Martial Peak

Chapter 5988: Battle to the Death

In a flash, the two silhouettes collided and a fight broke out.

Yang Kai took the offensive and pushed out Dao Strengths with each strike. He had to release the Dao Strengths which had accumulated inside his body; otherwise, he ran the risk of exploding.

As a result of his ferocious attacks, Mo had to focus and fight back as well, using Black Ink Strength to clash with and wipe out the rampaging Dao Strengths.

Even in the midst of the fight, Yang Kai did not stop devouring the Space-Time River. There was a large vortex behind him that was sucking the river water into his body.

As Yang Kai continued absorbing Dao Strength into his body, the power he could wield grew stronger and his attacks became more intense.

After exchanging a dozen blows, Yang Kai suffered a hit from Mo and flew backwards into the river; however, he soon emerged and charged at Mo once again.

Although he faced setbacks, Yang Kai showed no sign of despair. Instead, his thirst for battle grew even stronger.

During the first clash between the two, Mo could send Yang Kai flying back into the river as soon as he emerged. Despite being a Ninth-Order Master, Yang Kai could not fight back at all.

Yet, he could now hold out against Mo for a brief moment.

This was the result of his absorbing the Dao Strengths into his body. It was also the reason why he could control even more of the river’s power.

[I can do better than this!] Yang Kai firmly believed, [As long as I can control the entire river, I’ll be powerful enough to challenge Mo!]

Time and time again, he shot out at Mo and was knocked back.

The Space-Time River continued to shrink as Yang Kai’s aura grew even more powerful.

As time passed, Yang Kai was able to hold out against Mo for increasing amounts of time. From withstanding an exchange of 10 or so blows, he was able to slowly increase that number to 20, 30, eventually reaching 100 without showing any sign of falling behind.

This seemed to set Mo off and his attacks grew even more vicious as murderous intent surged.

Yang Kai used the Profound Source Gate to suppress and seal over 30% of Mo’s Source, which weakened the latter by a fair amount. Mo’s power had also been further weakened after the fight with Zhang Ruo Xi. That being said, he had corrupted a sizable chunk of the river’s power with Black Ink Strength, which allowed him to make up for what he lost in the fight with Zhang Ruo Xi.

Mo was even more powerful now than when he first woke up.

In a short amount of time, Yang Kai was able to go from being completely powerless against Mo to just barely holding out against him, but that was already his limit. He couldn’t defeat Mo in his current state.

[Not enough! Not nearly enough!]

[Even if I gain control over the remaining river, it’s unlikely that I’ll be able to kill him.]

If Mo, the one behind everything, did not die, then the threat against all of existence would endure.

Using the Profound Source Grate to suppress and seal Mo’s Source had been the right thing to do. Yang Kai’s previous journey had proved that the Profound Source Gate could indeed accomplish that feat; however, when one went up against an entity this powerful, how was one supposed to suppress and seal them without defeating them first?

The only way to end this once and for all was to break out of the shackles of the Open Heaven Realm and ascend to a higher realm.

However, this was something impossible for the current Yang Kai.

It had not been long since he became a Ninth-Order Master, and although he used the two Open Heaven Realm Cradles and the power of his Space-Time River to speed up his cultivation dramatically, it was only effective for him to grow within the Ninth-Order Realm. It was not enough for him to reach the realm beyond.

Throughout history, the best and most talented Humans had been limited by the shackles of the Open Heaven Realm Method. They could not break through them at all. Only Mu had been able to vaguely peek into the mysteries of an even higher Martial Dao.

Nevertheless, her Space-Time River was incomplete and she could not step over the barriers to enter the mysterious realm she touched upon.

Even though Yang Kai had received Mu’s gift, it was unlikely that he could accomplish what Mu and all the Human Race Ancestors could not in such a short time.

He did not have the barest inkling of enlightenment regarding the next realm.

If he wanted to break out of the shackles of the Open Heaven Realm, at the very least, he had to familiarise himself with his present strength and continue to gain knowledge and understanding through many years of accumulation and cultivation.

Since he could not overcome the shackles of the Open Heaven Realm, he had to find another way.

Yang Kai dared not allow himself to be distracted for even a moment in his battle against Mo. He was up against an opponent who could kill him off at any moment.

Over and over again, Yang Kai was sent flying backwards into the river. Although he looked completely battered, his situation was slowly taking a turn for the better.

Only about 30% of the Space-Time River behind him was left now. The moment he absorbed all of the river, he would be able to wield strength far beyond what he could before.

…..

As the intense fight had broken out between Yang Kai and Mo, the fight on the battlefield in the distant void was just as ferocious.

The Black Ink Clan Army was too numerous and the allied Armies of the Human Race and the Small Stone Race were beginning to show signs of defeat. If nothing changed, sooner or later, both Armies would be completely wiped out. Once that happened, even the Ninth-Order Masters could not be certain whether they could escape with their lives. Only the two Giant Spirit Gods could most likely leave safely.

This was not an outcome they could accept.

Just as the battle reached its most pressing climax, a dazzling light shot out from the depths of the void.

It was a familiar scene that renewed the Human Race Masters’ spirits as they knew who had come.

As per Yang Kai’s instructions, Zhang Ruo Xi rushed back to the battlefield. The moment she arrived, she turned into a bolt of light that weaved across the battlefield multiple times.

The flowing light acted like a sharp blade that slaughtered countless Black Ink Clan Soldiers and wrecked the seemingly impenetrable formations they had set up.

All at once, the Humans and the Small Stone Race were relieved of much of the pressure they had been under.

Soon after that, Ruo Xi headed over to Ah Da and Ah Er.

