The Ancestor spoke again: "That King Lord-level Ink Nest — whose sub-nest is it?"
Yang Kai shook his head. "I don't know either. According to the Ink Clan, a King Lord-level Ink Nest is already the highest grade of Ink Nest."
The Ancestor fell silent for a long while before saying, "There must still be a source. If we can find that source, perhaps we can eradicate the Ink Clan root and branch."
Yang Kai shuddered. "If that's true, doesn't it mean there are even more powerful Ink Clan above the King Lords?" The source capable of producing King Lord-level Ink Nests would naturally be guarded by even stronger Ink Clan. The thought alone was spine-chilling.
A King Lord's strength already rivalled that of a Human Race Ancestor. If truly even more powerful Ink Clan existed, what kind of force could they wield?
"Perhaps," the Ancestor replied, uncertain herself. "Our understanding of the Ink Clan is still far too limited."
As they spoke, she glanced back. The three Ink Clan Domain Lords behind them remained locked onto their trail like parasites burrowing into bone — and the gap hadn't widened at all. If anything, it had closed considerably. A flicker of killing intent passed through the Ancestor's eyes. "These three tails are becoming troublesome. If we don't deal with them, we'll never shake them off. Any good ideas?"
Yang Kai shook his head decisively. "I can't contend with a Domain Lord's power, but if it's just about fleeing, I should be fine. That's my strong suit."
The Ancestor glanced at him and dawned on her. "Right — you've mastered the Dao of Space. I'd forgotten. Mm. I'm going to kill them."
Yang Kai heard this and said: "Then I'll lend the Ancestor a hand!"
The Ancestor nodded. "Play it by ear when the time comes. Don't push yourself!"
"Understood!" Yang Kai responded firmly.
Ahead lay a mid-sized floating continent that had been drifting through the void for untold millennia. Using it as cover, the Ancestor twisted in midair and dropped onto its surface. The next instant, her long sword tapped the void repeatedly while her other hand cycled through a rapid sequence of seals.
Yang Kai couldn't tell exactly what she was doing, but he could guess she was setting up some kind of formation array or trap.
In no time at all, everything was in place. The Ancestor reached into her mouth, bit the tip of her finger, and flicked a drop of essence blood — red as a ruby — into the void. Then she swiftly suppressed her own aura.
Yang Kai imitated her, though his strength couldn't match the Ancestor's. Even though she stood right in front of him, if he hadn't been looking directly at her, he wouldn't have been able to sense her at all — a testament to the refinement of her concealment technique, and no doubt a reason for her formidable power.
The moment they finished, the three Ink Clan Domain Lords swept past the floating continent.
They saw no sign of the Human Race Ancestor up ahead, yet the corner of their vision caught something unusual on the continent's surface.
Mie Qiong, the Domain Lord leading the chase, turned to look. There stood the Ancestor on the continent in her white robes, alone and solemn, her fingers sliding along the edge of her long sword — which pointed directly at the three of them.
Mie Qiong's hair shot upright on the spot. He didn't know what the Human Race Ancestor intended, but the posture alone told him that whatever awaited them was no gift.
At the same time, Qing Lei and the third Domain Lord — one Yang Kai didn't recognize — also sensed the anomaly.
None of the three Ink Clan Domain Lords had expected the Human Race Ancestor, whom they had been chasing without pause, to suddenly stop and make a stand.
They had believed her gravely wounded and unable to fight back against the three of them — that was why they had pursued so aggressively. All three Domain Lords harboured the hope of killing her themselves. An opportunity to slay a Human Race Ancestor was exceedingly rare, and accomplishing it would be a monumental feat.
Only in this moment did they realize things were not as they had imagined. The Human Race Ancestor was far from helpless.
Before they could react, the Ancestor erupted with a torrent of heaven and earth's majestic power. The next instant, a streak of sword light cleaved outward.
The floating continent disintegrated into powder. And as it did, a colossal Yin-Yang Fish diagram materialized in the void, enveloping the three Ink Clan Domain Lords within it.
Hidden within the Yin-Yang Fish lay boundless killing intent. As the forces of Yin and Yang rotated, the diagram became a millstone that ground all things beneath it. The three Domain Lords trapped inside immediately began spurting blood from every pore, howling in fury and agony.
Dense Ink Force erupted from their bodies — the three Domain Lords naturally had no intention of sitting still and waiting for death. They each unleashed tremendous power, trying to break free from the Yin-Yang forces' prison.
The Ancestor had already charged in with sword drawn.
No one noticed when she moved. The three Domain Lords didn't detect it, and even Yang Kai, who stood right beside her, hadn't seen it.
It wasn't until a cold gleam flashed before the Domain Lord Yang Kai didn't recognize and a massive head soared into the sky that he snapped to his awareness.
One stroke of the sword — a Domain Lord, head separated from body.
With the Ancestor already in the fray, he could hardly stand idle. He flickered forward and lunged at Mie Qiong.
At that moment, Mie Qiong was struggling desperately against the Yin-Yang forces' grinding assault. In just the span of moments, the powerful Domain Lord was already drenched in blood, his aura severely depleted.
When Yang Kai came charging in with his spear, Mie Qiong was so overwhelmed he failed to react in time. The spear punched a hole clean through his chest. The wound, while serious, wasn't enough to kill him.
On the other side, the Ancestor, having dispatched one Domain Lord, had already sent a streak of sword light arcing toward Qing Lei.
Qing Lei was no weakling. He twisted aside in the nick of time and barely escaped with his life — but the sword light sheared off one of his arms. Ink blood sprayed from the wound as he stumbled backward, screaming in anguish.