Exploration! Familiar Faces?

Three days passed in the blink of an eye. On this day, Di Chen suddenly opened his eyes, brilliant golden light flashing within them.

Elder Wang walked in and reported, "Young Master, everything you asked me to do is done." With that, he handed over a storage ring.

Di Chen took the storage ring and opened it to look inside. He nodded in satisfaction, then tossed it back to Elder Wang. "I don't need these things! Heavenly treasures are optional for me, but you need them more, Elder Wang. Take it!"

"Y-Young Master, h-how could I! These are all rather precious heavenly treasures. This Earth Core Jade Marrow..." Elder Wang hurriedly refused.

Di Chen smiled and shook his head. "I lack nothing. Besides, you're staying by my side. If your cultivation can't keep up, how will you help me, right?"

"Young Master..." Elder Wang's eyes reddened, and he was overwhelmed with excitement! He had never imagined that the young master he had always served loyally would treat him so well.

"Young Master, from now on, this old servant will walk through boiling water and fire for you, and will not shrink from ten thousand deaths!" Elder Wang said, kneeling in reverence.

"Enough, enough! Don't kneel at the drop of a hat. Hurry and get up!" Di Chen said, helping Elder Wang up.

"Young Master, then our next stop is the Cangnan Dao Domain!" Elder Wang asked.

"Yes, let's go there!"

At the words "Cangnan Dao Domain," a piercing light erupted in Di Chen's eyes...

"To get there from here, we must head south all the way! Then cross two domains and traverse the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains. Only then will we reach the Cangnan Dao Domain!" Elder Wang said slowly.

Di Chen frowned at this. "That far? A round trip would probably take half a year!"

"They say the Misty Rain Pavilion branch and the Domain Lord's Manor also have teleportation arrays. Unfortunately, the one in the Domain Lord's Manor was shattered in that great battle. Only the Misty Rain Pavilion's remains," Elder Wang explained.

Di Chen frowned in thought, then said, "Let's skip the Misty Rain Pavilion for now and cut straight through the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains.

We can temper ourselves along the way!" Besides, he very much wanted to see what wondrous sights the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains held.

"Yes, Young Master," Elder Wang replied respectfully.

The Hundred Thousand Great Mountains were a vast, boundless forest covering an enormous area, where demonic beasts roamed and countless dangers lurked. Yet it was also a place adventurers had to visit.

It was said that not only did it hold supreme-grade spirit herbs, but also heaven-defying spirit veins. Some places even held heavenly treasures. None of these things could be obtained outside.

Along the way, Di Chen and Elder Wang used their divine abilities, constantly pressing onward.

At last, an enormous chasm appeared before their eyes.

The chasm was several thousand meters wide and unfathomably deep, like the Milky Way hanging suspended.

Di Chen and Elder Wang came to its edge and gazed into the profound abyss below. Their expressions were extremely grave.

"Is this the boundary between two domains?" Di Chen asked.

Elder Wang said, "Indeed, this is the place. According to legend, the ten great Dao Domains were once one. Some say they slowly split apart with the passage of ages."

"Others say it was caused by a battle between supreme mighty figures, that a single palm strike cleaved the entire Dao Domain into ten pieces, dividing it into today's ten great Dao Domains.

Still others say the Dao Domains once merged, then separated again.

In any case, there are all sorts of rumors."

"All right, let's head down!" Di Chen said. With that, he rose into the air and leaped into the abyss. Elder Wang jumped down right after him.

As soon as they descended, a wave of heat struck them head-on. Their gazes swept their surroundings. The gorge was filled with luxuriant trees of varying heights, lush and green.

Roar!

Suddenly, a roar sounded beneath their feet, and a dark shadow lunged at Di Chen. He raised his eyelids slightly and flicked a finger. A fierce streak of Sword Qi sliced through the sky, heading straight for the shadow.

With a clang, the shadow fell to the ground. It was a pitch-black demonic beast resembling a leopard.

A cold curve formed at the corner of Di Chen's mouth. Though this demonic beast was fairly strong, before him, it was not even an ant.

He waved his hand and slapped the demonic beast dead.

They continued onward. Before long, they encountered several more waves of attacks, all easily repelled by their strength.

