Chapter 401 – Tianyuan City's First Outer Domain Expansion

“Explorers from the Outer Realm?”

Mu Yuan was surprised.

Old Qin had once said that the Ten Directions Island Region might be a ‘transportation hub’ connecting many Great Domains.

He based this judgment on experience.

The Ten Directions Island Region contained numerous violent blockade zones, areas typically formed due to spatial conflicts and folding between two domains. Consequently, there was a significant probability that passages leading to other Great Domains existed.

Otherwise, the ends of Great Domains were usually bounded by either the “Wuji Abyss”—an endless, bottomless chasm filled with annihilating winds—or the “Heaven-Scraping Mountains”—towering peaks reaching the sky, filled with terrifying pressure and destructive lightning.

The former would ensure that any Legendary Realm expert who flew into it would never return.

The latter wasn’t much safer. Unless one could find a ‘passage’ within the mountains, it was absolutely impossible for a Legendary Realm expert to cross the Heaven-Scraping Mountains.

These two were relatively common barriers at the ends of Great Domains, but they weren’t the only possibilities.

There could also be: seas flowing backward and surging upward, waterfalls connecting to the high heavens;

Or gray mists like barriers, swallowing all who stepped into them;

Or fragmented space, where the sky and earth gradually disappeared, like a patchwork painting losing pieces as one advanced.

Violent blockade zones were also a possible sight at the ends of Great Domains.

However, such scenes didn’t necessarily mean that the domain bordered other Great Domains.

It was merely a possibility.

Tianyuan City had already begun investing significant effort into exploration, but they hadn’t expected that before they could discover anything themselves, explorers from the Outer Realm would come crossing the seas.

Moreover, these explorers seemed to be living beings.

This meant that the Great Domain on the other side was habitable. At the very least, it wouldn’t be the Land of Red Mist.

Without Mu Yuan needing to give many instructions, the clever Asun quickly and quietly followed them.

It understood clearly that this was an opportunity to achieve a great merit.

A very rare opportunity.

Chances for it, the Falcon Lord, to earn merits were becoming fewer and fewer. Clearly, it had come first, but the War Falcon Flight Corps truly couldn’t undertake overly difficult tasks.

Seeing such a merit-earning opportunity right before its eyes, how could the Falcon Lord hesitate?

It was a falcon destined to stand above the heavens!

“These mere Outer Realm explorers will never escape from my sharp eyes!”

One hour later.

Asun had still lost track of them.

The entire azure-blue large bird lay lifelessly on a drifting cloud, allowing the wind to brush past its face.

It no longer had the face to confront the other birds back home.

Mu Yuan didn’t blame it, though.

After all, the Outer Realm explorers were evading the monster Legendaries that had attacked them. In such a situation, they would try every means and use various anti-tracking methods.

Aside from being somewhat faster, having sharper eyes, a more sensitive nose, and the ability to hear the voice of the wind, Asun truly didn’t possess any powerful tracking methods.

“Perhaps I could equip Asun and the other Wind King’s Wings with a strong tracking method? Some kind of skill or item.”

Mu Yuan pondered.

However, such methods weren’t easily obtained. After all, only sufficiently advanced and high-level methods could be effective against Legendary Realm beings.

Although Asun had lost track, it had still determined the general area.Mu Yuan walked over to the enormous map of the Ten Directions Island Region hanging on the side wall of his office and drew a red circle around a certain area of the eastern sea.

“There’s a significant possibility that the passage to the Outer Realm is located in this area.”

Mu Yuan immediately convened an online meeting.

「Deadbone has entered」

「Dolai has entered」

「Rakshasa has entered」

“We must focus our investigation on this area and find the passage in the shortest time possible.”

Deadbone spoke.

He was an old pioneer.

However, Mu Yuan clearly understood what Deadbone hadn’t voiced aloud.

What he was surely thinking was: The eastern sea is too close to Tianyuan City, and we don’t know whether the opposing Great Domain is friend or foe. Without thorough investigation, this unease would linger in his bones.

But indeed, living beings aren’t necessarily allies.

Haven’t there been numerous instances of covert conflicts, sabotage, and killings between major nations? There were even cases where powerful nations openly annexed weaker ones without any pretense.

Not every lord possessed the noble morality of Lord Mu like himself.

Dolai also strongly supported this, “I want to go on a great adventure too.”

During this period, Deadbone was in the Northern Lands, investigating the situation in the northern Land of Fury while also gathering intelligence on the two dominant forces of the northern region—the Black Crow Clan and the Great Serpent Clan.

As for Dolai, it was stationed at Mine No. 3.

Not because this mine was important enough to require the presence of a top-tier Heaven-Earth Realm expert like Dolai, but because Mine No. 3 was located at the center of all mining areas. If any other mining area, or the mines managed by the Fire Lion, Catfolk, or Winged Folk sent distress signals, Dolai could immediately rush to provide support.

