However, this expedition in the form of a giant dragon had yielded rich results. Not only had he killed a great many Ink Clan members, but he had also seized the opportunity to destroy Black Abyss's Domain Lord-level Ink Nest and plunder a massive amount of cultivation resources. Such a price was perfectly acceptable.
As early as when Yang Kai had been disguising himself as an Ink Thrall, he had discovered that the city where Black Abyss's Ink Nest was located was extremely prosperous, with cultivation resources of every grade available in abundance. These resources held no direct use for the Ink Clan—they were essentially used to fuel the Ink Nest's evolution of Ink Force—but for humans, they were all precious cultivation resources.
Having already made his move, Yang Kai naturally intended to take these resources as well.
Moreover, he had gained yet another harvest.
He discovered that the size of his giant dragon form had grown even longer.
Back in the Ancestral Land of Sacred Spirits in Shattered Heaven, with the aid of the Dragon Palace and Ancestral Spirit Power, Yang Kai had managed to achieve the form of a giant dragon, his dragon body measuring a thousand zhang in length.
Later, with the help of Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan in the Chaotic Death Domain, his Dragon Bloodline had received a tremendous boost, achieving a dragon body of two thousand zhang.
At that time, the two of them had each left a mysterious power within his body to stimulate his Dragon Bloodline. When Yang Kai had achieved his two-thousand-zhang dragon body, he had sensed that this mysterious power had not been fully consumed—most of it still slumbered dormant within him.
It wasn't until his great battle with Zhu Feng, the Domain Lord, that Yang Kai spat out the Dragon Pearl in the final moments to deliver a fatal blow, causing the Dragon Pearl to become damaged.
Over the years that followed, the damaged Dragon Pearl had recovered under the nurturing of his own Dragon Bloodline. Not only that, but his Dragon Bloodline had grown even stronger. When he had transformed into a giant dragon over Black Abyss's territory earlier, his dragon body had measured a full three thousand zhang!
Clearly, the damage to the Dragon Pearl had once again triggered the mysterious power that Big Brother Huang and Big Sister Lan had left in his body all those years ago, allowing him not only to repair the Dragon Pearl without any awareness but also to strengthen his Dragon Bloodline in the process.
This was quite an unexpected surprise.
The strength of a giant dragon could be intuitively inferred from the size of its body.
Generally speaking, only a dragon body of a thousand zhang could truly be called a giant dragon, comparable to a human Seventh-Stage Open Heaven cultivator. And now, Yang Kai's three-thousand-zhang dragon body could be considered equivalent to a seasoned veteran among the Seventh-Stage.
However, fighting in the form of a giant dragon had its advantages and disadvantages. The massive size of a giant dragon naturally meant devastating destruction and lethality—especially in battles like the one where Yang Kai had destroyed the Ink Clan's territory and Ink Nest, where the giant dragon form was undoubtedly more convenient. But the enormous size also meant a lack of agility, making it easy to suffer against certain types of opponents.
Fortunately, there were no powerhouses stationed on Black Abyss's territory. Even if a few Lords tried their hardest, there was nothing they could truly do to him—they could at most inflict some wounds upon him.
Within the Ink Cloud, Yang Kai settled in to recuperate in peace. However, he knew he could not afford to heal for too long. Based on past experience, the ever-present Ink Clan would soon discover his whereabouts and bring even more pursuers.
Sure enough, after only an incense stick's worth of time, Ink Clan members who had been searching in all directions rushed into the Ink Cloud and found his trail.
Yang Kai charged and fought, wiping out every last one of them with minimal effort before quickly relocating and hiding inside another Ink Cloud.
By the time nearby Ink Clan forces received word and arrived, Yang Kai had long since vanished.
Over the next several days, Yang Kai continuously changed his location while seizing every opportunity to recover.
Before long, he noticed something.
The Ink Clan's encirclement efforts seemed to have slowed compared to before.
Previously, no matter where he fled, once his trail was exposed, large numbers of Ink Clan would quickly converge from all directions to hunt him down. But now, the Ink Clan's response appeared considerably sluggish.
This was within his expectations.
He had long since divined the secrets of the Ink Nest. With Black Abyss's Domain Lord-level Ink Nest serving as the hub, all the Lord-level Ink Nests had been interwoven into a massive intelligence network, capable of rapidly transmitting information across all fronts.
Now that he had destroyed Black Abyss's Ink Nest, that hub no longer existed, and the Ink Clan's intelligence network had naturally collapsed.
This was precisely one of the reasons he had struck at the heart of the enemy. Crippling the Ink Clan's intelligence network would allow him to continue operating freely in this area, and judging by the results now, that decision had been absolutely brilliant.
Though he was still alone, his situation was far better than before.
And destroying Black Abyss's Ink Nest was only the beginning. Since Ink Nests were the very foundation of the Ink Clan and this opportunity was rare, he naturally would not leave in a hurry. The Domain Lord-level Ink Nest was gone, but there were still many Lord-level Ink Nests—and destroying even one represented a tremendous loss for the Ink Clan.
In just a few days, Yang Kai had made a full recovery. He took out the Qiankun Map to check his current location and search for the nearest Lord's fiefdom.
Before long, Yang Kai had locked onto his target.
Only, this target left him slightly surprised—he hadn't expected that his fighting retreat had brought him all the way to this vicinity.
After cutting down several Ink Clan members who had been searching for him along the way, Yang Kai quickly arrived at his destination.
The massive, towering Ink Nest presented an aura of withering and destruction, tilting upon the earth as though it would soon die completely. Surrounding the Ink Nest, countless Ink Clan members knelt in prostration, every one of their expressions solemn and deeply reverent, as though performing some sacred ritual.