Martial Peak

Chapter 5699: Third Time’s the Charm

This Black Ink Nest had been brought out from the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction by the Black Ink Clan. Its first purpose was to contact the No-Return Pass, and the second was to hatch into a place where the Territory Lords could rest and treat their wounds after they received the necessary cultivation resources. Seeing as the Black Ink Nest was vibrating, the No-Return Pass must be trying to make contact.

Yang Kai was tempted to attempt communication in order to gain enemy intelligence; however, he decided to give up on the idea after he weighed the risks. What if the person trying to make contact from the No-Return Pass was Mo Na Ye himself? It would be very difficult for him to fool Mo Na Ye; after all, he had to immerse his consciousness into the Black Ink Nest to communicate through the Black Ink Nest. With Mo Na Ye’s caution, Yang Kai would not be able to hide the truth from him if they were to confront each other directly.

In the end, Yang Kai could only choose to ignore the Black Ink Nest. His choice might arouse Mo Na Ye’s suspicions, but the truth would not be exposed immediately; therefore, this was the best way to buy a little more time.

Yang Kai put the Black Ink Nest away and resumed his search for the Black Ink Nests hidden by the Black Ink Clan. Time was running out, and the days when he could effortlessly massacre Territory Lords were dwindling rapidly.

Back at the No-Return Pass, Mo Na Ye waited for four whole hours but did not receive a response, his expression darkening as time passed. He had the vague feeling that their movements at the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction had been discovered.

If that was the case, then the last batch of Territory Lords who escaped the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction had probably suffered at the hands of the Human Race Masters. Likewise, the Black Ink Nest in their possession had probably fallen into the hands of the Humans, which would explain why there was no response from them.

He did not believe that those Territory Lords could survive as the price they had to pay to sneak out of the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction was too high. If the Humans prepared themselves in advance, then killing heavily wounded Territory Lords would not take much effort.

Although Mo Na Ye had anticipated the current situation, he couldn’t help feeling disappointed that the day had arrived so quickly. He had hoped that many more Territory Lords would be able to sneak out of the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction before they were exposed.

At that moment, Yang Kai abruptly came to mind. If the matter at the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction had been exposed, then the entire Human Race would probably soon be aware of everything, and it would not be long before Yang Kai learned about this.

[No… He might already know about this matter. He has always been capable of travelling back and forth without any trace thanks to his mastery over the Dao of Space. Who knows whether he has recently been to the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction?]

Yang Kai was cunning and highly intelligent. If he learned about the matter at the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, he would most likely realise that Mo Na Ye was the secret mastermind behind the scenes.

Mo Na Ye’s expression stiffened before he immediately took out the communication bead that could be used to contact Yang Kai and tentatively sent a message through it, “Brother Yang, are you there?” 

Throughout his entire life, Mo Na Ye had never known how torturous waiting could be. He simply wanted to use this method to determine Yang Kai’s approximate distance. As for Yang Kai’s exact position, it was impossible to determine.

If his message could not be delivered, then it would mean that there was a vast distance between them and it would also indicate that Yang Kai was not outside the No-Return Pass. Seeing as Yang Kai had always remained nearby these past 1,000 years, it would be a sure sign that something was wrong if he was not here now.

On the other hand, if the message was successfully delivered, then everything was still alright. It meant that Yang Kai remained hidden outside the No-Return Pass, monitoring the movements here. That was the outcome that Mo Na Ye was hoping to see the most. 

Therefore, Mo Na Ye was happy to see the communication bead in his palm vibrate slightly. That was an indicator that the message had been transmitted to the other party. In other words, it meant that Yang Kai was not too far from him.

However, there was no response from the other party. Mo Na Ye waited for a long time, but in the end, he could not stand the wait and sent out another message.

Approximately 12 million kilometres away from the No-Return Pass, a young man sat curled up inside a large Universe Fragment. He was trying his hardest to conceal his aura so that he did not expose himself in the slightest; furthermore, he held a small communication bead tightly in his hand. His attention was focused to the extreme.

In terms of cultivation, he was only at the peak of the Emperor Realm. He had condensed his Dao Seal and could advance to the Open Heaven Realm at any time. Not to mention, the cultivation resources used to condense his Dao Seal were of the Sixth Order. In other words, he was a candidate who could advance directly into the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm.

At this moment, the communication bead in his hand was vibrating slightly. He was astonished for a moment, but he quickly realised that the situation described by the Dao Lord was happening. Somebody was trying to contact the Dao Lord!

The young man, known as Sun Zhao, couldn’t help recalling the incident that had taken place one month ago.

At the time, he had been cultivating in retreat inside the Void Dao Temple when he suddenly noticed something strange. By the time he opened his eyes, he found himself standing in this spot. More importantly, the appearance of the person standing before him made a wave of excitement flood his entire being.

It was none other than the Dao Lord himself! He only had time to express his admiration and respect for the Dao Lord before he received an important task! He was to conceal his aura, remain hidden at this spot, and watch over the communication bead!

The Dao Lord’s instructions were given in an incredibly grave manner. He claimed that this matter was not only very important, but also related to the survival of the Human Race. Then, he instructed Sun Zhao to remain hidden without exposing his whereabouts.

The pressure was overwhelming to Sun Zhao. He was just an Emperor Realm Master from the Void Dao Temple who had yet to advance to the Open Heaven Realm. How could he suddenly bear the heavy responsibility of performing a task related to the survival of the Human Race out of nowhere? Nevertheless, he was personally given this mission by the Dao Lord himself, so how could he dare to be careless? He immediately nodded and agreed to the task.

A month had passed since then. Now that the communication bead was vibrating lightly in his hand, he desperately thought back to the Dao Lord’s instructions.

