New World, located in the Black Seam area of West Suburb Park, was the residence of the Immortal Gate.
Lonely, apart from the main hall of the Sect representing the core of the Sub-territory, there were only a few defense towers, several Puppets on patrol duty, and a Transmission Array behind the main hall.
The Transmission Array burst into dazzling light, and moments later, Tang Yu stepped out from the gradually dissipating light.
Once again, the suppressing force of the New World acted upon him.
During this period, he had constantly adapted to the rules of the New World using the secret techniques of the Origin Star, in other words, he had gradually transformed from a smuggler into a legal resident.
He could now exert seventy percent of his Combat Power.
He continuously shrunk the mental map of the territory in his mind, where the New World was mostly pitch black except for a few lit circles.
Within the darkness, a few bright spots shone.
Representing Fani, Greta, and Zhong Ping.
The paths Fani had walked were similarly dark, but one could vaguely see continuous mountain ranges and surging rivers in the terrain.
She was very far from the Sub-territory, over the distance of one Earth’s diameter,
The contract connection also faced significant interference.
Tang Yu sent a message to Fani and then silently waited on the Transmission Array.
Guessing it was about time, he activated the Transmission Array search and finally saw an external transmission coordinate.
Fani had activated the Locating Crystal Stone.
Mystical array symbols lit up, and his figure vanished without a trace.
Bizarre sights constantly shifted before his eyes, stationed in a viscous spatial channel, where time slowed down to an extreme.
Tang Yu had already gained a preliminary understanding of the Space Law; he could clearly see the rhythmic lines of space.
He vaguely felt an urge to meddle.
But hurriedly suppressed his own deadly idea.
With his shallow touch on the Space Law, he was just within the "destructible" range, but altering the rhythm of space could be catastrophic.
Playing with space was dangerous.
In just a moment, the space emitted a repelling force, and he was "spat" out.
The first thing he saw was Fani beside him.
"The concentration of Source Qi here is denser," he remarked.
He released his Perception and immediately sensed a dozen peculiar auras—different from those of Mutant Beasts.
"Let’s go, take a look."
His figure flashed, disappearing among the trees.
Fani quickly followed, leaving behind only the rustling sound of the wind through the treetops.
Sky-cutting Mountain Range, periphery.
A dozen warriors clad in black Armor used long sabers to clear the brushwood, cautiously treading through the mountainous woods.
"Chief, this is the Sky-cutting Mountain Range; are we continuing the chase?"
The young armored soldier was somewhat anxious; the Sky-cutting Mountain Range was recognized as a Forbidden Land. Not just their Black Armor Army soldiers, even the experts of the dynasty rarely ventured deep into the Sky-cutting Mountain Range.
"What’s there to fear? We’re just at the periphery, still far from the real Sky-cutting Mountain Range. You’re young, boy; a few more exercises and you’ll fear no more.
Besides, that Steel-haired Pig Demon has already harmed three villages. If we don’t kill it this time, I’ll be dismissed from my position!"
The Commander of the Black Armor Army felt helpless, too.
Sishui County was located in a remote area with weak Imperial forces, and the consecutive havoc wreaked by the Steel-haired Pig Demon on three villages further showed their county’s Black Armor Army’s weakness.
The surrounding major strongholds were already showing signs of unrest.
Especially the last time, although they had ambushed and captured the Steel-haired Pig Demon, it had still escaped, injuring many Black Armor soldiers in the process.
The Steel-haired Pig Demon was also seriously injured. As long as they caught up, killing it and bringing back its head wouldn’t be difficult.
The Commander took a few steps forward, pushed aside the bushes, and saw a pool of blood hidden beneath.
He dipped his finger in it and brought it to his tongue, lightly touching it. "It’s the demon’s blood; it hasn’t left long ago!"
The group quickened their pace.
Tang Yu and Fani tread on the Void, clearly visible to the Black Armor Army’s group.
"One twelfth-layer, two Tenth-layers, the rest are all at the Ninth Layer Peak; their strength isn’t weak. They could have a fair chance even against someone at Awakening Tier Perfection."
His gaze shifted toward the distance, piercing through the layers of space.
Five to six meters tall, its body covered in ash-brown fur as sharp as steel spikes, shimmered with a metallic cold light.
