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Translator: Silavin & Raikov
Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun
Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys
With his mind made up, the Royal Lord made his move, turning into a cloud of Black Ink Strength that rapidly approached the battlefield.
Yang Kai had been weakened at this moment. Releasing three Soul Rending Thorns had severely damaged his Soul, and then using his Sun and Moon Divine Wheel had drained a significant amount of his World Force.
If Yang Kai did not have a World Tree Clone to stabilize his Small Universe, it would have already been heavily shaken.
Even then, half of his Small Universe’s heritage had been drained already, leaving him with a feeling of weakness. He quickly took out some Spirit Pills and gulped them down.
Yang Kai used to have Low-Rank World Fruits that would almost instantly recover a large portion of his World Force, but unfortunately, he had used all of them up while being chased by the sheep-headed Royal Lord.
As much as 30% of the 300,000-strong Black Ink Clan Army had been wiped out by him with his Sun and Moon Divine Wheel, and the road ahead had been essentially cleared. Of course, there were still Black Ink Clansmen on their flanks, continuing to do battle against the Warships led by Huang Xiong and Fei Yuan Long.
With the path ahead cleared, the Purifying Black Ink Battleship was able to divert their attention and provide support to the left and right flanks. Arrays continued to hum as blast after blast was fired from them, coordinating with other two Divisions to eradicate their enemies.
It was at that moment that Yang Kai felt his body seize up as a powerful aura locked onto him.
This sensation was actually quite familiar to him. Back then, the sheep-head Royal Lorded had locked him in place using his aura in much the same way when he was chasing him, forcing him to use Purifying Light to isolate himself before he could activate Instantaneous Movement.
Yang Kai immediately looked up and sure enough, in the No-Return Pass’s direction was a giant Black Ink Cloud rapidly approaching his location. There seemed to be two eyes inside of the Black Ink Cloud that were sharp as swords determined to pierce through him.
The Royal Lord!
In the opening moments of the battle, five Innate Territory Lords had fallen. The Royal Lord who oversaw the No-Return Pass realized the threat that Yang Kai posed and could no longer sit still.
He had to kill this Eighth-Open Human personally to weed out future troubles here.
From afar, the Royal Lord began exerting his power as if to demonstrate his strength and also to shake the morale of the Humans.
The void shook as even the protective barrier of the Purifying Black Ink Battleship lit up, as if there were an invisible weight pressing on it.
Such pressure was formless, but it was real and tangible. A top Master’s pressure was strong enough to cull the weak all on its own.
The Royal Lord naturally made the wrong decision when he tried to intimidate the Humans with his pressure though.
The Purifying Black Ink Battleship at the centre of the Army did not slow down and instead continued sailing towards the No-Return Pass. To its left and right, Warships exploded as Humans fell in large numbers.
The horrific death toll left Huang Xiong and Fei Yuan Long red-eyed in grief, but they were unable to do anything about it. They could only block off the attacks of the Territory Lords in order to minimise the casualties on their side.
With the efforts of the many soldiers who sacrificed their lives, the left and right flanks finally broke through the Black Ink Clan’s blockade and rushed forward.
Nobody dared to linger in this place.
They all knew that in this assault on the No-Return Pass, they could not afford to stop for even a moment. They had to break through the Black Ink Clan’s defences in one go if they wanted to have any hope of returning to the 3,000 Worlds. The slightest hesitation would doom the Remnant Army to a slow death.
The rear where Ou Yang Lie was in charge was originally the calmest and least pressured, but now, he was the one facing the heaviest burden. The Black Ink Clan Army which was there to block them had now become their pursuers. If the rear Division couldn’t hold them back, then the formation of the Remnant Army would surely be broken.
At this point, Ou Yang Lie was becoming desperate as he hurled sword waves through the void.
A roar suddenly sounded from the Purifying Black Ink Battleship.
“Assume formation!”
At that order, the left and right flanks, along with the Warships behind their lead, quickly moved closer to the Purifying Black Ink Battleship.
