It had to be said—the Ink Clan's decision was absolutely correct.
Since this human soul who had repeatedly broken into the Ink Nest simply could not be killed, then they must never give him any chance to escape. There was no soul in this world that could not be destroyed—they had simply failed to seize the proper opportunity.
As long as they trapped this human soul within the Ink Nest space, they could do whatever they pleased. Especially now that this human had already deployed that long needle Artifact twice in succession and no longer had the strength to wield it a third time.
To seal the Ink Nest space, the Ink Clan's Domain Lords had no choice but to take drastic measures. Led by Domain Lords Che Kong and Hou Di, they requested an audience with the King Master, asking him to lend them a hand at this critical moment.
The entire Ink Nest space was originally a platform manifested from the King Master's Ink Nest will. The authority to control entry and exit naturally resided with the King Master—or with whatever powerful Ink Clan figure was stationed at the King Master's Ink Nest.
To thoroughly seal this space, they had to obtain the King Master's consent. Without his approval, the Domain Lords had no way to exert control.
Faced with such a situation, the King Master berated his Domain Lords with a string of curses—furious that they were so incompetent—yet still had no choice but to order his people to cooperate.
His recent days had not been easy. His accumulated injuries were severe, yet he could not settle down to heal in peace. Now this mess had landed on top of him, and his mood was naturally far from pleasant.
Fortunately, he did not vent too much of his wrath upon his subordinate Domain Lords, which allowed Che Kong, Hou Di, and the others to breathe a quiet sigh of relief.
The moment it was confirmed that Yang Kai had broken into this place, the Ink Clan's Domain Lords had already begun quietly transmitting messages outward. The Domain Lord stationed at the King-level Ink Nest immediately activated the Ink Nest's power, sealing the space and isolating it from the outside world.
Had that not happened, Yang Kai would have fled long ago.
And at the precise instant that the bizarre space was completely sealed, within the human race's Ink Nest central hub, Ouyang Lie and his disciple—who had been waiting for Yang Kai's return—suddenly saw their expressions change dramatically.
Gong Lian blurted out in alarm: "Master, Brother Yang, he—"
Ouyang Lie's face grew solemn as he stepped forward and probed carefully, his expression shifting again and again.
It was because, just moments ago, Yang Kai's body had suddenly lost all trace of its soul fluctuation. In plain terms, his soul was gone. His physical body remained, but it was nothing more than a living corpse.
This development clearly meant that something had happened to Yang Kai within the Ink Nest space. Recalling what Yang Kai had said beforehand, it seemed he had expected it himself—the situation he would face this time might be different from before.
But this change was far too drastic. His very soul had vanished—what were they supposed to do?
A long while passed before Ouyang Lie's face settled into an expression of anxious uncertainty. By his probing, Yang Kai's soul had truly disappeared without a trace; he simply could not detect where it had gone.
The previous two times, after Yang Kai had entered the Ink Nest space, his soul had been elusive and intangible, yet Ouyang Lie could still vaguely sense an invisible link between his body and his soul. As long as that link persisted, Yang Kai was fine.
But now, that link had been severed entirely.
If the soul had truly been destroyed, then Yang Kai's body should not have maintained a stable aura. The most likely outcome would have been instant death, or at the very least, complete and permanent idiocy.
Yet strangely, Yang Kai's body seemed perfectly normal.
Even Ouyang Lie could not make heads or tails of what was going on.
After a moment's deliberation, he instructed Gong Lian to keep careful watch over Yang Kai's body, then flashed away, intending to find several Eighth-Order experts skilled in the ways of the soul to examine the situation.
While Ouyang Lie busied himself, Yang Kai was enduring excruciating pain as he fled in desperation.
He had no choice but to run. Six Domain Lords and two Eighth-Order Ink Servants were converging on him in an attack—no one other than an Ancestor could withstand such a barrage, and his soul had already been left fragmented from wielding the Soul Sacrifice Thorn.
The bizarre space manifested from the Ink Nest will was particularly troublesome. It seemed to expand and contract at will, its shape constantly shifting, which made Yang Kai's escape extraordinarily difficult. No matter which direction he fled, the enemy's attacks could reach him at any moment.
In the span of just a few breaths, Yang Kai felt himself reaching his limit.
His entire soul had become tattered and broken, severely hampering his thinking and causing his judgment to falter again and again, making his injuries steadily worse.
If this continued, he would truly capsized in the gutter.
Clinging to the last shred of clarity buried deep within his soul, he watched as overwhelming attacks bore down on him from every direction. Yang Kai dared hesitate no longer. The Soul Warming Lotus, which he had kept hidden away for so long, was finally brought forth.
Seven-colored radiance bloomed outward. In an instant, a seven-colored treasure lotus materialized within the bizarre space. The lotus was still in bud, its petals curled tightly together in the shape of an unopened flower, and it enveloped Yang Kai's ravaged soul within its embrace.
The ferocious soul attacks struck the seven-colored lotus, yet could not damage it in the slightest. They only sent layer upon layer of ripples dancing across its petals.