They moved swiftly, and soon reached the end.

There stood a city. Di Chen and Elder Wang stopped to survey it and found that it was not large.

The cultivators inside were also few and far between, with only a small number of people present! Di Chen withdrew his gaze and said to Elder Wang, "Let's go. We'll enter the city!"

With that, he flew ahead first.

Elder Wang followed close behind.

The two entered the city.

The moment they entered, Di Chen discovered that it was indeed just as they had expected. The cultivators in the city varied greatly in strength. The weakest were only in the Reincarnation Realm, while the strong were at the Supreme level. There were even Quasi-Emperor experts!

Their arrival immediately drew many people's attention, and quite a few began discussing them.

"More people hoping to go temper themselves in the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains. Their clothes look ordinary, so they certainly aren't from any major sect."

"Hmph, what idiots. They know how terrifying the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains are, yet they still dare to go."

"Perhaps they've never even heard of the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains. That's why they're so arrogant! Hahahaha!"

The crowd made no effort to keep their voices down. Di Chen naturally heard them, but he paid them no mind.

"Hmm? The Drunken Immortal Pavilion! The Misty Rain Pavilion really is something. Its businesses are everywhere. Come, Elder Wang, let's go in and rest."

With that, Di Chen led Elder Wang inside and up to the second floor, where they found a private room by a window and sat down. Before long, dishes were brought out one after another.

The food here tasted just the same, without any change.

Just then, Di Chen spotted two familiar faces.

"Brother Fang Jiang! Why don't we go back? Let's stop this training journey. This place just feels terrifying. I'm scared!" a woman said, tugging at the man beside her.

They were none other than Fang Jiang of the Bootlicking Sect and Yang Linna of the Holy Mother Sect.

"Don't worry, Miss Linna. I'll protect you well," Fang Jiang said with a smile, stroking Yang Linna's beautiful hair.

Yang Linna pouted coyly. "Oh, stop it! Just call me little sister Linna!"

"Oh! I thought those two had died in the Domain Lord's Manor. Looks like they were lucky." Di Chen glanced at them, a smile curling his lips.

An incense stick's worth of time later...

After eating and drinking their fill, Di Chen and Elder Wang rose and left the Drunken Immortal Pavilion, setting off once more...

Unbeknownst to them, a pair of eyes upstairs in the Drunken Immortal Pavilion watched them intently.

At that moment, a red-haired man stood in the street, an icy presence emanating from him. His fists were clenched tightly, and fierce killing intent flashed in his eyes.

"Damn human! You killed my clansman. I'll tear you into ten thousand pieces!!!"

A long while later, there appeared before Di Chen

Countless mountains, stretching between heaven and earth. Every mountain towered into the clouds, majestic and imposing.

This was the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains. Di Chen narrowed his eyes. He sensed a savage, baleful presence ahead, with the faint roars of demonic beasts drifting from within.

"The Hundred Thousand Great Mountains contain Half-Emperor demonic beasts, and even peerless Demon Emperors. Encountering them would be very troublesome," Elder Wang said beside him.

Di Chen nodded, and a piercing light bloomed in his eyes.

The Hundred Thousand Great Mountains were indeed extremely mysterious, but they held earth-shaking fortunes.

He decided to explore them. Perhaps he would reap tremendous rewards.

At this thought, he turned to Elder Wang and said, "Come, let's set off."

Elder Wang nodded. Then their figures flickered, and they flew into the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains.

"Help! Help!" Before long, a cry for help came from the distance. At the sound, both men frowned slightly.

They turned to look.

Behind them were three figures, all on their knees, their bodies stained with blood.

One of them, a woman, was deathly pale. Clutching her arm, she wailed, "Help!"

Three dark-skinned, fierce-looking men were pursuing the woman from behind.

One of them, dressed in black, laughed lecherously. "Haha, little girl, you won't get away today. Surrender obediently if you know what's good for you, and I'll let you die more comfortably."

Another man in gray robes laughed. "Beauty, stop struggling..."

"Huh? Elder Wang! What are these things? Why do they run like beasts?" Di Chen frowned and asked Elder Wang beside him.