On a certain geography book, the heavy, dark print outlined by red lines was strikingly conspicuous, piercing the eye like a needle prick.

Ye Chen couldn't help but sigh softly; with his intellect, a moment's thought was enough for him to grasp the general situation. The person who penned this passage must have been one of the Snow Domain Emissaries.

That glacier provided a passage to the Ancient World. The terrifying rumors they spread were clearly intended to deter anyone from approaching it. As for the so-called demons within, they were naturally just humans from the Ancient World, identical in appearance to these twelve Snow Domain Emissaries.

To prevent any confusion, the twelve Snow Domain Emissaries deliberately fabricated the characteristic that the demons inside could transform into various shapes, ensuring that no stain could ever tarnish their own sacred and noble façade.

"Truly despicable..." Ye Chen muttered under his breath. The geography book also mentioned that the area where the glacier was situated was an arching plateau, possessing the coldest temperatures in the entire Snow Domain. Conversely, in the deep valley area where the Four Great Empires resided, there existed a natural barrier conjured by the twelve Snow Domain Emissaries, filtering out the biting cold winds and maintaining a moderate temperature.

Thus, life could be nurtured there.

And their "servants" could be cultivated.

Ye Chen sighed again, gently placing the book back on the shelf before turning and stepping outside.

"This place is really not safe..." As Ye Chen exited the library, the intense sunlight overhead cast down a warmth that felt simultaneously chilling. "At Kabats' speed, that inn should already be surrounded by now. Perhaps the city's military forces are already scouring the area. My ruse as a Snow Domain Emissary, before I could even properly settle into the role, is about to collapse."

His voice carried an inexpressible regret. With a flick of his finger, he casually dropped a nondescript, button-like object near the library entrance, then swiftly vanished from the sight of the proprietor, darting into a secluded alleyway unnoticed. His palm sliced open, and he plunged into the Runic Space, shrinking the spatial rift down to the size of a pinhole.

Settling onto the sofa inside the Runic Spaceship, Ye Chen swept his hand out, retrieving a scroll-like LCD screen from his portable spatial ring, and spreading it flat upon the alloy table.

"Video receiving, data transfer initiated..."

"Data port confirmed..."

As the electronic signals were received, the scene outside the library instantly materialized on the scroll screen, viewable from every conceivable angle, 360 degrees. The black button-like object Ye Chen had discarded upon leaving was, in fact, the receiver's "cat's eye," capable of capturing any perspective within a twenty-zhang radius of its location.

Ye Chen leaned back against the sofa, a hint of reckless charm playing on his lips. He tapped a finger, and the door of the adjacent ship's alloy refrigerator slid open automatically. A bottle of iced beer floated out, its cap dissolving mid-air before landing neatly in Ye Chen's hand.

As for the discarded beer cap, it was instantly crushed by air pressure into a warped shape, then disintegrated from its very essence, fragmenting piece by piece until it completely reverted to its most primitive metallic elements, diffusing into the surrounding air.

Ye Chen took a sip of beer while gazing at the display on the scroll screen.

...

Wushuang City, outside the Inn.

Thump-thump-thump—

The pedestrians on the street heard only a series of crisp, rhythmic hoofbeats and couldn't help but turn back. At the bend at the far end of the street, a troop of soldiers clad in voluminous white robes burst forth. They gripped spiral, spear-like weapons and rode fierce beasts, red-furred creatures resembling Qilin, whose bell-like eyes flashed with savage light. They advanced like demons from the underworld, causing all pedestrians to cry out and hastily retreat to the sides of the street.

—It’s the Blood Scale Army!

—What affair is so grave that it alarms them?

Everyone instinctively stepped back silently to the sides of the street, lowering their heads, a mutual, unspoken understanding passing between them.

This army, exuding a dense, viscous aura of killing intent, charged forward like a hurricane. The leader at the front halted before the inn's entrance. His face, chiseled and cold as a blade, was rigid as bedrock, and sharp light glinted in his piercing eyes. He yanked hard on the iron-chain-like reins. The rope, possessing incredible resilience, pulled taut on the Blood Scale Beast, which whinnied, reared its front hooves high, seeming to tread on empty air for a moment before slamming back down heavily.

The hard cobblestones beneath its feet were gouged with two shattered depressions.

A fierce, flame-like energy billowed off these Blood Scale Beasts, their dazzling light reflecting off the leader's cloak. He slightly raised his arrogant chin, gazing down upon the portly proprietor trembling as he emerged from the inn with a look of contemptuous coldness.

The proprietor's fat jiggled uncontrollably; sweat mixed with grease had soaked through his clothes. He bowed deeply and deferentially approached the Blood Scale Beast. The light overhead was entirely blocked by the enormous monster, leaving him only able to perceive its savage fangs, white and chilling, in the shadow.

His body was taut, his heart hammering wildly. He held his breath, yet forced a greasy, fawning smile onto his face, saying, "May I ask the esteemed adult what brings you here? If it is anything this humble one can assist with, I shall certainly comply!"

The leader watched him with chilling indifference. His sharp gaze made the proprietor feel as if his very body were being pierced. "The black-robed man staying at your establishment, where has he gone?"

The proprietor froze for a second, Kabats' image flashing in his mind. Realizing what he had to say, he quickly stammered, "Sir, that person requested a map from me and then proceeded down this street. I do not know where he went."

