Chapter 441: Entering

“This body is different from the one in the Divine Domain, so there’s no need to worry.” A smile appeared on Lin Hui’s face as he led the Duke of Purgatory and his companion, Lanxi, into the Daoist palace. He had glanced at Lanxi, thinking she looked familiar, but paid it no mind.

Inside, the others, who already felt the subtle tension of a confrontation between the Chaos Emperor and the True Monarch of Seven Destutions, watched them enter, their expressions shifting slightly.

Just then, they saw Lin Hui and the Duke of Purgatory come through the door.

“It seems the leader can only be chosen from Purgatory or Wind Calamity,” the Lady of Cold Night said.

“I am not worthy,” the Duke of Purgatory quickly refused. “It’s best if Brother Lin takes charge for this mission. He is the most familiar with the territory, and his strength is the greatest among us. He is the most suitable choice.”

The Ash Monarch and Zhang Xin Fan had no objections. Soon, the group confirmed the members of the expedition. The team would consist of five people.

“Next, we need to determine which Calamity to unleash first…?” Lin Hui didn’t finish his sentence.

The first Calamity to be unleashed would inevitably draw the most attention and the strongest counterattack. The Divine Domain was full of powerful experts, and no one could be sure how fierce the backlash would be.

“I’ll handle that,” the Duke of Purgatory said with a couple of coughs. “The Emperor has already instructed me to unleash the full extent of the contamination as quickly as possible, right from the start.”

“Alright… And the second…?”

As time went on, the specific details were agreed upon one by one.

“I have a question. The Endless Divine Domain has Eight Divine Kings and Eight Army Commanders. What level of expert will we attract when we enter this test area? Is that impossible to determine?” asked the Lady of Cold Night.

“It is.”

“In that case, can we determine how large a portion of the Endless Divine Domain the area we’re entering occupies?” she continued.

Lin Hui thought for a moment before answering, “We will be entering the Divine Domain of the Red Simurgh Star System—specifically, the section of the Divine Domain that corresponds to a very small planet within it. On the surface, the Endless Divine Domain looks like a massive space resembling a cluster of grapes. But in reality, its interior is a series of sealed-off spaces, each corresponding to a region of human territory. One star system corresponds to one spherical Divine Domain. The one we’re going to is the one that corresponds to the Red Simurgh Star System. Therefore, we will most likely attract experts from that specific star system’s Divine Domain.” This time, Lin Hui’s explanation was very detailed.

“Are you saying other experts can’t cross over?” the Ash Monarch asked.

“They can, but it takes time. The different Divine Domains seem connected, but they are actually separated by multiple layers of isolation. This is because the Eight Divine Kings govern different regions, and each region has subtle differences in its internal rules, even its laws,” Lin Hui replied.

“Any last questions?” He looked at the others.

“Let’s spar,” said the Ash Monarch, “so we can establish a baseline to gauge the threat level of any enemies we encounter on the other side.”

“Alright!” Lin Hui slowly drew his sword.

*

*

*

「Two weeks later…」

「Human Realm.」

The false Ding Luo Qinyin and her companion, Mo Sha, brought Ding Yiran, who had been undergoing special training for some time, to a forested mountain area on the outskirts of the city.

“To prevent you from panicking when the time comes, the next phase of your training will take place inside the Divine Domain. This will help you adapt to the environment there so you won’t be thrown off by any sudden changes,” Mo Sha explained patiently, looking at Ding Yiran, who was laden with bags big and small.

The surrounding forest was lush and green, filled with the singing of birds and the fragrance of flowers. The ground was overgrown with shrubs and weeds, with no man-made structures in sight.

Ding Yiran nodded.

“I understand, but… how do we get to the Divine Domain from here? I thought the application process was really complicated.”

“It’s certainly troublesome, but not impossible,” Mo Sha said with a slight smile.

