Yang Kai frowned upon hearing this. "You don't have a single piece of useful information?"
Tang Qiu shook his head with a look of shame. "All we can offer you here is a dozen or so potential candidates. Whether the Ink Disciple who refined that Palace Artifact is even among these dozen—and which one it is—will require you to investigate in person."
Yang Kai nodded slightly, his fingers lightly tapping the tabletop.
That Yin-Yang Pass could offer him so little information was something he had anticipated. If the Ink Disciple's identity were really that easy to uncover, there would have been no need for him to help in the first place.
After all, when a talent like that appeared among the Ink Clan, they would inevitably be placed under tight protection. Even ordinary members of the Ink Clan might not know the details, so how could the humans possibly have their hands on such intelligence?
"Although there's nothing usable from inside the Pass, based on our collective speculation, that Ink Disciple is very likely in the Royal City."
"The Royal City?" Yang Kai raised an eyebrow.
Tang Qiu nodded. "The Royal City! Where the Ink Clan's Royal Lord resides—that is the Royal City."
"If that's the case, then this is going to be difficult." Yang Kai's expression grew heavy. If the Ink Disciple really was in the Royal City, even if the Old Ancestor acted personally, success was far from guaranteed.
In Yang Kai's original plan, all he needed to do was track down the Ink Disciple's location, then find a way to relay the information back. Yin-Yang Pass would handle the rest from there, and it wasn't out of the question for the Old Ancestor to intervene personally.
But if the Ink Disciple was truly stationed in the Royal City, even the Old Ancestor's intervention would be futile. The Ink Clan's Royal Lord was no easy opponent.
After a long moment of contemplation, Yang Kai finally spoke. "In short, I need to find a way to infiltrate the depths of the Ink Clan's territory first. Have there been any recent clashes between the Pass and the Ink Clan?"
Tang Qiu replied, "There have. Ten years ago, Wu Qing and Ding Yao jointly raided deep into Ink Disciple territory and caused quite a stir. The Ink Clan retaliated fiercely. While they haven't massed a full army to assault Yin-Yang Pass in recent years, small-scale skirmishes have been relentless—particularly their harassment of the resource zones the Pass controls. That has never stopped."
Yang Kai was puzzled. "Hasn't Yin-Yang Pass been producing Void Yin-Yang Mirrors? Why are you still fighting the Ink Clan over the resource zones?"
The method for refining Void Yin-Yang Mirrors should have been distributed to all the human strongholds by now. At Biluo Pass, the Qiankun Worlds within the resource zones had already been relocated back. The soldiers there could mine resources right at their doorstep without venturing far, vastly improving both efficiency and safety.
Even if the Ink Clan discovered what was happening, they could only watch helplessly—daring not to provoke, given that they were still recovering from their crushing defeat in the Biluo Battle Zone barely a decade prior.
Tang Qiu explained, "We've produced some Void Yin-Yang Mirrors here in the Pass, and they've been quite useful. We're currently in the process of relocating those Qiankun Worlds back. However, the Ink Clan keeps harassing us, and several sets of Void Yin-Yang Mirrors have been destroyed in the process. Our progress is probably lagging well behind Biluo Pass."
Yang Kai understood.
The Void Yin-Yang Mirror was a Artifact he had originally refined for his own use. He could wield it with ease, but for anyone else, it was far less efficient. Naturally, the relocation speed fell well short of what he could achieve.
On top of that, the Ink Clan in the Yin-Yang Battle Zone had been recovering for longer than their counterparts in the Biluo Battle Zone, meaning the intensity of their harassment was even greater.
Thus, the fighting over the Yin-Yang Battle Zone's resource zones continued to this day.
"It was precisely because of this matter that my return to the Pass was delayed," Tang Qiu said.
Yang Kai narrowed his eyes slightly. "In that case, a Domain Lord must have been involved?"
For Tang Qiu to have been injured, it clearly had to be the work of a Domain Lord.
Tang Qiu confirmed, "Naturally, there was a Domain Lord."
Yang Kai let out a soft breath. "Then this becomes manageable."
The several Corps Commanders all turned to look at him. Fei Yushan asked in confusion, "How exactly is this manageable?"
Yang Kai explained, "Senior, you may not know this, but in my early years I was forced to disguise myself as an Ink Disciple and infiltrate the depths of the Ink Clan's territory, surviving by the skin of my teeth. At the time, my cultivation was at the Sixth Order Open Heaven Realm, and the one attempting to ink-corrupt me was merely an upper-ranking member of the Ink Clan equivalent to a Sixth Order cultivator. Now, however, I have reached the Seventh Order. To successfully disguise myself as an Ink Disciple at this level, it would require an Ink Clan Lord or even a Domain Lord to carry out the corruption. To gather intelligence, I believe that following a Domain Lord would naturally offer far greater opportunities. What I need is for a Domain Lord to act, to ink-corrupt me and make me his Ink Disciple."
Fei Yushan's eyes widened with realization. "You want to go to the resource zone, participate in the battle, and then allow yourself to be captured?"
"Exactly."
"That's extremely risky." Tang Qiu's brows knitted tightly together. "Setting aside the fact that in the twenty-plus years since the Pass obtained the Ink-Expelling Warships, not a single Disciple has been converted into an Ink Disciple—if the Ink Clan suddenly succeeded with you, they would almost certainly grow suspicious. Furthermore, if you face a Domain Lord and they strike to kill, how could you possibly defend yourself?"
Yang Kai replied, "I have my own methods to ensure they won't grow suspicious. It may be somewhat risky, but the chances of success are high. As for the other concern, as long as I demonstrate sufficient value, I believe even a Domain Lord would be reluctant to simply kill me off."
A Seventh Order Ink Disciple was no small asset to a Domain Lord—especially when that Seventh Order's strength far exceeded others of the same rank.
One only need look at how Domain Lord Zhu Feng had treated Bai Yi to understand that.
The Corps Commanders exchanged glances and each nodded slightly.
Seeing this, Yang Kai said, "Since none of you object, what remains to be determined is which Domain Lord's Ink Disciple I should become in order to carry out the mission most effectively. This choice will require careful deliberation from you seniors. Additionally, we will need to identify a suitable opportunity."
Wu Qing spoke up. "Rest assured. We will come up with an appropriate plan to minimize the danger as much as possible."
"Then I'll leave it in your capable hands, seniors."
Tang Qiu said, "You may go for now. When the time is right, I'll notify you."
"Understood. This disciple takes his leave." Yang Kai cupped his fists in a cupped-fist salute.
"Oh, and when you have time, spend more time wandering around the marketplace," Tang Qiu added suddenly.
Yang Kai gave a noncommittal response. Honestly, if it weren't for the little girl dragging him there every day, he wouldn't set foot in that godforsaken place willingly. He had no idea why Tang Qiu would bother giving him such an instruction.