The Demon with Holy Radiance-Chapter 183 - 167: Four Outer Domains, Rule Suppression

"Old man, we can't let them use the name 'Life Crane Sect' on the Outer Continent. If we do, and we attract those bald donkeys, our plan will fail!"

He Tou reminded him from the side.

"It's fine. Anyone who speaks that name will die. I trust they're all smart enough to understand."

Elder Life Crane looked at Yang An. "Do you understand?"

What else could Yang An say?

'I don't know what this old man is planning, but it's definitely related to the Great Virtue Temple. He wants us to be the vanguard, to walk right into the enemy's lair.'

'He's even set a deadline and used a Life-taking Talisman on me. It's not like I can just refute him on the spot.'

"This disciple obeys!"

Yang An had no choice but to nod.

"Once you find the place, I, your master, will appear. There will be rewards then.

But if you die on the way, I won't lift a finger to help you."

After speaking these cold words, Elder Life Crane abruptly vanished before Yang An's eyes, leaving behind a faint, foul-smelling breeze.

Only after a long while, once he was certain the old man was long gone, did Yang An let out a long sigh of relief.

He glanced at Wen Yin and Zhou Quan, who were still unconscious, and decided not to wake them just yet.

'The priority now is to learn what the Outer Continent is actually like. I can't just go in blind. If something unexpected happens, it'll be a total disaster.'

And right now, the only channel Yang An had to get information about the Outer Continent was the Scripture Defector Association.

Even if the other members didn't know, the Workshop Master was bound to know something. After all, it was from the Workshop Master that Yang An had first heard the term "Outer Continent."

Besides that, Yang An also wanted to ask what exactly the "time bomb" was that the old man had planted inside him, and if there was any way to find and remove it.

Perhaps the Workshop Master would have a solution.

With this in mind, he glanced again at Wen Yin and Zhou Quan. Seeing no sign of them waking up soon, Yang An immersed his consciousness into the Tree of Flesh and Blood.

The moment he was online, Yang An immediately sent a new message through the Tree of Flesh and Blood.

"Urgent, urgent, urgent! I need information about the Outer Continent! Can any of you fellow Daoists help enlighten me?"

"..."

'Why is this guy in such a hurry again?'

Blood-red marks quickly appeared on the fruit, indicating the message had been seen, but no reply came. Everyone seemed to have fallen silent.

Yang An waited for a few moments, but still received no response.

'This is bad!'

'Did I chew them out too harshly last time? Are they all giving me the silent treatment now?'

'Maybe I should chew them out again?'

Fortunately, just as this thought crossed Yang An's mind, a reply came from the Workshop Master.

Workshop Master: "Why are you suddenly asking about the Outer Continent? Are you planning to go there?"

The Workshop Master knew most of the details about who Yang An was, where he was located, and his identity.

So, Yang An wasn't actually surprised by the question.

He couldn't talk about the Life Crane Sect, so Yang An just made up a lie to brush off the question, saying he had to go to the Outer Continent for certain reasons.

"I need information on the Outer Continent!"

"Let White Bird answer for you. As it happens, aside from White Bird, everyone in our Scripture Defector Association is from the lands outside the continent. If our goals progress in the future, we will summon you all to the Outer Continent as well."

The Workshop Master's message arrived quickly.

'So White Bird is the only one from the Outer Continent?'

Yang An was slightly taken aback. Before this, he had assumed he was the only one in the lands outside the continent, and that all the other members of the Scripture Defector Association were on the Outer Continent itself.

White Bird: "Fellow Daoist He Tou, what is it you want to know?"

With the Workshop Master intervening, White Bird sent a message at once.

"Fellow Daoist White Bird, it would be best if you could share everything you know."

Aside from the Workshop Master, the only members of the Scripture Defector Association that Yang An had a good impression of were White Bird and Zhi Ying, mainly because neither of them had spoken up last time.

A message from White Bird came through quickly.

"Very well. I'll tell you everything I know. Everyone, please listen closely."

Everyone waited quietly for her to continue.

"From what I know, since ancient times, the world that we Cultivators can access is currently divided into only three regions: the Outer Continent, the Central Continent, and the lands outside the continent.

The Outer Continent is the largest region. It lies outside the Central Continent, hence its name. The Central Continent, in turn, is located deep within the Outer Continent's embrace.

The place I'm in is the Outer Continent. The place where Fellow Daoist He Tou is should be the lands outside the continent—that is, an area that borders the Outer Continent but is not part of it.

There are many such areas, and they are quite scattered, mostly consisting of fragmented State Territories. But overall, even if you added all the lands outside the continent together, they would be dwarfed by the Outer Continent, not even amounting to one or two-tenths of its size."

This was the message that came from one of White Bird's fruits.

