Martial Peak
chapter-5974

Strictly speaking, this second crusade was taking place despite the Human Race not being fully prepared.

Readiness was not a matter of willpower, but rather an accumulation of strength.

It was easy to see just by the results alone. Without the help of Zhang Ruo Xi and the Small Stone Race Army, the Human Race would have been defeated already.

The original plan was for Mi Jing Lun to withdraw with the Army and wait for Yang Kai to return before leading the survivors to a new, distant World. Once they left, this whole region, covering the entire 3,000 Worlds, would surely fall under the Black Ink Clan’s total control.

Was it because the Human Race did not fight hard enough? Was it because the Heavens did not favour them enough?

It was neither.

Great potential could erupt from a race during the critical juncture between life and death. In just a short few thousand years, the Human Race has grown from near-total decimation to recovering the 3,000 Worlds and the No-Return Pass, but that was already their limit.

If they had not worked hard enough, they would not possess the heritage they have today, and if the Heavens did not favour them, they would not have the Open Heaven Realm Cradles.

However, when it came to facing powerful foes like the Black Ink Clan, what ultimately mattered was strength.

The time given to the Human Race was too short, so no matter whether or not they were ready for this crusade, they had to go on.

That was because Mo was about to awaken.

Under such circumstances, it was better to be proactive than reactive.

After all these years of fighting, the Human Race Army had already been tempered into one entity after going through the baptism of war, but it was still not enough.

As the battle raged on, Mi Jing Lun weighed his options before deciding to give up on supporting the Small Stone Race Army. The battle had not reached an end yet, and the Small Stone Race Army should have enough troops to hold their own. What’s more, after this battle came to an end, there would be an even more treacherous one waiting for the Human Race Army.

The current Human Race Army had to recover its strength for that impending moment!

On the battlefield, cloud after dazzling cloud of Purifying Light erupted and filled the vast void, dispersing not only the scattered Black Ink Strength, but also the Black Ink Clan soldiers that were enveloped in it, severely damaging their foundation.

The current situation on the battlefield was extremely bad for the Black Ink Clan.

The Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction was no longer providing reinforcements, and even the Royal Lords did not dare to go near the opening to check out the situation for fear of being seen by Zhang Ruo Xi and drawing her wrath upon themselves.

On the other hand, the Small Stone Race Soldiers still had a steady stream of reinforcements pouring endlessly out of the Void Corridor and entering the battlefield…

Even though the Black Ink Clan had tens of millions of troops left, it was still difficult to hold off their enemies effectively after losing the few Royal Lords and Pseudo-Royal Lords they had to the eight Ninth-Order Small Stone Race Masters.

The two Giant Spirit Gods rampaged, and the eight Ninth-Order Small Stone Race Masters were also advancing like they were chopping down bamboo.

Division after Division of uniform Small Stone Race troops swarmed in from all directions.

The circle was constantly shrinking, and lives from the Black Ink Clan dissipated alongside its progress.

It wouldn’t be long before the Small Stone Race Army was able to wipe out the Black Ink Clan forces scattered outside of the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction.

…..

On the 2306th World, where Yang Kai was suppressing and sealing Mo’s Source, a large battle was similarly going on.

Mu’s shadow was holding back the many Black Ink Disciples of this World on her own so that Yang Kai could suppress and seal the Source piece in peace.

Summoning the Profound Source Gate, a slit cracked open from the gate. Within its suppressing and sealing territory, Mo’s Source piece poured out.

As with all the times before it, the Source piece seemed to be pulled by an inexplicable force towards the open gate.

Yang Kai had witnessed this scene many times before and was not the least bit surprised.

According to Mu, the Profound Source Gate was a Supreme Treasure born alongside the Universe, outside which the Primordial Light was born, and behind which the Primordial Darkness was nurtured.

The Primordial Light was symbolic of all the brightness and wonderfulness of this Universe. Not bound by the Profound Source Gate, it left after its inception, but the darkness born within the Profound Source Gate could not as easily escape.

That was until the Primordial Darkness gained sentience of its own after accumulating for endless years.

That was Mo!

For Mo, the Profound Source Gate had the natural power to suppress and seal it, which was why Mu hid the Profound Source Gate in the Primordial World.

Only the Profound Source Gate could suppress and seal Mo’s Source.

Each of the previous attempts was uneventful. Once the Profound Source Gate was summoned and opened up, the Source piece would be drawn into it and sealed.

But this time, things were not quite the same.

Yang Kai could clearly sense Mo’s Source piece struggling violently, as if it had a consciousness of its own, trying to escape the pull of the Profound Source Gate.

However, it was still only a small piece of a whole, and in the end, it could not resist the Profound Source Gate’s power.

As the Source piece was about to pour through the gate, a pair of eyes suddenly opened in the darkness.

The eyes were so indescribably black that they seemed to contain all the darkness in existence. Even Yang Kai could not help but feel a chill run through his body as they stared at him.

Fortunately, it was just for a moment before the Source piece disappeared into the gate, and the chilling sensation disappeared without a trace.

“We’re reaching the limit!” Yang Kai had a feeling.

He had travelled through more than 2,000 worlds on his journey, and had managed to suppress and seal almost 1,000 pieces of Mo’s Source.

