The Grand Dao of Space rippled and surged around Yang Kai as he let out a cold snort: "What I want, you probably can't provide."
Hearing those words, Monaye's heart eased slightly. He'd been terrified that Yang Kai would refuse to engage, refuse to speak at all. If Yang Kai was willing to talk, then he clearly had demands of his own — and today's situation might not be unresolvable!
He immediately raised his voice: "The King Lord is right here. If I, Monaye, can't satisfy your requests, surely the King Lord can? Only… Brother Yang, do make sure not to propose anything unreasonable."
He was deathly afraid Yang Kai would demand something like the King Lord self-destructing on the spot — if those words were spoken, there truly would be nothing left to negotiate.
No matter how highly the King Lord valued him, it could never outweigh the King Lord's own life. He would never sacrifice himself for the sake of Monaye.
The moment Monaye's voice fell, Mo Yu hesitated briefly outside before adding: "We can talk!"
He too had noticed Monaye's dire situation. Mo Yu genuinely valued this capable subordinate — over the years, the Mo Clan had run like clockwork under Monaye's management. The only blemish was this operation to hunt down Yang Kai, which had cost the Mo Clan dearly. But the plan itself had actually been sound; it was just that the appearance of the Primordial Cauldron's projection had been far too coincidental, giving Yang Kai a chance to catch his breath.
Monaye was a capable subordinate. If there was a way to save him, Mo Yu was willing to try.
Upon hearing this, Yang Kai's movements slowed ever so slightly, allowing the Domain Lords who had been fleeing for their lives to silently breathe a sigh of relief.
A moment later, he spoke in a deep voice: "Withdraw the outer grand formation. I want to leave this place safely."
Monaye turned to look at Mo Yu. The latter considered for a moment, then nodded: "Very well. The formation can be withdrawn, and I can lead the Domain Lords away from this area. Stop your assault!"
Yang Kai shook his head: "I don't trust you. Even if you leave, who's to guarantee you won't sneak back? I've experienced the King Lord's strength firsthand — if you ambush me the moment I leave this projection space, how could I possibly withstand it? All you'd need to do is delay me for a brief moment, and the formation could be reassembled!"
Mo Yu's voice was grim: "Since I've given you my word, I won't go back on it!"
Yang Kai looked thoroughly unimpressed. Mo Yu had agreed far too readily — he clearly had his own schemes. What was certain was that if Yang Kai simply left the projection space, the other side would absolutely launch a surprise attack. And if they cut off his retreat while pinning him down, things would become truly dangerous.
Mo Yu asked impatiently: "Then what do you propose? You want to leave but aren't willing to simply step out — so how do you expect to leave?"
Monaye also urged: "Brother Yang, the King Lord is being quite sincere."
Yang Kai said: "If you're sincere, then do as I say. Otherwise, we all walk away from this with nothing."
Mo Yu suppressed his anger and said coldly: "Let's hear it."
Yang Kai had long since formulated his plan, and spoke it without delay: "I want the Mo Clan to send word to the front lines and deliver a communication Ink Nest to the Human Race's General Headquarters. After that, the Mo Clan won't need to concern itself with much else."
To leave this place safely today, powerful Human Race cultivators had to come to his aid — but right now he had no way of contacting the Human Race at all. Borrowing the Mo Clan's Ink Nest would be a perfect solution.
That way, he could contact the Human Race directly and explain the situation here.
He didn't need many people to come — a single Ninth-Order would suffice!
Though this would inevitably reveal the fact that the Human Race had a hidden Ninth-Order cultivator, with the Primordial Cauldron about to manifest, the Ninth-Order Open Heaven masters would have to step into the light eventually regardless.
Besides, the Mo Clan had probably already suspected that the Human Race was harboring a Ninth-Order — they simply lacked definitive proof.
After hearing Yang Kai's demand, Mo Yu fell silent. Monaye's brows furrowed deeply.
He had to admit — Yang Kai's request was simple on the surface, yet meticulously calculated, completely eliminating any possibility of the Mo Clan working against him in the shadows.
Monaye couldn't help but let out a resigned sigh…
He knew the King Lord would never agree to this demand. The earlier willingness to withdraw the formation and lead the Domain Lords away had been because even if they did so, the situation would remain within controllable bounds — there would still be a chance to continue hunting Yang Kai down.
But if they truly agreed to this demand and allowed Yang Kai to contact the Human Race, then all their previous efforts would be rendered meaningless, and every Domain Lord who had died would have died for nothing.
Yang Kai studied their expressions and couldn't help but let out a cold laugh: "Monaye, it seems your King Lord doesn't actually value you that much!"
Monaye replied evenly: "Things have already come to this — Brother Yang, why bother trying to drive a wedge between us?" He straightened his expression and bowed deeply to Mo Yu, then declared in a resolute voice: "King Lord! This operation has already cost our Mo Clan several hundred Innate Domain Lords. We absolutely cannot allow all that effort to be wasted for the sake of one subordinate's life — if that happens, those fallen Domain Lords will never rest in peace! Yang Kai is a towering talent of the Human Race, and with the Primordial Cauldron about to manifest, if he seizes the fortune within it, he will become a calamity for the Mo Clan in the future! King Lord — regardless of whether I and my fellow commanders live or die today, we must not let the sacrifices of our clansmen go to waste! I, Monaye, am willing to trade my life for Yang Kai's — one life for one!"
His words rang with sincerity and conviction, each syllable striking like iron. They moved both Mo Yu and the many Innate Domain Lords watching from outside.