On a battlefield of merely two to three hundred people, under the complete embrace of the Light of Purification, all the Ink Force had vanished without a trace, dispersed cleanly in the blink of an eye.
Zhuge Xingwei was about to express his gratitude, but Yang Kai's figure flickered and vanished without a trace. Only his voice drifted back from a distance: "I'm heading to the Swallow Sea Sect. Tend to your wounds first — we'll speak later."
The hearts of the Xuan Yi Sect's members settled with relief.
This Upper-Order Open Heaven cultivator's origins were unknown, but he had clearly heard what Elder Pang had just said and was now heading to reinforce the Swallow Sea Sect.
With someone like him on their side, the Swallow Sea Sect should be able to weather this storm, and the Swallow Sea Region could be saved.
Zhuge Xingwei was about to lead his disciples back to the mountain gate to regroup when the sound of anguished wailing suddenly erupted from nearby. He turned to look and saw a disciple surnamed Zhou cradling the lifeless body of a woman. The man, who usually stood like an iron tower, was now streaming with tears, his grief beyond all measure.
The Xuan Yi Sect was not large, and Zhuge Xingwei knew every one of his Open Heaven disciples inside and out, so he recognized this man at a glance.
This disciple surnamed Zhou had just been corrupted by the insidious Ink Force during the battle and turned against his allies. The woman in his arms was his beloved partner — they had been together for several hundred years, a harmonious couple deeply devoted to one another. Yet in the midst of battle, he had been the one to kill her with his own hands, without a shred of mercy!
Though this was their first time fighting the Ink Clan and the first time facing the Ink Force, the scenes they had just witnessed gave everyone at least some understanding of its insidious nature.
It was a power that could twist a cultivator's very heart!
Once fully consumed by that power, one would turn against even one's closest kin.
Zhou was not the only disciple who had turned against his allies and attacked his fellow sect members. The others who had done so now wore expressions of anguish and guilt.
As for the rest of the sect members, they regarded their fallen brethren with wary eyes, maintaining a careful distance — as if afraid they might suddenly lash out again.
Though Zhuge Xingwei did not think such a thing was likely to happen — after all, that Upper-Order Open Heaven cultivator had just deployed a secret technique to dispel the dark force — he had no idea how to address the situation before him.
Hearts were turning away from one another. An atmosphere of distrust shrouded them all.
Zhuge Xingwei had learned firsthand the terror of the Ink Clan!
Their strength was not merely a matter of raw power — it was also the insidious workings of the Ink Force!
"Senior Brother Zhou!" someone suddenly cried out.
Zhuge Xingwei's expression shifted. He moved to intervene but stopped, letting out a heavy sigh. Not far before him, the cultivator surnamed Zhou — still clutching his beloved's body — had, in the midst of his anguished wailing, suddenly collapsed his own Small Universe. As the might of heaven and earth spilled outward, his aura rapidly weakened, and even the vitality within his body drained away with it.
Having killed his beloved with his own hands, the cultivator surnamed Zhou could clearly no longer bear the weight of his guilt, and so he ended his own life to follow her into the beyond.
In his final moments, Zhou's bloodshot eyes fixed on Zhuge Xingwei as he pleaded: "Please, Sect Master, bury the two of us together in the Apricot Blossom Grove!"
The Xuan Yi Sect did indeed have an Apricot Blossom Grove — the very place where he and his beloved had pledged themselves to one another.
Zhuge Xingwei nodded with great difficulty. "I will."
A faint smile appeared on Zhou's lips. "Thank you, Sect Master."
And just like that, he was gone.
A wave of sorrow swept through everyone's hearts.
Zhuge Xingwei quickly said, "Everyone, follow me back to the mountain gate. We'll discuss the rest when that senior returns."
He truly feared that other disciples might be unable to bear their guilt and follow Zhou's example. Without hesitation, he channeled his power, wrapped everyone within it, and streaked toward the Xuan Yi Sect.
The Swallow Sea Sect, as the foremost sect of the Swallow Sea Region, possessed considerable strength — not far behind the Void Land of old. Through years of accumulation, the sect had more than ten Sixth-Order Open Heaven cultivators in residence, two of whom actually qualified to advance to the Seventh Order.
However, out of caution and a lack of resources, they had not dared to advance lightly, and their progress had stalled ever since.
Previously, under the mobilization decree of the Cave Heavens and Blessed Lands, half of the Swallow Sea Sect's Sixth-Order Open Heaven cultivators had departed, leaving roughly half behind. Two months ago, a small squad identifying themselves as belonging to the western army of the Moshā Legion had suddenly arrived in the Swallow Sea Region and made straight for the Swallow Sea Sect, ordering them to relay a message to every sect in the entire domain: prepare for evacuation and migration as soon as possible.
The Ink Clan army was coming!
The Swallow Sea Sect had never heard of any Moshā Legion — all they knew was Moshā Heaven.
It was one of the Thirty-Six Cave Heavens, and the Swallow Sea Region fell under its nominal jurisdiction.
Among the members of the squad belonging to the Moshā Legion's western army was a Sixth-Order Elder who had previously been conscripted from the Swallow Sea Sect. This Elder had fought in the great battle against the Ink Clan in the Void Domain, and was the sole survivor among the several Sixth-Order cultivators from the Swallow Sea Sect who had been conscripted.
The other Sixth-Order Elders, including a Vice Sect Master, had all perished in battle in the Void Domain!
With this Elder — who hailed from the Swallow Sea Sect himself — providing explanations, the sect quickly grasped the full picture. Not daring to delay, they dispatched disciples to every major power to relay the orders while busily preparing for evacuation.
But before they could finish their preparations, the Ink Clan army struck.