Soon, a second fruit appeared.

"The Central Continent is the known center of our world, which is why it's called as such. However, for some unknown reason, the Central Continent was sealed off many years ago and is now inaccessible.

I know very little about the Central Continent. Since you all want to know about the Outer Continent, I will just stick to that topic. After all, the Outer Continent is the true Core Land for Cultivators like us."

A third fruit quickly appeared.

"Legend has it that the Outer Continent is a ring-shaped landmass. Only a Great Power can see its true form; on a Map, you can only see a rough outline.

The Central Continent lies at the center of the Outer Continent, and a vast sea separates the two. This entire sea is a Forbidden Land, but let's not get into that for now.

As for the Outer Continent, it is divided into four regions, located in the four cardinal directions: the Celestial Dragon Domain to the east, the Treasure Temple Domain to the west, the Fusheng Domain to the south, and the Senluo Domain to the north.

These are the Four Outer Domains. Each domain contains a hundred states, stretching boundlessly for thousands of miles."

The Treasure Temple Domain in the west!

Yang An immediately latched onto this name.

'The place the old man sent me to is the Treasure Temple Domain. And based on what he said, it's very likely that I'm supposed to go to the Great Virtue Temple's location.'

'In that case, the Great Virtue Temple must be located in the Treasure Temple Domain.'

Thinking of this, Yang An took advantage of the pause in White Bird's messages to quickly send a question:

"Excuse me, Fellow Daoist White Bird, if I wanted to go to one of these domains, say the Treasure Temple Domain, what would be the fastest way to get there?"

"Which part of the Outer Continent does your region in the lands outside the continent border?" White Bird asked in her reply.

This question stumped Yang An.

'The members of the Scripture Defector Association don't know my exact location. All I know is that I'm in the lands outside the continent, but I have no idea where they lead.'

But just then, the Workshop Master answered Yang An's question.

"If you want to reach the Treasure Temple Domain, you'll need to cross most of the Fusheng Domain, heading west, before you can enter it."

"Then how do I get to the Fusheng Domain?" Yang An immediately asked.

'I don't even know where the Outer Continent is. The old man just told me to go to the Treasure Temple Domain without giving me any other information about it.'

'Damn it all!'

"You need to go to Si State. Within Si State, find a place called the Witch Barrier. That is the entrance to the Outer Continent, and also the fastest route to the Fusheng Domain."

It was again the Workshop Master who answered Yang An's question.

'Si State?'

Yang An's confusion was finally clearing up. The name sounded a little familiar, and he quickly recalled being sent away by Miao Ye from the Ancient Collection at Xiyue River. He had appeared in Si State back then and had to rush back to Han State from there.

'I still have the Map I got from the Sizhou Black Mountain Plateau!'

'I wonder if the Witch Barrier is marked on that Map?'

Right now, his consciousness was immersed in the Tree of Flesh and Blood; he would have to return to reality to check the Map.

Still, knowing the route to the Outer Continent allowed Yang An to breathe a sigh of relief.

"Thank you, Workshop Master!"

The Workshop Master didn't reply again. Instead, it was White Bird who sent another message, reminding everyone of something.

"Fellow Daoist He Tou, there is something I must remind you of. Since you have never entered the Outer Continent before, you must be careful.

Once you set foot on the Outer Continent, you will be suppressed by the Rules and unable to use your true strength. If you encounter any enemies, you must be extremely careful."

'Suppressed by the Rules?'

'Unable to use my true strength?'

"Please elaborate, Fellow Daoist White Bird," Yang An said hurriedly.

"I'm not entirely clear on the specifics, but rumor has it that since ancient times, both the Outer Continent and the Central Continent have been shrouded in a terrifying Power of Rules.

Any Cultivator who enters an area covered by this Power of Rules will have their strength suppressed.

Below the level of a Zombie God, regardless of your Cultivation Level, your strength will be suppressed to less than a tenth of its normal power!

Only a Zombie God who has mastered a Forbidden Artifact Fragment and possesses a portion of the Power of Rules can mitigate this effect and exert slightly greater strength.

And only those at the Insect Dao realm, who have mastered a complete Forbidden Artifact, can remain completely unaffected."

"So, Fellow Daoist He Tou, you must be extremely cautious when you enter the Outer Continent. There are beings within the Outer Continent that have existed there since ancient times. They are not affected by the Power of Rules. These beings are collectively known as Original Spirits.

If you see an enemy with the same Cultivation Level as you, you must first determine if they are an Original Spirit!

While our strength is suppressed, even a Cultivator at the Corpse Transformation Realm might not be a match for an Original Spirit at the Visceral Stone Realm.

Fortunately, Original Spirits aren't very numerous. As long as you are careful, you're not likely to just run into one."