Chapter 5081, Information Network Translator: Silavin & Jon Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys Since it was a new Black Ink Nest, there was nothing interesting inside it; however, Yang Kai was shocked upon hearing Zha Gu’s explanation. This Black Ink Nest would swallow just about anything that contained energy and use it as food. This characteristic reminded him of the Heaven-Devouring Great Emperor, Wu Kuang. That guy cultivated the Heaven Devouring Battle Law, and he claimed to be able to swallow anything in the world. Moreover, he possessed the Flawless Purifying Golden Lotus, which perfectly complemented the Heaven Devouring Battle Law. Yang Kai couldn’t help but think about what would happen if Wu Kuang came to the Black Ink Battlefield. Would he be corrupted by Black Ink Strength? Would he be able to use Heaven Devouring Battle Law and turn Black Ink Strength into something he could utilise? However, that guy couldn’t really show up in public now. He went missing after Yang Kai sent him to the Shattered Heaven previously, and it wasn’t certain whether he was dead or alive now. Having said that, Yang Kai reckoned that Wu Kuang must be alive and kicking. It was said that good people didn’t live long while a scourge would never die. After casting this strange idea away, Yang Kai slightly opened the portal of his Small Universe, whereupon his World Force streamed out of his body. The next moment, an anomaly took place. Like a cat that had caught a whiff of a fishy smell, the flesh walls in the Black Ink Nest started drawing the World Force towards them and absorbing it. An astounded Yang Kai instinctually wanted to close the portal of his Small Universe; after all, he would suffer a loss by letting the Black Ink Nest devour his World Force. However, before he could close the portal, he came into contact with a strange Will. The reason this Will felt strange was that it gave off a stiff feeling, as though it didn’t have sentience of its own, or wasn’t fully conscious. This revelation astonished Yang Kai as he gazed at Zha Gu. Zha Gu only looked smilingly at him, as though he had already expected this. Seeing that the other man didn’t have the intention of stopping him, Yang Kai set his mind at ease and started exploring this Will. Just like what he initially felt, the Will wasn’t an illusion, it was just that it didn’t have a consciousness of its own. After some exploration, a surprised Yang Kai asked, “Brother Zha Gu, does this Black Ink Nest have its own consciousness?” He came to realise that the source of the Will was the Black Ink Nest itself. Zha Gu replied with a smile, “Of course, this Black Ink Nest has its own consciousness. In fact, all Black Ink Nests have their own consciousnesses, but this consciousness is just a medium. It won’t express any of its feelings.” “A medium?” Yang Kai was puzzled, “What do you mean?” Zha Gu said, “Since you’re able to connect to this Black Ink Nest’s consciousness, why don’t you just explore it to find the answers yourself?” [Find the answers myself?] There seemed to be an insinuation in Zha Gu’s words. He seemed to suggest that there was a secret behind the Black Ink Nest’s consciousness, so a curious Yang Kai began probing around. This was the best chance for him to explore some of the Black Ink Clan’s secrets, so he didn’t want to miss it. Furthermore, Zha Gu needed him to refine more artifacts, so he probably wouldn’t harm him. At the thought of this, Yang Kai became at ease. Initially, when he detected the Will’s presence, he wanted to ward it off as he was worried that it would harm him in some way. Upon making sure that the Will didn’t have a consciousness or mind of its own, he was able to relax. As he opened his portal, the power of his Small Universe was continuously swallowed by the Black Ink Nest. As his World Force left his body, Yang Kai realised that his mind was slowly connected to the Black Ink Nest’s consciousness. This was a special experience. Yang Kai couldn’t help but think that he and the Black Ink Nest were going to merge. Nevertheless, he knew that it was just an illusion. He was being influenced by the fact that his mind and the Black Ink Nest’s consciousness were mingling. Just a moment later, Yang Kai’s mind fully merged with the Black Ink Nest’s consciousness. This startled him as the merging process was incredibly smooth, as though the consciousness had been waiting to accept him. Certainly, he knew this wasn’t the truth. The Black Ink Nest didn’t have any sentience, so he reckoned that as long as certain conditions were met, anyone’s mind could perfectly merge with the consciousness. The moment he and the Black Ink Nest’s consciousness became one, Yang Kai seemed to have plunged into a different world. There was no light or substance in this world; in fact, there wasn’t even any physical presence here. In this world, there were only consciousnesses that moved around and communicated with each other. Yang Kai was flabbergasted. He could feel that there were two consciousnesses in a similar state as his that were communicating with one another. They seemed to be talking about a business deal that involved a lot of rare resources and Black Ink Clan servants. Then, he realised that he could also detect the communication between some other consciousnesses; however, some consciousnesses had blocked out the others as any eavesdropper would be met with hostility. Yang Kai’s consciousness navigated through this amazing world and ‘saw’ the existence of different consciousnesses. Some of these consciousnesses were wandering about just like him. Some of them remained on the same spot as they absorbed as much information as they could. There were also some that were communicating others. Soon, Yang Kai realised something that concerned him. All these consciousnesses seemed to be moving around in a huge medium, which itself was a consciousness that