Two figures — one chasing, one fleeing — swiftly distanced themselves from No-Return Pass.
It was just like that scene from years ago.
Yang Kai felt a subtle stirring of wariness in his heart.
Last time, he had lured the King out of No-Return Pass in much the same way, then used a Void Spirit Pearl to double back, destroying several of the Ink King's Ink Nests in the process.
Having already suffered such a loss once, the Ink Clan's King had fallen for the same trick again so easily — either his rage had clouded his judgment, or the Ink Clan had made other arrangements.
As the sole King of the Ink Clan, defending No-Return Pass was his foremost duty at present. No matter how furious he was, how could he simply charge out recklessly — especially given the precedent?
That being the case, the Ink Clan clearly had contingencies in place at No-Return Pass! The King was confident that even without him there, the Ink Clan could handle Yang Kai's harassment.
At the very least, there had to be another concealed King within — perhaps more than one…
Yet even having deduced this, Yang Kai had no choice but to proceed with his original plan. No matter what, he needed to flush out the hidden King.
So he kept blinking and teleporting through the void, each movement disrupted by the Ink King's qi lock. After several successive interruptions, his own aura had grown somewhat unstable.
His strength now far surpassed what it had been back then. Having his teleportation disrupted might spare him from injury, but the repeated strain was still taking its toll.
The two figures streaked one after the other, growing ever more distant.
The Domain Lords giving chase from behind had intended to follow as well, but Monaye's timely transmission of a voice command stopped them.
Gazing in the direction the King had departed, Monaye let out a quiet sigh. He hated that he had realized the situation too late — before he could discuss a proper counterstrategy with the King, Yang Kai had already burst out.
This was not the outcome he had hoped for.
Had it been up to him, he would never have let the King chase after Yang Kai. If they couldn't kill Yang Kai, what was the point of pursuing? It was a pointless endeavor. Endure the anger for now — Yang Kai would show himself again eventually.
As long as No-Return Pass was properly prepared, the next time Yang Kai appeared, the Ink Clan would have numerous Domain Lords and two Kings — one hidden, one in the open — forming a lineup with a very strong chance of forcibly keeping him there.
If the Domain Lords could deploy their formation in time, sealing off the void where Yang Kai stood, and the two Kings attacked together, could they not kill even an Eighth-Grade Open Heaven?
But the King had given him no opportunity to arrange any of this. The moment he detected Yang Kai's aura, he had charged out.
Now, having tipped their hand, it would be very difficult to accomplish much.
Even so, Monaye could only do his part and leave the rest to fate. Orders cascaded down one after another — Domain Lords concealed themselves and set up formations, while he himself retracted his aura to the absolute minimum.
In the void, Yang Kai and the King chased and fled across hundreds of millions of miles. Before long, Yang Kai had drawn the King far enough away. The Sun Mark and Moon Mark on the back of his hand surfaced, yellow and blue light interweaving and merging into a blinding white radiance that enveloped him.
The pursuing King faltered for an instant — in that brief moment, the qi lock he had fixed upon Yang Kai had been severed.
The Purification Light actually had such use.
The instant his qi lock was severed, Yang Kai's mind connected with a Void Spirit Pearl he had long since planted on the outer perimeter of No-Return Pass. The laws of space surged, and his figure vanished without a trace.
The King arrived at the spot where Yang Kai had disappeared, only letting out a cold snort. He turned to look back toward No-Return Pass, silently praying that Monaye would not disappoint him.
Now Yang Kai would certainly assume No-Return Pass was undefended by any real powerhouse. Given his methods and past track record, he would surely dismiss the Domain Lords as beneath his notice. If he grew even slightly careless, he could be sealed by the great formation. Once Monaye stepped in to entangle him, and the King returned to No-Return Pass, they could easily take him down.
With that thought, the King too shot back toward No-Return Pass at full speed.
At the same time, within a mass of ink-black clouds thirty thousand miles outside No-Return Pass, Yang Kai materialized without warning.
He did not linger, nor did he hesitate for even a moment. Even knowing that No-Return Pass was now a dragon's lair and a tiger's den, he charged in without looking back.
His aura blazed forth without restraint, and the hidden Domain Lords within No-Return Pass braced as though facing a great enemy.
As he hurtled forward, Yang Kai drove his Dao of Time to its fullest, straining to peer into the source of any crisis that might emerge in the near future.
To him, even one or two concealed Kings within No-Return Pass posed relatively little danger. If he couldn't win, couldn't he simply flee? The greatest threat was undeniably the Four Gates Eight Palaces Sumeru Formation — the great array that could seal heaven and lock down the earth.
If he were ever trapped within that formation, the Ink Clan's King alone would pose a lethal threat to him.
So no matter what, he had to divine the location where the great formation might be deployed. Since the formation required the Domain Lords to set it up, he really only needed to pinpoint where those Domain Lords were positioned.