"At what distance did the Mist Spirits stop pursuing us?" the sword-browed man continued to inquire.

Huang Xu replied, "It was at fifteen miles."

The sword-browed man's eyes gleamed with insight. "Then we can deduce that the fifteen-mile boundary within the Misty Forbidden Zone has some special significance. As long as we don’t cross that threshold, we won’t provoke an attack from the Mist Spirits."

"That seems highly likely," the others murmured, feeling a sense of relief. Their greatest fear had been a zone without predictable rules. But knowing there was a pattern made the area feel less threatening.

"Report this information immediately," the sword-browed man ordered. "From now on, the area within fifteen miles of the Misty Forbidden Zone will be referred to as the 'outer zone.' Anything beyond that is the 'inner zone.' Unless absolutely necessary, no one should enter the inner zone. Of course, how we handle the Misty Forbidden Zone will depend on the higher-ups’ decisions."

Back at Green Hills Mansion, the top leaders received the investigation team’s report with grave expressions.

"A Mist Spirit tribe?" they muttered, realizing the seriousness of the situation. A single Mist Spirit might not be a major issue, but an entire tribe was a different matter. It could potentially pose a significant threat to Green Hills Mansion.

"Over the past few days, the Seven Stars Ancient Array has concentrated its power to monitor the spiritual energy levels of the Misty Forbidden Zone. What were the findings?" asked Elder Xia Yuerong.

"The detected spiritual energy levels far exceed 9,000 jie," the array’s overseer reported. "It appears that the Mist Spirits can partially obscure their presence from the array. After two days of continuous observation, we discovered that the spiritual energy level within the Misty Forbidden Zone has actually reached 150,000 jie."

"150,000 jie?" The faces of the elders changed drastically. A spiritual energy level of 100,000 jie was the benchmark for Tier Three demonic creatures. Although the spiritual energy in the Misty Forbidden Zone was shared among the entire Mist Spirit tribe, this was still significant. It indicated that the Mist Spirit tribe had the potential to challenge Tier Three beings.

"In Qingzhou, there are thirty-seven forbidden zones—no, recently the number has increased to forty-two," Xia Yuerong stated. "But among them, only two have spiritual energy levels exceeding 150,000 jie. With the addition of the Misty Forbidden Zone, that makes three. We must carefully consider how to approach this."

"If we mobilize our forces, we could wipe out the Misty Forbidden Zone, but the cost would be high," Gao Siming pointed out. "Such a large-scale operation would leave us vulnerable to other forbidden zones taking advantage of the situation. Moreover," he paused before continuing, "compared to the other top-tier forbidden zones, the Misty Forbidden Zone is actually the least dangerous. On the one hand, the Misty Forbidden Zone hasn’t actively harmed our people. The incidents that have occurred were because we sent investigation teams into it. On the other hand, the zone has clear rules. Our investigation team discovered that the zone is divided into outer and inner areas. The outer area is dangerous but manageable, allowing our teams to move freely. The inner zone is where the Mist Spirits reside. As long as we don’t enter the inner zone, the spirits won’t attack. In short, this is a forbidden zone with controllable risks."

"Second Elder is correct," the other elders agreed. "Since the danger is manageable, there’s no need to launch a full-scale assault. We should focus our efforts on monitoring the more dangerous forbidden zones."

"Agreed. Our strategy for the Misty Forbidden Zone should focus on surveillance," Xia Yuerong concluded.

Meanwhile, within the Misty Forbidden Zone, the core area was unusually lively. The Sea Monk had returned, bringing with him another army of sea monsters. Although the force was smaller than the previous one, it still provided Su Mu with 6,000 years of lifespan, bringing his total to 9,900 years.

Su Mu didn’t hesitate to use 9,000 years of lifespan to upgrade his Phantom Snow Eye to the fifth tier.

[Species: Spirit Gingko Tree]
[Height: 610 feet]
[Lifespan: 900 years]
[Rank: Tier Three, Supreme Grade]
[Abilities: Innate Talent Duplication, Life Essence Condensation, Heaven and Human Induction, Fourth-Tier Earth Fiend Transformation, Fifth-Tier Phantom Snow Eye, Fourth-Tier Heart of Faith, Fifth-Tier Power of Mist, Fourth-Tier Heart Peering, Fifth-Tier Earth Force, Fourth-Tier Sword Mastery, First-Tier Bloodsucking Power]

"Divine Tree," the Sea Monk said gravely. "This time, I ventured into the Forbidden Sea and discovered something unusual."

"Oh?" Su Mu was intrigued.

"I found that some of the sea monsters in the Forbidden Sea are not native to the Eastern Sea," the Sea Monk explained. "The humans don’t realize this, but I could tell that these creatures had a completely different aura from the other sea monsters in the Eastern Sea. So, I decided to investigate further and pushed myself to approach the core of the Forbidden Sea. There, I saw a terrifying trench, filled with shattered space. The strange sea monsters from the Forbidden Sea are entering the Eastern Sea through these rifts. Based on this, I suspect that the trench may connect to another world."

Su Mu felt a shock run through him at this revelation.

"Moreover, from across the trench, I sensed the presence of beings with terrifying auras, some at Tier Three or even beyond," the Sea Monk continued. "This suggests that the world on the other side of the trench likely harbors beings stronger than those in our world."

"You’ve done well," Su Mu praised. "This information is incredibly valuable to me."

The Sea Monk’s report struck Su Mu like a bolt of lightning, shattering any complacency he had harbored. Lately, as he learned more about human strength, he had started to believe that the human race might no longer pose a threat to him. He even thought that if the humans ever discovered him, he could stand against them.

But now, the Sea Monk’s words made him realize that he couldn’t judge this world by the standards of his previous life. This was a cultivation world. According to records, when one’s cultivation reached the Nascent Soul stage, or Tier Four, they could cross the stars. This made it highly likely that other planets or worlds harbored life. In fact, it was almost certain.

Su Yao had read ancient texts from Green Hills Mansion, which recorded events from before the Age of Spiritual Decline. The ancient cultivators were said to have been able to chase the stars and catch the moon. It would have been easy for them to live on other planets. So, while Su Mu might be a dominant force in this world, that didn’t mean he would be in another.

Just like the world beyond the trench that the Sea Monk described.

"If beings from that world have already begun entering this one, it’s only a matter of time before even stronger entities arrive," Su Mu thought, feeling a renewed sense of urgency.

He also reflected on his current situation. As his rank increased, the amount of lifespan required to further improve his abilities grew exponentially. Depending solely on harvesting beasts within the Misty Forbidden Zone was no longer sufficient to meet his needs.