Martial Peak
chapter-5469

The Divine Ability Sea had been left behind innumerable years ago and its power had weakened during that period. The main reason why Yang Kai managed to take Xia Lin Lang through the Divine Ability Sea when he was just a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, other than his mastery over the Dao of Space, was this weakening.

He had to tread carefully then, but he did not need to do so now after he had gotten stronger and improved his mastery of the Dao of Space.

As Yang Kai was in a hurry, he could not spare the time to worry about much else. He dashed straight through and triggered countless barriers and restrictions. Divine Abilities situated throughout the area all activated and chased him down as he flitted through the void, making it look as if he had a tail made of rainbow-coloured lights behind him.

He did encounter a few setbacks, but they did not affect him much.

Within the short span of 10 days or so, Yang Kai managed to make his way through the Divine Ability Sea and step foot onto Divine Spirit Ancestral Land, albeit with a bruised and battered body.

This was a truly ancient place and was also the origin of all Divine Spirits. It was said that back in the earliest days, a myriad of Divine Spirits lived and flourished here; however, over time, the conflict between the various Divine Spirits grew until it culminated in a dreadful war.

The place of origin of the Divine Spirits had fragmented in the destruction and the Divine Spirit Ancestral Land of today was merely the largest piece that remained.

Even so, it was still the Divine Spirits’ most important Holy Land. Although Ancestral Strength could cause great harm to those who did not have a Divine Spirit Bloodline, it was a great help to those who did. By using Ancestral Strength, Divine Spirits could significantly shorten the time it took for them to cultivate and grow.

The last time Yang Kai came here, the Ancestral Strength had become thin and sparse, which was why the Divine Spirits, under the leadership of the Kun Clan, were all eager to open up the Black Ink Sealing Land as the Ancestral Strength was thick and abundant there.

Now that Yang Kai was here in this Ancestral Land again, he immediately sensed that the Ancestral Strength was a lot more plentiful than it had been before. While there were dangers that came with opening the Black Ink Sealing Land, the Divine Spirits did benefit from the Ancestral Strength that flowed out from the Black Ink Sealing Land.

However, Yang Kai was in no mood to ponder the changes in the Ancestral Strength density right now. As soon as he arrived, a fierce battle that was happening a great distance away instantly caught his attention.

He looked over and saw two flashes of light, one black and one white, tangled up together in the void. The Ancestral Land in its entirety rumbled and quaked each time the two flashes of light came into contact, which made it obvious that two Masters were engaged in battle.

Now and then, shrill, sorrowful bird cries pierced through the air.

Yang Kai’s expression hardened. He cursed under his breath at how fast the enemy had arrived. Even though he rushed over as quickly as he could, he still failed to arrive in time.

By now, he was more than clear that his earlier deductions were accurate. The two Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples were after the Black Ink Giant Spirit God inside the Divine Spirit Ancestral Land, planning on reawakening it!

The fight that was happening in the distance was between Hong Hu of Four Phoenix Pavilion and one of the Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples, though Yang Kai did not know which one.

Yang Kai swiftly concealed his aura and raced over.

Halfway there, he spotted a large group of Divine Spirits in various states fleeing in his direction. The one in the lead was a golden rooster that was about as tall as a building. He held his head up high with its chest puffed out even though he was clearly trying to make an escape.

This golden rooster looked a little familiar to Yang Kai, and when they got closer, he quickly showed himself and called out, “Ruler of the Dawn Great General?”

The golden rooster froze briefly when he saw Yang Kai, but surprise soon took over as he flapped his wings and came over at once. With a flicker of Divine Sense, he communicated to Yang Kai, “What are you doing here?”

Neither one of them could have predicted that they would meet again under such circumstances.

There was no time to catch up however, so Yang Kai quickly explained, “I’m here because I’m chasing after the two Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples. Is Senior Hong Hu holding them back? Where’s the other Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple?”

Ruler of the Dawn Great General’s tone was a little bitter, “You’re too late. The two Black Ink Disciples infiltrated this place and snuck up on Senior Kun Ao, who was standing guard here, leaving him gravely injured. Then, one of them stayed here to stop Senior Hong Hu while the other went into the Demon Sealing Land. I don’t know what he’s trying to do there.”

Yang Kai’s heart sank. He saw Hong Hu battling against an Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple and assumed that the situation was not quite so dire yet, but unexpectedly, things had already reached the worst-case scenario.

Ruler of the Dawn Great General hurriedly explained the current situation, “A fierce battle has broken out in the Barren Territory, and most of the Divine Spirits have gone to help. Senior Hong Hu and Kun Ao stayed behind to take care of us young ones, but now we can’t even tell if Senior Kun Ao will survive his wounds. I’m leading the young ones as far away as possible to hide. Come with us.”

Although he was huge in size, Great General was still considered a child when viewed in the light of the Divine Spirits’ prolonged growth period. It was the same with the other Divine Spirits behind him. Yang Kai could sense that even the strongest among them was only equal to a Fifth-Order Human Master, incapable of helping much on the battlefield. This was why they had been left behind under the care of Hong Hu and Kun Ao.

This way, even if some of the Divine Spirits who went to aid the Humans in the Barren Territory were sacrificed, their bloodlines would continue.

However, no one expected two Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples to quietly sneak into the Ancestral Land and heavily injure Kun Ao by catching him off-guard. Hong Hu noticed the commotion and rushed over to stop them, but it was already too late.

One of the Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples stayed behind to hold Hong Hu back while the other seized the chance to infiltrate the Demon Sealing Land.

