Chapter 5806: Return
After a few decades, by the time the Universe Furnace’s projection appeared once more, the Human Race Masters on the dozen or so Great Territory Battlefields were already finished making their preparations.
Not to mention Azure Sun Territory and Wolf Fang Territory, which had practically been conquered, even the Great Territory Battlefields where wars were still raging had Humans basically completely controlling the specific areas.
The news immediately reached the Supreme Headquarters, causing Mi Jing Lun to frown.
[It’s a little fast!]
According to the information provided by Blood Crow, the last time the Universe Furnace manifested, it took over 100 years for it to close. Of course, the 100 years was the flow of time in the outside world. If one was really inside the Universe Furnace, they wouldn’t feel that so much time had passed, because Time and Space seemed to be extremely wrapped and chaotic at the very beginning, making it difficult to determine how long they had spent inside.
But it didn’t matter.
All the necessary arrangements had been made, and the rest would depend on how effective these arrangements were.
Putting down those reports, Mi Jing Lun picked up another set.
The emergence of the Universe Furnace had triggered an all-out war between the Human Race and the Black Ink Clan. The Human Race was not completely prepared yet, but neither was the Black Ink Clan.
Azure Sun Territory and Wolf Fang Territory, under the leadership of two Ninth-Order Masters, had basically been reclaimed. The Black Ink Clansmen that were present there had either been killed or had fled long ago. The Territory Gates leading to two Territories were now completely in Human hands. All that was left were some finishing touches.
Several other Great Territory Battlefields were now dominated by the Human Race.
Let alone other Great Territory Battlefields, just Azure Sun Territory and Wolf Fang Territory allowed the Human Race to push forward, but Mi Jing Lun did not give the order to do so.
The Black Ink Clan Army terribly outnumbered the Human Race Army still, and the same was true when it came to top Masters. If they continued pushing on, they might not be able to achieve much while sacrificing a lot.
Once the front line was stretched too far, it would be rather detrimental for the Human Race.
If the Human Race wanted to reclaim the 3,000 Worlds, they would have to take a steady approach. They would have to sweep through the Great Territories one by one and drive the Black Ink Clan out of their homeland, where they had lived for millions of years.
As such, Mi Jing Lun was waiting for the Universe Furnace to close. Only by killing all the Black Ink Clansmen that had entered the Universe Furnace would the Human Race be free from any attack in the rear.
Otherwise, if the Human Race Masters were sent to the front lines and the Black Ink Clan were to stir up trouble in the rear, that would be quite troublesome.
And at this moment, the time had come!
What he needed to consider now was how the Human Race would proceed after reclaiming the current Great Territory Battlefields.
When the massive Universe Furnace phantom appeared, apart from Azure Sun Territory and Wolf Fang Territory, the Black Ink Clan in the other Great Territory Battlefields immediately took action.
Mo Yu had already passed down an order a long time ago that if anything unusual transpired in those locations where the Universe Furnace’s projection had once appeared, the Black Ink Clan Army should immediately engage. They should not hesitate to attack regardless of what the Humans were planning.
A huge battle instantly broke out, and this time it swept up all the occupied Great Territory Battlefields.
Not long after the projection of the Universe Furnace appeared, figures appeared inside the projection one after another. These figures were none other than members of the Black Ink Clan who had entered the Universe Furnace.
Most of them were still in a state of confusion as the majority of Black Ink Clansman did not know that when they left the Universe Furnace World, they would return to their original location.
While they were still reeling from confusion, powerful attacks came raining down on them from all directions!
The Human Race Masters, who had long been prepared, immediately used their strongest Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques.
Not only that, but the Human Race Masters who had appeared together with the Black Ink Clansmen from the Universe Furnace World also quickly assumed Battle Formations, resisting the aftershocks of the attacks from their own side, while searching for opportunities to kill the powerful enemies near them.
One after another, fearsome auras flared up before vanishing. Within moments, the Territory Lords had suffered heavy casualties and even the Pseudo-Royal Lords found it difficult to protect themselves from this barrage.
