Ancestor spoke leisurely, “Tell me, what have you sought me for?”
Yang Kai told her frankly, “I would like to borrow something from you.”
“Like what?”
“A Soul-type artifact!”
The Old Ancestor was surprised, “What do you need a Soul-type artifact for?”
Yang Kai explained, “To deal with the Territory Lords who are lying in ambush inside of the Black Ink Nests. They have no way of dealing with the Black Ink Nest over there, right? If I had a strong enough Soul-type artifact, then I might be able to solve the problem.”
The Old Ancestor frowned, “Don’t be reckless! Currently, you are no more than a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. Each one of the Territory Lords lying in wait is as strong as an Eighth-Order Master. Moreover, as soon as they sense that a Soul is connecting from here, they will immediately launch an attack. Even with a Soul-type artifact protecting your Soul, you might not make it out safely.”
Yang Kai laughed, “Many thanks, Old Ancestor, for your concern, but since I’ve said so, I’m confident in my ability to succeed. Old Ancestor may not know this, but I came into possession of certain treasure during the early days of my cultivation, and with the protection of that treasure, the Territory Lords, and even the Royal Lords cannot do anything to my Soul.”
The Old Ancestor was a little surprised at his words, but she soon asked thoughtfully, “The treasure you speak of, it couldn’t be the Soul Warming Lotus, could it?”
There was a pair of lotuses that were Supreme Treasures of the Universe, the Soul Warming Lotus that nourished and protected one’s Soul, and the Flawless Purifying Golden Lotus that kept the body of the one in possession of it in an immaculate state. Who had not heard of these two Supreme Treasures before?
However, such treasures had always been considered unique existences, and those who were able to possess either of them were those who held great destinies. Not just anyone strong could obtain such a treasure.
If there was any treasure in the world that could allow a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master to resist the Spiritual Energy attack of a Royal Lord, then it had to be the Soul Warming Lotus, so the Old Ancestor was able to guess it almost immediately.
Yang Kai nodded, “It is indeed the Soul Warming Lotus.”
The Old Ancestor almost did not dare to believe him, but since Yang Kai had told her so, he was clearly not joking around with her. After a moment of silence, she sighed, “Your luck is really enviable, to be able to obtain the Soul Warming Lotus. Moreover, to obtain it early on in your cultivation… It is no wonder why I have always felt that your Soul did not match your cultivation; it was thanks to the Soul Warming Lotus.”
Since Yang Kai had obtained the Soul Warming Lotus early on in life, after nurturing it for so many years, his Soul would naturally be much tougher and stronger than ordinary.
“It was just by chance!” Yang Kai said modestly. Reflecting on the experiences he went through on his Martial Dao, obtaining the Soul Warming Lotus could be considered his most fortuitous encounter of all.
Only a few people whom he was very close with knew about his possession of the Soul Warming Lotus; after all, it was too precious a thing to be revealing it casually.
As for the Flawless Purifying Golden Lotus in Wu Kuang’s possession, there was perhaps no one else but him and Wu Kuang himself who knew about it.
Even though the Old Ancestor had been healing in Yang Kai’s Small Universe for many years, she had no idea about the Soul Warming Lotus.
“With the Soul Warming Lotus’s protection, you do not need to worry about the Soul attacks of those Territory Lords; however, even if your Soul can fight against the Territory Lords, you still may not be able to defeat them in a one against many fight.”
“That is why I came to see you,” Yang Kai rubbed his hands together and looked excitedly at her, “So that I can borrow a powerful Soul-type artifact!”
The Old Ancestor finally realized, “So, that’s the idea you came up with. With the Soul Warming Lotus to protect yourself, you want to boost your offensive strength with an artifact, and if you were able to severely injure a few of them, then the Black Ink Clan probably will not dare to use the Black Ink Nest to lay an ambush for us again.”
“Indeed!” Yang Kai nodded, “If we can solve this problem, then our people can begin building our own intelligence network.”
“A good plan!” The Old Ancestor nodded, “Unfortunately, I don’t have any Soul-type artifacts to lend you.”
Yang Kai had a speechless look on his face. Of all the possible scenarios he had thought up, he never expected this one.
Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao said, “When I advanced to the Ninth Order, I gave up on all external aids other than a single favoured artifact. You should know that when one’s cultivation reaches my realm, the greatest thing one can rely on is oneself. Not only are most auxiliary weapons and devices useless, they can even impede the purity of one’s Dao.”
The Old Ancestor’s words sounded as if she were trying to explain the state of a venerable Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master to him, but was it still not a kind of teaching?
Yang Kai listened thoughtfully.
The Old Ancestor soon changed the topic though, “Even though I do not have a Soul-type artifact to lend you, I do have something that should suit your needs… In fact, other than you, there is probably nobody else who can properly make use of this thing.”
Yang Kai was intrigued, “What is it?”
The Old Ancestor flicked her hand and a jade slip appeared. Then, she casually tossed it over to Yang Kai.
Yang Kai reached out and grabbed it, then he immersed his Divine Sense and began investigating the jade slip’s contents.
Soon, a look of astonishment appeared on his face, “Soul Rending Thorn? Who came up with such a crazy thing?”
Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao explained, “In the early days of the Shattered Heaven, there existed an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master who lived in seclusion and did not appear in public. He was likely defending against the possibility that the Cave Heavens and Paradises might try to capture him. After painstakingly researching for many years, he thought up such a terrible and unorthodox artifact, mainly to use against the venerable Ninth-Order Masters of the Cave Heavens and Paradises, not knowing that there was not a single Ninth-Order Master present in the 3,000 Worlds. At that time, I was also merely in the Eighth-Order. Since he was involved in the murder of one of my Yin-Yang Cave Heaven’s disciples, I visited him and obtained this.”
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