Martial Peak

Chapter 5629: No Way to Escape

The Dao of Time was profound and mysterious. Since ancient times, there were very few cultivators who cultivated this Grand Dao. Cultivators of the Dao of Time were even fewer than cultivators of the Dao of Space.

Only the Dragon Clan, who had their Bloodline Talent, would reliably become extremely gifted in the Dao of Time.

Back when Yang Kai was outside the Great Sea Celestial Phenomenon, he used his Sun and Moon Divine Wheel to shatter Space-Time and glimpse the future. Later, everything that happened proved that what he saw was real.

However, that opportunity was an accidental coincidence. Yang Kai had tried using the Sun and Moon Divine Wheel again, but never saw the future in that way again. 

That experience led him to understand that if he could master the Dao of Time to its extreme, he might be able to peer into the future. Moreover, the ability to foresee the future was definitely a great method to avoid danger.

The truth was that, once a cultivator’s cultivation reached a certain level, they would naturally have a bit of prophetic ability, allowing them to sense danger and crisis before they happened. But without the Dao of Time, they couldn’t see the future and would only have vague intuitions. 

Since the Dao of Time could allow a cultivator to foresee the future, of course, it could allow them to see the past. Time flowed from the beginning of the Universe, through ancient times to the present, and continued flowing towards the end of all things. Therefore, if one glanced at where the river was flowing, they could see the future, while looking back would allow one to see the past.

Though Yang Kai’s attainments in the Dao of Time weren’t low, possibly even among the best in the vast world, when it came to mysterious matters such as the past, the future, and even the nature of time itself, he was still fairly clueless about them. 

Just like this time, he had unknowingly triggered the rewinding of time in the Ancestral Land. 

This rewinding of time wasn’t like he was travelling to the past, because the flow of time in the Ancestral Land remained unchanged. After Yang Kai fused with the Ancestral Land, he simply became a bystander who was observing the reverse flow of time in this land.

Such a strange encounter must have some sort of connection with him being a Dragon Clan member and the fact that the Ancestral Land was pampering him. All these factors combined led to this astonishing development. 

Yang Kai should have been extremely happy to encounter such an opportunity, but he didn’t feel any changes in his emotions. It was as if he had completely turned into the Ancestral Land and had become restrained and emotionless. Also, this act of rewinding time was just this piece of land silently reminiscing about the past.

But all of that didn’t stop Yang Kai from receiving benefits.

Following each passing breath, Yang Kai found his understanding of the Dao of Time increasing slightly. This kind of comprehension differed slightly from what he received by refining Temporal Rivers back in the Great Sea Celestial Phenomenon. Temporal Rivers were filled with Time Dao Essence and Strength, so Yang Kai naturally could increase his attainments in the Dao of Time by refining and absorbing them into his Small Universe. However, that was only refining external energy. 

By fusing with the Ancestral Land, Yang Kai was now experiencing this mysterious land reminiscing about its past like he was thinking back to his own life’s experience. Of course, those were illusions as the one with these memories was the Divine Spirit Ancestral Land. Yang Kai’s current situation was more like using his body to replace that of the Ancestral land, but this change didn’t hinder Yang Kai from obtaining benefits.

Yang Kai silently comprehended what was happening, and his emotions completely calmed, disregarding the changes in time and other things happening outside. 

Inside the Ancestral Land, that dense Ancestral Strength kept surging and flowed towards one spot. 

Meanwhile, the Black Ink Clan Army outside the Ancestral Land stood there with their guards up. The 20 Innate Territory Lords and several Seventh-Order Black Ink Disciples treated this situation seriously and kept the Grand Array activated, sealing everything inside. 

Time gradually passed, and about two years later, an extremely fierce aura sped over from the far-off void, causing the Innate Territory Lords to look in that direction with shocked expressions. 

Di Wu had finally arrived!

He had absorbed the power of a High-Rank Black Ink Nest and 13 Territory Lords who had sacrificed themselves to it. Naturally, he needed quite some time to refine everything and consolidate his new strength.

Fortunately for him, the others had sealed this place with a Grand Array so that Yang Kai wouldn’t be able to escape; therefore, he wasn’t in much of a hurry.

Also, this counted as the first time the Black Ink Clan produced a Pseudo-Royal Lord with the Source Fusion Technique, so the other Territory Lords were naturally curious about Di Wu’s condition.

After they briefly probed Di Wu, the Territory Lords all turned grim. 

That was because Di Wu had a blaring aura. By comparing only their auras, Di Wu seemed to have the strength of a real Royal Lord, but all of the Territory Lords knew that this was just an illusion. 

The reason Di Wu’s aura was so pronounced was that he could not control it.

Royal Lords didn’t wantonly release their aura because they could perfectly control their strength. Therefore, the rampaging aura was a sign that Di Wu couldn’t actually handle his current power properly.

It was obvious from this situation that no matter how strong an Innate Territory Lord was, and what methods they used to bypass their innate shackles, there was still an absolute limit. Even though Di Wu had received a power that was far above his original strength and had two years to adapt to it, it was still hard for him to fully control himself. Perhaps it would be impossible for him to gain full control over that power in his lifetime, or else he wouldn’t be regarded as a Pseudo-Royal Lord. Rather, he would be a true Royal Lord.

Despite knowing all that, the Innate Territory Lords were still envious of Di Wu because their strength had been fixed since their birth. Who wouldn’t want to become stronger?

