Chapter 201: Startled
The girl let out a shriek when she saw Wei Yuan and turned to run.
Wei Yuan’s heart stirred, and he instinctively gave chase. He grabbed the girl by the back of her neck and lifted her off the ground.
The girl struggled as she wept, her tears streaming down her face like raindrops on pear blossoms, the perfect picture of pity and helplessness. As she struggled, her clothes became disheveled, exposing parts that shouldn’t have been seen—including the most private areas—to Wei Yuan.
Wei Yuan simply stared at the girl, deep in thought. He neither reached out to tear her clothes off nor helped her to adjust them.
The girl soon realized her predicament and hurriedly raised her hands to cover her chest. But how could these slender appendages possibly conceal those majestic peaks? Naturally, pressing down on one side only caused the other to bulge—truly a case of trying to attend to one thing only to lose sight of another.
Wei Yuan watched, still lost in thought.
Suddenly, the girl felt the fingers gripping the back of her neck tighten. In pain, she let out a sudden shriek and opened her mouth wide enough to swallow Wei Yuan whole in an instant! His entire upper body vanished down her gullet just like that!
At the same time, Wei Yuan’s upper body became semi-transparent. As it turned out, the girl possessed the strange ability to bite his Dao Foundation directly. Right now, she was clutching a large boulder and gnawing on it with all her might, chipping several of her teeth in the process.
Another Wei Yuan appeared beside the girl and pointed to the muddy ground nearby. “Why not gnaw on this instead? It’s softer here.”
The girl looked up, completely unconcerned about the mouth filling her mouth. “How boring. How come you always figure me out?”
“This game isn’t fun. Are you actually going to swallow me if I fail to see through you even once? This is the last time. Next time, I won’t hold back,” Wei Yuan warned sternly.
The girl pouted. “Hmph! You’re so petty! You get to feast your heart’s content in the Homeworld—what’s so wrong with you coming over here and letting me take a bite of you?”
Her chest rose and fell when she was angry. The two peaks were truly a sight to behold.
“There are some things I can’t control. You’d better not come in here again,” Wei Yuan warned again.
Unbeknownst to the girl, high up in the sky. A vertical pupil had opened slightly within the shadows of the moon, scrutinizing her with a look of temptation and disappointment. It was tempted, because she was a delicious morsel; disappointed, because she was far too small to satisfy its appetite.
Wei Yuan had no shortage of fortune at the moment. He needed a guide in this strange, unfamiliar realm and Dream Eater’s cooperation as well. That was why he lifted the girl out of his Dao Foundation.
The girl sighed and said, “I’ll take you to my palace.”
She returned the grip, and the scenery before their eyes shifted in an instant. When the world came into focus again, Wei Yuan found that they were standing atop a small hill. It had four weathered stone pillars with a tarpaulin-like canopy stretched between their tops, acting as a roof. Below the canopy lay several piles of stones that vaguely resembled a bed, a table, and a few stone benches.
And that was all.
The only thing on this tiny hill that could be called a structure were the four stone pillars, their surface so mottled with age that it was impossible to tell from which dynasty they had originated. And the only object that possessed a trace of civilization was the taurpalin—and the ropes tying it to the stone pillars, he supposed.
It was truly a shabby palace. Even the mortals in his realm lived in better conditions than this. All signs were pointing toward Dream Eater doing pretty badly in the Realm of Coldbelow.
Seeing Wei Yuan’s expression, Dream Eater flew into a rage and shouted, “This isn’t the outside world—It’s both real and illusory. Do you think it’s that easy to conjure things here? This cloth is a mystic treasure I painstakingly refined myself! Ask the other great demons and try to find a single one who isn’t living in a cave if you don’t believe me. Here in this region, I am the only one who can afford to drink tea on the surface while it’s raining!”
Wei Yuan snapped to attention, and he asked, “You can’t move freely while it’s raining?”
Dream Eater replied coldly, “The wind and rain here are formed from the energies of The Outside. They’re capable of corroding one’s primordial spirit. Only a Shadow Warlock who has already established their kingdom can move freely in this weather. Besides that, one cannot stay on the surface during the Day of Wind and Sand, the Day of Molten Fire, and the Day of Flies. If it weren’t for these dangers, this place wouldn’t be known as the Land of the Deadly and Unfathomable.”
Wei Yuan suddenly felt something and looked up at the sky. Raindrops had begun to fall one by one, striking the canopy above their heads.
Wei Yuan walked to the edge of the canopy and caught a raindrop. As soon as the drop touched his hand, a violent shiver coursed through his entire body. It felt like an infinite amount of cold was contained within the droplet, and it nearly froze his entire primordial spirit solid!
Fortunately, the Bay Laurel Immortal Tree tree branch unleashed a burst of light and dispelled the cold, allowing him to recover the next moment.
Dream Eater could not hide her astonishment after seeing Wei Yuan catching a raindrop like it was nothing. She remarked, “It seems you’re more capable than I thought. Perhaps you really can help me fulfill my wish. Let’s get down to business then.”
She pointed a finger, and a complex red pattern appeared before them. The mark was unlike any script Wei Yuan recognized, though there was no doubt that they contained profound mystic energy.
