"The Black Dragon Army? A Centurion?"

Upon hearing the conversation between the two passersby, Wyatt Barnes’s eyes suddenly lit up.

He had originally been racking his brains trying to find a way into the City Lord’s Main Mansion and the Black Dragon Army camp.

But now, upon hearing what the two passersby said, he felt as if he saw an "opportunity."

The Black Dragon Army isn’t difficult to join, but it’s only for those who have just ascended to Spiritual Heaven from the world of mortals.

Anyone who ascends to Spiritual Heaven and is brought to the Black Dragon Army camp by one of its members can serve and train at the same time. Once their cultivation reaches a certain level, they can join the Black Dragon Army and become one of its members.

At that point, they would no longer need to serve and would only need to complete some regular tasks, leaving more time for cultivation.

Besides, the Black Dragon Army does not recruit members from outside.

This was something he had learned earlier from the inn waiter.

"Please wait!"

Wyatt Barnes turned around, catching up with the two passersby in a few steps, blocking their path. As they stopped, he asked curiously, "What do you mean by ’Small World’?" 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

"Who are you? Why are you blocking our way?"

"You’re quite rude!"

No one would be happy to be suddenly stopped by a stranger while walking.

"I just have a few questions."

Unbothered by their displeasure, Wyatt casually raised his hand and took out two mid-grade Xian Stones from his Storage Ring, "These two mid-grade Xian Stones, one each for you two... as ’payment’ for answering my questions."

As soon as Wyatt took out the Xian Stones, the eyes of the two passersby lit up.

Upon hearing Wyatt’s words, they almost ’snatched’ the Xian Stones from his hand, and their attitudes underwent a complete transformation:

"Ask whatever you want, brother."

"We promise to tell you everything we know!"

The two passersby looked at Wyatt with smiles, completely different from before.

While Wyatt felt the truth of ’money makes the world go round,’ he didn’t stand on ceremony with them and directly asked, "What I want to ask first still is about that ’Small World’... what exactly is it?"

"A Small World is an independent space forcibly created by powerful warriors whose strength has reached a certain level in the Dimensional Planes."

One of them responded promptly to Wyatt and asked curiously, "Brother, haven’t you even heard of ’Small Worlds’?"

However, faced with this person’s question, Wyatt did not intend to respond.

"A Small World... that sounds somewhat like a False Dimensional Plane in the world of mortals. However, the space in the Dimensional Planes is extremely sturdy, and to carve out something akin to a False Dimensional Plane, or a so-called ’Small World,’ isn’t something an ordinary immortal could achieve."

Wyatt thought to himself.

"What level of strength is generally required to open a Small World?"

Wyatt asked.

"I’m not too sure about that..."

After all, the passerby had accepted Wyatt’s Xian Stone, so he wasn’t upset by Wyatt’s lack of response. He immediately replied to Wyatt’s question, "But... I’ve heard it said that even a Daai Law Golden Immortal doesn’t have the ability to open a ’Small World’ in the Dimensional Planes."

"It’s not just Daai Law Golden Immortals who lack that ability... Supposedly, even those stronger than Daai Law Golden Immortals don’t all have the means to open a ’Small World.’"

Another passerby followed up.

Wyatt nodded and, still perplexed by the question, asked, "You mentioned earlier... that a Centurion of the Black Dragon Army seemingly wandered into a ’Small World’ in the mountains to the south of Bloodshade City? Furthermore, that Small World is regarded as a forbidden area by Bloodshade City through the generations?"

"Yes."

One of the passersby nodded and said, "That Small World has existed in the mountains south of our Bloodshade City for a long time... at least for ten thousand years. Over these millennia, many have entered, but not one has ever returned."

"As that Small World gained fame... Many warriors, even those from Nine Nether County and beyond, have come to Bloodshade City to enter that ’Small World.’ However, after entering, none of them have emerged."

"Among them were mighty beings of the Daai Law Golden Immortal caliber... and it’s even said that many more powerful than Daai Law Golden Immortals have completely vanished after entering that Small World."

"This is precisely why... that Small World has been marked as a ’forbidden area’ by Bloodshade City for generations."

The passerby, his expression of horror evident as he looked at Wyatt, asked, "Brother, you’re not planning to go to that Small World, are you? If you are, you must reconsider. It’s not a good place—it’s a place of certain death!"

