When the fact that Ink Clouds had lost their deterrent power was taken into consideration, the Ink Clan's high-ranking officials reached a unanimous conclusion: the Humans appeared to have discovered some method or means of resisting the erosion of the Ink Force. Otherwise, this situation would never have occurred.
However, what exactly that method was remained something the Ink Clan had yet to understand.
Among the Domain Lords under Lord Menxie, orders had been issued—at all costs, the truth had to be uncovered. This contest for the resource zone presented an excellent opportunity. If they could determine the Humans' method of resisting Ink Force erosion, it would be a monumental contribution, one great enough to earn any Ink Clan member a place to cultivate within an Ink Nest at the Royal City and advance a full rank.
This drove countless Ink Clan members to feverish desire, and was also a significant reason why the fight over the resource zone had grown so intense.
Within the Ink Cloud, an Ink Clan Lord lay in quiet ambush, faintly sensing that this earth-shaking merit might not be far from his grasp. After all, that Human powerhouse had charged directly into the Ink Cloud—he was bound to be eroded by the Ink Force, and when that happened, the Lord would be able to witness firsthand how the Human resisted it.
Within the Ink Cloud, slaughter raged on. Then, in a single instant, everything went silent.
The Lord lurking within the Ink Cloud, biding his time, felt his heart lurch. An instinctive premonition told him something terrible was about to happen.
In the next moment, he suddenly sensed an enormous pulling force emanating from where the Human stood. The dense Ink Clouds, subjected to that suction, began converging toward the man in droves.
The Ink Clan Lord's first reaction was elation, which was immediately followed by terror.
He was delighted because this Human powerhouse had actually opened the gateway to his Small Universe of his own accord, swallowing the surrounding Ink Clouds into it. If that happened, wouldn't this fellow be converted into an Ink Disciple before long?
He was horrified because once the Ink Clouds were devoured by this man, he himself would have nowhere to hide—he would be instantly exposed before the Human powerhouse.
What kind of Human had popped out of nowhere, acting with such reckless abandon? In all his years fighting the Humans, he had truly never encountered anything like this.
In the span of just a dozen breaths, the dense Ink Cloud had dissipated entirely, revealing the figures hidden within.
And at the center of those figures stood Yang Kai, gripping his spear in one arm, his gaze cold and sharp.
He had charged single-handedly into this Ink Cloud and slain quite a few Ink Clan members, but he had sensed that there were still stragglers hiding within. The Ink Cloud's interference with a Human's perception was extremely potent—even someone as powerful as he was couldn't immediately locate every last Ink Clan member.
In irritation, he had immediately thrown open the gateway to his Small Universe and swallowed the Ink Clouds into his body.
The effect was immediate and dramatic—every Ink Clan member hidden within the clouds was now fully exposed.
Yang Kai's eyes swept across the scene, a cold smile playing on his lips. This raiding party that had launched a sneak attack was fairly large in number, but their overall strength was far too weak. Among them, there was only a single Lord—everybody else was either an Upper Realm or Lower Realm Ink Clan member.
At this moment, every surviving Ink Clan member was staring at Yang Kai with wide, bulging eyes, as though they had seen a ghost in broad daylight. The Lord's expression was one of particular shock. He had been expecting Yang Kai to transform into an Ink Disciple at any moment, but now it was clear that this Human appeared completely unaffected by the Ink Force.
To swallow such a massive quantity of Ink Clouds into his body and still not suffer any erosion or conversion—the Ink Clan Lord instantly realized what was happening and cried out in alarm: "The Four Pillars of Heaven and Earth!"
The Four Pillars of Heaven and Earth were renowned not only among the Humans but also well-known to the Ink Clan. After all, this was a supreme treasure that countered the Ink Force itself. A Human who possessed the Four Pillars of Heaven and Earth had nothing to fear from Ink Force erosion.
The Ink Clan deeply detested the Four Pillars of Heaven and Earth, and they paid extremely close attention to anyone who bore them. Every Human powerhouse who carried the Four Pillars was catalogued in the Ink Clan's records. Under normal circumstances, upon encountering such individuals, the Ink Clan would stop at nothing to eliminate them, cutting off future trouble at the root.
This Ink Clan Lord held a fairly high rank and had heard of that special list. But the few names on it were all Eighth-Order Open Heaven masters.
Because only Eighth-Order Open Heaven cultivators had the ability to protect the Four Pillars of Heaven and Earth from being seized by the Ink Clan.
Yet here he had encountered a Seventh-Order who possessed them—someone who was decidedly not on that list.
This information was of critical importance. If he could bring it back, the merit would be no less than uncovering the Humans' method of countering Ink Force erosion.
And so, in the span of a single thought, the Ink Clan Lord spat out a wad of Ink Blood, intending to flee the area.
Judging from the power of the Human's earlier attacks, he did not believe himself to be a match. The only way to survive was to escape immediately.
This decision was undoubtedly the correct one. Yet even though he burned his vital blood without hesitation and employed a secret technique, his body was suddenly thrown into stagnation. An inexplicable force spread outward, and the surrounding space seemed to freeze solid. His body felt as though it had plunged into a quagmire—every step was agonizingly difficult.
"Where do you think you're going?" As that frigid voice reached his ears, the Ink Clan Lord turned his head to look. A spear filled his vision, growing larger and larger by the second. At its tip, a terrifying destructive power was coiled and restrained—once unleashed, it would surely shatter the heavens!
The Ink Clan Lord let out a furious roar of terror, his massive body swelling another size larger as his aura erupted without reservation. With everything he had, the spatial bindings around him loosened somewhat.
But that was as far as it went. He raised his enormous fist and hammered it toward Yang Kai with all his might. The blow shattered the void, a testament to its fearsome power.
Yet Yang Kai showed no intention of dodging. With a flick of his spear, he drove it straight through along the ridge of the Ink Clan Lord's fist—like a hot knife slicing through butter, the Azure Dragon Spear pierced effortlessly through the Lord's defenses, the greater half of its shaft vanishing deep into his arm.