Chapter 791: Factions

The moon in the center of the high firmament of the Taiyin Domain is the "Taiyin Court"; one only needs the courage to ascend to the heavens. Following the directions, Tang Zhao drove his vehicle toward the moon.

As he drew closer to the moon, he could vaguely see the outline of an osmanthus tree on its surface, and it seemed there was a small shadow jumping about under the tree.

That's a rabbit, isn't it?

Although he couldn't see clearly, Tang Zhao decided in his heart that it was a rabbit.

Before he had truly landed, long vines suddenly hung down from the moon, and a snow-white rabbit slid down along a vine. Tang Zhao smiled and was about to greet it when the white rabbit's three-cleft lip parted and it said, "Hold on, you must be Tang Zhao, right?"

Tang Zhao was very surprised. This rabbit was white and tender, with a round head and round brain, looking somewhat like a cute doll. The osmanthus branches hanging down from the moon were also quite romantic; he hadn't expected this most difficult and arduous Taiyin Domain to still retain such fairy-tale-like atmosphere, only its opening words were in a very mature female voice, reminding him of a stern female Teacher.

Although the white rabbit's tone was not exactly polite, Tang Zhao still followed etiquette, cupped his hands and said, "Greetings, Envoy. I am indeed Tang Zhao, and I have come for that matter."

The rabbit said, "It really is you; the Kun Sword has already told me. I said, people only ever flee out of the Taiyin Domain, who would ever come into the Taiyin Domain? You can be considered to be going against the current. Fine. Since you dare to come, then I will let you go." As she spoke, she spat out a few things.

Two of them were lanterns. Although their style was different from the lamps in the Sun Domain, Tang Zhao guessed what they were immediately. Sure enough, he picked up one lamp; the light inside was cold white, like a lunar halo, and the three large characters "Taiyin Court" were written on the lampshade. Only, there were two long, upright decorations on top of the lampshade, just like a rabbit's two ears.

It was... actually quite cute.

The other lamp's light was brighter, but its style was vastly different from the Sun and Taiyin lamps. It was a very smooth metal lamp stand, feeling heavy in the hand, and it also had writing on it, but the characters were crooked, looking a bit like ghost-drawn talismans.

"This lamp is..."

The rabbit stretched out a paw and pointed, "With this lamp, all the Sword Guests in the Taiyin Domain will not harm you of their own accord. And with this lamp, all the Heavenly Demons will not harm you when they see you."

"So that's how it is... Wait?!" Tang Zhao was stunned, "Why can the Taiyin Court command Heavenly Demons?"

The rabbit said dismissively, "It's not a command, just communication, leaving a line of retreat for each other. In the Taiyin Domain, although both sides are still fighting, if we don't keep channels of communication open, nothing can be accomplished. Likewise, those from over there also have times when they need to ask things of us. Actually, if you want to travel more conveniently, don't call them 'Heavenly Demons', 'Heavenly Demons'; you might as well call them 'Other Guests'. But I expect that since you come from the outside, your concepts are deep-rooted and you won't be able to say it, so call them whatever you like. In any case, there are many people in the Taiyin Domain who are always insisting on fighting. You can stand with them, but if you see people with different stances, don't act rashly. Don't have internal strife among your own kind; don't let the Heavenly Demons laugh at us."

Tang Zhao held the two lanterns, his expression gradually turning grave. He discovered that this was a situation he had never imagined.

People say one should read ten thousand books and travel ten thousand miles; if he hadn't come to the Taiyin Domain to see for himself, who could have imagined that the situation here was like this?

Here, the rabbit spat out another scroll and said, "This is a map. The situation of the Taiyin Court is marked here. Green is the safe zone, white is the combat zone—anyone can enter those. Yellow is the danger zone, but if you are skilled and bold and insist on barging in, no one will stop you. Only the red area cannot be entered. If you must enter, you can come back to the Taiyin Court to find us. We will think of a way for you; you cannot act on your own and force your way in. On the back are some common facts about the Taiyin Domain; you had best memorize them all. Also, the sky of the Taiyin Domain is very complex. Besides us at the Taiyin Court hanging in the sky, the Heavenly Demons are also nesting in the air. With your current strength, you are not yet capable of soaring freely; it is better to travel on the ground."

Tang Zhao promised, though his Fragments couldn't possibly only fall in white and green areas—he would have to barge in no matter where they were—but since they had spoken first, if he still insisted on barging into the forbidden areas, it would be too disrespectful to them. He would try to use official channels as much as possible.

He hurriedly opened the map and found that the green and yellow areas were about half and half, while the white area was almost ribbon-like, dividing the Taiyin Domain into two sides—one side almost entirely green, the other almost entirely yellow. This must be the Chu-Han boundary; the two sides were different factions. As for the red, it was only distributed in sporadic dots, which should be the special "Forbidden Lands."

However, there were also dots of yellow on the green side, and scattered green on the yellow side; it seemed that both factions had gathering points of the other side. For some reason, Tang Zhao inexplicably thought of "concessions" and felt a bit uncomfortable. But in reality, this was a situation for both sides, so it couldn't be said to be humiliating.

After putting everything away and thanking the rabbit—this rabbit must be the Sword Image of some Highness in the Taiyin Domain, perhaps even the Jade Rabbit Sword—he turned the vehicle and dived downward.