Yang Kai shook his head, “I came here to deal with the two Black Ink Disciples. Hurry up and leave, all of you. The other Black Ink Disciple probably intends to awaken the Black Ink Giant Spirit God inside the Demon Sealing Land. The Ancestral Land isn’t safe anymore. You must leave here at once!”

The young Divine Spirits were all panicking, but one of the braver ones declared, “Ruler of the Dawn, let’s turn back and fight back with all we’ve got! Our parents aren’t here and Senior Hong Hu can’t fight alone. We should be defending our home!”

Ruler of the Dawn was young, but he lived among the Humans for a while and was thus a lot more mature than the others, so he swiftly turned around and snapped, “How are you going to fight them? We’re all too weak! We’d just get in the way before dying pointlessly! Do you want your parents to come back to find that even your corpse no longer exists? You’re all leaving with me!”

The young Divine Spirit dared not say anything in rebuttal after being rebuked as Ruler of the Dawn seemed to have some prestige among the little ones.

Initially, Ruler of the Dawn only wanted to lead the young ones away from the battlefield and find someplace further away to hide, but after hearing what Yang Kai said, he knew that they could not stay in Ancestral Land any longer. The Ancestral Land would most likely be destroyed the moment the Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple awakened the Black Ink Giant Spirit God.

Thus, he instantly made the decision to lead the young ones away out of Ancestral Land.

Fortunately, there was the safe passage that he and his Mother took to return to the Ancestral Land back then and he could still remember the way; otherwise, they would all be doomed if they had to break through the Divine Ability Sea like Yang Kai had earlier.

“Yang Kai, hurry up and help Senior Hong Hu,” Ruler of the Dawn quickly said.

Yang Kai nodded, “Be extremely careful, all of you. Once you’ve left the Ancestral Land, don’t stop for anything. Do you still remember Seven Wonders Land?”

Back then, Yang Kai had gotten to know Ruler of the Dawn Great General in Seven Wonders Land, so it was unlikely for him to have forgotten about it, and indeed he nodded right away.

“Head to Seven Wonders Land and look for Bi Xi. Get that old man to protect all of you.”

A large group of young Divine Spirits was far too eye-catching, and things could quickly turn dangerous if those with ulterior motives set their sights on these fledglings. It would be best for them to head to Seven Wonders Land, which was now known as Void Land, and sought protection from Bi Xi.

Yang Kai could have also kept them inside his Small Universe, but he was on a dangerous mission right now and did not know whether he could make it out alive. If he died here, then these young Divine Spirits would all die with him.

The young Divine Spirits were the ones who would carry on their bloodlines, so he dared not take such a risk.

“Go!” Yang Kai said firmly.

“You be careful too!” Ruler of the Dawn called out before fleeing once more with the group of young Divine Spirits.

Yang Kai glanced at the fight between the black and white flashes of light in the sky and breathed out. He decided against hiding his aura again and instead summoned his Azure Dragon Spear and charged into the sky.

At first, only the alarming light of the spear appeared, but a plethora of Dao Strengths soon joined the mix. The imposing aura grew stronger until the earth shook, the sky dimmed, and the wind and clouds whipped around.

As for the two that were fighting on the battlefield, Hong Hu was distraught as what happened today had been far too unexpected. Two Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples had managed to sneak into the Ancestral Land without anyone noticing them and had gravely injured Kun Ao who had been standing guard. Even though she managed to hold off one of them, the other had already entered the Demon Sealing Land.

She did not know what their motives were and did not have any idea where these two Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples came from; thus, she could not stop herself from viewing the situation pessimistically. Had the Barren Territory battlefield been breached as well? Were all her friends dead? Was an enemy invasion on the way?

Still, she was a mature Divine Spirit. Although she did not rank highly among the Divine Spirits, she had a Phoenix Clan Bloodline, so an ordinary Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master was no match for her.

That being said, her opponent was fighting with reckless abandon, as if he did not care if he died here today, so there was no way Hong Hu could defeat him quickly.

Just as the two clashed, they both detected the appearance of a terrifying Spear Intent, and soon, a flash of piercing aura came from afar and locked onto the Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple.

Hong Hu was gleefully surprised, while the Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple’s expression darkened.

He never thought that an Eighth-Order Master would come over to render aid at a time like this. Furthermore… he was familiar with the newcomer’s aura!

The Black Ink Disciple kept trying to use his Secret Techniques to break off the aura that was locked onto him, but his opponent seemed to have seen this coming and kept increasing the force behind his aura, preventing him from breaking free.

The Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple chuckled bitterly, as if he could tell what his fate would be, “That brat… has actually become an Eighth-Order Master already!”

He could tell who it was from the person’s aura, but he never thought the Brat they all thought had died back then would still be alive. Not only was he still alive, but he even possessed an Eighth-Order cultivation!

Knowing that he would not be leaving this place alive, the Black Ink Disciple gave up any attempt to defend himself and instead channelled all of his power into attacking Hong Hu instead. He wanted to take Hong Hu down with him.

Hong Hu was immediately overwhelmed by a series of relentless attacks, but as she was more powerful than her opponent, she managed to control the situation, even if just barely.

Meanwhile, spear and Master merged into one. As Yang Kai’s Dao Strengths continued to intertwine, his expression turned sorrowful and his eyes turned a little red; however, he resisted the reluctance in his heart and thrust out with all of his power.

At this very moment, he could not help but recall the words he had lectured Jiu Yan with back when they were outside the Universe Temple.

On that battlefield, countless soldiers had been corrupted by Black Ink Strength and ended up serving the Black Ink Clan as they fought against those who were once their Fellow Brothers!

‘How would you ever know the agony and helplessness of having to kill those who were once your closest allies?’