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Translator: Silavin & June
Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun
Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys
The Ninth-Order Old Ancestors were shouting frantically, losing their prudence, as if they were actually a bunch of immature youngsters who were oblivious to the immensity of Heaven and Earth.
Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao on the other hand just smiled and brushed a lock of hair back behind her ear, “You old farts, acting like a bunch of immature brats here. Only Wu Qing and I could be counted as youths in terms of age, how could you be considered young now that you’ve all got one foot in the grave already?”
Wu Qing, the former Yin-Yang Pass Southern Army Commander, who ascended to the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm about 1,000 years ago, had succeeded Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao in guarding Yin-Yang Pass. Only then did Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao have the opportunity to lead the Great Evolution Army to recapture the Great Evolution Pass.
If there wasn’t a new Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master to take over, Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao would never have been able to leave Yin-Yang Pass.
Upon hearing her remarks, Wu Qing, who was pale-faced and injured, nodded, agreeing with her that he was indeed the youngest member of all the Ninth-Order Old Ancestors. Regarding Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao’s age, while it was unclear whether she was the second youngest or not, who would have the audacity to argue with a woman about her age?
Immediately, another Old Ancestor laughed and said, “Xiao Yue Ya is right. We are indeed all old. You young people are our hope and future, so you and Wu Qing should stay back.”
The smile immediately vanished from Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao’s face as she protested angrily, “Why?”
The oldest Pure Yang Cave Heaven Old Ancestor responded with a smile, “Someone must remain to provide the youngsters with a protector and give them time to mature, or are you going to depend on us old men to do so if you two don’t stay back?”
Displeased, Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao remarked, “Never mind about Wu Qing. I won’t stay back.”
The Old Ancestor of Great Battle Cave Heaven shook his head, “The future of the Human Race lies with the Star Boundary and Yang Kai. Among all Old Ancestors, you are the closest to him, so it only makes sense for you to remain behind and watch over him and the Star Boundary.”
Saying so, he transformed into a streak of light and headed towards the Black Ink Giant Spirit God as the sword in his hand shook slightly, not wanting to wait for Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao’s response.
Just as Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao was about to object, another Old Ancestor walked past her and patted her on the shoulder, “I will leave those useless disciples of Xuan Yuan Cave Heaven to you.”
Then, he transformed into a bird of light and flashed away.
“Why not give us old folks one last opportunity to shine?” Another Old Ancestor grinned and added.
While laughing, he proceeded to chase after the two Ninth-Order Old Ancestors.
Like moths to a flame, the Ninth-Order Old Ancestors rushed by Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao and Wu Qing one after another as they charged straight in the direction of the Black Ink Giant Spirit God boldly, showing no signs of hesitation or regrets.
In an instant, Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao’s vision blurred. Her body trembled, as if she was attempting to go after them; however, her feet appeared to be weighted down, preventing her from moving.
After all, the Old Ancestor of Pure Yang Cave Heaven was right; someone had to stay behind to protect the young ones. Wu Qing was selected by the Ninth-Order Old Ancestors because he had just ascended to the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm, whereas Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao was chosen because of her relationship with Yang Kai.
There was no prior discussion, simply an agreement made by all the other Old Ancestors in the moment.
There was also no room for refusal or objection.
She and Wu Qing were forced to carry this burden by the older ones, leaving them no chance to argue.
After the Ninth-Order Old Ancestors left, Dragon roars and Phoenix cries resounded throughout the void as a majestic and awe-inspiring sight appeared before everyone’s eyes. Surging with the might of Divine Spirits, the leaders of the Dragon Clan and Phoenix Clan unleashed their might as they soared over, causing both Time and Space to contort.
By now, Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao’s eyes were utterly soaked in tears.
Wu Qing, whose face was no less wet, cupped his fist and shouted loudly, “This Junior will not disappoint your expectations!”
Without looking back, he turned and ordered, “Withdraw the Army!”
At this moment, ‘crippled and defeated’ was the most straightforward way of describing the Human Army.
Outside the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, the Humans were defeated for the first time and forced to retreat to the No-Return Pass.
At the No-Return Pass, they were again defeated and retreated to the Barren Territory.
This time was their third defeat!
It wasn’t that Wu Qing and Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao didn’t want to stand and fight to the bitter end, nor did the Human Race Army want to retreat; however, even if they desired to do so, the only option they had at this moment was to withdraw to the 3,000 Worlds.
Simply put, dying in battle might be glorious and honourable, but what about the day after? Should the future be buried along them as well? Admitting defeat and escaping was certainly shameful, but only by living on could hope endure.
In the present situation, living was undoubtedly the more difficult choice. Perhaps death in battle could be a relief to them, ending all their troubles. The survivors, on the other hand, would have to bear heavier burdens.
To preserve hope for the future, it did not matter if they had to endure this humiliation.
As a result, Wu Qing decisively ordered a full withdrawal of the Army. The fact that the Black Ink Clan Army was pouring into the Wind Mist Territory from the Territory Gate and invading the 3,000 Worlds could not be reversed. Instead of allowing the Human Race’s current limited strength to be completely destroyed on this battlefield, it was wiser to live with this humiliation and blood feud. One day, sooner or later, they would make the Black Ink Clan experience 100 times the pain they endured today.
Nobody knew how much it pained Wu Qing to order this retreat, but if one had looked closely, they would see his fist clenched so tightly that fresh blood was drawn from his palms.
Although the fighting spirit and determination of the Army had been reignited by Yang Kai, the Army Commanders did not let the blood rush to their heads and swiftly organized the march to the Territory Gate leading to the Shattered Heaven under the command of Wu Qing. The Black Ink Clan did not pursue them either because there was simply no need to. All they had to do now was to rush into Wind Mist Territory and then wreak havoc.
