Martial Peak
chapter-5626

The Humans had many sayings for when one returned home, each describing it as something glorious after enduring difficulties or achieving something astonishing that brought honour to the family.

However, Source Fusion in the Black Ink Clan had nothing to do with returning with honour. The only similarity with those sayings was that it was somewhat related to going home.

To the Humans, one’s homeland was their place of birth; in that sense, the Black Ink Nests were the Black Ink Clan’s homeland because they nurtured all Black Ink Clansmen.

To the Black Ink Clan, Source Fusion was both punishment and glory; moreover, only Territory Lords could perform Source Fusion.

Technically speaking, Source Fusion was a type of Secret Technique that only the Black Ink Clan could use, and to use it, they must have a High-Rank Black Ink Nest.

A Territory Lord would enter the High-Rank Black Ink Nest and use the Source Fusion Technique to fuse their body and essence with the Black Ink Nest. Though any Territory Lord could easily perform the technique, it had never been used since ancient times.

That was because when the Territory Lord fused their body with the Black Ink Nest, there was a huge possibility that they would be devoured by the Black Ink Nest and cease to exist.

Despite the fact that there were quite a lot of Territory Lords in the Black Ink Clan, they were all pillars of the various battlefields, so it wasn’t easy to sacrifice any of them.

Of course, with such a high risk, the reward naturally wouldn’t be small.

If the Territory Lord who performed the Source Fusion Technique could withstand the Black Ink Nest’s devouring and instead assimilate the Black Ink Nest, they would achieve earth-shattering changes.

Simply put, the relationship between the Territory Lord using the Source Fusion Technique and the Black Ink Nest was that they had to devour each other. Only one between them would survive.

Since the day of their birth, an Innate Territory Lord’s abilities were fixed and had no way of increasing.

This limitation, however, wasn’t completely impossible to overcome as they could have a chance to greatly increase their strength by performing the Source Fusion Technique, even though the chances of success weren’t high.

High-Rank Black Ink Nests were derived directly from Mo; therefore, one could see the Black Ink Clan as Mo’s creations. If the creation devoured the Source Qi from their creator, they would gain unimaginable benefits.

By using the Source Fusion Technique, an Innate Territory Lord would have the chance to become a Royal Lord! Of course, such a Royal Lord would inevitably be weaker than an ordinary Royal Lord and could only be called Pseudo-Royal Lord.

Such a Secret Technique needed the Black Ink Clan to sacrifice many Territory Lords to succeed, and even if they did, they would lose a High-Rank Black Ink Nest. Each High-Rank Black Ink Nest was connected to dozens, if not over 100 Mid-Rank Black Ink Nests, and thousands of Low-Rank Black Ink Nests which birthed and served massive Black Ink Clan Armies.

Back when Yang Kai destroyed a few High-Rank Black Ink Nests in the No-Return Pass, the Black Ink Clan had been distressed about it for many years. Additionally, that incident thwarted several plans the Black Ink Clan had for some Great Territories.

In short, the Black Ink Clan was loath to lose any High-Rank Black Ink Nests.

These were the reasons why no Territory Lord had even performed this Secret Technique and why the Humans had no idea about it despite having waged war against the Black Ink Clan for so many millennia.

If it weren’t for the importance of killing Yang Kai, the Royal Lord would never have been willing to make such a sacrifice. However, that killing star had now become a dangerous obstacle to the Black Ink Clan’s plans, so if they could remove him, the situation between the two Races would change entirely. At the very least, the Black Ink Clan would no longer have to obey the so-called peace deal between the two races.

It would be best if one of these two Territory Lords could succeed, but it didn’t matter if they didn’t because their failure would contribute to the next Territory Lord’s chances of success.

When it came to the Source Fusion Technique, the more Territory Lords that failed to consume the High-Rank Nest, the greater the chances the following Territory Lords who performed the Secret Technique would have of succeeding. Therefore, as long as the Black Ink Clan was willing to make enough sacrifices, they would eventually succeed.

However, the Black Ink Clan weren’t sure what the odds of success were because there had never been a Territory Lord who had used this technique. Even the Royal Lord only had a rough estimation that the initial chances of success were around 10%, and would increase by about that much for successive attempts.

In other words, even if things went smoothly, they still had to sacrifice around a dozen Territory Lords before a Pseudo-Royal Lord could be born.

Of course, those estimations didn’t account for the amount of Territory Lords, Feudal Lords, and ordinary Black Ink Clansmen that the destruction of a High-Rank Black Ink Nest would implicate.

Such a huge sacrifice for such a small reward was obviously not cost-effective for the Black Ink Clan outside of extremely special circumstances.

However, sending Territory Lords was no longer a viable method to deal with Yang Kai, so a Royal Lord was required. Unfortunately, there was only one Royal Lord in the entire Black Ink Clan currently, and he had to oversee the No-Return Pass and couldn’t leave at will.

The Royal Lord clearly remembered the incident where a pure white Dragon Clan member boldly barged into the No-Return Pass roughly 1,000 years ago. According to the intelligence they possessed, the Black Ink Clan naturally knew that this Divine Dragon was stronger than any Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master!

Luckily for them, that White Divine Dragon didn’t attack the No-Return Pass and seemed to just be passing by as he dashed off into the depths of the Black Ink Battlefield. That Dragon Clan member disappeared and hadn’t returned since then, and no one knew what he was up to.

However, the mere existence of this kind of Master made it impossible for the Black Ink Clan to leave the No-Return Pass undefended!

