The fact that the Ink Clan had established their warship development facility inside this Secret Realm was one of the things Yang Kai was most grateful for, as it gave him the space to execute his plan.
As he had said, there were no Ink Nests in this Secret Realm, nor was there the ever-present shroud of Ink Force. As long as Wu Xinghe was careful, there would be no risk of him being corrupted by the Ink again.
That would not have been possible in a place like the Ink Clan's territory. Every inch of Ink Clan land was saturated with Ink Force. Even if Yang Kai used his Purification Light to purge the Ink Force from Wu Xinghe's body, he would quickly be corrupted again, and Yang Kai would inevitably be exposed—making any plan impossible to carry out.
"Senior Brother Wu, I came from the Yin-Yang Pass under the orders of several Corps Commanders to track down you Artificers who have been forging warships for the Ink Clan, and put an end to the possibility of Ink Clan warships appearing on the battlefield. You, Senior Brother, are the first breakthrough point I've chosen. The plan we're about to carry out will require your full cooperation. Qing Lei just left the Secret Realm, but based on past experience, he should return within half a day. So we have at most half a day."
Wu Xinghe's expression grew solemn. "What is your plan, and how do you need me to cooperate?"
Yang Kai said, "First, I need you to lure Senior Brothers Wang and Guan here. I'll help them purge the Ink Force from their bodies one by one and restore them to their true selves. Although both of them are Seventh-Order, they've dedicated themselves to Artifact refining for so long that their combat prowess has long atrophied. With the two of us launching a surprise attack, there shouldn't be any issues. After that, I'll need the three of you to summon all the Artificers to a single location under your names. I'll act again to purge the Ink Force from their bodies and restore them to their senses."
Among all the Artificers, Wu Xinghe and the other two were not only Grandmaster-level Artifact refiners but had also cultivated to the Seventh-Order. The rest of the Artificers were far inferior—not only were their refining skills below those three, but their cultivation was mostly at the Fifth or Sixth-Order. So as long as Wu Xinghe and the other two were dealt with first, the remaining Artificers would not be a problem.
Wu Xinghe nodded slightly. "And then? Even if your plan goes perfectly and the Ink Clan doesn't catch on, how do we leave the Secret Realm afterward? Qing Lei may be absent, but Mie Qiong has been guarding the entrance the entire time. Without getting past him, you can't leave the Secret Realm—let alone take all of us with you."
Yang Kai said, "Apart from the three of you, I can store the others inside my Small Universe. Taking them out won't be a problem. But the three of you are at the same rank as me, so I can't store you in my Small Universe. That means the three of you will need to abandon your own Small Universes until your rank drops to the Sixth-Order."
Wu Xinghe was startled. "You're planning to break out alone?"
Yang Kai replied gravely, "None of you can resist the corruption of the Ink Force. The only truly safe place for you is inside my Small Universe."
Wu Xinghe frowned. "But that would put an enormous burden on you."
Over three hundred Artificers—and every single one of them an Open Heaven Realm cultivator. Storing all of them inside Yang Kai's Small Universe would inevitably place a massive strain on him, which would certainly affect his combat strength.
He was already a full rank below Domain Lord Mie Qiong. If his fighting ability were further compromised, there would be no hope whatsoever of escaping Mie Qiong's grasp.
Yang Kai said, "Three hundred people should be manageable. There might be some impact, but nothing too severe. As for Mie Qiong—he is troublesome. But he's been guarding the entrance without moving an inch. There's no way around it except to force our way through. Of course, it would also be feasible to trick him into opening the entrance and letting me leave voluntarily. But the moment any disturbance arises here, it will inevitably draw the attention of the patrolling Ink Clan. There's simply no way to keep things quiet."
Wu Xinghe nodded slightly. "So your plan is to take all of us Artificers away, thereby cutting off the Ink Clan's hope of building warships."
"A bit crude, but it's the most effective way to pull the rug out from under them," Yang Kai exhaled lightly. "Is there a problem?"
Wu Xinghe looked at him. "There is one major problem."
Yang Kai already knew his plan had various shortcomings. Alone in this Secret Realm, surrounded on all sides by enemies—with even the many Artificers serving as the Ink Clan's eyes and ears—any carelessness would lead to premature exposure. But he simply could not think of a better approach.
So when Wu Xinghe said the plan had a problem, he was not surprised. Instead, he asked earnestly, "What problem?"
Wu Xinghe said, "Even if you successfully take all of us Artificers away, you still won't be able to cut off the Ink Clan's hope of building warships."
Yang Kai frowned. "Why?"
Wu Xinghe replied, "Because the ones building those warships aren't us. Wang Sibo, Guan Ning, and I did contribute during the warship's construction, but we were merely helping on the sidelines. The one truly overseeing the entire project is someone else entirely."
Yang Kai was taken aback. "Someone else? Who? I thought the only Grandmaster-level Artificers here were the three of you?"
Wu Xinghe sighed. "His name is Nie An. In terms of Artifact refining skill, he surpasses me, Wang Sibo, and Guan Ning by a narrow margin. He's only a single step away from becoming a Supreme Grandmaster."
Yang Kai was momentarily stunned. "Nie An… How come none of you ever mentioned this person?"