didn’t have a mind of its own. This mindless consciousness was much larger than the consciousness of Zha Gu’s Black Ink Nest. “Oh, there’s a new aura here.” While Yang Kai was in his thoughts, a wandering consciousness detected his presence and approached him to ask, “Who are you? Why have I never met you before?” Yang Kai was startled, not knowing how to respond to him. It wasn’t like he could tell him he was a Black Ink Disciple. The disturbance soon attracted the attention of the nearby consciousnesses. Yang Kai realised that the Black Ink Nest’s consciousness that carried his mind was now being gazed upon by countless pairs of eyes. He quickly retracted himself from this strange world and cut off his connection with the Black Ink Nest’s Will. Zha Gu was just standing beside him and watching in silence. Upon seeing that Yang Kai started moving again, he asked with a smile, “Was it fun?” With a solemn expression, Yang Kai asked, “Brother Zha Gu, the consciousnesses I came across…” Knowing what the other man was trying to ask, Zha Gu cut him off by saying, “Just like me, they’re the Feudal Lords with their own Fiefs. Just like what you did earlier, they merged their minds with their Black Ink Nests’ consciousnesses and entered the domain of the Territory Lord’s Black Ink Nest.” “The domain of the Territory Lord’s Black Ink Nest?” Yang Kai was stunned as he recalled the much larger consciousness that he came across earlier. “En.” Zha Gu nodded, “The Black Ink Nests of the Feudal Lords are separated from Sir Territory Lord’s Black Ink Nest, so they’re the sub-nests of Sir Territory Lord’s Black Ink Nest. Regardless of the distance, as long as these sub-nests are not separated across Worlds, they can communicate with each other. Of course, this requires the support of the domain of the Territory Lord’s Black Ink Nest, so you can regard this domain as a platform for communication.” Despite Zha Gu’s convoluted explanation, Yang Kai understood the abstrusity of it following his experience earlier. To put it simply, the Territory Lord’s Black Ink Nest had its own consciousness that was without a mind. This consciousness could turn into a Domain and allow the consciousnesses of the sub-nests to enter. The Feudal Lords who had their own Fiefs could merge their minds with the consciousnesses of the sub-nests in order to enter this domain. Yang Kai soon understood the crux of the matter. With a serious expression, he said, “In that case, a Territory Lord can find out what’s going on with the Feudal Lords who are working for him immediately. Similarly, the Feudal Lords can promptly inform the Territory Lord about anomalies taking place in their Fiefs.” “Indeed. It’s one of the basic uses of the Black Ink Nests.” Yang Kai fell silent. It wasn’t until this moment that he obtained an answer to a question he had pondered for a long time. When he pretended to be a Black Ink Disciple and stayed by Nu Yan’s side in the past, the Old Ancestor from Blue Sky Pass had led his subordinates to launch a raid on the Black Ink Clan’s territory. However, the Royal Lord reacted very swiftly to it, limiting the amount of damage that could be done. Yang Kai had always been curious how the Royal Lord received the news and made a move so quickly given the vast distances between the Royal City and the outer borders of the Black Ink Clan’s territory. Moreover, all the Black Ink Clansmen in the entire Blue Sky Theatre were mobilised alongside him. In fact, the Humans had never been able to figure it out. They speculated that the Black Ink Clan had a special method of communicating with each other. Perhaps something similar to a Space Array. Now, it seemed that the method of communication between the Black Ink Clan was far more profound than mere Space Arrays. The Black Ink Nests that were scattered around the void formed into a huge information network for the Black Ink Clan. Whenever anything happened in the areas occupied by these Black Ink Nests, the Black Ink Clan would instantly find out about it and spread it to others. When the Humans invaded the Black Ink Clan’s territory back then, the news must have been spread around through the Black Ink Nests instantaneously. That was the reason that the Royal Lord could counterattack so swiftly by gathering all Black Ink Clansmen under his command together. It was no wonder that the Black Ink Nests were touted as the foundation of the Black Ink Clan. This communication function alone was invaluable. “So, the Black Ink Nest’s consciousness can carry a Human’s mind as well…” Zha Gu suddenly tutted. Apparently, he had no idea that Yang Kai could successfully enter the domain of the Territory Lord’s Black Ink Nest prior to that. “I was just giving it a try. I hope I haven’t caused any damage to your Black Ink Nest, Brother Zha Gu,” Yang Kai came to his senses and apologised to him. He just wanted to find out whether the World Force coming from his Small Universe would be absorbed by the Black Ink Nest; he hadn’t expected that he would easily come into contact with the Black Ink Nest’s mindless Will, which led to the discovery later. This was all just a coincidence. Zha Gu replied with a smile, “It’s fine. The consciousness of any Black Ink Nest is just a medium, so no damage would be caused to it. In fact, most Feudal Lords have a lot of things to deal with, so they wouldn’t stay inside the domain of the Territory Lord’s Black Ink Nest all the time. The consciousnesses you came across are likely the trusted aides of those Feudal Lords. I’ll also get one of my subordinates to stay here to gather information eventually.” “I see,” Yang Kai nodded lightly. By pretending to be a Black Ink Disciple this time, Yang Kai managed to find out a lot of secrets about the Black Ink Nests. These secrets alone were worth his efforts; after all, these were the secrets that the Humans had been trying to uncover forever, but to no avail.