After a long pause, Huang Xiong slowly began, "Two Ink-colored Giant Spirits attacked from the front and rear simultaneously. Even our Human Race's passes were blown apart on the spot — several of them. The Old Ancestors couldn't match them and had no choice but to order a retreat from beyond the Grand First Restriction to preserve our strength. The Ink Clan naturally wouldn't let us go. Their armies, led by the King Masters, came pouring after us…"
Warriors from both races clashed and slaughtered each other in the void, with countless casualties on both sides.
The two Ink-colored Giant Spirits pressed on without pause, their momentum overwhelming.
In that kind of situation, even the Old Ancestors couldn't maintain control of the battlefield.
During the retreat, several more Human Race passes were destroyed by the two Ink-colored Giant Spirits. Though many warriors escaped from the breached passes, the casualties were still devastating.
The situation was dire. If the Human Race's armies and passes all gathered in one place, they could certainly exert greater strength, but there was also a very real risk of total annihilation.
So the Old Ancestors held a brief discussion and split the remaining passes into over a dozen groups, each retreating separately.
The group containing Azure Void Pass was unfortunate — it was targeted by the Ink-colored Giant Spirit that had returned from the Primordial Battlefield. Alongside that Giant Spirit came an army assembled by nearly twenty King Masters, numerous Domain Lords, and Lords.
Without finding a way to shake off that Ink-colored Giant Spirit, Azure Void Pass's group stood no chance of escaping.
At that critical moment, Azure Void Pass broke away from the main body under the command of its own Old Ancestor, drawing the Ink-colored Giant Spirit away. The Ink Clan naturally refused to let them go — under the Giant Spirit and the King Masters, they split their forces and pursued relentlessly.
This chase lasted a full three hundred years, until two hundred years ago, when Azure Void Pass had suffered too many losses among its 8th Order cultivators and could no longer flee. They could only anchor here and fight the Ink Clan to the death.
The final outcome goes without saying.
Azure Void Pass was breached. Its Old Ancestor, even facing the combined assault of several King Masters, could not hold out and eventually fell from exhaustion.
The massive craters dotting the inner walls of the pass were all smashed by that Ink-colored Giant Spirit's bone club.
Azure Void Pass, which had guarded the Ink Battlefield for hundreds of thousands of years, had finally met its end in this stretch of void — its ambitions extinguished.
Over twenty thousand warriors, nearly three hundred years of fierce battle, and in the end fewer than a thousand remained. Azure Void Pass could be said to have been virtually annihilated!
Even among this remnant of a thousand, with supplies cut off, many warriors suffered from Ink Force corruption. A great number had already taken their own lives — to prevent themselves from becoming Ink Thralls and bringing unnecessary trouble upon their companions. Just like that 6th Order Open Heaven named Meng Qi, whom Yang Kai had encountered when he first arrived at the Ink Battlefield.
He was the first Open Heaven Realm cultivator Yang Kai had ever seen who had the courage to end his own life!
Yang Kai had been deeply moved at the time.
In the Three Thousand Worlds, a 6th Order Open Heaven was powerful enough to be called a regional powerhouse. Unless a high-order Open Heaven from a Cave Heaven or Blessed Land appeared, they were virtually invincible.
Yet here in the Ink Battlefield, a powerful 6th Order Open Heaven had willingly sacrificed his own life to protect the secret of that Void Corridor, without even a sliver of hesitation.
One could say that the Human Race's present standing had been forged by countless individuals like Meng Qi, who had given their lives and blood.
Such martyrs commanded the deepest respect.
The remnant forces of Azure Void Pass did not leave. Instead, they found a dead Universe nearby and quietly went into hiding. First, they knew that leaving here would not necessarily guarantee survival. Second, they had lost Azure Void Pass under their watch, and they still hoped to find a chance to reclaim it, no matter how slim that chance might be.
They waited nearly two hundred years — until Yang Kai arrived the day before.
During that time, they had tried to deal with their Ink Force corruption and had attempted to seize the battered Ink-Purging Vessel. But after an 8th Order cultivator surnamed Hai lost all contact, they no longer dared to act rashly.
If Yang Kai had arrived even half a year later, the Azure Void Pass group would certainly have launched a final assault under Huang Xiong's leadership.
If they couldn't reclaim Azure Void Pass, they would rather perish with it than cling to a wretched existence!
As he spoke, dense Ink Force suddenly seeped from Huang Xiong's body — the Ink-Purging Pill was taking effect.
As long as one hadn't been completely converted into an Ink Thrall, the Ink-Purging Pill always had some effect. The less severe the corruption, the more effective it was, which was why such pills were typically taken in advance before major battles with the Ink Clan.
Moments later, the Ink Force was fully dispersed. Huang Xiong let out a long breath, his expression visibly relaxed.
Resisting the erosion of Ink Force year after year had been an exhausting burden, and that hidden danger was finally eliminated.
Yang Kai studied him and said with understanding, "Commander Huang, have you severed part of your own Minor World before?"
He hadn't noticed before, but now he could tell that Huang Xiong's aura was somewhat unstable, as if it might drop in rank at any moment.
This was clearly a sign of damage to his Minor World.
There was only one possible cause: he had been forced to sever part of his Minor World's territory in the past.
Huang Xiong nodded. "By my count, this is the second time I've been corrupted by Ink Force. The first time, I could still sever a piece of my Minor World to save myself. This time… I wouldn't dare do it again."
His aura was already fluctuating; if he severed any more of his Minor World, his rank would certainly fall back to the 7th Order.