Zhang Yong descended from the sky and crashed forcefully onto the ground, sending up a cloud of dust.
When the rising dust settled, it revealed Zhang Yong standing amidst the debris. His clothes were slightly torn from the turbulence of the fall, but he showed no sign of pain or worry. He raised his head and looked around, trying to assess his location.
He looked up at the sky, and at that moment, he was certain. He had entered the Heavenly Boundary World.
The sky was a pale, ashy white, and the ground beneath him was covered in purple grass.
"I've reached the Heavenly Boundary World." As he walked on the grass, Zhang Yong quickly scanned his surroundings.
"A strange field…" he muttered to himself, noticing the peculiar aura surrounding the place.
The air here was saturated with a unique smell, a mixture of cold and an invisible prickling sensation that swept over Zhang Yong's body.
(It has been noted that the host has entered a sacred world.)
(A new mission has been issued.)
(
Difficulty: SSS+
Description: The heavenly boundary realm
Objective: Reach the center of the Sacred World
Duration: One Year
Reward:
Raise the Life and Death Constitution by one level.
Obtain an Advanced Skill.
Obtain a Secret Destiny Skill [Ancestral Inheritance].
Failure: Death with no chance of reincarnation [Complete Erasure].
)
Zhang Yong was stunned the moment he read the mission. He couldn't help but be shocked.
This mission! It's the highest difficulty mission he had ever received!
Zhang Yong stood frozen in place for a moment, his eyes glinting sharply as he stared at the mission details.
Difficulty: SSS+?
He had never encountered anything of this level of danger before.
(Poison Resistance Activated.)
The last notification brought Zhang Yong back to his senses. He began to look around, then activated his Heavenly Eyes. He saw purple symbols hanging in the air.
Signs of the Law of Poison!
'So this is a land of the Law of Poison. Heh, this would be useful for Brother Wang... what a pity he couldn't come. On the other hand...' Zhang Yong bent down, tore off a piece of the poisonous purple grass, and ate it.
Immediately, he felt his stomach burn and almost explode before it was instantly suppressed.
(Ice and Chemical Fire Constitution has advanced to Level 6.)
"Yes, it works. Hmm, I have no interest in the Poison Path, but on the outer disc, there are only Subordinate Laws. Let's take advantage of this for now."
He knew that the Paths in the Heavenly Boundary World were particularly dangerous, each Path carrying its own laws.
The Poison Path… meaning this place was surrounded by a deadly aura of poison. The air, the ground, even the spiritual energy itself might be contaminated here. But for Zhang Yong, he might have stumbled upon a treasure trove.
However, he wasn't interested in this Path. His goal was to reach the center of the Sacred World, where its true essence lay.
He took another look with his Heavenly Eyes. He saw invisible lines of energy intersecting across the sky and earth, forming a complex, grid-like network.
Some lines were weak and faint, while others were more concentrated, glowing with a frightening purple aura.
He didn't waste any more time.
He began walking quickly, avoiding some spots that felt more densely concentrated with poison. After all, he had an advantage against poison, but he wasn't immune 100%
After half an hour of progress, he suddenly stopped. Dozens of meters ahead, he saw a small lake of a dark purple color, emitting toxic vapors. But what caught his attention more was the object floating in its center—a pitch-black, dark flower.
Zhang Yong looked on in surprise. "This is strange. If we were to classify herbs, they should belong to the Wood or Life Law. Yet it appears here in the middle of the lake so normally. Either this, or there's a mutation—a Path combining the Laws of Poison and Wood." Thinking about it, he said, "The Master said that laws are in harmony with each other, thus forming the world. So it seems I'm overthinking. There are many Paths, and their number cannot be known."
Zhang Yong approached the lake, walking on the small rocks scattered around the edge to avoid the toxic vapors rising from the water's surface.
He approached the flower, coated his hands in ice, grabbed the flower, and pulled. But it didn't budge from its place.
Zhang Yong applied more force and pulled, but a bulge appeared on the ground.
At the same moment, the lake exploded with sudden turbulence. Zhang Yong jumped back. Something huge surfaced from the water.
It was the head of a monster with dark, slimy skin and frog-like eyes.
The huge head of the monster appeared above the water's surface, and the lake shook violently as toxic ripples spread in all directions.
With a single leap, the monster reached the sky. Its massive body covered the sky above Zhang Yong, casting a shadow beneath his feet.
"Alright, this is a really good monster."
Zhang Yong jumped back, allowing the monster to fall. As its body hit the ground, rocks shattered and fragments scattered everywhere.
