The powerhouses of the Scarlet God Valley had arrived. Leading them was the Scarlet Scale King, clad in blood-colored armor and holding a blood-colored war spear. Even his long hair was a crimson blood color, resembling a blood god—young, dignified, resolute, and naturally exuding a powerful kingly majesty that compelled submission.
Behind him followed no less than eighteen Divine Transformation Realm experts, and none were newly stepping into the Divine Transformation Realm; they were at least top-tier experts above the third heaven. Several among them had particularly vast and majestic auras, quite formidable.
Even more startling was an elder behind them whose crimson hair had turned quite gray. His seemingly withered frame emanated a faint, trembling pressure that made one's heart palpitate with fear.
Such a lineup was exceptionally powerful, not something an ordinary force could possess. Especially with a king and a formidable elder present, this lineup, needless to say, was almost on par with an Immortal Sacred Land, if not one itself.
The Scarlet Scale King strode forward, turning back to address the elder. "Seventeenth Elder, you're certain they are in the Qingyang Domain now?"
The Seventeenth Elder was the Demi-Saint expert dispatched by their clan.
The Seventeenth Elder nodded. "Although that little thief is quite capable, possessing some secret technique to conceal his aura, the trace our clan left on the Soul Stabilizing Pearl remains unextinguished. As long as it isn't erased, we can detect it. According to the location, it is indeed near the Black Sky Plains, there's no mistake."
"Furthermore, based on previous information, these two are likely attempting to cross domains. Only the Domain Lord's Divine City possesses cross-domain teleportation gates. Unless they plan to walk, they must head to an ancient city that has inter-city teleportation gates to reach the Domain Lord's Divine City. Right now, they most likely just crossed over from the Xiangyang Domain. To reach an ancient city with a teleportation gate, everyone must pass through the Black Sky Plains."
"The teleportation arrays here cannot span tens of millions of miles. The only place with true long-distance teleportation capability is Qingzhou City. We can intercept and kill those two little thieves on the route they must take to Qingzhou City."
The Scarlet Scale King nodded, accepting the Seventeenth Elder's suggestion. He took out an extraordinary divine ship, and the powerhouses boarded it, setting sail towards the Black Sky Plains.
***
At a small border town post on the other edge of the Black Sky Plains, the city gates stood open. Various merchant caravans and numerous mercenary groups had already gathered, preparing to set off together to cross the Black Sky Plains and reach their destinations.
Ye Chen and Chen Ruo were among them, disguising themselves to avoid attention and ensure safer passage to their destination.
Both had disguised themselves as ordinary rogue cultivators and joined a medium-sized merchant caravan. They paid a certain amount of spirit stones as a fee, allowing the mercenary group protecting the caravan to safeguard them as well.
However, suddenly, commotion broke out ahead. Almost all mercenary groups abruptly refunded the spirit stones and refused to take on missions, which was surprising. Even some large merchant caravans, urgently needing to deliver goods, were willing to pay fees twice the usual amount, yet no mercenary group was willing to accept, at least not for the next five days.
This left many people puzzled. Why had they suddenly withdrawn?
Unable to hold back, Ye Chen inquired with one of the older, more experienced mercenaries to understand the situation.
Seeing Ye Chen was just a young man in his early twenties, the old mercenary cautiously said, "Little brother, seeing you're so young, this old man doesn't want to harm you. A major incident has occurred on the Black Sky Plains. Someone had the audacity to severely injure a beloved grandson of one of the Eight Great Bandits of the Black Sky. That Great Bandit is now furious beyond measure and is searching the entire Black Sky Plains for the culprit."
The Eight Great Bandits of the Black Sky were the true Overlord-level figures of the Black Sky Plains, spanning hundreds of thousands of miles. Each was a truly supreme figure, a person of immense capability. Otherwise, they couldn't have dominated this land of sin for so long, living suave lives and being feared by various forces.
Now, the most beloved grandson of one of these Great Bandits had been severely injured and remained unconscious, sending that Great Bandit into a towering rage. He mobilized his terrifying power, sending countless bandits to scour the Black Sky Plains for the perpetrator.
According to the old mercenary, the Black Sky Plains had changed. In the past, even with rampant banditry, there were certain principles. Generally, as long as a certain amount of spirit stones was paid as a toll, the bandits would let them pass, avoiding conflict with caravans and mercenary groups.
After all, many bandits understood the importance of the Black Sky Plains and didn't want to disrupt its development.
But now it was difficult. With the grandson of one of the Eight Great Bandits severely injured, that Great Bandit was incensed. Numerous bandits were out searching for the culprit, and some took the opportunity to cause trouble and rob, throwing the plains into chaos.
The old mercenary claimed the next few days would be very dangerous. It was best to stay in the city and set out only after the situation calmed down, which would be much safer.
Ye Chen immediately frowned. He hadn't expected to encounter such trouble as soon as they arrived at the Black Sky Plains. But staying put wasn't an option. He sensed the Soul Stabilizing Pearl likely still contained convenient tracking information. Even if the Scarlet God Valley powerhouses couldn't pinpoint this small town, they wouldn't be far off.
Staying in this small town for the next few days would easily lead to trouble. They had to set out no matter what. And with the Black Sky Plains in turmoil, perhaps it was even better for concealment.
In the town, many merchant caravans urgently needed to deliver goods and were anxious; otherwise, they would face hefty penalties.
Finally, after some discussion, the numerous merchant caravans agreed to band together and pay fees equivalent to three times the usual amount.
Although crossing the plains now was risky, the generous rewards were also enticing. The many mercenary groups in the city decided to temporarily unite, banding together for mutual protection, to help escort the merchant caravans and some rogue cultivators across the Black Sky Plains.
Naturally, Ye Chen and Chen Ruo followed suit, joining the united group. Although Chen Ruo kept muttering about wanting the two of them to cross the Black Sky Plains alone, and even expressed a desire to witness this so-called 'upheaval' firsthand.
This earned her a firm flick on her smooth forehead from Ye Chen as punishment. This girl was completely a troublemaker who thrived on chaos.
Having spent several days with her, Ye Chen was quite familiar with her now and didn't hold back.
Chen Ruo rubbed her sore forehead, loudly complaining that Ye Chen was bullying her, the pain bringing tears to her eyes.
Afterwards, the two purchased a relatively comfortable carriage in the town—not outstanding, at most resembling young masters and misses from major forces out on a journey.
Once on the road, they discovered many merchant groups traveling in united formations. The same was true in other towns; everyone adopted the method of banding together for mutual protection to traverse the Black Sky Plains. With greater numbers, at least in quantity, it deterred many bandits from taking action.
"As long as we're careful, there shouldn't be a problem. After all, even if something happens, we're unrelated bystanders. The Eight Great Bandits won't attack us innocent people over such a matter," some old mercenaries from the mercenary groups reassured those who were worried, as they had already encountered no less than ten groups of fierce and menacing bandits along the way.
If not for seeing the merchant group's large numbers—tens of thousands strong—and the presence of top experts among them, the bandits would have long since charged forward to plunder.
On the third day of the merchant group's journey across the Black Sky Plains, the situation suddenly changed.
Boom—
A black divine spear descended from the heavens, slamming into the ground with earth-shattering force. It was immensely thick, like a mountain peak, carrying overwhelming might as it blocked everyone's path.