by <unknown>
Mao Feng paced to and fro. His eyes were wide while he roared, "Make sure everything's in working order with your crystal suit. Once we're into the depths of the Grand Desolate Plateau, there will be no supplies or reinforcements. If something happens to your crystal suit, you will be in serious trouble!"
Li Yao tested in his crystal suit. He activated every rune array on the suit and check the data reports on the screen.
This would be the first time that he left the northern defense line to train in the lonely wilderness.
He was both anxious and excited.
He'd chosen the Bloody Blade Battlesuit as before.
After one month of maintenance and modification, the parameters of the Bloody Blade Battlesuit couldn't be a better fit for his physique and combat style.
In light of the real battle to come that was bound to be different from the elimination matches, he'd added a lot of attack magical equipment modules to the suit which was now armed to teeth.
The Shattered Star Bombarder specially designed for crystal suits was wrapped in a chill air of blood. It could destroy high-level demon soldiers with a single blow.
"Check!"
"Check!"
"Check!"
25 crystal suits were standing dazzlingly in the middle of the military base. Five hundred soldiers of the base formed two rows beside them.
"Salute!"
The five hundred soldiers stood at attention and performed a perfect military salute.
The Rising Dragon of the Nine Stars, the national flag of the Star Glory Federation, was fluttering on the flagpole dozens of meters tall.
Soldiers of the federal army were mostly ordinary people. They could only station in the military base and defend their country in shelters.
The task of attack could only be shouldered by Cultivators.
Therefore, the soldiers paid their sincerest homage to the Cultivators.
Under their warm stares, the 25 Cultivators got on four heavy-type crystal tanks and embarked on their quest together with four wagons which contained enough crystal stones and supplies for half a month's use.
One of the wagons could be transformed into a battlefield workshop where simple crystal suit maintenance could be performed.
Besides the 25 full-armed crystal suits, they also carried more than fifty beast puppets with strong firepower.
More than half an hour later, a glittering and translucent high tower appeared in front of them, which was the first man-made architecture they'd come across during their ride to the north.
Led by Mao Feng, all the students jumped down from the crystal tanks and stood around the tower in a circle.
The tower had been carved out of luminous crystals with hundreds of rune arrays on them. Eight small round towers stood around the tower in the middle, bringing a strong sense of mystery.
When they closed their eyes and observed through their spiritual roots, they discovered that countless colorful spiritual threads were embroiled around the high tower and stretched forwards in all directions to the end of horizon.
They were like a big net with rainbows weaved in, expanding around the entire world.
The high tower was a Spiritual Beacon which could send telepathic thoughts as a cell unit of the Spiritual Nexus. Only when one was in the coverage of a Spiritual Beacon and had signal could he use the Spiritual Nexus normally to receive or send telepathic thoughts.
"This is the last Spiritual Beacon you'll see, which marks the boundary of human civilization. Later, we'll enter the world of darkness where there is no network at all.
"I'll give you five minutes. Whatever you want to say to your family or friends, say it now while there's still network!"
Mao Feng's words caused a minor turbulence.
Spiritual Beacons were THE greatest magical equipment in history.
The boundless spiritual network that allowed people worldwide to communicate with each other instantly was the foundation of the prosperous modern cultivation civilization.
For the students, they'd always been in the coverage of the Spiritual Nexus, even when they were fighting on the Grand Desolate Plateau.
Although the signal was sometimes intermittent, it was usable to communicate with the outside world, and if they came across danger, they could ask the Cultivators nearby or the military for help.
However, they'd met the last Spiritual Beacon at the edge of the human world. Further ahead, there would be no network at all. They wouldn't be able to ask for help when they were in trouble.
Indescribable loneliness suddenly grasped them.
"We're about to lose signal."
"We're going to be out of network for an entire month. That's terrible!"
Everyone hurriedly contacted their family and friends while they still could.
Li Yao thought for a while. He took a selfie with the splendid view of the Grand Desolate Plateau as background and sent it to Ding Lingdang with a message that read,
"Before I enter the Dark Desolate Domain."
Dark Desolate Domain was the collective name for the dangerous zones beyond the northern defense line that were never touched by human civilization.
This was the end of the world, the closest spot in the Heaven Origin Sector to the Blood Demon Sector, a chaotic land where spiritual energies were unfathomably fierce, home to countless strong demon beasts, as well as a place that boasted infinite Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures and mother crystal lodes.
"BOOM! CRACK!"
Inside the Dark Desolate Domain, the spiritual energies fluctuated like surging tides, which had no pattern at all.
For a moment, it was sunny without the slightest hint of cloud. The next moment, lightning was already brewing behind heavy clouds and the rain was pouring down at any moment.
The lightning was rolling over in the clouds like vigorous dragons, which snapped at the ground every once in a while.
The power of Cultivators was completely overwhelmed by the rage of nature.
