Someone peeked down from the wall above. Yang Kai quickly shrank back behind the crowd, hiding his figure.
There was no mystery to it — he recognized that person. It was one of the Eighth-Order City Lords who had attended Zhong Liang's assembly meeting. He didn't know the man's name, but if their eyes met, he would definitely be recognized.
He had sneaked out this time and had no intention of being caught and dragged back halfway.
The Eighth-Order City Lord wore a grave expression and nodded. "Granted! Open the formation!"
At his command, the restrictions were lifted, and the warship slowly set sail.
The moment they passed beyond Biluo Pass, the oppressive atmosphere of war crashed over them. Standing on the deck, Yang Kai looked up to see the vast expanse of the void filled with palace-type Artifacts shuttling back and forth. From within those Artifacts, streaks of brilliant light were continuously fired, blasting into the ranks of the Ink Clan army.
There were also high-level Seventh-Order and Eighth-Order Open Heaven cultivators roaming the battlefield, clashing with Ink Clan powerhouses.
Ink Clouds of varying sizes were scattered across the battlefield, spreading out in vast swathes. Beyond the Ink Clouds, there were also numerous fragments of shattered Small Worlds.
The Ink Clouds were residual matter formed when the Ink Force dissipated and condensed after an Ink Clan member's death. The Small World fragments, without exception, were the remains of upper-rank Open Heaven cultivators from the human side whose Small Worlds had collapsed upon their deaths. Some were even parts of Small Worlds that upper-rank Open Heaven cultivators had deliberately severed during past battles.
The sounds of colliding energies rose and fell without cease, battle cries filled the air, blood splattered into the void, and lives were snuffed out at every turn.
This was a battlefield that had swallowed countless Ink Clan and human lives. From ancient times to the present, who knew how many powerhouses from both races had perished here.
Gazing upon the scene before him, Yang Kai's blood slowly began to boil. A surge of fighting spirit welled up from his chest, and he longed to charge straight into the Ink Clan army and carve a swath of devastation through their ranks.
But he also knew that on a battlefield like this, no matter how strong an individual's power might be, their effectiveness would be limited. This was a struggle between two races, a conflict that involved the lives of countless beings on both sides. If he were truly surrounded by the Ink Clan army alone, even an Eighth-Order City Lord would not fare well.
Besides, he had sneaked out this time with a purpose of his own.
He wanted to advance to the Seventh Order!
His cultivation had been stuck at the peak of the Sixth Order for years. Seclusion and intensive training were temporarily useless. Slow accumulation still required the test of time. Now only one method remained — breaking through his shackles in the moment between life and death.
The war between the two races had given him the perfect stage. He had long harbored the intention of seeking rebirth through death.
However, he also knew that Biluo Pass would never permit him to act this way. If he were truly just an ordinary Sixth-Order cultivator, no one would care too much. There were Sixth-Order cultivators within the Pass in droves — one more made no difference, one less changed nothing. Which of them hadn't been through bloody battles against the Ink Clan? Those who survived were elites among elites.
But his existence was of immense significance to Biluo Pass, and one could even say to the entire human race. He was no ordinary Sixth-Order cultivator.
The Purifying Light could only be wielded by him. The World-Cleansing Formation could only be set up by him.
It was precisely because Zhong Liang recognized Yang Kai's importance that he had immediately assigned Feng Ying to serve as his personal bodyguard. Feng Ying was no ordinary Seventh-Order cultivator — among all the Seventh-Order cultivators in Biluo Pass, her strength ranked among the very highest.
Having her serve merely as Yang Kai's personal bodyguard was undoubtedly a waste of her talents.
But Zhong Liang had no other choice. He couldn't very well assign an Eighth-Order City Lord to guard Yang Kai, could he? Compared to that, a Seventh-Order cultivator was the best option, and Feng Ying was the best candidate.
This alone spoke volumes about how much Zhong Liang valued Yang Kai!
If Yang Kai told him that he intended to rush onto the battlefield and seek a breakthrough opportunity in the space between life and death, Zhong Liang would absolutely refuse. Not only would he refuse, but he would also order Feng Ying to watch him closely and never allow him to set foot on the battlefield.
Should anything happen to Yang Kai, the loss to the human race would be catastrophic. His cultivation was, after all, not especially high — only the Sixth Order.
Hadn't enough Sixth-Order Open Heaven cultivators already died on this battlefield? The slightest misstep meant body destruction and soul annihilation.
That was why Yang Kai had never once revealed his intention to join the battle. Not even Feng Ying, who had been by his side for the better part of a year, had caught a hint of it.
He had waited patiently, and at last, he had found his chance.
If he succeeded, he would return as a Seventh-Order cultivator. If he failed, then in the future he could only cultivate diligently and wait — wait for that day when the water would finally flow and the canal would be dug.
But before leaving, Yang Kai had waited until all four Purging Ink Warships were delivered and ready for use. That way, even if something truly happened to him, Biluo Pass would still have the Purging Ink Warships to hold the line for a while — long enough to see this battle through to its end.
If he were still in the Three Thousand World, Yang Kai might not have been in such a rush.
But this was the Ink Battlefield. The stronger one was, the greater one's chances of survival. The Sixth Order was still too low — only the Seventh Order was barely sufficient. So no matter what, he had to give it a try.
To cut off his own retreat, to seize that one slim chance of breakthrough, Yang Kai had left himself absolutely no safety net this time. He hadn't even left behind a single Spirit Teleportation Shuttle. It was all for that razor-thin possibility that existed in the space between life and death.
The Li Ding Mountain-Character Guard belonged to the Western Army and was also under Zhong Liang's command. The army's total strength numbered over eight thousand, encompassing fifteen garrisons, each of which oversaw seven or eight guards.
Among the four armies — Eastern, Southern, Western, and Northern — the Eastern Army's front was the most fiercely contested. The Western Army's situation was slightly better, though not by much. The Ink Clan army launched attack after attack, only to be repulsed by the humans time and again. Each time, they left behind countless corpses, but the Ink Clan clearly did not care about such casualties.