It wasn't impossible. The Ink Purging Vessel was equipped with a Universe Formation inside, and if Yang Kai had truly returned, he would already be in the cabin.
With that thought, Feng Ying activated the spatial formation on the deck and teleported inside.
A blinding white greeted her eyes. The gentle Purifying Light washed over her body and soul like flowing water, but the empty cabin held no trace of Yang Kai.
He clearly hadn't come back.
Frowning in confusion, Feng Ying exited the cabin. Just as she was puzzling over the situation, a streak of light shot toward her from the distance and landed on the deck in an instant. Feng Ying looked closely and hastily bowed. "Uncle-Master Zhong!"
The newcomer was none other than Zhong Liang.
His face was ashen, his anxiety plain to see. He asked urgently, "Where's Yang Kai?"
Feng Ying replied, "He said earlier that some modifications had been made to the Universe Formation and he needed to test them, so he left."
"How long ago?" Zhong Liang's expression darkened.
"Less than half an hour." The moment the words left her mouth, Feng Ying realized something was wrong. Yang Kai had conducted similar tests before, but each time he'd been gone only a short while before returning. After all, testing the Universe Formation only required him to move a fair distance away, then use the Universe Art to return. How could this time possibly take so long? There was nothing in the Pass that should have delayed him.
"This is bad — it really is him!" Zhong Liang exclaimed. The moment he'd received the message from the Zishan Guard detachment under Li Dingzhen, he'd immediately rushed back from the front lines to investigate in person, hoping they'd made a mistake — that Yang Kai couldn't possibly have gone out there. But after arriving and looking around, they hadn't made a mistake at all. That was unquestionably Yang Kai.
Feng Ying asked, "Uncle-Master, did something happen?"
Zhong Liang pointed at her, his expression one of exasperation, as though he didn't know what to say to her. In the end, he simply waved his sleeve and sighed. "That brat left the Pass. He's gone to the battlefield."
"What?" Feng Ying was shocked. "What's he doing on the battlefield?"
"How should I know?" Zhong Liang gazed beyond the Pass, his face full of worry. "I just hope there's still time."
Once he'd received the message from Li Dingzhen's Zishan Guard detachment, he'd headed back toward the Pass to investigate while simultaneously sending orders for the Zishan Guard to return. Before he could confirm whether that person was Yang Kai, he'd rather err on the side of caution — he couldn't bear to let him venture deeper into danger.
But the battlefield changed in the blink of an eye. He had no idea whether the Zishan Guard could carry out the order smoothly. After all, once you entered the battlefield, extracting yourself wasn't easy. If they got surrounded by the Ink Clan's forces, they'd have to carve a bloody path out.
Feng Ying stood rooted to the spot, stunned. Yang Kai had actually left the Pass and entered the battlefield. What was the man thinking? And he hadn't even given her a heads-up about something like this. It wasn't as if it were something shameful — there was no excuse for keeping it secret.
Zhong Liang had no intention of lingering. Now that he'd confirmed the person from the Zishan Guard was indeed Yang Kai, he had to go back for the rescue. He immediately soared into the air and shot toward the outside of the Pass.
Feng Ying followed close behind. She'd been assigned by Zhong Liang to guard Yang Kai, and instead the man had slipped away under her nose. She would have to bear responsibility for this.
"He never mentioned this to you before?" Zhong Liang suddenly asked, turning his head mid-flight.
Feng Ying shook her head. "He didn't." That was the part that confused her most. But this confirmed it — Yang Kai had done this deliberately. Otherwise, there was no reason to lie to her about testing the Universe Formation just to slip out of the Pass.
"Has he been acting strangely recently?" Zhong Liang pressed.
Feng Ying's face tightened. "Uncle-Master, you don't suspect that he—"
Zhong Liang said irritably, "He carries the Universe Four Pillars and possesses the means to purify and disperse Ink Force. Over this period, he's personally healed thousands of our clansmen. He was the one who spearheaded the construction of the Ink Purging Vessel — a project of immense importance to our human race. If I'm going to suspect anyone, it certainly wouldn't be him. His actions carry no ill will toward Biluo Pass or the human race. I simply can't figure out why he left the Pass in secret and went to such lengths to do it. You've been around him day and night — did you really not notice anything?"
Feng Ying furrowed her brow in thought, then suddenly seemed to recall something. "Uncle-Master, he's probably trying to break through to the Seventh Order!"
Zhong Liang raised an eyebrow. "What makes you say that?"
Feng Ying explained, "When he first arrived at Biluo Pass, he asked me about the conditions for advancing to the Seventh Order. Later, while treating numerous Seventh-Order clansmen, he frequently asked about the breakthrough process as well. I once asked him whether he was preparing for his own breakthrough, and he openly admitted that he had reached the peak of the Sixth Order, with only the faintest trigger needed before the Seventh Order. As you know, Uncle-Master, the path to the Seventh Order varies from person to person — some break through through secluded cultivation, some accumulate over long stretches of time until it comes naturally, and others break through on the brink of life and death in the heat of battle. Yang Kai told me he'd tried secluded cultivation without success, and that passively accumulating would take who knew how many ages. So the first two methods were ruled out. He's probably looking to use the third — breaking through his own shackles on the battlefield. Otherwise, there's no reason for him to head to the front lines at a time like this."
Zhong Liang's eye twitched upon hearing this. "That's probably it!"
And judging by the way things stood, this brat had likely been planning this for some time. He knew full well that his presence was invaluable to Biluo Pass, and that the Pass would never readily allow him onto the battlefield. That was why he'd snuck out in secret.
He'd gone to extraordinary lengths to build the Ink Purging Vessel, leaving behind enough Purifying Light in the vessels of every division to sustain an entire battle — and only after all that had this brat suddenly made his move, slipping out of the Pass and into the fray.
The moment this thought crossed his mind, Zhong Liang let out a sharp cry: "This is bad."