Mao Feng's face turned pale as he screamed, "Disperse! Disperse now! Raise your spiritual shield output to maximum!"
The other experienced instructors had already dragged the students almost 100 meters away.
The moment they ran in all directions, a thunder resembling a golden dragon dashed down from the clouds and went directly for the Spiritual Beacon.
The defense rune arrays on the eight small round towers around the Spiritual Beacon were instantly activated, which formed a transparent shield over the Spiritual Beacon.
But it was not strong enough to withhold the frenzy of nature. A moment later, the eight towers exploded and the shield was gone. The thunder went on without stop and ripped the Spiritual Beacon into pieces.
Shattered crystals, accelerated by the lightning, was thrown to every direction like screaming bullets.
Luckily, everyone had already activated their spiritual shields, which stopped the shattered crystals and crushed them into ashes. Nobody was hurt, albeit truly shocked.
"Spiritual waves from the Spiritual Beacon are too intense. Once the natural spiritual energies are on a rampage, the Spiritual Beacon will always be the first thing to be destroyed! It's like the lightning rod which is always hit first during a thunderstorm."
Mao Feng added, "Building a Spiritual Beacon requires huge amounts of money and effort, not to mention the cost of many precious crystals. But it is quite easy for it to be damaged. Besides the lightning which can tear them apart easily, many strong demon beasts will also be attracted by the spiritual waves from the Spiritual Beacon and are willing to destroy it no matter what!
"Therefore, although Spiritual Beacons, as the core of the Spiritual Nexus, are of paramount importance to us, we can't build them unlimitedly. Establishing one at this place is already the best we can do.
"In front of us is the Dark Desolate Domain, a dreary world without network that only the bravest dare to walk in!
"Cultivators, move forward!"
Against thunde
r and lightning, the squad dashed to the horizon.
Weather in the Dark Desolate Domain was never tranquil. The storm didn't die down until one night later.
The world when everything was peaceful again was different from the outside, too.
The sky was red like blood. Clouds were twisted into colorful swirls. Many of them had giant holes through which one could see stars clearly.
Day and night was indistinctive here.
The land around was no longer barren. On the continuous hills grew demonic plants that none of them had ever seen before, which were extremely large due to the nourishment of abundant spiritual energy. Weeds that had razor-sharp edges were taller than any of them, which were shining weirdly under the violet sun.
In the dense forest, screams of demon beasts echoed; as if crystal bombs had exploded around the tanks they were in, every one of them felt a chill down their spines.
"Dark Desolate Domain is the closest spot in the Heaven's Origin Sector to the Blood Demon Sector. Due to the universal gravitation, the two worlds were attracted to each other."
All the students sat down around Mao Feng and listened to the rules of the Dark Desolate Domain.
Mao Feng had two big demon beast eggs in his hands. He lifted them up, "Let's say this egg represents the Heaven's Origin Sector, and the other egg represents the Blood Demon Sector."
He put the two eggs together and knocked them gently,
The eggshell was thick. There were many cracks on the surface; the eggs didn't break, but they were pinned together.
"The Heaven's Origin Sector and the Blood Demon Sector are like two crushed eggs. The Dark Desolate Domain is the point of impact. The sky on the Grand Desolate Plateau is like the cracks on the eggshell.
"Why do wormholes often appear on the Grand Desolate Plateau? Because there are many cracks due to the impact of the two worlds.
"As for the inland of the federation, the sky there is as intact as a smooth eggshell without a single crack. Naturally, no wormholes will ever show up. It is through these cracks that the demon beasts find their way into our world.
"Observe the two eggs. Isn't the point of impact most crowded with cracks and most likely to crumble?
"It is also the case with the real worlds. The Dark Desolate Domain is the most fragile and perilous place in the entire Heaven's Origin Sector!"
Chapter 249: Vast Universe and Silver-blood Demons |
Many of the students had read Introduction to Cosmology before and had a basic understanding about the distribution of parallel worlds. They nodded in agreement.
But some of them didn't know much about the universe. Although they were aware of the existence of parallel worlds, they didn't understand why two worlds would collide.
Outside the Heaven's Origin Sector were boundless stars and an endless vacuum. Even the closest galaxy was thousands of light years away. They couldn't imagine how the collision took place.
Seeing the confusion in their faces, Mao Feng further explained, "Yes, from a three-dimensional point of view, all the different worlds are located in the same universe in their respective galaxies.
"The Heaven's Origin Sector is in one of the galaxies, while the Blood Demon Sector is in another.
"Theoretically speaking, there are no barriers between the parallel worlds. We can sail anywhere we want freely. The only thing that stops us is the long distance.
"With the current level of technology in the Heaven's Origin Sector, if we refine a crystal warship that can sail in the universe, it might take us millions of years to reach our neighboring galaxy. Or the parallel world next to us, if you will.