Zhang Yong now looked at the monster. "A Poison Shadow Toad? It uses the flower as bait to lure prey. Really, I was told there are high-ranking monsters. Who would have thought a third-rank monster would appear here?"
The toad opened its wide mouth, and a dense green cloud of poison mist shot towards Zhang Yong. Zhang Yong grabbed his chin and allowed the mist to attack him. "Alright. Killing you would be a waste, and I don't really care about walking anyway."
(Poison Resistance Activated.)
Zhang Yong walked towards the toad with complete calmness.
The eyes of the Poison Shadow Toad widened in shock as it saw its prey, which was supposed to melt in its poison mist, advancing towards it without the slightest sign of poisoning.
Zhang Yong looked at the toad with a kind of greed and smiled. "Unfortunately for you, I don't walk the Enslavement path , Xiao Hong."
Immediately, on Zhang Yong's shoulder, a small lion cub with red fur and a yellow mane appeared. That was Xiao Hong.
Xiao Hong stood on Zhang Yong's shoulder and roared, 'Submit to the Master!'
The monster violently resisted. Its bulging eyes widened in shock, and its massive body trembled as it resisted the force coming from Xiao Hong's roar. But slowly, its movements began to slow down, and its hostile eyes started to lose their sharpness, as if something inside had surrendered.
This was Xiao Hong's ability—Bloodline Roar. Just as Jia Nulan's Bloodline Skill allowed control over sea creatures, Xiao Hong's skill allowed control over other monsters. However, the duration and extent of control differed based on his level.
Xiao Hong was still a first-rank spirit beast, so the maximum duration he could control this toad was half an hour. For his bloodline, this was extremely short, and the limit of simple commands he could use was only basic ones.
Therefore, not all commands would succeed. The toad still possessed its own will. So if he commanded it to "kill yourself," the toad could forcibly break the control.
But once Xiao Hong reaches his level or surpasses it, he can give an order, and it won't even hesitate.
Frankly, Zhang Yong didn't know how powerful Xiao Hong's bloodline was, but it certainly couldn't be underestimated.
And now, thanks to the Pet Link, Zhang Yong could use it—but not on monsters, but on humans themselves.
But compared to Xiao Hong, he... could maintain control for only a minute. This was an advantage because Zhang Yong's bloodline was pure human. The minute he got was because he possessed the Ice and Chemical Fire Constitution which affects blood , Otherwise, if he were just a human, it wouldn't last more than a second.
This period seemed short, but for Zhang Yong, a minute could determine his life or death. Additionally, such an ability could only be used once a month. More than that, and his blood would rebel against him.
Zhang Yong issued a simple command to the toad. "Open your mouth."
The toad opened its huge mouth without any resistance, revealing a deep cavity emitting dark poison mist.
"Alright, close it. Your mouth stinks." Zhang Yong ordered again.
Zhang Yong smiled mockingly as he watched the toad obey his orders without resistance, closing its mouth. But he didn't waste any more time.
Zhang Yong jumped onto the toad's back and ordered, "Patrol around this land."
The toad began to jump, bounce, and move along a random path.
As the toad moved through the poisonous purple fields, Zhang Yong stood steadily on its back, using his Heavenly Eyes to see the laws of the world and understand the Law of Poison at the same time.
He didn't want to waste any time. He wanted to leave the Poison area and enter the second area, but at the same time, he had to gain some benefits, even if small.
At the same time, he was remembering what Elder Gu had told them.
"In the Heavenly Boundary World, time passes differently and insanely. Time passes quickly there. One year inside is one month outside. Therefore, you will age faster. There are territorial boundaries between each area—a wall that separates the regions. When you reach it, you will have to break through it to reach the next area. Moving from one Subordinate Law area to another is normal, and you can travel as a group through it. But as you advance deeper towards the inner wall, there will be a much stronger wall. Upon entering it, you will be separated, but most likely you won't be far apart if you enter from the same place."
After a few minutes of walking, the group reached a steeper area where the purple grass gradually faded, replaced by rotten soil resembling black mucus.
In the middle of this place, an old, slanted tree appeared, its roots twisted as if trying to cling to the ground.
But what caught Zhang Yong's attention wasn't the tree itself, but the object hanging among its branches—a small, glowing crystal of a deep purple color, emitting a faint light.
"A Poison Spirit Crystal?" His eyes narrowed as he looked at the treasure suspended before him. He immediately pointed for the toad to advance and walked to the front until he stopped under the tree and reached out his hand. "This thing is extremely rare. It can be used to refine deadly poison or even as a core component in some special medicinal pills."
Zhang Yong plucked a piece of the crystal. "The reason it's hard to obtain is... the accumulation of bodies killed by poison over the years... throughout." Zhang Yong's voice began to fade as he recalled the information.
