Lii Qianjie heard Qin Ming agree.

The smile on his scarred face deepened, "That’s excellent, others could only dream of going to the Outer Sea."

"After all, the resources in the Outer Sea can’t be compared by the Five Great Cultivation Realms."

"Fellow Daoist Qin, let’s go then."

Then.

The figures of the two silently disappeared from the Celestial Wave Immortal City.

On the journey, Qin Ming asked Lii Qianjie, "Apart from the Spirit-Devouring Tide between the Outer Sea and the Five Great Cultivation Realms, are there other barriers?"

"Is there really no alternative way to get there?"

Lii Qianjie smiled faintly, "Not quite, besides the isolation of the Spirit-Devouring Tide, even Array Power is ineffective, mainly because the journey is extremely remote, even Nascent Soul Cultivators can’t cross it, and the closer to the Outer Sea, the more Great Demons are entrenched there."

"Ordinary cultivators can’t rely on their abilities to reach it and would become food for Demon Beasts before reaching the destination."

"Moreover, the Demon Cultivators in the Outer Sea are different from those in the Five Great Cultivation Realms, inherently extremely violent, with the Human Race, they are life and death enemies, either you die, or I live."

"When Fellow Daoist Qin arrives at the Outer Sea, encountering Demon Cultivators, you must be extremely vigilant."

Qin Ming slightly nodded, then asked again, "How will we proceed next?"

"Once I’m done, how do I return to the East Sea?"

"If it takes hundreds of years to pass through once, that would be really too much of a delay."

Lii Qianjie explained, "The passage to the Outer Sea is controlled by the ’Celestial Edge Sea Pavilion’, the largest human force in the Outer Sea, the Pavilion Master is a Nascent Soul Great Perfection Cultivator."

He continued as he took out an iron token and handed it to Qin Ming, "This is the Vast Sea Shifting Order, going to the Outer Sea requires using a Long-Distance Transmission Array. Of course, the cost of teleportation is considerable, even for us Nascent Soul Cultivators it’s a huge expense, so Fellow Daoist Qin will have to bear it yourself."

"This iron token is given to you for free, I happened to have a few introduction quotas."

"As for the way back, there are methods on the Outer Sea side, Fellow Daoist Qin need not worry."

Hearing this, Qin Ming nodded slightly and put away the iron token.

The two flew towards the far east for half a month, finally reaching a pitch-black sea region.

"Fellow Daoist Qin, we have arrived."

Lii Qianjie then led the way into the sea, and Qin Ming released a Protective Spirit Light to follow.

After traveling in the deep sea for one incense stick’s worth of time, a trench appeared in their view.

Inside the trench, a large light shield appeared, like an underwater world.

Many High-Tier Cultivators guarded the surroundings, all dressed in white attire, wearing golden masks, the lowest cultivation level being the Golden Core Stage.

Qin Ming couldn’t help but say, "I didn’t expect the teleportation array to the Outer Sea to be hidden so deep."

"Haha! Naturally, ordinary people aren’t qualified to use the Array here." Lii Qianjie explained.

As they spoke, the two turned into two rays of Spiritual Light and landed in the trench.

The person responsible for guarding the Array at Celestial Edge Sea Pavilion was an old man at the early stage of Nascent Soul.

He sensed two Late-stage Nascent Soul Cultivators coming together and showed a vigilant look.

After approaching, the old man seemed to recognize Lii Qianjie and immediately came forward to greet him:

"Oh, it’s Fellow Daoist Lii, are you going back to the Outer Sea?"

"We’re also preparing to withdraw in the next few days."

"And this fellow Daoist is?"

Lii Qianjie, with an arrogant demeanor, didn’t even glance at him, "Elder Yuan, quickly arrange teleportation for the two of us."

"This is Fellow Daoist Qin, True Monarch Wangyue of the Southern Wilderness Cultivation Realm."

The old man surnamed Yuan, as a cultivator of the largest force in the Outer Sea, dared not show any dissatisfaction at being ordered around by Lii Qianjie.

After all, strength speaks louder than words anywhere.

Lii Qianjie, as a Late-stage Nascent Soul Great Independent Cultivator, acted without scruples, and in the Outer Sea, he also had a notorious reputation, only a Venerable Divinity Transformation could deal with him.

Therefore, his style was willful.

"Oh, it’s Fellow Daoist Qin, I’ve heard much about you."

"Yes, yes, yes, I’ll arrange it for you right away."

Immediately following.

The old man with the surname Yuan led the two to the hidden Grand Array in the trench.

Qin Ming and Lii Qianjie paid a considerable amount of High-Grade Spirit Stones as the teleportation fee.

Then they took out their iron token, standing in the center of the Array.

Soon.

The cultivators of Celestial Edge Sea Pavilion quickly filled the Long-Distance Transmission Array with Spirit Stones.

Buzz!

Suddenly, the radiant light of the Grand Array lit up, countless runes swirled, the eight-sided array beams connected together.

From the celestial vault above, a golden light beam descended straight down, instantly engulfing the two in the center of the Array.

A Power of Space-Time descended upon both of them.

The next moment, as the radiance receded, Qin Ming and Lii Qianjie were transported away.

For a long time.

The old man surnamed Yuan gazed at the now empty Grand Array, sighed with emotion, "I didn’t expect the Southern Wilderness Cultivation Realm to produce another Late-stage Nascent Soul Cultivator..."

"And to see him walking with such an Evil Star like Lii Qianjie."

"Judging by Lii Qianjie’s attitude towards him, he seems to be flattering him, which is really rare..."

...

...

Outer Sea.

Unnamed Sea region, inside an unnamed island.

A golden light descended from the sky, entering within.

Qin Ming felt a moment of dizziness, and when he opened his eyes again, he found himself standing within an Array.

