Martial Peak C.5980: It’s You

Yang Kai had a nagging feeling that if he failed to withstand the onslaught of Dao Strengths washing over him right now, he would become part of the Dao Strengths, and both Space-Time Rivers would collapse.

[To be one with the Dao…]

A strange thought occurred to Yang Kai. [This is an obstacle in the path of cultivation. All is well if I make it through, but if we don’t, all is lost. So, this is the hurdle that must be faced when one reaches the pinnacle of the Martial Dao!]

He quickly used the power of the Soul Warming Lotus to protect his consciousness.

The situation improved ever so slightly, but the Soul Warming Lotus, which had been infallible in the past, could not be of any decisive help this time around…

If one were to describe Mu’s final gift as a feast, then the Soul Warming Lotus was stomach medicine.

In the past, whenever Yang Kai’s Soul was threatened by outside forces, the Soul Warming Lotus would keep it well-protected. It ensured that Yang Kai’s Soul did not get destroyed and his consciousness remained intact; however, that was not the case with Mu’s gift. The Dao Strengths within her Space-Time River were not poison; on the contrary, they were the greatest of supplements. The situation came down to whether Yang Kai could digest everything he had been given or not.

The Soul Warming Lotus could not do much in this situation as it was Yang Kai who took the initiative to refine and absorb everything inside Mu’s Space-Time River. It was up to him to take the many Dao Strengths in for himself.

Yang Kai’s Space-Time River, which had been like a snake earlier, was rapidly expanding. As it grew bigger, its speed of devouring and refining increased as well.

A sudden surge of pressure made Yang Kai’s skin split apart and blood poured out at once.

It was hard for him to withstand everything with his current strength.

Not daring to hesitate for even a breath, a sonorous Dragon Roar rang out and a massive Dragon manifested. Now that Yang Kai had assumed his Dragon Form, the burden on his body eased a lot.

However, the shining golden light of the Divine Dragon looked different now. The concentrated Dao Strengths circled Yang Kai’s Dragon Form in an attempt to transform him into Dao Strengths, but his Dragon Scales tensed up to block the encroachment.

Dragon Roars kept ringing out inside the meandering Space-Time River.

Meanwhile, outside the Space-Time River, Mo growled softly as his Source pieces which had been suppressed and sealed in the past were returning to him. His power was increasing at an alarming rate.

While Yang Kai was struggling with himself, Mo calmly observed the situation occurring inside the Space-Time River.

The Source pieces he regained were the ones that had been taken away from him in the past, so he was simply reabsorbing them now. Still, he had not fully regained everything yet.

Instead of hatred or resentment though, Mo merely had a complicated look on his face.

Just as he had said in his final conversation with Mu, although his mere existence brought harm, since he had gained sentience, he had the right to fight to survive. It was not fair for him to be locked behind a door forever.

Black Ink Strength was the root of his existence, and his consciousness had simply emerged from it. Even without Mo, something else that was similar would have come out of the darkness eventually…

“I should thank you!” Mo murmured as he cupped his fist lightly, reabsorbing all of the remaining Source pieces.

In the past, he could barely control his own strength as it had grown beyond his ability to manipulate; however, Yang Kai’s earlier efforts had sealed over 30% of his Source Strength behind the Profound Source Gate.

Although this weakened Mo’s maximum strength, it came with the silver lining of granting him far better control of what strength remained.

Thus, in Mo’s current state, he was even more threatening than when he was at the peak of his power!

He raised his hand and made a grabbing motion directed at the river as he snarled, “Come out!”

He did not want anyone to touch what Mu left behind. Previously, to protect the Primordial World from destruction, Mo even voluntarily left the Primordial World and jumped out of the Space-Time River as he feared that his overwhelming strength would destroy it.

The Space-Time River was the final piece of Mu that remained!

A Dragon Roar escaped from the Space-Time River. Yang Kai, who was busy refining the Dao Strengths, suddenly felt something grabbing onto him to drag him out of the river.

He did not sense Mo’s presence, but he was certain it was the latter’s doing.

All along, Yang Kai had been curious to know the extent of Mo’s power, about what the legendary Creation Realm was like.

At last, Yang Kai personally experienced just how terrifying Mo’s might was.

Mo’s strength remained this immense despite the two of them being separated by two Space-Time Rivers. Without the Space-Time Rivers, Yang Kai estimated that he, a Ninth-Order Master and a Divine Dragon, would not be able to withstand more than three of Mo’s attacks before he perished!

[I can’t let him drag me out!]

There was a chance for him to put up a fight if he remained hidden inside Mu’s Space-Time River, but if he did get pulled out, he was doomed to die!

Yang Kai knew what he had to do, and with a roar, he began harnessing the strength of the Space-Time Rivers in a frenzied manner to attempt to cut off the force that was constraining him.

Even though the force came from outside the rivers, it could not be cut off so easily. Furthermore, Yang Kai could not wield his full strength in his present condition.