Mu had divided Mo’s Source into 3,000 pieces and sealed them into 3,000 different Universe Worlds, and through his journey, Yang Kai managed to suppress and seal a lot of them despite all the twists and turns he encountered along his way.

This amount was almost 30% of Mo’s Source pieces, which was already a very fruitful number.

The more Source pieces that were suppressed and sealed, the greater of an impact there would be on Mo.

Even if Mo were to awaken completely at this moment, its strength would still drop drastically from its peak due to its compromised Source.

But it was still not enough; after all, Mo was said to be in the legendary Creation Realm. Without facing it directly, nobody could predict just how powerful it really was. Even without 30% of its Sources, its remaining strength was still great enough that it was not something the current Human Race could contend with.

Yang Kai was slightly relieved to have gotten some news about Zhang Ruo Xi from Wu Kuang.

Wu Kuang’s thread of consciousness only had a faint connection to his true self outside, so his perception of things was not very clear, so not only did Yang Kai find his information to be unbelievable, but even Wu Kuang himself could not be sure.

Regardless, he had to speed things up on his end! Before Mo awakened, he had to suppress and seal as many of the Source pieces as possible, even if it was just one more!

“Senior!” Yang Kai turned around and shouted as he withdrew the Profound Source Gate.

Hearing this, Mu, who was helping to ward off the countless Black Ink Disciples, rushed to his side and raised her palm, gracefully patting downwards.

Following that, amidst the furious roars of the many Black Ink Disciples, Yang Kai’s body turned into a stream of light and took off into the sky!

…..

In the Primordial World, Little Eleventh’s illness was getting worse. His small body was as cold as ice one moment, and as hot as magma the next.

At first, he was able to keep himself conscious, but by now, he was mostly asleep, and the time he could stay awake was getting shorter and shorter.

As he slept, he was haunted by unceasing nightmares that caused him to shake and shiver constantly.

Mu remained by his side, watching him carefully.

When Little Eleventh finally woke up and opened his eyes, he saw Mu sitting by his bedside, holding him gently.

Mu seemed to have sensed his movements as she looked down at him, her eyes bloodshot.

She had no idea how long it had been since she had properly rested.

“You’re awake?” Mu opened her mouth, but her throat sounded very dry.

Looking at the red blood vessels in Mu’s eyes, Little Eleventh’s heart ached. A sour taste filled his mouth and even the corners of his eyes grew wet.

He turned his head away and wiped the corners of his eyes with his hand, answering with a soft hum.

Mu placed her hand on Little Eleventh’s forehead and felt it carefully for a moment before saying joyfully, “Your fever has gone down. How are you feeling now?”

Little Eleventh was silent for a moment before saying, “Much better.”

Mu smiled and withdrew her hand, “Good. Get some more sleep and you should get better then.”

Little Eleventh opened his mouth, “Sixth Sister, I don’t want to sleep.” He had slept enough already.

“Then what do you want to do?”

“I want some congee.”

The Sister and Brother, unrelated by blood, had been living together and relying on each other for survival in this bustling city. Mu had cooked many delicious foods for Little Eleventh, but what he wanted most at this moment was the plain rice congee cooked by her.

This was the first food he had eaten since waking up in this World.

“Sure,” Mu raised her hand and gave him an affectionate tickle on the nose before getting up, “In that case, wait here for a while.”

Little Eleventh fell silent.

Very soon, the congee was ready. Mu brought in the pot of cooked congee and was just about to serve Little Eleventh a bowl when she saw him get out of bed, sit by the table, and pull the pot closer to himself.

Mu laughed, “You’re planning to eat that much? Be careful or you’ll spoil your tummy.”

Little Eleventh huffed, “I want to eat. It’s not like my tummy is weak.”

Mu was helpless, “Good, good, you can have it all. If you can’t finish it, then you better watch out or I’ll spank your bottom.”

Little Eleventh couldn’t help but clench his butt a little and blushed, “I’m not a child anymore, stop spanking me for no reason!”

As soon as he finished speaking, Mu pressed on his nose with a finger, immediately creating a pig’s nose on Little Eleventh’s face.

Little Eleventh shook his head in annoyance and sniffled, “You’re so childish! You’re always doing these childish things!”

Mu covered her lips and giggled, but she stopped teasing him, instead handing over the wooden spoon she brought.

Little Eleventh picked up the bowl and held the clay pot in his arms, digging into his meal.

Mu sat by quietly, watching him, saying from time to time, “Eat slowly and be careful so you don’t burn yourself. It’s not like anyone is going to steal it from you.”

From time to time, she would help him wipe the corners of his mouth.

The freshly cooked congee was so hot that Little Eleventh kept sucking in his breath. Even his face had grown red and his head was steaming from the heat.

It took about an hour, but he did manage to finish it eventually. Even the bottom of the pot was scraped clean without a drop left behind.

Mu peered into the pot and joked, “If you ate nicely like that every time, I could save the effort of washing the dishes.”

Little Eleventh rubbed his round tummy and made a face at her, “Then won’t you turn into a lazy woman? Be careful or you won’t be able to get married in the future.”

Mu raised her hand and smacked him upside the head, “It’s not up to you to say whether I can get married or not.”

Little Eleventh held his head with both hands and complained, “You’re hitting me again, I’m still a patient!”

Mu raised her hand as if to strike him again, but in the end, she just stroked his head gently.

Little Eleventh lowered his head.

The atmosphere turned silent.