Martial Peak

Chapter 5435: Destroyed Azure Void Pass

Outside the destroyed Great Pass, Yang Kai forced down his anxiety and released his Divine Sense like a flood, wanting to find any trace of vitality that might still be around; however, it was clear that this battle ended many years ago, so if there were any survivors, how could they still be here?

Moreover, he couldn’t sense any signs of vitality.

Crossing the battlefield that looked like a hellscape, Yang Kai arrived above the Great Pass and looked down. What he saw was the ruined interior of the Great Pass with corpses scattered everywhere.

Yang Kai’s face fell.

Although he didn’t know what kind of battle the Humans of this Great Pass had gone through, he could guess just by looking at the scene before him. The Black Ink Clan Army broke through this Great Pass’ defences and swarmed inside, engaging in a battle to the death with the Human soldiers.

Soon, he saw a Purifying Black Ink Battleship that was broken in two and sensed the weak connection coming from the Universe Array inside of it.

It was this particular Universe Array that had led him over here.

[Which Great Pass is this?]

Yang Kai couldn’t figure this out from just a cursory examination, so he continued his search and soon came to the Inner Sanctum. 

The Inner Sanctum of every Great Pass, specifically the Central Square, could be said to be a Human Army’s drill ground. Now that he looked at this place, he could see obvious traces that were left behind from the battle as there were numerous Black Ink Clan corpses littered around the area.

Those dead Black Ink Clan soldiers were piled up layer by layer and almost covered the entire Central Square. 

And in the centre of all those dead Black Ink Clan soldiers was an empty space where a figure was quietly sitting cross-legged with both eyes wide open and a peaceful expression.

At that moment, Yang Kai felt like his heart was being squeezed by an invisible hand.

He slowly walked forward, cleaning out a path among the piles of corpses before arriving before the figure.

The two pairs of eyes met each other, and Yang Kai felt a deep sense of sorrow fill his heart.

He now knew which Great Pass this was. 

Azure Void Pass!

Although each Great Pass had similar layouts, Yang Kai had visited Azure Void Pass many times and was quite familiar with this place.

It was because Azure Void Pass was a complete mess after the great battle that Yang Kai couldn’t immediately recognise it.

However, he did recognise the peaceful-looking fallen cultivator sitting cross-legged in the middle of the courtyard.

It was the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Old Ancestor of Azure Void Pass! He was the one who gave Yang Kai a piece of beef all those centuries ago. That beef was cooked into soup and allowed Xu Ling Gong to gain a burst of enlightenment and break through to the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm.

The Old Ancestor of Azure Void Pass had died in battle here!

Even in the last moments of his life, he still didn’t give up on the Great Pass he protected. 

Thinking of that, Yang Kai felt his vision becoming a little blurry.

Beside the Old Ancestor of Azure Void Pass was the Ox Monster which was missing one of its horns that the Old Ancestor had kept for numerous years. Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao had her eyes on this Ox Monster for a long while but never succeeded in getting it. 

At this moment, the Ox Monster was in the same situation as Azure Void Pass’ Old Ancestor. Its body was covered in wounds while its other horn was broken as well. Even its tail was nowhere to be seen.

The Ox Monster quietly lay beside Azure Void Pass’ Old Ancestor with its head lowered.

Yang Kai blinked a few times to dispel the blurriness in his vision. Then, he faced the Old Ancestor of Azure Void Pass and bowed with a solemn expression.

[I vow to live and die together with the Great Pass!]

That was the oath that every soldier in every Great Passes swore.

Azure Void Pass’ Old Ancestor had fulfilled that oath!

Every soldier in Azure Void Pass had done so!

For numerous years, countless Human soldiers died on the Black Ink Battlefield to protect the 3,000 Worlds, and the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Old Ancestors weren’t an exception.

No matter their cultivation or status, these Humans who died fighting the Black Ink Clan were all honourable warriors.

Their corpses shouldn’t be left out in the void to rot. Since Yang Kai wasn’t able to join this battle and had coincidentally arrived here, it wouldn’t be a problem for him to help gather these corpses.

When he rose to his feet, he suddenly saw the Ox Monster beside Azure Void Pass’ Old Ancestor raising its head and saying, “Take the Old Ancestor’s corpse. If you encounter another Supreme Master, it can help you defend yourself against the enemy!”

Yang Kai was elated, “Senior Ox, are you still alive?”

However, the Ox Monster didn’t answer his question but continued, “There’s no need to hesitate. This is also the Old Ancestor’s last wish before he died. If his corpse could be used to kill a few more enemies, he would surely feel happy in the afterlife.”

After that, the Ox Monster again closed his eyes and silently laid its head down.

Yang Kai’s expression darkened. It seemed like the Ox Monster had already died as well.

The reason it was able to speak might be due to the effect of some Secret Technique.

If the being that came here was Human, the Ox Monster would speak and tell that person to store away the Old Ancestor’s corpse, but if it were a Black Ink Clansman, things might not be that simple.

Since the Old Ancestor’s corpse could also be used as a weapon still, it must be because the Old Ancestor had left some kind of last Will behind before his death.

This final Will probably held extraordinary power, and it was after hearing this that Yang Kai suddenly realised why the corpse of Azure Void Pass’ Old Ancestor was able to remain undisturbed here.

The only enemy who could face an Old Ancestor was a Royal Lord, and Yang Kai could see that the injuries on the Old Ancestor’s body were not left by just one Royal Lord. Just by looking at those injuries, Yang Kai could distinguish the auras left by three Royal Lords. 

In other words, before Azure Void Pass’ Old Ancestor died, he had fought at least three Royal Lords but was unable to defeat them and died.

