Was this the Dark Realm?

Ye Qingyu was walking in a vast and dim land.

Two months had already pa.s.sed since he had killed Ye Chen.

The effects of the aftermath from the battle of the Four Stars Sect had already been dealt with, and the few big factions and barons who conspired with Ye Chen to destroy the Heaven Wasteland Domain had been removed from the Vast Thousand Domains with extreme prejudice. This sent shockwaves through the other domains, which resulted in no other race or power daring to have any designs on the domain again. Furthermore, the Heaven Wasteland Domain had also grown, and it now possessed a force strong enough to defend itself.

After careful examination and rigorous testing, Ye Qingyu was sure that the Emperor weapons he had obtained from Ye Chen were indeed fake Emperor weapons that had somehow absorbed the qi of a true Martial Emperor. They were stronger than normal fake Emperor weapons, but they could not be cla.s.sified as the real deal. After removing some marks on the weapons, he gave them to Spokesperson Li, and the four commanders, as well as a few powerful figures in the Heaven Wasteland Domain, as a form of self-defense.

Ye Qingyu only kept the [Blazing Mark of the Three Flames], [Formless Armor of Drifting Clouds]s, and tthe broken demon saber with him.

Everything had been arranged.

Ye Qingyu finally stepped on the path toward the Dark Realm.

It was the first time he had gone to the so-called "Dark Realm", and he was currently still only on the outskirts of the domain.

The moon on this fifth day of the month was hanging in the sky, and dark clouds seemed to have covered by it; the light it gave off was dim.

A faint slit appeared in the s.p.a.ce of the void, and a primordial chaos astral wind strong enough to rip a Saint to shreds seeped in and pervaded the entire void. It was terrifying, and any being not powerful enough would be instantly torn apart upon coming close to the area.

Furthermore, Ye Qingyu could clearly sense that the power of nature's five elements was turbulent in this region. Martial arts experts from the Vast Thousand Domains would find it hard to train here, and it would be tough trying to obtain spiritual qi from nature.

"No wonder the Dark Realm has basically always been a restricted zone for martial arts experts of the Vast Thousand Domains."

Even Ye Qingyu lamented.

The old butler followed dejectedly behind him.

He had tried to escape many times upon entering the perimeter of the Dark Realm, but Ye Qingyu grabbed him back every time. His legs were broken each time he tried to flee, and after numerous attempts, the old butler came to understand that Ye Qingyu had left a marker on him. Basically, it was impossible for him to escape.

"How is power being divided in the Dark Realm?"

Ye Qingyu asked.

Originally, he had not killed the old butler because he wanted a guide, aside from the fact that he wanted to find out the real story about the Forsaken Ye Clan. Its descendants were closely connected to the Dark Realm, and Ye Qingyu believed that the old man was definitely very familiar with the situation within the domain.

Facts proved his decision to be the right one.

"My lord, clans forgotten by the world reside in the Dark Realm. They have been forsaken by other clans of the Vast Thousand Domains, and a few individuals are extremely vicious characters that fled here after realizing that there was no place in the Vast Thousand Domains for them... Of course, they are foreigners in the eyes of the Dark Realm," the old butler said. He had been taught such a good lesson by Ye Qingyu that he was now afraid of the youth and truthfully spilled everything he knew without any hesitation.

"Foreigners? Do you mean that there are natives here?" Ye Qingyu asked as they walked.

"Yes, naturally, there are natives of the Dark Realm. They can be cla.s.sified into four groups: Guardians, Sinners, Alien Dark Ones, and Invaders," the old butler replied. "The Forsaken Ye Clan originated from the Guardians, and this group of people wields great influence in the Dark Realm." The old man paused to think of an apt metaphor, before continuing, "It's rather like the status the Heaven Wasteland Empire holds in the Heaven Wasteland Domain; the Guardians are rulers."

Ye Qingyu nodded and asked a little curiously, "Why are there rulers in the Dark Realm as well?"

The old butler lowered his voice and replied mysteriously, "Of course. Legend has it that the Guardians were jointly created by Martial Emperors of each race. For millions of years, their descendants have lived here and followed the teachings of their ancestors. They rarely take part in matters of the Vast Thousand Domains and have always resided in the Dark Realm. In fact, this domain used to be a buffer zone segregated from the Vast Thousand Domains by the Supremes of days past."

Ye Qingyu seemed to be deep in thought after hearing the old butler.

"What about the Sinners?" he then asked.

"Legend has it that the Sinners used to be part of the Guardians. I believe they should also be descendants of the Martial Emperors. However, their ancestors committed a heinous sin a very long time ago and tainted the honor of the Guardians. As such, they were driven out of the camp of the Guardians, and their descendants have to bear the weight of the sins of their forefathers. They have little social status and are cla.s.sified as having lowly ancestral roots. They live in the bleakest areas of the realm and fight with the Invaders. Even their descendants have continued to be branded as Sinners, and it is said that a higher being left a blood curse in them that they can never break away from."

The old butler had a look of disdain about him when he spoke about the Sinners. Obviously, even he despised this group of people.

"Have you seen Sinners before?" Ye Qingyu asked.

The old butler nodded and replied, "Yes, all of them look vicious, just like stones in a toilet—smelly and hard. However, even ordinary Sinners possess great strength. They are constantly fighting against the Invaders, and their battle instinct is incredibly terrifying. They commonly have the ability to challenge the norm and go against the flow..."

Upon hearing this, Ye Qingyu was even more curious about the Sinners.

"What about the Alien Dark Ones?" he continued to ask.

