This world truly possessed the power of Ink! And there was an Ink Church as well — by the looks of it, an entity hostile to the Church of the Holy Light!
"Holy Son, the power of Ink is extremely corrosive and can twist a person's nature. Please check whether you've been affected!" Zuo Wuyou warned urgently.
Yang Kai chuckled. The power of Ink from even a King-Rank powerhouse couldn't do a thing to him, let alone the thin traces of it on these people from the Ink Church.
His Small Universe was indeed sealed at the moment, making it difficult to draw upon the might of heaven and earth within. But the Child Tree still existed, and coupled with the Soul-Warming Lotus's protection of his spiritual soul, he was more than guaranteed immunity to the power of Ink.
Still, the man had meant well, so Yang Kai went through the motions of inspecting himself before finally saying, "It's fine. The power of Ink has no effect on me."
Zuo Wuyou and Liu Ji both let out long sighs of relief.
Immediately after, their gazes shifted to Yan Peng, who stood off to the side, utterly motionless. This Divine Wanderer Realm powerhouse had been frozen in place ever since he had earlier unleashed the power of his spiritual soul. He hadn't even reacted when every last one of his subordinates had been slaughtered. He looked as though his soul had fled his body.
This left Zuo Wuyou and Liu Ji rather bewildered.
"Holy Son, what's wrong with Yan Peng...?" Zuo Wuyou had a vague suspicion but couldn't be certain, so he could only ask Yang Kai directly.
Yang Kai replied, "His spiritual soul has shattered. He's nothing more than a living corpse now."
Zuo Wuyou stared blankly, unable to believe what he was hearing. "Holy Son, could it be that you possess a special constitution immune to all manner of evil?"
The power of Ink couldn't corrode him, and even when Yan Peng had turned the power of his spiritual soul against him, his soul had ended up shattered. Zuo Wuyou truly couldn't think of any other explanation for these inconceivable events.
"Something like that," Yang Kai said. He had been wondering how to explain it all, and Zuo Wuyou had been kind enough to provide him with an excuse.
Seeing him admit it, Zuo Wuyou and Liu Ji exchanged a glance, both buzzing with excitement.
The Holy Son was immune to all manner of evil — inherently countering the Ink Church's methods. He truly was the Church's future hope! The Holy Maiden's prophecy had been correct!
Moreover, his strength was beyond fathom. Just moments ago, during that slaughter, he hadn't even needed to unleash any particularly devastating power. The longsword in his hand had used nothing but the most basic techniques, yet those Ink Church powerhouses hadn't been able to withstand a single stroke.
A ray of dawn pierced through the grey haze of their hearts, and for a moment, the weight of their grief seemed to lighten considerably.
"We shouldn't stay here long..." Zuo Wuyou forced himself upright, only to collapse back down. His injuries were truly severe.
Liu Ji was in no better shape. He had been caught completely off guard when Zheng Hai had ambushed him with a blow to the back. If Zheng Hai hadn't needed to conserve strength to strike at Yang Kai, that single blow would likely have taken his life.
Yang Kai said, "You two should rest and recover for a while."
Zuo Wuyou's expression was bitter. Though he wished to leave this danger zone as quickly as possible, he simply didn't have the strength. Exchanging a glance with Liu Ji, he could only remain where he was, tending to his wounds and regulating his breathing, hoping to recover some measure of power as quickly as possible.
---
Within the sea of consciousness, on the Seven-Colored Island.
Before the young man and Lei Bao, Yan Peng's soul entity stood in the most respectful posture, answering every question put to him with complete candor — holding nothing back, exhausting every shred of knowledge he possessed.
There was nothing else he could do. He had originally believed this Seven-Colored Island to be his great fortune. Who could have imagined that upon arriving, he would discover two figures of power far beyond anything he could comprehend?
Without any explanation needed, Yan Peng knew that either one of these two could annihilate his soul with nothing more than a passing thought.
When you live under another's roof, you bow your head!
Fortunately, the young man was reasonably amiable and hadn't done anything to him — merely asking for some basic intelligence.
Yan Peng naturally cooperated without protest.
Through this back-and-forth questioning, Yang Kai came to understand a fair amount about this world.
The Original World — since antiquity, two great powers had stood in opposition. One was the Church of the Holy Light, the other the Ink Church. Each held dominion over half of this world.
Yet after all these years of conflict, neither side had been able to overcome the other.
Within the Ink Church existed an Ink Master, who could bestow upon living beings the power of Ink, twisting their nature and binding them to the Ink Church's service.
The Church of the Holy Light was the only force capable of resisting the Ink Church. For countless ages, it had stood against them in unrelenting struggle. Had the Church of the Holy Light not existed, the entire world would likely have long since fallen into the Ink Church's grasp.
The first Holy Maiden of the Church of the Holy Light had left behind a prophecy — the very words Yang Kai had heard from Liu Ji. Over the years, the faithful of the Church of the Holy Light had been fighting the Ink Church while simultaneously searching for the Holy Son.
Because according to the first Holy Maiden's guidance, only the appearance of the Holy Son could bring about the Ink Church's complete defeat.
Similarly, the Ink Church had been hunting for traces of the Church of the Holy Light's Holy Son.
Unfortunately, neither side had ever found anything.
Until now. The Ink Church had launched a hunting operation against Zuo Wuyou, and Yang Kai had suddenly descended from the heavens...
When word of this reached Yan Peng, he had personally led a team to capture him — only to capsize in a ditch. Not only had every man he brought along perished, but he himself was now a prisoner.
On the island, Fang Tianci continued to press Yan Peng for more information.
Before the ruins, Yang Kai sank into deep contemplation.
The intelligence he had gathered wasn't extensive, but he now had a general understanding of the situation.
Two things were different from what he had expected.
First, the effect of the power of Ink upon living beings.