The Omen of Blood: Ye Qingxue Is in Danger

Entering the Outer Realm City and traveling to the Outer Realm Domain through the rift did not require an entrance fee.

However, if one wished to rent a shop stall, open a trading firm, or reside and cultivate within the city, they had to pay a fee to the City Lord's Estate.

The City Lord's Estate itself also possessed a massive commercial network, operating various shops in the city that sold supplies, magical artifacts, intelligence, and more, generating extremely lucrative profits.

The prices of all goods within the Outer Realm City were extraordinarily high.

After all, this place was too far from the bustling regions of the Nine Heavens Realm, making transportation costs astronomical.

Furthermore, the resources brought out from the Outer Realm Domain were acquired by cultivators risking their lives, so naturally, they were unwilling to sell them at low prices.

Over time, the Outer Realm City formed a unique, highly self-sufficient ecosystem with abnormally high prices.

Gu Changyuan nodded slightly, his gaze sweeping over the area below.

The massive city's thick gates were wide open, guarded by sentries wearing uniform black armor and exuding formidable auras.

Outside the gates, a long queue had formed, consisting of cultivators from various regions preparing to enter the city or head to the Outer Realm Domain. Their cultivation bases ranged from the Void Refinement Realm to the Tribulation Crossing Realm.

The line moved slowly, seemingly undergoing routine inspections or registration.

Finding it too troublesome, Gu Changyuan had no intention of landing and waiting in line.

He simply brought Bai Ling'er and Gu Xing'er along, flying straight over the city gates at an altitude of a hundred zhang.

"Who dares to trespass..."

On the city wall below, a guard captain with a cultivation base at the Mahayana Realm immediately noticed them and shouted sternly. At the same time, several figures soared into the air, attempting to intercept them.

Gu Changyuan did not even look; he merely waved his right hand casually.

A streak of jade-green light flew from his hand, landing precisely in the guard captain's embrace.

The captain instinctively caught it and took a closer look. To his astonishment, it was a millennium-old 'Cold Jade Green Vine' brimming with spiritual energy and of excellent quality. It was a high-grade Earth-tier ice-attribute healing spiritual plant, which fetched a high price in a place like the Outer Realm City where casualties were a frequent occurrence.

The guard captain's words instantly caught in his throat. The stern look on his face turned into shock, followed by undisguised pleasant surprise.

Anyone who could use such a precious spiritual plant as a "toll fee" was definitely not someone he could afford to provoke.

Moreover, the other party was clearly just trying to save time and had no malicious intent in breaching the city.

He immediately gestured to his airborne subordinates to stand down, cupped his fists respectfully toward the direction Gu Changyuan was flying, and shouted loudly, "Please go ahead, Senior!"

Seeing this, the other guards, though confused, immediately put away their weapons and made way.

Gu Changyuan and his two companions proceeded unimpeded, flying directly toward the most conspicuous massive spatial rift at the center of the city.

On the way here, Bai Ling'er had mentioned that the rules in the Outer Realm City were loose; as long as one was willing to spend money, they could avoid a lot of trouble.

And if there was one thing Gu Changyuan did not lack, it was precisely these kinds of natural heavenly treasures.

The closer they got, the more they could feel the majestic spatial power and chaotic aura emanating from the rift.

Gu Changyuan's expression remained unchanged. A faint silver glow surfaced around his body, enveloping Bai Ling'er and Gu Xing'er as well, before he flew into the deep, pitch-black rift without hesitation.

It felt like passing through a heavy curtain of water, or experiencing a brief moment of weightlessness and distortion.

Light and shadows shifted before their eyes, and an entirely different kind of clamor reached their ears.

When their vision cleared again, they found themselves standing on another massive plaza.

Beneath their feet was the same solid stone pavement, and around them were similarly towering city walls and dense clusters of buildings.

This was the Outer Realm City located within the Outer Realm Domain.

Compared to the city on the Nine Heavens Realm's side, the defensive measures here were clearly several times more stringent.

The city walls were taller and thicker, the glow of the defensive arrays was brighter, and the patrolling guards were both more numerous and had higher cultivation bases.

This was because here, they didn't just need to guard against other cultivators, but also against attacks from fierce, bizarre, and unpredictable exotic beasts from the wilderness of the Outer Realm Domain.

