Water Mage in the Flame Realm-Chapter 427 - 407: This Is...My Territory?

At the same time, Andrew had already followed the roots of Shire’s Water Tower Tree and left the Underground Space where the Lake of the Ocean was located.

Yes, the Underground Space.

This time, Andrew completely confirmed that the location of the Lake of the Ocean was not only underground but also an independent space-time outside the Main World.

So the roots of the Water Tower Tree not only delve deep underground but actually penetrate the crystal wall between spaces, effectively crossing space to transport water.

Just like a bridge.

"Could this possibly be the handiwork left by Liang in his lifetime when he founded the Living People Cemetery in the Inner Sea Desert?" Andrew thought.

If memory serves, in that life, Liang was shackled by a lung burn, his strength lamentably weak. At least, that’s what Liang himself said.

In such a condition, how did he manage to leave behind such an ostensibly simple yet increasingly wondrous existence as the Water Tower Tree?

This question, I’m afraid, will forever remain unanswered following Liang’s departure.

Andrew didn’t dwell on it much.

His entire body transformed into vapor, ascending along the roots. At the same time, with a thought, Andrew astonishingly split off a Water Element formed avatar.

Andrew was a man, but the avatar he separated took on the appearance of a female priest.

Once the avatar was formed, it did not accompany Andrew to the surface; instead, it turned in the opposite direction and headed north.

Andrew himself accelerated upwards, his expression gradually growing solemn.

The mission of heading to the Water God Realm was successfully completed. Upon returning, the fastest way to understand the changes happening in the Flame Realm during his absence was naturally to directly contact President Beiru.

But... there was no contact.

When President Beiru sent him to the Water God Realm, he provided a "Fire Net" connection port before departure, equivalent to a Flame Realm version of a super wireless wifi, making it convenient for Andrew to immediately contact the President upon returning to the Flame Realm.

However, Andrew just tried it, and the signal was fine, but no one answered.

It seemed something had gone wrong on President Beiru’s end!

Andrew then attempted to contact his Soul Guard, Ivan, through the "Soul Whisper Channel."

But there was no contact.

What truly unsettled Andrew was that he used his Magic Guide Realm status to operate "Water and Fire United," trying to contact Barbara, with whom he had established an even closer link than with Ivan, yet still, there was no contact!

"What’s going on? What exactly happened during my absence?"

Andrew was anxious.

But he remained as calm as possible, steadily restraining his own aura.

It’s important to know that achieving a breakthrough to the Magic Guide Realm in the Water God Realm was largely due to the resonance with the Water God Realm.

It was as if an entire world was aiding his breakthrough.

Andrew initially thought that upon returning to the Flame Realm, leaving the Water God Realm temporarily, the sense of resonance would diminish, his realm wouldn’t fall, but the combat power he could exert once back in the Flame Realm would definitely be somewhat reduced compared to when he was in the Water God Realm.

Indeed, that was the case. Being far from the Water God Realm certainly weakened his combat power to some extent, which Andrew immediately felt upon his return.

Luckily, there was Liang.

The Seven-Colored Rainbow Bridge that Liang transformed into is now within Andrew’s brow Water God Mark. Seemingly dormant, it’s actually maintaining connection, communication, and resonance with the Water God Realm all the time!

Without this Seven-Colored Rainbow Bridge, Andrew’s strength would have indeed decreased after returning.

But with the ongoing effect and intangible benefits of this bridge, Andrew instead feels that his combat power might be a little stronger than when he fought the wilderness!

"In this Flame Realm, it’s hard to imagine anyone would think I could break through into the Magic Guide Realm in such a short time. It’s fundamentally irrational, even defying the rules of the planes."

Andrew thought, "And this is precisely one of my greatest advantages right now! I’m not just in the Magic Guide Realm, but I’m a hidden Magic Guide Realm! This must be thoroughly leveraged, used well!"

With this in mind, Andrew settled slightly in his heart, continually telling himself, "No problem, it’s just a temporary inability to connect, absolutely no problem. No matter what changes took place during my absence, with my current strength, I can surely handle it!"

Suddenly, a light shone before him.

He had passed through unknown depths and thicknesses of underground rock layers and returned to the surface.

Andrew ascended along the roots of Shire’s Water Tower Tree, and when he ended the "Water Manipulation Technique," his body ceased to be vapor and reformed into his human shape, naturally appearing silently at the canopy of Shire’s Water Tower Tree.

However, after re-forming into human shape, Andrew immediately and involuntarily froze for a moment: "Is this... Shire...?"

In his impressions, Shire was considered among the Water Tower Trees in the Inner Sea Desert to be very robust and tall.

It’s just that Water Tower Trees were naturally short and stocky, growing extremely slowly, so the height of Shire was only about twenty meters.

But now, standing on a branch at the top of the canopy, Andrew found himself over a hundred meters above the ground!

This was actually a Water Tower Giant Tree that was over a hundred meters tall!!

