Realm Expansion

The instant he sensed those three words, Yellow Wind Little Sage felt the motion of his constant running finally change.

Every muscle in his body relaxed, and that extreme tension vanished in an instant.

As light suddenly flooded his vision, dazzling and scorching, Yellow Wind Little Sage finally rushed through the Mythic Invasion Node that was being reshaped.

The first thing he saw was a dim, gray forest. As far as the eye could see, every tree had withered away, its bark fallen off to reveal pale trunks.

Looking behind him, he saw an enormous banyan tree blotting out the sky, covering an area of more than ten kilometers. The entire forest seemed like mere weeds beneath its feet.

This banyan tree should have been the king of the forest, yet it had withered alongside it. Its branches stretched toward the sky like the dry hands of a dying giant, every limb as pale and savage as bone.

Countless vines hung down from the tree, wooden burls forming upon them one after another. They dangled from the branches like human-shaped corpses, swaying faintly in the windless space.

The place Yellow Wind Little Sage had escaped from was merely an imperceptible crack in the banyan's main trunk. Like an inconspicuous scar, that crack now connected to another world.

Yellow Wind Little Sage stared at the eerie, deathly silent forest, an indescribable fear rising within him.

Not long ago, Yellow Wind Little Sage had naively believed that, with Flying Sand and Rolling Stones and the Baleful Chill Fork, he could easily explore the Yin Mountain Realm.

Yet a single Realm Restart had nearly buried him in the void. Even though he had barely managed to escape, he had been sent into this bizarre region.

"Is there a connection between the Realm Restart and the Mythic Invasion of the Yin Mountain Metro?"

"Is this strange forest still within the Yin Mountain Realm? Does each expansion of Yinshan Metro Station connect its node to a different region?"

Countless questions flashed through Yellow Wind Little Sage's mind, but no one could answer them at this moment.

Faced with this bizarre environment, Yellow Wind Little Sage's first instinct was to crawl back into the crack and return to the platform through the Mythic Invasion Node.

But after considering it cautiously, Yellow Wind Little Sage abandoned that seemingly safe approach.

The Yin Mountain Metro platform had only just completed its expansion and had yet to fully stabilize. Moreover, at this time, there were not even any ordinary passengers on the platform.

If Yellow Wind Little Sage entered alone now, he would stand out far too much. He might even trigger some special mechanism of the Mythic Invasion and encounter danger.

Compared to that, though the forest before him seemed strange, it did not appear to pose any danger for the moment.

He would stay here for now and leave once the metro officially began operating at dawn.

Having made up his mind, Yellow Wind Little Sage cautiously climbed the enormous banyan tree.

The withered trunk was covered in gullies and cracks, its crisscrossing patterns like a map.

Yellow Wind Little Sage's body was small, allowing him to climb easily along the cracks in the trunk. Before long, he found a hollow within the tree, surrounded by thick bark and large enough to conceal him completely.

Yellow Wind Little Sage slowly curled up, intending to lie there and wait quietly for daybreak.

His breathing gradually steadied, and the tension born of his desperate flight began to fade. At this moment, the exhaustion in his body fully surfaced. Yellow Wind Little Sage's eyelids grew heavy, as though they could close at any moment.

But just then, the ground suddenly erupted with violent tremors.

The shaking came without warning, like an Earth Dragon Turnover. A terrifying force swept across the entire land.

The soil rolled and boiled, and everything lost order amid the trembling. Hundreds of dead trees in the forest were uprooted, their roots exposed to the air and leaking a black liquid like petroleum.

Yellow Wind Little Sage's fur stood on end in fright, and his entire body instinctively curled into a ball.

A moment later, he cautiously poked his head out from his hiding place and looked into the distance through a crack in the trunk.

He saw a Rock Giant more than eight meters tall striding toward the enormous banyan tree. Its body was entirely formed from black stone, every hard rock outlining its powerful frame.

Its steps were heavy and forceful. Each footfall kicked up a cloud of dust, while the trees uprooted by the earlier Earth Dragon Turnover had conveniently opened a broad path through the forest for the Rock Giant.

Every obstacle along that path, whether withered trees or scattered stones, was crushed into powder.

As it approached the banyan tree, the Rock Giant slowly spread its five thick, pillar-like fingers, attempting to seize the massive tree.

But in that instant, a flying sword descended from the heavens and slashed at the Rock Giant's palm.

Brilliant sword-light tore through the gray sky, leaving behind a blinding trail.

"I've been waiting for you!"

The Rock Giant was not surprised in the least, letting out a savage laugh.

Its hard stone palm snapped shut in an instant, five fingers tightly gripping the sword-light. Blinding radiance flickered in its palm, releasing a piercing whine.

With a slight exertion of force, the sword-light shattered into countless motes in that silent contest and dissipated into the air.

A young man in a Daoist robe stood proudly in the air, standing upon a flying sword that gleamed with spiritual light. He gave the order in a deep voice:

"During a Realm Restart, all Mythic Walkers must leave the Yin Mountain Realm.

"Behemoth Technology has refused to obey the law. Are you trying to oppose the Mythology Investigation Bureau?"

"The Mythology Investigation Bureau?" The Rock Giant sneered.

"You people from the Yinshan Investigation Branch still have the right to invoke the name of the Mythology Investigation Bureau?"

"Over the past two months, the Yin Mountain Realm has expanded several times. In order to divide up the Mythic Materials created after those Realm Expansions, your Yin Mountain Branch Office forcibly sealed the realm in the name of Realm Restart and even cut off all news from the Federation's upper ranks.

"This is a grave taboo in the Human Federation. A single misstep behind Realm Expansion could mean the revival of ancient demons and monsters—a major Mythic Invasion.

"You Yin Mountain Branch Office people have broken the rules for personal gain. Once this matter comes to light, the Heretic Tribunal and the Arctic Exorcism Institute will be waiting to investigate you..."

Before the Rock Giant could continue, the young sword cultivator in the sky directly cut him off.

The sword cultivator's gaze turned several degrees colder, and his voice carried a stronger killing intent.

"Don't pin such a huge accusation on our Yin Mountain Branch Office. We sealed the realm only to investigate the cause.

"On the contrary, Behemoth Technology covets the treasures of the Yin Mountain Realm and has violated the Realm-Locking Edict. By law, you should be executed!"

"Arrogant!"

The Rock Giant suddenly let out a roar. Its enormous fist shot upward, smashing toward the young sword cultivator in the sky.

The air was compressed and twisted by the force of the punch, releasing a shrill sonic boom.

"We are both at Scavenger Perfection, yet you dare claim you can kill me?

"I'd like to see just how much stronger your so-called Demon-Slaying Chart is than my Mountain Giant Manual!"

The collision in that instant shook the entire forest. Violent Mythic Factors swept across the land, forming an energy storm visible to the naked eye.

Hidden within the tree trunk, Yellow Wind Little Sage listened to the conversation and battle outside, his expression growing increasingly grim.

The Yinshan Investigation Branch is suppressing the news?