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To the west of Yuan City lay what was originally Nalundo's territory.
This vast domain spanned three hundred kilometers.
Within such an expansive region, there were no shortages of cities rich in rare resources.
Having already taken control of Nalundo's royal city and even captured the overlords of two adjacent territories, it could be said that this western stretch of Alba's former domain—hundreds of kilometers wide—was now subtly under the influence of Shrek Academy.
The establishment of Yuan City as a transit hub had further solidified this influence.
The third city was being built on the opposite side of Shrek City, in the eastern territory of another overlord. This royal city was still under construction. Once completed, Shrek's exploration efforts into the outside world would continue to progress.
In reality, maintaining three cities was already quite saturated.
There was no other way around it—Shrek simply didn't have enough manpower.
For now, exploration of the Demon Plane was still limited to the inner court disciples.
The entire inner court numbered just over a hundred people. Dividing them among three cities meant each city only had thirty to forty individuals.
Thirty to forty people managing an entire city?
It was already quite absurd.
If they continued to expand, Shrek would struggle to maintain control over its growing number of cities.
Unless they could unlock greater value from the Demon Plane, the Sea God Pavilion wouldn't allow outer court disciples to join in the exploration.
For now, however, that possibility remained distant.
Twenty kilometers west of Yuan City stood a large city whose prosperity even surpassed that of Nalundo's royal city.
This was a major trade hub within Nalundo's territory.
The royal city, after all, served as a defensive bastion for the imperial city and was located near the border of the territory. Even if it was the residence of an overlord, it couldn't be excessively extravagant.
Mo Yin City
Xu Yuan engaged in friendly exchanges with the local demons, gathering the information he needed.
As a trade center, Mo Yin City was well-informed and served as a good source of intelligence.
"There really are metals with sacred attributes?"
Xu Yuan's expression turned strange.
Through his inquiries, he had inadvertently learned of the existence of a sacred site within the Demon Plane. This place was filled with sacred energy, posing a great threat to demon creatures and regarded by the Demon Plane as one of its major forbidden zones.
"This…"
Xu Yuan blinked involuntarily.
It seemed Yue Zhengyu wasn't entirely without reason.
Perhaps he had also accidentally overheard this from some demon creatures, which was why he hoped to find special metals within the sacred forbidden zone.
"The sacred forbidden zone is located at the core of the Demon Plane, hundreds of thousands of kilometers away. If Yue Zhengyu were to wait for the opportunity, who knows how long it would take," Xu Yuan muttered, shaking his head. He didn't regret insisting that Yue Zhengyu first complete his full set of battle armor.
However, the existence of a region filled with sacred energy at the core of the Demon Plane made Xu Yuan sense something unusual.
"The Demon Plane continuously spawns forces aligned with demons. For sacred energy to persist so strongly and not dissipate must involve divine power—and likely that of a god."
Did the Demon Plane fall within the jurisdiction of the Douluo Divine Realm?
Or did it belong to another divine realm altogether?
Xu Yuan harbored doubts, but it was clear he wouldn't get answers anytime soon.
In Mo Yin City, he acquired some special metal materials and, after gathering a general understanding of the Demon Plane's situation, left the city.
Heading further west—or more accurately, southwest—his goal became clear.
---
From Mo Yin City, Xu Yuan had learned a rather astonishing piece of intelligence.
To the southwest, within the territory of the Demon Lord Archie, there existed a plane channel. On the other side of this channel lay a Dragon Plane.
Unlike Alba's Hell Channel, the Dragon Channel was entirely under Archie's control. The opposing Dragon Plane had been conquered by him, and his rule there was stable.
"Xu Yuan, find a way to enter this Dragon Plane."
This was a request made by the nine Dragon Kings upon learning this information.
Although the dragon race had gone extinct, they hadn't completely vanished.
The dragon race was among the top-tier species in the universe. Even without the Dragon God, every plane contained traces of dragon bloodlines.
Even in the vast reaches of the universe beyond the jurisdiction of the Douluo Divine Realm—where the Dragon God's power couldn't reach—there were undoubtedly many dragons.
Dragons, like humans, were naturally evolved species in the universe. Many planes might naturally give rise to dragon races.
The Dragon God was merely the most accomplished among the various dragon clans, which was why, within the jurisdiction of the Douluo Divine Realm, the Dragon God was recognized as the orthodox leader of the dragon race.
In truth, the dragon race wasn't limited to those within the Douluo Divine Realm; there were also dragons in other realms untouched by the Dragon God's bloodline.
In the eyes of the nine Dragon Kings, this Dragon Plane was likely one where the Dragon God's bloodline hadn't spread.
Regardless, any dragon race was considered kin.
"Nine seniors, Archie is a genuine Demon Lord. How am I supposed to sneak into the Dragon Plane right under his nose?" Xu Yuan sighed helplessly.
"For now, let's gather more intelligence."
"Seniors, rest assured. I'm also curious about the Dragon Plane, and I'm currently gathering intelligence," Xu Yuan said. "Wulin has been missing for a long time, and Yuanen mentioned he was heading toward Mo Yin City. It's possible he also knows about the existence of the Dragon Plane and might come this way."
Xu Yuan actually looked forward to Tang Wulin forcefully breaking through the channel to enter the Dragon Plane.
If anything unexpected happened, Old Tang would surely intervene.
Unfortunately, if the Dragon Plane couldn't even withstand a minor figure like Archie, it likely held little value for Tang Wulin. He might not risk entering it.
"Seniors, how many times can I use the power stored in the Dragon Soul Mark right now?" Xu Yuan asked.
"At the level of force you used during your last clash with that evil soul master, it can support three bursts."
If they were in the Douluo Plane and could maintain contact with the Dragon Valley, the power could last longer.
But here in the Demon Plane, even with the Dragon Soul Mark, it was difficult to channel the Dragon Valley's power across such a vast spatial distance.
"Three times? That's enough."
---
Time passed.
Ba Le City
This was the core territory of a demon lord named Ba Le.
Ba Le's domain bordered both Alba's and Archie's territories, serving as a buffer zone between the two Demon Lords' domains.
To carve out a vast territory here and occupy it independently, Ba Le clearly possessed considerable abilities.
According to intelligence Xu Yuan had gathered over the past month, Ba Le had once entered a forbidden zone and gained powers from it. Although his bloodline restricted him from breaking through to the overlord level, he used secret techniques to temporarily unleash overlord-level strength.
There were even rumors that he could unleash the power of a Great Demon.
However, these remained rumors. Ba Le had no recorded battles against Great Demons.
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