Above his head stretched a deep, endless starry sky; beneath his feet lay bluish mist and the smooth, slightly convex outline of the True World.
For the vast majority of cultivators, this was their deepest impression of the Outer Domain of the Nine Heavens.
In truth, that impression was rather vague. Those who liked to split hairs and observed closely would say:
The scenery differed greatly depending on where one ascended into the outer domain and how far one was from the True World.
Looking back from the more distant starry sky, the True World was more like a thick cocoon faintly glowing blue-green;
But upon drawing close, the heavy Azure Sky Domain obscured nearly every contour of the True World's surface. Nothing could be seen—apart from a few limited areas that were relatively "thin," yet also the most perilous.
The outer sea beyond Lan Hai Mountain was undoubtedly one such place.
However, because hundreds of millions of heavenly demons clung there year-round, hunting cultivators, very few people dared to observe it from so close.
Yet over the past few days, the number of cultivators doing so had suddenly increased dramatically. Every day, great numbers hurriedly flew up and down. There were still a few small groups of heavenly demons, but they were no longer capable of amounting to anything.
This was because half a month ago, Yu Qing Xuan, mistress of Ruizhu Palace, had battled Tai'a Mohan here, crossed the barrier, and in one stroke attained the exalted rank of Earth Immortal.
No one could clearly explain the aftereffects caused by that battle, but the cultivators around Lan Hai Mountain had truly felt its immediate benefits.
Although the Azure Sky Domain continued to thicken under the influence of Yu Qing Xuan's divine abilities, compared with other regions, it was