Chapter 278 – Forum Intelligence and Domain Treasures

Mu Yuan had assumed that the foreign players Sophia mentioned were from other countries on Blue Star. He never expected to encounter a Lord from the Eternal Star Empire here.

“The Eternal Star Empire is extremely distant from the Taixuan Alliance.”

He furrowed his brows, contemplating a possibility.

“Special Treasures are born in the Interdimensional Zone, and naturally, powerful figures from the Eternal Star Empire would also seek to obtain such Treasures. Moreover, territories like the Eternal Star Empire and the Divine Wood Dynasty do not possess Interdimensional Zones. Only the Taixuan Alliance, the Divine Radiance Empire, and a few other major regions overlapping with Blue Star can give rise to Interdimensional Zones and Interdimensional Treasures.”

Currently, as Blue Star’s Fusion approaches, it is the period when Interdimensional Treasures are easiest to find.

Once this phase passes and Blue Star fully integrates into the Eternal World, no such special Treasures will be born again.

That was the reason, but regardless, this was still the territory of the Taixuan Alliance.

And this Lord from the Eternal Star Empire seemed to make no attempt at concealment—was it confidence? Arrogance? Or perhaps…

As he pondered, a Black Crow was suddenly pierced by an arrow, its entire body shattering without leaving even a single remnant feather.

“We’ve been discovered.”

Sophia’s eyes narrowed.

The Black Crows she controlled were stronger and more concealed than those Mu Yuan himself manipulated. Whether struck by a Saber or pierced by a Sword, they could transform into black feathers or even black mist, reforming their bodies at a distance.

But this time, the Black Crow died miserably.

“Damn it, my crow!”

She directed the remaining Black Crows to converge toward that direction.

“It seems to be the Polar Star Arrow,” Mu Yuan mused. “Let’s change our position. Sophia, continue scouting the situation, but be careful.”

They were at least twenty to thirty kilometers away from that Eternal Star Empire troop.

Given this, Mu Yuan quietly shifted sideways.

He contemplated countermeasures.

Meanwhile, Sophia encountered difficulties. The Black Crows she sent toward the target area exploded one after another before they could even catch a glimpse of the troop.

This further convinced Mu Yuan that the enemy troop possessed the Polar Star Arrow.

Moreover, there must be one or several experts skilled in detection among them.

He said, “Change the strategy. Don’t let the Black Crows approach. Use the previous area as the center and distribute the crows at distances of 5 kilometers, 7 kilometers, and 10 kilometers respectively.”

“Additionally, have a very few Black Crows cease flight observation and enter a dormant mode.”

Lord Mu intended to test the enemy’s detection range and attack range in this manner.

Of course, the range he tested might not be the actual range—it could be a disguise by the enemy, requiring him to judge based on the situation.

While moving, he continued to ponder.

“Although it was only a brief encounter, there’s no doubt that this Eternal Star Empire troop is powerful. Most of their strength likely hasn’t even been displayed yet.”

“Besides, if they weren’t strong enough, would the Everstar Lord dare to so blatantly stride into Taixuan Territory?”

“The presence of this Eternal Star troop is far too dangerous!”

And this place wasn’t far from Tianyuan Territory.

Lord Mu greatly desired to eliminate such a threat, but with unclear enemy intelligence, acting rashly posed significant risks.

He pondered deeply.In the City Lord’s Mansion of Tianyuan Territory, Lord Mu himself once again crossed through the medium and arrived at Blue Star.

He logged into the player forum and entered an advanced section accessible only to lords and veteran players.

The Interdimensional Zone · Discussion Section.

This was a section established just a few years ago, documenting information about most interdimensional zones within Xuan Nation. Many players also chatted idly here, making it quite lively.

Of course, given its relatively high entry threshold, even casual forum posts by players often revealed numerous details in their brief remarks.

As soon as Mu Yuan entered the section, he spotted information related to his current location.

「Shocking news! An ultra-large interdimensional zone has appeared in the Boulder City region, with clear reflections of both worlds visible!」

First floor: “Is it the one near the outskirts of the Gloomy Forest, roughly between the Shiling Town and Xingrong Town regions? I was just planning to check it out.”

Second floor: “Same here!”

Third floor: “Such ultra-large interdimensional zones seem to give birth to quite a few treasures. If we could obtain one or two, wouldn’t it slightly increase our chances of helping our main generals break through to the Legendary Realm in the future?”

Although the strongest forces under the command of the vast majority of players, even lords, were only at the Second or Third Order—far from the peak of the Fourth Order—everyone harbored dreams of reaching the Legendary Realm.

