Martial Peak

Chapter 5474: All Out Escape

The Black Ink Giant Spirit God began striding through the void. Though his movements appeared clumsy, every single step he took spanned hundreds of thousands of kilometres, and everywhere he went, the light faded and the area turned to darkness as Black Ink Strength diffused all around.

Yang Kai and Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao stared at the massive silhouette with the same thought in mind, [The Shattered Heaven is doomed!]

Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao gritted her teeth and said, “He’s headed for Wind Mist Territory, which is where the other passage the Barren Territory battlefield connects to. He wants to go there and work with the Black Ink Clan in the Barren Territory to open the passage for good!”

“Wind Mist Territory?” Yang Kai frowned. He had never even heard of this Great Territory, let alone been there; however, after hearing Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao’s explanations, he realised that he had been mistaken in his earlier guess. He thought that the other portal in the Barren Territory battlefield was connected to the Shattered Heaven, but from the looks of it now, it was connected to Wind Mist Territory instead.

The only passage between the Shattered Heaven and the Barren Territory battlefield was still under the Human Race’s control.

Thus, Lu An and Ye Ming must have travelled from Wind Mist Territory to the Shattered Heaven instead of appearing in the Shattered Heaven directly.

Yang Kai quickly pulled his Universe Chart out and studied it before saying, “Wind Mist Territory isn’t far from here, just three Great Territories away, which means there’ll be three Territory Gates in the way!”

Yang Kai’s eyes lit up at once, “I can seal off these three Territory Gates to buy us some time.”

In the past, he would have assumed that the Black Ink Clan would be stuck once he blocked off these Territory Gates, but since the Black Ink Clan managed to erode even a portal in the Barren Territory despite the Human ancestors having sealed it off for hundreds of thousands of years, it proved that it was just as Ji Lao San had said. Sealing off the Territory Gates was not a foolproof plan.

An ordinary member of the Black Ink Clan, or even a Royal Lord might not be able to reopen a Territory Gate that had been sealed, but the Black Ink Giant Spirit God was Mo’s Soul Clone and could use his pure and abundant Black Ink Strength to corrode the boundary walls to reopen the portal.

Even if Yang Kai managed to seal off the three Territory Gates in the path that led to Wind Mist Territory, this would only serve as a delay. He could not block off Mo’s Soul Clone’s path entirely.

“Then what?” Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao asked.

Yang Kai quickly said, “The only ones who can stop the Black Ink Giant Spirit God are the true Giant Spirit Gods or other equally powerful beings! Old Ancestor, is there a bald Giant Spirit God at Barren Territory battlefield, apart from the Giant Spirit God with a tuft of hair on his head?”

“I haven’t seen one like that,” Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao shook her head.

At present, there were only two Giant Spirit Gods in the Barren Territory battlefield. One was on the side of the Humans, which was the one with a tuft of hair on his head as Yang Kai described, while the other one was a Black Ink Giant Spirit God. These two beings had been fighting for hundreds of years now, not showing any signs of fatigue. It seemed as if they would carry on until the end of time.

[Ah Da isn’t in the Barren Territory!] Yang Kai concluded.

If he could find Ah Da, perhaps he could get him to stop Mo’s Soul Clone. Of course, Yang Kai had no idea where to find Ah Da.

There had been no news of Ah Da ever since he left the Star Boundary. Although Giant Spirit Gods were easy to spot due to their massive size, they could also control the size of their body at will, or else, they would not be able to pass through the Territory Gates.

When Ah Er brought Yang Kai through the Territory Gates back then, he had shrunk down a lot.

Plus, Giant Spirit Gods were also heavy sleepers who frequently napped after a meal. What’s more, a short nap for a Giant Spirit God would be several years long, while a long sleep could last for over 10,000 years.

Since there was no way of locating Ah Da, Yang Kai’s only choice was to seek help from two others who could stand shoulder to shoulder with the Giant Spirit Gods.

Yang Kai made up his mind and said, “I’ll leave you to handle things here, Old Ancestor. I have to head to the Chaotic Dead Territory!”

Upon hearing this, Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao immediately guessed Yang Kai’s plans, “You wish to seek the help of the Burning Light and Serene Glimmer?”

“There’s no other option left.”

Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao’s brows furrowed. Words seemed to be on the tip of her tongue, but in the end, she swallowed them back down and nodded, “Go. I’ll do my best to delay the Black Ink Giant Spirit God.”

She could not stop the Black Ink Giant Spirit God by herself, but she could still find ways to stall him. Furthermore, Yang Kai was able to seal off the Territory Gates, while he was the only one who had a chance to convince the Burning Light and Serene Glimmer to descend the mountain and enter the war.

However…

It might not necessarily be a good thing if they did.

Yang Kai was less experienced and did not know just how terrifying those two were, but Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao knew better.

Those two Supreme Beings were avatars of disaster and destruction, but thankfully, they seemed content to remain in their home and never actively left the Chaotic Dead Territory. If that was not the case, the 3,000 Worlds would have long ago ceased to exist.

Since things were decided, Yang Kai dared not waste any more time. He left at once, and with a flicker of Space Principles, his image lurched into the distance.

Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao glanced at the Black Ink Giant Spirit God who was making its way across the void, took a deep breath, and transformed into a streak of light that lunged at its massive back. A series of Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques flashed out as she flew forward.

Prior to this, Yang Kai’s attention had been completely focused on the Black Ink Giant Spirit God, so he did not notice the changes in the Shattered Heaven. However, now that he was rushing to his destination, he noticed that a lot of Humans had gathered in groups and were heading towards the Shattered Heaven’s Territory Gate.

