Chapter 2: Spatial Storm

"Maybe we're overthinking it," Feng Yi said with a smile.

"Mm."

"Perhaps there are more things in the Ancient Domain that we don't know about." Ji Ning and the others dared not speak.

When mortal beings in the Ancient Domain transcended the tribulation and ascended, did they enter a Dao Lord's cave world? Or did they go to some other special place? Ji Ning and the others couldn't be sure.

Though they couldn't confirm, they remained vigilant. Their strength was still in great danger when facing a Dao Lord.

"Let's go."

Prince Qing Huan sent a mental message. Ji Ning and the others boarded the flying boat, silently leaving this vast land, continuing to travel through the void in the Ancient Domain.

…

The Ancient Domain was boundless. One year, ten years, a hundred years…

Ji Ning and his four companions advanced cautiously. The Ancient Domain, as the core of the alternate universe and the place of origin, held countless mysteries and dangers, as well as many rare treasures. They dared not be greedy, avoiding dangerous places, yet they still encountered many perils.

In the 1,308th year after entering the Ancient Domain, they encountered a powerful Dao Lord! This time, they came extremely close to death!

That day, the five of them were traveling through the void on the flying boat.

Suddenly, as they emerged from a void shift, they saw a green-robed Dao Lord about tens of billions of li away in the void. He wore loose green robes, had an ugly face, and white eyebrows that hung down to his chest. He was strolling leisurely through the void. When he glanced at their flying boat from afar, killing intent immediately burst from his eyes.

Just a single look from him made Ji Ning and the others feel a terrible threat.

"Go quickly."

"Flee."

"Hurry."

All of them felt the threat of death.

"Ah!" Prince Qing Huan went all out. The flying boat immediately warped through spacetime. A thread-like blade of light barely missed the spot where the boat had been.

"Hmph." The green-robed Dao Lord's eyes turned cold. He released his divine sense to carefully probe, sweeping over trillions of li.

"Escaped quite fast. I wonder which old fellow's disciple that is." The green-robed Dao Lord snorted coldly, took a step, and vanished.

Though the contact was brief, Ji Ning and the others were still shaken.

"That Dao Lord was definitely on the verge of merging with the Dao! In the Ancient Domain, Dao Lords are rare, but still more numerous than World-level cultivators. Over the ages, World-level cultivators have come and gone, and very few remain in the Ancient Domain. The domain is so vast that when we travel normally, we're more likely to encounter a Dao Lord than a World-level cultivator." Feng Yi shook his head. "I didn't expect that just over a thousand years in, we'd run into a Dao Lord who didn't even care about face and directly tried to take our Ancient Domain tokens. Luckily, Brother Qing Huan was here."

"That old fellow was formidable. If I had been a bit slower, we wouldn't have escaped." Prince Qing Huan was also shaken.

"We owe Brother Qing Huan this time." Ji Ning was also terrified. If they had actually fought, even his four life-saving puppets would have been no match for that great power on the verge of merging with the Dao.

Having walked the line between life and death, their souls and truesouls were still trembling.

…

There was a qualitative difference between cultivating in comfort and on the edge of life and death.

Living comfortably for several chaos cycles might leave one's strength stagnant.

On the brink of life and death, one or two adventures could greatly advance one's power! To live leisurely for endless ages, or to constantly climb higher peaks on the edge of death and see more splendid scenery—most cultivators chose the latter.

…

Ji Ning and the others had been in the Ancient Domain for over 2,800 years.

"Boom~~~"

"Charge!"

"Let's break out!"

All five of them were on the flying boat, each exerting their utmost.

Around them was a roaring spatial storm. The flying boat in the storm was like a small boat in a great flood, unable to resist, carried along by the storm.

Ji Ning and the others fought back.

Ji Ning's enormous sword-light tore through the spatial storm.

Huojin's surging waves of water crashed repeatedly.

Tianhuo Mangya, whose strength had improved most noticeably since entering the alternate universe, now joined forces with Huojin—one adept at fire, the other at water.

Qing Huan and Feng Yi also exerted themselves.

