Within the Ancestral Ground, a fierce battle raged.
The Stone Tribe's fearless nature meant they were doomed without anyone to command them. Swarms of Stone Tribe creatures charged at the four Domain Lords, yet they could never get close—blasted into rubble by the Domain Lords' secret techniques long before they drew near, their shattered remains scattering across the ground.
Even the Ink Clan army that had rallied back to the fray began encircling these disorganized, formation-less creatures.
Every moment, countless Stone Tribe beings crumbled to dust.
But more continued to pour out from Yang Kai's position, as though they were inexhaustible, endless no matter how many fell. Yang Kai's wild laughter grew ever louder, sounding for all the world like a man who had lost his mind.
Diwu had already suppressed his aura and was hiding within the Ink Clan army, watching vigilantly.
He remembered all too well the time Yang Kai had rampaged through Unreturning Pass—he had sacrificed two million Stone Tribe soldiers and unleashed a devastating technique. That memory was seared into his mind. So the moment Yang Kai produced these Stone Tribe creatures, Diwu had immediately put distance between them, determined to avoid being surrounded. He had no intention of letting that catastrophe repeat itself.
That day, the Royal Lord had been injured, his aura dropping significantly, and it had taken over a thousand years to fully recover. If he, a Pseudo Royal Lord, were to take that kind of hit, the outcome would be even worse.
Moreover, if his memory served, there were powerful specimens among these peculiar Stone Tribe creatures.
The Ink Clan had previously discovered massive Stone Tribe beings standing a hundred zhang tall, each possessing strength comparable to an Eighth-Order Human Realm cultivator. Though their intelligence was low and they couldn't wield their full power, they were not to be underestimated.
After watching for some time, Diwu noted that the Stone Tribe Yang Kai had summoned this time did not include any of those hundred-zhang behemoths. The strongest among them were only several dozen zhang tall—comparable to Seventh-Order Human Realm cultivators, or Ink Clan Lord-level fighters.
These Stone Tribe creatures were beneath his notice. Even the four Domain Lords slaughtering them in the field could cut them down at will.
The situation grew increasingly chaotic. The Stone Tribe army Yang Kai continued to summon grew ever larger. The four Domain Lords were holding steady—they had formed a Four Symbols formation, their auras interconnected, guarding their respective positions. No matter how many Stone Tribe creatures rushed at them, they could cut them all down.
It was the remnants of the Ink Clan army that were struggling, even with the battle formation's assistance.
The million-strong Ink Clan army had already lost half its number to Yang Kai's earlier assault, leaving only five hundred thousand. Now, after a brutal clash with the Stone Tribe, their numbers had dwindled further. Though the Stone Tribe seemed to be suffering greater losses, if the fighting continued like this, the Ink Clan would inevitably be wiped out entirely.
Despite the unfavorable situation, no Ink Clan member dared retreat. The Domain Lords were still fighting—what right did they have to withdraw?
Diwu finally made his move, though he did not target Yang Kai directly. Instead, he remained hidden within the Ink Clan army, slaughtering the Stone Tribe forces. His cautious nature compelled him to observe a while longer.
Four full days passed. Of the five hundred thousand Ink Clan soldiers, only a few tens of thousands remained, drenched in blood, their auras flickering and weak. They were battered and ragged, yet the surviving Ink Clan members wore expressions of excitement.
They had won!
They had killed every Stone Tribe creature that had come for them.
Over these few days, no fewer than two million Stone Tribe beings had fallen at their hands!
This wasn't because they were particularly formidable—it was because a Pseudo Royal Lord had been hiding among their ranks. Those Stone Tribe creatures, whose strength peaked at the Seventh-Order or Lord level, stood no chance against a Pseudo Royal Lord. A casual strike from Diwu could fell hundreds or even thousands of them.
Furthermore, the Ink Clan had the aid of their battle formation. The lightning and fire raining down from the heavens had also inflicted massive casualties on the Stone Tribe.
These were only the results on the Ink Clan's side.
The four Domain Lords, on their end, had killed nearly as many—roughly a million Stone Tribe creatures, if not quite two million.
The Ancestral Ground, once noisy and crammed with combatants, had suddenly become far more spacious, with only shattered stone strewn across the mountains and plains as testament to the Stone Tribe army's earlier activity.
In just a few days, nearly three million Stone Tribe beings had perished or been destroyed—a staggering loss by any measure.
At this moment, Yang Kai had stopped summoning Stone Tribe creatures. Instead, he was single-handedly battling the four Domain Lords!
His face was contorted with rage, his eyes shot through with bloodshot veins, and his aura fluctuated wildly—his mental state was clearly unstable.
Again and again he charged at one of the four Domain Lords, and again and again he was sent flying back. Were it not for leveraging the Ancestral Ground itself, using its Ancestral Spirit Power to form an indestructible protective layer around his body, he would not have been able to hold on for long.
Of course, the Ancestral Ground's suppression of the Domain Lords was equally crucial.
Even a Pseudo Royal Lord like Diwu had his strength diminished by a fraction under the current Ancestral Ground's restraint, let alone the Domain Lords. The four Domain Lords were suppressed even more severely, each losing roughly twenty to thirty percent of their power.
In a one-on-one fight, they were no match for Yang Kai. But with the four of them linked in a Four Symbols formation, their auras merged—no matter which Domain Lord Yang Kai charged at, he was essentially facing all of them striking in unison. Under such circumstances, how could Yang Kai possibly gain the upper hand?
It could be said that while the four Domain Lords fighting together were still inferior to Diwu as a Pseudo Royal Lord, they were far more powerful than a single Domain Lord at full strength. That was the capital they had to contend with Yang Kai.
In the beginning, the four Domain Lords had been genuinely terrified of this harbinger of death.
But once they had actually engaged him head-on, they suddenly realized—this fellow wasn't nearly as strong as they had imagined!
Or rather, it wasn't that he lacked power. It was that after unleashing that bizarre technique capable of wounding the soul, he had suffered devastating backlash. The Yang Kai before them now was clearly not in his right mind.