Especially when there was an unavoidable final battle between the Black Ink Clan and Humans brewing. More power meant better protection for oneself when facing the catastrophe that was about to sweep through the entire Universe.

It was a pity that the others could only admire Di Wu because the birth of a Pseudo-Royal Lord meant that a High-Rank Black Ink Nest and more than a dozen Innate Territory Lords had to be sacrificed through the Source Fusion Technique. The Black Ink Clan could not create a large amount of Pseudo-Royal Lords unless they were in a desperate situation, and even then, it was doubtful if such sacrifice would be worth the gains.

A while later, a deep, dark cloud arrived before them. Even the Innate Territory Lords couldn’t see Di Wu’s appearance because he was enveloped in extremely dense Black Ink Strength. The shocking momentum and murderous intent coming from the Black Ink Cloud made the Territory Lords even warier.

When Di Wu was still a Territory Lord, he was more of a staid individual, but now, he was like a caged Ominous Beast that had broken free, wanting to devour every person he saw.

“Where is he?” Di Wu’s raspy voice came from within the cloud.  

The Territory Lord nearest to him quickly pointed in a specific direction, “He should still be inside the Ancestral Land.”

Once that was said, the Black Ink Cloud immediately shot towards the ground. A short while later, a violent vibration seemed to have come from below, accompanied by Di Wu’s angry roar, “Come out!”

The World shook, and the wild shockwave made the Void itself tremble. Even the Grand Array was slightly affected, forcing the Territory Lords to channel more strength to stabilise it quickly.  

Inside the Ancestral Land, the Black Ink Cloud seemed like a rampant child as it continuously released the huge power it suddenly acquired. 

Soon, Di Wu, who was inside the Black Ink Cloud, noticed something strange.

He clearly felt a dense ill-will coming from all directions, like the World itself was rejecting his presence. 

It wouldn’t have bothered him if that was all, but this strange Will also had the power to suppress his strength!

Ancestral Strength! 

Of course, Di Wu wouldn’t be unaware of the most primitive strength of the Divine Spirits. It was just that he had never visited the Ancestral Land before and never anticipated that the Ancestral Strength here would be so dense. 

Being a Pseudo-Royal Lord, even if he couldn’t completely control his strength, dealing with an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Master like Yang Kai shouldn’t have been a problem. 

However, the dense Ancestral Strength here suppressed almost half of Di Wu’s strength, leaving him only slightly stronger than he originally was as an Innate Territory Lord.

Knowing Yang Kai’s ferocious reputation and ridiculous strength, Di Wu wasn’t confident that he could win against him with such a limitation placed on him. 

He came here with full confidence, but now he was suddenly worried, which was quite embarrassing. In this situation, not only might he fail to kill Yang Kai, but he was actually at risk of being the one killed. 

Looking around, he had a serious face as he prepared himself for Yang Kai’s sudden appearance. 

Luckily for him, there weren’t any movements around him.

Frowning, he began investigating his surroundings. 

He found that all the Ancestral Strength on this land was gathering in one direction. 

[Is that bastard still cultivating?] Di Wu vaguely muttered to himself after reaching his own conclusion. 

Under normal circumstances, he would have interrupted Yang Kai’s cultivation no matter what because, as an enemy, he couldn’t just sit and watch Yang Kai become stronger. That killing star was already too strong, so what benefit would there be to let him grow stronger?

However, Di Wu currently had another plan.

Since Yang Kai was busy devouring the Ancestral Strength to cultivate, perhaps he should just let him be; after all, this land couldn’t have an infinite amount of Ancestral Strength. Therefore, the longer Yang Kai cultivated, the less Ancestral Strength there would be. Once all the Ancestral Strength here had been depleted, there would be nothing suppressing the Black Ink Clan’s strength, and by that time, he could exert his full power.

Although Yang Kai would also become stronger, as long as he didn’t break through to the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm, Di Wu was confident that he could defeat Yang Kai.

Could Yang Kai break through to the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm?

The answer was no. This man had reached his limit at the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm; the Black Ink Clan wouldn’t mess up such a critical piece of intelligence, or else they wouldn’t have agreed to negotiate with the Humans.

Once he decided, Di Wu didn’t remain any longer and flew up into the sky, heading back towards the Grand Array. 

When he returned, many pairs of eyes fell on him, which made him feel a little embarrassed. Luckily, he was hiding inside a thick Black Ink Cloud, so the other Territory Lords couldn’t see his face. 

“I haven’t mastered my current strength, so I’ll let him live a while longer and head over to kill him once I’ve become better familiarised with myself!”

It was clearly an excuse, and the Territory Lords all knew what Di Wu was thinking. They secretly snickered, but didn’t dare to show anything on the surface, “Sir Di Wu, you’re the one in charge. We will keep a close watch on Yang Kai’s movements.”

Di Wu nodded lightly, “Inform me immediately if there are any changes!”

After saying that, he shot to the side and silently began familiarising himself with his strength. Despite spending two years devouring the strength from the Black Ink Nest and 13 Territory Lords, this wasn’t strength he had built up through his own efforts, so it was somewhat incompatible with him and rioted regularly. That was also one of the reasons he could not stop releasing his aura.

If he let Yang Kai continue to cultivate, he could also gradually polish the strength that didn’t belong to him and make himself stronger.

At the same time, in the depths of the Ancestral Land, Yang Kai was still looking into the past while fusing with the Ancestral Land’s aura. But a moment ago, there seemed to be a kind of external force that almost interrupted his cultivation.