Chapter 289: First Encounter with the Domain

After a long silence, Babu finally raised his head to look at Ye Feng. “Alright, I agree to sign a contract with you.”
“My contract is different from others’—I must let you know that in advance,” Ye Feng said, feeling it necessary to clarify things first.
“Stop talking nonsense,” Babu replied nonchalantly, not asking what the difference was.
“I’m just warning you so you won’t regret it later!” Seeing Babu’s attitude, Ye Feng shook his head helplessly and stepped forward. He placed one hand on Babu’s forehead.
“Activate the Ultimate Repair Right once!”
In just a few moments, another dialog box appeared.
“The Ultimate Repair Right has been successfully used!”
Only then did Ye Feng remove his hand. “It’s over!”
Babu found it somewhat strange. “This contract doesn’t seem to have many binding requirements.”
“That’s right. Though it’s called a master-slave contract, in reality, it imposes little restraint on your actions or thoughts—almost complete freedom. But if I don’t dissolve the contract, it will remain forever, even transcending time and space.” Ye Feng’s explanation made Babu raise his eyebrows slightly.
Babu understood what Ye Feng meant: even after his death and rebirth, no matter where he was reborn, the contract would still hold. “As long as you can make me strong enough to avenge my wife, I’ll obey you in everything from now on.”
“Your wife? You mentioned her just now. Could you tell me more about her?” Having successfully signed the contract with Babu, Ye Feng wasn’t in a hurry to leave. Instead, he sat down across from Babu, waiting for his reply.
Babu glanced at Ye Feng before beginning to speak slowly. “Originally, I wasn’t from the Demon Realm. I was born and raised in the Heavenly Realm, in an ordinary family. My parents died due to their lack of talent… By chance, I received guidance from a senior, which helped me improve my cultivation somewhat…”
“One day, I met a woman and fell in love at first sight… We were in love for a hundred years before finally becoming husband and wife…”
“Unluckily, the son of the Nine Nether Realms coveted her beauty and kidnapped her by force. When I went to confront them, they destroyed my cultivation. Those beasts raped my wife right in front of me…”

“As the Immortal Emperor of the Immortal Realm, Jiu You cares not at all about this. Instead, he told his subordinates to eradicate the problem completely and leave no traces of trouble. Ironically, his son decided not to kill me and even said he wanted me to live in pain.”
“I was worried they might regret not killing me, so I fled to the Demon Realm and began to rebuild my cultivation. Unexpectedly, the cultivation technique that senior taught me could even absorb the demonic energy of the Demon Realm properly. Although my cultivation was ruined, it advanced rapidly after I arrived in the Demon Realm…”
“In the Demon Realm, I changed my name and became an independent entity. Xing Jun is an independent organization that isn’t controlled by any Demon Emperor nor obeys any of them. It’s only responsible for carrying out the final decisions of the Demon Realm’s imperial council. When there are no missions, we, as golden-armored generals, can move freely and assign tasks to our silver-armored officers and copper-armored soldiers.”
“Is this a mission or did you come here on your own?” Ye Feng asked.
“It’s a mission. Over 300 years ago, you successfully opened that palace, drawing the attention of many Demon Emperors. So they held a meeting and sent someone to investigate the situation here. Meanwhile, there have been abnormal movements of celestial bodies in the Death Star Region, so I was assigned here. Our mission lasts for a month, as the person in charge of maintaining the portal to the Demon Realm can only keep it open for up to a month. The mission will end in two days, and then I’ll report our findings at the highest-level meeting in the Demon Realm and convey our discoveries to all the Demon Emperors. But actually, I have my own motives. The reason I brought only two copper-armored soldiers is because they’re easier to control. I want to find an opportunity to claim that palace for myself, as I’ve heard there are many divine artifacts and advanced pills that can boost cultivation. After taking control of the palace, I plan to cultivate in secret until I reach the Absolute Demon level, then seek revenge on Jiu You!”
“I’ve taken that palace,” Ye Feng said helplessly, shaking his head. “What do you plan to do now?”

“I’ll go back and tell those demon emperors in the Demon Realm that palace doesn’t exist. The celestial bodies in the Death Star Region still behave abnormally, and it may take longer to observe before we get results.” Babu clearly was good at dealing with such situations. “In fact, lying about information is extremely common. Almost after every mission, those who go on missions take some bribes before handing over the mission items to those demon emperors. As long as it’s not done too extreme, those emperors turn a blind eye. After all, in a treasure trove, each of them might only want one or two items; the rest usually go to whoever carried out the mission. But this time, those demon emperors clearly want that palace, not its treasures. Because things that can trigger riots in a star region are really rare in the Demon Realm.”

