Although thirty thousand years had passed, the nameplates used across the various human passageways had not changed much, so the moment Yang Kai laid eyes on this one, he could tell its owner had been a Seventh-Order Open Heaven cultivator.
Because he had one just like it.
The nameplate contained the owner's identity information, but sadly, after so many ages, even that data had become fragmented and incomplete. Yang Kai could only make out the surname Zhao, with a character that appeared to be "Yi" in the middle, but the final character eluded him no matter how hard he squinted.
How pitiful.
In the Ink Battlefield, countless seniors throughout the ages had perished in battle. The only thing they could leave behind was their name on the Spirit Hero Monument.
And this Senior Zhao might not even have been able to leave his name behind.
This was an abysmal era. Generation after generation of heroes from the Three Thousand Worlds had rushed to the Ink Battlefield, staining the cosmos red with their blood.
And yet it was also a magnificent era. No matter how grievous the casualties among those who came before, those who followed still pressed forward without hesitation.
No one was unafraid of death. After years of cultivation, having finally reached the Open Heaven Realm with lifespans stretching out before them, who wouldn't want to live a little longer?
But someone always had to face death with open arms. The peace of the Three Thousand Worlds had been forged by the blood and lives of one generation after another.
Even though ninety-nine out of a hundred people had absolutely no idea that the Ink even existed.
Yang Kai offered another bow, stowed the Space Ring, carefully gathered the remains of Senior Zhao, and turned to streak back the way he had come.
Finding the return path was no difficulty for him. He quickly identified the correct direction and shot through the void.
Several days later, at Dayan Pass, beside the Grand Teleportation Array.
The stationed guards stared intently at the Grand Teleportation Array, and they were not alone — Ancestor Xiaoxiao was there as well.
Yang Kai had used the Grand Teleportation Array to travel to Wind and Cloud Pass nearly a year ago, and a message had since come through relaying the situation.
Thus Ancestor Xiaoxiao knew that Yang Kai should currently be searching for the Dayan Core within the Void Rift, though whether he could actually find it — or whether the Dayan Core was truly lost in the Void Rift at all — remained unknown.
All Dayan Pass could do now was wait.
And hope that Yang Kai's hypothesis proved correct, because if the core was truly lost, it would be devastating for the expedition.
At that moment, the Grand Teleportation Array suddenly hummed to life. Its patterns lit up, and the faint outline of a portal began to take shape.
Ancestor Xiaoxiao's eyes narrowed as she watched closely, and the stationed guards hurried into action, attempting to locate the direction of the incoming transmission.
But before they could pin it down, a pair of enormous hands reached through from inside the portal. Mysterious energy surged across those hands, and they wrenched the opening apart with brute force.
The portal, not yet fully formed, was torn open into a massive gash.
In the next instant, Yang Kai's figure leaped through. He let out a long breath.
Though he was well-versed in the Dao of Space, spending extended periods inside the Void Rift was hardly a pleasant experience. That vast emptiness had a way of making one restless and irritable.
Sensing the Ancestor's aura, Yang Kai hurried over to her.
"How did it go?" Ancestor Xiaoxiao asked.
"I found something."
As he spoke, Yang Kai handed over the Space Ring he had removed earlier, while simultaneously producing the remains of Senior Zhao.
The Ancestor first glanced at the remains, her eyes dimming slightly, before examining the contents of the Space Ring.
After a brief moment, she let out a long breath.
Seeing this, Yang Kai asked in a low voice, "Is it the core?"
Ancestor Xiaoxiao nodded. "It is the core."
Yang Kai immediately felt a wave of relief. He had genuinely feared that the jade tree might not be the Dayan Core. If it wasn't, the entire trip would have been for nothing.
"Is this the one who carried the core away from Dayan?" Ancestor Xiaoxiao asked, looking at the remains.
Yang Kai nodded. "Yes."
Back in the Void Rift, Yang Kai hadn't had a chance to examine the body closely. Now, having brought the remains out, he could see that there was a massive wound across the back, deep enough to expose bone. Even after all these years, it showed no sign of healing.
One could only imagine what had happened. When Dayan Pass was on the verge of falling, this Senior Zhao had taken the Dayan Core and stepped onto the Grand Teleportation Array, intending to transport it to Wind and Cloud Pass.
But in the very instant the array activated, a powerful Ink Race cultivator had struck. The attack destroyed the teleportation array and grievously wounded the man in the same blow.
The transmission was severed. Senior Zhao was lost within the Void Rift, lingering on for who knew how many years before finally perishing.
In his final moments, he had mustered every last shred of effort to place the Dayan Core into a Space Ring, stripped the ring of its restrictions, and left it for whoever might come after.
It could be said that without this senior's sacrifice, Yang Kai would not have been able to recover the core so easily today. This was a trust spanning thirty thousand years.
"Give him a proper burial," Ancestor Xiaoxiao instructed.
Yang Kai nodded. "As he deserves."
With the core recovered, there was nothing further for Yang Kai to worry about. The Ancestor would take charge of installing it into Dayan Pass. A single decree went out, and instantly, the auras of numerous Eighth-Order Open Heaven cultivators rose within Dayan Pass, converging toward a single location.