Night had already fallen across the Barisan continent, and tonight was a moonless night where not even a sliver of the moon could be seen. Although the sky lacked one of its usual jewels, the absence of moonlight made the countless glimmering stars appear even more clearly.

The nightly activities of people across the continent continued as usual, with no significant disturbances.

Aldrian had also just finished his "nightly activity" in his bedroom within the palace. He had just had a quick session with Sylphia, and while it had been brief, it was enough to satisfy her. She now slept peacefully beneath the blanket and a smile resting on her face.

As for Aldrian, he was now meditating beside the bed with his eyes closed. Dressed in a casual robe, he sat cross-legged on his cultivation mat. Although he was already the strongest being on the continent with extraordinary comprehension, that did not stop him from continuing to cultivate his comprehension.

He also kept training with his domain, utilizing aspects of his divinity—omnipotence, omnipresence, and omniscience. His senses spread across the entire continent, observing its lands and inhabitants as if he were a god. With his cultivation at the low Pseudo Immortal Establishment stage, he could do heavier task, and his mind and soul no longer felt burdened.

At this stage, he could perceive every living being across the continent at the same time without suffering a headache, thanks to his powerful soul. He could even process the details of billions of pieces of information simultaneously within his mind, something he could never have done in the past.

The stronger he became, the more his former weaknesses were patched up. By now, he was increasingly like a god, there was nothing that could be hidden from him.

He was truly grateful to Long Shentian and Feng Xuanyan for giving him their golden energy, which had greatly boosted his cultivation and strength. It was thanks to them that he had reached the Pseudo Immortal Establishment stage, a realm above the Pseudo Immortal Foundation.

The next step was to break through to the Pseudo Immortal stage, the final threshold before he could ascend to the Immortal stage.

However, ever since reaching this level of power, a problem had lingered in his mind.

"I was able to reach this stage because I absorbed the golden energy left behind by Long Shentian and Feng Xuanyan," Aldrian thought.

"After the mortal cultivation realm, from Beginner to Emperor, comes the Immortal Transition, which consists of three major stages:

Pseudo Immortal Foundation,

Pseudo Immortal Establishment,

Pseudo Immortal.

Each stage has three minor realms—low, middle, and peak."

"Now that I've reached the Low Pseudo Immortal Establishment stage, it truly makes me wonder... how large must the domain I create be to reach the next minor realm, or even the next major stage?"

He could already feel it, his cultivation progress would no longer be as fast as it once was, now that he had reached this height. There had been a clear qualitative shift within him ever since he stepped into the Immortal Transition realm. He could sense that even a domain the size of the major territories within the Barisan Continent would no longer contribute to his cultivation.

He had even begun to suspect that a domain the size of the entire continent itself might not be enough to advance him quickly like in the past, and that thought genuinely troubled him.

While Aldrian's thoughts lingered on this topic, he opened his eyes and stopped his training. A golden hue flickered in his gaze for a split second before fading. Afterward, he opened his personal information from the system.

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Aldrian Aster

Domain : Barisan Continent

Age : 17 years

Cultivation : Low Pseudo Immortal Establishment

Current energy : 15,067,393 (+12 /10m)

Energy needed for the next stage : 18,000,001

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Although the information appeared satisfactory, it meant little to someone with ambition as high as his. He had no time to bask in momentary progress.

"At this rate, I'll reach the next minor realm in over four years," Aldrian thought, shaking his head. That pace was far too slow. He needed to grow stronger as quickly as possible, he had to reclaim this universe from those invaders.

If any cultivators had heard what Aldrian was thinking, they would have wanted to strangle him to death.

How could he even consider that slow? For cultivators at the Pseudo Immortal Establishment stage, advancing in cultivation typically took hundreds even thousands of years. Even those blessed by fate or hailed as true geniuses might only make progress after several decades.

Raising one's realm in under ten years? That was nothing short of absurd.

And yet, here was Aldrian, already thinking that taking more than four years was too slow.

