"How far were the East and West armies from Dayan when you set out?" Mi Jinglun asked.
"A little over a month's journey. Less than two months."
Covering in roughly twenty days what would normally take someone more than two months — even with the help of the Universe Formation aboard the Ink Purging Ships, it was quite astonishing. But considering that Yang Kai possessed the Laws of Space, the result was still understandable.
"So if the East and West armies marched straight toward Dayan, they should be less than twenty days away by now. But I expect they've already changed course — after all, they're heading for the Ink Clan's heartland. The timing shouldn't differ by much. In about half a month, the East and West armies will inevitably launch their assault on the Ink Clan's heartland, and that's when their movements will be exposed. Before that happens, those tens of thousands of puppets will be deployed as decoys to draw the Dayan Ink Clan's attention!"
"Once word reaches Dayan Pass that the East and West armies have appeared in the Ink Clan's heartland, the Ink Clan forces there will have to take action." Mi Jinglun seemed to be talking to himself as much as addressing the gathered Eighth-Order cultivators. "And what our North and South armies must do now is find a suitable position, conceal ourselves, and strike hard the moment the Dayan Ink Clan makes their move!"
With a flick of his feather fan, Mi Jinglun had settled on his plan. He looked up at Yang Kai. "Now that you've delivered the message, do you have any other orders?"
Yang Kai shook his head. "The Commander only asked me to deliver the message. There were no further instructions."
"Good. Then you'll accompany our North and South armies for the time being."
"Yes!" Yang Kai clasped his fists in acknowledgment.
"Do you have the communication artifact on you?"
Yang producing the communication bead. "The Commander gave it to me before I left."
Mi Jinglun nodded. "One thing at a time. Since you have spatial abilities, I need your help with something."
"Please give your orders."
"Head toward Dayan Pass and use this communication artifact to locate Commander-in-Chief Ouyang Lie. Inform him of the situation. He's been stationed near the pass monitoring Ink Clan movements for some time now. Ask him whether the Ink Clan's Royal Lord has arrived at Dayan Pass, and whether there are signs of the Ink Clan garrisoning troops there. Once you have the answers, relay the information back immediately. Also, ask him to remain in position and continue watching the Ink Clan. If the Royal Lord leaves Dayan Pass, we need to know at once."
"Understood."
"Be careful on this mission. The Dayan Ink Clan has sent out numerous parties searching for our North and South armies. Try not to expose yourself."
Yang Kai nodded again.
"Go!" Mi Jinglun waved his hand.
Yang Kai accepted his orders and departed.
After he left, Mi Jinglun continued, "What we need to do now is find a suitable position — it can't be too far from Dayan. If we're too far, we won't be able to intercept in time once the Ink Clan moves out. But it can't be too close either, or we risk being discovered. Three to five days' travel away would be ideal. Does anyone have a suggestion?"
One of the Eighth-Order cultivators said, "None of us are familiar with the terrain near Dayan Pass. If we're to pick a position, we'll need to scout thoroughly first. Also, concealing an entire fleet won't be easy. Why not issue an order for all troops to stow their warships? That would make hiding far simpler, and we can summon them again when the time comes."
Mi Jinglun nodded slightly. "That works. But we should keep one Ink Purging Ship, in case Brother Ouyang needs to send a message and has no other way."
After a brief discussion, orders were issued. Soon, nearly all the warships had been put away, with only a single Ink Purging Ship remaining.
Without warships weighing them down, the soldiers of the North and South armies could conceal themselves more effectively using their secret arts and Artifacts.
Teams were dispatched in various directions to scout for a suitable position.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai departed from the Ink Purging Ship and headed straight toward Dayan Pass.
If he could fully unleash the Laws of Space, the trip wouldn't take much time. But Mi Jinglun had asked him to avoid exposure as much as possible, so using his spatial abilities was out of the question.
After all, the Dayan Ink Clan had sent out numerous search parties looking for the North and South armies' position. If he accidentally teleported near an Ink Clan group, he'd be discovered immediately.
So he had no choice but to travel at a normal pace.
Before setting out, he'd confirmed the direction of Dayan Pass and knew the location was roughly ten days' travel away, so time wasn't especially pressing.
At that very moment, in the void near Fengyun Pass on the approach to Dayan Pass, five Eighth-Order Open Heaven cultivators streaked through space in formation. These were the same five who had departed from the East and West armies earlier, each carrying a spatial ring filled with puppets.
After Yang Kai's departure, the East and West armies had changed course exactly as Mi Jinglun had predicted. But these five Eighth-Order cultivators had not — they were heading straight for Dayan.
They were now only half a month from Dayan Pass.
Up until the past few days, the five had not encountered a single Ink Clan member. But recently, they kept running into small Ink Clan patrols — squads led by at most a Lord, no match for them whatsoever. They killed every group they came across without hesitation.
The increasing frequency of these encounters meant the Ink Clan at Dayan Pass had grown suspicious.
At one point, the leading Eighth-Order cultivator suddenly halted and sent out a voice transmission. "This should be enough. Let's begin."
The other four nodded.
Each produced a spatial ring, and with a surge of divine sense, vast numbers of puppets materialized out of thin air. Every puppet radiated the aura of a Fifth-Order Open Heaven cultivator, and some even displayed Sixth- or Seventh-Order auras. Individually, they might not be all that impressive, but gathered together, their combined presence soared toward the heavens.
And as the number of puppets continued to swell, the pressure grew more and more terrifying, warping the very fabric of the void around them.