Chapter 274 – The Border City Outside the Territory

The fusion of two worlds will give birth to countless disasters, but it will also bring forth numerous opportunities.

The Cold Moon City Lord had once reminded that after the fusion of the two worlds, one should pay close attention to searching the surroundings for such treasures.

When the Blue Star Border Zone formed, there was also a chance for Two-Realm Relics to emerge. In the past, when the Border Zone appeared, many advanced players ventured deep into exploration, both to eliminate disasters and to seek opportunities.

“Treasures formed by the intersection of two worlds are usually found within unhealed Spatial Rifts. Affected by these rifts, the Qi and radiance of the treasures remain concealed, making their discovery largely dependent on fate and keen observation.”

“Moreover, such treasures may vanish over time, so finding them cannot be forced.”

Various pieces of information about Two-Realm Relics flashed through Mu Yuan’s mind.

In the Blue Star Border Zone, the probability of Two-Realm Relics emerging was quite high, but whether players could find them remained unknown. As for here…

“The school submerged into the Eternal World is insignificant in size compared to the vast Border Zone, and the likelihood of a Two-Realm Relic appearing here is minuscule.”

When he came here, he hadn’t even considered the possibility of a Two-Realm Treasure.

The chances were too slim.

Who would have thought that Dolai, with its sharp eyes, would actually discover one? No, it didn’t even use its eyes—was this the intuitive sense from Devouring Lai Ming?

“Let’s go take a closer look, then.”

Mu Yuan said.

He wasn’t particularly hopeful. After all, the school area was small, and even if a Boundary Treasure had formed by chance, it would likely be a minor one.

Still, he was somewhat curious.

Boundary Treasures differed from ordinary treasures. Due to their formation from the collision of two worlds, they inherently carried a touch of “rule-based nature.” This meant that Boundary Treasures weren’t necessarily powerful or advanced, but they were inevitably unique.

The Spatial Rift was only as large as a backpack, shaped like an irregular leaf, suspended in midair about a meter above the ground.

Upon closer inspection, with his keen eyesight, Mu Yuan could see that the Spatial Rift was indeed healing, albeit at an extremely slow pace.

Dolai could bite through a Spatial Rift dozens of meters long, causing it to vanish within seconds. This one, however, would likely take a day or two to fully heal on its own.

But for a treasure with no visible radiance, finding it within a day or two in the vast Wilderness was like searching for a needle in a haystack.

At that moment, the surrounding bushes rustled, and one, two—a total of over a dozen gray wolves with pale red eyes emerged from them.

They bared their fangs, drool dripping from their mouths.

Seeing these Early Stage monsters, Mu Yuan, who was being treated as prey, felt a sense of nostalgia. He recalled how, back in the day, Deadbone had to use his Cleave skill to take down a low-Rank gray wolf.

He waved his hand, signaling Sickle Moon, who was crouching nearby with her hands on the ground, not to intervene.

The gray wolves slowly paced forward, and when they reached a certain distance, they suddenly lunged with bared fangs. In the next moment, Mu Someone kicked one of them flying, sending it straight toward the nearby Spatial Rift.

There was no sound, no flashy visual effects—only the gray wolf’s body being cleanly severed at the waist, the cut smooth and even. It took two seconds for a torrent of blood to gush out.The spatial rift that had sliced through over a dozen gray wolves showed no change.

It seemed to only heal slowly over time, unaffected by external forces.

“No wonder some say that treasures between two realms are both hard to discover and even harder to obtain.”

Forget small gray wolves—even a Fourth-Order Commander Tier expert would likely be severely injured or killed upon colliding with this spatial rift.

The most direct method to retrieve the treasure within the rift was to interfere with space itself.

For instance, by using extreme force to vibrate the space, causing the treasure to fall out.

“First, an attack powerful enough to vibrate or tear space is beyond the capability of most Commander Tier experts. Second, it could easily damage the treasure inside.”

Mu Yuan chose a third method.

General Dolai stepped forward to give it a try.

It rolled up its sleeves, and its hand stretched like a rubber band, instantly transforming into a cyan-blue giant hand. The giant hand reached for the spatial rift, but in the next moment, it silently split apart like a peeled petal, while the treasure within the spatial rift remained firmly in place.

“Hmm, the failure of Plan A was expected, gurgle~!”

So, General Dolai began attempting Plan B.

Its severed hand regenerated, and it reshaped another cyan-blue giant hand. This time, however, the palm of the hand contained a dark, empty void.

The Dimensional Pocket Void.

General Dolai, after all, possessed spatial powers!

No one understood space better than General Dolai.

Although Dolai’s mastery of the Dimensional Pocket and Space Devour was still at the most basic level, and its spatial expertise was practically nonexistent, it undeniably possessed the noble skill of spatial manipulation.

