Void Beast

Before long, the Spatial Ark activated and entered the spatial passage. It was pitch-black inside; directions were indistinguishable and nothing could be seen. Only the Spatial Ark emitted a faint glow. The spatial passage had been established within the Interdomain and was incomparably stable.

"It will take around three days to travel from Central Province to the Eastern Domain. Everyone, stay in your own rooms and do not wander around. You will be notified when we reach our destination!" the captain announced loudly.

The Spatial Ark had three levels in total. Jiang Ming and Blade Shadow stayed on the third level, one room each. The ark's staff had nothing to say about it, after all, Zhang Wei had already spoken.

After traveling steadily for some time,

the Spatial Ark suddenly sounded an alarm. "Beep—"

At once, the entire ark descended into chaos.

Even though the captain was already trying to soothe everyone's emotions, it had little effect.

Aside from people like Jiang Ming, who were traveling for pleasure, most of those aboard the Spatial Ark were conducting business between the two domains, and the merchants or those in charge were mostly not very highly cultivated.

"What happened?" Jiang Ming found the captain and asked about the situation.

"This..." Seeing that it was Jiang Ming, the captain no longer hesitated. "We encountered a Void Beast!"

A Void Beast? Jiang Ming frowned at the words.

As beings of the Interdomain, Void Beasts generally would not forcibly break into a spatial passage. Their destructive power was not particularly great.

"Go take a look and see what's happening," Jiang Ming said to Blade Shadow.

"Yes!" Blade Shadow vanished in a flash and left the ark. As a Saint Realm expert, he was still capable of walking through the Interdomain.

Jiang Ming stood at the prow, his golden eyes flickering, yet he still could not make out the scene before him. He could only see a massive black shadow, like a small mountain.

That black shadow seemed to be locked in battle with something. There was no need to think about it—it had to be Blade Shadow. Yet compared to it, Blade Shadow's figure was far too small to be seen at all.

"Shriek—" A terrifying cry rang out. In an instant, the passengers aboard the Spatial Ark bled and collapsed, though fortunately, Jiang Ming's resistance was strong enough.

Just then, a blazing white radiance erupted from the pitch-black Interdomain. Before long, the white light filled everyone's vision and enveloped them all. Then, their entire bodies felt as if they were being sliced by blades.

Bloody gashes appeared one after another. Fortunately, Jiang Ming was wearing the Dragon-Pattern Blackgold Robe and suffered no injuries. Only his handsome face bore two wounds: one on his forehead, and the other also on his forehead, except this one was longer, stretching from his forehead down to his chin.

When the white light faded, Jiang Ming discovered that he was in a stretch of sea. The Dragon-Pattern Blackgold Robe had automatically formed a spherical shield, allowing him to float on the surface.

Strangely enough, this Dragon-Pattern Blackgold Robe did not come with automatic defense, but instead with automatic flotation after falling into water. Who knew what the designer had been thinking? Jiang Ming decided that when he returned next time, he would give that person a proper lesson.

At that moment, a huge black shadow lunged up from beneath the sea and swallowed Jiang Ming, shield and all, in a single gulp.

The next moment, the fish's belly burst open and its innards spilled across the water. Jiang Ming walked out from within, standing in the air as he said coolly, "A mere third-rank demonic beast dared to eat me!"

He straightened his clothes and looked around. Just then, he spotted a small fishing boat in the distance and immediately flew over.

"Grandpa, my name is Jiang Ming. I came here to travel, but I accidentally fell into the water. May I ask where this is?" Seeing an elderly man on the fishing boat, Jiang Ming asked carefully.

The old man had also seen Jiang Ming emerge from the fish's belly and knew that he was no ordinary person. Even his words came out somewhat haltingly. "Immortal, this is Fishing Village in East Sea City."

