Chapter 2223: Western Region Mystic Realm

"Huh? That mountain- Damnit! Stop! STOP!" Just as the two Celestial Immortal Realm cultivators were about to continue their chase after the winged lion demon beast inside the mountain range it had escaped into without the slightest bit of hesitation after spotting the two of them, the younger of the two suddenly realized something was off with the mountain ahead as he called out for his older friend to stop immediately. "What do you mean stop? We almost caught up to that demon beast!" Something that confused his friend, though he still clearly sensed the panic his younger friend’s voice and still stopped before the towering mountain that the winged lion demon beast had crashed into not that long ago.

"Good... Almost too late..." Not answering the question of his friend, the younger of the two instead let out a sigh of relief looking at the mountain they had been about to move around, the look of relief on his face looking completely out of place in the eyes of his friend, who understandably began scrutinizing the mountain before him and the mountain range connected to it behind it that the winged lion demon beast had fled into.

"Hm? Spatial fluctuations? Is this some kind of forbidden zone?" And unsurprisingly, the first guess he came up with was that this mountain range was some kind of forbidden zone that his friend knew about. A forbidden zone that clearly had some kind of spatial restriction in place around it that would prevent them from easily leaving once they crossed a certain threshold... And from the looks of things, he had just barely managed to stop in time before crossing over that threshold, a fact that caused a shiver to run down his spine knowing from his friend’s panicked exclamation that this was likely a forbidden zone deadly even to someone at the Celestial Immortal Realm like them.

"So... What kind of forbidden zone is this?" With that in mind, he slowly turned around to question his friend. Curious about what kind of forbidden zone could make him panic to this extent. Especially considering how the two of them working together should be more than capable of braving a normal forbidden zone deadly to Celestial Immortal Realm cultivators.

After all, the two of them had reached the Middle Stage of the Celestial Immortal Realm with him even being someone close to the Late Stage of the Celestial Immortal Realm. Working together, they could even fight back someone at the Late Stage of the Celestial Immortal Realm without losing out too badly and would be more than capable of retreating.

"That... I don’t know much about it, but from what I know, it’s not a forbidden zone in the traditional sense. Instead, it moves around the place and appears sporadically in different locations across the western parts of the continent. According to a senior at the Late Stage of the Celestial Immortal Realm, I met in the past, it’s more accurate to say the thing moving around is mountain before us.

The forbidden zone itself is not located inside our world, but a mystic realm outside it, the mountain itself is an anchor that attaches to our world at different places. Creating a temporary entrance into this mystic realm."

"So... The reason you didn’t want to chase after the winged lion demon beast is because you fear this connection might vanish while we are inside this forbidden zone. Cutting off our path back out?" Feeling a bit surprised upon hearing what stood before them, the older of the two drew his conclusion over why they had stopped chasing the winged lion demon beast and presented it to his friend. Showing a clear look of displeasure on his face as he said this, feeling confident that it wouldn’t take them more than a few minutes to catch up to the winged lion demon beast. More than enough time for them to safely retreat before this connection broke apart.

After all, though he wasn’t too experienced when it came to the Dao of Space, his overall understanding was deeper than most and he could roughly gauge that the duration before the passage closed would roughly be another few weeks. More than enough time for them to catch the winged lion demon beast and retreat out again.

"No... Not entirely so, after passing through the passage, we wouldn’t end up next to the mountain serving as the anchor but would instead get thrown somewhere random inside the mystic realm- and from what I know, that place is deadly even to someone at the Peak of the Celestial Immortal Realm, let alone us two.

Not to mention catching the winged lion demon beast that was thrown somewhere random inside that deadly mystic realm and getting out safely, there is little chance we would ever be able to get out of that place alive before something native to that terrifying mystic realm swallows us." Seeing the clear frown on his friend’s face, the younger of the two quickly clarified himself. Making sure his friend understood just how deadly the mystic realm before them was.

Not forgetting to mention they wouldn’t end up anywhere close to where the winged lion demon beast had ended up after passing through the temporary passage leading to the mystic realm.

Knowing that one of the main reasons why this friend of his had accepted coming to lend a hand, outside of the artifact that required the heavenly wings of the winged lion demon beast, was the fact that the blood of the winged lion demon beast was also immensely useful to him in breaking through to the Late Stage of the Celestial Immortal Realm and faced with the choice of entering a deadly place like the mystic realm before them, there was a good chance he would still take the leap forward.

To avoid a situation of him being dragged along by his friend still deciding to take the leap forward into danger, he had already silently dismounted the flying artifact. Ensuring his good friend wouldn’t end up deciding for him.

"That... I understand. Let’s wait here for now, the movement of this mystic realm undoubtedly alerted others and some senior figures are bound to be interested in exploring such a place. Maybe we can join up with others to safely explore the place." Weighing the pros and cons of the situation along with seeing the not-so-subtle reaction from his friend, the older one ultimately relented and decided to retreat for now. "I will also inform someone from my side and see if they can link up with others to form an exploration group into the mystic realm." Still not giving up entirely, as he went off to contact those behind him about the situation. Hoping and expedition could be launched into the mystic realm.

Of course, the younger of the two was more than fine with this, as it meant they wouldn’t end up exploring such a deadly mystic realm on their own.

If anything, gathering a team to explore the mystic realm could potentially reward them with far more than just killing a demon beast that had barely reached a value comparable to a weaker Celestial Immortal Realm demon beast. The main value of the winged lion demon beast coming from its unique features that his friend and him just so needed for what they were doing.

Normally, gathering a team to explore such a deadly place would be difficult. Especially in the western region where monks and their temples reigned supreme, but his friend belonged to a major power from the Southern Central Region that had the backing of more than one Star Creation Realm cultivator.

Even in the face of those monks, the power behind his friend wouldn’t flinch unless it was the Western Central Region.

The outer regions of the Western Region of the continent might still be under the control of those monks and their temples, but their influence was far lower compared to the Western Central Region and more importantly, making a move in the outer regions wouldn’t draw the attention of those monks under normal circumstances.

In fact, one of the main reason this mystic realm was unknown to his friend undoubtedly had to do with it being in the western part of the continent, as those monks tended to make it difficult for outsiders to learn about the different forbidden zones and other mysterious locations within their borders.

The only reason why he knew about it as a wandering cultivator had to do with him having spent a good portion of his life in the outer regions of the western part of the continent. Not because he was hiding away from some major power targeting him, but instead because some of the largest markets for wandering cultivators were in the outer regions of the western part of the continent.

The main reason behind this having to do with such markets being difficult to manage elsewhere, as some major powers might try to take control of them while the monks and temples behind them tended to ignore these kinds of cultivator markets entirely.