"This... is truly Shire? You must be joking, right?" Andrew had just been reassuring himself there was no problem, but now he was dumbfounded, "There shouldn’t be Water Tower Trees this tall in the Inner Sea Desert, right??"

After the battles and trials in the Water God Realm, Andrew now had firmer willpower, more stable mindset, and greater resilience.

But at this moment, Andrew truly felt doubtful: "Could it be that I went to the wrong place? This cannot possibly be Shire!"

And this thought, this reaction, grew stronger as Andrew looked around at the scene surrounding the one-hundred-meter-tall and equally wide Water Tower Tree:

"Damn it... where is this?! This cannot possibly be my Wildfire Territory!!?"

As far as the eye could see, it was filled with refreshing greenery, and the air was full of a moist and pleasant scent.

With the Central Magic Laboratory as the focal point, eight broad, clean roads paved with ordinary bricks and stones extend straight in eight directions.

Each road connects to a simple stone archway.

— This was a part Andrew was familiar with.

Because back when he was in the Wildfire Territory, he personally led everyone in the town planning and construction.

Those eight archways were not ordinary doors but the "Gates of Enlightenment."

Every gate was imbued with the "Enlightenment" magic, allowing anyone entering the Wildfire Territory to automatically gain enlightenment’s assistance, and to some extent, utilize the "Fire Extinguishing Upgrade Method" to make the world a better place.

The problem is...

The problem is!

"Why is it so large?!"

Andrew barely kept his calm outwardly, but internally he was shouting, "Why has the scale of this town become so large?!"

Originally, those eight main roads ended at the eight Gates of Enlightenment.

The eight archways were supposed to be the original boundary of the Wildfire Territory.

Yet before him now? The eight roads pass through the archways and continue extending and extending.

The Water Tower Tree Shire, originally outside the town, was now beside a road, completely incorporated within the town!

The roads and buildings of the town are centered around the most central Magic Laboratory.

However, the large amount of vegetation, greenery, and a variety of ponds, lakes, and small rivers emerging in the town were all centered around the Water Tower Tree, extending outward!

Yes, the Wildfire Territory now has lakes, rivers, and water.

Not to mention countless ponds of various sizes.

At the town’s center, around the Central Magic Laboratory, there is now a small lake, resembling the grandeur of Warm Fire City standing in the middle of a large lake.

There are ten concentric ring-shaped watercourses that divide the town from the inside out into different layers.

The outermost and largest circular river naturally became the current Wildfire Territory’s moat.

How could this still be the desolate and decrepit little town in the middle of the Inner Sea Desert almost forgotten by the Flame Realm that Andrew remembered?

This is clearly a grand oasis city in the desert!

The lively human voices in the air are rich and intensely vibrant.

The streets of the city are bustling with activity.

By their clothing, the current Wildfire Territory has original residents of Wildfire Town, residents from various towns in the Inner Sea Desert, and people belonging to the Warm Fire Commerce Association from outside the Inner Sea Desert.

These still fall within Andrew’s understanding.

What truly caught him off guard was that among the current residents of Wildfire Territory, there were... quite a few non-humans, humanoid races from the Southern Retreat Land!

When Andrew first saw this, he almost thought he was mistaken.

Without the demeanor of a Magic Guide Realm strong man, he rubbed his eyes, stared at some figures on the streets for quite a while, and then confirmed he wasn’t mistaken.

The non-human races from the Southern Retreat Land now actually roam the Wildfire Territory!!

"..."

Andrew was utterly stunned.

All the Water Spirit Technique and stable mindset advice were now useless, serving no purpose at all.

Andrew never expected that when he returned to the Wildfire Territory, he’d witness such a wondrous scene.

As a lord, being so shocked speechless by his own territory, Andrew wondered if this was a unique feat in the history of the Flame Realm?

If it were any ordinary lord, they might thoroughly doubt whether they had come to the wrong place.

Was the beaming bridge and the transmission crowd perhaps transporting people to another plane instead of really returning to the Flame Realm?

Any lord facing such a drastic transformation of their territory would definitely need a significant amount of time to find the territory’s person in charge and slowly get to know the situation again.

Andrew doesn’t need to do that.

As a Water Magic Lord, in some sense, the Wildfire Territory is also a part of Andrew’s body and life form.

Previously, when Andrew wasn’t in the Wildfire Territory, or even in the Flame Realm, he became unfamiliar and distant from his own base.

Now back in the Wildfire Territory, standing on the big tree within his territory, Andrew naturally started reconnecting with his realm in a way that was akin to "re-experiencing himself," viewing his territory as a part of himself, sensing and understanding—

Understanding what exactly happened in the Wildfire Territory during his absence to result in the scene before him now.

There’s no need to ask An Ya.

Just by calming down and adopting the attitude of re-acquainting with himself, he can re-familiarize with his territory.

Soon, an influx of information poured into Andrew’s mind like a rushing stream, tumultuous yet orderly.

Andrew fully utilized the exponentially enhanced information processing capability he acquired after entering the Magic Guide Realm, carefully reading every piece of information.

Just like this, gradually...

Andrew began to understand, to comprehend.