"Weir, where are you going?" Ye Chen inquired, feeling a touch of reluctance at their imminent parting so soon after meeting.
Weir wore a mischievous grin. "Don't worry about me. I won't be leaving this area for now. I'll be wandering around here, and I have important matters to attend to. Besides, I'm quite interested in the Ancient Divine Domain and will naturally go there eventually, but not right now. We'll meet again during the Night Siege."
Ye Chen nodded and didn't try to stop him, letting Weir depart.
At this moment, he also left the intelligence hall, bringing along the shrunken Corpse Devouring Insect Emperor, and arrived at the city gate of East Earth City facing the Plunder Heaven Plains.
Numerous merchant caravans were gathered here, densely packed. There were also many floating skyships bobbing up and down, loaded with important goods ready to be transported to trade with the nations and towns near the Plunder Heaven Plains.
Not all items could be stored in spatial treasures within the body; only true experts could manage that.
Just like in the Black Sky Plains, facing the countless bandits and outlaws of the Plunder Heaven Plains, a large number of mercenary groups gathered day and night at the city gate. Among them were groups with formidable reputations across the Myriad Domains, each member a battle-hardened expert, standing impressively at the gate, waiting for merchant caravans to approach and negotiate escort services.
Some of these mercenary groups even had Demi-Saint level experts overseeing them.
Although this was the center of the Myriad Domains with countless strong individuals, far more than other major regions, it wasn't to the extent that Saint realm experts were as common as cabbages on the street. Such powerful figures were still only possessed by major forces, treated with the respect due to elders and esteemed seniors, holding high positions and great authority.
Generally speaking, a Demi-Saint could still be considered a hero among men. Even in the vast expanse of the Plunder Heaven Plains, they were formidable figures that many bandits and robbers dared not provoke. Only top-tier mercenary groups had such individuals, sufficient to ensure the safety of a caravan.
Coincidentally, one of the mercenary groups was recruiting, so Ye Chen went to participate in their entry trial.
For now, he didn't want to draw too much attention. Although he was powerful enough to enter the Plunder Heaven Plains alone, traveling solo was always inconvenient and easily attracted the notice of various parties, which would be unfavorable for entering Night City.
Once he entered the Plunder Heaven Plains, he would advance gradually, getting closer to Night City, and then slowly plan how to enter.
The mercenary group naturally wouldn't let just anyone join. After all, they operated year-round in the Plunder Heaven Plains, earning substantial wealth, but the dangers were equally high, with frequent casualties. Therefore, they needed to test applicants, only accepting truly capable fighters.
The minimum requirement was at least Divine Transformation Third Heaven.
Ye Chen naturally concealed much of his strength. During the entry trial, he performed adequately, displaying a cultivation at Divine Transformation Sixth Heaven, just a step away from the super Divine Transformation of the Seventh Heaven. In the Plunder Heaven Plains, this counted as a powerful individual, and he was successfully recruited into the mercenary group, named the Sky Tiger Mercenary Group.
Soon, a merchant caravan approached to negotiate an escort price. After some haggling, they reached a point satisfactory to both parties. After resting and reorganizing in the city, they were about to depart.
The Plunder Heaven Plains stretched as far as the eye could see, vast and magnificent, spanning tens of millions of miles. Like the Black Sky Plains, it was a desolate wilderness, but occasional oases dotted the expansive wilds.
The Sky Tiger Mercenary Group had over fifty members, not a huge number, but each was at least a Divine Transformation Third Heaven expert, and all were battle-hardened with rich combat experience.
The strongest, the group leader, was a super Divine Transformation expert of the Eighth Heaven, in a way a true master. The Sky Tiger Mercenary Group had a bit of a reputation in the Plunder Heaven Plains. They escorted a merchant caravan of over three hundred people, with skyships fully laden with goods.
The Plunder Heaven Plains lived up to its notorious reputation as a land teeming with bandits. In less than a thousand miles of travel, they encountered no less than a dozen groups of bandits and robbers, some openly, others secretly tracking them.
If not for the deterrent of every mercenary in the Sky Tiger group being a capable fighter, with the leader being an Eighth Heaven expert, countless bandits would have swarmed forward long ago.
And it wasn't as if no bandits charged forward, but they were easily repelled by the Sky Tiger Mercenary Group, who also personally slaughtered two groups of over fifty bandits each.
These bandits were at least Demigod Fifth Heaven, with some Fifth Heaven Divine Transformation experts among them. Unfortunately, they were no match for the Sky Tiger Mercenary Group and were easily killed one by one, which also deterred many other lurking bandit groups from attacking.
After all, these bandit groups weren't foolish enough to throw their lives away recklessly; they knew how to assess the situation.
Thus, proceeding along the trade route with some fright but no real danger, they traveled a full hundred thousand miles, deep into the Plunder Heaven Plains.
Along the way, there were fewer signs of bandits and robbers attempting to raid, but every member of the Sky Tiger Mercenary Group remained vigilant. On the contrary, as they ventured deeper into the Plunder Heaven Plains, they became even more cautious.
Because going deeper meant greater danger. The bandits here were fiercer and more powerful, far beyond comparison with those on the fringes of the plains.
Half a day later, the caravan appeared on a broad, flat road. This was a relatively major route across the Plunder Heaven Plains, significantly shortening the distance to their destination.
Naturally, the bandits and robbers who intercepted and robbed on this road were exceptionally formidable.
Not long after, the Sky Tiger Mercenary Group encountered another mercenary group escorting a merchant caravan on this same trade route.
Upon meeting, the two group leaders warmly greeted each other and hit it off immediately. The two caravans merged into one, looking out for each other.
The saying 'strength in numbers' was fully applicable in the Plunder Heaven Plains. The other group, named the Snow Wolf Mercenary Group, also had decent strength, overall quite comparable to the Sky Tiger Mercenary Group.
Soon, on this main trade route, they encountered several more caravans, all joining together. Along the way, the number of caravans grew, eventually forming a massive convoy of ten thousand people, stretching for about ten miles as they set off into the distance.
However, along this journey, they finally witnessed the true dangers of the Plunder Heaven Plains.
Because along the way, they could see many small caravans that had fallen here. Although not completely wiped out, they had suffered heavy losses.
Many caravans not only lost their goods but also suffered severe casualties, with rivers of blood and piles of corpses on the road, a pitiful sight.
Even the survivors were seriously injured, some even weeping and wailing in sorrow.
Seeing this, Ye Chen sighed softly, but there was nothing he could change.