Yang Kai didn't know which leader of the Ink Clan had been captured and brought back bound in this place, but to capture such a leader-level Ink Clan member, an Eighth-Order Open Heaven must have been involved.
Moreover, the old man's research involved the Purifying Light — a matter of considerable importance. The fact that it could proceed so smoothly meant it had naturally received the approval of Zhong Liang and the others.
Yang Kai was actually quite eager, because if the old man's research truly succeeded, humanity would gain a devastatingly powerful weapon in the war against the Ink Clan, and he himself would be able to shed one more layer of restraint.
Looking back at the countless years of war on the Ink Battlefield, the fundamental situation was that neither side could truly overcome the other.
Humanity relied on one stronghold after another to repel wave after wave of the Ink Clan's attacks, keeping them from ever breaching the defenses and invading the Three Thousand Worlds.
The Ink Clan, though suffering catastrophic losses in each great battle, couldn't be completely wiped out either. As long as they had enough Ink Nests and resources, they could rapidly recover their strength and seize the next opportunity to mount a comeback.
This was the balance that had maintained the Ink Battlefield for countless years.
Yang Kai's arrival had, to some degree, disrupted that balance. He brought the Purifying Light, the Cosmos Grand Array, and the Ink-Expelling Pills, allowing Biluoshan Pass to sustain this expedition and achieve something countless ancestors could never have dreamed of.
Yet even so, the expedition had ground to a stalemate. Under the Ink Clan's increasingly fierce resistance, they could press no further and were halted at the Forward Outpost Camp.
The arrival of Grandmaster Trouble might be able to break the deadlock once again — provided, of course, that his research truly bore fruit.
Humanity actually had no shortage of Grandmaster-level Artifact Refiners. Every human pass had at least two or three. In terms of pure refinement skill, Grandmaster Trouble was roughly on par with those others — neither significantly better nor worse.
But a difference in mindset and perspective had given him a view quite distinct from the other Grandmaster Refiners soon after he arrived on the Ink Battlefield.
In the old man's own words, those Grandmaster Artifact Refiners on the Ink Battlefield had wasted their advanced years like dogs. Every single one of them thought only about defense, so they devoted themselves single-mindedly to figuring out how to make the fortification artifacts more secure and how to reduce human casualties.
The old man was different. Though advanced in years, he was new to the Ink Battlefield — a fresh arrival. A newcomer brought the vigor and sharp edge of the uninitiated. His philosophy was: the best defense is a good offense! What good was an impenetrable shield if you couldn't kill the Ink Clan? Without lethality, it was meaningless.
It was precisely this unconventional thinking that had given birth to the idea of researching the Demon-Slaying Divine Spear.
Of course, it also had to do with what Yang Kai had shown him on the road here — displaying the Purifying Light right before his eyes. Yang Kai had said something at the time, perhaps without realizing its significance, but Grandmaster Trouble had taken it to heart.
The Purifying Light was the Ink Force's greatest nemesis!
If it was the nemesis, why not put it to good use? True, the Purifying Light could only be channeled by Yang Kai, but with the aid of Artifact Refining techniques, it might be possible to allow others to wield it against the enemy at critical moments.
Based on this notion, the Demon-Slaying Divine Spear came into being.
This had also received strong support from Zhong Liang and the others. The Ink Clan leader held captive here had been personally captured by Zhong Liang. In truth, this wasn't the first leader to be brought back — there had been many more before, but all of them had been worked to death during the old man's experiments.
"Come, come, come — same as always. This is the improved Demon-Slaying Divine Spear I've devised after careful deliberation. Pour your absolute maximum effort into sealing the Purifying Light within." As he spoke, Grandmaster Trouble handed the meter-long artifact to Yang Kai.
Yang Kai took it and gave it a glance. "Will it hold, old man? Don't let it be like last time — blowing itself apart before we even get to use it against the enemy."
Since the Demon-Slaying Divine Spear was meant to fight the Ink Clan, it naturally needed to have the Purifying Light sealed inside — just as Yang Kai had once sealed it within the Ink-Expelling Ships.
But those ships were enormous. As long as the formations were properly arranged, sealing the light inside posed no real difficulty.
The Demon-Slaying Divine Spear was different. A meter-long object, yet it needed to display its power within mere inches — it had to not only seal the Purifying Light but also possess considerable destructive force. The demands on Artifact Refining skill were extremely high. Had it been otherwise, even Grandmaster Trouble, with his mastery-level skills, wouldn't have taken this long without success.
Each time they tested it, this or that problem would arise, never meeting expectations. Last time had been especially farcical — Yang Kai had barely begun sealing the Purifying Light inside when the Demon-Slaying Divine Spear actually exploded, sending debris everywhere and covering Yang Kai in soot. Even the old man's weathered face had flushed with embarrassment.
Now, having the incident brought up again, Grandmaster Trouble immediately shot him a glare. "Of course it'll work, you brat! Stop your jawing. You should know — once this thing is finished, it will go down in history, its fame lasting for ages. When the Ink Clan is truly destroyed, you and I will deserve half the credit."
Having known each other for years, with no secrets between them, they spoke freely without pretense or reservation.
Yang Kai understood perfectly well the significance of the Demon-Slaying Divine Spear. Without another word of protest, he channeled the Purifying Light and directed it toward the spear.
Normally, once the Purifying Light was activated, it would gradually dissipate unless Yang Kai deliberately suppressed it. Strictly speaking, the Purifying Light was a materialization of energy — its outward manifestation looked like white light, but it wasn't actually light at all.