The Outer Domain Main God slew two other Main Gods and occupied their lands. He mined their territories recklessly, enslaving their former subjects and forcing them into the mines. Many people died every day until, one day, he unearthed a terrifying monster hidden within an Immortal Mine. The monster emerged and killed all the miners. The Outer Domain Main God, who was on the verge of reaching the Ancestor Realm, was furious, as he believed nothing could impede his ascension. He immediately attacked, engaging the monster in an epic battle. During the fight, even the Outer Domain Main God’s weapon was shattered. In the end, however, he was slain by the fearsome creature, and his subjects were devoured by the monster from the mine.

His territory became a veritable Hell. For tens of thousands of years, no one dared to enter his domain, which had turned into a land of ruins.

According to the records Ye Fan had read, the now-ruined Outer Domain was once the territory of that very same Main God. Realizing this, he drew a sharp breath. Although the current Outer Domain was not the same Hell from the story, it still contained many terrifying places. He had not known about this legend until he read it on the scroll he found among the skeletal remains. As this thought crossed his mind, Ye Fan prayed inwardly. I hope to God the monster’s resting place isn’t this very mine I’m walking through! Otherwise, I’m toast.

He tossed the scroll to the ground, trying to convince himself it was not a historical record or a legend, but just a scary story. He tried to push it from his thoughts, but such is human nature; the more you try to ignore something, the more it occupies your mind, your imagination eagerly filling in the blanks. Ye Fan felt miserable, a misery laced with profound helplessness.

Two options presented themselves in his mind. The first was to press forward, despite the unknown dangers that lay ahead. To obtain a legendary material like the Vast Divine Steel, he had to take risks. The second option was to retreat immediately. Greed was a powerful motivator, but it had to be backed by sufficient strength. If his power was not great enough to support his ambition, then retreating now was his only chance of survival. The dilemma weighed on him. After long and careful consideration, his stirring heart won out, and Ye Fan decided to continue exploring. With his mind made up, he moved forward.

The farther he went, the more bones he saw. The Evil Qi in the air became so intense that he grew dizzy and had to kneel on the ground to steady himself. It was so potent that even the monsters that had attacked him earlier did not dare venture this deep. The path stretched on, and Ye Fan knew he would not reach its end anytime soon.

Just as he was contemplating retreat, the Yuanhong Sword began to shimmer.

"Hm?"

He glanced down at the blade and realized it was devouring the Evil Qi, rapidly absorbing it. He finally understood. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

The Yuanhong Sword did not fear the Evil Qi; it treated it as nourishment. Truly worthy of being an unparalleled killing blade. After devouring all this Evil Qi, the Yuanhong Sword seemed even more like a divine sword of slaughter. With this realization, Ye Fan held the Yuanhong Sword out in front of him. Sure enough, the aggressive Evil Qi pressing in on him dissipated the moment it touched the blade, unable to get any closer. Overjoyed, Ye Fan clutched the sword and continued onward. The light radiating from the Yuanhong Sword grew increasingly brilliant. This place was practically a paradise for it!

Ye Fan soon realized that the deeper he ventured, the wider the mine became. However, this discovery filled him with unease, because the number of bones was dwindling. He recalled the story from the scroll again. If that tale is true, I’m in for a world of hurt. Even an Outer Domain Main God on the cusp of the Ancestor Realm was killed. In the presence of a being like that, I’m as insignificant as a gnat... no, calling myself a gnat would be a compliment.

This can’t be one of the mine shafts dug by the Jingnan Divine General and his men. This place feels like it dates back to the Ancient Times. The sheer scale of it made it a world of its own, leaving even Ye Fan in awe.

Clearly, rich Immortal Mines once filled these vast caverns, but now only empty hollows remained, with tunnels stretching even deeper into the earth. Ye Fan had no idea how far the path ahead extended, but he was certain of one thing: the miners of the Ancient Times had been suicidally greedy. The thought made him tremble. Of course, it was impossible to say he was not greedy for coming here himself, but he had his limits. He only wanted the Vast Divine Steel and would ignore any other ore veins.

Ye Fan quickened his pace. He had made a resolution: if the tunnel did not end soon, he would go no further. Delving this deep was already bordering on extreme danger.

"Damn it!"

Moving so quickly, Ye Fan nearly plummeted into a seemingly bottomless abyss. It was only then that he realized the tunnel did not just end; it opened up into a vast, abandoned Underground City. Standing on the precipice, he channeled his power, casting a radiant light across the darkness. In its glow, a once-glorious, sprawling metropolis was revealed before his eyes.

His heart pounded in his chest. The scale of the Underground City was immense, easily rivaling the largest capitals of the Secular World. It was spacious and boundless, vast and limitless.

It was a collapsed, ruined city. Ye Fan had no idea who could have built such a place, or for what purpose. He quickly leaped down from the ledge.

Landing inside the Underground City, Ye Fan’s gaze swept over what looked like workshops and forges where divine artifacts and weapons were once crafted. A bold theory began to form in his mind. The Outer Domain Main God, in a desperate bid to accelerate his path to the Ancestor Realm, had mined with reckless abandon. To save the time it would take to transport the raw ore, he simply built an entire Underground City here to process it on-site. Once the city was built, he could smelt the minerals and ship out the finished products, saving a tremendous amount of time. Still, Ye Fan estimated that constructing a city of this magnitude must have taken at least a hundred years. For Martial Cultivators, however, a century was but a fleeting moment. To Main God Experts who had lived for eons, a hundred years was a span of time they could simply ignore.

Stepping deeper into the Underground City, Ye Fan felt the oppressive stillness of a Dead City—a place utterly devoid of life, where not a single living creature stirred. This once-bustling metropolis had become a Dead City, even more terrifying than any Ghost City.

Walking through the Dead City, Ye Fan lamented the relentless passage of time; the vast seas of the past had truly become the mulberry fields of the present.