"Boom, boom, boom~~~"

The flying boat was still battered and swept along by the spatial storm.

"No good, we can't break out." Prince Qing Huan shook his head. "The gap between our power and the storm's is too great. These spatial storms are too violent. Even my control over spacetime can't overcome them."

"Alas." Huojin frowned.

"Let's go with the flow." Feng Yi smiled. "This isn't the first time we've encountered something like this."

Ji Ning nodded and smiled. "This spatial storm can't stay this violent forever. If we go with the flow, it should gradually calm down."

The Ancient Domain had many dangerous environments, and they had encountered them often. Though Ji Ning, Feng Yi, and the others had some life-saving trump cards, these naturally occurring dangers weren't enough to make them go all out.

"This spatial storm is getting fiercer." Prince Qing Huan controlled the flying boat, choosing a relatively better route to go with the flow.

They flew with the spatial storm for over nine months.

"Everyone, come look." Prince Qing Huan, who was piloting the boat, called out.

"Land!" Ji Ning and the other three looked into the distance. Ahead, within the spatial storm, they could vaguely see an enormous floating continent.

"There's land. If there are living beings on it, that would be great." Ji Ning and the others showed joy.

A moment later.

Ji Ning and the others landed on this vast continent.

At the edge of the floating continent, layers of vortices gradually weakened the spatial storm. After penetrating tens of billions of li into the continent, it became very calm.

"A great power has been here."

Ji Ning and the others walked across a desolate desert. This was the edge of the continent, with a harsh environment and no life.

Feng Yi nodded and looked up. "The entire continent is faintly covered by a giant formation that channels the spatial storms. This formation must have been left by some great power."

"A great power has been here." Prince Qing Huan looked into the distance, tens of billions of li away. "Moreover, there are countless living beings on the continent. There's likely a spacetime teleportation array here."

"Haha, with a teleportation array, leaving will be easy." Ji Ning smiled.

"Remember five hundred years ago, when we were trapped in a sea of fire and couldn't get out? Later, we found a continent deep in the fire." Tianhuo Mangya recalled. "There were living beings on it, a teleportation array, and even a Dao Lord's cave. Luckily, that Dao Lord had long left. We took the teleportation array and easily reached another area, cutting our journey short."

Ji Ning and the others nodded.

They had been exploring the Ancient Domain for nearly three thousand years and had accumulated much experience.

In the Ancient Domain, there were countless continents.

These continents were home to vast numbers of living beings. Small ones were usually tens of billions of li across; large ones could be trillions of li. Many great powers had left traces, but they rarely lived on these continents for long. After all, living among mortal beings was uninteresting.

However, almost every continent with life had a spacetime teleportation array!

But Ji Ning and the others dared not use them casually. They preferred to keep traveling through the void, as any continent might hide a Dao Lord!

"I hope this time goes smoothly." Ji Ning sent a mental message.

"Beiming, don't worry. Even if a Dao Lord is living in seclusion on this continent, a single closed-door session might last millions of years. We'll pass through quickly and leave. We won't be unlucky enough to run into one." Qing Huan said cheerfully.

"Everyone be careful. Don't casually release your divine sense." Feng Yi warned.

If their divine sense swept over a Dao Lord, the Dao Lord would also detect them!

…

Ji Ning and the others walked across the continent and soon arrived at a bustling area.

Thousand Mountain City.

This was a place where the eight major sects recruited disciples.

An old monster named 'Old Demon Qi Xiu' lived in seclusion in Thousand Mountain City. He was the true number one expert among the eight sects, but he kept a low profile, and few knew of him.

"Ancestor."

Old Demon Qi Xiu walked out of his room and strolled through his mansion. The servants and attendants were all extremely respectful.

"Alas, this world suppresses my power too much." Old Demon Qi Xiu gazed into the distance, vaguely seeing the mountains outside Thousand Mountain City. "I really hate to leave."

"Hm?" Old Demon Qi Xiu's expression suddenly changed.

Beside the pond not far from him, five figures appeared—Ji Ning, Feng Yi, and the others.