As for why the three Royal Lords didn’t choose to destroy the Old Ancestor’s body and simply left it here, they must have seen that Azure Void Pass’ Old Ancestor left behind that last Will and were afraid to do anything, lest they encounter an accident.

If it hadn’t been for that, Azure Void Pass’ Old Ancestor’s body would have already been destroyed. 

Considering all this, Yang Kai felt his heart clench. 

If the Royal Lords noticed this, how could they not leave some people behind to monitor the situation to avoid any surviving Human soldiers from approaching this place?

Just as he was thinking so, Yang Kai suddenly raised his head and looked up.

What he saw were three figures suddenly appearing from inside Azure Void Pass, each with a majestic aura.

They were Territory Lords!

The Black Ink Clan had indeed left guards behind. A Royal Lord couldn’t wait here for such a reason, but a few Territory Lords could be spared for such a duty!

If three Territory Lords worked together, they could deal with most situations.

Among those three Territory Lords, one of them had a seductive figure and a flirtatious expression, which reminded Yang Kai of the Charm Demon Clan.

There was also a tall and strong Territory Lord that looked more than three times taller than the seductive Territory Lord. Two fangs were poking out from both sides of his lips and curved upwards, making him look hideous like he was a crazy wild boar.

The third one looked more normal and had many Human traits, with the only difference being that his limbs resembled talons that were shining with cold light. This Territory Lord also had a pair of wings.

It was unknown where they were hiding because Yang Kai didn’t even sense the slightest trace of their auras before now.

The three Territory Lords weren’t in a hurry to appear, seeming to be not worried that Yang Kai would escape. 

The seductive Territory Lord spoke up first, “When the Sirs asked us to stay here in case any Humans decide to come back, I first thought they were being too careful, but now it seems that there are indeed some Humans that are seeking death.”

The fang-toothed Territory Lord snorted lightly, “We’ve waited here for 200 years. I think my body is about to become mouldy. Human, you’re unlucky today.”

On the other hand, the taloned Territory Lord frowned while warning, “Don’t be careless. This Human is an Eighth-Order Master, so he might not be easy to deal with.”

After letting out a snort, the fang-toothed Territory Lord retorted, “So what if he’s an Eighth-Order Human? It’s not like we haven’t killed any of them. Let me kill him while you two stand guard!”

Saying so, the fang-toothed Territory Lord charged at Yang Kai. Because he had a burly and bulky body, his actions seemed clumsy, but in fact, he was moving very fast, and his huge frame fell like a meteor, quickly approaching Yang Kai.

The terrifying aura of a Territory Lord burst forth, causing the broken walls in the Great Pass to begin to creak.

Meanwhile, the taloned Territory Lord fixed his eyes on Yang Kai, and even his eyes reflected the latter’s figure. He was the fastest among these three Territory Lords, so he needed to be vigilant in case Yang Kai decided to activate whatever final seal was left on the Ninth-Order Master’s corpse. 

Although they didn’t know what this seal was or what it was for, the Royal Lords had specifically told them it was definitely something the three of them couldn’t resist. Even they, as Royal Lords, might not be able to resist the power which was hidden inside that seal.

Even after death, a Ninth-Order Master still couldn’t be underestimated because the Secret Techniques those Humans practised often had unimaginable power. 

If Yang Kai really did exhibit any intentions of touching that corpse, the taloned Territory Lord had to stop him immediately.

While watching Yang Kai’s every action carefully, the taloned Territory Lord tried to think in Yang Kai’s shoes and predict his next move. Just like he had said, an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master wasn’t so easy to deal with.

The Territory Lords had indeed killed many Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters outside the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction, but the Territory Lords had suffered huge losses as well. The number of fallen Territory Lords in that battle was two to three times higher than that of the enemy.

Even he himself had been severely injured by a near-dead Eighth-Order Open Master. Though several hundred years had passed since that battle, he could still feel slight pain coming from his injuries whenever he thought about that scene.

In this situation, this Eighth-Order Human only had two possibilities for survival. One was activating the seal on the Ninth-Order Old Ancestor’s corpse, while the other was to flee immediately.

No matter how strong an Eighth-Order Master was, when faced with three Territory Lords, the only possible ending was death.

What shocked the taloned Territory Lord was that the somewhat excessively young-looking Eighth-Order Master didn’t reveal the slightest bit of panic since they appeared. Instead, this Human kept a saddened expression, which was naturally because of the death of his people and the destroyed Great Pass. 

Under that veil of sadness, however, was endless murderous intent!

This Human clearly had no intention of activating the seal on the corpse.

The taloned Territory Lord felt his heart sink and hurriedly warned the others, “Be careful!”

Right after he said that, he saw the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master lunging at his fellow Territory Lord with a vicious expression. The Human was so fast that he left a blurred afterimage behind him, making it look like there were countless clones of him charging forward to kill.

The taloned Territory Lord felt his pupils shirk. [This speed… it’s too fast for me to interfere!]

When the big and small figures clashed, the sound of bones breaking rang out, but the expected scenario of the small Human being sent flying away did not appear. Instead, the figure being sent flying was the tall and strong fang-toothed Territory Lord. His chest had caved in, and his expression looked shocked, as if he couldn’t believe that he was not a match for his enemy in a head-on confrontation.

However, as the Territory Lord was sent flying, he still viciously punched his opponent.

Yang Kai wasn’t able to dodge that attack, or more precisely, he didn’t intend to dodge, simply lifting his arm to guard himself.

At the same moment, his other hand made a grabbing motion towards the void and the Azure Dragon Spear appeared. With a flourish of the spear, numerous Dao Strengths manifested, creating a kind of unstoppable torrent.

Following that, the long spear pierced out.

A soft, muffled sound came out, causing the taloned Territory Lord’s pupils to shrink to the size of needles as he felt the entire world suddenly freeze.