Aboard the Purifying Black Ink Battleship, a Grand Array was activated under the combined efforts of 10 Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. In an instant, an Array diagram spread out in the void with the Purifying Black Ink Battleship at the centre, its patterns illuminating all directions.
At that moment, the rest of the Warships also activated complimentary Spirit Arrays all at once. Like swallows returning to their nest, they were merged together into the Array diagram.
In just a short dozen breaths of time, the auras of all the surviving Human Warships became interconnected with the Purifying Black Ink Battleship serving as their Core, as if they had truly become one.
Four Symbols Formation!
This was originally a Formation used by Human cultivators to link their strengths together to deal with powerful enemies. It was neither special nor profound, but under the aid of this Battle Formation, four Human cultivators were able to exert far greater power than any of them could individually in order to battle stronger Black Ink Clansmen.
However, the Four Symbols Formation had been modified by Yang Kai who integrated it into a Grand Array, allowing the four Divisions to link themselves together.
In the past, Yang Kai would never have been able to do such a thing; however, he had received a huge harvest in the Great Sea Celestial Phenomenon, so with his attainments in the Dao of Spirit Arrays, it was not a problem for him to create something like this.
There was only one problem. The Four Symbols Formation which had been so heavily modified was not stable and could not be sustained for long. That was the reason why the Remnant Army didn’t simply use it from the start.
However, they were now at a critical point that would decide their victory or death, so how could Yang Kai continue to hesitate?
With the Purifying Black Ink Battleship serving as the core, all the Warships were closely linked together under the Formation, greatly improving both their lethality and defence.
As soon as the Formation was completed, the huge Black Ink Cloud arrived in front of them. The Black Ink Cloud swiftly retracted to reveal a towering figure who raised his hand and slammed his palm down towards the Purifying Black Ink Battleship.
Even though it looked like a casual blow, it still sent chills down the Humans’ backs.
This was an attack from a Royal Lord.
However, the Purifying Black Ink Battleship’s momentum did not decrease. Yang Kai stood on the deck, looking ahead at the Royal Lord blocking their path before bowing towards the void, shouting, “Old Ancestor, please!”
At those words, a cross-legged figure suddenly appeared. As Yang Kai had just retrieved it from Azure Void Pass, Azure Void Pass’ Old Ancestor’s corpse was still unmoving, his aura completely absent, as though he was in a deep slumber.
However, stimulated by the Royal Lord’s aura, Azure Void Pass’ Old Ancestor who had already departed for the Yellow Springs, suddenly opened his eyes. In an instant, the void thundered.
The Royal Lord in front of them was taken aback. He never imagined he would be ambushed by an Old Ancestor here, so before he could withdraw his palm, the Azure Void Pass’ Old Ancestor lifted his finger and shattered the approaching palm strike.
The Royal Lord let out a roar of rage. As he withdrew his hand, quickly discovering a bloody hole at the centre of his palm where black blood spilled out.
Yang Kai was shocked at what he saw.
Even though he had collected the body of the Old Ancestor just as the Old Ox had told him to back in Azure Void Pass, and summoned it in a time of need to deal with a powerful enemy, Yang Kai was not sure how much power a dead Old Ancestor could actually exert.
But now it seemed that even in death, the power of an Old Ancestor was still unfathomable.
Catching the enemy off guard was a big reason behind the Old Ancestor’s ability to harm the Royal Lord in a single attack, but it was also a reflection of the Old Ancestor’s profound strength.
The Remnant Army was still rapidly approaching the No-Return Pass, and the sudden appearance of an Old Ancestor made the Royal Lord very wary, forcing him to withdraw.
The Old Ancestor turned his head and looked around as if to judge the situation. After quickly familiarizing himself with the battlefield, he sighed, “Even the No-Return Pass has been lost?”
Yang Kai lowered his head, looking ashamed.