Although he came down from the high altitude where the Taiyin Court was located, he did not land directly, but instead used his Glasses in mid-air to sense and call out to the Fragments in the Taiyin Domain. He figured that as long as he didn't fly casually, just floating should be fine.

Perhaps it was because his strength was growing stronger and his coordination with the Glasses was becoming more tacit, but it wasn't long before he received a response.

"One... two... three," three Fragments.

At least three. Perhaps there were others hidden deeper that had not yet been detected.

Tang Zhao lowered his head to compare the map and breathed a slight sigh of relief. Based on his rough estimation, he felt two were in the green area and one was in the yellow area. At least for now, none were sensed to be in the red area. And he would definitely barge into the yellow area.

Then, let's start by finding the two in the green area; hopefully, it will be a good start.

Once he reached the ground of the Taiyin Domain, Tang Zhao rode as if he were riding a normal motorcycle, heading East all the way, seemingly chasing the sun that was about to rise.

The night in the Taiyin Domain was very long. Tang Zhao rode forward, counting the time as he went. After riding for a full five hours, the sky was still as black as ink. It seemed as if the sun would never rise.

But it shouldn't be limited to this. The Sun Domain was bright with Sunlight, yet it still had nights. Come to think of it, Tang Zhao hadn't considered whether the daytime in the Sun Domain was longer, because most people like the day and dislike the night, so long days were actually a good thing for everyone.

But comparing it to the Human World, one could tell that the Sun Domain had long days and short nights, and nine times out of ten it was sunny with the bright sun shining; this was inevitably abnormal. If the Sun Domain was dominated by the sun, then it was not strange for the Taiyin Domain to be dominated by the moon.

Finally, when the sun helplessly cast a touch of orange-red on the horizon, he finally saw signs of human life.

Just as there were many native inhabitants in the Sun Domain, the Taiyin Domain also had many inhabitants. Their settlements, along with the cities built by the Sword Guests, constituted the green areas on the map.

The settlement before him was a small one, somewhat like a village in the Human World, but with much stricter defenses than those villages. The surrounding fences were towering, bunkers stood in great numbers, and layers of trenches and caltrops were filled in every corner, screaming "keep out."

Tang Zhao circled the settlement for more than half a turn and actually didn't find a single place that could be called a "gate." It seemed like an iron eggshell that could only be opened by smashing it.

He hesitated for a moment, feeling that he didn't necessarily have to go in. In fact, he wasn't looking for lodging or a meal; he just wanted to find a guide.

Because his first target was in a large mountain behind the settlement.

This was his luck; the first Fragment was actually so close. He had found it after only traveling for half the night. One had to know that the Taiyin Domain covered a vast area; even if he traveled at full speed, it would take ten days or so to go back and forth. However, seeing the pitch-black mountain range before him, he realized he had thought too simply.

This was the disadvantage of the map not being drawn to standard. The map provided by the Taiyin Domain only distinguished between enemy and friendly colors, and at most marked place names; it didn't mark detailed terrain or roads at all. To find it according to that map, unless one turned into a bulldozer and pushed through everything, one would be exhausted to death without finding it.

Therefore, if there were a local guide familiar with the roads to lead the way, it would be twice the result with half the effort. Tang Zhao confirmed the direction; this settlement should be the closest one. It was just that they didn't seem to welcome outsiders. Especially when he saw two white sticks erected at the main entrance. This was a special marking method of the Taiyin Domain: white represented the settlement's "combat" tendency, indicating that the people in the village were continuously fighting against Heavenly Demons and other enemies. Conversely, if two green poles were inserted, it represented a "peaceful" tendency; the residents would not only not harm outsiders, but Heavenly Demons could also pass through harmlessly.

These common facts were all marked on the map, which was the information given by the Taiyin Court. Although the Taiyin Court had appeared cold earlier, they were very well-prepared and thoughtful, and Tang Zhao was very grateful.

Just at this moment, he heard a loud boom, as if a thunderbolt had struck from the sky.

Tang Zhao turned his head and immediately realized the sound came from the mountain; it sounded like the noise of blasting rocks. Although, compared to the Sword Law of Heavenly Thunder he had heard before, this sound was far inferior, it still traveled very, very far in the silent night sky...

Following the sound, there was a slight commotion in the settlement. Some people inside cheered, while others scolded. Tang Zhao heard a few shouts mixed in the wind: "It's done, it's done!", "Don't climb the wall!", "What have you little brats ever seen?"

Although it was only a few sentences, it was undoubtedly full of life. Tang Zhao felt his mood suddenly calm down after hearing it.

He felt no rush to leave. Since the people in the settlement were killing enemies on the mountain, they must be very familiar with the mountains. Finding them to be his guides was absolutely the right choice.

After a while, he saw a team of flags drifting down from the mountain, which were particularly conspicuous in the hazy morning light. There were people in the team blowing horns and beating drums, and the tune was very joyful. At this time, although the settlement hadn't opened its gates, they also began to cheer. The two sides' cheers echoed each other, weaving into an ocean of joy.

Not until the team approached did someone see Tang Zhao, and someone broke away from the team and moved forward, saying to Tang Zhao, "What are you doing?"