Yuan Du had died, not because he was killed by others, but by himself.
Just like back in High Heaven Territory, when Shi Zheng was facing a certain death situation, when faced with a power he couldn’t resist, he didn’t resist at all and instead chose to collapse his Small Universe.
This kind of situation was something no one had expected. Dozens of High Rank Open Heaven masters didn’t even have a chance to attack, and seeing an expert of equal status as them kill themselves, all of them were greatly moved.
Yang Kai’s brow wrinkled slightly as he stared at the place where Yuan Du had died, his heart also not calm.
After these Black Ink Disciples were transformed into Inked, they didn’t seem to care about their own lives, allowing him to understand just how terrifying the Black Ink was.
This was a force capable of controlling one’s body and mind, something even a Seventh Order Open Heaven Stage master could not resist.
Seeing his Senior Brother, who he had spent thousands of years with, fall before his eyes, Li Yuan Wang’s expression became extremely complicated and he stood in place for a long time without saying a word.
Standing beside him, Gao Ting looked up towards the horizon and called out softly, “Sect Master!”
Li Yuan Wang came back to his senses and waved his hand to dismiss the Spirit Array. Immediately after, a figure flew over from the sky. It was Dong Peng. He landed in front of Li Yuan Wang and cupped his fists, “Master, everything has been taken care of. None of them survived.”
Li Yuan Wang nodded slightly.
When he had invited Yuan Du here, he had naturally arranged for someone else to deal with Gu Ling’er and the other Black Ink Disciples. Even Jiang Yan, who had left Lang Ya long ago, had been followed by a Seventh Order Lang Ya cultivator, waiting for him to approach High Heaven Territory before taking action.
“Are there any casualties?” Li Yuan Wang asked.
Dong Peng shook his head, “We encountered some resistance, but there were no casualties.”
Li Yuan Wang nodded.
On the other hand, when Yang Kai heard this, he let out a sigh of relief. Resistance was normal. If these Inked all had the courage to die like Shi Zheng and Yuan Du, it would be too terrifying.
No one could disregard their own life.
However, although there weren’t many people who had died this time, one Seventh Order and several Sixth Order were all important figures in the Sect or had extremely high popularity, it wasn’t a big deal if one or two of them disappeared, but if all of them disappeared at once, it would likely arouse the suspicion of the disciples.
Lang Ya naturally had a way to deal with the aftermath. It just so happened that after the last trial, many of the Sixth Order Open Heaven cultivators who had been tormented by Yang Kai had declared that they were going in seclusion, so the disappearance of Gu Ling’er and the others could be explained by their seclusion.
It was the same for Yuan Du.
As time passed, the storm naturally passed.
“Many thanks for coming to my aid in this matter, Lang Ya cannot thank you enough,” Li Yuan Wang composed himself and thanked the many High Rank Open Heaven masters.
Although in the end they hadn’t even used a single move and Yuan Du had chosen to commit suicide, if it weren’t for them glaring at him like a tiger watching its prey, Yuan Du wouldn’t have been able to resist. Perhaps under the influence of the Ink Force, he would have fought a great battle with Li Yuan Wang.
Yu Xiangdie nodded slightly, “Since ancient times, all Cave Heaven Paradise have been one family. Senior Brother Li is too serious.”
The matter with Lang Ya had been resolved, these people had been hiding here and didn’t know much about their own Sect’s situation.
Before they rushed to Lang Ya, they had already sent messages back to their own Cave Heaven Paradise to inform them of the reappearance of the Ink Force. As expected, most of the Cave Heaven Paradise had been searching for them recently.
Although with Lang Ya’s current situation, it was unlikely that there would be other Black Ink Disciples in other Cave Heaven Paradise, there was always a chance.
Lang Ya had Yuan Du, but the other Cave Heaven Paradise might not have someone like him.
Li Yuan Wang opened his mouth and said, “Now that Yuan Du is dead, this source has been severed, so it will be difficult to track down the hidden Black Ink Disciple. Does anyone have any ideas?”
Yuan Du was just a Black Ink Disciples. Although he had a Seventh Order cultivation and was one of Lang Ya’s Vice Sect Masters, compared to the true Black Ink Clan, he was nothing.
Now that Yuan Du had fallen, tracking down the real Black Ink Clan had become the priority of all the Cave Heaven Paradise. If this Black Ink Clan was not found, all of the Cave Heaven Paradise would not be able to rest in peace.
Everyone remained silent. During their previous discussion, everyone had thought that the place where the Black Ink Clan most likely hid was Shattered Heaven. After all, that place was extremely dangerous and chaotic, making it easier for them to conceal themselves compared to the other corner of the 3000 Worlds.
However, wanting to find traces of the Black Ink Clan in the vast Shattered Heaven was not an easy task.
Yang Kai stood up and said, “If Seniors allow it, I am willing to go to Yuan Du’s small universe to investigate and perhaps discover something.”
Hearing this, Yu Changdao’s eyes lit up, “That altar!”
The reason why Yuan Du was able to contact the hidden Black Ink Clan and was even bestowed with the Black Ink Insect was because of the power of the altar and the sacrifice.
Now that Yuan Du was dead, the altar connected to the Black Ink Clan might not necessarily be destroyed. With the help of that altar, it was possible that they might have discovered something.
