Martial Peak

Chapter 5718: Checkmate

Yang Kai had been severely wounded at the time. Eager to treat his injuries, he had trapped himself inside the projection to recuperate from his wounds. Nevertheless, there was no denying that he could not move around freely for some time.

For that reason, Mo Na Ye had used the miniature Black Ink Nest to contact the No-Return Pass and asked the Royal Lord to set up an ambush nearby with some Black Ink Clan Masters.

Since the Royal Lord took charge of defending the No-Return Pass, he had not left it again. The only exception was when Yang Kai caused a ruckus in the No-Return Pass and the Royal Lord chased after him, resulting in only greater disaster. 

After that debacle, the Royal Lord never left the No-Return Pass again, especially when Yang Kai began loitering around nearby as the latter posed a massive threat. Mo Yu subsequently became the most important force which ensured the safety and stability of the No-Return Pass.

Nobody knew when Yang Kai might suddenly cause another ruckus. Under these circumstances, how could Mo Yu dare to leave the No-Return Pass at will? He was practically a hostage to Yang Kai’s whims, unable to move around freely whatsoever.

Be that as it may, Mo Na Ye had mobilised the one and only Royal Lord in the Black Ink Clan in this endeavour to ensure the success of his plans. It could be seen that his determination and courage were unordinary. In addition, there were many Innate Territory Lords who had been transferred here from the front lines. They were hiding in the shadows and waiting for the signal to attack. Everything had been prepared in advance. As long as Yang Kai escaped from this prison, they would unleash an unrestrained assault on him!

There was only one inconvenient factor in these plans, and that was this strange space within the projection. According to Mo Na Ye’s speculations, there was a high probability that Yang Kai could come and go freely from this Space, and was essentially invulnerable once inside of it. If Yang Kai was to detect any danger when he left the confines of this prison, he could simply seek shelter inside again to protect himself! After all, this strange and eerie space within the projection was practically a natural fortress to him.

Therefore, Mo Na Ye and Mo Yu had secretly discussed their plans in advance. They decided to wait until Yang Kai was some distance away from the projection before the Royal Lord made his move to keep Yang Kai as busy as possible for some time. Doing so, the Territory Lords who were carrying the necessary Array Boards and Banners would have enough time to establish the Heaven Sealing Earth Locking Grand Array. Once the Grand Array was activated, Yang Kai would be trapped in place with no hope to escape. At that time, Mo Yu could freely annihilate Yang Kai.

The plan could be said to be foolproof in all aspects. Although there was no guarantee for a 100% success rate, the estimated success rate was in the 70% range. It was enough for the Black Ink Clan to take a gamble and risk the possible dangers. The crux of this entire plan rested on how long Mo Yu could keep Yang Kai distracted. As long as he could delay Yang Kai for long enough, their plans would work perfectly.

Therefore, Mo Na Ye was excited to see Yang Kai leaving the projection even though he did not understand the reason for Yang Kai’s sudden departure. Never did he imagine that his plans would be exposed before the trap could even be implemented, much less that the reason would be Mo Yu’s failure to conceal his aura completely.

[Wait, that can’t be right! It’s impossible for the Royal Lord to be unable to conceal his aura! I’ve warned all of them so many times; not to mention, the Black Ink Clan has repeatedly suffered defeat at Yang Kai’s hands. There is no way the Royal Lord would relax his guard towards Yang Kai… Damn it, Yang Kai tricked us again!]

At that instant, Mo Na Ye realised the truth and opened his mouth to issue a warning; however, he was too late. A majestic aura erupted from somewhere in the void. The emergence of the aura was quickly followed by a black light that flew towards Yang Kai at the speed of lightning.

Mo Na Ye closed his eyes in sorrow…

The sounds of battle between Masters rang out from outside the projection, mixed with Yang Kai’s grunts.

When Mo Na Ye opened his eyes again, he saw that Yang Kai had retreated back into the Space within the projection. Meanwhile, Royal Lord Mo Yu stood quietly outside the projection with a pair of fleshy wings spread out behind his back. Countless bone spurs that resembled fangs protruded from his wings, making him seem absolutely terrifying.