Otherwise, even for General Dolai, the time required to fly from Tianyuan City to the more distant mines would be too long.

Forget about the Catfolk and Winged Folk forces—even his own mining areas, with experts like the Undead Lord, Fearless Warchief, and Cold Frost Lord, might not be able to hold out for long against premeditated enemy assaults.

When mining, he inevitably had to deploy substantial forces and Legendary Realm experts to various locations for defense.

The current number of Legendary experts stationed outside was still insufficient, and Dolai’s speed barely compensated for this shortage.

Lu Liu and Isloria were both stationed in Tianyuan City.

However, Isloria was a civil official.

If the mines south of Tianyuan City came under attack by powerful enemies, it would fall to Lu Liu to ride the Wind King’s Wings and rush to their aid.

Mu Yuan transferred Rakshasa and Uta from the southern region, along with the two exploration teams there, to the eastern region.

Four exploration teams, comprising over forty Epic-tier troops, began their investigation in the eastern region.

Deadbone also came from the northern region.

He still wanted to track down the traces of the monstrous expert who had recently battled the Explorer Legend.

One day.

Two days.

Three days.

Mu Yuan remained in Tianyuan City, either reviewing documents; communicating with the distant Battle Armor General; visiting the Secret Realm for fun… while gathering intelligence; or selecting personnel to send to Boulder Academy and Tianze Academy.

Suddenly, the mental channel “dinged.”

It was Dolai contacting him directly.

“Found it, found it! The passage to the Outer Realm.”

Within less than a minute.

His assistant Moli entered and said, “Lord, urgent information has just come in.”

Of course, it was the information about the Outer Realm passage.

Mu Yuan walked out of the City Lord’s Mansion and sent a communication into the distance.

Before long,

“Screech—”A majestic, azure-feathered divine bird descended from the high heavens. Though its speed was extreme, it stirred no violent winds—instead, the very winds of heaven and earth harmonized with it, bending to its command.

It was like the king of the winds.

“Lord, your ace vehicle, Little Asun, has arrived.””

Mu Yuan stepped into the air, boarding Asun’s broad back.

The azure divine bird immediately spread its wings and soared, reaching the sky in the blink of an eye.

Fast! Extremely fast!

And throughout the entire flight, no fierce winds assailed them. Mu Yuan stood as steadily as if he were on solid ground.

In truth, if Lord Mu of the Legendary Realm were to fly at full speed, he would undoubtedly be faster than Asun. But who would choose to exhaust themselves flying when they could ride a mount?

The eastern edge was not far from Tianyuan City.

Asun flew for just over an hour before arriving at this stretch of sea.

Here, only a few hundred kilometers from land, scattered desolate islands were visible.

The tide rose and fell, seemingly normal.

But further ahead, the storms grew fierce. Waterspouts connecting the sky above and sucking up the sea below stood tall between heaven and earth, sweeping through and tearing apart everything they touched.

Asun flew to this point and dared not go any farther.

Mu Yuan slightly expanded his Domain, extending his perception and senses outward. He discovered that the elemental particles between heaven and earth were exceptionally violent.

If a Legendary Realm’s ability to command the particles of heaven and earth in a normal environment were 100, then in this Raging Lands, it would be less than 10.

It weakened his combat power by more than just a little.

“The ability of the Legendary Realm to command the power of heaven and earth is immensely powerful, almost godlike compared to the Commander-level, but its flaws are equally obvious.”

Mu Yuan withdrew his thoughts.

Dolai flew out from the raging storm, holding an Urn Treasure in its hand.

An invisible spatial barrier descended.

Though invisible, under the lashing of the surrounding tides and storms, the faint outline of an inverted large urn could be glimpsed.

Following Dolai, Mu Yuan walked inward.

All the raging energy tides around them were shut out.

Here, there was no sound, no wind or waves. Only with the naked eye could one see the scenes outside, as if the entire person had been stripped away from the world.

“We’re here!”

Dolai said.

Ahead, the raging waterspouts had surprisingly calmed somewhat.

Deadbone stood firm in mid-air.

In the air was a base cast from white bones, surrounded by thick, impenetrable black clouds.

Among the Commander-level powerages here, besides Rakshasa and Uta, was Sophia, who had arrived not long ago.

And the legendary passage said to lead to the Outer Realm…

Mu Yuan didn’t need to ask; he recognized it at a glance.

Even though this passage was completely different from those in the southern and northern ends.

A whirlpool!

Within this relatively calm area surrounded by waterspouts, a massive whirlpool, a full kilometer in diameter, lay sprawled.

At the center of the giant whirlpool, another world was faintly reflected.

But it was like a reflection in a well, not clear.

Deadbone spoke, “We’ve already tried passing through this whirlpool, but we still don’t know what the situation is on the other side.”