The moment the two made contact, it was like oil meeting fire or flames clashing with lightning—the stable spatial rift began to vibrate rapidly.

The treasure plopped out.

The spatial rift quickly healed, disappearing before their eyes in just a few seconds.

Mu Yuan picked up the object, which resembled a shattered gem.

「◆◆◆◆」

「Grade: Special」

「Effect: Increases the Rank of any individual below the Legendary Realm by +2.」

「Note: The power of this special item is fading and is expected to disappear completely in a day and a half.」

“It is indeed quite special.”

Mu Yuan pondered, “Normal cultivation treasures either aid in increasing cultivation speed or provide a certain amount of Soul Power experience.”

The same treasure, when used by an Elite Tier individual, could raise their level by two, three, or four ranks, but when used by a Commander Tier individual, it might not even raise half a minor rank.

That was normal.

The power contained in a treasure was a fixed amount.

But this item, which could roughly be called an ‘Upgrade Stone,’ was different. Whether used by an Apprentice Tier or a Commander Tier individual, it would raise their Rank by two levels.

That was its rule.

“Dolai, the organization has decided that this gem will be used by you. Advance toward the Legendary Realm as quickly as possible.”

Only with a Legendary Realm expert stationed in the territory could Tianyuan Territory be considered somewhat secure.

Otherwise, Lord Mu was worried that one day he might wake up to find an enemy Legendary expert or a monster of the Legendary Realm at his doorstep.

This wasn’t just him catching Deadbone’s paranoia.

Tianyuan Territory’s coordinates had already been recorded by the Eye of Divine Radiance.

There also seemed to be a Goblin Prince hiding in the Stone Ridge Town area.

Against a Legendary expert, Tianyuan Territory’s defensive capabilities were still far from sufficient, and he couldn’t afford to be anything but urgent.Under normal circumstances, using this ‘Upgrade Stone’ at Commander Rank 8 would yield the greatest benefit, allowing one to directly reach the Peak of Commander Rank. Unfortunately, such stones cannot be preserved.

“But if they could be preserved, the princes and princesses of the Eternal Star Empire and Divine Wood Dynasty would likely easily push their own generals to the Peak of Commander Rank.”

This is a specialty unique to the period of fusion between the two worlds.

Using it for Dolai would certainly not be a loss.

General Dolai crunched down on the gem with a snap. “No chewiness, no flavor, a bit strange, huh.”

As soon as it finished speaking, surging energy erupted within its body, stirring up gusts of wind.

Its energy level rapidly increased, and in the blink of an eye…

Ding!

Notification: Your hero Dolai’s rank has increased from ‘Commander Rank 5’ to ‘Commander Rank 7.’

It was already at the high-tier Commander Realm!

Far ahead of Deadbone, the current second-strongest in Tianyuan Territory in terms of rank.

Not far from the Legendary Realm now.

Mu Yuan had to admit that such treasures from the fusion of the two worlds were quite enticing. If he could obtain another Upgrade Stone, wouldn’t General Dolai be able to charge straight to the Peak of Commander Rank?

By then, honing its transcendent body and tempering its Willpower Light, the Legendary Realm would be within reach.

What? General Dolai can’t ignite its Willpower Light?

If all else fails, just toss Dolai into Red Robe’s terrifying illusion to undergo reincarnation. With Dolai’s Epic Two-Star caliber, there’s no reason it couldn’t ignite a Willpower Light. If that still doesn’t work, test the limits of Evolution Points.

Having tasted the benefits, Lord Mu wandered around the school area a few times with his treasure-hunting Dolai.

Unfortunately, even by the time the rescue forces arrived and the survivors began relocating to Xingrong Town, he still hadn’t found a second treasure from the fusion of the two worlds.

“Normal, normal.”

The survivors’ relocation proceeded without incident, and within a day, they entered a relatively safe area.

Seeing this, Mu Yuan also returned home with Xiliu and Sickle Moon.

As for Dolai and Sophia, he had already sent them back a day earlier. Sophia was burdened with heavy responsibilities, and Dolai also juggled multiple roles—transportation, exploration, combat, and cultivation—so it couldn’t stay outside for long.

After two and a half days away, Lord Mu returned to his loyal Tianyuan Territory.

Oh, he had only been controlling his Incarnation for the long journey while he himself stayed at home all along? Well, that’s fine then.

“The main focus for evolution next will be General Deadbone and General Dolai, requiring 80,000 units of Evolution Points each for their respective systems.”

Another evolution for Dolai would help it reach the Legendary Realm faster.

As for Deadbone, no explanation is needed—it has always been the main combat force of the territory.