Such a long-distance teleportation could cross the Five Great Cultivation Realms, yet he felt little discomfort.

After all, both his divine soul strength and physical body had reached an astonishing level.

In contrast, Lii Qianjie needed several moments to adjust his breathing before he regained his composure.

He looked at Qin Ming with a hint of amazement.

Lii Qianjie had traveled to the Outer Sea several times, clearly aware that even for a late-stage Nascent Soul Great Cultivator, crossing such a vast void would inevitably elicit some reaction.

But unexpectedly, Qin Ming appeared unperturbed, calm and composed.

This made him deeply wary of Qin Ming’s strength.

Upon reaching this place, Qin Ming was also quite surprised, as the abundance of spiritual energy here was vastly superior to that of the East Sea Cultivation Realm.

It was as if he had entered a new world.

The very Black Reef Island he stood on was of Tier Four Top Level Spirit Vein.

"Welcome, both venerable seniors, to the Outer Sea!"

A cultivator guarding the Array, upon seeing two late-stage Nascent Soul Great Cultivators appear simultaneously, carefully welcomed them.

"Fellow Daoist Qin, let’s go."

"I shall first acquaint you with the situation here."

Lii Qianjie gestured invitingly to Qin Ming.

However, when Qin Ming followed him out of the island and came outside.

He was startled to find the endless sea before them, dark and oppressive, with lightning flashing and roaring waves seeming to devour everything.

Many ferocious Demon Beasts lurked within.

From time to time, towering waves, dozens or even hundreds of zhang high, surged, making sea navigation unthinkable.

"I didn’t expect the abundance of spiritual energy in the Outer Sea to also nurture numerous formidable Demon Beasts." Qin Ming said, gazing into the distance.

Lii Qianjie chuckled and said, "Such Outer Sea storms can last decades. Fellow Daoist Qin, you’ll get used to it. The Demon Beasts you see are just the tip of the iceberg."

Subsequently.

Lii Qianjie led Qin Ming away from this place.

Several days later.

A vast archipelago appeared, spreading out in front of them, growing larger in their sight.

As they approached, the surrounding spiritual energy gradually intensified.

The largest island stood proudly among them, its dense clusters of buildings vastly different in style from those in the East Sea.

From a distance, Qin Ming spotted four large characters on a huge stone tablet at the island’s edge, "Celestial Edge Sea Pavilion."

"Fellow Daoist Qin, this island is the stronghold of the Outer Sea’s greatest power, the Celestial Edge Sea Pavilion. Once we get inside and regroup, we can plan our quest for the Heart Inquiry Fruit at the Dragonbone Reef." Lii Qianjie introduced.

"The resource exchange center of the Outer Sea is also within the archipelago. Fellow Daoist Qin, take this rare opportunity to gather what you need."

Moments later.

Qin Ming and his companion landed on the island; both possessed the Celestial Edge Sea Pavilion’s meteoric iron tokens, granting them unimpeded access.

This is a privilege that comes with being a late-stage Nascent Soul Great Cultivator.

The massive island where Celestial Edge Sea Pavilion was located had undulating mountain ranges, with the Spirit Vein environment distributed in tiered formations.

Its core mountains boasted a Tier Five Spirit Vein.

In the Five Great Cultivation Realms, this would be equivalent to the heritage site of a Divinity Transformation Sect.

Upon entering the island.

The two found a tastefully appointed tavern to sit in, ordering several local specialties and spirit dishes.

"Haha! Does it seem strange, Fellow Daoist Qin? Why is the spiritual environment in the Outer Sea so abundant?" Lii Qianjie asked while pouring him a cup of spirit wine.

Qin Ming replied, "Indeed."

"It’s said that during the ancient times when the Demon Realm invaded and released demonic qi to pollute the Human Realm, this Outer Sea area alone was spared, so the decline of spiritual energy was less severe, preserving such a rich spiritual environment for many resources to survive to this day." Lii Qianjie explained.

"I see."

But on the way here, Qin Ming noticed a phenomenon.

That is, the number of Demon Beasts in the Outer Sea was not just dozens of times more than Human Race Cultivators.

Only the archipelago where Celestial Edge Sea Pavilion resided became a gathering place for humans.

Thus, he voiced his inner doubt.

"As mentioned earlier, do you know why only the Outer Sea was perfectly preserved when the Ancient Demon Realm invaded the Human Realm?" Lii Qianjie put down his wine cup and asked.

"Why?"

"Hehe! Because, allegedly, at the same time, the Ancient Demon Realm also invaded the Human Realm, occupying the Outer Sea first. But before the Demon Race could release Celestial Demon Qi to pollute this realm, they suddenly stopped..."

"In the following tens of thousands of years, the Outer Sea became an isolated place, completely cutting off from the Five Great Cultivation Realms."

"The Outer Sea also became a territory held by the Demon Race."

"Humans only struggled to survive in the cracks between the Demon Race, but later, as many cultivators seeking opportunities and adventure joined, it gradually grew to its current scale."

"Currently, in the Outer Sea, the Human Race remains weak and the underdog."

"Besides, there’s something else I can share with you, Fellow Daoist Qin."

Qin Ming asked in puzzlement, "What is it?"

"Thousands of years ago, the founder of Lihuo Palace in the Great Jin Cultivation Realm, after reaching Nascent Soul Perfection, came to the Outer Sea seeking the Divinity Transformation opportunity."

"So many years have passed, and recently, when I returned to the East Sea, I inquired a bit; this person’s lifebound soul lamp at Lihuo Palace is still burning."

"This suggests he likely found the opportunity and has secretly advanced to Divinity Transformation, hehe!"

"But it remains unknown why he never surfaced nor returned to his Sect."

...