Moreover, having only entered the Eternal World for a few years, they had already cultivated generals at the peak of the Second Order or even the Third Order. With dedicated effort over the next decade or two, nurturing a Legendary general wasn’t entirely impossible.

For now, they were merely preparing in advance.

Fourth floor: “So envious QAQ. Unfortunately, we’re too far from Boulder City. By the time we get there, I’m afraid even the leftovers will be gone.”

Sixth floor: “Hehe, during the Crimson Mist disaster month, when fulfilling reinforcement duties, this lord was assigned to the Luochuan Town region. It doesn’t seem too far to head to the interdimensional zone in the Gloomy Forest. Well, luckily, after the disaster month ended, this lord hasn’t returned home yet. Time to prepare and set off.”

Forty-fourth floor: “Have any of the folks above actually been near the interdimensional zone? I’ve already been exploring nearby and can only say it’s extremely dangerous. The border zone seems to host a powerful monster faction primarily composed of Snakemen. Of the three Snakemen patrols I’ve encountered so far, the weakest one had several Elite-level Snakemen. A warning to all: if any players plan to come to this interdimensional zone, make thorough preparations and carefully assess your own strength.”

Such discouraging remarks, if posted in the mixed-bag general discussion section, might be scoffed at by most players. However, in this ‘elite section,’ few players spoke carelessly, and ordinary advice or warnings were taken seriously by others.

Moreover, the forty-fourth floor poster was verified with a silver border as ‘Level 5 Lord Li Yao.’

Level 5 Lord—a City Lord!

A lord who controlled an entire city.

His words naturally carried significant weight. Many eager players immediately paused to reconsider. They weren’t easily deterred, but they undoubtedly grew more cautious, deciding to make additional preparations and gather seven or eight friends before heading out.Floor 78: “The Gloomy Forest border zone seems quite dangerous. A friend of mine recently said he’d reached the vicinity of the border zone and was very excited, but now he’s lost contact. If anyone discovers any related clues, please contact me.”

Mu Yuan quickly scanned through the existing dozens of floors. Among these, very few were actually near the interdimensional zone.

Of course, many players currently near the interdimensional zone lacked means to connect with Blue Star and couldn’t post on the forum.

Mu Yuan typed on the keyboard, posting his recent discovery about the Eternal Star Empire Lord on the forum.

With an additional note:

“This Eternal Star Lord possesses formidable power, known to have extremely strong perception abilities and precise strike capability of at least 5 kilometers – suspected to possess the epic troop type ‘Polar Star Arrow’.”

He posted this information firstly to alert other exploration players from the Taixuan Alliance, and secondly, to see if he could attract a few experts.

The Eternal Star Lord was extremely powerful, and Mu Yuan had no confidence in dealing with him.

Just from the other party’s undisguised, flamboyant demeanor, he could tell that, barring any surprises, the other’s strength surpassed his own.

Moreover, if he could discover one Eternal Star Lord, this meant there were far more than just this one powerful individual from major powers like Eternal Star and Divine Wood around this interdimensional zone, or currently heading this way.

How could someone like him, Mu Yuan – a small lord who had just shed his novice status – possibly handle this?

But it didn’t matter.

This was Taixuan Alliance territory. If he, a minor lord, couldn’t handle it, surely the experts could, right?

After posting, he still didn’t feel entirely secure. What if the official experts weren’t browsing the forum? After some thought, he wrote a report letter and sent it to the Taixuan Liangyi department.

Done.

At this moment, Lord Mu was still in the gloomy giant forest, constantly changing locations. While moving, he and Sophia continuously released black crows one after another.

The black crows flapped their wings, blending into the surrounding gloomy environment.

Ten! A hundred! A thousand!

His tool incarnation, whose power was completely equivalent to his true self, and Sophia, who had already reached the Fourth-Order Commander Tier – both of them almost abandoned their own combat capabilities, using over 80% of their strength and energy to mold and control the black crows.

Mu Someone intended to gradually cover the entire area outside the interdimensional zone!

This was difficult.

But combined with Sophia’s black crow ability, there was a chance to achieve this. Of course, with the black crows scattered throughout the vast giant forest, their distribution wasn’t dense, and relying solely on the crows’ eyes to gather information would inevitably have omissions.

But that didn’t matter – they would just keep scouting!

Mu Yuan took out a white paper and began drawing a map, dividing the areas inside and outside the interdimensional zone into numerous sections.

“Area 8: discovered a joint player corps, looks somewhat familiar. Hmm, they’re Taixuan players… seems to be the Silver Mercenary Corps active in either Stone Ridge Town or Boulder City. Skip.”

