Fortunately,
"What is that?" Yang Kai asked in a low voice.
Ding Si's expression grew somewhat complicated. He replied in an equally hushed tone, "A Heaven and Earth Sphere. It seals away a massive amount of Heavenly might."
"Heavenly might?" Yang Kai raised his eyebrows, his face full of surprise.
This was the first time he had ever heard that Heavenly might could be sealed away in this manner. Moreover, the so-called Heaven and Earth Sphere was clearly an Artifact, bearing unmistakable traces of deliberate crafting.
"Every great battle claims the lives of many Open Heaven cultivators," Ding Si explained. "When those cultivators die, the Heavenly might within them dissipates. Under normal circumstances, the Ink Clan can simply devour and refine it, but on the battlefield, conditions change in the blink of an eye. Attempting to absorb it could easily lead to danger, and besides, the Ink Clan are not permitted to casually devour that Heavenly might during battle. There are specialized personnel on the battlefield tasked with this — they gather and seal the dispersing Heavenly might, producing these Heaven and Earth Spheres. To every Ink Clan member, these things are priceless treasures."
Hearing this, Yang Kai felt a weight settle in his chest, though his expression remained unchanged.
The Heaven and Earth Spheres did not exist in the Three Thousand Worlds, because they held no value for cultivators. But the Heavenly might sealed within them was extremely useful to the Ink Clan.
Yang Kai surmised that this Artifact must have been specially developed by those Ink Slaves who excelled in artifact refining. After all, the war between humanity and the Ink Clan on this
As the two talked, an Ink Clan member finished negotiating a price with the seller. He drew a large handful of objects from his spatial ring — pitch-black as ink and round as copper coins — and handed them over. Then, without ceremony, he plucked a Heaven and Earth Sphere from the display and strode away.
Yang Kai was surprised. "The Ink Clan have their own currency?"
Ding Si nodded. "Ink Coins. They have no intrinsic value and cannot be used for Cultivation, but they serve as the medium of trade among the Ink Clan. Each Ink Coin is forged by the Royal Family, stamped with the Royal Family's seal, making them impossible to counterfeit."
Yang Kai asked, puzzled, "If they have no value in themselves and can't be used for Cultivation, what's the point of these Ink Coins?"
The primary currency circulating in the Three Thousand Worlds was Opening Heaven Pills — no matter what goods one wished to trade, their value could always be measured in Opening Heaven Pills, because those pills themselves were the very medicines cultivators used for their practice.
Any medium of exchange needed to possess intrinsic worth.
Ding Si smiled. "If it can circulate, there must be a reason. Let me put it this way: if an Ink Clan member spends a certain number of Ink Coins, they can enter the Ink Nest to cultivate. The Ink Nest is the birthplace of the Ink Clan — entering one is like returning to the womb. The boost to one's strength is enormous. Furthermore, if an Ink Clan member wishes to advance in rank, they must do so within an Ink Nest!"
Now Yang Kai understood.
The Ink Coins might indeed have no intrinsic value, but they could buy what the Ink Clan desired — and that alone gave them value.
The single fact that advancement could only take place within an Ink Nest meant every Ink Clan member had no choice but to accumulate Ink Coins.
"Is your master here to buy a Heaven and Earth Sphere as well?" Yang Kai asked, watching the Ink Clan member who had led them here lingering longingly before the Heaven and Earth Spheres, haggling ceaselessly with the seller.
Ding Si shrugged. "He probably can't afford it."
The master in question was merely an upper-tier Ink Slave, equivalent in strength to a Sixth-Order Open Heaven cultivator. Even if he had some Ink Coins on hand, it wouldn't be enough to purchase a single Heaven and Earth Sphere.
Ding Si had served this Ink Clan member long enough to know full well what his financial situation looked like.
Sure enough, despite considerable effort, the Ink Clan member ultimately shook his head in disappointment and led Yang Kai and the others away from the shop.
Yang Kai secretly found it amusing. It seemed his "master" was something of a pauper.
The Ink Clan member who had led them out of the shop did not linger but headed straight in one direction.
The typically talkative Ding Si suddenly fell silent.
Yang Kai could even sense a growing tension in him — and not just Ding Si. Jia Yi and the others seemed just as on edge, which left Yang Kai puzzled, unable to fathom what they were nervous about.
Before long, the Ink Clan member brought them to a place where a massive crowd had gathered.
Even before reaching the area, Yang Kai detected a violent collision of Heavenly might from ahead. It seemed two powerful figures were engaged in fierce combat — the clash was ferocious, with booming sounds ringing out incessantly and occasional bursts of blinding light.
Fighting was allowed inside the Gale Region? Yang Kai was stunned. In any gathering place of cultivators across the Three Thousand Worlds, there were virtually always rules prohibiting unsanctioned combat. But the Ink Clan apparently did not impose such restrictions.
The site of the battle was a vast basin spanning dozens of li across, though even such a space proved somewhat cramped for the two combatants.
The ones clashing within the basin were both Sixth-Order Open Heaven cultivators. A prohibition formation surrounded the entire basin, projecting a hemispherical barrier of light.
The barrier formed by the prohibition formation was incredibly resilient. Despite the two combatants fighting with everything they had, the light screen remained utterly unblemished.
On all sides of the basin stood one Ink Clan member after another, each one massive in stature.
Not all the Ink Clan resembled upscaled humans. Many among them looked bizarre and grotesque, and some appeared to be nothing short of demon beasts.
Yang Kai had noticed this the moment he first entered the Gale Region.