Many had given their lives to stop the Black Ink Clan, including numerous Old Ancestors, but the final bulwark of the Human Race, the No-Return Pass, had still been lost. Even though Yang Kai did not participate in the war at the No-Return Pass, all Humans shared honour and disgrace in this war.
“Where is my ox?” The Old Ancestor then turned to look at Yang Kai, asking in a surprisingly cheerful tone.
Yang Kai hurriedly brought out the Ox Monster with its broken horns. The Ox Monster also had its eyes tightly shut without any aura emanating from its body.
The Old Ancestor stroked the head of the ox as if it were his own child and spoke warmly, “Wake up, little one. Come run with me one final time!”
The Ox Monster’s eyes suddenly opened, and its powerful aura quickly revived. It shook its head at the Old Ancestor in displeasure, “We’re already dead and you’re still worrying about this? Are you not tired, old man?”
The Old Ancestor chuckled, “It can’t be helped. I’m an Old Ancestor after all. I inevitably carry heavier burdens on me.”
Saying so, he got onto the back of the ox and looked down at Yang Kai next to him, nodding lightly. Saying nothing more, he slapped the ox’s rump and pointed forward, shouting, “Kill!”
It was a childish gesture that would normally make one want to laugh; however, not a single one of the 1,500 soldiers aboard the Purifying Black Ink Battleship found this scene the slightest bit amusing.
Yang Kai’s eyes filled with tears as he bowed deeply, “Farewell, Old Ancestor!”
“Farewell, Old Ancestor!”
The soldiers roared in unison, their voices shaking the world.
In the distant past, a young child rode on the back of a Black Bovine, riding freely through the mountains, fantasizing about fighting and killing enemies that did not exist, dreaming of establishing himself as someone great after growing up, getting married, and having children.
At that time, an old man with an immortal temperament suddenly descended from the Heavens and looked upon the child with a smile, “Call me Honoured Master and I shall pass on a supreme technique to you!”
The boy asked, “Can I become rich if I call you Honoured Master?”
The old man said, “You can.”
The boy then asked, “Can I get women if I call you Honoured Master?”
The old man nodded again, “You can.”
And so, the boy got down and bowed with respect, calling him Honoured Master. The old man laughed and took the boy and the ox away.
That year was so long ago that it was impossible to trace back…
“Kill!”
Aboard the Purifying Black Ink Battleship, Yang Kai’s face twisted as he roared. The arrays thrummed as they fired with even greater intensity than before.
A violent wave of power stirred in the surrounding void as the Old Ancestor engaged the Royal Lord in battle.
This sudden change of events was a surprise to all of the Black Ink Clansmen. Nobody had expected an Old Ancestor to suddenly appear at this time. When they saw the Remnant Army getting closer and closer to the No-Return Pass, the Territory Lords staying behind to defend the No-Return Pass could no longer stand by.
Several Territory Lords stayed behind to defend the pass while the remaining ones rushed out with their Armies.
In an instant, the Remnant Army fell into an absolute disadvantage, both in terms of numbers and strength.
The only thing the Remnant Army could rely on now was the might of their Warships.
However, with the Territory Lords here to obstruct and harass them, it was difficult for the Remnant Army to advance. If they could not break through this siege, they would be trapped here and eventually annihilated.
There were Warships constantly being stripped from the Formation by powerful attacks. Those Warships without exception exploded, resulting in all the soldiers aboard dying.
Seeing that they were reaching a critical situation, Yang Kai ground his teeth and soared out of the Purifying Black Ink Battleship. His fierce aura all but materialised as he enveloped all of the Territory Lords in it.
A Soul Rending Thorn was silently released, striking one of the Territory Lords. In the moment of disorientation that followed, Yang Kai blasted the Territory Lord with his Golden Crow Casts the Sun, vaporizing him.
“Who dares block my way!?” Yang Kai’s face grimaced fiercely, and when he raised his spear and pointed it at them, the Territory Lords who appeared to stop them were all struck with terror.
Hello!
Many thanks for the chapter, as always.