"In the three-dimensional level, the Heaven's Origin Sector and the Blood Demon Sector are at two ends of the universe with a very long distance in between. There's no way that the two of them will ever be related.
"But if you were to jump out of the three-dimension and move on to a higher level, everything would be different.
"In a higher dimension, every parallel world is a sealed egg that is placed next to each other in a way that we can't comprehend. If two eggs are too close, there will be attraction between them which may lead to collision and even fusion of a brand new parallel world.
"The Heaven's Origin Sector and the Blood Demon Sector is exactly such a double-world system.
Noticing that many students were still confused, Mao Feng took out a piece of white paper and drew one circle on either side of the paper.
"See? Let's say this piece of paper is a two-dimensional universe, and the two remote circles stand for the Heaven's Origin Sector and the Blood Demon Sector respectively.
"In the two-dimensional level, the two worlds are far from each other. There is no way for one of the worlds to reach the other one, let alone crushing.
"However—"
Mao Feng folded the paper. The two circles that had been on opposites sides now overlapped.
"If a strong power can break the two-dimensional rules and understand this fictional universe in the three-dimensional level, it will find that the two worlds are right beside each other.
"This is the relationship between the Heaven's Origin Sector and the Blood Demon Sector, too
"As two galaxies, we are at different areas of the universe with trillions of light years in between.
"But as two parallel worlds in a higher dimension, we're very close to each other like the two circles on the paper. That's why there is attraction between the two worlds that eventually leads to the collision.
"Chances are that, one day, the two circles will merge into one!
"Alright, as battle-type Cultivators, you've learnt enough already.
"The more profound theories will be explored by the research-type Cultivators.
"Anyways, just remember this: The Dark Desolate Domain is the point of impact between the Heaven's Origin Sector and the Blood Demon Sector. Spiritual energies from both worlds intersect here, making this place the most abundant, furious and chaotic in either of the worlds."
This argument was very simple. Everybody understood it immediately.
It was like the intersection of two seas where the resources carried by undercurrents congregated.
Mao Feng continued, "The rich spiritual energy here consolidated into all kinds of Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures and mother crystal lodes. They also provide nourishment for the intimidating mutant demon beasts and demonic plants. This is a treasury that boasts inexhaustible resources.
"However…
"Despite the ample natural resources, the place is too far away from the federation. Besides, the spiritual fluctuations here are too fierce for large-scale crystal fleets to sail.
"If our main troops were deployed here, they might get caught by the spiritual energy swirls and be torn into pieces by accident!"
The students were reminded of the thunderstorm last night.
It was not a common thunderstorm, but a violent tide caused by the clash of the spiritual energies from two worlds.
The crystal warships that the Heaven's Origin Sector could produce at present were not capable of sailing against such spiritual energy tides.
A war in reality was not a game. It was a money-burning task.
Countless crystals and resources would be consumed for a single quest of a large-scale fleet.
If the fleet were to be scattered by the tides after a long march, the huge military expenditure would be for nothing. And this was not counting the loss of soldiers.
It was also the reason why the Star Glory Federation, after five hundred years of bloody battles, still failed to conquer the Dark Desolate Domain.
Their biggest adversary was not the demon clan but nature itself.
"Listen up, everyone. Strong as the crystal warships may be, they cannot cruise in the Dark Desolate Domain. Here, Cultivators, especially us Exos, are the boss. We are the main forces in the war!"
Mao Feng's words ignited everyone's passion. They all couldn't wait to start hunting demon beasts, plunder
ing Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, and increasing their own ability right now.
Mao Feng pressed his hands down and eased everyone. He continued, "This is about everything related to the Dark Desolate Domain. For the next month, you will be fighting and training here. A fifth of the Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures that you collect will go to the training camp, of which half will cover the repair fee of your crystal suits and half will be the instructors' payment. Is that okay with everybody?"
Everyone nodded.
Their crystal suits were all provided by the training camp. It would be costly to fix them if they were damaged. The repair fee seemed reasonable.
The instructors' payment was even fairer.
The five instructors were all above middle-level of the Building Foundation Stage. With the enhancement of the crystal suits of the latest models, they could wield the strength of the Core Formation Stage.
It was under the protection of the five Cultivators that the students dared to fight and train in the Dark Desolate Domain at ease.
Otherwise, they would be committing suicide if they decided to train here, considering that they were all merely in the Refinement Stage.
A tenth of their harvest as payment for the instructors was a deal that couldn't be fairer.
Mao Feng nodded his head, then he brought up something else.
"Alright, since there is no objection, we'll start our training now. But before that, I need to remind you of something very important.
"The Dark Desolate Domain is full of dangers. Thunderstorm zones and dust storm zones are ten times more frequent and stronger than those outside.
"There are also strong mutant demon beasts lurking in darkness waiting for their prey.
"However, none of the above are the most appalling thing.