"Requested a map..." The leader's expression shifted slightly. His sharp gaze fixed upon the portly proprietor, causing the man to tremble uncontrollably. The leader snorted, gave a sharp tug on the reins, and bellowed, "Everyone follow me! To the library!"

Everyone behind him pulled their reins, guiding the Blood Scale Beasts aside.

The leader turned, riding his Blood Scale Beast to the front, and charged off. The men on either side closed ranks like an incoming tide, chasing after him in a rush toward the distance, resembling a wave of crimson seawater sweeping across the entire, elongated street.

...

Wushuang City, outside the Library.

When the Blood Scale Army leader reached the entrance, he pulled back his Blood Scale Beast. The crowd, filled with reverence, had retreated to the roadside, making him the undisputed focal point.

"No trace of him." The leader didn't spare a glance for the trembling proprietor who rushed out of the library to offer a respectful salute. He merely frowned, his expression darkening under the bright sunlight. "Indeed, we were too late. This foreign demon must have obtained the knowledge he sought from the library and learned we were coming for him. This complicates matters significantly."

"According to Kabats, this person possesses the ability to open the 'God Realm'—an ability as abnormal as that of the Snow Domain Emissaries. This demon from the outside world is truly extraordinary. If he simply slips into the God Realm and refuses to emerge, I fear no one will ever find him."

He frowned, silent for a moment, then sharply jerked the reins, stating in a low voice, "Return to the City Lord's Mansion."

And then, like a flood of scarlet water, they swept away, abandoning that street.

The library proprietor watched their receding backs and let out a sigh of relief, wiping the cold sweat from his brow.

...

Wushuang City, in the Alleyway.

Seeing this scene, a smirk curved Ye Chen's lips. "As expected. You can know a man's face but not his heart. It’s a pity... I’ve never trusted anyone."

He put away the scroll LCD screen, rapidly changed into a different set of clothes, and pulled out a large amount of cosmetic pigment and high-fidelity synthetic skin from his Runic Space, quickly disguising himself until his exterior was indistinguishable from that of a Snow Country native.

"These Snow Domain Emissaries are really full of it, calling something like a spatial ring the 'God Realm'... Ridiculous! Judging by his power, that man is probably equivalent to a Gold Medal Hunter, hovering somewhere between the Epoch Realm and the Void Heaven Realm—unfathomable. He's probably going back to issue a decree now, but unfortunately for them, they cannot possibly imagine the advanced high technology of the Ancient World..."

He opened the Runic Space, reappearing in the alley, and sauntered out leisurely. While pretending to adjust his belt, people nearby visibly recoiled with expressions of disgust, moving away from him.

Ye Chen paid them no mind and walked directly toward the city gates.

After crossing the solid wood bridge over the moat outside the city gate, he reached a secluded, deserted spot. Ye Chen stripped off his disguise, summoned the Moon Demon Wolf, and spurred toward the distance, guided by the map he had memorized from the library.

"The nation Wushuang City belongs to is called 'Drontevis,' which contains thirteen cities and thirty-eight small towns. Beyond the territory claimed by this nation lie several perilous, sparsely populated regions: the 'Dragon Abyss Swamp,' the 'Blood Vengeance Forest,' and the 'Sand Lion Plains.'"

"These three areas are populated mostly by Void Heaven Realm Snow Beasts, especially the Sand Lion Plains, whose prides are the most terrifying. But the most horrifying entity of all is the Sand Lion King, the overlord of the Sand Lion Plains. It is rumored that even the Snow Slaves dare not provoke it, though the Sand Lion King usually does not engage in expanding its territory or attacking Snow Country inhabitants."

"The power of the Origin Law of Wind I currently command is comparable to that of a Purple Medal Hunter, likely sufficient to barely contend with someone at the fifth tier of the Void Heaven Realm. If I encountered that monster from the ice cliff again, I fear there would be no chance of survival."

Ye Chen sat atop the Moon Demon Wolf's head, pondering for a moment before deciding that leaving the vicinity was paramount. Otherwise, running into that silver-hooded woman from the ice cliff again would surely mean certain death.

...

The Snow Domain, Divine Mountain.

At the central junction connecting the territories of the Four Great Empires lay the most revered Divine Mountain of the Snow Domain. The glacier, however, was situated on the far northern edge of the Drontevis Empire. If Ye Chen hadn't accidentally slipped and fallen into the ice cliff, he would have had to traverse a long distance across that glacial expanse—a cold so intense that even Void Heaven Realm experts dared not linger—to find the entrance to Drontevis. From there, he would have had to follow the winding routes of the Drontevis Empire for a considerable journey just to reach the Divine Mountain.

The Divine Mountain soared to a height of nine thousand kilometers.

With the Divine Mountain as its center, the surrounding region, spanning one hundred thousand kilometers, was perpetually shrouded in heavy snow, the thick accumulation burying the soil deep beneath.

The temperature here was even colder than at the glacier.

Yet, atop the peak of the Divine Mountain, there was not a trace of wind or snow. However, all the trees and flora appeared as if carved from pure ice crystal, utterly devoid of any green hue. Everything visible to the eye was pure silver-white, including the magnificent, towering structures and pavilions... RQ