The dense Dao marks permeating this world within the furnace were the source of the Chaotic Spirit King's power. It seemed that as long as it remained within this furnace world, it would never tire and could fight until the end of time.
After watching for a while, Yang Kai reached a conclusion — this Chaotic Spirit King would be incredibly difficult to deal with. To kill it, one would have to sever its connection to the outside world and cut off the source of its power.
The Ink Clan's Royal Lord had evidently realized this as well, which was why he kept channeling the power of the Ink, attempting to form a barrier to cut off the enemy's power supply. But it was useless. The Chaotic Spirit King was already stronger than him in the first place; under its assault, merely surviving was a tall order, let alone doing anything else.
After watching for a while, the two of them fought fiercely, their battle raging with incredible intensity.
Suddenly, the Ink Clan's Royal Lord's body exploded apart, transforming into billowing clouds of Ink that scattered in every direction. He had fled just like that.
The Chaotic Spirit King's Dao power surged, scattering the Ink Clouds one by one, but it couldn't locate the enemy's true body. It didn't bother giving chase either, simply standing its ground with a cold, stern expression, guarding the clan behind it.
Yang Kai stared, dumbfounded.
Had his guess been wrong?
That couldn't be! If he wasn't waiting for reinforcements, why would the Ink Clan's Royal Lord bother tangling with a Chaotic Spirit King? Moreover, the Ink Clan could use their small Ink Nests to communicate with one another and summon help.
Yet the Ink Clan's Royal Lord had indeed retreated, which put Yang Kai and Lei Ying in an extremely awkward position. Earlier, relying on Lei Ying's innate supernatural ability, the two of them — one human, one leopard — had been concealed at a distance from the battlefield that was neither too far nor too close. The only reason they hadn't been detected before was that the Chaotic Spirit King's attention had been tied up by the Ink Clan's Royal Lord.
Now that the Ink Clan's Royal Lord had fled and the Chaotic Spirit King was free of restraint, combined with the earlier commotion, even the slightest disturbance would likely alert the Chaotic Spirit King.
This meant Yang Kai and Lei Ying didn't dare so much as move. Lei Ying pushed its innate supernatural ability to the absolute limit and looked over at Yang Kai with an expression of inquiry — the meaning was obvious: What do we do now?
In this moment, it didn't even dare to send a telepathic message.
Yang Kai's expression was grim. In this situation, they could either withdraw now. If they did, there was a high probability they'd be exposed, but that wouldn't matter — the Chaotic Spirit King probably wouldn't chase after them. However, their plan to seize that supreme-grade Opening Heaven Pill would be ruined.
With such a precious spirit pill right before his eyes, how could Yang Kai possibly bring himself to retreat? This was the key for a Human Race Eighth-Order cultivator to advance to the Ninth Order!
He still felt that his deduction was correct — the Ink Clan's Royal Lord must have retreated because the reinforcements he'd summoned couldn't arrive in time.
If they couldn't come, there was no point in continuing the fight. He'd simply wait for them to arrive and strike then.
With that, he quickly made his decision: continue waiting! If the Ink Clan's Royal Lord returned, it would prove his guess was correct. And when that time came, there would be room for him to make his move.
Time flowed by, imperceptible and unhurried.
He didn't know how long had passed. Lei Ying had been maintaining its innate supernatural ability at full power and was on the verge of being unable to hold on any longer. If Lei Ying couldn't keep it up, they would most likely be exposed to the Chaotic Spirit King's perception.
Just as Yang Kai was contemplating whether they should temporarily withdraw, his expression shifted slightly. In the direction where the Ink Clan's Royal Lord had retreated earlier, a powerful aura rose without any attempt at concealment whatsoever, immediately drawing the attention of the Chaotic Spirit King standing guard nearby.
Moments later, a massive cloud of Ink hurtled toward them from that direction and crashed into the Chaotic Spirit King in the blink of an eye, the two of them locking into battle once more.
He's back!
The Ink Clan's Royal Lord who had fled earlier had indeed returned. Yang Kai's heart settled with relief, and he signaled Lei Ying with a glance. Lei Ying couldn't help but relax either, seizing the chance to catch its breath.
Having learned from their earlier exchange, the Ink Clan's Royal Lord was clearly much more cautious this time around. Though he was still no match for the Chaotic Spirit King, it wasn't so easy for the Chaotic Spirit King to defeat him either.
While they fought with fierce intensity, Yang Kai suddenly sensed another disturbance in a different direction. There, another powerful aura had suddenly entered his range of perception — no weaker than the Ink Clan's Royal Lord's earlier appearance.
This aura was like a beacon in the night, unmistakably obvious, and it immediately reminded Yang Kai of the Ink Clan's pseudo Royal Lords.
Because they couldn't control their full power, the Ink Clan's pseudo Royal Lords were never able to suppress their auras. As a result, the art of concealment had always been something beyond their reach.
There was no doubt that what had appeared was a pseudo Royal Lord.
And in Yang Kai's perception, several Domain Lords had gathered around this pseudo Royal Lord as well.
These were undoubtedly the reinforcements the Ink Clan's Royal Lord had summoned. This scene was exactly in line with Yang Kai's earlier speculation — the Ink Clan's Royal Lord had engaged the Chaotic Spirit King to keep it occupied, while the other Ink Clan powerhouses moved in to seize that supreme-grade Opening Heaven Pill.
Unable to conceal their presence, the Ink Clan's pseudo Royal Lord led several Domain Lords in a direct charge toward the gathering of the Chaotic Spirit Clan. The Chaotic Spirit King locked in combat with the Ink Clan's Royal Lord noticed this and its attacks grew even more vicious, clearly trying to drive its opponent back quickly. But while its strength was indeed slightly superior to the Ink Clan's Royal Lord's, they were essentially on the same level. With the enemy defending with everything it had, forcing a quick retreat was far easier said than done.