"Indeed."

The other passerby added, "The space near that Small World in the nearby valley is rather unstable... In Bloodshade City’s ten-thousand-year history, no fewer than ten people have been forcibly sent into that Small World due to the unstable spatial currents there, and have since vanished."

"Including this time... It seems that the Centurion of the Black Dragon Army was also sent into the Small World by unstable spatial flows in that area and subsequently perished."

"Ordinarily, when people enter that small world, their fate becomes unknown... However, the ’Soul Bead’ of the Centurion from the Black Dragon Army is kept with them. Whether he is dead or not, the Black Dragon Army would know best. Now, since the Black Dragon Army says he is dead, certainly his Soul Bead has shattered."

...

The two passersby patiently explained to Wyatt Barnes.

Additionally, they answered a series of questions he asked with great patience.

From beginning to end, there was never a hint of impatience.

"Thank you both."

In the end, having nothing more to ask, Wyatt greeted the two passersby and turned to leave.

"Safe journey, brother."

The two passersby smiled as they saw Wyatt off.

After parting with the two passersby, Wyatt continued to wander aimlessly along the streets of Bloodshade City. However, in his mind, he was not thinking about how to enter the City Lord’s Main Mansion or the Black Dragon Army’s camp, but rather about that ’small world’ in the mountain range to the south of Bloodshade City.

"That small world has been known for millennia, yet no one has come out alive... This alone shows that it’s very dangerous inside."

"It seems the idea of entering this small world to find the Centurion’s identity token of the Black Dragon Army, thus joining the army and becoming a Centurion, is not very realistic."

Although "fortune favors the brave," Wyatt was aware of his own limits.

Over the millennia, countless individuals far stronger than him entered that small world and never returned.

He didn’t believe his luck would be better than theirs.

"However... I can still go and have a look. If I didn’t know about it, it would be one thing, but since I do, I can’t resist checking it out."

"Moreover... maybe when that Centurion of the Black Dragon Army was swept into the small world, his ’identity token’ happened to be left outside?"

With this thought, Wyatt decided to make a trip to the mountain range south of Bloodshade City, to explore around the ’entrance’ of that small world, perhaps he could find a ’missed opportunity’ and discover the identity token that the Centurion might have dropped in that area.

...

Just as Wyatt was leaving Bloodshade City and heading south.

The mountain range to the south of Bloodshade City had already received an ’uninvited guest.’

This uninvited guest was none other than the woman Wyatt had encountered earlier in Bloodshade City, dressed in a light purple simple dress with a perfect face partially veiled in a thin layer of silk.

"This is the place."

As she entered the mountain range, the woman mumbled to herself.

Swoosh!

After entering the mountains, she locked onto a direction and proceeded in that way.

Soon, she arrived at a valley, but only dared to gaze at it from a distance.

At first glance, the valley appeared unremarkable.

But upon closer inspection, one could see:

The void around the valley continued to ripple and distort...

This alone showed that the space around there was very unstable.

"The small world left by the strong ones from the ’Temple of Joy’... is there."

Gazing at the valley ahead, the woman mumbled to herself again, raising her jade-like hand in which appeared a jade slip enveloped in a green light.

"If the ’ancestral teachings’ passed down by the Temple of Joy are true... upon arriving here, I only need to infuse this jade slip with Immortal Origin Force, and the incomplete information within will be completed."

"According to the ancestral teachings passed down by the Temple of Joy... after entering the small world left by the strong ones of the Temple of Joy, following the completed information in this jade slip will allow one to safely emerge from it."

"Years ago, one of the three great Immortal Artifacts of our ’Merciful Voyage Immortal Sect’ was seized by a strong one from the Temple of Joy who opened this small world. He never left the artifact in the Temple of Joy thereafter... So, that artifact is likely stored within this small world."

With this thought, the woman hesitated no more, channeling Immortal Origin Force through her jade-like hand into the jade slip.

Hua!

Instantly, the jade slip burst forth with dazzling light.

"It’s complete indeed..."

Yet, just as the woman discovered the information within the jade slip to be completed, before she could rejoice, she began to read the completed information.

Subsequently, her stunning face, veiled by silk, underwent a drastic change:

"A man and a woman must enter together, and furthermore, they must... engage in that indecent act... to... to survive coming out from inside?"