“That’s right. Every passage has its loopholes, especially a place like the Divine Domain with so many connecting channels. The passages between the Divine Domain and the Human Realm are strictly controlled, but the ones connecting to some of the smaller Realms aren’t as stringent. We can take a detour—several detours, in fact—to avoid surveillance and enter under different identities,” the false Ding Luo Qinyin replied.

“So, what exactly do I need to do?” Ding Yiran asked, a little nervous.

“Nothing. You just need to close your eyes and follow us,” Qinyin said, rolling her eyes at him.

‘I really don’t know why I’m helping a complete stranger, a normal human at that.’

‘Spending so much energy for no good reason, just to bring an ordinary person into the Divine Domain? Am I crazy or something?’

“Getting in is solved. The key is, how do we rescue her?” Qinyin looked at Mo Sha.

“Sister Luo’s situation is more or less set in stone. If we really want to save her, we only have two windows of opportunity. One is right now. We have about three months until the end of the year, which is the period between her house arrest and her imprisonment,” Mo Sha said.

“Then let’s act now. The second window will obviously be more dangerous, so let’s go with the first,” Qinyin said.

“You need to think this through. Once we make a move, you’ll be gambling your future, your prospects—everything,” Mo Sha reminded her.

“I have nothing to be afraid of. Sister Luo has saved my life so many times. At worst, I’ll just be giving a life back to her. Even then, I’d still be coming out ahead,” Qinyin said nonchalantly.

“Alright then… To rescue her, we first need to make contact with Sister Luo, then convince her to escape the Divine Domain with us. After we get away safely, we can head to the star realms governed by the Dragon Court’s Yanwu, or go directly to the interstitial star systems in the Mixed Race territories,” Mo Sha said.

“We need to have contingency plans for the bailiffs, the Divine Army garrisons at the border, and the internal pursuit units that will be dispatched if we’re discovered,” said Qinyin.

“The probability of a successful rescue is not high, around forty percent. I’ll ask one last time: are you sure you want to be a part of this?” Mo Sha asked again.

“Yes, yes, yes!” Qinyin said, annoyed. “Alright, let’s get started.”

Mo Sha nodded and, without further ado, took out a silver, pocket-watch-like device with one hand and pressed it gently.

SHHH!

The next moment, a square, silver gate of light automatically opened in the air before the three of them.

Inside the gate, massive streams of silver data flowed continuously from top to bottom.

“The gate will be open for two minutes and fifty seconds. We’re detouring through the Hidden Assault imaginary space, then transferring from Hidden Assault to the Chris Realm. After that, we’ll acquire native identities for that space, then turn back toward the Divine Domain as temporary transport personnel,” Mo Sha said in a low voice.

“Get ready,” Qinyin said, looking at Ding Yiran.

He tried to speak, but Qinyin immediately clamped a hand over his mouth and pushed him backward.

PUFF!

The next instant, Ding Yiran stumbled and fell into the gate of light, disappearing from sight.

Qinyin glanced back at Mo Sha.

She saw him give her a “good luck” gesture.

“Going now.” She took a quick leap and jumped into the gate.

WHOOSH…

A light breeze blew past. Mo Sha’s brow suddenly furrowed, and he turned to look behind him.

Just a moment ago, he’d had the vague feeling that something had flashed past him. But neither his Heart and Spirit sense nor the personal alarm system on him had given any warning.

‘An illusion?’

He turned back and walked slowly toward the data gate.

After he disappeared inside, the gate automatically shrank, folded, and closed.

「More than three hours later…」

「Endless Divine Domain. On the outskirts of Rosin Town, which corresponded to Red Pattern Star, three figures suddenly materialized in mid-air and began to fall.」

AHHH!!!~~~

Ding Yiran’s scream was clearly audible even from a thousand meters away.

The next second, Qinyin, who was behind him, grabbed him by the back of his collar, slowing his descent until he was floating, then gently setting him on the ground.

“We’re here. This is our destination,” Mo Sha said in a low voice as he landed behind them.

