Donghuang Continent is vast and boundless. If Dayu Divine Dynasty is considered the center, the imperial city is the bullseye.
The contours of the nineteen provinces resemble that of a teapot.
The spout curves upward, and at the edge of the spout is Heavenly Gate Pass. Extending from Heavenly Gate Pass and weaving through the grey demon territories beyond, this place is rife with demons residing and entrenched, while even further on lies the stark black area on the map—the Great Wilderness Heaven Realm.
The Great Yu Military Department consists of four divisions, overseeing military selection, cartography, state transportation, and arms and armaments, among other responsibilities.
The second division, the Mapping Department, is in charge of the maps of the world and updates them regularly.
Throughout the more than three thousand years of history in Dayu Divine Dynasty, new and old maps have been replaced from generation to generation, without mention of the changes in the terrain within the provinces.
The demon territories beyond the borders are marked as gray areas. However, over the years, mountains, peaks, and other landforms have been surveyed and named within these realms.
This has greatly facilitated the Monster Suppression Department in tracking down wanted demons beyond the territory, with maps acting as their eyes. But even just the mapmaking has claimed the lives of many talented individuals.
However, no matter how the new and old maps have changed, beyond these lands of demons, in a deeper and farther place, that region dubbed “Great Wilderness Heaven” by the former emperor during his expedition, has always remained pitch black on the map.
No topography or descriptions of any sort.
Like a black abyss that surrounds the edge of the continent, it is a fearsome, mysterious land forbidden to the Human Race.
For thousands of years, there have been talented individuals from the military department who have attempted to explore the Great Wilderness Heaven, but countless have perished, and in the end, only sparse information was brought back.
These messages, written in blood, were compiled into a book called the Great Wilderness Scripture.
It contained merely two pages and a few hundred words in brief summary.
Life is more fragile than paper.
Yet even so, these thin two pages were carefully treasured by the imperial palace, with only top forces such as the Divine General Mansion possessing copied versions.
At this moment, at the edge of the Great Wilderness Heaven, the silhouette of a young man was walking through the towering ancient trees of the Barbaric Wilderness Forest.
Tall trees enveloped the area, shrouded in a foggy mist.
“It is said that within the Great Wilderness Heaven, miasma fills the sky, colossal beasts roam, demons run rampant, and there are even traces of ancient fierce creatures from the legends.”
As Li Hao advanced, he scrutinized his surroundings with care.
The records indeed were true. Although he had not yet encountered any colossal beasts or demons, he could already feel the damp, toxic miasma in the forest.
Fortunately, his Indestructible Treasure Body was extremely resilient, easily fending off the miasma without being harmed.
Yet, if it was someone from the Three Immortal Realms, even if they were to stay here for a long time, their bodies would be damaged.
And those with an even lower Cultivation Level would not even need to be mentioned, as they would face even greater hardships.
“My mother actually lived in such a place…” Li Hao’s gaze flickered, his thoughts shifting, as he asked the elderly member of the Ji Family hidden and shrunk on his body: “Is there really a human tribe living there as you said?”
“Not humans, but the Saintly Tribes!” replied the elderly Ji Family member, correcting him immediately.
As he held admiration for Li Hao’s talent, he was willing to elaborate: “Our Ji Family descends from the Ancient Holy Clan. Though we emerged from the Human Race, our clan’s members possess the bloodline of Ancient Sages, with strong and formidable physiques, far from comparable to you primitive savages. Moreover, with the blessing of the sacred land in our midst, we are impervious to the miasma. To call it a land of deities would hardly be an overstatement.”
Hearing this, Li Hao felt somewhat relieved; it seemed that his mother’s living environment was not bad.
As he walked, Li Hao started to converse with the elderly Ji Family member.
He learned the man’s name, Ji Yun Ge.
Ji Yun Ge touched only lightly on the subject of the Ji Family, and did not delve deeply into it. However, he gave Li Hao many insights into the Great Wilderness Heaven Realm, clarifying that it was indeed as perilous as countless predecessors from the military department had explored and verified.
But the perilous regions were divided into areas.
For instance, their current location belonged to the outer periphery of the Great Wilderness Heaven Realm. Although extremely terrifying demons could be encountered here too, the likelihood was not high.
Mostly, the area was dominated by demons and fierce beasts of low ancestry.
However, with the abundant energy from heaven and earth here, even low-ancestry demons could hope to cultivate into Demon Kings, which is why the warnings in the Dayu Divine Dynasty’s records—that those without the Four Stands Realm should not easily step into the Great Wilderness Heaven—were deemed quite reliable.
Among the towering ancient trees, Li Hao, following Ji Yun Ge’s guidance, hurriedly made his way.
He moved swiftly between trees, each with a diameter of tens of meters, where every branch was wide enough to comfortably accommodate several people lying down.
In the midst of his journey, a sudden shadow shot towards him.
Drawn by a path of essence, the attack was unerring, and he felt an inescapable sensation.
Li Hao, slightly taken aback, abruptly and quickly moved his just-settled foot again, vanishing without a trace and evading the pull of essence with a whoosh.
Before the pulling essence could even reconnect, Li Hao appeared at the point of attack, speedy as lightning, and saw it was a woman hidden behind the thick leaves at the top of a tree launching a sneak attack.
The woman was half-human, half-demon, with her lower limbs resembling the fierce form of a praying mantis.
Upon seeing Li Hao, who had abruptly appeared before her, the woman was taken aback, evidently not expecting that this young man, with an unremarkable presence but clearly of the Human Race, would possess such remarkable skills!
Her pupils contracted suddenly, but she reacted extremely fast, spitting out a jet of green poison.
Bang!
Li Hao threw a punch, the ferocious power of the blow dispersing the poison and pulverizing the demon woman’s delicate white face, revealing an exoskeleton-like bone structure underneath as she screamed in agony.
“An Ancient Holy Scion?!”
The demon woman retreated, shocked as she stared at Li Hao.
To have such a terrifying explosive strength at such a young age, had she really encountered an Ancient Holy Scion on the fringes of the Great Wilderness Heaven Realm?!
Cursing her luck inwardly, she didn’t bother with the pain in her face and turned to flee.
Li Hao reacted with incredible speed. As soon as the Thousand Mountains Flying Birds Map was activated in tandem with his traceless movement ability, he almost instantaneously caught up to her from behind. Under the demon woman’s astonished gaze, he delivered a punch that burst through her head.
