Martial Peak

Chapter 5489: Stepping Forward

Soon, all of the Black Ink Strength was dispersed by Purifying Light.

Just as Zhu Ge Xing Wei was about to thank Yang Kai, his figure flickered before it vanished from Zhu Ge Xing Wei’s sight. Only a voice could be heard from afar, “I’m heading to Swallowing Seas Sect. You should heal yourself first, we’ll talk later.”

A load was immediately lifted off everyone’s mind.

They might not know where this High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master appeared from, but he had obviously heard what Elder Pang had said and was planning to assist the Swallowing Seas Sect.

Swallowing Seas Sect should be safe and sound with the appearance of this Master, and so should Swallowing Seas Territory.

Zhu Ge Xing Wei was about to lead his disciples back to the Sect to rest and recover when he suddenly heard someone break into loud sobs. He immediately looked over and saw a disciple surnamed Zhou holding a woman’s corpse in his arms. The disciple, who was usually stoic and rigid, was now weeping mournfully, his face was filled with incomparable grief.

Profound Abundant Sect wasn’t very big; as such, Zhu Ge Xing Wei knew all of the Open Heaven Realm Masters here and recognized this disciple at a glance.

This disciple surnamed Zhou was corrupted by that strange Black Ink Strength, and turned traitor during the battle. The woman in his arms was his Dao Companion whom he had been together with for hundreds of years. They were completely in love with each other, but in the battle, he had killed her, showing no mercy!

Even though this was the first time they had fought the Black Ink Clan, the first time they had faced Black Ink Strength, this scene made everyone understand just how treacherous it was.

This was an energy that could completely warp a cultivator’s mind and will!

Once they were completely corrupted by this energy, they would no longer recognize their friends and family.

It wasn’t just the disciple surnamed Zhao who had switched sides and killed his fellow disciples. At this moment, many other disciples’ faces were filled with pain and guilt.

As for the rest, they were vigilantly staring at these people and maintaining a certain distance from them, as if they were afraid their fellow disciples would attack them again.

Zhu Ge Xing Wei believed that this was highly unlikely; after all, that High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master had just used some kind of Secret Technique to dispel all the Black Ink Strength, but he still didn’t know how to resolve this situation.

Friends and families had turned against each other, and an air of distrust filled the surroundings.

Zhu Ge Xing Wei had deeply experienced the terror of the Black Ink Clan today!

Their strength was not just reflected in their combat power, but also in the insidious nature of Black Ink Strength!

“Senior Brother Zhou!” Someone suddenly shouted in panic.

Zhu Ge Xing Wei’s expression changed as his figure shot towards the disciples surnamed Zhou before coming to a stop as a heavy sigh escaped his lips. The disciple surnamed Zhou, who was holding his sweetheart, let out a heart-wrenching cry before he shattered his own Small Universe. His World Force swiftly leaked out and his aura started to rapidly wane, even his vitality began to decrease with the dissipation of his aura.

Obviously, the cultivator surnamed Zhou couldn’t bear the guilt of killing his beloved with his own hands, so he ended his life to accompany her to the next life.

On the verge of death, the teary-eyed disciple surnamed Zhou turned to Zhu Ge Xing Wei and begged, “Vice Sect Master, please bury us in the apricot forest…”

Profound Abundant Sect had an apricot forest, which was the place where he and his companion first fell in love.

Zhu Ge Xing Wei reluctantly nodded his assurance, “This Old Master will!”

A smile finally appeared on the disciple surnamed Zhou’s face, “Many thanks, Vice Sect Master…”

Just like that, he passed away!

Tears welled up in everyone’s eyes.

Zhu Ge Xing Wei quickly stated, “All of you follow me back to the Sect, we’ll wait for that Senior’s return.”

He was truly worried that the other disciples wouldn’t be able to bear the guilt in their hearts and chose to end their own lives like the disciple surnamed Zhou, so he immediately mustered his strength and wrapped everyone in it before flying towards the Profound Abundant Sect.

…..