As he spoke, Deadbone summoned a vampire with blood-red wings from his Sacred Mountain.

This was a Fourth Order Peak Vampire Count.

Apart from not being a living creature and forever unable to sprout wisdom, it was not much inferior to a real Vampire Count.It transformed into a blood arrow, shooting directly toward the center of the great whirlpool.

Sizzle—

Sizzle—

The currents churned up by the great whirlpool were as sharp as sabers, slicing through the Vampire Count’s body.

Blood splattered, and gruesome wounds appeared and healed in rapid succession.

In the end, the Vampire Count flew into the opening at the center of the whirlpool and slipped inside.

The resistance and danger here were still no match for the water spouts outside.

Mu Yuan nodded slightly and began assembling the team for their first Outer Realm expedition.

After all, it was their first time; caution was paramount.

He called out the names, “Deadbone, Dolai, Sophia, Uta, Asun…”

Also included were two Fearless Warchiefs, two Undead Lords, and two Nether Ghost Generals.

And himself.

A total of twelve members.

Of course, he was only going in his Incarnation form, which he carried with him. If he were to venture across realms in his true form, Deadbone would likely fix him with a stare that would make him break out in a cold sweat.

Afterward, Dolai first escorted the others out of the Land of Fury, where the water spouts raged.

Then, the twelve of them, shrouded under the protection of the Space Urn, slowly descended into the great whirlpool.

They descended, falling into the center of the great whirlpool and passing through it.

They emerged from…

“Did we come out from underneath?”

The twelve of them hovered in mid-air, with another massive spatial vortex below them.

All around, however, were hundreds, thousands, even tens of thousands of whirlpools, stretching as far as the eye could see, all the way to the horizon.

…

At the same time.

In a certain large city within the Shenluo Great Domain, a Lord paced back and forth.

“You encountered a Legendary Realm monster as soon as you crossed into the Great Domain?”

“Yes, Lord.”

“Hmm… retreating early was the right decision.”

The Lord pondered, “The Great Domain on the other side of the Whirlpool Sea isn’t the Land of Red Mist, but from the looks of it, it’s a domain that has been cultivated by monster forces for a long time. This is rather troublesome…”

Such domains certainly hold many resources, but extracting them is exceedingly difficult.

What worried him more was that the adjacent realm bordered the Land of Red Mist and could potentially serve as a bridgehead for a top-tier monster faction.

If that were the case, when war broke out, his Gemstone City would become the front line against the Monster Overlords. At that point, forget about making money, expanding, or seizing Opportunities—if they weren’t careful, they might even lose their territory entirely.

This had happened before.

A Lord more powerful than him had once expanded into the Outer Realm, only to draw the attention of a top-tier Overlord. Now, the weeds growing on the ruins of that Lord’s territory were several meters tall.

But no matter what, discovering the passage early was far better than discovering nothing and panicking only when the crisis arrived.

“Reorganize the scouts for reconnaissance.”

“If the danger level is manageable, we can proceed.”

“If the threat is too high, we must prepare in advance.”

…

At the same time.

Over a thousand kilometers away from Gemstone City, in another large city.

A certain Lord had just received information from his intelligence agents.

“Duke Gemstone discovered a passage to the Outer Realm? He found a new Great Domain?!”

“Damn it! How can such a great Opportunity be monopolized by Duke Gemstone?!”

“Investigate! I want all the information on this new Outer Realm within three days!”

…

In the new Great Domain, Asun flew at one-third of its top speed, skimming low over the ground.

They flew over a sea filled with whirlpools and storms, heading straight for the distant continent.

In the distance, mountain ranges stretched endlessly, and forests flourished with lush greenery.Just as he had anticipated, this was a realm with a habitable environment.

However…

“The number of monsters is fewer than expected.”

Deadbone spoke.

With his experience, he immediately pinpointed the key issue.

After a while, Sophia compiled the information gathered by the Black Crows from various locations.

“There really aren’t many monsters, and I’ve also discovered traces of civilization.”

A few hours later, Mu Yuan had finished exploring the nearby area.

He had also formed a preliminary outline of this Great Domain in his mind.

It was an occupied Great Domain.

Moreover, the development level of this domain was relatively high, at least in this region.

“In that case, should we continue exploring and adventuring?”

Dolai asked.

Mu Yuan said, “Of course. At first glance, this domain doesn’t seem to hold any discoverable Opportunities, but in reality, it holds even greater value.”

Their own Ten Directions Island Region was far from fully explored, with the majority of the territory still shrouded in mystery.

If this Great Domain was also an unexplored wilderness, Tianyuan City wouldn’t have the capacity to explore and develop it.

But if this domain was prosperous, with many living factions, he could gain more benefits through trade and exchange.

There was just one prerequisite…

(End of Chapter)