When Yang Kai and the Ink Clan Lord arrived at the location, the Secret Realm gate was slowly opening.
On the deck, two figures sensed the movement and turned to look.
One was an Ink Clan Domain Lord, and the other was the Eighth-Stage Open Heaven cultivator Yang Kai had sensed earlier. Looking carefully, the Eighth-Stage Open Heaven cultivator was bloated all over, like a ball of flesh. His round head sat directly atop his body, with no neck visible whatsoever.
And on his exposed skin, tumor-like growths bulged out one after another, resembling festering abscesses—they looked utterly horrifying.
The flesh-ball stood there, yet his entire body radiated an extremely violent and dangerous aura. Even the Ink Clan Domain Lord traveling with him was unwilling to get too close, maintaining as much distance as possible.
Upon seeing this person's true appearance, how could Yang Kai not recognize his identity?
This was clearly Nie An, the one Wu Xinghe had mentioned.
Although they had never met before, everything before his eyes confirmed that this person, with the aid of Ink Force, had broken through his own shackles—achieving something that ordinary methods simply could not accomplish. However, doing so inevitably brought with it tremendous hidden dangers.
When Nie An had first advanced to Open Heaven, he had only been Fourth-Stage; Sixth-Stage was his absolute limit. Having been corrupted by Ink Force and pushed to Seventh-Stage had already been pushing his luck. Now he had inconceivably advanced to Eighth-Stage Open Heaven. The Ink Clan King Master must have intervened to help—otherwise, it would have been absolutely impossible.
His current state could be described as extremely perilous. He gave off the feeling that he could explode and die at any moment, yet somehow remained stable and unharmed. Yang Kai had no idea what earth-shattering method the Twilight King Lord had employed to preserve his life during the advancement to Eighth-Stage.
However, with this development, Nie An could very likely advance to the Grand Master realm.
And if a Grand Master took action, he would surely be able to forge Palace Artifacts. Perhaps before long, the Ink Clan could truly possess their own warships, roaming the battlefield—no longer like before, when the vessels they built were utterly useless.
Yang Kai felt a sudden sense of urgency.
When he had first heard from Wu Xinghe about Nie An's existence, he had been forced to alter his plans. He hadn't expected this Nie An to emerge from seclusion so quickly, advancing to Eighth-Stage.
Fortunately, Nie An's fate was now confirmed, making it easier to devise a countermeasure.
"New here?" Nie An suddenly spoke as Yang Kai's thoughts were racing.
Yang Kai hastily cupped his fists. "Greetings to this Lord. I have been here for over three years."
Nie An's expression turned to one of realization. "You're the one Black Abyss sent over?"
"Yes!" Yang Kai didn't know how Nie An had figured out he was an Ink Servant under Black Abyss, but this proved that Nie An must have easy access to intelligence circulated among the Ink Clan's upper echelons. In other words, the King Master truly valued him greatly.
"What did you go out for?" Nie An asked.
Yang Kai reported honestly. He couldn't help feeling fortunate that the materials Wu Xinghe had asked him to purchase were indeed all extremely rare and precious. Qing Lei knew nothing of artifact refinement and could be easily fooled, but Nie An was not someone you could pull one over on.
Fortunately, Nie An had only asked in passing and had no intention of pressing further. He nodded slightly upon hearing the response and said nothing more.
The gate was now open. The Domain Lord and Nie An flashed inside, while the tower ship remained outside. After they entered, Yang Kai followed the accompanying Ink Clan Lord into the Secret Realm.
Mie Qiong was busy handling Nie An's transfer with the Domain Lord and seemed to have no time for Yang Kai. He asked a few perfunctory questions and then readily allowed him to pass.
The accompanying Lord escorted Yang Kai to the valley and then departed—he needed to report back to Qing Lei.
Yang Kai made his way at an unhurried pace to Wu Xinghe's pavilion. He gently raised his hand to trigger the restriction. After a moment, a crack appeared in the restriction, and Yang Kai slipped through.
On the second floor of the pavilion, Wu Xinghe sat cross-legged. An extremely faint trace of Ink Force was circulating through his body as he continuously channeled the power of his Small Universe to resist the Ink Force's corrosion.
Yang Kai was not surprised by this sight. He strode forward to Wu Xinghe in a single step. As he pressed his palms together, a brilliant, pure light erupted, enveloping Wu Xinghe within it.
With a sizzling sound, the Ink Force within Wu Xinghe's body dissolved into nothingness and quickly vanished.
Wu Xinghe's robes were almost entirely soaked with sweat. He let out a long breath. "Junior Brother, you returned remarkably fast."
Yang Kai replied, "I naturally wouldn't let Senior Brother put himself at risk."
Before departing, Yang Kai had already known that Wu Xinghe had been corroded by Ink Force, which was why he had returned so swiftly. Had he come back any later, Wu Xinghe might have been Ink-corrupted once again, reduced to an Ink Servant—exposing Yang Kai's own existence in the process.
Of course, Yang Kai estimated that at the last moment, Wu Xinghe would have chosen self-destruction to safeguard his secret.
When the greater situation was at stake, human warriors had never been stingy with their own lives.
As for how Wu Xinghe had been corroded by Ink Force—it happened when he went to meet Qing Lei. There was no Ink Force suffusing this Secret Realm, so under normal circumstances, as long as one was careful, there was nothing to worry about. But when Wu Xinghe met with Qing Lei, he had been far too close to him. Qing Lei was a Domain Lord-level powerhouse, his body saturated with dense Ink Force. Wu Xinghe didn't dare offer even the slightest resistance, for fear of revealing the truth—so naturally, the Ink Force had seeped into him.
Fortunately, he hadn't absorbed too much Ink Force; otherwise, he would never have been able to hold out until Yang Kai's return.
"Is it done?" Wu Xinghe asked with concern.
Yang Kai nodded. "It's done."