The Ink Nest was newly formed, its interior sparse and unremarkable, with nothing much to see.
It was Zha Gu's explanation that secretly put Yang Kai on edge. The Ink Nest could be said to devour nearly anything—all it required was that a thing contained energy, and to the Ink Nest, it would be considered a prize.
This particular characteristic reminded Yang Kai of the Heaven-Devouring Emperor Wu Kuang.
The guy cultivated the Heaven-Devouring Art, which was also号称 capable of devouring all things. Moreover, Wu Kuang possessed the Untainted Golden Lotus, which complemented the Heaven-Devouring Art perfectly.
A peculiar thought surfaced in Yang Kai's mind—what would it be like if Wu Kuang came to this Ink Battlefield? Would he be corrupted by the Ink Force, or could he use the Heaven-Devouring Art to refine the Ink Force and harness it for himself?
But the guy was currently a bit too sensitive to be seen in public. After Yang Kai had sent him into the Shattered Heaven last time, there had been no word from him, and Yang Kai had no idea whether he was dead or alive.
Yang Kai figured he was probably doing just fine. After all, good people tend to die young, while disasters last a thousand years.
Shaking off the strange thought, Yang Kai slightly opened the gateway to his personal Small Universe. The power of heaven and earth within his Small Universe immediately surged out, and in the next instant, a sudden change occurred.
The entire Ink Nest reacted like a cat that had caught a whiff of blood. From the fleshy walls all around, a tremendous suction force abruptly erupted, pulling at his power of heaven and earth and devouring it.
Yang Kai's expression grew stern, and he instinctively moved to shut the gateway to his Small Universe. After all, allowing the Ink Nest to continue siphoning his power was nothing but a loss. However, before he could close the gateway, he suddenly came into contact with an extraordinarily peculiar will.
The reason he called this will peculiar was that it gave him a sense of rigidity, as though the will possessed no thought of its own—like a walking corpse.
This greatly surprised him, and he turned his head to look at Zha Gu.
Zha Gu simply watched him with a knowing smile, as though he had long expected all of this.
Seeing that Zha Gu showed no intention of stopping him, Yang Kai let his guard down and carefully probed that will.
Just as he had first sensed, the will truly existed—it was no illusion. It merely had no thought of its own. After tracing it back to its source, Yang Kai said with a start, "Brother Zha Gu, the Ink Nest has its own will?"
The origin of that will was none other than the Ink Nest itself.
Zha Gu smiled and said, "Of course the Ink Nest has its own will. All Ink Nests possess their own will. However, the will of an Ink Nest is merely a vessel—it does not express any thoughts of its own."
"A vessel?" Yang Kai looked puzzled. "What does that mean?"
Zha Gu replied, "Since Brother Yang can connect with the will of the Ink Nest, why not use this will as a vessel and see the true essence of things?"
The essence...
Zha Gu's words carried deep meaning, suggesting that something else was hidden behind the will of the Ink Nest. Yang Kai's curiosity was immediately piqued, and he set about trying.
This was the best opportunity to uncover some of the Ink Race's secrets, and Yang Kai was naturally unwilling to miss it. Besides, Zha Gu still needed his help with artifact refinement, so it was unlikely he would do anything detrimental.
With that thought, Yang Kai put his mind at ease.
Originally, upon detecting the presence of that will, he had been wary and fearful that it might harbor some ill intent toward him. Now that he had confirmed the will possessed no thought of its own, he felt at peace.
As he opened himself up body and mind, the power of his Small Universe flowed ceaselessly into the Ink Nest. And as the power of heaven and earth drained away, his own consciousness began to slowly merge with the will of the Ink Nest.
It was an extraordinarily peculiar experience. Yang Kai couldn't help but feel an illusion that he was about to fuse entirely with the Ink Nest, but he knew this was merely a false impression—an effect brought about by the merging of his consciousness with the will of the Ink Nest.
After only a brief moment, his consciousness had fully merged with the will of the Ink Nest. This astonished Yang Kai, because the entire merging process had not shown the slightest sign of rejection, as though that will had been waiting specifically for him.
Yang Kai naturally knew that wasn't the case. The will of the Ink Nest had no thought of its own—presumably, anyone's consciousness could fuse with it perfectly, provided the conditions were right.
And the instant his consciousness merged with the will of the Ink Nest, he found himself as though he had suddenly entered an entirely different world.
This world held no light, no matter, not even any physical form of existence. Yet within this world, streams of consciousness flitted about, exchanging information.
Yang Kai was greatly amazed!
He reached out with his senses slightly and detected two consciousnesses nearby that bore an extremely similar state to his own, engaged in conversation. They appeared to be negotiating a transaction—one that involved many rare resources and Ink Race slaves.
Extending his awareness elsewhere, he found that some conversations between consciousnesses could be perceived clearly, while others seemed shielded from outside observation, and any attempt to peer into them aroused hostility.