Chapter 674 154: Extradomain Entity

The heat was no issue for Wang Ping and the others. After all, they had transcended their mortal bodies. Only Ao Hong, due to his nature being incompatible with fire, showed a hint of displeasure on his face.

"I owe my appointment to this Daoist Palace to my status as a disciple of the True Yang Sect," Pang Xu said humbly, before gesturing for them to follow. "The logs are all stored on the third floor. This way, please."

He invited the three to go upstairs.

Buqiong deferred politely. Ao Hong, however, went ahead and started up the stairs, while Wang Ping gestured for Buqiong to go before him.

The first thing they felt upon reaching the second floor was a cool breeze, followed by soft light. There were still no windows. The breeze, they realized, was generated by a Yuqing Sect Array, which also provided the illumination.

"The old archives from the past five hundred years are stored here. Most of the records from before that have been destroyed, while a few important ones have been transferred to the Alliance headquarters!"

Pang Xu, who came up last, offered the explanation. Ao Hong casually picked up a bamboo slip from a shelf beside the stairwell and continued upward.

Yu Lian, perched on Wang Ping's shoulder, also used her tail to unfurl a bamboo slip and began to read it. Wang Ping glanced over curiously. The slip contained logs observing changes in outer space, and every entry was signed.

Shortly after reaching the third-floor stairwell, Wang Ping saw clear sunlight shining down through a gap. The sunlight here was different from the light on the Zhongzhou Continent. On the Zhongzhou Continent, the sun cast a gentle, dusky yellow glow, but the light here was intensely bright—a clean and pure white.

The contrast was even more striking: areas bathed in sunlight were intensely bright, while the shadows it couldn't penetrate were pitch-black—a darkness utterly devoid of light.

This phenomenon created a world of stark black and white. The sharp boundaries between them made the attic's dim, yellow hue seem especially conspicuous.

If there was light, there were, of course, windows. And there were many, all of them open, allowing the outside light to stream in. On the wall space between the windows stood wooden shelves, which were packed with bamboo slips.

These bamboo slips must have been locally produced in the town; each one was twice as wide as the slips currently used on the Zhongzhou Continent. While Wang Ping was taking in his surroundings, Pang Xu, who had been the last to arrive on the third floor, walked over to a shelf. He picked up three bamboo slips and said, "The latest logs are recorded on these."

As he spoke, he placed the bamboo slips on a solid wood table in the center of the attic. The table was unlacquered, its color a dull yellow. Arranged around it were five Grandmaster's Chairs.

Without any ceremony, Ao Hong stepped forward, put down the slip he had been holding, and picked up one of the new ones from the table to read. Wang Ping did the same. Yu Lian set down the slip she had been holding with her tail and moved her small head closer to read along with Wang Ping.

The bamboo slips mostly contained records of daily patrols. These patrols didn't just cover the moon's surface, but also various monitoring devices placed in outer space.

As Wang Ping read through the bamboo slip, countless Spiritual Creatures zipped through the attic within the Inspiration Realm. They paid no mind to Wang Ping or the others, making them seem like nothing more than illusions conjured from thin air.

With their level of cultivation, it only took Wang Ping and Ao Hong a moment to read through the three bamboo slips. Afterward, Ao Hong looked at Pang Xu and asked, "The last entry says that two days ago, Monitoring Device Number Three detected an extradomain thing wandering toward the moon. How long until it gets here?"

"It should be here in about twelve hours!" Pang Xu's timing was precise.

"Are you interested in these extradomain things, Fellow Daoist?" Buqiong asked.

"A little," Ao Hong replied. "They can spawn Demon Soldiers, can't they? Can we capture one?"

"The ones that can spawn Demon Soldiers are a special case. Let me put it this way: all extradomain things start in the same initial state, but they transform differently upon contact with Spiritual Material. Unlike us Cultivators, who are differentiated by our cultivation realms, their initial forms are all identical. But don't underestimate them for that reason. Some individuals are highly unusual. If you're not careful, they can invade your memories or assimilate your physical body before you even notice."

Buqiong continued in a warning tone, "They can also control the Five Elements Yin Yang Spiritual Qi to perform bizarre techniques, much like Mystic Sect and Celestial Gate Cultivators. In short, while one might be defeated by a mere Qi Cultivator, another could assimilate a Fourth Realm Cultivator."

Wang Ping nodded slightly. This information was available in the archives of the projection hall, and he had read it long ago out of boredom. Judging by Ao Hong's expression, however, it was clear he had never bothered to look at those files.

"That bizarre?"

The interest on Ao Hong's face only deepened.

Buqiong glanced at Pang Xu, who nodded in understanding and continued, "So, if you encounter an extradomain thing, you must use your full strength to kill it, regardless of how powerful it may seem!"

Ao Hong looked at Pang Xu, returning to his earlier question. "You still haven't answered me. Can they be captured?"

Pang Xu met Ao Hong's gaze, then lowered his head and spoke.

"To answer your question, Seventh Prince, extradomain things have four forms. The first, which we call a Wandering Soul, is their initial state and the easiest to kill. The second form evolves from a Wandering Soul. This happens when a Wandering Soul suddenly seems to gain awareness and absorbs the Five Elements Yin Yang Spiritual Qi from the world to evolve. We call these Earth Souls, and they are the ones that can spawn Demon Soldiers."

"The third form occurs when a life core gestates within a Wandering Soul. Yes, that's the same kind of Star God Core that Star Gods fuse with. We call these Star Souls. The fourth form is rarely seen. Rumor has it that it's a new form that appears when a True Spirit absorbs a Wandering Soul. Their strength varies wildly; the weakest are even weaker than a Wandering Soul, but the strongest can rival a Fourth Realm Cultivator. That's why the Alliance has a standing order: if this type of extradomain thing is encountered, it must be destroyed at any cost!"

A nostalgic look crossed Pang Xu's face. "We call this type a 'Great Soul.' I heard they used to be called Celestial Souls, but the True Monarchs considered that blasphemous and had the name changed. I've been serving here since I was in the Second Realm, for over nine hundred years now. I once witnessed a powerful Great Soul... If two of the Alliance's Brigade Commanders hadn't arrived in time, we might have had to abandon the lunar outpost."

After hearing the explanation, Ao Hong managed to rein in his interest. He looked over at Wang Ping, who seemed to have known all this from the start, and asked, "You knew all this?"

"It's in the archives in the projection hall."

"And here I thought those were just for decoration."

Ao Hong paused for a moment, stunned. Then he looked at Pang Xu and said, "The logs are fine. Take us to the Luring Array."

He made no further mention of capturing an extradomain thing, opting instead to proceed with the next part of the inspection.

Pang Xu nodded. "Of course. Let's fly there directly."

As he spoke, he took out the Token at his waist. This was a frontline combat zone; flying around without proper identification would quickly get you labeled an intruder.

Just as Wang Ping had expected, the Luring Array was located on the pitch-black highland to the north.

The closer they got to the area, the more distinct the earlier sensations of corruption, madness, and distortion became. It wasn't enough to affect Wang Ping's state of mind, but it was still deeply unpleasant—like the discomfort a mortal would feel standing next to a cesspit.

Two Second Realm Star God guards were stationed here. They were indifferent to the arrival of Wang Ping and the others, paying them no further mind after confirming the identity Tokens they presented.

Before long, Wang Ping and Yu Lian drew near the pitch-black highland. After deliberately steering his Primordial Spirit clear of the negative emanations, the first thing he sensed was a large number of Sealing Arrays.