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Translator: Silavin & Raikov
Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun
Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys
Another 3 years went by in the blink of an eye, and the trauma on Yang Kai’s Soul finally recovered.
The successive recoveries after heavy injuries actually increased his Soul’s strength by about 10% compared to just over a decade ago.
If Yang Kai’s Spiritual Energy was comparable to that of an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master who had just advanced a dozen years ago, then his Spiritual Energy was now on par with an established Eight-Order Master.
This was indeed a shortcut to cultivating one’s Soul, a shortcut that belonged only to Yang Kai. Without the Soul Warming Lotus’ protection, anyone trying to use the same technique would just be digging their own grave.
However, Yang Kai never wanted to cultivate in such a way again after experiencing that much pain. It was simply inhumane torture.
He would not consider using such a method to raise his Spiritual Energy unless he was left with absolutely no other choice one day.
12 Soul Rending Thorns, 10 years of time, entering and leaving the Black Ink Nest thrice. As many as 11 Territory Lord equivalent Masters either died or were seriously injured at his hands, it was an unprecedented feat in all of history.
There were no Open Heaven Realm Masters who could replicate this feat in the Seventh Order or even the Eighth Order.
But Yang Kai knew that the greatest reason why he could achieve such a feat was thanks to the Soul Warming Lotus. He did not achieve it because of his own strength, so even though the results were great, he did not dare to be arrogant.
If he underestimated the Black Ink Clan too much, then he would be the one to suffer a loss in the future.
Right now, there was another matter for him to consider, and it was the strange reactions displayed by the 2 Black Ink Disciples at the final moment inside of the Black Ink Nest Space.
Yang Kai had noticed the unusual reactions of the 2 Black Ink Disciples back then, but he was in no mood to contemplate such a thing at that time. He just instinctively seized the best moment to strike and unleashed a Soul Rending Thorn, severely injuring a Territory Lord.
Then, after 3 Soul Rending Thorns were used, Yang Kai’s Soul was so unstable and he was in such miserable pain that he simply had no energy to be thinking about anything else.
Now that the damage to his Soul had been restored, he naturally recalled the strange movements shown by the 2 Black Ink Disciples at the end of their lives.
There were all sorts of signs that indicated that the 2 Black Ink Disciples had recovered their true natures when their Souls were about to dissipate. Otherwise, there was no way that they would launch an attack on the Territory Lords. Only, they were already too weak at that time, so even if they joined forces, their hasty attack still failed to deal any sort of damage.
How did they break free from the Black Ink Strength’s corruption and restore their true natures?
After some thought, Yang Kai had a vague feeling that there could only be one explanation.
The reason why those two Black Ink Disciples died was not because they were injured or some other reason, but because their Small Universes had collapsed due to their World Force being drained by the Black Ink Nest over a long period.
Black Ink Strength corrupted the foundation of an Open Heaven Realm Master, which meant their Small Universe, which in turn overrode their minds.
Since the Small Universe which had been corrupted had already collapsed, then the foundation that the Black Ink Strength affected was already gone. So, at the end of their lives, they were able to recover their identities as Humans and made a sudden attack against a Territory Lord.
That must have been why they were laughing so unreservedly and so happily before their deaths.
For a Black Ink Disciple, such a death was undoubtedly the greatest release they could have from life.
Yang Kai had heard that the Black Ink Clan had left behind over 100 Seventh-Order Black Ink Disciples when they withdrew from Great Evolution Pass as was agreed with Mi Jing Lun.
Even Xiang Shan and the others had no idea how they were going to deal with these Black Ink Disciples, so in the end, they had no choice but to ask for the Old Ancestor’s instructions.
Even though the Old Ancestor was a woman, she had a firm heart and decisive will. With one move, the over 100 Black Ink Disciples were executed.
The Old Ancestor seemed to have used an inexplicable power then to return the Seventh-Order Black Ink Disciples to their senses for a brief moment, allowing them to die as Humans in Great Evolution Pass.
This was the best way to honour the warriors who fought against the Black Ink Clan all those years ago.
The fall of the 2 Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples was different from those of Seventh-Order Black Ink Disciples at Great Evolution Pass, but it was also similar at the same time.
Yang Kai was relieved that at the very least, they died a worthy death. If they truly died on the battlefield as Black Ink Disciples, then they would have died muddle-headed.
Their final attack may not have brought any harm to the Territory Lord, but it did create a good opportunity for Yang Kai to strike.
In that respect, they could be considered to have fought alongside Yang Kai.
At the sound of footsteps, Yang Kai looked up to see Ou Yang Lie approaching.
Ou Yang Lie had come over from time to time to check on him recently just to see how he was recovering from his injuries. Without interrupting, he would just take a glance and leave.
Every time he came, the condition of Yang Kai’s Soul became better. Even after experiencing it twice, Ou Yang Lie had to admit that the Soul Warming Lotus was truly invaluable when it came to matters of the Soul.
With such a Supreme Treasure, would one still have to worry about injuring their Soul?
“You look full of energy, kid. You even look like you’re glowing. Have you recovered?” Ou Yang Lie joked.
Yang Kai got up, “This Junior is fine now.”
Then, he bowed, “Many thanks for standing guard for me, Sir.”
Ou Yang Lie waved his hand, “It’s nothing. Actually, I have a question to ask you.”
“Please ask away, Sir.”
Ou Yang Lie moved closer with a curious look on his face, “After all those years going in and out, how many Territory Lords did you do in?”
Yang Kai’s face twitched slightly. Without bothering to question Ou Yang Lie’s crass use of words, he answered honestly, “2 Territory Lords during the first round, and another 2 during the second. The third round, I managed to get 4 Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples and 3 Territory Lords. 11 altogether.”