A Pseudo-Royal Lord was also a Royal Lord!

Therefore, no matter what price they had to pay, the Black Ink Clan had to kill Yang Kai in the Divine Spirit Ancestral Land.

Qing Fu and Mu Yu felt devastated as they left. Though they were reluctant to die in such a way, it was in the Black Ink Clan’s nature to obey those superior to them. Since the Royal Lord had given the order, they could only abide.

After finding a High-Rank Black Ink Nest, the two Innate Territory Lords looked at each other and saw the despair in each other’s eyes. They smiled bitterly at each other before flying into the Black Ink Nest.

When they arrived at the innermost part of the Black Ink Nest, the two Territory Lords sat cross-legged and began performing the Source Fusion Technique.

At that instant, the fleshy walls of the Black Ink Nest squirmed as the two Territory Lord’s bodies gradually sank downwards as if they were in a swamp.

Their figures disappeared in a few short breaths as the Black Ink Nest completely devoured them. Only their auras remained, trying to resist the Black Ink Nest from within.

As time passed, the two Territory Lords’ auras weakened before finally disappearing.

Back inside the Main Hall, the Royal Lord and many Territory Lords were monitoring the situation. When they were certain that the two Territory Lords’ auras had completely disappeared, many of the Innate Territory Lords sighed. It seemed like the Source Fusion Technique really wasn’t something that could be easily used.

But the sacrifice these two made was destined to not be wasted as they soon heard the Royal Lord asking, “Is there any of you who is willing to perform Source Fusion with this Black Ink Nest?”

It was almost like asking if any of them would be willing to die.

Having witnessed Qing Fu and Mu Yu’s end, none of the Innate Territory Lords below dared to volunteer to perform Source Fusion with the Black Ink Nest. Therefore, it was complete silence after the Royal Lord asked his question.

Finally, after a long time, a Territory Lord came forward and declared, “Sir, I am willing to try!”

Coming forward while everyone was silent made this Territory Lord stand out greatly and many gazes of all sorts landed on him.

The Royal Lord sitting above them revealed a gratified expression. Although many Black Ink Clansmen were afraid of death because of the personality they were born with, there were still some who were willing to sacrifice themselves for the greater good of their Race.

Nodding, the Royal Lord said, “If that’s what you wish, Di Wu, I’ll give you a chance.”

“Yes!” The Territory Lord called Di Wu cupped his fist and waited to receive further orders.

“Is there anyone else?” The Royal Lord turned to look around, but didn’t get any response, so he was a little frustrated and began calling out a few Territory Lords’ names with no trace of politeness.

The faces of those few Territory Lords instantly became ashen as they came forward with difficulty.

Meanwhile, the other Territory Lords watched the scene and secretly analysed the situation. Then, they realised that those Territory Lords had either lost to Human Race Masters or made blunders on the battlefield that harmed the Black Ink Clan. It seemed like the names the Royal Lord called out weren’t at random, which made a few Territory Lords feel relieved.

“Di Wu stays behind while the rest of you go ahead. Black Ink Eternal!”

Though the few Territory Lords couldn’t put their feelings into words, their expressions still became stern as they yelled, “Black Ink Eternal!”

After that, they turned around and set off.

Moments later, the auras of the chosen Innate Territory Lords disappeared one after another inside the High-Rank Black Ink Nest, obviously indicating that they had failed. Although it all failed, those auras were hung on for longer and longer, which meant that the Source Fusion Technique was getting closer to success.

At that moment, the desire in those Innate Territory Lords still on the scene were ignited.

An Innate Territory Lord was indeed strong, and ordinary Eighth-Order Masters weren’t their opponents, but it had always been a point of frustration that their abilities were fixed with no way of increasing in the future.

Right now, the Innate Territory Lords could still occupy a pivotal place in the war against the Human Race, but once the final battle between the two Races began, there would surely be quite a lot of Royal Lords and Ninth-Order Masters. By that time, what was the use of being an Innate Territory Lord when they couldn’t even save themselves from danger?

They also wanted to have greater power and become Royal Lords, even if they were only Pseudo-Royal Lords!

In the meantime, six Territory Lords had gone through Source Fusion with the Black Ink Nest, which meant the chances for succeeding was growing increasingly higher. Perhaps one of them might be able to devour the Black Ink Nest, break through their innate shackles and transcend to the next level.

While they feared death, they also craved power. If the Innate Territory Lords in the hall could be said to be avoiding the Source Fusion Technique before, they were now feeling a little excited.

After the eighth Territory Lord had fallen, the Royal Lord asked again, “Who else is willing to give it a try?”

The Territory Lords were now far more enthusiastic than before.

Of course, the Royal Lord knew what they were thinking, but he still nodded lightly while looking at them with a gratified expression. However, he didn’t let the Territory Lords take action together this time. The ones before were to build a foundation, and now that it had been built, it was time to carefully collect his harvest.

Under the Royal Lord’s command, the first Territory Lord in line entered the Black Ink Nest and performed the Source Fusion Technique. Half a day later, his aura disappeared.

Following that was the second Territory Lord, then a third…

Each Territory Lord was able to last much longer than the previous one, which meant they were creeping closer to success.

However, it wasn’t until the 13th Territory Lord failed to return that the other Territory Lords below the throne began looking at the Royal Lord with burning gazes! Anyone could see that success was near. Perhaps it would be the next one or the one after that…

Since the Royal Lord hadn’t said anything, none of them dared to move, and those whose names were called out were looking at the Royal Lord with anticipation filling their eyes.