The two Giant Spirit Gods had proved to be invaluable allies to the Humans, be it during the reoccupation of the No-Return Pass or the battle that broke out against the Black Ink Black reinforcement army. In both situations, the Giant Spirit Gods had played pivotal roles.

Ah Da and Ah Er were currently in a tough situation once again. They were surrounded and besieged by many Royal Lords and could not provide any help to the rest of the battlefield.

Therefore, after relieving the pressure against the allied Armies of the Human Race and the Small Stone Race, Zhang Ruo Xi chose to aid the two Giant Spirit Gods.

As long as the two Giant Spirit Gods were unencumbered, they would be able to draw the attention of a large number of Masters from the Black Ink Clan. The Black Ink Clan would have to send even more Royal Lords over to keep these two occupied, thus, relieving the pressure on the rest.

Ruo Xi alone was enough to rampage through enemy lines and leave the Royal Lords scared witless, let alone when she had formed a Nine Palaces Formation with her eight Personal Guard.

In the blink of an eye, the flash of light appeared beside Ah Er. The eight Small Stone Race Masters scattered around to seal the surroundings, their Battle Formation encapsulating a large portion of the void.

The Royal Lords who had been attacking Ah Er paled in response.

They had learned the hard way just how terrifying this winged woman could be. Before the Primordial Heavens Source Grand Restriction had even broken, she had charged inside alone and exterminated all the Masters who lingered at the opening, which included dozens of Royal Lords.

Her actions back then terrified the Masters inside the Grand Restriction, so much so that they were too afraid to make any rash moves.

Many Royal Lords had remained hidden in the darkness. They had personally witnessed how powerful Zhang Ruo Xi was and were afraid of her strength. This was the reason why the Black Ink Clan Army did not rush out the moment the Grand Restriction broke.

They only gained the courage to leave the shelter of darkness when she rushed into the depths of the void to deal with the Supreme One.

No one expected this woman to come charging back out on the battlefield at such a critical moment.

Naturally, if Mi Jing Lun could tell which way the battle was going, the Royal Lords could as well. The Black Ink Clan Army had the upper hand right now, and as long as no unexpected variables were introduced, the Black Ink Clan would eventually be able to vanquish the Humans and Small Stone Race. When the time came, all of existence would belong to the Black Ink Clan as the Human Race would be wiped out in totality.

They were only a step away from their grand success, so how could the Royal Lords back down now?

Thus, even though Zhang Ruo Xi and her Personal Guard were wielding the might of their Nine Palaces Formation, a large number of Masters from the Black Ink Clan still fearlessly charged forward to stop them.

Once again, the allied Armies of the Humans Race and the Small Stone Race were relieved of even more pressure.

As the sword light of the Heavens Order Sword flashed, the part of the battlefield where Zhang Ruo Xi was seemingly turned into an abyss of death. Be it Territory Lords or Royal Lords, none could escape from her or even put up a fight. Each time sword light flashed, numerous Masters from the Black Ink Clan perished.

Their glory and dignity as Masters was completely trampled on. Once someone reached a certain level of power, it became child’s play for them to slaughter those in their path.

In just a few moments, over 20 Royal Lords were killed. Ah Er, who had been harassed by the Royal Lords all this time, was finally freed from those who had been keeping him pinned down. With a loud roar, he began attacking the nearby Royal Lords.

However, before he could truly unleash his strength, a new group of Royal Lords rushed over.

The Black Ink Clan could tell that the allied Armies no longer posed a threat to them, and they could use their advantage in numbers to keep them occupied.

At this moment, the only ones who posed a threat to the Black Ink Clan were Zhang Ruo Xi and the two Giant Spirit Gods.

Thus, they had to stop these three no matter what.

Even if it cost them the lives of their Royal Lords!

On this part of the battlefield, Royal Lords and Territory Lords fell like leaves from a tree in a howling storm.

The black blood and Black Ink Strength that escaped their corpses turned the void into a patch of darkness, which seemed to want to devour everything in its wake.

Amidst it all, the sword light of the Heavens Order Sword shone brilliantly.

Despite the show of force she was putting on, Zhang Ruo Xi’s original plan had actually been foiled.

Initially, she wanted to save Ah Er before working together with him to extricate Ah Da. Then, the three of them could charge out onto the main battlefield and rampage. Even though the Black Ink Clan was massive in numbers, they would not be able to stop the three of them from slaughtering those in their path if they remained mobile.

Given enough time and room to take action, these three powerful existences could massacre the entire Black Ink Clan Army on their own; however, the Black Ink Clan promptly reacted to the situation and Zhang Ruo Xi ended up being tied down to this part of the battlefield. Even Ah Er, whom she had only just rescued, was once again completely surrounded by Royal Lords and could no longer do much.

Now that it had come to this, Zhang Ruo Xi acted per the hand she was dealt.

Since they wanted to impede her, they would have to pay an exorbitant price.

Compared to her original plan, the present situation was actually even more beneficial for the Human Race Army. The more the Masters from the Black Ink Clan focused on her, the less pressure the Humans faced.

In fact, if she managed to kill off enough Royal Lords, she would undoubtedly be helping the allied Armies secure the final victory.

Thus, Zhang Ruo Xi was not upset by the Black Ink Clan’s actions. On the contrary, it suited her just fine.

The Royal Lords came at her one after the other. They all turned into corpses under the Heavens Order Sword, but even so, none of those from the Black Ink Clan showed any inclination to retreat.

For both the Human Race and the Black Ink Clan, this was the final battle that would decide their fate. They could not back down no matter what.

This was a make-or-break battle that would determine who would go down in history as the ultimate victor!