'Wait, there are many fruits here. It's impossible..!'
Nevertheless, as if sensing something, the ground beneath him began to shake.
Zhang Yong suddenly stopped, feeling the vibrations under his feet. The ground began to crack around him.
He immediately ordered the toad and jumped high into the sky. At the same moment, a sudden explosion occurred from the ground. From within the fissure that appeared, a dark light emanated, mixing with the poison surrounding the area.
A huge creature appeared before him, its body covered in poisonous black scales, with glowing red eyes.
The monster resembled a sea dragon in shape, but its features were distorted, with long, powerful legs capable of easily crushing rocks. It looked like a rotting dragon.
As Zhang Yong was suspended in the air, the Rotting Dragon raised its head and leaped, soaring towards Zhang Yong.
The Rotting Dragon charged with force, its red eyes glowing as its breath emitted toxic mist from its open mouth.
In a split second, Zhang Yong jumped away from the dragon's path.
At that critical moment, the toad let out one last weak roar as the dragon pounced on it and swallowed it in a single gulp.
Fourth-Rank Killing Array—Ice Birds.
Spirit stones rose into the sky, and huge ice birds shot out like lightning towards the dragon.
The moment they collided with the rotting body, those birds began to crack and explode on its body.
But the Rotting Dragon, though injured, wasn't much affected by the attack.
Its dark, toxin-covered body possessed great resistance.
As the ice birds approached its body, the poisonous scales on its body began to glow, allowing it to release an unprecedented amount of poison into the air, making the atmosphere laden with highly concentrated toxic fumes.
Zhang Yong's muscles twitched for a moment, but he remained steady. "Damn you, you... killed my mount!"
Zhang Yong hurled balls of Great Sun Flame towards the dragon.
However, the moment the balls approached the dragon, they exploded.
Zhang Yong raised an eyebrow as he landed on the ground. "This bastard emits methane from its body?"
Zhang Yong seemed very surprised. Methane is a gas that explodes when exposed to fire—information any child knows.
But for a rotting dragon to emit it? That was truly ridiculous, as if it were saying, "Come and defeat me with fire."
Nevertheless, Zhang Yong accepted the situation. He clasped his hands in front of him and began to condense flames before him.
Zhang Yong launched the concentrated attack towards the dragon, forming a huge ball of Great Sun Flame.
The ball exploded tremendously upon colliding with the dragon's body. A massive explosion resounded in the sky, illuminating the place with a glowing yellow light.
The Rotting Dragon swayed in the air, showing clear destruction on its body, and began to fall towards the ground.
The Rotting Dragon crashed forcefully onto the ground, creating a huge crater amidst the rising smoke and spreading toxins.
The moment the dragon's body hit the ground, cracks appeared on its poisonous shell. But even then, there was no blood—only black smoke seeping from the wounds.
Zhang Yong quickly advanced and ran towards the dragon's location. Suddenly, a low gurgling sound emanated from the dragon, and with it, its body began to harden.
The poison in its body reacted with the air, forming a new crust over its wounds.
Immediately, Zhang Yong rushed forward, pulled his fist back, and punched the dragon's head with immense force, burying its head in the ground.
Zhang Yong stood on the dragon's head and began to punch it repeatedly.
After non-stop punching, black blood flew continuously from the dragon's brain, falling on Zhang Yong's body. The black blood covered his clothes and fists.
The dragon turned into a foul-smelling corpse reeking of rot.
"This is filthy," Zhang Yong grumbled as he shook his arm.
Zhang Yong stood on its body, breathing slowly as he surveyed the situation. He jumped off its back and began to search the corpse, but there was nothing!
No core, nothing else, not even bones. There were only black, poisonous scales and nothing more.
"So, nothing? This is strange. For a monster to not have a core is abnormal. Well, I suppose this is something special about the Heavenly Boundary World."
Zhang Yong placed his hand on the corpse and absorbed it.
(Gauge 5%)
"Ah!" Zhang Yong was secretly shocked. Usually, fourth-rank monsters gave barely 1% at most, and that was for normal fourth-rank monsters, and this was after his constitution had reached the fourth level. The rate he gained Gauge was weak.
But this monster alone, whose level he didn't know, gave him five times that of a normal fourth-rank monster. This was insane!
Zhang Yong smiled as he thought out loud. "The Heavenly Boundary World, a world of laws. I have a year here, and there's also the Law of Life and Death!"
"I must delve deeper too. I don't know if I'll find the wall of an area of another Elemental or Subordinate Law. Hehe, I'm excited."