In Azure Sun Territory, Luo Ting He’s slender figure had already charged straight into the enemy lines, reaping their lives with unstoppable force. Any Territory Lord that was targeted by her was dead within three breaths.
In Wolf Fang Territory, Wei Jun Yang, dressed in golden armour and holding a long spear, went on a killing spree, leaving rivers of blood behind him.
The Territories where the two Ninth-Order Masters were stationed were basically seeing a one-sided slaughter. Only Pseudo-Royal Lords managed to hold on, but that too was only for a short while.
If things were favourable for the Human Race in some places, there would naturally be other places where they were losing ground.
Profound Nether Territory Battlefield was a Great Territory Battlefield that was once personally overseen by Yang Kai, the killing star, so the Black Ink Clan had attached great importance to it. Things had been extremely tense for Profound Nether Territory Battlefield over the past few decades. If it weren’t for the Divine Spirits’ support, Profound Nether Army would have already been lost.
Even with the Divine Spirits’ assistance, however, it was still difficult for Profound Nether Army to secure another victory. The main reason was that the enemy had deployed a large number of Pseudo-Royal Lords. Fortunately, after a series of large and small battles, the Profound Nether Army had managed to firmly control the area around the Universe Furnace projection.
But when the Universe Furnace projection appeared once more, and the Black Ink Clan Army went on offence, the Profound Nether Army actually had a difficult time holding their ground.
It wasn’t that Profound Nether Army was weak. It was an Army that had Yang Kai at its helm. In name, Yang Kai was still the Army Commander of Profound Nether Army. With a leader like him, the entire Profound Nether Army was second to none whether in terms of military strength or morale.
The main reason the Profound Nether Army was losing ground was because they had deployed most of their Masters to guard the location of the Universe Furnace’s projection, thereby weakening their forces in the other areas, which the Black Ink Clan took advantage of.
When the war broke out, the Profound Nether Army, adhering to the principle of minimizing losses, fought while slowly retreating. When the report of this was sent back to the Black Ink Clan, the Black Ink Clan Army’s leader misunderstood his enemy as weak and vulnerable, which in turn ignited the Black Ink Clan’s momentum.
While things were dragging on like this, several figures appeared in the Universe Furnace projection.
Immediately after, just like the other Great Territory Battlefields, the prepared Human Race Masters fired their Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques at the Black Ink Clansmen who had suddenly appeared.
Right then, a fearsome aura suddenly appeared, shaking Heaven and Earth before a furious roar resounded throughout the entire Profound Nether Territory, “Ou Yang Lie has come! Bastards of the Black Ink Clan! Come suffer death!”
A few decades ago, Ou Yang Lie had entered the Universe Furnace through Profound Nether Territory’s entrance!
“Ninth Order!” In the rear of the Black Ink Clan Army, the Pseudo-Royal Lord Commander’s face drastically changed as he started shaking.
When he noticed that Ou Yang Lie’s aura had reached the Ninth Order, he knew that things were looking bleak for the Black Ink Clan in Profound Nether Territory.
While the Black Ink Clansmen were in a state of panic, the Human Race were in high spirits!
Before Yang Kai had taken charge of Profound Nether Army, Ou Yang Lie was well known for his rampages in Profound Nether Territory; so, he was quite famous here.
At this moment, many old Eighth-Order Masters were both envious and gratified after hearing him announce his name and feeling the awe-inspiring might of his Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm cultivation, [Ou Yang Lie has advanced to the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm! He must have obtained a Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pill in the Universe Furnace!]
At this moment, the sudden appearance of a Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master would definitely play a decisive role in the battle.
Ever since Yang Kai started cultivating his Human Self and went into retreat, the Profound Nether Army had been lacking a central pillar to rally around. Fortunately, the war hadn’t been too intense thanks to the peace treaty, so it didn’t matter if Yang Kai was present or not.
