118: The true face of the world

Chapter 118 The True Face of the World

Xue Lingling was stunned for a long time, her expression gradually turning serious, "Hiss~ What is that old geezer planning?"

"Isn't that what I wanted to discuss with you?" Wu Xian said helplessly.

"..." Xue Lingling carefully examined the Materials in her hand. "The items themselves are fine, but it's strange. When did our Mayor become so kind? Oh, did he tell you anything else?"

"No, nothing at all," Wu Xian said. "He only mentioned the recent changes in Yaoyang City."

"And his demands?"

"None either."

"That doesn't make sense?" Xue Lingling was completely baffled. "He's being unusually solicitous; there must be something wrong."

Wu Xian agreed wholeheartedly. "So, these Materials...?"

"The items themselves aren't problematic," Xue Lingling said with interest. "They're just a bit old, not like products from recent years. They can definitely be used, so keep them well and don't waste them."

Wu Xian understood. As long as the Materials were fine, that was all that mattered.

As for the Domain Scroll, he was still a bit short of the mark, unless he used Ancient techniques.

Eh~ Ancient techniques?

He could even create Ancient Scrolls, so why couldn't he try combining Ancient techniques to draw a Domain Scroll?

Just like the first batch of Domain Scrolls in Dead Mountain Town?

Thinking of this, Wu Xian felt inexplicably excited.

"In any case, try to stay away from Chen Shilong in the future," Xue Lingling reminded him sternly.

Wu Xian nodded slightly. "Speaking of which, what is Mayor Chen Shilong's background exactly? Is he from the Dengfeng Dojo?"

"I'm not sure, but he's always been ambiguously connected with the Dengfeng Dojo," Xue Lingling mused. "My elder brother, on the other hand, thinks quite highly of Chen Shilong."

"Is that so?" Wu Xian was deep in thought.

But in any case, it had nothing to do with him.

Next, he consulted Shifu-jie about some knowledge regarding Domain Scrolls, and then he would go back and study the first-generation Domain Scrolls from various Dojos.

Perhaps it was truly possible to create a "growth-type" Domain Scroll similar to those in Dead Mountain Town ahead of time.

"Why are you asking about these things? You're not actually thinking of making a Domain Scroll, are you?" Xue Lingling's expression was strange.

"Just preparing in advance, there's no harm in it."

Xue Lingling smiled knowingly, then suddenly changed the subject. "Oh, by the way, my dear Disciple, how's your research on my Ghost King Scroll coming along? I've been under a lot of pressure lately!"

"This..." Wu Xian's expression stiffened. "Your Disciple can barely keep up with creating his own scrolls right now; he truly doesn't have time to delve into Shifu-jie's scroll ideas."

"Alright then."

Xue Lingling sighed helplessly.

She had originally planned to have Wu Xian serve as her "apprentice" for a few years, but who would have thought that her dear Disciple would develop so quickly, with scroll sales even higher than hers.

One could only say that having too excellent a Disciple wasn't always a good thing.

It seemed necessary to select some promising talents from the Family to cultivate a few "apprentice workers" for herself.

"Your Disciple is about to go check out the Dimensional Control Zone. Shifu-jie, would you like to come along?" Seeing that Xue Lingling was about to leave, Wu Xian tentatively asked.

Xue Lingling pondered and nodded. "I've been quite tired lately, so a change of scenery would be nice. I heard that all three major Dimensional Control Zones in our Yaoyang City are in chaos, so it's a good time to take a look."

With that, Master and Disciple set off together.

Soon after, they successfully arrived at the foot of the Mysterious Abyss Dimensional Gate.

The current Dimensional Port had completely become the Domain of Yin General Scrolls and Ghost King Scrolls, bringing a lot of "Enlightenment Energy" to both of them.

The refinement of their divine scrolls also steadily improved under the continuous nourishment of that "Enlightenment Energy."

To avoid causing a commotion, the two deliberately avoided the crowds, and with a whoosh, directly darted into the copy outpost.

