Chapter 5489, Stepping Forward
Translator: Silavin & Ashish
Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun
Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys
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!