Chaotic energy impacts and violent shockwaves stuck from the armies’ backs, yet nobody dared to turn around to witness the heartbreaking scene.
Regardless, they could all feel the withering of extremely strong auras without having to turn to look.
With the exception of Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao and Wu Qing, all 35 of the remaining Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters of the Human Race died in battle that day.
Both the Dragon Clan and Phoenix Clan leaders of this generation died as well.
The Barren Territory was filled with mournful Dragons and Phoenixes’ cries.
However, such devastating losses were not in vain.
In that great battle, 44 Royal Lords of the Black Ink Clan perished, along with several million Black Ink Clansmen.
As for the Black Ink Giant Spirit God holding open the Territory Gate, it was also severely injured, its infuriated roars ringing so loudly that they could clearly be heard in neighbouring Wind Mist Territory.
It could be said that the war for the Barren Territory was the most tragic battle between the two Races.
Even though the two Races suffered heavy losses in both the battle outside the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction and at the No-Return Pass, this was undoubtedly the most tragic one. One after another, the injured Ninth-Order Masters and the Royal Lords fell. Never before had there been so many lives of such powerful Masters lost in such a short time.
After the dust settled, Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao and Wu Qing were the only Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters of the Human Race that remained.
On the Black Ink Clan side, only two Royal Lords remained. One guarding the No-Return Pass, while the other had charged into Wind Mist Territory before the final battle.
All the Ninth-Order Masters entered this final battle to drag down the Royal Lords with them.
They understood that in order to give the youngsters an opportunity to grow, there couldn’t be too many top Masters on the enemy’s side; however, in order to kill the Royal Lords, they had to put their lives on the line.
With such a mentality, and knowing what the end result would be, they still went forth boldly without hesitation or regrets.
The outcome was indeed quite fruitful. Even though they were outnumbered, the Old Ancestors struck with such speed and ferocity, catching the enemy completely off guard, that they managed to eliminate almost all of the Royal Lords. In fact, if not for the Black Ink Giant Spirit God, at least 10 of them could have survived.
All of the Ninth-Order Masters that went to war that day, however, perished due to the Black Ink Giant Spirit God’s interference.
After that battle, the Black Ink Clan and the Human Race both had essentially depleted their top combatants.
Besides the Old Ancestors and the Royal Lords, the Human Race still had Ah Er, a Giant Spirit God, Fu Guang, the Divine Dragon who became the new leader of the Dragon Clan, and another Giant Spirit God, Ah Da, whose current whereabouts were unknown.
On the other hand, the Black Ink Clan was left with two Royal Lords, one of which was seriously injured, and two Black Ink Giant Spirit Gods, again one of which was badly injured.
It could be said that the majority of challenges that the Human Race would face in the immediate future had been eliminated by the sacrifice of the Ninth-Order Old Ancestors. As for the longer future, the youngsters would have to take care of that for themselves.
The Barren Territory was a battle of significant impact, a battle that changed the status quo of both the Human Race and the Black Ink Clan. After this war, word about Black Ink Strength could no longer be kept a secret and quickly spread throughout the Great Territories, sparking terror for some time. Fortunately, the vast Human Army had retreated from the Barren Territory. Under the command of Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao and Wu Qing and soon split up into numerous Divisions that were deployed to the various Great Territories to maintain control of the situation and begin evacuations. Even the Great Territories occupied by the Cave Heavens and Paradises would soon be emptied out.
At this point, Wu Qing’s decision to withdraw the Army had proven to be the correct one, because enough troops had been preserved to implement this mass-migration.
Since all these cultivators had personally taken part in the battle against the Black Ink Clan and were aware of how bizarre and difficult to handle Black Ink Strength was, none of them slacked or dallied in this task, working as swiftly and diligently as possible.
Three months later, a few hundred Masters returned from a bloody journey to Void Territory.
Among these people, led by the Heavenly Moon Demon Spider Zhu Jiu Yan, were people like Yang Kai’s Wives Yu Ru Meng and Su Yan, Great Emperors like Iron Blood Zhan Wu Hen, rising stars like Li Wu Yi, and Yang Kai’s friends who he met in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary like Xiang Ying, Fang Yue, and Yang Kai’s subordinates like Hui Gu, Luan Bai Feng, and more.
Even the Dragon Clan members from the Star Boundary’s Dragon Island returned for the first time since they left for the Divine Spirit Ancestral Land to cultivate.
Because these individuals shared the same origin, they were all integrated into the Great Evolution Army by Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao before being divided into various Divisions and Battalions on the Barren Territory battlefield.
Divisions like theirs could be found throughout the Great Territories now.
Old Man Bi Xi could feel the aura of these people soon after they entered Void Territory and so he swiftly opened the Nine Heavenly Layers Grand Array to let them in.
After learning the result of war in the Barren Territory from Zhu Jiu Yin, Old Man Bi Xi sighed heavily, “Yang Kai’s words were prophetic indeed. This day has really come.”
Then, Yu Ru Meng asked in surprise, “Senior, you spoke with that little bastard?”
Old Man Bi Xi nodded, “Yang Kai once returned and told me to take care of it if Void Land needed to be relocated.”
He did question Yang Kai about the severity of the situation on that day, but the latter simply said it was a precaution.
But, looking back, Yang Kai probably had a vague premonition of what was going to happen today, or else he wouldn’t have made such a solemn request.
Turning his head, Old Man Bi Xi said to Xiao Hei, “Tell Lu Xue and Chen Tian Fei to prepare.”
Xiao Hei nodded and left upon hearing this command.
With Yang Kai’s previous warning, Void Land had gotten adequately prepared, so when the time came to evacuate, they could depart at a moment’s notice, bringing along those from Void Star City and even the other Great Forces from Void Territory.
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Tear-Jerking