The Eastern Domain was different from Central Province. The Eastern Domain had two hundred and eight cities, with the land divided according to cities. Aside from the main city itself, the surrounding regions also belonged to it. Beneath the main cities were villages; each city governed hundreds or even thousands of villages, and every year, the villages had to offer tribute to the main city.

Some villages contained only ordinary people, and the main cities had no use for whatever tribute they could provide, so they simply did not care whether those villages lived or died.

Though the Ye Clan of the Eastern Domain had once stood shoulder to shoulder with the Jiang Clan in dominance, all sides had grown increasingly powerful in recent years while the Ye Clan had declined. There had even been a generation in which no Saint Realm expert emerged. Fortunately, they had weathered it by relying on the older generation and an Imperial Artifact.

However, the Ye Clan's position as overlord had plummeted. Now, most cities were like feudal lords carving up the land, while some weaker cities attached themselves to powerful ones and paid tribute every year.

Though the Ye Clan possessed a Spirit Realm, unlike the Jiang Clan, they had not lived in the Spirit Realm for generations. Instead, they resided in Emperor Ye City at the center of the Eastern Domain.

"Grandpa, can you give me a ride? I have nowhere to go right now," Jiang Ming said.

The old man hesitated somewhat. After all, he was only an ordinary person.

"Grandpa, big brother is a good person." A tiny figure appeared behind the old man and tugged at his clothes.

The little child was small, with a dirty face and a somewhat thin body. She was probably malnourished for a long time, leaving her complexion sallow and waxy.

Jiang Ming had noticed the little child long ago. Now that she had come out on her own, he stopped pretending. "Little sister, why do you say big brother is a good person?"

"I just feel like big brother doesn't seem like a bad person." The little girl's voice was soft and milky.

"What's your name?" Jiang Ming asked softly, perhaps afraid of frightening her.

"My name is Little Fish!" Hearing someone ask her name, Little Fish broke into a smile. Perhaps it was also because she had not spoken with anyone for a long time.

"Then, Immortal, sit to the side," the old man said as he began rowing the boat back.

"Just call me Jiang Ming."

"How old are you this year, Little Fish?" With nothing else to do, Jiang Ming started chatting with her.

"Little Fish is five years old this year!" Little Fish's voice remained soft and milky, and her smile never faded.

"Big brother, where did you come from?" Little Fish asked, blinking her large eyes.

Jiang Ming smiled. He unconsciously rubbed Little Fish's head and said, "Big brother came from Central Province!"

Little Fish's eyes lit up. "Big brother, does Central Province have lots of fun things?"

Actually, as far as Jiang Ming was concerned, there was not much in this world that was fun.

"If Little Fish is interested, big brother can take you there to see someday," Jiang Ming said.

"Okay, okay!" Little Fish smiled happily, her eyes curving like crescent moons.

Who knew how much time passed,

"Um... Jiang Ming, we're here." The old man's voice sounded.

Jiang Ming looked up and saw Little Jade Village by the sea, with perhaps only four or five households.

Jiang Ming stood and walked beside the old man, while Little Fish skipped along behind them.

"Grandpa, I heard that the Eastern Domain has to pay tribute to the main cities?" Jiang Ming asked.

"That's right. Unfortunately, everyone in our Fishing Village is an ordinary person. They don't think much of us," the old man said.

"Isn't it good not to have to pay tribute?"

The old man gave a bitter smile. "If we do not pay tribute, the main city will not care about little villages like ours. No matter what happens, no one will step forward for us. Fortunately, we have been lucky these past years and have not encountered any bandits from the wilderness."

Jiang Ming glanced back at Little Fish and asked, "Where are Little Fish's parents?"

"They were eaten by a demonic beast in the sea while they were out fishing." The old man's expression turned sorrowful.

Jiang Ming said nothing more.

Before long, the group arrived at the little village.

Little Fish's home stood at the village entrance, a dilapidated mud house with uneven, pitted dirt flooring.

There was also a small courtyard outside the door, with a fish pond that held several ordinary fish.