Thinking of that vast, majestic will he had once sensed, Yang Kai couldn't help but feel a chill run down his spine.
The owner of that will was far beyond anything he could contend with at his current level.
This matter needed to be reported to the great Cave Heavens and Paradises immediately. What was happening in the Black Domain was no longer something he could handle on his own — it would require the higher-ups of the Cave Heavens and Paradises to come and deal with it.
But before that, he still had many questions that needed answers.
He walked straight to the chair beside Luan Baifeng and sat down, picking up a cup of tea and taking a sip.
Luan Baifeng was in a fine mood. She turned her head to look at him and asked with a smile, "How does it feel?"
Yang Kai replied in a flat tone, "Not bad. I feel like I've found the goal and direction of my life."
A fervent gleam surfaced on Luan Baifeng's face. "Our goal and direction is to devote everything to our Master — including our lives!"
Yang Kai nodded. "So the Master is in the Black Domain?"
Luan Baifeng looked somewhat surprised. "How did you know?"
Yang Kai explained casually, "During my exploration of the Black Domain these past few days, I came across certain things and formed a guess."
"I see!" Luan Baifeng didn't press Yang Kai on exactly what he had seen. They were comrades, and that meant they could trust each other unconditionally.
"Is there any way for me to meet the Master?" Yang Kai asked.
Luan Baifeng shook her head. "Not for the time being. The Master is still slumbering. The last time the Master awakened, it was only to briefly issue a few decrees. I have no way to take you to see them. However, our foremost objective right now is to help the Master break free!"
Yang Kai raised an eyebrow. "Break free?" This description surprised him immensely. He had assumed that the Ink Clan member was simply hiding somewhere in the Black Domain, quite possibly in the very center he had previously reached. But judging from Luan Baifeng's words, it sounded as though the Ink Clan member was actually trapped here.
"That's right!" Luan Baifeng nodded. "The Master has been trapped in the Black Prison for countless years. Before I encountered the Master, I always thought the Black Prison was merely a name. After meeting the Master, I learned that the Black Prison is a true prison — a prison built specifically to hold the Master!"
Yang Kai narrowed his eyes slightly. "How could that be?"
This reminded him of the Demon Sealing Ground in the Ancestral Land.
All the Sacred Spirits in the Ancestral Land had always known of the Demon Sealing Ground's existence, but through generations of word-of-mouth, its true nature had been distorted. Every Sacred Spirit believed that something related to demonic energy was sealed there. It was only when the Demon Sealing Ground was opened that the truth came out — it was actually the Ink Sealing Ground, and what was sealed within was an Ink-Colored Colossus!
The Black Domain's situation was strikingly similar.
This was a true prison, and imprisoned within it was a powerful Ink Clan member!
In a daze, Yang Kai recalled his first visit to the Black Domain. At the time, a thought had flickered through his mind — could the Black Domain be a massive cage? But it had been nothing more than a passing notion, and he hadn't given it deeper thought.
Only now, confirmed by Luan Baifeng's own words, was that momentary flash of insight proven correct.
He couldn't help but muse aloud, "All those natural grand formations in the Black Domain, and those mineral stars — they're all part of this prison?"
Luan Baifeng nodded solemnly. "Correct. Those so-called natural formations aren't natural at all. They were deliberately constructed. It's just that whoever laid them possessed such extraordinary skill that no one ever realized it, and everyone assumed they were naturally occurring. Those formations and mineral stars together compose a super grand array that envelops the entire Black Domain, and at the very center of that array lies the place where the Master is imprisoned."
Yang Kai's expression turned grim.
The entire Black Domain was one colossal formation — what kind of person could have the means to accomplish something like this?
He now felt the situation in the Black Domain was even more reminiscent of the Ancestral Land. In the Ancestral Land there was the Ink Sealing Ground; in the Black Domain there was a prison built to hold an Ink Clan member.
Outside the Ancestral Land, the Divine Ability Sea served as a barrier; within the Black Domain, countless grand formations filled the space.
Perhaps the arrangements in the Ancestral Land and the handiwork in the Black Domain had been carried out by the same group of people. In some impossibly remote age, a group of mighty beings had clashed with the Ink Clan. On the Ancestral Land's side, an Ink-Colored Colossus was sealed away, while here in the Black Domain, a true Ink Clan member was imprisoned.
"The era is so far removed that even I don't know exactly when all of this happened. The Master never mentioned it — perhaps for the Master, being imprisoned for so many ages was a humiliation," Luan Baifeng continued. "The Master's power is beyond anyone's ability to resist, so everything here in the Black Domain was set up to prevent anyone from getting close to the Master and giving the Master a chance to break free."
The Black Domain had originally been filled with an extremely bizarre force. Under the influence of that force, no one could venture too deep into the Black Domain. And if one couldn't reach its depths, there was naturally no risk of being converted into an Ink Disciple to serve the Ink Clan.
"Fortunately, we have you!" Luan Baifeng gazed at Yang Kai with an excited expression.