Zuoqiu Yanghua had been born in the Xuanjian Blessed Land. He had ventured to the Ink Battlefield to slay enemies as soon as he reached the Sixth-Order Open Heaven stage, spending tens of thousands of years in Xuanjian Pass. His personal strength gradually grew from Sixth-Order to Eighth-Order, and he displayed extraordinary talent in military strategy.
When Xuanjian Pass still stood, he had already served as the Eastern Army Corps Commander of the Xuanjian forces. Later, when humanity launched its great expedition and suffered defeat outside the Primordial Heaven Forbidden Zone, the main army retreated while Xuanjian Pass was left to cover the rear. The pass was obliterated by the Ink-colored Giant Spirit, and the Ninth-Order ancestor of the Xuanjian Blessed Land fell in battle on the spot.
Zuoqiu Yanghua had been fortunate enough to survive, saved by fellow disciples. He retreated to No-Return Pass, which later fell as well. The war in the Empty Domain erupted, and the Ink Race invaded the Three Thousand Worlds.
It could be said that Zuoqiu Yanghua was among the most veteran Eighth-Order Open Heaven cultivators in existence. In the current human race, there were few Eighth-Order cultivators with more seniority than he.
Having him command the Eastern Army of the Crimson Fire Army was entirely fitting.
Over all these years, he had not failed to live up to the expectations of his soldiers. Under his leadership, the Crimson Fire Eastern Army had slain countless enemies and earned remarkable military merits.
However, this time being targeted by two Ink Race Pseudo-King Lords, Zuoqiu Yanghua knew there was no chance of survival. After tens of thousands of years of warfare, he had long grown accustomed to partings in life and death. At this moment, he felt no fear or panic — his mind was as calm as an ancient well, carrying only a trace of regret. After all, the struggle against the Ink Race had spanned the majority of his life, and now he would have no chance to witness humanity's final victory.
He had not failed to anticipate this situation. In truth, as a competent corps commander, he had long conceived of this very scenario. Sooner or later, the Ink Race would leverage the overwhelming combat power of their Pseudo-King Lords to execute such a move, and he had prepared accordingly.
The Jade-Rock Plan had been established precisely for this kind of situation.
When a formidable enemy attacks and cannot be defeated — then burn jade and stone alike!
The two Pseudo-King Lords were accelerating, drawing ever closer. Their tremendous auras locked firmly onto him. Zuoqiu Yanghua stood immovable and spoke: "Everyone, to have fought alongside you all in this lifetime has been my honor. After today, may we join hands once more to battle in the netherworld!"
An Eighth-Order cultivator laughed: "So it shall be!"
Another said: "A pity we won't see the final outcome."
And another shouted: "Kill them!"
The handful of Eighth-Order cultivators who had stayed behind had long known that what awaited them would be dire, yet not one showed fear. Under the tremendous pressure, their fighting spirits blazed even higher.
A rare smile bloomed on Zuoqiu Yanghua's habitually cold face as he spoke slowly: "If that is the case, then... charge!"
The moment those words fell, the Eighth-Order cultivators who had already taken their positions simultaneously poured their power into the formation. The next instant, the massive Ink-Expelling Warship that had been quietly hovering beyond the battlefield trembled slightly, then surged forward at tremendous speed toward the enemy.
The two Pseudo-King Lords charging toward them had been perfectly composed, but upon seeing this, they both paused in surprise.
They had long witnessed humanity's tenacity and resilience, yet under their boundless might, for the opponents to still make such a move was somewhat unexpected.
The slightly taller of the two — Hu Yu, who had a pair of fleshy wings growing from his back — snorted coldly: "Overestimating yourselves."
He had seen this kind of situation many times before. Facing an absolute disparity in strength, humans would often resort to more radical measures, driven by unrealistic fantasies.
Had he still been merely an Innate Domain Lord, he would naturally have avoided the brunt of such a maneuver. But ever since his ascension to Pseudo-King Lord, very few human powerhouses were worthy of his notice.
Beside him, Jiang Chi, who walked shoulder to shoulder, said: "Don't be careless!"
Though he said this, his speed did not diminish in the slightest. They had originally brought some Domain Lords along, but those had been dispatched along the way to intercept the approaching human Eighth-Order cultivators. So now only the two Pseudo-King Lords remained, relying on their formidable power as they charged boldly toward the Ink-Expelling Warship.
From afar, aboard the Ink-Expelling Warship, large-scale Artifacts that had been pre-positioned were activated by the remaining Eighth-Order cultivators, unleashing waves of devastating power. But Artifacts were ultimately inanimate objects, and even with the formation boosting their might, dealing damage to two Pseudo-King Lords proved difficult.
Under the barrage of powerful attacks, the two Pseudo-King Lords dodged the strikes while closing in on the warship.
When they reached a critical distance, Jiang Chi and Hu Yu struck simultaneously. Devastating power surged outward, saturated with dense Ink Force, hammering toward the Ink-Expelling Warship.
A dazzling barrier of light blazed to life, shielding the front of the warship — Zuoqiu Yanghua and the others had activated the defensive formation's full power.
The ink-colored energy hammered relentlessly against the barrier, sending ripples cascading across its surface. Under the devastating assault, the formation's glow rapidly dimmed.
Before the two sides had fully closed the distance, the defensive formation shattered completely.
It wasn't that the warship's defensive formation was lacking in power — the issue was that there were simply too few people aboard to fuel it properly. With only a single Eighth-Order cultivator overseeing the formation, it could hardly unleash its full potential.
Had there been sufficient personnel to operate it, even if the warship's defensive formation couldn't withstand the frantic bombardment of two Pseudo-King Lords, it wouldn't have broken so quickly.
Without the formation's protection, the massive Ink-Expelling Warship was suddenly as vulnerable as a disrobed woman before two ferocious demons — utterly incapable of offering any resistance.
Savage forces slammed into it. The forward section of the Ink-Expelling Warship exploded into fragments, and the numerous Artifacts arrayed upon it were blasted to shreds.