The Ancestor had returned. Barely half a day after the Eastern and Western armies had merged with the Northern and Southern armies, her aura could be felt from the Ink-Expelling Ship of the Central Army.
She had clearly used the Grand Cosmos Formation within the Ink-Expelling Ship to return directly from the Ink Clan's Royal City.
No one asked about the outcome of her trip, but anyone who saw her could tell she was in a good mood.
However, the current situation at Dayan Pass wouldn't allow the Ancestor's good spirits to last long—especially when Xiang Shan personally led her to the drill grounds, where over a hundred Seventh-Order Ink Slaves sat cross-legged.
These Ink Slaves had been sitting on the drill grounds ever since the Ink Clan army had been routed. None spoke, none raged. Every Ink Slave knew that they belonged to those who had been abandoned.
"Yang Kai conducted an experiment—he took a Seventh-Order Ink Slave outside and used the Purifying Light to disperse the Ink Force within him. But the results were unsatisfactory. When the Ink Force dissipated, the Ink Slave's Small World collapsed, and he perished body and soul." Xiang Shan spoke softly beside the Ancestor. "Ancestor, these people cannot be saved. How we should handle them—I leave the decision to you."
The Ancestor gazed at the hundred-plus people and gave a slight nod. "I understand."
With that, she stepped forward.
Under the watchful eyes of all, Ancestor Xiaoxiao stood tall, her beautiful eyes sweeping across the assembled Ink Slaves. Then she clasped her fists and bowed deeply.
This bow honored the contributions these Ink Slaves had once made to the human race, before their nature had been corrupted.
Though they were Ink Slaves now, and had perhaps slaughtered human soldiers in the recent battles against the Northern and Southern armies, that had not been their will—they had simply been influenced by the Ink Force.
When they had still been soldiers of Dayan Pass, they had risked their lives for this fortress. They had shed their blood to protect the peace of the human rear.
Though they were Ink Slaves now, they deserved this bow from a Ninth-Order Supreme.
As the bow fell, a mysterious power seemed to envelop the drill grounds. Under its influence, the previously expressionless Ink Slaves began to show changes.
Many of the Ink Slaves' eyes grew clearer, and smiles appeared on their faces.
Some Ink Slaves let out deep sighs and closed their eyes, sitting peacefully.
Others wept freely.
In that instant, all the Ink Slaves seemed to have regained the nature they had lost for over thirty thousand years.
The Ancestor did not rise from her bow for a long time.
When she finally straightened, the hundred-plus Ink Slaves on the drill grounds had all lost their vital signs. But every one of them had departed peacefully. In their final moments, they had died as members of the human race—and for them, that was already an immense grace.
"Give them a proper burial," the Ancestor ordered, then turned and left.
Xiang Shan bowed respectfully to see her off.
……
All of Dayan Pass was in need of rebuilding, and the busy figures of soldiers could be seen everywhere.
The Ink Clan had occupied Dayan Pass for over thirty thousand years and had made numerous alterations within. It could be said that apart from the overall structural framework remaining unchanged, everything else had been transformed.
For instance, those residences. The Ink Clan came in various shapes and sizes, but many were far taller and bulkier than humans. The original quarters built for human soldiers were no longer suitable. After the Ink Clan had taken over Dayan Pass, rough, massive buildings had sprung up everywhere.
Now that humanity had reclaimed Dayan, all of these would naturally not be preserved—they needed to be rebuilt from scratch.
Then there were the formations and Artifacts installed along the fortress walls. Useful ones would be dismantled, kept, and reforged; useless ones would simply be destroyed. All of it needed to be redeployed.
But there was no rush. The Ink Clan forces in the Dayan theater had been dealt a devastating blow to their Yuan Qi, and it was estimated they wouldn't come to cause trouble anytime soon. The humans had ample time to make all manner of arrangements.
This was also why, when Xiang Shan had first formulated his strategy, he hadn't made Dayan Pass the primary target, but had instead set his sights on the Ink Clan's Royal City.
Now the effects were evident. The Ink Clan had been crippled, and the humans could peacefully consolidate Dayan Pass without worrying about the Ink Clan stirring up trouble.
Throughout all of Dayan, the only building that remained unchanged was the Council Hall.
The Council Hall had always been grand and imposing, so after the Ink Clan occupied Dayan, they hadn't bothered to make any modifications to it.
At this moment, inside the great hall, Master Fanfan knelt before the Bone Throne, weeping bitterly.
That Bone Throne had been forged more than thirty thousand years ago, after the Ink Clan had conquered Dayan Pass, using the remains of one fallen human powerhouse after another. Every single bone used in its construction had belonged to at least a Seventh-Order Open Heaven cultivator.
The Bone Throne was enormous. One could only imagine how many Upper-Order Open Heavens had perished in that battle for Dayan Pass.
Over thirty thousand years ago, Master Fanfan had only recently joined the sect. The Dayan Blessed Ground had still been thriving back then, with Senior Brothers to guide him and his Master to look after him, his cultivation progressing without a care.
Then one day, it seemed the entire Blessed Ground had encountered some great crisis. Powerhouses mobilized one after another, and even Fourth and Fifth-Order Open Heaven cultivators were no exception.