Yang Kai’s arms were trembling uncontrollably, blood dripping profusely from them. He had suffered a direct blow from a true Royal Lord and nearly broke both his arms as a result, but instead of frowning, he was laughing. Furthermore, his laughter sounded extremely mocking.

Royal Lord Mo Yu stood outside the projection with a grim expression and scowled at Yang Kai for a while. Glancing at Mo Na Ye’s dull look, Mo Yu seemed to understand something and snorted coldly.

It was not that he was easily deceived. The truth was the exact opposite. The Black Ink Clan simply had too much vigilance towards Yang Kai. When Yang Kai spoke just now, Mo Yu’s first instinct was that he had been discovered. Everything would be for nought once Yang Kai activated Space Principles and escaped; hence, he believed that he would miss the opportunity to make his move if he did not attack now. It was the reason why he had acted so decisively.

Unfortunately, Yang Kai was only a short distance away from the projection. Although he was struck by the unexpected blow, he had quickly retreated back into the projection.

Numerous figures appeared from their hiding spots and slowly gathered around Mo Yu. These figures were all Innate Territory Lords. They were originally supposed to set up the Four Gates Eight Palaces Great Pagoda Array while the Royal Lord was keeping Yang Kai busy; however, they no longer knew what to do in this situation and could only wait quietly for further orders from the Royal Lord.

Staring at Mo Yu through the projection, Yang Kai swung his arms lightly. Then, he chuckled and turned to look back at Mo Na Ye, “The Black Ink Clan sure is hospitable!”

Mo Na Ye responded calmly, “There was no need for you to test the waters if you already expected an ambush, Brother Yang. You could have just asked me, and I would have given you an honest answer.”

At this moment, Mo Na Ye was certain about one thing. Yang Kai had predicted that he would make various secret arrangements in advance. That was why he had taken the initiative to step out of the projection as an experiment, and the results revealed that his predictions were indeed extremely accurate.

Just as how Mo Na Ye had a deep understanding of Yang Kai’s character, Yang Kai also had a good grasp of Mo Na Ye’s thought process after so many years of rivalry. In fact, it would be strange for the Black Ink Clan to ignore such a great opportunity.

“Who could have known whether you were speaking the truth? There are some things one can only learn after seeing it with their own eyes! Mo Na Ye, you have deeply disappointed me!” Yang Kai shook his head slowly, “I was going to spare the lives of these Territory Lords, but it looks like I cannot afford to be merciful towards the Black Ink Clan!”

Mo Na Ye smiled indifferently, “The Black Ink Clan has already sacrificed so many Innate Territory Lords just to annihilate you, Brother Yang. Losing a few more wouldn’t make a difference.”

His statement made the trapped Territory Lords turn pale with fright…

Meanwhile, he continued talking, “But, Brother Yang… What difference does it make even if you slaughtered all the Territory Lords trapped inside this Space? Will that help you escape? Indeed, there is nothing the Black Ink Clan can do to you at the moment; however, this Space will eventually return to normal once the projection completely solidifies in two years. At that time, the Black Ink Clan will only need to prepare a Grand Array in advance. With the Royal Lord personally leading the attack, you will be nothing more than a turtle hiding in its shell! Brother Yang, this place is where you will meet your doom!”

Mo Yu, who had been standing quietly outside the projection, decisively issued the order when he heard those words, “Set up the formation!”

The Territory Lords standing idly behind him immediately scattered in all directions and surrounded the local region where the projection was located with the Grand Array Banners in their hands. It did not take long before the Four Gates Eight Palaces Great Pagoda Array was formed, sealing this section of the void!

Mo Yu stared at the projection in front of him, eager to charge forward. Although he had heard about the strangeness of this Space from Mo Na Ye, he was tempted to enter the Space anyway…

Nevertheless, he decided to give up on the idea after further consideration. Mo Na Ye was not very different from him in terms of raw strength, the only difference being that the latter could only exert about 80% of his maximum power.

Seeing as the trapped Mo Na Ye was absolutely incapable of attacking Yang Kai inside the Space, Mo Yu realised that he would most likely face the same situation if he were to enter. Hence, he decided not to embarrass himself with futile actions. This strange Space was not something that could be overcome with strength alone.