The old butler knew that he had to tell Ye Qingyu everything he knew without holding back any information. "The Dark Ones... in a sense, they are the ones that can truly be considered the natives of the Dark Realm. Millions of years after the Dark Realm was created, a strange species was born on this land. Collectively, they are known as the Dark Ones, and they are different from the other sentient beings of the Vast Thousand Domains. They cannot learn formation magic and martial arts, but they are born with a few natural talents and are incredibly suited to the environment of the Dark Realm. They have control over a few unique powers and are the largest group in the entire Dark Realm."

An alien species that originated from this realm?

Ye Qingyu was slightly shaken after listening to these words.

How could an entire species be born in the Dark Realm, this barren outskirt land filled with death? And an alien species, to boot? This world is truly amazing.

"What about the Invaders?" then Ye Qingyu asked.

Fear flashed in the old butler's eyes when he heard Ye Qingyu mention this group. He began to look unnatural as he replied, "The Invaders... are a bunch of demons who came from h.e.l.l that destroy everything... There are rumors that they are destroyers who really came from the darkness. All along, their instinct is to kill, destroy, and devour all other living beings. No gra.s.s can grow from the places they've tread on, and apparently, they came from a slit in the Primordial Chaos Void. They are the enemy of all sentient beings."

Ye Qingyu nodded.

He had expected as much.

"So, the entire Dark Realm is roughly based on the foundation that the Guardians rule over the Sinners and Alien Dark Ones, using them to repel the Invaders, am I right?" Ye Qingyu asked.

"That's exactly right," the old butler replied with a nod.

"Let's go," Ye Qingyu said as he continued walking forward.

The borders of the Dark Realm covered a vast area, larger than any other domain Ye Qingyu had been to before. He had traveled at least tens of thousands of kilometers over the past twelve hours, but he was still on the outskirts of the domain.

"Come out, wyrm."

Ye Qingyu growled.

The White-boned Earth Dragon appeared in the air and landed close to Ye Qingyu. Its skeletal body was as s.h.i.+ny as jade, and it seemed to have evolved. Its bones also looked incredibly smooth, and a unique aura was flowing within them. It was a dark, primordial power, but it was not evil.

After absorbing the powers of Wei Wubing and Zhang Wuxin, and even that of the Great Ancient Dragon Emperor and Dark Quasi-emperor, its own strength was at an unbelievable level now. There seemed to be no limits to how high it could increase its power, and it was continuously devouring and amplifying its strength. Now, it was already as powerful as a Quasi-emperor.

"Heavens, this is..." the old butler turned pale from shock, "an Invader?"

He was scared witless.

In a flash, Ye Qingyu appeared on the wyrm's head and he looked down at the old butler. The old man understood what he wanted and leaped onto the creature's back with fear and trepidation. He could not help feeling a shockwave of emotions. The fact that Ye Qingyu could control an Invader as if it was his slave was incredible.

Where did this young human come from?

The old man was feeling extremely curious and shocked at this moment.

Suddenly, other ideas appeared in his mind.

At this time, the wyrm had already transformed into a flowing white light and began galloping over the dark land. It was moving at an extremely great speed and covered hundreds of kilometers in an instant.

The old butler was guiding them along on the wyrm's back.

Ye Qingyu sat cross-legged on the wyrm's head. He closed his eyes and meditated.

Half a day later—

"The Primordial Chaos Waterfall is in front of us. We'll truly be in the Dark Realm after we get past it. It's very dangerous inside there, and lethal traps are hidden everywhere. Danger can hit us anytime," the old butler said as he pointed to a chaotic mist before them.

Ye Qingyu channeled his [Eyes of the Void] secretly and looked past the mist. Indeed, he could see a waterfall hanging in the highest part of the sky. It seemed to contain water like the Heavenly River and cut through Heaven and Earth itself. Primordial chaos qi pervaded the air there, and a dark power circled around the area. It acted like a sharp ray of energy from a saber and slashed through nature itself.

Is that the Primordial Chaos Waterfall?

Indeed, it looked as though primordial qi had fallen from the Nine Heavens and was pouring down upon the mortal world. Even though they were hundreds of kilometers away, he could still feel the terrifying and chaotic primordial aura.

"We have to change our appearance after pa.s.sing through the Primordial Chaos Waterfall, especially..." The old butler pointed at the White-boned Earth Dragon below them as he spoke. "There will be a huge commotion if it appears in the Dark Realm in this manner, and it'll be hunted by everyone."

Ye Qingyu nodded.

He knew that the wyrm was giving off an aura very similar to that of the Invaders.

In the blink of an eye, the Primordial Chaos Waterfall was right before them.

"This waterfall is extremely scary and acts like a natural barrier. The primordial chaos qi in a few districts gets slightly weaker at certain timings. Let me see... Hmm, the last time the qi around the waterfall grew weaker was half a month ago. We can wait a little while..." the old butler suggested as he counted using his fingers.

However—

"Charge right into it," Ye Qingyu shouted.

The wyrm roared and a white light surged and surrounded its entire body. It leaped directly into the turbulent storm of primordial chaos like a tiger leaping across a stream. The old butler turned pale from shock and was about to shout for it to stop when a barrier of light appeared on the wyrm's body, easily blocking the destructive force of the waterfall outside it.

"This..." He had never imagined that the white skeletal beast of war was so powerful.

At this moment, Ye Qingyu noticed something strange.

"Something's not quite right. This waterfall isn't just simply a turbulent flow of primordial chaos qi. It seems to be transmitting magical formations, but somehow s.p.a.ce and time have been reversed. What's going on? Could the core districts of this Dark Realm exist in a different dimension from the Vast Thousand Domains?"

It was a little weird.