“This is a method of inheritance unique to us great demons. It contains the basic script of the great demons and allows you to communicate with other great demons. It also comes with a spell that allows you to predict the weather one day ahead; a common yet essential technique to survive in the Realm of Coldbelow.”
Wei Yuan reached out and gently touched the mark. It dissolved into a stream of light and entered his sea of consciousness, instantly filling his memory with a wealth of knowledge. In total, he had learned roughly three hundred Demon words. Each word contained multiple meanings, and the rules for combining them were highly complex. Though the number of words was small, it was sufficient for communication.
Wei Yuan was deeply intrigued by the spell that allowed one to learn something instantly. He asked, “Can you teach me this mark?”
Dream Eater snorted and replied, “This is my signature spell. If you want to learn it, you’ll have to trade for it just like the essences of The Outside.”
Another mark appeared before Wei Yuan. It was completely different from the one before.
“This is a map of the Coldbelow. It shows you my territory. I’ve marked Shuli’s kingdom and another Shadow Warlock’s kingdom—which is also around the area—for you. That’s all. You’ve seen what the Coldbelow is like; there’s nothing special or defining about this realm. In fact, most of the unusual stuff comes from The Outside, and many of them are mobile. Sometimes, unique treasures specific to this realm would appear—whether you encounter them or not depends on your luck.”
Wei Yuan touched the mark, and a map appeared in his mind just like the Demon script. However, it was a terribly crude map, showing only basic terrain. It featured a large circle with a simple smiley face drawn inside—this was Dream Eater’s territory.
There was a small cross on the edge of this circle, marking the spot where the two of them were currently standing. Further away at the edge of the map, there were two arrows pointing at a Shadow Warlock’s kingdom each. One of the kingdoms were circled multiple times for emphasis, and an ugly face was drawn inside them. Clearly, it was Shuli’s kingdom.
Finally, the map came with a minor spell: Wei Yuan could put a mark anywhere in the Coldbelow and appear there the next time he visited the realm. The mark also served to demarcate a territory. The small area around the mark would be considered Wei Yuan’s territory, and any great demon passing through the area would know that it was claimed. Of course, how they would react was another matter entirely.
According to Dream Eater, she was on “exceptionally good terms” with all the other great demons. Thus, Wei Yuan needed to watch out for all of them.
Dream Eater had essentially given him everything he wanted, so he waved her goodbye. The next moment, he found himself standing in a wilderness, with gently rolling hills nearby and mountains and forests in the distance. On the map, the small circle representing Dream Eater’s territory had shrunk to a corner, indicating that he was quite a distance from her territory.
The fact that Dream Eater had teleported him so far in a single breath made it crystal clear that she probably didn’t want to be associated with him, lest the Shadow Warlocks come knocking on her door to demand answers in the future. The dynamics of the Coldbelow were truly intriguing.
Wei Yuan glanced around for a bit before running to a nearby hill. Halfway up, he chose a hollow, soft spot that was relatively well-hidden, summoned the Immortal Sword Iron Cutter, and began digging a hole.
The first lesson in the Realm of Coldbelow was this: Never get caught in the rain and become chilled.
Known for its sharpness, Iron Cutter could cleave even stones with ease, much less digging through soil. It wasn’t long before he dug through the outer layer of soil, and reached the inner layer of hard rock. Wei Yuan simply cut through the rock and deposited all of the excavated soil and debris into his Dao Foundation, leaving no traces behind. In the blink of an eye, he had dug his way deep into the hill.
He was digging away happily when suddenly, Wei Yuan felt every hair stand on end, as if his soul was about to be ripped out of his body! He darted out of the hole in an instant while holding a slender golden cauldron with a tower-like tip in his hand. It instantly turned dull and gray in a single thought, blending seamlessly into the surrounding environment.
Wei Yuan crawled on the ground all the way to the top of the hill. Then, he poked half his head out to look around. He saw a fierce gale raging across the endless wilderness ahead, and countless dark figures scattering in every direction. The sky had turned completely black, disturbed only by the occasional bolt of lightning!
Instantly, the gale turned into a full-blown storm, whipping Wei Yuan’s hair wildly and nearly blinding him. The wind carried a chill that sent shivers down his spine.
Suddenly, the clouds parted, and a mountain range plummeted from the sky, crashing heavily against the ground!
The violent tremors instantly threw Wei Yuan into the air before he landed back down where he had been. All the boulders and debris around him had jumped into the air as well, raining down on Wei Yuan with a clatter.
Wei Yuan’s primordial spirit was formidable. Despite the gale and the tremors, he was able to make out the shape of the mountain instantly.
It wasn’t a mountain, but a claw as massive as a mountain range! Just a single claw!
Was this the Outside creature Dream Eater had spoken about?! Forget dangerous, it was practically apocalyptic! Staring at the claw that spanned at least tens of thousands of zhang, Wei Yuan was beyond certain that even he wasn’t crazy enough to try and extract essence from this thing!
Just then, the clouds above him exploded, and another claw came crashing down toward him!
This thing has two legs!? There was no time to curse. Wei Yuan vanished from the spot instantly, fleeing back to the Homeworld with his tail between his legs.
His very first adventure in the Realm of Coldbelow had traumatized him greatly.
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