Core Territory's gates.

Pulling out something from the box, the other guard had his mouth and eyes wide open.

"?!!"

"That's!!"

From the box, the guard pulled out a bloodied piece of resilient paper, still clutched by a severed fair hand.

Gulping, the guard gently removed the still tight hand, reading the piece of paper.

"Recommendation letter!"

The two guards halting with wide eyes, they guessed the exact same thing.

'Then this hand..?'

'Is Julia's?!'

'Is the hand of Julia Fellav?'

"Why are you guys so shocked?" His peak Empyrean Realm pressure overbearing, he forced them awake.

"..."

"We are not really shocked... but more so impressed. Julia Fellav has ties with the Core Territory... she also is a descendant of the Frozen Sage..."

"Frozen Sage?" Surprised by not only this title but also the guard's knowledge, Alexander raised a brow with clear anticipation.

"Yes! The Frozen Dream Sect's founder and ancestor was the Frozen Sage! Having eradicated this sect's foundation... if you really did so... is not a big deal. The sage has been dead for eons, but... it is still an impressive feat. The Frozen Dream Sect must have had ways to surpass the Nihility Realm even in here..."

'...' His mouth shut, Alexander was pondering.

'Should I have ransacked the place some more? I didn't think about that... I never expected such a background.'

"How strong was that sage?"

Hearing this question, the guard stuffed the letter in his robes.

"The sage was... beyond the Core Territory! If not for his legendary status, not many people would actually know. In fact, if not for our affiliations... we might not have known either. Anyways, it doesn't matter." Looking around a bit, the guard signaled to the other one, making way.

"Congratulations! You are now free to enter the glorious Core Territory of Limbo!" Even with injuries, such as a missing face, the guards kept formalities above their small personal grudges.

The giant grey sphere's gates slowly opening, they granted a passageway to a stronger area of cultivation. A place where a higher Martial Dao resided.

His green flames almost extinguished, Alexander's cultivation base stabilized.

A step beyond the gate, he halted.

"What is the next realm?"

Hesitating for only a moment, the guard with a regenerating face answered.

"The Law Immortal Realm! This realm... you might not step within its boundaries even after hundreds of billions of years! But do not fret, the Empyrean Realm is considered potent even in there. You won't be acknowledged as strong, but not a small fry either. Even us... calling us ordinary guards is not true. Nowhere near."

"Good luck!" Watching Alexander take the next step, the gates behind slowly closed.

"Do you think he'll make it to the next realm? We've been stuck in the Empyrean Realm for how long?"

"..."

"I have no idea. Those who can step into the Law Immortal Realm... I have heard legends of some very scary problems arising at that realm. Be it people going crazy, falling into a berserk state, having Heart Demons claw back up from the abyss... You name it!"

"Well, when our shift here is done, we'll make a breakthrough as well!"

"Heh!" Chuckling, the guard's gaze turned ferocious.

"You bet!"

.

.

.

Walking into a giant grey corridor, Alexander was becoming more and more curious about this territory. First of all, why was there a corridor?

'Let's hope no strong fellows await at the end.' Looking to the sides, he could not see a way out. As for the corridor, it looked extremely resilient.

'Law Immortal Realm, huh?' Exhaling aloud, Alexander watched on with a new step toward his goal just ahead.

'Let's make a quick breakthrough! The stronger I get, the greater I will become. I don't know how strong Lu Shu actually is... but even he won't be able to stop me from killing him one day! Limbo is too small to contain me!' With arrogance tightened to his figurative belt, Alexander arrived near the end of the corridor.

Waffling through his nose was a rather peculiar smell. A familiar sensation.

'Isn't that..?' Greeting him at the end of the corridor, where light blossomed, blinding the way forward, were a few stairs going down. However, the truly unexpected part was the world everywhere his eyes could lay upon.

There was no void, no planets, no such things. As far as his eyes could see, as far as his Divine Sense could cover, as far as his expertly vision could perceive, life.

Trees reaching up, hoping to catch a pearlescent cobalt sky. Verdant grass surviving the hoofs of beasts, enduring the boots of humanoid figures.

A forest protecting the wildness beneath from the sparse grey clouds above, almost raining down.

To his left and right, the grey walls extended far away, disappearing soon enough.

Far ahead, past the giant forest, the luscious mountains and varied biomes, giant structures high up into the air. They appeared to be ginormous sects standing above floating islands. Waterfalls of a myriad colors falling back down, showering the potential cities with rainbows.

'It doesn't look too bad.' A faint smile showing itself from its own volition, Alexander descended the stairs, greeted by nature instead of villains.

His feet landing on the grass, he officially entered the Core Territory. A world he did not expect to witness according to Limbo's tendencies.

'So this is where the path leads to. I'm curious now... why and how Limbo exist. Valtos and his Multiverse... I already know the why and how. But this...'

'What is beyond Limbo? Is there truly something else? I'm hoping to see it soon.'

Feeling the plump air and surprisingly tame Origin Energy around, Alexander could feel his Divine Sense extend further than usual. As if he stood in the Outer Territory. No, as if he stood inside a common Tier-1 World!

'This is a bit strange... but arrays exist. Pills exist. Ingenuity exist.' Restraining his Empyrean aura, Alexander still kept his life wheel hidden within.