“What about getting back?” Qinyin asked.

“It’s also here. Everything’s been arranged. But be careful not to lead any pursuers here, or the person in charge of this point won’t open the gate,” Mo Sha replied.

“So… what should we… do now?” Ding Yiran couldn’t help but ask.

“What do we do? First, let’s avoid the automated ‘Cleaners’ that are about to arrive,” Qinyin said calmly, raising her hand to point at a small, white, shuttle-shaped vessel rapidly approaching in the distance.

FWOOSH, FWOOSH, FWOOSH.

Three figures leaped from the vessel and shot toward them.

“Cleaners are about on par with the weakest Junior-Level Divine Army soldiers. They’re generally used to clear out small, wild animals. It looks like we haven’t alerted the Divine Army, but we have been mistaken for some kind of dangerous wildlife targeted for extermination.”

Qinyin pulled off the gloves tied to her back and walked toward the newcomers.

“Come on, Ding Yiran. This is your first lesson. You need to last ten minutes against them. Don’t worry, they usually go easy on humanoid creatures. They won’t kill you outright,” Qinyin said casually.

Ding Yiran opened his mouth to shout, but the next moment Mo Sha grabbed his arm and flung him forward.

WHOOSH!

He screamed as he hurtled toward the Cleaners.

Only when he got closer could he see clearly that these so-called Cleaners were actually metallic humanoids with smooth bodies and a pair of white wings on their backs.

They held long spears and pikes that glowed with red light, rushing toward the three of them at an ever-increasing speed.

“Remember, don’t face them head-on!” Qinyin advised.

Ding Yiran yelled, flipping over in mid-air, and actually managed to precisely dodge the shaft of a spear swung by a Cleaner.

“Not bad. The medicine wasn’t for nothing. We’ll start your practice with these,” Qinyin said with satisfaction, glancing at Ding Yiran after pinning down the Cleaner that had charged at her.

The three of them fought as they retreated, and soon they disappeared from the skies of the area.

WHOOSH….

A gentle breeze blew, and suddenly the space there tore open again, forming a silver rift.

A figure in black floated out.

It was Lin Hui, dressed in a long-sleeved black shirt and pants, with the newly reforged Ruyi Longsword hanging at his waist, a favor from his master.

He wore the crown exclusive to the Heart Source Demon Emperor and a heavy, pitch-black cloak.

“Interesting. Cleaners?” Lin Hui looked up at the silver shuttle rapidly flying toward him from the distance.

TCH.

A blue light flashed in his eyes.

In an instant, the distant shuttle froze in mid-air. The entire vessel, from bow to stern, was silently disintegrated, crushed, and annihilated by the formless Wind Disaster Power.

SHHH!

The next moment, figure after figure emerged from the silver rift behind him, landing and standing firm.

“So this is… the Divine Domain?” The Lady of Cold Night took a deep breath, an indescribable look of intoxication on her beautiful face.

“I can feel… the breath of life….”

“Everyone, we have about one hour to determine the locations where you will each open your gates. This hour is also our only preparation time. Please take note,” Lin Hui said coolly.

“What happens if we exceed one hour?” Zhang Xin Fan asked. This time, three slender humanoids in black, spiked armor followed behind him.

“The Divine Domain’s security system will register that the Cleaners have been dealt with, which will then alert the Divine Army. Once the Divine Army is alerted, the situation will escalate rapidly,” Lin Hui answered.

“Understood. One hour… is enough,” the Ash Monarch said faintly. “Then let’s have a competition. We’ll see whose faction can ‘eat’ more.”

The next instant, a pair of broad, golden wings threaded with gray lines sprouted from his back. With a gentle flap, he vanished.

It wasn’t just him; the others also teleported and disappeared from where they stood.

Only Lin Hui remained. He looked up at the artificial sun, smiled faintly, and flew straight in the direction Ding Yiran and the others had gone.

That direction also happened to be where the nearest Divine Food Statue was located.