None of them had thought of this, not because they weren’t quick-witted enough, but because the Ink Force was too sinister and strange, they subconsciously thought that the Small Universe left behind by Yuan Du was useless.
However, Yang Kai possessed one of the Universe Four Pillars, the World Spring, and with his previous experience of exploring the depths of Shi Zheng's Small Universe, he naturally had a different perspective on the problem.
“Are you confident?” Yu Xiangdie asked with concern.
Yang Kai shook his head, “Let’s try.”
How could he be certain? Although he had personally witnessed the actions of Yuan Du, he had no idea how Yuan Du had managed to contact the Black Ink Clan, nor was he certain that if he did, the Black Ink Clan would discover that he was not Black Ink Disciples.
But in this current situation, he could only try his best. If he didn’t discover anything, it would be fine, but if he did, it would be a pleasant surprise. If he could use this opportunity to determine where the Black Ink Clan was hiding, that would naturally be for the best.
Li Yuan Wang did not immediately give an answer, instead using his Divine Sense to communicate with the many High Rank Open Heaven.
Only then did he turn to Yang Kai and say, “Be careful!”
He had agreed.
Yang Kai nodded and took a step forward towards the place where Yuan Du had fallen.
Yuan Du was a Seventh Order Open Heaven Stage cultivator, and the Small Universe in his body had already transformed from illusory to solid. When he died, he had died in the same way as Shi Zheng. When the Small Universe collapsed, all that was left behind was an external door, and even his physical body had been swallowed up by the Small Universe.
At this moment, there was an extremely uncomfortable aura coming from the door, the aura of Ink Force.
Having experienced it once before, Yang Kai was now quite familiar with it. In a flash, he rushed into Yuan Du’s Small Universe.
Just like the scene he had witnessed a few days ago, Yuan Du’s Small Universe was covered in black ink, the rich power of ink surging about, like ink being splashed onto the ground.
However, because Yuan Du collapse his own Small Universe and died, at this moment, the Universe Paradise he had left behind was in complete chaos, without any order to speak of. The landscape was also in complete chaos, and the entire world had been transformed into a big and small shattered Spirit Province.
Yang Kai could only secretly pray that the altar was still intact, otherwise he really wouldn’t be able to make another altar.
Walking through Yuan Du’s small universe, Yang Kai tried his best to use his surroundings to compare his memories and find a familiar feeling.
After a few hours, Yang Kai finally found a nine-story pagoda-shaped altar on a Spirit Province that was only a few dozen meters wide.
Casting a spell, Yang Kai peeled off the altar and brought it to an even larger Spirit Province. Yang Kai silently recalled Yuan Du’s previous actions and reached into his Space Ring to take out a sharp sword and cut his arm.
He had dispelled his defensive power, so under this sword strike, golden dragon blood poured out and fell onto the altar.
Yang Kai allowed his blood to drip down, a look of worry appearing on his face.
At that time, Yuan Du had used his own blood as a sacrifice and was constantly muttering something.
Using one’s own blood as a sacrifice was something Yang Kai could imitate, but who knew what Yuan Du was muttering at that time? Perhaps it was a spell, or perhaps it was some kind of ritual, but Yang Kai couldn’t be sure if his muttering had any effect on the sacrifice.
The only thing he could do now was to do his best and listen to fate.
As the golden blood dripped onto the altar, Yang Kai suppressed his emotions and waited quietly.
At that time, it had taken Yuan Du a long time to perform the ritual, and it seemed a long time before the Black Ink Clan responded, so Yang Kai wasn’t in a hurry.
However, he didn’t expect that after three days, the dragon blood he had shed was enough to fill a pond, but the altar still remained motionless.
This caused him to feel somewhat discouraged, wondering if his method of offering sacrifices was wrong.
If the method was wrong, no matter how much blood he dripped or how long he waited, he would not be able to contact the hidden Black Ink Clan.
He decided to wait another day. If there was really no effect, he would immediately retreat.
What surprised him was that half a day later, the altar actually reacted. From the altar, pure Ink Force surged out like a poisonous snake from the darkness, quickly wrapping around Yang Kai.
The Ink Force pouring out from the altar was clearly different from what Yuan Du have before. Although it wasn’t rich, it was purer.
Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling shocked!
Originally, it was just a whim, but it actually worked.
In addition to his excitement, he was also extremely vigilant.
When he was observing Yuan Du’s sacrifice just now, he remembered that an extremely majestic will had suddenly descended. This will was so terrifying that it showed just how powerful its master was, and it was definitely not something he could resist.
Pure Ink Force surged around Yang Kai, seemingly wanting to pour into his body.
Yang Kai pondered for a moment but didn’t resist, allowing the Ink Force to quickly seep into his body and rush towards his Small Universe.
In the next moment, the grand will he had felt before suddenly descended! Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling a strange sensation.
Cold, dark, and deathly still, a kind of irresistible binding force came from all directions, like shackles, trapping him in place.
This feeling caused Yang Kai to panic.
But soon, he realized that this feeling wasn’t his own, but rather when the grand will descended and the Ink Force poured into his body, his body and the will began to resonate to a certain extent, as if they could peer into each other’s hearts.
TO BE CONITNUED...
Martial Peak