Putting himself in the Mo Clan King Lord's shoes, Yang Kai could see that before all the major Human Race passes had linked up, splitting their forces to strike multiple points would leave the Humans scrambling to respond.
He had harbored this concern before, and now it seemed the Mo Clan had truly put it into action.
"Brother Niu, I'll leave everything here to you."
From the direction of Qing Xu Pass, an Ancestor's voice rang out. The next moment, his aura rapidly faded, and a soaring pillar of light—just like the one that had blazed when Ancestor Xiaoxiao teleported away earlier—erupted from the direction of Qing Xu Pass.
The Qing Xu Pass Ancestor had also deployed, presumably to reinforce the second pass being assaulted by the King Lords.
The void trembled, a tremendous bellow shook the heavens, and the aura of a powerful figure rapidly approached.
Yang Kai turned his head to see the Ancestor of Feng Yun Pass riding his old yellow ox, ambling over from the direction of Feng Yun Pass at a leisurely pace.
He arrived in short order.
Three passes lay before them: Da Yan Pass in the center, Feng Yun Pass to the right, and Qing Xu Pass to the left. Now that the Ancestors of both Da Yan and Qing Xu Pass had departed, the Feng Yun Pass Ancestor would need to single-handedly shield all three—making Da Yan the natural place to position himself, so he could hold the center and cover both flanks.
"Greetings, Ancestor!" Yang Kai and the rest of Dawn Division bowed in respect.
The Feng Yun Pass Ancestor did not enter Da Yan Pass but came directly to Dawn Division's position.
The Ancestor gave a slight nod and flashed Yang Kai a smile. "You did well before."
What he meant by "before" was undoubtedly the battle to breach the Mo Clan Royal City several years ago. At the Seventh Order of the Open Heaven Realm, Yang Kai had slain a Mo Clan Domain Lord and a Ninth-Order Ink Disciple—a feat without precedent in the entire history of the Mo Battlefield.
The Ancestors were all creatures of lofty standards; ordinary Seventh-Order cultivators wouldn't catch their eye.
But Yang Kai had earned his special regard.
"I was merely lucky. The Ancestor flatters me," Yang Kai said modestly.
The Feng Yun Pass Ancestor chuckled. "With your talent, if you could reach the Ninth Order, you'd be more useful than us old fogies. But alas…"
What he found regrettable was that Yang Kai had advanced to the Open Heaven Realm at the Fifth Order, and later consumed a mid-grade World Fruit, raising his upper limit to the Eighth Order.
The Eighth Order was still just the Eighth Order—it couldn't compare to the Ninth.
"Of course, if you could find the Universe Furnace, that might break through this limitation."
Yang Kai laughed. "I'm only at the Seventh Order now. Thinking that far ahead is pointless. Besides, if we can truly eliminate the Mo Clan threat this time, what difference will there be between the Eighth and Ninth Orders in the future?"
The Ancestor raised an eyebrow. "You're remarkably carefree about it." He gazed into the distance. "Let's hope so!"
If the Mo Clan could truly be eradicated this time, there really wouldn't be much difference between the Eighth and Ninth Orders. Setting others aside, even for these Ancestors themselves—after so many years stationed in the Mo Battlefield, if they could finally return to the Three Thousand Worlds, they wouldn't bother cultivating anymore. They'd dote on their grandchildren and enjoy their twilight years in peace.
The war had lasted far too long. Even the Ancestors yearned for days of tranquility.
Following his gaze, Yang Kai asked, "Ancestor, is the situation serious?"
The Ancestor chuckled lightly. "They're courting death, that's all."
Hearing this, Yang Kai immediately felt reassured. He raised an eyebrow. "The Ancestors had foreseen this?"
"Not exactly. We were merely on guard. After all, so many King Lords had escaped—we couldn't very well ignore them," the Ancestor replied casually. "If they hadn't shown themselves, we'd have had no way to find them. But now that they have, it's simple enough. When the enemy is out in the open, it's always better than having them lurk in the shadows."
"But the King Lords have split their forces across multiple locations. It's hard for the Human Race to cope."
The Ancestor slowly shook his head. "They split their forces, so can we. Before, Little Crescent—your Da Yan Ancestor and the one from Qing Xu Pass went to reinforce, didn't they?"
Little Crescent?
Yang Kai raised his eyebrows, feeling like he'd just overheard something extraordinary.
"Moreover… the Mo Clan is fundamentally different from us Humans. Their strength is indeed formidable, and by leveraging their respective King Lord Mo Nests, they've caused the Human Race no small amount of trouble. But they have one very obvious weakness. Do you know what it is?"
Yang Kai thought for a moment, then caught on. "When they need to heal, they must rely on their own Mo Nests."
The Feng Yun Pass Ancestor smiled. "Precisely. That is their greatest weakness—one could call it a fatal weakness! The foundation of the Mo Clan is the Mo Nest. Their power derives from it. Without a Mo Nest, they are nothing. Though these King Lords escaped before, not a single one of them left unwounded. Without their Mo Nests, there is no way they can recover from their injuries in the span of these few years."
Yang Kai's eyes lit up, and the worry that had weighed on him finally eased.
He had actually forgotten about this.
Back in the Da Yan Theater, the reason Mo Zhao the King Lord had been unable to recover from his injuries for centuries was precisely because Ancestor Xiaoxiao had constantly harassed him—using the Void Spirit Bead to teleport outside the Royal City and flaunt his strength at every turn, leaving Mo Zhao no opportunity to enter his Mo Nest for dormant recovery.
Without a way to heal, his injuries could only linger on—and in the end, by the time the final battle arrived, his Mo Nest was destroyed, his strength plummeted, and he was slain by Ancestor Xiaoxiao.