Chapter 174 - Aurora

Hao Xuan closed his eyes and entered the rift, leaving the beast world for the first time since first coming here over two years ago.

He was both excited, and a little scared. He was given all these responsibilities and power, but sometimes it still felt a bit strange to him.

A cold wind blew against his face as Hao Xuan slowly opened his eyes. In front of him was a sandy desert as far as the eye could see. The sun was nowhere in sight and it was actually quite cold.

He had held his breath before entering the rift, and could finally breathe out after making sure everything was fine.

He had heard about a case where a rift opened at the bottom of an ocean. The entire group was plunged into freezing cold waters and the initial shock was enough to leave many of them unable to breathe or even move. Most of them drowned right then and there or were eaten by creatures that lived there.

Although not the scenery he was expecting, it was still much better than most other places.

*Bump*

Something hard hit him on his back pushing him forward, "Ouch, can you not just stand in front of the door like a moron? There are other people coming up right behind you," Jin Wang's annoying voice came from behind.

He turned around ready to punch him in the face but stopped when he saw the rest of the party come out from the rift in a stream. He grabbed Jin Wang by the head and dragged him to side.

"Ow ow ow!" Jin Wang shouted and made a painful face, "You're hurting me!"

Hao Xuan almost blew a vein trying to hold himself back from punching him in the throat. This b*stard was strong enough to take on a full-powered attack from a Stage seven Spirit Realm Cultivator, yet acted like the little bit of strength Hao Xuan put into his hand was "hurting" him?

Some of the people turned around and looked at them with furrowed brows, making Hao Xuan quickly let go of his head.

Hao Xuan smiled at them and then leaned in towards Jin Wang, "B*tch, you better hope we don't get separated, otherwise, you're gonna be walking back home," he patted him on the shoulder and looked away.

Hao Xuan walked around a little and examined this new world they had entered.

From what he had read, no one had ever seen what one of these worlds looked like from space, or where it even was in the universe. But one thing they knew for sure was that it was a planet somewhere extremely far away from the beast world.

Hao Xuan took out a jacket from his storage ring and put it on. As he calmed down, he noticed how cold this place really was. And this was dry cold, which wriggled it's way into your body, all the way to the bones.

"Captain, everyone is here," a voice came up from behind Hao Xuan, startling him. He turned around and saw Zeng Yu staring at him expressionlessly. It looked more like a realistic mask than a face at this point.

"Good. Follow the procedures. And make full use of that group we brought along with us," he said peering at Hyson who was looking around with an amazed expression on his face, much like a child who had come to an amusement park for the first time.

"Yes," Zeng Yu saluted and walked away, hurling one order after another at them.

This wasn't the first time a new realm had opened up in the Mei Kingdom so there were already standard protocols in place for almost everything.

After entering a new realm, the first thing they had to do was set up their first camp. This was to be within fifty kilometers of the rift they had come through under normal circumstances, but if that wasn't possible, then they had to find another safe location.

The second was to scout around for signs of civilization. That meant looking for any structures, tools, signs of a fight that left any remaining energy in the surroundings etc.

Third, if a civilization was found, they had to determine whether or not they were hostile. That would change how they interacted with them, if at all.

But if there was nothing like that, then they would take a few samples of the different materials found in the environment, the scientists would take some measurements, while the soldiers would try to hunt and capture any flora or fauna deemed worthy of bringing back.

The two parties that were with them, namely the Ma and Shi clan were just tourists. They could do whatever they wanted as long as it didn't interfere with other operations. And in case of an emergency, they had to lend a hand.

"Wow, I've never seen so much sand in one place!" Ma Yu's eyes lit up and she started running around the place. Shi Chun was just as amazed and followed right behind her.

The Mei Kingdom was in the south most part of the continent. Meaning all the surrounding areas were jungles and forests. There was not a single desert in any of the hundreds of kingdoms around them, so their response was understandable.

But Hao Xuan basically grew up in a desert back on earth. Although it was more rocks and less sand, this was still very familiar to him.

He bent down and picked up a handful of sand, staring at it as it fell between his fingers. Strangely enough, this place reminded him of his own home back on earth.

"Let's go already, they're waiting for you," Jin Wang's voice came from behind him. But unlike his normal tone, it was much less aggressive.

"Mhm, let's go," Hao Xuan didn't notice the difference and replied lightly. He rubbed the few grains of sand still stuck to the palm of his hand and walked towards Zeng Yu.

Jin Wang waited for Hao Xuan to get a bit further away before looking in a certain direction. The pupils from his eyes vanished for an instant, making them turn completely white.

An aurora of intense purple lights reflected in his eyes, much like the polar lights from earth. They covered most of the dark sky, but no one else other than him could see it.

After a second, his pupils returned and his eyes turned back to normal.. He looked at the sky once again where the aurora was and then silently followed after Hao Xuan.