“If nobody tries to contact me, then just do nothing. If somebody tries to contact me, ignore the message during the first and second attempts. Wait until the third time before you respond!”

“How should this disciple answer? Also, who is the person sending the messages?” he asked humbly.

“How you answer is up to your discretion. Just adapt to the circumstances. As for the person sending the messages, it’s just a nobody who is not worthy of notice.”

Sun Zhao was pensive but still nodded, “This disciple understands.”

Gathering his wandering thoughts, Sun Zhao checked the message in the communication bead. He glanced at the words ‘Brother Yang, are you there?’ and snorted lightly. [Just who does this unworthy person think he is!? How dare he call the Dao Lord ‘Brother’? He sure does not know the immensity of Heaven and Earth!]

By the Dao Lord’s instructions, he ignored the message!

A short while later, another message was delivered to the communication bead, “Brother Yang, I have something to discuss with you!”

[How dare he call the Dao Lord ‘Brother’ again!? What a shameless person!] Despite insulting the other party in his heart, Sun Zhao strictly followed Yang Kai’s instructions and ignored the message. He had a vague feeling in his heart that the person sending these messages was a shameless individual. [No wonder the Dao Lord is unwilling to speak to him.]

Soon, the third message came, “Brother Yang, it’s urgent! Please respond!”

Once was fine, twice was acceptable, but thrice was the limit. This person had been harassing the Dao Lord over and over again. It was simply unbearable.

Sun Zhao was tempted to scold and reprimand the other party, and the urge nearly overwhelmed him, but he hesitated to act. Although the Dao Lord had asked him to respond accordingly, he was worried that responding rashly would discredit the Dao Lord’s reputation instead. That was not what a disciple should do.

[I must put myself in the Dao Lord’s shoes. If an unworthy person that I don’t like keeps harassing me, how would I reply…]

The perfect idea soon came to him.

Inside the No-Return Pass, Mo Na Ye had no idea why Yang Kai was ignoring him. Although he could be certain that Yang Kai’s communication bead was near the No-Return Pass, he could not determine whether Yang Kai himself was there. There was no saying whether Yang Kai had randomly placed the communication bead somewhere nearby to create the illusion that he was constantly monitoring the situation from the outside.

That was why Mo Na Ye had persistently sent three messages in a row just to confirm that there was indeed somebody on the other end of the communication bead. Fortunately, his hard work paid off.

After three inquiries, the communication bead in his hand finally vibrated in response. He quickly checked the message with a slight frown. There were only two sentences in the communication bead; moreover, the message was simple and clear. It was truly in line with Yang Kai’s straightforward style, “In retreat. Do not disturb!”

[I can’t believe he is cultivating in retreat outside of the No-Return Pass! Does he have no respect for the Black Ink Clan at all!?]

Although the response annoyed Mo Na Ye, he was satisfied to confirm that Yang Kai remained outside the No-Return Pass and not too far away either. He had been worried that Yang Kai might have ventured deep into the Black Ink Battlefield to investigate his secret plans. If that were the case, then the heavily wounded Territory Lords would not be able to defend themselves from this killing star.

Now that most of his worries had been laid to rest, Mo Na Ye couldn’t help lamenting that the secret at the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction had been exposed. Nevertheless, he had to develop countermeasures to protect the Territory Lords in advance; after all, there was an elite Human Race Army and the Divine Dragon, Fu Guan, stationed outside the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction.

Not to mention, even if Yang Kai was ignorant about the situation now, it would only be a matter of time before he found out. Once Yang Kai learned about these plans the various arrangements that Mo Na Ye prepared outside would no longer be sufficient.

[I need to figure out a way to lure Yang Kai away so that the Territory Lords living outside can sneak over to the No-Return Pass.]

Mo Na Ye had not allowed the Territory Lords into the No-Return Pass for fear that Yang Kai would discover their presence, which would in turn affect the situation at the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction. Now that the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction plot was exposed, he had to figure out a solution to protect the Territory Lords who had already snuck out. Mo Na Ye had to settle this matter as soon as possible. It could not be delayed any further.

Despite pondering deeply, he could not come up with a good solution. The greatest issue was that the Black Ink Clan could not grasp Yang Kai’s movements at all. It was impossible for Yang Kai to constantly remain outside the No-Return Pass throughout the past 1,000 years; however, the Black Ink Clan remained clueless concerning his movements. They did not know when he would leave or when he would return.

[There might be a chance after each delivery of resources…] After all, there was no doubt that Yang Kai demanded the cultivation resources from the Black Ink Clan for the sake of the Human Race.

While mulling over these matters, Mo Na Ye suddenly froze up. He vaguely sensed that he had overlooked an important point. Standing stiff in place, he urged the wheels in his head to spin faster. It did not take long before sweat beaded his forehead! He finally realised what he had overlooked previously! He had been considering matters from a positive perspective, but he had forgotten that not everything would go as he wished!

It was highly likely that what happened at the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction had been exposed and the last batch of Territory Lords to escape were dead. That was why he lost communication with the clansmen inside the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction and why he could not contact the last batch of Territory Lords either.

All his considerations earlier had been based on the assumption that Yang Kai remained ignorant about the matters at the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, [But, what if Yang Kai knew all along…]

It was impossible to confirm that Yang Kai was in the vicinity with just the communication bead and the simple message. Yang Kai could have asked somebody else to disguise themselves as him and respond to the messages on his behalf; after all, the messages in the communication bead did not contain any trace of his aura. There were no means to prove a person’s identity through these messages.

The sweat beading on Mo Na Ye’s forehead increased significantly. At this rate, things could be heading in the worst possible direction. Therefore, he did not dare to hesitate. Taking out the small Black Ink Nest again, he immersed his consciousness into the Black Ink Nest Space and shook it far more violently than before! He had to contact the sleeping Territory Lords and confirm their safety!