As the hegemon of Swallowing Seas Territory, the Swallowing Seas Sect was quite powerful, almost comparable to the Void Land of 1,000 years ago. After many years of accumulation, they had seven Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, two of whom had the qualifications to break through to the Seventh-Order; however, as were they scared of what might happen, and lacked the necessary resources, they did not dare to casually attempt a breakthrough and had languished in the Sixth-Order until now.

Previously, half of the Swallowing Seas Sect Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters had left under the Cave Heaven and Paradises’ conscription order. Two months back, a Squad claiming to belong to the Mo Sha Western Army arrived at Swallowing Seas Sect, asking them to send a message to all the Sects in the Great Territory to prepare for evacuation and relocation.

The Black Ink Clan Army was approaching!

Swallowing Seas Sect had never heard of the Mo Sha Western Army, they only knew of Mo Sha Heaven, which was one of the 36 Cave Heavens. Swallowing Seas Territory itself fell under the loose jurisdiction of Mo Sha Heaven.

One of the members of the Squad belonging to the Mo Sha Western Army was a Sixth-Order Elder who had been recruited from their Swallowing Seas Sect. This Elder had participated in the battle against the Black Ink Clan in the Barren Territory and was the last surviving Sixth-Order Elder who had been recruited from the Swallowing Seas Sect.

The other three Sixth-Order Elders, including one of their Vice Sect Masters, had all died in battle!

After this Elder, who was originally from Swallowing Seas Sect, explained everything, Swallowing Seas Sect quickly understood the dire crisis they were facing. How could they dare to be negligent after hearing straight from one of their own Elders? Disciples were quickly sent out to the various great forces to relay the evacuation orders while the Sect actively prepared to withdraw.

Unfortunately, the Black Ink Clan Army arrived before they could depart.

Worse, they were faced with a true Black Ink Clan Army. Although no Territory Lord was overseeing this Army, there were a dozen Feudal Lords and some 50,000 Black Ink Clan soldiers.

Swallowing Seas Sect’s entire roster did not exceed 3,000, of which only about 10% were Open Heaven Realm Masters. How could they be a match for such a powerful enemy?

Fortunately, the Squad belonging to the Mo Sha Western Army was quite strong. They had a total of 13 soldiers, of which two were Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. They also had a somewhat functional Squad-Class Warship. Much to everyone’s shock, this Squad actually charged the Black Ink Clan Army, killing one of the Black Ink Clan Feudal Lords and injuring another.

Be that as it may, two fists could not block four palms, and the Squad was forced to withdraw.

Their Warships had suffered serious damage during the battle in the Barren Territory, and after going through another deadly conflict, it was all but scrapped now.

Without the help of a Warship, the Squad’s combat effectiveness dropped dramatically and they were left with no choice but to retreat to Swallowing Seas Sect to take advantage of their Sect Defending Array to contend with the Black Ink Clan.

Swallowing Seas Sect’s Sect Defending Array was also quite extraordinary as over the millennia it had been reinforced and enhanced by the Sect’s Array Masters. Although it was not impregnable, it would not be a problem to hold on for three to five months.

The difficult part was how to break out of this encirclement. One day, the Array would be broken, and if the Swallowing Seas Sect had not managed to escape before then, they would all die.

But now, 50,000 soldiers of the Black Ink Clan Army had surrounded the Spirit Province where the Swallowing Seas Sect was situated. Basically, they had no route to escape!

At this moment, Swallowing Seas Sect Master Yang Qing looked towards the rioting Black Ink Clan Army outside the Grand Array with a worried frown.

Standing not far from him was the Squad Leader of the Mo Sha Western Army’s Squad, Wang Xuan Yi.

According to the Elder who had evacuated with this Squad, their mission was to assist in the evacuation of Swallowing Seas Territory’s cultivators.

Many Squads like them were dispatched to different Great Territories of the 3,000 Worlds. The evacuation and migration was not only limited to Swallowing Seas Territory, but rather included all other Great Territories.

