When Xue Ji had killed the blood slaves earlier, she hadn't thought much of it. Now, hearing Li Feiyu's words, she finally realized something was wrong.
Everyone who had ever been tainted by the power of ink—whether or not their minds had been twisted—all found themselves unable to hold out this time. The depths of the Ink Abyss seemed to exert a deadly pull on them, driving them to charge in regardless of everything.
The blood slaves were the perfect example.
The four blood slaves had always been loyal to her, and she had personally placed restrictions upon them, yet they had still betrayed her just now.
But she herself showed no abnormality.
She could feel that some faint traces of the power of ink still lingered within her body—from her earlier cultivation within the Ink Abyss.
But those traces now seemed to be sealed by some force, unable to affect her in the slightest.
The force sealing the ink power was none other than her own power of the Blood Dao!
Power drawn from her master's blood!
As the few of them talked, the commotion on the Holy Light Church's side grew increasingly violent. Roars resembling beast cries rang out continuously as warriors whose minds had been twisted by the power of ink completely lost their reason, transforming into Ink Disciples!
The young Holy Son displayed rare decisiveness and resolve at this moment, shouting: "All Banner Lords, please organize your forces and establish defensive lines! No matter what happens, we cannot let those whose minds have been twisted by the power of ink break into the Ink Abyss!"
He didn't know the identity of the person the Holy Maiden had mentioned, nor did he know what that person was doing at the bottom of the Ink Abyss, but he understood what the Church needed to do.
With his command given, the Banner Lords sprang into action. The Holy Maiden cast an approving glance at the Holy Son, which made him feel light as air.
Yu Daochi watched coldly from the side, thinking resentfully that young men were always so easily swayed by beauty—how could they know that power was the most wonderful thing in this world!
Burning with frustration, he was the first to rush out, organizing the forces under his command as the Holy Son had requested.
The other Banner Lords began to act as well, and soon a great battle erupted.
Over the course of a month of warfare, many in the Holy Light Church had been tainted by the power of ink. This time, former comrades turned their swords on each other. Many could hardly bear it, but those Ink Disciples showed no mercy—they were determined to charge into the Ink Abyss, and they would tear apart anything standing in their path with everything they had.
Once the Church's forces realized that these Ink Disciples could no longer be saved, they stopped holding back. Slaughter began to spread, and gradually the sounds of the commotion grew quieter and quieter.
Just when everyone thought the disturbance was about to subside, a massive number of powerful figures shrouded in the power of ink charged in from every direction.
These were none other than the Ink Cult's powerhouses who had been hiding until now. Summoned by the sliver of primordial power within the Ink Abyss, they had all revealed themselves.
An even fiercer battle erupted. The Church's army had shown some restraint against their former comrades, but against these members of the Ink Cult, they showed absolutely no mercy.
Xue Ji stood beside the Ink Abyss, silently listening to the sounds of slaughter, faithfully upholding Yang Kai's orders: anyone who attempted to rush into the Ink Abyss would be killed without exception!
This disturbance lasted for several days, until at last, when the final wave of Ink Cult members charging in from the distance was cut down, everything finally fell silent.
There were no cheers, no joy. The Church's army was utterly exhausted, each person collapsing to the ground. Staring at the corpses of their former comrades-in-arms, their hearts overflowed with grief.
The Church's powerhouses gathered once more before the Ink Abyss, led by Yu Daochi. The Banner Lords began pressuring Xue Ji.
This upheaval had only deepened everyone's awareness of the Ink Abyss's importance. They wanted to understand what exactly lay hidden in its depths—only by understanding could they prevent something similar from happening again.
Xue Ji refused to yield a single step. Killing intent began to spread. The atmosphere beside the Ink Abyss grew heavy and tense.
Just as both sides were at an impasse, a great battle on the verge of erupting, Xue Ji's face suddenly lit up with joy. She turned to gaze downward into the Ink Abyss.
At the same moment, everyone sensed a powerful aura surging upward from the depths of the Ink Abyss.
What shocked them was that this aura was far more powerful than Xue Ji's!
In the blink of an eye, a figure stood before Xue Ji.
"Master!" Xue Ji greeted him joyfully, stepping forward.
Yang Kai gave her a slight nod, an approving look on his face, but raised a hand to stop her from approaching.
At this moment, space warped around his entire body. An enormous repulsive force swirled about him, and in the unseen realm, a tide of destruction gathered around him.
"It's you?!" The Banner Lords were stunned on the spot.
They had all seen Yang Kai before—this person who, upon entering the city, had been welcomed by crowds lining the streets, who was beloved by the people and blessed by the will of Heaven, and whom they had once deemed to be an impostor Holy Son.
Within the Sealed Land, he had failed the trial left by the first-generation Holy Maiden. As a result, his mind had been twisted by the power of ink. That day, three Banner Lords had joined forces to kill him, and Li Feiyu had disposed of his corpse.
No one had ever imagined that this fellow was still alive—and that he had emerged from the very depths of the Ink Abyss.
Recalling the earlier words of the Holy Maiden and Xue Ji, the Banner Lords couldn't help but glance at the Holy Maiden, their hearts filling with a dawning understanding.
If anyone else had walked out of the depths of the Ink Abyss at this point, the Church's forces would certainly not have let it pass. Who knew whether his mind had been twisted by the power of ink?
But the aura Yang Kai now displayed filled them with dread, and for a moment, no one spoke.
"Master, what's happening?" Xue Ji's face had gone pale. Staring at the spatial distortions around Yang Kai and sensing that aura of destruction, she vaguely realized something was wrong.
Yang Kai smiled at her: "Every world has its own limits. The limit of this world is the Shenyou Realm. Exceeding that limit invites the rejection of Heaven and Earth."