Now that Ou Yang Lie had returned even stronger than before, his presence would undoubtedly breathe new life into the entire Profound Nether Army!
Profound Nether Army’s morale soared and their momentum rose to a whole new level as they swept through the Great Territory!
On another Great Territory Battlefield, a Pseudo-Royal Lord shouted at the top of his lungs, “Xiang Shan has broken through to the Ninth-Order Open Heaven Realm!”
Right across him stood Xiang Shan with a gaping wound on his body and blood all over, but he still had a stoic look on his face as he sent a punch towards the Pseudo-Royal Lord who had been seriously injured by him, coldly snorting, “You talk too much!”
Just one punch sent the Pseudo-Royal Lord into a fit of coughing blood.
In just a few dozen breaths, the Pseudo-Royal Lord’s aura who was fighting Xiang Shan perished under his torrential attacks!
This was the first Pseudo-Royal Lord that had fallen in this Great Territory, but it would definitely not be the last.
Killing a Pseudo-Royal Lord was entirely possible for Xiang Shan with his current strength, but to kill him so quickly was only possible because he caught his opponent off guard.
This Pseudo-Royal Lord was also quite unlucky. Just as he led the Black Ink Clan Army over, he spotted Xiang Shan who had just appeared. He happened to have fought with Xiang Shan many years ago, and very well knew just how powerful Xiang Shan was.
But at that time, he was just an Innate Territory Lord. Now that he was a Pseudo-Royal Lord, he immediately had the urge to finish off Xiang Shan.
Except, he was taken aback the moment they exchanged blows.
He had indeed become a Pseudo-Royal Lord, but Xiang Shan had advanced to the Ninth-Order Master!
Moreover, Xiang Shan, a Ninth-Order Master, kept pressing the Pseudo-Royal Lord and ruthlessly injured him at the cost of getting himself injured.
The Pseudo-Royal Lord was already caught off guard, and now that Xiang Shan was putting his life on the line, coupled with the gap between their strengths, how could the Pseudo-Royal Lord be his opponent?
Xiang Shan did not stop after killing this Pseudo-Royal Lord and instead charged at the second Pseudo-Royal Lord. The sight of Xiang Shan coming straight at him scared the Hell out of the Pseudo-Royal Lord. He immediately turned tail and fled, not caring if this action would affect the morale of his Army.
The sudden appearance of two Ninth-Order Masters and their act of eliminating the strongest enemies right off the bat had stabilized the situation of the two Great Territories. It was quite foreseeable that these two Great Territories would come under the Human Race’s complete control very soon, and the Black Ink Clansmen present in these territories would either be killed or driven away.
Aside from the Great Territories under these four Ninth-Order Masters, neither side had any obvious advantages or disadvantages in others. Even if one side had a slight edge, it was not able to affect the overall situation.
But as time passed, this situation quickly changed.
With the Universe Furnace closed, the Humans and Black Ink Clansmen returned to the entrance they entered from, and when they did, the Humans, who had obviously made preparations for this a long time ago, caught them off guard and attacked the returning members of the Black Ink Clan. This led to the end of many Territory Lords and even some Pseudo-Royal Lords.
Additionally, the Humans in every Great Territory saw the return of a large number of Eighth-Order Masters. Many of these Eighth-Order Masters had only been Seventh-Order Masters when they had entered the Universe Furnace, but when they appeared today, they had advanced to the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm. It was all thanks to the Ordinary Grade Open Heaven Pills which were relatively easy to find inside the Universe Furnace compared to Supreme Grade Open Heaven Pills.
Thanks to these Ordinary Grade Open Heaven Pills, nearly 90% of the Seventh-Order Masters that entered and survived had advanced to the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm. As for those who failed to advance, it was because of their lacking foundation.
Many Territory Lords fell in quick succession, while many Eighth-Order Masters joined the Human Army’s ranks. Owing to these conditions, the scales of victory and defeat were slowly tilting in the Human Race’s favour.