Worlds without end had fallen, and on most of them stood towering Ink Nests, their dense Ink Force saturating entire worlds. Countless living beings had been converted into Ink Disciples.
As Yang Kai and Wu Kuang traveled onward, the sights and sounds they encountered were nothing short of horrifying.
Wherever Yang Kai could conveniently destroy something along the way, he didn't hesitate to act. But he didn't go out of his way to target the Ink Clan's Ink Nests specifically.
He had more pressing matters to attend to.
Within a few days, the two arrived outside a world that also had an Ink Nest descended upon it. However, from the look of things, the Nest hadn't been there long. The spread of Ink Force wasn't too severe, and the Heavenly Daos of this world were still relatively intact.
Yang Kai studied it carefully for a moment before speaking. "Now that you also have a Sub-Tree anchoring your Small World, would you like to take in some living beings? If beings were to multiply and thrive within your Small World, it would help you advance your cultivation."
How could Wu Kuang not want that? A High-Grade Open Heaven cultivator's Small World had already transitioned from ethereal to tangible, granting it the capacity to harbor living beings. The problem was that warriors were constantly engaging in battle, which destabilized Small Worlds. Without a Sub-Tree or a treasure like the Four World Pillars to anchor them, even if beings were taken in, they wouldn't survive for long.
Only a Small World that was flawless and stable, impervious to external disturbances, could guarantee the safety of the beings within.
Yang Kai had given him a World Tree Sub-Tree, and Wu Kuang had harbored thoughts of keeping living beings ever since—but he simply hadn't gotten around to it.
Now that Yang Kai had brought it up, Wu Kuang understood his intent immediately and secretly thought to himself that this kid really was something else, going out of his way to seek out a world like this for his sake.
He nodded at once. "I'll go take a look!"
With that, he shot toward the world.
Left unattended, this world's Heavenly Daos would collapse entirely within a few decades. The world would die, and all the beings on it would become Ink Disciples.
Across the vast cosmos, there were now countless such worlds.
Wu Kuang entered the world and began collecting living beings in earnest. Yang Kai watched clearly as each prosperous, populated city was swept directly into Wu Kuang's Small World.
He didn't even spare the Ink Nests and the Ink Clan members ravaging the world, absorbing them all along with everything else.
After all, his Heaven Devouring Art could devour anything. What others found difficult to neutralize—Ink Force—was something he could refine and convert into his own source of power.
In just ten days or so, not a single living thing remained on the entire world, all absorbed into Wu Kuang's Small World.
Yang Kai couldn't help but be impressed. Although this particular world wasn't particularly large, it had housed at least a billion living beings. The fact that Wu Kuang, a Seventh-Grade Open Heaven cultivator, could take them all in showed that his own Small World was enormous in scale and firmly rooted.
When Wu Kuang returned, beaming with satisfaction, Yang Kai began the process of refining the world.
Wu Kuang was puzzled. "This world's Heavenly Daos are already damaged, and there are no living beings left. What do you need to refine it for?"
Yang Kai said with an air of mystery, "I have my uses!"
Wu Kuang couldn't be bothered to press further and sat cross-legged beside him, beginning to sort through the various matters within his Small World. He'd taken in a billion beings and needed to settle them properly—at the very least, he had to provide them with everything necessary for early-stage living.
He set about his quiet work.
Two days later, a World Pearl materialized in Yang Kai's hand—the product of refining that world. But this World Pearl was different from the ones he'd refined before: it was entirely empty inside, devoid of any living thing.
He called out to Wu Kuang, and the two continued on their way.
Passing through a neighboring Great Domain, Yang Kai soon led Wu Kuang into the Black Domain.
As expected, there were no traces of the Ink Clan within the Black Domain. This Great Domain contained only the endless void, and the Ink Clan would have no interest in it.
Several days later, the two reached the center of the Black Domain—the location of the Void Corridor that connected to the Ink Battlefield.
It was through this very Void Corridor that Yang Kai had previously returned from the Ink Battlefield to the Three Thousand Worlds. He never could have imagined that after only a handful of years, he would be heading back through the same passage. Fate truly had a sense of irony.
After a brief pause, Yang Kai turned to Wu Kuang. "Would you be willing to enter my Small World?"
He was now Eighth-Grade, and Wu Kuang was Seventh-Grade—there would be no issue taking him into his Small World. It would also make the next phase of their journey far more convenient. Traversing a Void Corridor was fraught with danger, and having to watch over Wu Kuang at the same time would be a distraction.
Wu Kuang frowned. "Why?"
Under normal circumstances, unless there was mutual trust, a higher-grade cultivator would not take someone into their Small World. If the person taken in caused havoc inside, it could create enormous trouble. Similarly, lower-grade cultivators were reluctant to enter someone else's Small World, as it amounted to placing their life in another's hands.
So even though Wu Kuang knew Yang Kai meant him no harm, he couldn't help asking.
Yang Kai explained his reasons, and Wu Kuang nodded in understanding. "If you're not afraid, what do I have to fear?"
"Then come." Yang Kai opened the gateway to his Small World, and Wu Kuang dove in without hesitation.
With Wu Kuang no longer a burden, Yang Kai activated his Space Laws and reopened the Void Corridor he had previously sealed, then slipped inside.