Yang Qing had also asked where they should retreat to. Wang Xuan Yi had told him that their destination was the Great Territory where the Star Boundary was located!

The two remaining Old Ancestors of the Human Race, Xiao Xiao and Wu Qing, felt that the Star Boundary was the foundation and hope for the revival of the Human Race, so it had to be protected no matter what!

That place would be the last pure land for the Human Race to survive in.

At first, Yang Qing was a little reluctant to part with Swallowing Seas Sect and its 10,000-year foundation, but Wang Xuan Yi, on the other hand, gave him a wry smile. The 10,000-year heritage of Swallowing Seas Sect was light compared to the millions of years of inheritance the Cave Heavens and Paradises would be abandoning in the current situation.

Yang Qing felt a little better after hearing this.

If even behemoths like the Cave Heavens and Paradises were forced to retreat, how could Swallowing Seas Sect escape the calamity?

At this point though, the question was no longer whether to retreat or not, but whether they could retreat or not!

Turning around, Yang Qing asked, “Squad Leader Wang, will there be no other reinforcements from the Army?”

Wang Xuan Yi slowly shook his head in response, “The Human Race Army suffered heavy casualties on the Barren Territory battlefield. Although Old Ancestors Xiao Xiao and Wu Qing promptly ordered our forces to retreat, the number of troops who maintained combat effectiveness was still insufficient. Everything related to Swallowing Seas Territory will be handled by our Squad. Our original plan was to rush to the Mo Sha Territory Universe Temple within three months, where we would rendezvous with people from other Great Territories before heading to the Star Boundary. If we don’t arrive at Mo Sha Territory Universe Temple in time though, no one will wait for us.”

Yang Qing’s face turned slightly pale.

He was well aware of the heavy losses that Wang Xuan Yi had mentioned. Although he had not gone to the Barren Territory to participate in the battle, Swallowing Seas Sect had sent four Sixth-Order Elders, but only one of them had returned alive while the other three had died after just a few years of fighting.

Yang Qing could imagine how intense the battle was from this fact alone.

It would be impossible to break out of this encirclement without reinforcements, so most probably, a horrible end was waiting for Swallowing Seas Sect.

Before Yang Qing could ask any more questions, Wang Xuan Yi flicked his sleeve and stepped forward, “I will lead my Squad to launch another attack. If we can kill a few of the Feudal Lords, Swallowing Seas Sect’s crisis will be easily resolved. The chances of that happening aren’t high, but in the worst-case scenario, my men and I will try our best to create an opening in their lines. Sect Master Yang, at that time, lead your men and rush out… take as many as you can!”

Yang Qing raised his hand, wanting to say something, but eventually swallowed the words hanging on the tip of his tongue.

A deep sense of respect welled up in Swallowing Seas Sect Master’s heart at the sight of Wang Xuan Yi’s departing figure.

For countless years, he had never had a good impression of the so-called elites who came from the Cave Heavens and Paradises. He felt they were just luckier and had a better background. If he was also from the Cave Heavens and Paradises, he might have been able to reach the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm.

But now, after learning that the Cave Heavens and Paradises had sacrificed so much to protect the Human Race for hundreds of thousands of years on the Black Ink Battlefield, Yang Qing couldn’t help but feel ashamed.

At this moment, even though Wang Xuan Yi knew that facing tens of thousands of Black Ink Clansmen would only result in death, he still stepped forward!

Could Wang Xuan Yi escape? With his Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm cultivation, if he really tried to flee, the Black Ink Clan probably wouldn’t be able to stop him.

Nonetheless, he didn’t run and instead chose to fight to give the Swallowing Seas Sect even a small chance to survive.

People, who had no connection with the Swallowing Seas Sect, were sacrificing themselves for their Sect. Yang Qing’s heart, which had turned to stone after cultivating for many years, could not help but start beating once more, truly touched.

Facing the departing figure, Yang Qing kowtowed and didn’t get up for a long time.

He believed just like Wang Xuan Yi here, hundreds of thousands of others just like him were working to save the various Sects of all the other Great Territories!