As he pondered about his future cultivation, he suddenly felt something entering his sense, which he had spread across his domain that covered a slightly larger area than the continent. His domain encompassed the entire formation surrounding the continent, so the seas around the continent were also covered by it.

He closed his information screen and instantly looked toward whatever had entered his sense from outside the continent.

When he finally saw what it was, he raised his eyebrows, but then amusement stirred in his heart. What he saw through his Eyes of Heaven was a mobile transport shaped like a flying ship, known as a cruiser, entering the continent's periphery and approaching the beast territory.

Inside the cruiser, which was large enough to hold several dozen adult men, were ten figures—six men and four women. They wore black robes embedded with concealment functions, as if they were assassins or on an infiltration mission.

Aldrian was amused that outsiders would dare enter the continent despite his standing order. What made it more interesting was these people's cultivation levels were at the Pseudo Immortal Foundation and Pseudo Immortal Establishment stages. An exaggerated level of strength for an infiltration mission on this continent.

With such cultivation, these individuals would be unstoppable on this continent and could pose a real threat.

Curious to know more about them, he didn't waste any time. Without hesitation, he vanished from the bedroom, leaving the sleeping Sylphia behind.

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At the western edge near the coastline of the beast territory, a cruiser flew at high speed, approaching the shoreline that was already visible from its position. The dark, moonless night helped conceal their approach, making the cruiser nearly invisible from a distance.

Above the cruiser, a few figures stood, their eyes fixed on the coastline now in view. A middle-aged man with black hair and a scar across one eye stood at the front. He appeared to be the leader, as he was not only the strongest among them but also the one positioned ahead of the others.

He gazed toward the shore with his piercing blue eyes.

There was only silence between them, but then the leader turned to the figures behind him and spoke.

"Remember our mission. We are here to study everything and gather detailed information about this continent. Once we land, we'll spread out. Avoid trouble as much as possible. Blend in with the indigenous people if you can. We don't want anyone to discover that we came here without the permission of that mysterious figure."

"Let me repeat, gather all information. Social structure, economy, military—everything. We'll report to each other every week, and once all reports are compiled, I'll send them to the higher-ups. Is that clear?"

"Yes, sir," the others answered in unison.

The leader gave a firm nod and turned his gaze back toward the front.

"All right. We'll fly from here. Store the cruiser in a storage ring. The coastline is clear, no one is in sight," he said.

The others obeyed without hesitation. One by one, they took to the air, and the cruiser vanished into a storage ring carried by one of them.

They flew at a normal speed toward the coastline, and after more than ten minutes, they finally arrived at the Barisan Continent. The moment they reached the shore, they landed and began scanning their surroundings to observe the situation.

There was no one in sight, and their senses did not detect anything unusual, so they assumed it was safe. When they examined the heaven and earth energy in the area, they felt it was slightly lacking compared to other continents.

However, they assumed they might have landed in a special zone within the continent where the heaven and earth energy was naturally thinner. They believed this possibility was reasonable, especially since they could see a floating landmass in the distance, something that suggested the continent might actually contain the densest heaven and earth energy they had ever encountered.

All of them looked into the distance, where they could see Aldrian's floating palace. The sight truly amazed them, they had never seen a floating landmass rise that high. To keep land suspended at such a height, the area must be rich in heaven and earth energy, so rich that even cultivators at the Pseudo Immortal stage could benefit from it.

The grand palace atop the floating land also made them think of the mysterious figure who had become the subject of countless stories across the world. Was that man residing in that palace? They wanted to know.

However, the fact that such a massive floating island could exist at such height was also a warning. It was a clear sign that this continent might house many powerful cultivators, which made all of them wary. Perhaps it also held the secret behind how this land was able to produce someone strong enough to fight an immortal.

After observing for a moment, the leader turned to his subordinates.

"All right then—" he began to speak, but abruptly stopped as he suddenly sensed someone standing nearby.

The others felt it too, and all of them instantly turned their heads toward the figure who was already standing not far from them.