The Space-Time River that had been intertwined with the Azure Dragon Spear, imbuing the weapon with the power of the Grand Dao, suddenly detached in an instant. Yang Kai seized it with one hand and lashed it toward the three Pseudo Lord-Rank cultivators, deflecting their onslaughts. With his other arm, he wielded the spear alone, transforming it into a sky full of spear shadows that rained down upon Mo Na Ye.
Mo Na Ye's expression changed instantly. Only then did he realize that Yang Kai had been holding back the entire time, and a wave of unreality washed over him.
In just a few short centuries, this fellow had grown so tremendously?
But there was no time for such thoughts now. Yang Kai had grown, but Mo Na Ye hadn't been idle these past centuries either. He too had grown significantly stronger — not as explosively as Yang Kai, but at least his cultivation as a Lord-rank had finally stabilized. Faced with Yang Kai's killing techniques, he would not simply sit and wait for death.
In an instant, the power of Ink surged, Ink Clouds roiling and shaking, enveloping the vast expanse of the void. Within the Ink Clouds, violent shockwaves from their clash erupted continuously, interspersed with Mo Na Ye's furious roars: "How long can you sustain such an assault?"
He could tell — Yang Kai had clearly activated some kind of secret technique to achieve such a sudden boost in power, and such techniques inevitably came with limitations. Duration was the biggest problem.
Yang Kai immediately retorted: "Not long, but long enough to kill you!"
"Then come!"
"Come on!"
Within the Ink Clouds, the two bickered like children in a brawl, their shouting leaving the crowd of Pseudo Lord-Rank cultivators at Returnless Pass utterly bemused.
While Yang Kai fought alone on one side, on the other, the Human Race army and the Ink Race army were locked in continuous struggle outside Returnless Pass. The World Impact tactic was gradually showing its effects — the previously impregnable defensive line had been torn open with numerous gaps. At these breaches, the Human Race army could not be said to have unstoppable momentum, but they had at the very least gained an overwhelming advantage.
Moreover, the Ink Race's current situation differed from the Human Race's.
The Human Race had Pure Yang Pass operating outside the battlefield, coordinating the overall situation. Precise orders flowed from Pure Yang Pass to every corner of the battlefield, and the soldiers needed only to follow commands. Under the direction of the Grand Coordinator's office at Pure Yang Pass, the entire Human Race army functioned like a single, tightly integrated organism — advancing and retreating together, watching each other's backs, with clear military discipline.
The Ink Race had no such advantage. Mo Na Ye and Mo Yu were both engaged in combat. Although Mo Na Ye had anticipated this situation before the battle began and had instructed several of his trusted subordinates to take over the Ink Race army's coordination under such circumstances, they simply lacked experience, and their tactical and strategic decisions were sorely lacking. How could they hope to match wits with an old fox like Mi Jinglun?
Had it not been for their home-field advantage and the constant reinforcement of troops across the front, the Ink Race would likely have already lost this battle.
But the Human Race also had their concerns. Although they held the upper hand in the broader picture, the Ink Race still had two Ink Colossi stationed on either side of Returnless Pass, watching the Human Race army with predatory intent. Though the Colossi were being pinned down by A Da and A Er in the Domain of Emptiness and dared not leave Returnless Pass, deploying certain secret techniques from a distance posed no problem for them.
The secret techniques unleashed by the Ink Colossi were devastating in scale, and each strike was not to be underestimated. Many soldiers had fallen to the Colossi's attacks.
Under such circumstances, the Human Race's hope of taking Returnless Pass in a single battle was pure fantasy. Just as the Ink Race had a clear understanding of the balance between the two races, so too did the Human Race.
The key to the war between the two races lay with the four Colossi. Whoever could deal with the opponent's Colossi first would gain an overwhelming advantage.
But dealing with the opponent's Colossi was easier said than done.
The Human Race's greatest gain so far was that Ink Race army that had feinted an attack on Pure Yang Pass.
This Ink Race force, led by twelve Pseudo Lord-Rank cultivators and numbering a million strong, had feinted outside Pure Yang Pass before striking toward the rear of the Human Race army.
Under Mi Jinglun's command, two newly advanced Ninth-Order cultivators, hidden at Returnless Pass, led two hundred Eighth-Order cultivators in hot pursuit.
This Ink Race army, which had intended to coordinate with their kin inside Returnless Pass in a pincer attack, instead found its retreat cut off by the Human Race. After a brutal battle, the million-strong Ink Race army was virtually annihilated. Seeing the situation turn dire, the twelve Pseudo Lord-Rank cultivators joined forces and broke through the encirclement, attempting to flee back to Returnless Pass. In the end, only half made it back — the rest fell along the way.
On Pure Yang Pass, Mi Jinglun gazed out at the battlefield's situation, and after a long moment, let out a heavy sigh. Though he had long known that taking Returnless Pass in a single battle was impossible, actually clashing with the Ink Race had shown him that the strength they had amassed exceeded his expectations.
Unlike the Ink Race, who cared nothing for casualties, every soldier in the Human Race was a precious fighting asset. Taking Returnless Pass was only the beginning — the Human Race still had to march on the Primordial Heaven's Forbidden Zone. If they suffered too many losses here at Returnless Pass, what would be left for the great expedition?
And so, throughout this battle, Mi Jinglun had adhered to one principle in coordinating the army: preserve fighting strength as much as possible. He would rather kill fewer Ink Race than allow any force to suffer excessive casualties — especially the high-rank Open Heaven cultivators.
Now that the battle had progressed to this point, the Human Race had undeniably gained the upper hand, but until the Ink Colossi were dealt with, taking Returnless Pass remained out of the question. If the fighting continued at this pace, casualties would only increase further.
On such an intense battlefield, every soldier was burning through enormous amounts of energy. Moreover, the Ink-Repelling Pills they had taken beforehand had a time limit. On the battlefield, where the deaths of countless Ink Race members had made the Ink Force overwhelmingly dense, the pills' efficacy was being drained at every moment.