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Translator: Silavin & Raikov
Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun
Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys
Normally, it took an extremely long time for an injury on a cultivator’s Soul to heal, and even with the help of the Soul Warming Lotus, it took Yang Kai almost a month to recover from refining the first 3 Soul Rending Thorns.
And so, only after 4 months was Yang Kai able to fully refine all 12.
Without further delay, he went to the universe fragment that housed the Black Ink Nest.
As usual, he first went to see Ou Yang Lie who was watching over this place, and only after receiving permission did he step into the Black Ink Nest under his accompaniment.
The reason why Ou Yang Lie was accompanying Yang Kai was because he was curious to see what plan the latter had thought up to solve this problem that had been plaguing them, and secondly, it was to stand guard for Yang Kai in case something were to happen to him while he was dealing with the Territory Lords.
During this time, the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters had not tried to enter the strange space again. The few Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters who tried and failed previously showed the Humans that any attempt would only be a great risk to them without a proper solution to the problem.
Ou Yang Lie was not sure what Yang Kai was going to do exactly, but he had received some vague information previously from the Inner Sanctum that if anyone was going to solve the problem of the Black Ink Nest, then it had to be Yang Kai.
The source of this information was somewhat obscure, but it did not take much to guess that it was probably related to the Old Ancestor.
Since the Old Ancestor trusted Yang Kai so much, then what was there for him to worry about? However, it was still necessary for someone to stand guard for him.
Soon, the two of them arrived at the centre of the Black Ink Nest.
Ou Yang Lie said, “Kid, you must be cautious. If the situation turns awry, then retreat immediately. Those Territory Lords must be lying in ambush inside. Several have already suffered considerable losses from them previously.”
Even though the Humans had not made any moves for more than a year, how could the Territory Lords become complacent? Under Hong Di’s lead, the Black Ink Clan stationed at Great Evolution Pass were forced to agree to Mi Jing Lun’s condition of allowing them to keep the Black Ink Nest when they retreated. However, now that the Humans had a Mid-Rank Black Ink Nest, the Black Ink Clan could only use this method to force the Humans to give it up.
Only by forcing them to give up on the Black Ink Nest would the Black Ink Clan be able to ensure that the Humans would not be able to spy on them when they were exchanging information in the future.
Yang Kai nodded solemnly, “I understand.”
With that, he opened the portal of his Small Universe, and as World Force surged, the Black Ink Nest devoured it like mad. Yang Kai immersed his mind into the stream, forming a connection with the Black Ink Next’s consciousness.
Soon, a familiar yet strange sensation engulfed him, as if his entire being was merging with the Black Ink Nest.
This was a clear sign that his connection was successful.
Connecting to the Black Ink Nest’s consciousness was not difficult, and any Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master could do it with ease. That was because even though the Black Ink Nest itself had a consciousness, it was not sentient. The Black Ink Nest’s consciousness was more like a platform that could carry one’s Soul and become one with it without distinction.
However, the Black Ink Nest’s consciousness could only ever carry one Soul at any one time. In other words, if Yang Kai connected with this Black Ink Nest’s consciousness, then nobody else could join him from the same Black Ink Nest.
This meant that once an Eighth-Order Master connected with the Black Ink Nest’s consciousness and entered that strange space, they would forever be forced to fight alone.
However, it was different for the Black Ink Clan.
Even though the Great Evolution East-West Army destroyed many Black Ink Nests during the war, there were still many owned by Territory Lords remaining on the Black Ink Clan’s side.
Each of these Mid-Rank Black Ink Nests was representative of one Territory Lord, so they would always have the advantage in numbers.
As Yang Kai’s consciousness connected to the Black Ink Nest’s consciousness, he entered the strange space that he was familiar with in an instant.
It was a space completely different from the outside world. It seemed vast, but also small at the same time. Not a hint of vitality could be felt, and the entire world was dead silent.
With a slight thought, Yang Kai brought out his Soul Avatar.
The reason he had to bring out his Soul Avatar was naturally so that he could prepare for the big fight to come.
The moment his Soul Avatar emerged, Yang Kai immediately put up his guard against his surroundings, but to his surprise, the attack that he expected did not immediately come.
No Territory Lords were lying in ambush inside of the strange space, only the rapid movement of a Feudal Lord’s consciousness coming from a certain direction.
By the time Yang Kai’s body moved in order to chase after it, the Feudal Lord’s consciousness had already disappeared.
[What’s going on? Where is the Black Ink Clan?]
Even though Yang Kai thought of many possible scenarios he would face, what he encountered still left him confused.
However, in the blink of an eye, one by one Territory Lord consciousnesses suddenly appeared from nowhere. In the blink of an eye, the originally empty space now contained six Territory Lord consciousnesses.
After these Territory Lords entered the strange space, some who did not transform into their Soul Avatars were just irregular blobs of Spiritual Energy, which were ever-changing. Only two Territory Lords made the same choice as Yang Kai and manifested their Soul Avatars. One looked like an ape, while the other looked like a giant.
Yang Kai instantly understood.
It must have been that the Old Ancestor’s appearance previously surprised the Territory Lords, and that was why they did not dare to appear here before verifying who it was in case they ended up running into the Old Ancestor again.
Even though they did not wait in this space, they had clearly left behind some subordinates to keep an eye on the situation, which explained the Feudal Lord that Yang Kai encountered when he first entered.
