"That's right. Senior Brother Xiang Shan's arrangement is to openly deploy forces from the Royal City toward Great Evolution. The Ink Clan in the Royal City should have already transmitted this news to Great Evolution Pass through their Ink Nests. If they want to survive, they must ensure they withdraw from Great Evolution within half a month — otherwise, it'll be too late."
Though it would take at least a month for the East-West Army to travel from the Royal City, the Ink Clan needed to build in a half-month buffer if they wanted to withdraw safely. Otherwise, they would very likely encounter the East-West Army — with an Ancestor stationed among them — en route, which would spell disaster for the Ink Clan.
"So what do you think — is the Ink Clan's Royal Lord dead?" Ouyang Lie turned to look at Mi Jinglun. This was precisely what he couldn't figure out. He had some theories in mind but dared not be too certain.
"The Royal Lord should not be dead!" Mi Jinglun said with certainty.
"What makes you say so?"
"The Ink Clan wants peace negotiations so they can bypass our North-South Army and return to the Royal City. If the Royal Lord were dead, the Royal City would certainly have fallen — so what would be the point of returning there? They could withdraw from behind Great Evolution, take a wide detour, and head left toward the Ink Clan forces in the Wind Cloud Theater, or head right toward those in the Blue Void Theater. The fact that they want to return to the Royal City tells us the Royal Lord is still alive."
Ouyang Lie nodded upon hearing this: "That's exactly what I was thinking. Haha, it seems the old saying is true — great minds think alike indeed."
A rough fellow like him had no shame in flattering himself, making it seem as though he were quite clever. Mi Jinglun smiled faintly: "There's an even more obvious point."
"Oh? Which one?"
Mi Jinglun raised his hand and pointed toward Great Evolution Pass: "If the Royal City had been destroyed, the Royal-class Ink Nest would surely cease to exist, and the Domain Lord-class Ink Nest at Great Evolution would have perished along with it. The fact that the Ink Nests in Great Evolution are still intact means the Royal City's Ink Nests are unharmed — and if the Ink Nests are unharmed, so is the Royal Lord!"
Ouyang Lie nodded vigorously: "Exactly, exactly — that's precisely what I was thinking."
...
At Great Evolution Pass, while the Ink Clan Domain Lords were still discussing whether the humans had some hidden scheme, a Lord rushed in to report: "Humans are rapidly approaching Great Evolution! Judging by their aura, they are Eighth-Order Open Heaven!"
Led by Domain Lord Houdi, all the Domain Lords were startled.
Houdi asked: "How many are coming?"
The Lord replied: "Only two."
"Are there human armies following behind them?"
"The human armies remain stationed at their base, showing no unusual movements."
Houdi could hardly believe it. He immediately shot toward the city wall and fixed his gaze ahead, where he indeed saw two figures transformed into streaks of light, rapidly closing in on Great Evolution.
They were undoubtedly Eighth-Order — Houdi could clearly sense the aura of Eighth-Order Open Heaven radiating from the approaching figures.
Really just two? Despite being enemies for so many years, even Houdi had to admit that the courage of these two human Eighth-Order experts was breathtaking.
He himself would never dare do something like this.
When the previous group of Ink Clan forces had returned to report, they had all assumed the humans agreeing to negotiate a million li outside Great Evolution Pass was some kind of trap. But now it seemed there was no scheme at all — the two Eighth-Order experts were simply coming over on their own, making the Ink Clan look rather petty by comparison.
The Domain Lords found themselves at a loss. If the humans had been plotting something, they could have devised a countermeasure. But this situation — how were they supposed to respond?
All the Domain Lords looked to Houdi, waiting for him to make a decision.
Houdi pondered for a moment before speaking in a low voice: "If the humans have the courage to do this, does our Ink Clan lack the same? Who will accompany me to greet them?"
If he had a choice, Houdi would absolutely not want to leave Great Evolution Pass. But as the master of this territory and the one in charge of the Ink Clan forces here, if he didn't step forward, who would?
His gaze swept across each Domain Lord's face. They all remained silent — not a single volunteer among them.
Houdi sighed inwardly, knowing the Domain Lords had been shaken by those human Eighth-Order experts during the last great battle. In that fight, every human Eighth-Order expert had fought as though they had already abandoned their own lives, determined to drag the Domain Lords down with them even at the cost of their own. Though Houdi himself hadn't participated in that clash — he had been stationed at Great Evolution — he had heard about how desperate and tragic it had been. Put in their shoes, if he had experienced such a battle firsthand, he too would probably be as wary of the human Eighth-Order experts as these Domain Lords were.
Since no one volunteered, he would have to choose.
Houdi looked toward a Domain Lord whose form closely resembled that of a human: "Nüyi, come with me."
The Domain Lord was startled — she had never expected Houdi to pick her. But under the gaze of everyone present, and with the survival of the entire Ink Clan force at Great Evolution hanging on what came next, retreat was not an option. She steeled herself and nodded: "Yes!"
"Let's go!" Houdi waved his hand and was the first to launch toward the city wall, heading out to meet the visitors. Nüyi followed close behind.
When they were a million li from Great Evolution, Houdi stopped and waited quietly.
Nüyi stepped forward to stand beside him.
The two human Eighth-Order experts ahead were traveling at a moderate pace — they would still need about half a shi-chen to arrive. But their powerful auras could already be clearly perceived, and the figures concealed within their flying light were faintly visible.
Suddenly, Nüyi seemed to notice something. Her entire body trembled as she exclaimed in shock: "He's actually not dead!"