Yang Kai didn't send a reply. Instead, he frowned in thought.
The Ancestor had said it was impossible for the King Lord to recover, yet a Lord had sensed the King Lord's power just three days ago. What was going on?
He couldn't figure it out.
Over the next few days, everything remained calm. The Ink Clan's activity was minimal. The four Ink Nests occupied by the various squads remained secure, with no risk of exposure.
Yang Kai made several trips in and out of the Ink Nest space. By now, he was something of a familiar face there and could chat with quite a few Ink Clan Lords. Unfortunately, despite his efforts, he hadn't been able to extract any more useful intelligence.
The Lord who had previously claimed to sense the King Lord's aura hadn't entered the Ink Nest space since that day, and Yang Kai had no way of finding him.
During this time, he maintained frequent contact with Dayan Pass, confirming positions.
According to Dayan's original itinerary, they should have reached the Ink Clan's defensive line several days ago. But because Yang Kai had seized four Ink Nests, blindsiding the Ink Clan's surveillance, Dayan Pass could now exploit the gap in their defenses and catch them off guard. This required a change of course, which delayed them by several more days.
Today, having received word, Yang Kai stationed himself within the Ink Nest, monitoring all movements around him.
After roughly the time it took to drink a cup of tea, his consciousness stirred. He distinctly felt something breach the perimeter covered by his Ink Nest, and the disturbance was unmistakable — whatever had entered was enormous!
Dayan Pass had arrived!
Yang Kai flickered out and focused his gaze toward the point where the defensive line had been disturbed, but saw nothing. Even his divine sense yielded no results.
Only when he activated the World-Ending Demonic Eye, piercing through all illusions, did he catch a vague, massive, distorted shadow in the distant void, hurtling toward him.
Although the four adjacent Ink Nests had been seized and a gap had opened in the Ink Clan's defenses, Dayan still needed to disguise itself.
Otherwise, any Ink Clan member passing nearby might spot its movements.
It appeared that Dayan Pass had been fitted with an enormous illusion array. Under its influence, the entirety of Dayan was shrouded, its tracks completely concealed.
Dayan was extraordinarily fast and soon swept past Yang Kai's position, racing straight toward the Ink Clan's Royal City.
Simultaneously, figure after figure flew out from Dayan Pass, silent as specters.
Yang Kai saw them clearly and immediately sent out bursts of divine sense to guide them.
Before long, a full five hundred Seventh-Order Open Heaven cultivators arrived before Yang Kai. With a wave of his hand, he led them all into the Ink Nest.
He didn't know what arrangements Dayan had made or why five hundred Seventh-Order Open Heaven cultivators were being sent over at this moment, but clearly the higher-ups had a plan.
Soon enough, he understood.
Xiang Shan personally contacted Yang Kai and informed him that the primary mission of these Seventh-Order cultivators and the four elite squads was to purge the outer Ink Clan forces and those Lord-grade Ink Nests.
Dayan Pass had now pierced through the Ink Clan's defensive line and was heading straight for the Royal City. But no matter how rigid the Ink Clan might be, they wouldn't simply allow humanity to reach the city gates before noticing.
Dayan would inevitably be exposed midway.
That was enough. As long as the Ink Clan didn't have sufficient time to prepare their defenses, the surprise assault would be a success. What came after would depend on the relative strength of each side.
And the moment Dayan was exposed, the Ink Clan forces stationed along the outer defensive line would have to fall back to defend the Royal City. The mission of the four elite squads and these five hundred Seventh-Order cultivators was to kill as many Ink Clan as possible, weakening their redeployment and laying the groundwork for the battle to come.
Five hundred Seventh-Order cultivators meant far more than five hundred people. Each of them served as a captain or vice-captain of their own squad.
Their respective subordinates and warships were all stored within their Small Universes.
In other words, these five hundred represented over two hundred squads!
Yang Kai spotted many familiar faces among them, including Qing Kui and Su Yingxue.
After Xu Linggong had advanced to the Eighth-Order all those years ago, Yang Kai hadn't seen either of them for over two hundred years. He hadn't expected that they had both already broken through to the Seventh-Order.
It wasn't really surprising. Both Qing Kui and Su Yingxue had spent more than enough time at the Sixth-Order Open Heaven realm. Having followed their master Xu Linggong to the Ink Battlefield for several hundred years, an eventual breakthrough was natural.
Now the two of them formed a single squad. Familiar with each other's strengths, their combined attacks carried even greater force.
Qing Kui said, "Brother Yang, before we departed, the Corps Commander said the situation here is under your command. See what you can do to kill as many Ink Clan as possible."
Yang Kai nodded and took charge without hesitation. "In that case, I'll be so bold as to take the lead. This battle is of utmost importance — I hope all you senior brothers and sisters will bring your full strength."
An elderly Seventh-Order cultivator laughed. "Don't worry. I've been waiting for this day for years. Even if I die, I won't let the Ink Clan off easy."
Yang Kai quickly said, "Don't think like that. We have a considerable advantage right now — stay alive if you can. The Ink Clan has no roots; their lives aren't nearly as precious as ours. This senior may be getting on in years, but if you break through to the Eighth-Order, who's to say you can't enjoy a late bloom? You might even take a few lovely wives back in the Three Thousand Worlds and have some children — enjoy the pleasures of family life."
The group burst into laughter, and Su Yingxue along with several other female Seventh-Order cultivators couldn't help but glare at Yang Kai.