They appeared frantic, as if they were fleeing in panic.

Yang Kai immediately realised what was going on; his earlier plan must have taken effect.

Earlier on, he asked the two Envoys from Heavenly River Palace to spread the news about the appearance of Black Ink Disciples. That way, cultivators in the Shattered Heaven would remain on alert for suspicious people. 

The situation had not seemed that bad back then, for even if there were a few Black Ink Disciples, the troops under the command of the three Divine Monarchs in the Shattered Heaven were more than enough to deal with them.

However, now that Lu An and Ye Ming managed to enter the Divine Spirit Ancestral Land and awaken the Black Ink Giant Spirit God, the situation had turned abysmal.

When Hong Hu left with a gravely injured Kun Ao, she actively spread the news that the Black Ink Giant Spirit God had been revived, shaking all the people living in the Shattered Heaven.

If anyone else had been the bearer of such news, the reckless and lawless inhabitants of the Shattered Heaven might not have believe it, but Hong Hu was a mature Divine Spirit whose strength eclipsed even the three Great Divine Monarchs, yet even she was fleeing in a fluster. Who would dare not believe her words?

Those who feared for their lives naturally packed their things and escaped their hideouts as soon as possible, wanting to evacuate from the Shattered Heaven as quickly as possible.

However, the majority still chose to stay behind and observe the situation first.

Most of the cultivators in the Shattered Heaven were those who had no other choice but to hide in this place. They would not be accepted anywhere else in the 3,000 Worlds other than in this place.

Thus, even though Hong Hu’s news was incredibly alarming, with no place to go, many chose to remain within the Shattered Heaven.

From the start, the Shattered Heaven was the land of chaos and violence. Right now, the people’s hearts were filled with fear and the three Divine Monarchs had all gone to the Barren Territory battlefield to aid in the war effort; thus, with no powerful Masters to keep some semblance of order, the Shattered Heaven completely fell into chaos.

There were signs of killing and robbery everywhere, which was the sight that greeted Yang Kai now.

His heart grew heavier as these scenes came into his view. News of the revival of a single Black Ink Giant Spirit God was enough to wreak havoc across the expansive territory of the Shattered Heaven, so what would happen when the Black Ink Clan Army invaded the 3,000 Worlds? Would there still be peace anywhere?

Unfortunately, chances were that all the Great Territories would turn into what the Shattered Heaven was like now.

Yang Kai travelled at breakneck speed, and in just a few days, he arrived at the Territory Gate; however, he was surprised to find that many cultivators were gathered outside the Territory Gate, forming a long line as they waited to pass through.

The order they maintained surprised Yang Kai as these were not civil people who would follow directions.

Soon though, Yang Kai understood why this was so.

A Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master was overseeing things at the Territory Gate, along with a group of cultivators who were standing guard together with him. Anyone who wished to pass through had to pay an enormous fee.

Yang Kai was immediately infuriated.

Even when all of the Shattered Heaven was in chaos, some people were trying to profit from the situation.

That being said, he knew that those holed up in this damned place were not the kind to uphold the pillars of morality. In the past, not many people used the Shattered Heaven Territory Gate, so a business like this would not be very profitable. Now that a lot of people wanted to leave the Shattered Heaven though, someone came up with the brilliant idea of making money out of it.

Yang Kai stormed up to the Territory Gate, his Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm cultivation on full display, terrifying the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master at the portal.

No one would have expected the arrival of an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master at a time like this.

There were only three Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in the entire Shattered Heaven, and this Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master heard that they had all left for some unknown reason; otherwise, he would not have had the gall to throw his weight around out here.

He was originally a cultivator from a small Sect, and though he was talented, he had coveted the Sect Master’s Wife and did something reprehensible. Thus, he was forced to flee and hide in the Shattered Heaven. However, he thrived in this place and after many years ended up becoming a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.

He was an ambitious fellow and did not choose to serve any of the Divine Monarchs. Instead, he formed a great force of his own as he believed it was better to be the head of a dog than the tail of a lion. All in all, he led a pretty carefree life.

When he found out that a lot of people were leaving the Shattered Heaven to seek refuge in other Great Territories, he led his forces to block the Territory Gate and demand a fee from those who wanted to leave.

Some tried to protest but they were killed off as examples, causing those who remained to not dare to fight back anymore.

In front of these scattered cultivators, he was a high and mighty Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, but he knew he was nothing in front of an Eighth-Order Master.

Understanding that escape was impossible, he choked down his fear and came forward to meet Yang Kai, bowing politely, “Flower Butterfly Sect Nan Yun greets Senior!”

His manner was cordial and respectful as he observed the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master’s expression to try and figure out what he was thinking.

Only those that were quick to adapt to situations could survive in the Shattered Heaven while those who could not, died off before long.

Nan Yun was highly adept at reading other people’s thoughts and feelings.

However, after glancing at the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, his heart clenched up tight as the stormy look on this person’s face made it clear that he was enraged.

[I’m doomed!]

Nan Yun sorely wished that this Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master was kind and benevolent to others. He had only just managed to flaunt his power, but from the way things were looking now, he might end up dying here instead.

The act of forcibly demanding payment for use of the Territory Gate was something that easily enraged others; after all, all Open Heaven Realm Masters would have had to use these Territory Gates. How could they possibly have enough funds to sustain themselves if they had to pay a fee each time they passed through one?

Nan Yun had only taken the risk to do such a thing because he knew that no Masters were around in the Shattered Heaven. As the saying goes, the monkey acts like the king when the tiger leaves the mountain. He never thought that an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master would suddenly show up.