The moment the trio appeared at the plaza's teleportation drop point, they immediately attracted the attention of many nearby gazes.

Seeing unfamiliar faces, coupled with Gu Changyuan's extraordinary bearing, Bai Ling'er's peerless beauty and unfathomable cultivation, and the adorable, jade-like little girl in his arms, made this group quite a peculiar sight.

Immediately, a few shrewd and capable-looking cultivators approached, wearing professional smiles.

"Senior, and this Fairy, is this your first time in the Outer Realm Domain? Do you need a guide?

I know the terrain, resource points, and danger zones within a three-thousand-mile radius of the outer periphery like the back of my hand.

For just twenty percent of your harvest as compensation, I guarantee you'll get twice the result with half the effort and avoid all dangers!"

A tall and thin cultivator was the first to speak.

"Senior, don't listen to his boasting! He doesn't know anything! I only want fifteen percent! The places I take you to are guaranteed to have good stuff!"

A short and chubby cultivator immediately shoved the tall, thin one aside.

"Get lost! You two black-hearted swindlers! Senior, I only want ten percent! My two brothers and I will serve you together, ensuring even greater safety!"

A scarred, burly man brought his two companions over as well.

Watching these people scramble to lower their prices in front of him, Gu Changyuan couldn't help but feel a wave of helplessness.

To think that even the Outer Realm Domain couldn't escape this trend of cutthroat competition?

He couldn't be bothered to entangle himself with these people, nor did he need any guide.

With a slight shift of his divine sense, he brought Bai Ling'er and Gu Xing'er along. Their figures blurred and vanished from the spot, leaving behind the few "guides" staring at each other in bewilderment and shock.

In the next moment, Gu Changyuan had already appeared with the two girls at the top of a tall watchtower within the city.

The view here was expansive, allowing him to roughly overlook a small half of the city as well as the vast, chaotic, and bizarrely colored wilderness of the Outer Realm Domain outside.

He immediately sensed for the coordinate mark he had previously left on Ye Qingxue.

However, after entering the Outer Realm Domain, the originally clear connection to the mark became erratic, fluctuating in strength, as if it were being interfered with by the chaotic spatial laws or some special power of this place.

Gu Changyuan frowned slightly. Raising his right hand, a flash of light appeared in his palm, and the pale cyan jade plaque bearing Ye Qingxue's mark materialized in his grasp.

His fingers danced rapidly, tracing out runes infused with supreme spatial and karmic laws that sank into the jade plaque.

As the secret technique was activated, the originally flickering point of light on the plaque gradually stabilized, and a clear red beam pointed directly toward a certain direction deep within the Outer Realm Domain.

Yet, the light emanating from that point was not the peaceful glow of a normal locator. Instead, it was surrounded by a piercing blood-red hue. The red light grew increasingly intense, making the implication of bloody peril blatantly obvious.

Gu Changyuan's face instantly darkened, the temperature around him plummeted, and a freezing killing intent almost solidified into physical form.

Gu Changyuan let out a low shout and waved his right hand. A surge of power, far more majestic than what he had used while traveling earlier, instantly enveloped Bai Ling'er and Gu Xing'er, forming a tight protective sphere.

In the next moment, his figure transformed into a silver-gray streak of light, shooting out toward the direction indicated by the red dot on the jade plaque at a terrifying speed that was several times faster than when he was in the Nine Heavens Realm!

The spatial laws of the Outer Realm Domain were relatively more "loose" and "active" compared to the Nine Heavens Realm, imposing fewer restrictions on power.

Gu Changyuan pushed his speed without any reservation. Wherever he passed, a lingering cloud trail was left in the air, and the scenery on the ground below blurred into indistinct lines due to his extreme velocity.

Shielded within the protective barrier, Bai Ling'er felt a tremendous pushing force. Without needing to channel any spiritual energy of her own, she was swept up by her Master's power and propelled forward at an unimaginable speed.

The surrounding scenery blurred past wildly, even warping into bizarre, surreal distortions due to their sheer velocity.

A chill ran through Bai Ling'er's heart. Catching sight of her Master's face, which had instantly turned as grim as dark waters, and the rare urgency in his eyes, she immediately understood—something must have happened to Eldest Senior Sister and the others.