At the time, those had been nothing more than words of rebuke aimed at Jiu Yan — who could have known they would become prophetic!
After all these years fighting on the Ink Battlefield, Yang Kai truly hadn't killed many Ink Servants.
After all, he could channel the Purifying Light. When conditions permitted and he encountered an Ink Servant, he could quite literally save them instead.
Shen Ao, Ning Qizhi, and Qi Taichu had all been rescued by him. Yet after years of war, of those three Seventh-Order cultivators he had originally saved, only Shen Ao remained — Ning Qizhi and Qi Taichu had fallen in battle, one after the other.
They had died on the battlefield, dying as they should have.
Yang Kai had never imagined that the day would come when he, just as he had once warned Jiu Yan, would be forced by circumstance to cut down a comrade-in-arms who had fought at his side — an elder who had shown him nothing but kindness!
Setting aside the fact that Yang Kai no longer had Yellow Crystals or Blue Crystals and could not channel the Purifying Light — even if he could, there would be no opportunity.
The other party was, after all, a veteran Eighth-Order Open Heaven cultivator, powerful in strength and intimately familiar with the Purifying Light. Once Inked and fighting to the death, how could he ever give Yang Kai the chance to purify him?
The situation was far too dire. A swift battle was the only way — only then might he still make it to the Demon Sealing Ground to stop the other Ink Servant!
Yang Kai's entire body transformed into a streak of brilliant light. As the Dao realms intertwined and radiated outward, this single thrust of his spear surpassed every strike he had ever unleashed, causing the laws of the entire ancestral ground to tremble uncontrollably.
"I ask you, Elder Lu, to face your death!"
Yang Kai's grief-stricken roar resounded across the heavens, his voice as mournful as a cuckoo crying blood.
"Very well!" On the other side, where he had been locked in fierce combat with Honghu, Lu An let out a hearty laugh, devoid of any fear or dread of death. His hands opened and closed as the mystic arts of Yin-Yang Heaven unfurled, transforming the vast expanse of sky into forces of Yin and Yang. These twin forces closed like a pair of shears, slicing savagely toward Honghu.
He intended to drag Honghu down with him before death, lightening the burden on his companions.
Honghu shrieked. Blazing white light enveloped her as she pushed the Sacred Spirit's power to its very limit. In that moment, she was forced into her true form.
It was a creature of immaculate purity, bearing a resemblance to a phoenix yet not quite one.
Though her strength was somewhat superior to Lu An's, facing his suicidal onslaught she dared not meet it head-on and could only defend with everything she had.
The Yin-Yang Twin Shears slashed through the void. The protective divine light around Honghu's body shattered in an instant, countless feathers scattering across the sky. Honghu cried out in pain, blood splattering across the heavens.
But she managed to block the fatal blow at the critical moment.
The instant Honghu was wounded, a streak of spear light had already shot past Lu An.
The sky full of black and white light froze as if struck by a stillness curse, every trace of it locking in place. The fierce and clamorous battle fell silent in that same heartbeat.
Yang Kai stood with his back to the elder's figure, tears streaming down his face, the hand gripping his spear white-knuckled with veins bulging.
"Ah!" Lu An let out a long, weary sigh. "Six thousand years of war in the Ink Battlefield, and in my twilight years, I fail to preserve my integrity. I cannot face the ancestors of Yin-Yang Heaven."
Yang Kai slowly turned around, looked at Lu An, and bowed deeply.
He had once heard that when Mi Jinglun recaptured Great Evolution Pass, he had ordered the Ink Clan to leave behind all Ink Servants below the Seventh Order. Those servants had endured the erosion of Ink Power for far too long and had even used it to break through their own limitations — they could never be saved, no matter what.
Even Xiang Shan had not known how to deal with that group of Ink Servants, and in the end could only report the matter to Ancestor Xiao Xiao.
Ancestor Xiao Xiao had not hesitated much. With a single palm strike, all the Ink Servants perished.
But before death, the servants had seemed to return to their true nature, finding release.
The way Lu An looked now was clearly a sign of returning to himself. After all, he had not been Inked for long, and his Eighth-Order Open Heaven cultivation had always been his own — his condition was far better than those Ink Servants of old.
"The Elder's teachings and care over the years — your disciple has them engraved in his heart and will never dare forget. Your disciple sends you off here with reverence!" Yang Kai spoke through his grief.
This Eighth-Order Open Heaven cultivator from Yin-Yang Heaven had looked after Yang Kai from the very first day he arrived at Biluo Pass. After all, Yang Kai could be considered half a member of Yin-Yang Heaven.
When Yang Kai had first arrived at Biluo Pass, the higher-ups had actually convened to discuss whether to take the World Spring from Yang Kai and place it under the control of an Eighth-Order — because Yang Kai carried one of the Four Pillars of Heaven and Earth. The World Spring was far too important to the Human Race, and its power would undoubtedly be greater in the hands of an Eighth-Order.
During that discussion, an Eighth-Order named Tian Xiuzhu had strongly advocated taking the World Spring from Yang Kai. It was Lu An who argued against him tooth and nail, ensuring Yang Kai kept it.
However, after Yang Kai and the Dawn Squad had been transferred to form the Great Evolution Army, he had never seen Lu An again.
Who could have imagined they would reunite under these circumstances — and that Yang Kai would be forced to cut him down.
Hearing Yang Kai's words, Lu An nodded and said urgently: "Ye Ming of Azure Nether Blessed Land carries a Fragment of the Ink's Spirit. He intends to awaken the Giant Spirit of Ink here. This creature was created by the Ink in its early days, before its imprisonment — you must stop him!"
Yang Kai's expression changed drastically. "A Fragment of the Ink's Spirit?"
"Every Giant Spirit of Ink can be considered a clone of the Ink. Its physical form is indestructible — it only requires a single Fragment to be awakened. There is already a connection between the Void Domain and Shattered Heaven, though it remains unstable. If this Giant Spirit comes to life and the Ink Clan on the Void Domain side act in concert, they could tear the passage wide open!" At this, Lu An's expression darkened. "I go now..."
The moment the words left his lips, his eyelids closed, and he sat cross-legged as his life faded.
Yang Kai's spear thrust had already completely severed his life force. But his cultivation was formidable enough that he had been able to hold on for a brief moment.