The staff guarding the copy entrance only felt two dark figures flash past, and thought they were hallucinating.

"Speaking of which, Dead Mountain Town should have accumulated a lot of copy energy recently, right?" Wu Xian asked.

"Not just a lot, but an inexhaustible amount," Xue Lingling shook her head and smiled. "If you're interested, you can enter freely in the future, until you're sick of it."

Wu Xian smiled and said nothing more.

With the Association's special pass in hand, there was no need to waste his Club's Domain resources.

They emerged from the Dead Mountain Town outpost in the high-tier copy zone.

The sight before them greatly astonished both of them.

"What's going on?"

Wu Xian even thought he was hallucinating; the scene before him no longer had any trace of the Mysterious Abyss. Looking out, there was no eerie or sinister aura, and even the sky had become clear.

"This is... purified?" Xue Lingling's face was astonished. "Is the power of the masses truly so great?"

"Can an otherworldly world be purified?" Wu Xian was shocked and confused.

Xue Lingling shook her head and smiled. "Strictly speaking, this is not the true Mysterious Abyss, but an area that was once eroded and occupied by the power of the Mysterious Abyss."

"So, this used to be our human world's territory?" Wu Xian was greatly surprised.

Xue Lingling neither confirmed nor denied. "The otherworldly world you see at this moment is not the true otherworldly world, but the world beyond Yaoyang City."

"Isn't it just other neighboring cities outside Yaoyang City?" Wu Xian was puzzled.

"Yes and no," Xue Lingling explained with a light chuckle. "The current Scroll Master's map and all cities are more like they've been spatially stitched together, not geographically contiguous."

Upon hearing this, Wu Xian felt his scalp tingle and couldn't react for a long time.

So, the world he had known for the past eighteen years was not the true face of this world?

At this moment, Wu Xian felt his worldview collapsing somewhat.

"My dear Disciple hasn't been to other cities, so he naturally wouldn't notice these things," Xue Lingling teased. "In fact, most people today don't care about these things. For them, as long as there's a place where they can live and work in peace, that's enough."

"Then where exactly is our Yaoyang City located?" Wu Xian urgently wanted to know his exact location.

"The central part of the Eastern Continent, one of the oldest cities."

Wu Xian couldn't help but recall the information he had learned from the Zhou Family.

So, all the cities today are actually individual shelters stitched together by special spatial technology?

"Oh, by the way, can these purified areas be reclaimed by us?" Wu Xian asked with great interest.

"Theoretically, yes, but it's quite complex to implement," Xue Lingling shook her head. "What you see before you is only superficially purified. To truly turn it back into land suitable for human habitation, how easy would that be?"

Wu Xian understood.

It was like the purified control zone before them; only the eerie and terrifying aura of the Mysterious Abyss had been dispelled from the surface.

But the terrain and landscape still retained characteristics unique to the Mysterious Abyss.

Following Shifu-jie deeper, they soon returned to the landscape and atmosphere that the Mysterious Abyss should have.

The former high-tier control zone defense line was no longer a defense line, but the frontline for the vast military and civilians of Yaoyang City to conquer outwards.

Of course, the scrolls in the hands of the populace were still in their developmental stage, with the highest being around five stars, so their impact on the high-tier control zone defense line was relatively small.

Even so, one could still see many figures battling otherworldly monsters outside the high-tier defense line.

"Is the high-tier defense line considered the outermost boundary?" Wu Xian asked curiously.

"That's right," Xue Lingling nodded and smiled. "This is also the frontline for defending against the invasion of the Mysterious Abyss. Although it's called the frontline, it's actually still very far from the Mysterious Abyss Dimensional Rift."

Wu Xian understood, gaining a clearer understanding of this world.

The grotesque creatures appearing outside the defense line were mostly level six or seven, and there were even quite a few level eight grotesque creatures.

Moreover, the intensity of the otherworldly fluctuations here was surprisingly high, which could bring considerable buffs and enhancements to the grotesque creatures.