"Accessing their memories, right? But I can't guarantee any result, neither can I ensure their brains won't 'pop' open."
The previous few attempts at spiritual interference on the Eye of Shiny players ended in failure, making Lady Hong Yi lose her confidence.
She opened the Underworld Ghost Market as if opening a door and summoned a few large ghosts from it.
These were carefully selected specters which possessed skills such as consciousness invasion, illusion construction, memory fragment retrieval, and so on.
There's no problem with the skills, but breaking through the defense of the Sea of Consciousness is something she can't guarantee.
She didn't try to read the souls all at once but picked a lucky player to start with.
A few minutes later, she picked the second, third, and fourth players.
There were no accidents throughout the process, and it was so easy that Lady Hong Yi found it suspicious.
"Lord, it seems like something's up."
Hong Yi did not know how to describe it, so she simply used her illusion power to transmit the information.
This was an efficient process.
After a while, Mu Yuan opened his eyes, "So that's it, Junction Zone, huh."
Going by location, this Junction Zone that appeared in the Dark Forest region was close to the Tianyuan Territory.
Common elite-level players might have to walk for a day or two, but for Warlord level or Leader level experts, it could take only half a day or even a few hours.
And where there's a Junction Zone, there's bound to be turbulence.
"Of course, there's also an opportunity, we're currently seeking junction treasures, right? The probability of finding them in this newly appeared junction zone is surely higher than in any of the old junction zones."
Driven by their longing for treasures, they'd have to go.
And due to safety considerations of their territory, they'd need to investigate the situation in this junction zone.
From the memories, it seemed that the Snake man Tribe, who occupied Lanxing City, was quite strong.
Besides, there may be other dangerous factors.
Mu Yuan gradually summoned back Duo Lai, Rakshasa, and other Tian Yuan Division members located in Lanxing.
He raised the defense level of the Tianyuan Territory.
A large junction zone appearing nearby might not bring forth an immediate threat like the Red Fog Disaster Moon, but at times, surges could occur, causing unpredicted crises.
His territory must have more powerhouses stationed.
Compared to that, sourcing quests were also important but could not occupy too many division members.
He even considered calling back Sophia because of the Black Crow ability she possessed, which was a great tool for collecting information.
He didn't directly assign personnel but chose to ask and respect Sophia's wishes. After all, with no exaggeration, Lanxing Company was developed mainly by Sophia with her full devotion.
"Ah? No problem! If the boss commands, Sophia will definitely do her best~!"
Since this was the case, Mu Yuan temporarily left Daisy in charge of Lanxing's matters and left two or three powerhouses with her.
Mu Yuan, on the other hand, along with Sophia and Uta, headed towards the Dark Forest in the west.
Divialo and the other division members, who were still on their return journey from sourcing or exploring, couldn't be rushed. This also explains why Mu Yuan wanted to call the powerhouses back to the territory.
Returning to the territory required going through the 'medium' left in his small villa in Baijiang City.
There was only one entrance and exit.
If he waited for an emergency situation to occur before recalling the division members, it might be too late.
West of Tianyuan Territory.
Bone Four, leading a group of Skeleton Morticians, Skeleton Generals, and Resentful Evil Spirits, was cutting a path through the thorny jungle.
The trees here were incredibly tall, and the environment was dim.
Sometimes, looking up, they could see car-sized spiders, spinning their horrifying webs above their heads.
Of course, such experiences belonged to the past, as of now...
Whoosh whoosh whoosh–
The weighty Bone Spears tore through the air, knocking the spiders tangled in the huge webs down. At times, Bone Four would command a few Skeleton Mages to ignite phosphorescent fires to burn the spiderwebs to ashes.
"My lord, you have arrived."
Bone Four bowed slightly, a glow of candlelight in his eyes, "The boss has already gone ahead to scout the route, please follow me."
His arrival, of course, was as a versatile tool incarnate.
He had not wanted to be on the front line directly in the past, as his talent for Spiritual Link and Battle Falcon's Vision gave him an edge. However, without him personally being at the scene, it wouldn't make much of a difference. Thus, it became a noticeable weak point for the team when he was present. Such a weakness is usually irrelevant, but in a crisis, it could be deadly.
To ensure the stability of his territory, Lord Shepherd had no choice but to suppress his urge for exploration and reside within his realm.
He had his work cut out for him.
Mu Yuan looked around. They had penetrated more than a hundred kilometers into the Dark Forest, a place that was previously unexplored in the Tianyuan Territory.
The monsters here were more diverse than before.
Spiders, Evil Eyes, and Shadow Hunters all lurked in this quiet forest, hunting passersby but also falling prey to elite hunters.
"It's said that this place was once a dangerous forbidden area. The Goblin Kingdom, a dominant force, held the power of life and death here. Many monster tribes were affiliated with the Goblin Kingdom. Therefore, the Dark Forest was almost closed to players, with few daring to tread."
Even though this was all in the past and the Goblin Kingdom had been destroyed, Mu Yuan had to be careful.
The Goblin Hero encountered in the Lanxing Junction Zone and the Goblin Prince spotted exploring the northern wasteland by Dead Bone had been remnants of the Goblin Kingdom.
Who knows if other Goblin powerhouses are hidden in the forest?
"There are traces of battle."
Not far away was a scorched pit, with a few fragments of equipment remaining in it.
Was it a soldier's equipment? Or a monster's?
A loud growl of monsters resounded from the distance, making the entire forest seem eerier.
Despite the fact that the majority of wandering monsters were still no match for their elite undead, they shouldn't draw too much attention to themselves here.
"That's true; the boss often says the first step to a steady mind is to lower our presence and be low-key.
"Compared with the lord and the boss, my cultivation still has a long way to go."
Bone Four introspected.
Although ordinary Four-order Bosses were not its match, what if...
Unexpected situations could be many, but only one is expected.
It opened the Deathremains Territory, temporarily storing the elite troops inside, leaving only three Skeleton Generals and two Ghost Generals to guard the team.
They had to leave some manpower.
Otherwise, what if some monsters disturbed their noble lord?
Mu Yuan took over the command, advancing more carefully within the dark forest. After a while, he looked over to Sophia, "Shall we each explore one side, you on the right, and I on the left?"
Strands of black mist emerged around Sophia.
The black mist quickly intertwined to form Black Crows, which silently flew into the forest, merging with the environment of the dark forest.
Mu Yuan also loaded the 'Sophia 80%' template, shaping several Black Crows.
The Black Crows acted as his tentacles, his eyes, spreading out in all directions.
They proceeded along the most prudent route, avoiding combat as much as possible and not causing any disturbance.
"We have a discovery!"
In a certain place, a black crow perched on a tree branch, lifeless as a stone. A scene was reflected in its eyes.
The forest became sparse.
No, not sparse, but the towering trees suddenly became 'short'. Beside the hundred-meter trees in the Dark Forest, Lanxing trees couldn't even be described as short.
It was as if a hairy person suddenly went bald in the middle.
Even so, the surroundings were still forested, with strands of white mist drifting, and visibility was limited.
It seemed impossible to find traces of Lanxing construction.
However, when he watched the crystal clear 'borderline', it was noticeable that the whole border was moving forward, not slow at all.
"The borderland is expanding?!"
Suddenly, the black crow lifted its head, and Mu Yuan, several tens of kilometers away, also lifted his head.
His gaze pierced through the dense branches and the faint white mist, and he caught a glimpse of a steel jungle overhead.
That... was the familiar sight of Lanxing City.