Even though the Gorilla Domain Master had warned in time, he still couldn't avert the calamity befalling the Ink Clan Domain Masters.
This bizarre space was originally the will of a King-grade Ink Nest — a platform designed to carry Domain Master-grade Ink Nest consciousness. It seemed vast, yet also seemed infinitely small, with no fixed form.
For someone who had mastered the Laws of Space, this kind of environment made for the most ideal battlefield.
Having ruthlessly abandoned his own soul, Yang Kai opened his mouth and spat toward an unfamiliar soul. The Soul Sacrifice Thorn transformed into a streak of golden light that, the instant it appeared, shattered through the spatial confines and drove itself into that soul's body.
That Domain Master's soul was hardly unprotected. Facing an enemy who was an Eighth-Order human, how could he possibly be careless? Even as he charged toward Yang Kai, he had already channeled his power to shield himself.
Yet it was doomed to be futile.
The soul energy he had used to protect himself crumbled before the Soul Sacrifice Thorn like paper, easily broken through.
That Domain Master's soul froze in place as though struck by lightning, trembling uncontrollably.
Yang Kai didn't even spare him a glance. His own soul weakened drastically once more. He turned his head toward the Gorilla Domain Master and once again spat out a streak of golden light.
The Gorilla Domain Master's soul nearly fled his body in terror.
He couldn't understand — he was clearly far from the enemy, so why had Yang Kai singled him out?
It was because the fool had run his mouth just now. If Yang Kai wasn't going to target him, who else?
The power of the Laws of Space surged. The golden light flickered and vanished, and almost simultaneously, a verdant green barrier materialized before the Gorilla Domain Master, woven as though from interlocking vines.
This was clearly a soul-type Artifact — a defensive one at that. Who knew where the Gorilla Domain Master had obtained it; most likely, it had been forged by an Ink Servant who excelled in artifact crafting.
The quality of this soul Artifact was decent enough. The person who had forged it must have possessed mastery-level skill in the art of artifact refining.
But even activating this soul Artifact could only block that golden light for a single instant. When the emerald barrier dissolved into motes of glowing light and vanished, the Soul Sacrifice Thorn had already pierced into the Gorilla Domain Master's body.
The Gorilla Domain Master immediately felt something was terribly wrong.
At the same time, savage attacks once again enveloped Yang Kai from every direction. Chaotic soul energy waves surged and undulated through the bizarre space.
The Ink Clan Domain Masters, upon recognizing that the intruder was none other than that very same human from before, showed no mercy whatsoever. The moment Yang Kai made his move, they struck back with killing intent.
Having used the Soul Sacrifice Thorn twice already, Yang Kai's soul was already extraordinarily weak. Enveloped by these attacks, he could hold on no longer.
He cried out at the top of his lungs: "My life is over!"
The moment the words left his mouth, his entire being disintegrated and vanished without a trace.
The brief chaos subsided within a few breaths, yet every Domain Master felt as though they had just walked back from the threshold of death. Recalling what had just transpired, all of them shuddered with lingering fear.
One of them — a towering figure with ox horns growing from his head — looked left and right, then spoke with a still-lingering dread: "That was the Eighth-Order human from last time?"
This towering, ox-horned Domain Master was none other than Hundi, the one who had led the army's retreat from Great Evolution Pass and handed over his Domain Master-grade Ink Nest on a silver platter.
Hundi was both unlucky and fortunate.
Several years ago, he had led the negotiations with the human Mi Jinglun, securing a safe withdrawal for the Ink Clan at Great Evolution. The price, however, had been steep — a massive quantity of resources, all of the installations within Great Evolution Pass, every Seventh-Order Ink Servant, and a Domain Master-grade Ink Nest.
No Domain Master had ever voluntarily abandoned his own Nest. Throughout all of history, Hundi was the first.
But trading all of that for the safe retreat of his army had been worth it.
To avoid running into the human Ancestor and the other army midway, Hundi had deliberately taken a massive detour after departing from Great Evolution Pass. After a full month of marching, he had finally caught a distant glimpse of the Royal City —
Only for the human Ancestor to suddenly charge out.
In that regard, Hundi was undeniably unlucky.
In that battle, several Domain Masters had fallen to the human Ancestor, along with several Eighth-Order Ink Servants, not to mention the Ink Clan army — casualties numbered in the hundreds of thousands.
Fortunately, Hundi had emerged from that battle completely unscathed. It wasn't that he was a coward who feared death — it was simply good luck. The human Ancestor had carved through the army again and again, never even glancing in his direction.
Now that the humans intended to use his Nest to stir up trouble, he naturally couldn't stay on the sidelines. The reason he hadn't been lying in ambush here before was that he had been recovering from his injuries.
When he had encountered the human Ancestor several years ago, the Ancestor hadn't so much as looked at him, but the residual shockwave of his attacks had still inflicted some minor injuries.
After several years of recuperation, he had finally fully recovered.
With the previous two Domain Masters having been killed and wounded respectively, these two replacements were needed — and Hundi naturally bore the responsibility without complaint.
He had heard the full account of the last incident from the Gorilla Domain Master, which was why he had asked that question.
Another Domain Master who had participated in the previous battle — one with a humanoid form — nodded upon hearing this: "That's right. It must be that same Eighth-Order human."