Ou Yang Lie’s eyes widened as he listened, thinking back to the battle back then where he nearly lost his life charging into an Army of tens of thousands only to cut down a single Territory Lord.
Yet Yang Kai’s back-and-forth venture netted him 11 casualties…
There was simply no comparison! As he looked at the young face in front of him, Ou Yang Lie sighed inwardly, feeling like a small wave about to be swallowed up by a giant tsunami coming from behind.
But more than that, he was relieved.
Only when the latter wave becomes successful would they, the front waves, have no lack of worthy successors.
Ou Yang Lie did not know how exactly the battle went on inside of the Black Ink Nest Space, but he had also heard some scattered information from Mi Jing Lun over the years and learned that Yang Kai was able to achieve this level of success seemingly because of a strange artifact that was given to him by the Old Ancestor, complemented by the Soul Warming Lotus.
This was something that no other cultivator could emulate.
Yang Kai added, “It is certain that the 4 Black Ink Disciples perished, but this Junior is unsure about the conditions of the 7 Territory Lords.”
Ou Yang Lie broke out in laughter, “At least one of them must be dead. Previously, I heard your Martial Uncle Mi mention that the Old Ancestor just happened to feel the aura of a Territory Lord perishing during one of her visits to the Royal City to see their Royal Lord, and there might have been more than just one death.”
Yang Kai nodded, “In that case, this Junior’s efforts over the years have not been in vain. Sir has come at a good time today. I was just about to make another visit to the Black Ink Nest Space and require Sir’s protection again.”
Ou Yang Lie’s face turned serious, “Boy, one does not play the same trick thrice. After going back and forth from the Black Ink Nest, you’ve killed a total of 11 already, it’s too risky to continue. We’ve already taken a huge advantage of them, so the Black Ink Clan will surely be targeting us.”
Yang Kai shook his head, “Rest assured, Sir. If this Junior’s guess is correct, then we may not need to fight the Black Ink Clan this time.”
Of course, he wasn’t afraid even if he did have to fight. He still had one last Soul Rending Thorn that he was itching to use.
“What do you mean?” Ou Yang Lie was confused.
Yang Kai explained, “It isn’t that this Junior is trying to hide anything, it’s merely a guess at this point. I don’t dare to be sure, but we’ll know after another visit.”
Ou Yang Lie looked deeply at him for a moment, feeling at a loss over whether he should let him continue or not.
Yang Kai followed up, “If this Junior does not return within a few days, then I must have encountered the Royal Lord inside the Black Ink Nest Space. In that event, I will need to ask Sir to please inform the Old Ancestor and ask her to rescue me.”
The Territory Lords were unable to do anything to him, so if they were truly planning to fight, then the Royal Lord would have to come out personally.
However, the Royal Lord had also been going through hard times during these years. His wounds were not getting any better and he still had to be wary of Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao showing up randomly at his doorstep, so where would he find the time to deal with him?
So, Yang Kai felt that it was unlikely for him to be attacked this time.
Ou Yang Lie’s mouth twitched, “You really don’t stand on ceremony, but that’s fine. I’ll allow you to go, but you must be careful. If things go awry, withdraw immediately. Don’t go quiet on me again for years like last time.”
“I will remember!” Yang Kai bowed in response and then circulated the power within his Small Universe, opening it, allowing the Black Ink Nest to devour his World Force. With the World Force as a bridge, he connected his consciousness to the Black Ink Nest’s consciousness and prepared to enter the Black Ink Nest Space.
After a moment, Ou Yang Lie looked curiously at him, “What are you doing?”
Yang Kai blinked his eyes and turned to look at him, “I can’t enter.”
“What do you mean you can’t enter?” Ou Yang Lie was completely flabbergasted.
Yang Kai said, “I can’t enter the Black Ink Nest Space anymore! Previously, when this Junior’s consciousness connected to the Black Ink Nest’s, I would immediately arrive at the space, but now it seems to have disappeared.”
“Truly?” Ou Yang Lie was astonished, “Let me try!”
Yang Kai did not stop him either and withdrew his power, allowing Ou Yang Lie to try.
After a few moments, Ou Yang Lie had a surprised look on his face, “I really can’t get inside! But how could this be?”
Yang Kai pondered for a moment, “There can only be one explanation for this situation.”
“What is it?”
“Our Black Ink Nest has been cut off by the Black Ink Clan. In other words, the Black Ink Clan has severed all connection with the Black Ink Nest in our possession.”
“Can the Black Ink Clan do such a thing?” Ou Yang Lie was astonished.
Yang Kai explained, “Based on this Junior’s understanding, the situation of the Black Ink Nest Space is as such, each Black Ink Nest has its own consciousness, but it doesn’t have a Will, so it cannot be considered alive. The consciousness of the Black Ink Nest can take the form of a strange space that acts as a platform for the Black Ink Nests spawned from it to communicate with each other and to exchange information.”
“For example, in Great Evolution Theatre, the consciousness of the Royal Lord Black Ink Nest is the highest-ranking platform that allows all Mid-Rank Black Ink Nests’ consciousnesses to enter it. Similarly, the consciousness of our Mid-Rank Black Ink Nest can also be a platform that can allow Low-Rank Blank Ink Nests’ spawned from it to enter. Of course, we do not have any Low-Rank Black Ink Nests, so we are unable to ascertain that.”
“The relationship between the Mid-Rank Black Ink Nest and the High-Rank Black Ink Nest is that of subordinate and superior. The former is derived from the latter, and the latter, I’m afraid, has complete control and domination over the former. If the latter has the intention of severing the link with the former completely, then it may not be impossible; otherwise, there is no other way to explain the situation we have at hand.”
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