“If that’s the case, your excuses might not work for them this time!” Ye Feng frowned slightly. He didn’t want to get into trouble with the demon emperors of the Demon Realm. With the tools he currently had, he could at most deal with experts at the Xuanxian level. For experts at the even higher Juexian or Emperor level, he really had no effective solution.

“I’m sure they’ll make things difficult for me and keep an eye on me when I go back,” Babu nodded. “But since the palace isn’t with me, they won’t be able to find any flaws. At most, they’ll think I failed this mission.”

“However, after I fail this mission, they might send stronger people to investigate what happened,” Babu said, his expression turning somewhat serious.

“Originally, this mission should have been carried out by the strongest among the Golden Armored Generals, but he still hadn’t completed another mission, so it was assigned to me. Among the Golden Armored Generals, I rank second in strength. The one who ranks first is a Xuanmo who can slay experts at the Juemo level. That guy is a emotionless killing machine. Even standing in front of him makes me lose the will to fight, because his killing aura directly affects one’s mindset. That’s why he can firmly hold the first place. Although I’m a warlike person, I’ve never challenged him because I know, with my current strength, I have no chance of winning.”

“That powerful?” Ye Feng thought Babu was already very strong. Even if he couldn’t slay experts at the Juemo level, he shouldn’t lose easily. He didn’t expect there to be an even stronger Xuanmo.

“A master at the level of Absolute Demon and Absolute Immortal isn’t something that can be easily slain, as most of them possess a Domain—a special skill acquired upon reaching this level. An Absolute Demon without a Domain isn’t a true Absolute Demon. With my current strength, I’m roughly on par with an early-stage Absolute Demon without a Domain. I might not be able to kill them, but I certainly won’t be defeated either.”
“But that guy has already slain two early-stage Absolute Demons with Domains and one mid-stage one. Even those late-stage Demon Emperors treat him with respect.”
“It sounds really strong!” In Ye Feng’s mind appeared a tall, giant black figure wielding a long sword, covered in blood, with eyes emitting a crimson glow.
“What exactly is a Domain, as you just described?” Ye Feng suddenly remembered this question.
“A Domain is something that arises when one understands a certain rule of the Heavenly Dao to a certain extent and applies that rule in battle. It allows one to use the Heavenly Dao to alter the natural laws within a certain area.”
“A person with a Domain can turn a specific area around them into a battlefield where they control the rules. Within that area, the natural laws operate according to their own rules, enabling them to do things that are impossible under normal circumstances.”
“For example, there was a Demon Emperor in the Demon Realm who, by chance, obtained a cluster of Netherflames. Under normal conditions, no matter how the flames changed in shape, their total amount remained constant, so he could only use that same cluster of flames to fight enemies. But within his Domain, he could fill his entire domain with Netherflames, unaffected by normal rules. You see, Netherflames are the most formidable flames since the existence of the Demon Realm. Even Absolute Demon-level warriors would avoid them. His Domain made him one of the strongest in the Demon Realm.”
“With your explanation, I roughly understand what it is now.” Ye Feng nodded. “In other words, within a certain area, they can maximize their advantages and gain absolute dominance in battle. That indeed ensures they remain invincible.”
“I just find it strange that someone with such an advantage could still be killed by someone at the Xuanmo level?” Ye Feng was puzzled. With such an overwhelming advantage, it seemed odd to still be killed by someone weaker. “And they killed three people—this is clearly no coincidence.”

“It is said… that guy also has a domain!” Babu said this with a hint of hesitation on his face. “But it’s just a rumor; no one knows if it’s true. After all, everyone who’s seen him use it has died.”
“So, it means that one doesn’t have to be an expert at the Absolute Immortal or Absolute Demon level to master a domain?” A glint appeared in Ye Feng’s eyes.
“That’s right. Those who have a deep understanding of the laws of the Heavenly Dao can do it. Usually, such understanding must reach the depth of Absolute Demon or Absolute Immortal levels. That’s why almost everyone develops a domain only after reaching an extreme cultivation level first.”
“The laws of the Heavenly Dao…” Ye Feng felt that this combat style of domains opened another door for him. “Then let me see how I can develop my own domain…”