The sea of blood surged toward the heavens, and while it looked utterly sinister, its aura was remarkably restrained.
This showed that the one wielding it had achieved absolute mastery over it.
Among the entire Dawn Squad, only Blood Crow cultivated a Blood Path technique, so the sea of blood was naturally his doing.
Since Blood Crow had joined the Dawn Squad, this was the first time any of them had fought alongside him. Him suddenly conjuring something like this sea of blood had caught everyone off guard.
It was somewhat unwelcome, but undeniably effective.
At the very least, the Lord and the dozen-odd Ink Clan members caught within the sea of blood couldn't make a single sound.
Bai Yi paid it no further mind. The arrows in her hands split into streaks of light, and several high-rank Ink Clan members who hadn't yet recovered their wits fell silently to the ground.
When she struck, Shen Ao and the others attacked in unison. None of them activated their secret techniques or Artifacts—the commotion would have been too great—instead charging straight at the Ink Clan members with their bodies.
Inside the Ink Nest, Yang Kai's figure flickered as he arrived at the central hub in an instant.
He was thoroughly familiar with the internal structure of Ink Nests by now and knew exactly where their critical points were.
A quick scan revealed the hub was empty, with no one guarding it, and he let out a sigh of relief.
He had genuinely feared that a Lord might be stationed here. If by some stroke of bad luck one was, then any disturbance outside could be relayed out.
Fortunately, the situation wasn't that bad.
Come to think of it, it made sense. These Lord-level Ink Nests positioned around the Royal City had one primary task: to generate Ink Force and solidify the defensive line. The Lords stationed in each Ink Nest would surely be hard at work over at the Ink Pool. What would be the point of sitting in the central hub? Entering the Ink Nest space just to chat with the other Lords?
Without lingering, Yang Kai pressed deeper, diving straight into the chamber where the Ink Pool lay.
This time he did spot a Lord—not only a Lord, but a high-rank Ink Clan member as well.
Before the churning Ink Pool, the high-rank Ink Clan member held a Space Ring in hand, continuously feeding various resources into the pool for refinement.
The Lord sat near the Ink Pool, its consciousness linked to the Ink Nest, utterly motionless.
The human side had conducted extensive research on Ink Nests by now, and Yang Kai himself had spent years stationed inside a Domain Lord-level Ink Nest outside Dayan Pass, studying its various functions. One glance was enough to tell him that this Lord was controlling the Ink Nest to generate Ink Force.
Under normal circumstances, resources thrown into the Ink Pool could be converted for one of two purposes: hatching new Ink Clan members, or generating Ink Force.
This required manual control.
These Lord-level Ink Nests had one task right now—establishing the defensive line—so generating Ink Force was the only thing they needed to do.
The instant Yang Kai burst in, the high-rank Ink Clan member hadn't yet reacted, but the Lord's head snapped up.
Its eyes locked onto Yang Kai's savage grin.
"You—!" The Lord recoiled in shock. Before it could even rise, the high-rank Ink Clan member beside the Ink Pool had already exploded into fine powder. The next instant, a mysterious force surged forth—its thoughts froze, its body locked in place.
A long spear drove straight through its skull, shattering its head.
Yang Kai withdrew the Azure Dragon Spear and let out a soft breath.
In the span of a heartbeat, he had seized control of this Ink Nest. It looked simple enough, but had any other Seventh-rank cultivator attempted it, they could never have pulled it off.
The spear that killed the Lord had simultaneously harnessed both the Laws of Time and Space.
Under the Law of Time, the Lord's thoughts had been paralyzed; under the Law of Space, its body had been frozen. There was no way it could have dodged that fatal thrust.
A sweep of divine sense confirmed that no Ink Clan members remained inside the Ink Nest. Without a moment's hesitation, Yang Kai flickered and exited.
He looked around. The Ink Clan members outside had already been completely wiped out, with only the churning sea of blood still roiling.
He focused his gaze and frowned slightly.
"Help!" Blood Crow's voice transmission rang in his ear, and at the same time the sea of blood split open on both sides, revealing a passage.
Yang Kai darted inside, following the flow of blood, and soon laid eyes on the Lord currently wrapped within the sea of blood. At this very moment, the Lord was frantically unleashing secret techniques, attacking the surrounding blood in every direction, its Ink Force surging wildly.
This Lord was no weakling. For Blood Crow to handle it one-on-one would not have been difficult, but the current situation didn't allow for a drawn-out fight—that was why he had sent a transmission to Yang Kai, asking for his help.
Yang Kai raised the Azure Dragon Spear and thrust it at the Lord. The spear's piercing force tore through the barrier of space, running the completely unguarded opponent clean through.
As the spear was withdrawn, dark blood gushed forth.
Blood Crow let out a cackling laugh.
Yang Kai's expression shifted, and he retreated swiftly.
By the time he pulled free of the sea of blood, the crimson mass squirmed and reformed into Blood Crow's figure—though the many Ink Clan members he had swallowed within it had vanished without a trace.
Blood Crow wore a look of deep satisfaction, so content he couldn't help letting out a burp.
Bai Yi and the others exchanged odd looks.
Yang Kai's face grew graver still as he issued orders: "Clean up quickly, then get inside!"