While the Territory Lords were busy preparing the Grand Array, Yang Kai simply watched quietly without trying to stop them. In any case, there was nothing he could do to stop them even if he wanted to.

It was just as Mo Na Ye had said, the current situation was a death sentence to him. The Heaven Sealing Earth Locking Grand Array had sealed the space around him. Once he lost the protection provided by the Universe Furnace’s projection, he would have to face Mo Yu directly. A situation like that would only lead to a disastrous ending for him.

The projection was slowly becoming solid over time, and at this rate, it would probably fully manifest after two years. When that happened, Yang Kai would become vulnerable to the attacks of the many Black Ink Clan Masters surrounding him.

There had been many opportunities and coincidences inside the Divine Spirit Ancestral Land. Not to mention, the Ancestral Land had been favourable to him. That was how Yang Kai managed to escape the crisis and even kill a Master like Di Wu back then, leaving the Black Ink Clan with nothing to show for its efforts.

Unfortunately, there were no external factors or geographical advantages that he could rely upon here. No matter how strong he was, how could he be stronger than a true Royal Lord?

At this moment, many of the Black Ink Clansmen were certain of their victory even though they were trapped. On the contrary, Yang Kai’s future was bleak even though he seemed as unrestrained as a fish in water.

Be it Yang Kai or the Black Ink Clan, neither party knew that the projection would transform into an entrance to the Universe Furnace after the projection solidified completely. They also did not know that the Universe Furnace contained a Sealed World, and the so-called opportunity had to be obtained inside of it. In other words, the Black Ink Clan’s efforts were futile no matter how well-made their plans were.

Nevertheless, for Yang Kai who lacked this information, he was indeed stuck in a desperate situation. He had no means to escape in the face of absolute power. It could even be said that he had fallen right into the Black Ink Clan’s trap when he decided to plunge into this Space within the projection.

It was a pity that he had no other choice under the circumstances back then. Not only had he been an arrow at the end of its flight, but he was also being pursued by Mo Na Ye. He had urgently needed a place where he could properly treat his wounds, so plunging into the projection had been his only choice.

Narrowing his eyes slightly, he grinned at Mo Na Ye, “I’m guessing you have a suggestion for me!”

Mo Na Ye laughed, “You know me well, Brother Yang!”

“Speak!”

He bluntly said, “Sit quietly, don’t do anything unnecessary, and restrain your aura. You might have a chance of survival in two years if you do that, Brother Yang!”

Yang Kai inquired, “And where would that chance of survival come from?”

Mo Na Ye replied, “That would depend entirely on how Sir Royal Lord plans to deal with you. If Sir Royal Lord considers you a threat, you will probably lose your life. But, if Sir Royal Lord intends to spare your life so that you can contribute to the Black Ink Clan instead, corrupting you with the Black Ink Strength is not a bad idea either.”

Mo Na Ye was undoubtedly an intelligent man. Standing in front of the Royal Lord, he carefully made sure not to mention anything absolute. He always framed his words so that the final decision was up to Mo Yu. The same was true when they set up the Grand Array earlier. Instead of directly issuing the orders to set up the Grand Array himself, Mo Na Ye simply dropped some hints here and there so that Mo Yu would understand immediately. After all, issuing the orders directly would have put him under suspicion of overstepping his boundaries.

It was for this reason that Mo Yu had handed all authority over the Black Ink Clan to Mo Na Ye for so many years without any concern. Mo Na Ye knew his place and limits. In that regard, Meng Que, who was also a Pseudo-Royal Lord, was not nearly as quick-witted.

Outside the projection, Mo Yu announced graciously, “I know you have a treasure in your Small Universe that prevents the corruption of Black Ink Strength. If you sacrifice this treasure and allow me to personally corrupt you with the Black Ink Strength, then I will spare your life!”

Yang Kai laughed at those words. Lifting his slightly swollen arms, he casually cupped his fists, “In that case, allow me to thank you for the great consideration you’ve shown me, Sir Royal Lord!”