“But there’s no need to instruct Sophia to specifically purchase Little Skeleton and Slime Remnant Souls. She’s already buying all kinds of Remnant Souls now, as long as they’re available and the trading location isn’t too far.”

“However, the Border Zone is worth exploring.”

Mu Yuan wasn’t sure where the Border Zones in the Eternal World were located, but many of the Border Zones on Blue Star could be looked up.

At least most of those within the Xuan Nation could be found.

Within the Xuan Nation, new Border Zones were emerging every day. Some disappeared shortly after appearing, while others remained permanently, like a giant mouth slowly devouring and consuming the regions of Blue Star.

Even more Border Zones were emerging abroad. However, many of these areas were sparsely populated, and Border Zones could appear without anyone noticing.”In short, now that the Crimson Mist disaster month has passed and the territory can spare some commander-level combat forces, we should try exploring some border zones.”

“We can start by exploring the two relatively nearby border zones: outside Baijiang City and the outskirts of Jiangbei City.”

…

Perhaps these border zones were ultimately too ‘old,’ as Mu Yuan’s own Incarnation wandered around several times without even catching a glimpse of a Spatial Rift.

General Dolai, who had been highly anticipated, also returned empty-handed.

But to be fair, Dolai never possessed any detection abilities to begin with; its search for Treasures relied entirely on its hit-or-miss intuition, which was somewhat unreliable after all.

Time passed slowly.

As the one-month deadline drew closer, disasters descending upon Blue Star became increasingly frequent.

Events like the sinking of Green Mountain Hospital and Baijiang School were no longer isolated incidents within Xuan Nation.

From what Mu Yuan knew, dozens of similar incidents had occurred in just ten to fifteen days.

However, most of these sinking zones were located within the inner regions of the Taixuan Alliance’s territory, facing few monsters, and ultimately ended without major danger.

Naturally, there were casualties—many people lost their lives—but relative to the vast Xuan Nation, these were considered significant victories.

“Only a few dozen sinking zones are remarkably few for a country as expansive as Xuan Nation. But this is Xuan Nation, which has solidified its territory, so sinking events are not common.”

“In contrast, the Starshine Federation experiences far more sinking zone incidents.”

However, the Starshine Federation adopted a different strategy from Xuan Nation. They built numerous absolutely safe cities where no spatial overlaps occur within their urban areas, and no stray monsters emerge from spatial rifts.

When the two worlds fully fuse, these absolutely safe cities will transform into sanctuary arks, gradually docking with the Eternal World.

Compared to Xuan Nation and the Starshine Alliance, other countries undoubtedly face more sinking zone incidents. Some smaller nations were overrun and destroyed by monsters early on, with intelligent monsters establishing their own Tribes on these lands.

Spatial overlap phenomena in these small countries are also much more severe, with entire cities disappearing and sinking into the Eternal World.

“The fusion of Blue Star is approaching. I hope no new storms arise.”

Mu Yuan murmured.

…

Around the same time, west of Tianyuan Territory, in a forest where darkness prevailed and glimpses of daylight were rare.

This place was formally known as the Gloomy Forest, covering an extremely vast area like a curved Saber inserted into the Taixuan Alliance’s territory.

The outskirts of the Gloomy Forest were teeming with venomous spiders, where terrifying spiders as large as cars could be seen everywhere. In the early days, Mu Yuan led a group of skeletons to explore and strategize in an area he then named ‘Venomous Spider Forest.’

However, due to the high danger level of the Venomous Spider Forest, Lord Mu only ventured a dozen or so kilometers inward before halting his advance.

Later, he heard that the venomous spider area was merely the periphery of the Gloomy Forest, and the Gloomy Forest itself was a highly iconic high-risk zone near the Taixuan Alliance.

Lord Mu abandoned any thought of further exploration.

It was simply too dangerous to provoke.

But a few months ago, the Gloomy Forest underwent a major sweep, and it has since been downgraded from a high-risk zone to a ‘medium-to-low risk’ zone on the Taixuan territory map.

In due time, it will be ready for development and the establishment of resource sites.At this moment, in the Gloomy Forest, near the outer perimeter, steaming white mist suddenly spread out, covering an area of tens to hundreds of kilometers.

In utter silence, the space rippled with subtle undulations.

A somewhat dilapidated city with low-rise buildings descended into the Gloomy Forest, merging seamlessly with the forest.

Like a mirage gradually materializing from illusion into reality.

The entire process was incredibly natural and did not cause any disturbance.

This was because the city was already teeming with numerous monsters roaming about, with the sounds of Spear shots and roars rising and falling intermittently. Survivors, in contrast, were the minority compared to the monsters.

It was not until a certain moment when several players reached the city’s edge and saw the giant trees outside, towering dozens to hundreds of meters high, that they stood in stunned disbelief.

(End of Chapter)