The Territory Lords had to verify that it was not an Old Ancestor who entered before they could feel assured.
The Territory Lords were no fools, so how could they allow the Old Ancestor to give them trouble?
This was also the reason why the Old Ancestor was unable to resolve the matter. She was strong, but the decision to fight or not was in the hands of the Black Ink Clan.
On the other hand, the Eighth-Order Division Commanders were helpless against the enemy and would only be putting themselves in danger to face them when they were so seriously outnumbered.
Yang Kai was the best person for the job.
With the Soul Warming Lotus’ protection, he was not worried about being injured, and with the Soul Rending Thorns, it was not a loss to take out an enemy. If he could take down two, that would be a good deal. If he could get rid of a few of them, then he was certain that the Black Ink Clan would not dare to act presumptuously in this strange space again.
The Territory Lords clearly had no intention of greeting Yang Kai. They did not even care which Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master it was who entered this place. Since they had already confirmed that it was not the Old Ancestor, what else was there for them to hesitate about?
Naturally, they grouped up and sent out a barrage of attacks, like they were trying to wash away the disgrace that the Black Ink Clan had suffered in the war over the past 150 years!
So, when the Territory Lords entered this strange space, three of them charged at Yang Kai without even a single word, while the other three assumed a triangle formation as they bombarded him with Secret Techniques.
In an instant, a storm spun up by Spiritual Energy swept over Yang Kai.
The Black Ink Clan had no particular talents when it came to Artifact Refining, arranging Arrays, or Alchemy. Most of them relied on the Black Ink Disciples under their command for such things. However, when it came to cultivating Secret Techniques, they had a special talent for it.
Perhaps that was the Heavenly Way’s compensation.
Who could say for sure?
They were able to freely perform many of the Human Race’s Secret Techniques, and it was all thanks to the teachings of the Black Ink Disciples that were corrupted by their Black Ink Strength.
They had even been able to develop new Secret Techniques based off of the foundations of the Secret Techniques they learned, evolving them to better suit the Black Ink Clan.
And, what the Territory Lords were using now were exactly those powerful Soul Secret Techniques.
Yang Kai could feel the power behind those three Soul Secret Techniques. Even though he was not physically here, his scalp could not help but tingle.
It was no wonder why the Eighth-Order Division Commanders all suffered such heavy losses here. Which Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master would be able to withstand such a barrage? They would probably be beaten into a cowering ball after just one round of attacks.
Even though the enemy was strong, Yang Kai had no intention of summoning the Soul Warming Lotus.
He could easily block these attacks with the protection of the Soul Warming Lotus, but that would just be exposing his trump card from the start.
Taking things slow was preferable in a fight with these Territory Lords. He had to beat these Territory Lords half to death and make them suffer. Only then would the Humans be able to take full control of their Black Ink Nest.
The Territory Lords had ruthless techniques, but Yang Kai was even more ruthless.
As the Soul Secret Techniques blasted his way one by one, he rushed straight towards the Territory Lords that resembled a blob of flowing liquid.
Yang Kai’s actions had clearly startled the Territory Lords.
Many times in the past, they faced off with the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, but every one of them would try and flee when faced with their united attacks since nothing good would befall them if they dodged too late.
However, this Human was quite interesting. Not only did he not run away, he even took the initiative to charge at them. Was he perhaps tired of living, and that was why he was eager to have a taste of death?
If that were the case, then these Territory Lords did not mind granting him his wish.
However, a moment later, something even more shocking for the Territory Lords happened.
A flash of Spiritual Energy suddenly burst out of this Open Heaven Realm Master’s Soul and a piercing scream rang out deep within the minds of all of the Territory Lords.
“GAHHH!!”
This was a scream filled with agony that pierced directly into their consciousnesses. Though there was no sound in this space, the Territory Lords could still feel like they could hear it.
The Territory Lords had never heard such a miserable cry before. It was as if that Human was suffering an extremely vicious form of torture, and it made their hearts clench with anxiety.
What they could be sure of was the fact that this cry of agony was no illusion. It was truly miserable and also resulted from a grievous injury.
And indeed it was, for at the same time that Open Heaven Realm Master screamed, his Spiritual Energy noticeably weakened, as if he had become severely wounded all of a sudden.
However, something confused the Territory Lords.
Their attacks had not even landed yet, so how could he be severely injured already?
Only in the next instant did the Soul Secret Techniques released by the three Territory Lords finally envelope the Human Master.
The dead-silent space was sent into turmoil at once.
When the dust settled, only the six Territory Lords’ consciousness were left in that space. The Human’s Soul Avatar had long since disappeared from sight.
The three Territory Lords who had unleashed their Secret Techniques stood still, confused.
The other three Territory Lords, who charged straight at Yang Kai had no choice but to stop as they had lost their target.
The one Territory Lord with the long arms and an ape-like appearance asked, “Did he die?”
At that moment, the energy fluctuations were so messy that they were unable to even notice what end came to that Open Heaven Realm Master.
The other Territory Lord’s Soul Avatar, who had transformed into the shape of an eyeball, laughed coldly, “Even if he isn’t dead, he won’t be alive for long.”
The Territory Lords had no idea whether that Human was dead or not. All they knew was the fact that that Human’s Soul was heavily injured…
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