“Area 11: discovered a lord corps. Oh, it’s Vastwave Lord. Skip that.”

“Area 13: also discovered a player corps. Don’t recognize them, need to mark this… wait, such a weak corps couldn’t possibly be from foreign countries. Can skip this too.”

“Area 15: …”

By fully deploying the black crows, the results were naturally quite good.In just a few hours, he had discovered over twenty player exploration teams, one of which was suspected to be from the Divine Wood Dynasty. Of course, this was merely speculation, solely because this team contained a significant number of tree spirit units.

At that moment, a faint ripple came through the mental connection.

“General Dolai has arrived at the battlefield~!”

Dolai was here!

It had joined up with Mu Yuan and the others as reinforcements, along with several other commanders like Xiliu, Red Robe, and Rakshasa.

Lord Mu felt much more at ease.

“Found it! It’s a treasure fragment!”

Half an hour later, the sharp-eyed Dolai discovered a lingering spatial rift that refused to close, hidden among the tree branches.

It retrieved the treasure inside.

It was still just a fragment, emanating a faint glow.

“A Domain Type treasure.”

Its effect was to enhance domains.

However, General Dolai, who was present on the scene, had already reached the limit of its domain expansion—there was no room for further growth.

“Red Robe, why don’t you give it a try?”

“Me? Well then, I’ll go ahead and absorb it.”

Setting aside scenarios like epiphanies or special opportunities, Red Robe was the closest among the other commanders to reaching the ‘Domain Realm.’

Early on, she had constructed a complete illusory world using her Awakening skill ‘Sin Eye Prison’ at the One-Star Excellence stage. At that point, Red Robe had already taken a small step toward the Domain Realm.

Later, the epic ability she awakened, ‘Netherworld Market,’ was also an environmental and world-type skill. Given these conditions, Red Robe had far more advantages than other Fourth-Order Experts in creating a domain.

However, she had only possessed these significant advantages for a short time and had not yet naturally comprehended a domain.

Mu Yuan thought that since the treasure couldn’t be preserved, it might as well be given to Red Robe to try. There was no harm in trying—at worst, it would yield no benefit.

Although, he had never actually heard of Domain Type treasures aiding in the creation of domains.

If it were truly possible, Domain Type treasures would be far more sought-after than the others.

Mu Yuan didn’t hold much expectation.

But the next moment, Red Robe closed her eyes, and an indescribable, profound aura began to emanate from her.

“It actually works?”

This profound aura lasted for a few seconds before dissipating completely, as if it had never existed.

“It failed, but not entirely,” Red Robe said. “I seem to have gained a little insight, though I can’t quite put into words what that insight is.”

In short, it was useful!

But hadn’t it been useless for others?

“Perhaps it’s not that it’s useless, but rather that when other experts use such treasures, the effect is minimal, almost negligible. Red Robe, however, is already close to the Domain Realm and possesses an epic tier herself.”

The biggest difference between Epic and Excellence isn’t combat power or skills—it’s potential!

At this moment, Red Robe couldn’t absorb the special energy contained within the Domain Type treasure because she didn’t meet its requirements. However, the resonance of the special energy released as the treasure dissipated still managed to stir something within her.

For the mediocre, it’s useless!

For the genius, it’s useful!

“These Interdimensional Treasures are more effective than I imagined. Truly remarkable.”

After that, however, Mu Yuan didn’t find a second treasure.

He estimated that it would be easier to discover such treasures inside the Interdimensional Zone.

Having mostly finished setting up the Black Crows outside the Interdimensional Zone, he found a relatively hidden and safe path and cautiously led the group forward.

Soon, he crossed the ‘Interdimensional Line.’The environment here was even more bizarre and surreal, with severely distorted space. He even saw distant mountain peaks seemingly folded sideways in the horizon.

The highly useful Black Crows continued to spread out, serving as Mu Yuan’s eyes.

At that moment,

Boom—

In the dark night vision, clouds of dust billowed from a certain location, with flames shooting skyward.

He saw a massive brown wave rolling forth, devouring everything in its path.

Upon closer inspection, this was no turbid water wave, but a “serpent tsunami” formed by countless intertwined brown snakes!

Just one glance was enough to make one’s scalp crawl!

Before the wave, three players were desperately fleeing outward, each riding mounts like Soaring Dragons, Royal Griffins, and Djinn.

But within half a second, the player riding the Royal Griffin was swallowed by the serpent wave, leaving no trace behind.

(End of Chapter)