His Dantian was his life wheel. He did not even need to be bothered when sleeping either. He also needed to temper his flesh as well.

If his body was extremely strong to boot, he would not need to be afraid of essential deaths such as a shattered life wheel.

But first...

'I should head out early. Let's take it slow, I can still fly... but it's better to stay grounded for now. To breakthrough, I should at least wait until I know what it is about. The Empyrean Realm was a huge risk that paid off. But I still knew about it, even receiving a free demonstration.'

Technically speaking, while his breakthrough to the Empyrean Realm was indeed a risk, it was a very controlled one. With a demonstration of its entirety not only shown but even felt, Alexander mastered this realm in a heartbeat. Memory was a strange world, but something so important to him would not be forgotten so easily. In the end, he broke through this realm as if he would break through previous ones. Except for no actual hands on experience gathered by himself.

But, experience obtained from someone else was not terrible.

Nowhere near. It still retained exceptional value. Especially to his circumstances.

Obtaining benefits from the worst of situations was one of Alexander's strong suits. However, he still could not tell whether it was worth a near death or not...

'This place looks similar to a regular world... playing the shark in the sink once again... might not be impossible! I can't get too close to the center either... I have no idea where Lu Shu is. His status... if...'

'A saint...'

Sigh

'Whether it is a martial one or not... a saint in such an environment is not something I can afford to offend for no reason.'

Hugged by the grass, his feet slowly left, the shade of thick trees covering his tracks.

'Let's explore the edges a bit. Being caught there is unlikely, getting information is, while also unlikely, still much better suited for my predicament.'

'I was a rat... the Celestial Realm's rat... and from there, I rushed above the clouds, crushing even legends without a hitch.'

'This feat...'

'I can do it again!'

.

.

.

Near the territory's near invisible border, a young child was picking up herbs. The forest was dense and wild beasts resided within, hidden at every nook and cranny.

The young girl was not strong, only at the Qi Refining Realm. A being almost all decent cultivators in existence could step onto without a care. If they could reach this place first, of course.

The rustling of leaves evident, the young girl looked to the side.

"Who are you?" Her first reflex was to ask for the identity of this person. But, said person was not in the mood.

'A child... will do! I can't be picky right now. I'll just take her memories and locate someone older.' Advancing steadily, Alexander closed in on the poor and miserable cultivator. His aura, while restrained, could send intangible messages to others nearby. The instincts of all around him screaming in horror without a known reason.

Frozen in fear, the young girl only saw a palm press on her head before the world disappeared.

'...' His eye twitching a bit, Alexander's soul searching technique failed. Not because of him, but because of the young girl's resilience. His soul was too strong for her, and trying to peer into her caused a sudden death.

Letting go of the child who was currently bleeding from all seven orifices, he could only give up. He hoped to at least gain some information, but got nothing in return.

'Now I should have been aware of this issue... ah! Rookie mistake! I can't even ask where she lived.'

'I was too impatient on this one.' A small sigh escaping his mouth, Alexander walked in a random direction. To the left.

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.

.

Nothing unexpected happening, Alexander was still walking amidst the swaying trees and calm grass. Tunes of gold sang by strange creatures. Birds he never saw before.

Stopping, Alexander raised his right arm, grabbing to his far side.

A whimper echoing, a rather ferocious creature appeared, its skull tightly gripped.

'Looks like a dog, but daring to bare you fangs against me...'

'You cannot escape. You are no human, so you don't deserve my sympathy.' The low howl and growl of a dying beast gritting one's heart, brain matter and blood rained down, a corpse soon landing.

Cleaning his hand and sleeve, Alexander continued. Fortunately, he only took a few tens of minutes more to reach a shabby wooden village.

Famished children were playing tag while elderly people laughed on their rocking chairs. Some young and aged villagers plowed the fields far away. The area was clear of trees, illuminated under the fake sun above.

'...' Evaluating them, his Divine Sense judged the strongest to be of no threat to him, a mere Heavenly Realm cultivator.

'A cultivator cultivating the fields. Sounds relaxing. Which of them holds good memories?' Remembering what happened back then, Alexander soon dismissed his greed for knowledge.

'Never mind. Let's not make a mistake again. I'll just be random passerby. Let's ask.'

Leisurely walking, he soon reached a random old man.

The decrepit man looked to have attained the end of his lifespan, Alexander already noticing a withering life root. Not that it would be hard to guess.

"Oh!!" Almost shouting in excitement, the old man's squinted eyes showed lacking clarity.

"Little Nian! How was the walk outside? Had fun?"

Clearing his throat, Alexander interrupted the man's delusions.

"Decrepit thing, this Alexander is no Nian whatever. I'm just here to ask questions. Who is your village chief or leader?"

Blinking even though it looked otherwise, the old man panicked a little, trembling.

"Who are you?! What are you doing here!?"

"I just told you, I'm Alexander."

"So? The village's chief?"

Shakily pointing to the fields, the old man almost fainted, his regular life shook by a very unexpected visit.

Almost grumbling from the weird man, Alexander headed for the fields, still being plowed.

"Hey! Who's the one in charge here? I need the village chief over here." All villagers freezing in place, none could comprehend the truly strange occurrence for their average lifestyle.