His Space-Time River was busy refining the Dao Strengths from Mu’s river, and as the complex and mysterious mix of Dao Strengths surged, much of his focus was diverted to protecting his Soul to avoid being refined into Dao Strengths himself.

Both parties had their reasons for holding back, so for the moment, it was a stalemate.

Outside the river, Mo’s eyes flashed with surprise. He did not think that Yang Kai would be able to put up a fight, but he doubled down and called out impatiently, “Come out on your own, or else, I don’t mind heading in myself!”

Mo did not want to destroy the final memory he had of Mu. He knew that some shadows of Mu remained inside the Space-Time River, so he wanted to preserve them. If he entered the Space-Time River, he was undoubtedly going to inflict irreparable harm and the shadows could very well be destroyed. This was not an outcome he could accept.

However, all Mo received in response was even more ferocious Dragon Roars that came from within the river.

Mo’s eyes flashed with displeasure, “How stubborn! I’m giving you one last chance! I can promise you that once this battle is over, I’ll give the Humans a Great Territory where they can carry on living free of the corruption from Black Ink Strength, which will never enter that Great Territory!”

This was the most it was willing to compromise.

Mu was gone and the remaining Humans no longer mattered to him. He was only willing to give the Humans the space of a single Great Territory for their race to survive for the sake of protecting Mu’s Space Time River!

“In your dreams!” The Dragon Roar exploded out of the Space-Time River. Through the restriction of the Dao Strengths, Mo could vaguely see a pair of large golden eyes staring in its direction.

“Foolish impudence!” Mo coldly snorted in response. He then took a step forward to enter the Space-Time River.

However, as soon as he stepped into the river, the water surged and the power of all the Dao Strengths rushed about to block his path. He had to pause outside the river instead.

It looked as if Mo was stuck outside the river as endless waves crashed down upon him, but he was still slowly making his way forward.

Mo could not be stopped!

Yang Kai’s expression hardened. He had refined quite a lot of the Dao Strengths from Mu’s Space-Time River in a short span of time and strengthened his own Space-Time River greatly. He was even able to use a bit of the strength from Mu’s river itself; but even so, it was not his strength so he could not wield it freely.

He had no way of keeping Mo out if the latter chose to force his way in.

Soon, Yang Kai made up his mind. Since he could not keep Mo out, he was not going to even try. The Space-Time River was a mysterious place made up of the solidified Grand Daos with Space-Time Dao Strength as its foundation.

Even if Mo entered the river, it would not be easy for him to locate Yang Kai.

The only thing Yang Kai could do now was to avoid Mo’s attacks while doing his best to refine the river and strengthen himself.

As long as he could grow powerful enough, he could put up a fight against Mo.

Just as Yang Kai prepared himself for this final gambit, Mo, who was busy pushing his way into the river, abruptly turned his head around and looked over his shoulder.

He had sensed something strange…

A brief moment later, a spark of white light appeared in the distance where countless Masters from the Black Ink Clan were stationed. The white light shrouded a figure which was travelling at astonishing speed.

Everywhere this figure passed, all of the Black Ink Clansmen turned into a sea of black blood, be they simple soldiers or Royal Lords.

In just a flash, the white light arrived at the Space-Time River and Zhang Ruo Xi’s figure appeared.

She looked around and immediately established the situation, her eyes flashing darkly as they fixed on Mo.

When their eyes met, Mo froze in place.

He did not expect a Master like her to exist! Based on the information he had, the strongest Humans were only the Ninth-Order Masters, and even among their other allies, the strongest were merely Giant Spirit Gods.

Yet, the woman who just arrived… had an aura that seemed even stronger than that of a Giant Spirit God.

When Mo sensed the clean and pure strength of the new arrival, his expression suddenly contorted as he roared, “It’s you!”

He recognised the source of that strength!

Zhang Ruo Xi understood what Mo meant. When the Burning Light and Serene Glimmer’s strength finally harmonized in the Chaotic Dead Territory, the memories of her Heavens Order Bloodline began awakening, so she was not completely clueless about the events of the ancient past.

Thus, when she heard what Mo said, she cooly replied, “Yes… and no!”

“It is! It’s you!” Mo’s expression had changed rather drastically. Even when Yang Kai suppressed and sealed over 30% of his Source, he took everything in stride and could even thank the latter; however, when Mo saw Zhang Ruo Xi, the darkness hidden deep within him overtook everything else. He leapt out of the Space-Time River and murderously flew over to Zhang Ruo Xi, but all of a sudden, he stopped and shook his head as he muttered, “No. That can’t be!”

Black Ink Strength continued to surge through him before he suddenly lifted his head and levelled a vicious glare at Zhang Ruo Xi and bellowed, “No, it is you!”

Mo behaved as if he had lost his mind and he began to mumble and contradict himself, seemingly completely out of sorts.

All of a sudden, he flashed forwards and reappeared in front of Zhang Ruo Xi, sending his fist flying as he roared, “Why!?”