Those Ninth-Order humans who had their hands free charged forward, the might of heaven and earth surging through them as they condensed into titans.
Yet even their titans looked like children before the
The Ink Giant Spirit that had once plagued the Sacred Spirits' ancestral land had caused its inhabitants no end of suffering. In the end, it had taken that era's Dragon Emperor and Phoenix Empress, channeling the sacred relics of every clan and burning every last shred of their power, to seal it away.
Both the Dragon Emperor and Phoenix Empress perished in that act. When heaven and earth shattered, the Dragon Emperor's and Phoenix Empress's essence scattered and drifted through the void—ultimately falling into the hands of
All Ink Giant Spirits should be roughly comparable in strength, give or take.
The one before them, however, had lost half its body when the Great First Restriction closed, so it was weaker than the one that had run rampant through the Sacred Spirits' ancestral land.
Even so, a Ninth-Order Open Heaven cultivator was no match for it.
The Ink Giant Spirit might lack a lower half, but with Ink Force surging through its form, its movements were unimpeded. It swept from the Great First Restriction side into the battlefield and began slaughtering indiscriminately.
It made no distinction between friend and foe. Human or Ink Clan—anyone blocking its path was an enemy.
In moments, casualties mounted on both sides.
The severed limbs, mangled flesh, and even the drifting Ink Force of those it killed were drawn by an immense gravitational pull, streaming into its body. Its broken lower half showed signs of gradually reconstituting.
Half a body and already this savage—if it fully restored itself, the consequences would be unthinkable.
More Ninth-Orders rushed to engage until a full thirteen had joined forces, barely managing to hold back its onslaught.
Everyone watching could scarcely believe it.
Ninth-Order Open Heaven cultivators were already recognized as the supreme powerhouses of all known existence, matched only by Ink Clan King Lords. And now, a single half-crippled Ink Giant Spirit required thirteen of them working together just to hold it at bay.
Unimaginable—had it been whole, how powerful would it have been?
The battlefield between the Ninth-Orders and King Lords had originally tilted in humanity's favor. But with thirteen Ninth-Orders tied down restraining the Ink Giant Spirit, the balance flipped in an instant.
Many Ninth-Orders were now fighting one-on-two or even two-on-three, the only way to keep the remaining King Lords from cutting down the human rank-and-file.
The appearance of one half-crippled Ink Giant Spirit had wiped away every advantage humanity had painstakingly accumulated. Below the Ninth-Order tier, the humans still held a commanding lead, but if this continued, even that battlefield would start to crumble.
Yang Kai had already retracted his Dragon form, returning to his human shape. The Azure Dragon Spear flashed in his hands as he tore across the battlefield.
The upheaval at the Great First Restriction had been too sudden. Cang had moved to close the Restriction, triggering Mo's contingencies, and then Mu—a powerhouse who had been dead for untold millennia—had actually appeared, singing an unknown hymn that activated the Restriction's power.
Now Cang was nowhere to be seen at the Restriction, and the auras of both Mu and Mo had vanished entirely. The Great First Restriction had returned to its previous state of seamless perfection.
Yang Kai knew that Cang was gone, Mu had dissipated completely, and Mo had fallen back into slumber. With the Great First Restriction sealed once more, the Ink Clan would receive no more reinforcements.
What remained on the battlefield was the entirety of the Ink Clan's strength. If they could destroy these forces, humanity would win this war.
But eliminating the Ink Clan was easier said than done. Setting aside an Ink Giant Spirit that could contend with thirteen Ninth-Orders, even the King Lords themselves were not easily slain.
It was not as though King Lords hadn't been killed. In fact, because Mo had deliberately held back, the number of fallen King Lords was considerable—before the Ink Giant Spirit's appearance, at least a dozen or more had perished.
Humanity had paid the price for this in the fall of several of its Old Ancestors.
During the window when Mu's soul attacks had disrupted the battlefield, several more King Lords had fallen thanks to Yang Kai's interference.
Under those conditions, the number of human Ninth-Orders had significantly outnumbered the King Lords.
But now, with the Ink Giant Spirit's arrival, that advantage had been erased.
Yet not a single member of humanity's army retreated. They fought to the death, every last one.
Everyone understood that if this battle was not won, there might never be another chance.
Ninth-Orders were fighting with everything they had. Eighths were fighting with everything they had. Sevenths, Sixths, and Fifths—all of them were fighting with everything they had. If a warship was blown apart, fine—deploy the reserve and keep fighting. If even the reserves were destroyed, then charge into the enemy ranks and drag as many Ink Clan to the grave as possible before dying.
There was no time for recovery or rest. A single step backward meant an abyss with no bottom.
Yang Kai's figure streaked across the battlefield, the Azure Dragon Spear painting arcs of Ink blood through the air. He had lost count of how many powerful enemies he had cut down.
He was searching for the Chenxi team members, but with the battlefield so chaotic, locating them in this vast expanse of carnage was no easy task.
After what felt like a long time, Yang Kai finally spotted the Chenxi figures in one sector. A massive sea of blood churned there—clearly the handiwork of
He was about to break through toward them when, without warning, a savage sense of alarm exploded through his mind. Before he could even react, a torrent of violent power slammed into him from the side.
In that instant, Yang Kai felt his entire body go numb. He coughed up a mouthful of blood from his throat, his form launched high into the air.
The crisis was far from over. Yang Kai thrust his spear behind him. A Golden Crow's piercing cry rang out as the Great Sun blazed to life, illuminating everything around him.