With that thought in mind, Yang Kai made his decision. He glanced around, then suddenly shouted, "Everyone, leave this place immediately!"
Wang Xuanyi had no idea what he was planning, but everything here had already been prepared and they were ready to depart at any moment. Upon hearing Yang Kai's shout, he immediately ordered everyone to take to the air and leave.
All the Open Heaven Realm cultivators from every sect across the Sea Swallowing Domain had gathered here, though they numbered only about a thousand at most, and their ranks were quite uneven.
The Sea Swallowing Sect's own disciples numbered in the several thousands, but that figure included everyone present.
Each side brought out their own flight artifacts, and in an instant, over a hundred artifacts of all sizes and strange shapes filled the void.
On the largest tower ship, Wang Xuanyi stood on the deck looking down, with Yang Qing beside him, both wanting to see what Yang Kai was about to do.
What they saw took their breath away. The Sea Swallowing Sect, which should have been right before their eyes, had become like a reflection in a mirror or a flower in the moonlight—twisted and blurred. Though it lay just a short distance away, it seemed as remote as the edge of the sky, impossible to grasp.
Yang Qing suddenly understood: "This Yang Chief Protector intends to refine the entire floating land where our Sea Swallowing Sect resides into a Heaven and Earth Bead!"
Although he had never witnessed Yang Kai refining a Heaven and Earth Bead before, he had heard Zhuge Xingwei mention it previously. Combined with the scene before him, he could not fail to grasp Yang Kai's intentions.
His heart filled with joy. He had been somewhat reluctant to abandon the Sea Swallowing Sect's heritage that had been passed down through generations, but there had been no way to bring it along. Now, with Yang Kai crafting a Heaven and Earth Bead, all his troubles were resolved.
Wang Xuanyi merely nodded slightly upon hearing this, also believing that Yang Kai was refining the Sea Swallowing Sect's floating land into a Heaven and Earth Bead. However, he could not understand the purpose of this action.
The Sea Swallowing Sect's disciples were already preparing to evacuate. Leaving behind an empty floating land—would the Ink Clan even be interested in it? There seemed to be no need to refine it.
"Oh!" Yang Qing suddenly cried out, his heart clenching with pain.
There was no other reason than that the splendid floating land before his eyes had suddenly begun to disintegrate. The enormous expanse of land split into no fewer than a hundred pieces.
Each fragment was roughly the same size, clearly a deliberate display of Yang Kai's tremendous control.
Yang Qing wanted to weep but had no tears.
If the floating land couldn't be taken away, that was one thing. After defeating the Ink Clan someday, the Sea Swallowing Sect might have a chance to return and reestablish their sect here. But now that Yang Kai had done this, how could they ever find it again?
His earlier elation vanished entirely. He simply could not fathom why Yang Kai would do such a thing.
However, he did not dare to ask, and could only console himself that there must be some deeper meaning behind Yang Kai's actions.
Soon, Yang Kai reached out toward the twisted void. With each grasp, a piece of the floating land vanished. After Yang Kai had reached out over a hundred times, all the fragments had disappeared entirely.
He then busied himself quietly for a while before flickering onto the tower ship where Wang Xuanyi stood. He first handed over a hundred newly crafted Heaven and Earth Beads and instructed, "Each Heaven and Earth Bead contains over ten thousand Small Stone Clan soldiers sealed within. Should you encounter the Ink Clan, you may release them to fight."
Wang Xuanyi's eyes lit up. "The Small Stone Clan—are those the beings that previously surrounded and destroyed the Ink Clan?"
He had witnessed the two Small Stone Clan armies that had previously annihilated the Ink Clan outside the Sea Swallowing Sect. Those strange creatures may have looked foolish and bumbling, but they were remarkably effective against the Ink Clan, as they seemed impervious to the erosion of Ink Force.
So when Yang Kai mentioned them now, Wang Xuanyi immediately understood.
Yang Kai nodded.
He personally could not escort these people all the way to the Mocha Domain, but sending along some of the Small Stone Clan was no trouble at all. Even if Wang Xuanyi and the others could not command the Small Stone Clan directly, should they truly encounter the Ink Clan, they could simply release them, and the creatures would instinctively hunt down the enemy.
The reason Yang Kai had split the million-strong army into a hundred portions was because he had considered that the Small Stone Clan would be difficult to recall. Without the Sun Imprint and the Moon Imprint, Wang Xuanyi and the others could not issue orders to the Small Stone Clan. If they were truly released, the most likely outcome would be... that they would be gone for good.
A million Small Stone Clan soldiers would be more than sufficient to safeguard their journey. For the warriors assembled in the Mocha Domain, they would also represent a tremendous boost in strength.
With a million Small Stone Clan warriors escorting them, the journey to the Star Boundary would be far safer.
"Thank you, Chief Protector Yang!" Wang Xuanyi bowed deeply in gratitude, privately astonished at Yang Kai's generosity.
He had never seen the Small Stone Clan before, nor had he ever heard of them. Yet Yang Kai had produced a million of them in a single stroke—what magnificent magnanimity.
Their warship had previously been destroyed. Without a warship's protection, their small squad's combat strength would be severely diminished. But now, with the addition of a million Small Stone Clan soldiers, the deficit would be more than made up, with room to spare.
Yang Kai said, "I also only recently came into possession of these Small Stone Clan and haven't yet figured out how to command them. However, their defining trait is extremely low intelligence—they act almost entirely on instinct. If any of you are versed in beast taming arts, you may attempt to control them using those methods."
Using beast taming arts to command the Small Stone Clan might or might not work, but since Yang Kai himself was not well-versed in such arts, he had no way to test the theory.
Wang Xuanyi's eyes lit up again, and he nodded repeatedly. "Chief Protector Yang is right."
Many cultivators knew at least some form of beast taming. If this method truly worked, then commanding the Small Stone Clan in battle would open up tremendous possibilities.