Beside the Steel-haired Pig Demon, there was a wound over two meters long. The scarlet muscles writhed and had already stopped bleeding, but its aura had greatly weakened.
"Found it, Pig Demon—it..."
Before the Commander could finish, giant trees in the distance, towering twenty to thirty meters high, fell like they were being bulldozed. They revealed a massive body hidden behind dense branches and leaves, like a small mountain.
Another Steel-haired Pig Demon!
Its aura... was at the Awakening Tier Perfection!
The injured young Pig Demon rushed to the side of the giant Pig Demon, whimpering.
a fearsome momentum descended upon the soldiers of the Black Armor Army.
The Black Armor Commander’s complexion changed, "Form up!"
By then, trees in several other directions began falling, revealing several slightly smaller, yet still larger than the one they were chasing, Steel-haired Pig Demons.
For a moment, the Black Armor Commander’s face bore a hint of despair; the young soldiers from the Black Armor trembled, their hearts pounding ceaselessly.
"The Sky-cutting Mountain Range, indeed a place we should not have come to." The Commander gave a self-mocking smile. "My bad. I’ll hold them off, you... escape as many as you can."
The air filled with a sorrowful essence.
The Black Armor Commander infused his Rune Battle Blade with Source Power, his body slightly bowed.
A thick column of fire fell from the sky.
The Black Armor soldiers were engulfed in flames, a heatwave striking their faces.
The flames came fast and vanished just as quickly, leaving nothing but scorched earth.
And... the smell of roasted meat lingering in the air.
It could be eaten with some cumin sprinkled on.
The Black Armor Commander, sensing something, looked up to see two figures controlling the void.
His pupils dilated with shock and... joy.
Stepping Void experts!
"Respected sir, we have arrived at Sishui County," said the Black Armor Commander with a face full of reverence.
Following behind were Black Armor soldiers, dragging several charred Steel-haired Pig Demon heads along on ropes. Fani still held a half-eaten roasted pig leg.
They attracted many curious gazes along the way.
Perhaps it was the emblem of the Black Armor Army—no queries were raised at the city gates, and they entered Sishui County without hindrance.
The streets of the county were narrow, surrounded by two or three-story wooden buildings, indicating that Sishui County was still quite underdeveloped.
"That will be all, you don’t need to follow anymore."
"Then... if sir has any needs, just command us, we are at the eastern drill ground."
Hesitating for a moment, the Black Armor Commander eventually departed.
Sishui County drill ground.
Having completed their mission, some Black Armor soldiers were puzzled, "Boss, are we just leaving? If we could recruit those two experts to serve as Sacrificial Officers in our Black Armor Army, would we still need to worry about the surrounding demon beasts and bandits?"
"You’re still too young," the Commander shook his head, his face still wearing a look of reverence, "Those two are Stepping Void Realm experts, what do we use to recruit them? Even in Luohe City, Stepping Void experts hold high positions."
"Besides, those two experts are probably wandering masters from other countries. We were lucky enough to have been saved by them. One shouldn’t be too greedy."
Tang Yu was holding a simple, thick paper map given by the Black Armor Commander. It was hand-drawn and not very accurate, but it provided a rough idea.
Their location was in Dachang, a human nation.
And Sishui County was situated to the south of Dachang, a frontier county. Further south lay the endless Sky-cutting Mountain Range.
He roughly estimated, the Dachang Dynasty’s territory was not small, comparable to the White Bear Country on Earth, but it wasn’t densely populated... or rather, the land utilization rate of the entire Dachang Dynasty was very low.
The dynasty was centered around thirteen major cities.
Sishui County, belonging to the southern city of Luohe.
Aside from a few areas within the reach of the major cities, most of the Dachang Dynasty was uninhabited mountains and wilderness. To the west and east, likewise, there was no other human nation.
To the north, it was said that there were a few nomadic tribes, but with no conflicts with Dachang—the real threats to humans came from the demon beasts in the mountains.
"Sishui County is too remote after all; what the Black Armor Commander knew is pretty much all there is to know here. There’s no need to stay any longer."
"Head to the Royal Capital. The Dachang Dynasty has Unity Realm, also known as Transcendent Second Tier experts. They should know a lot about this plane."
The two of them took to the skies and disappeared into the distant horizon in the blink of an eye.