Fan Cheng was surprised and said, "So soon? Take me to see!"
The soldier received the order and led the way.
After several twists and turns, they arrived at the prison where the captives were held.
The environment was dim and humid, with insects crawling around from time to time, making the conditions extremely harsh.
It wasn't that Fan Cheng didn't want to treat the captives well, but the Eastern Garrison's camp simply had no better prison facilities.
They couldn't possibly let these captives live in the same quarters as themselves, could they? If they did, would they still be considered captives?
Arriving at the center of the prison, Fan Cheng and the others met the officer with formidable mental power.
Fan Cheng spoke directly, "Have you gotten any results from the interrogation? What is the origin of these people, and what is their purpose in coming to the Great Wilderness?"
His expression was grave, and he attached great importance to this matter, especially the strange glazed bottle that made him feel even more uneasy.
The officer replied, "Reporting to the General, these people are all mortals with incredibly fragile minds, making it difficult to uncover their secrets through mental probes."
"If we forcibly search their memories, these individuals will die within three seconds, and the retrieved memory fragments will also be lost."
Hearing the officer's words, Fan Cheng's brow furrowed. He hadn't expected it to be so troublesome.
Bai Zhan, standing nearby, said, "Violently invading their mental sea is not an option. What good methods do we have now? You asked us to come, which means you've already solved it, right?"
He appeared nonchalant. The officer summoning them clearly meant he had discovered something. Now, he was just trying to take credit.
"Yes, General. Through localized intrusion, I have obtained some memory fragments from these individuals. However, I regret to say that I have not grasped their language."
The officer replied with a hint of regret.
If they could understand these people's language, the interrogation process would have been much simpler.
But the human mental sea was vast and boundless. Even as an expert in the mental domain, he couldn't directly find memory fragments containing language within the infinite expanse of the mental sea.
All he could do was to randomly fish for memory fragments in the mental sea, whatever he managed to retrieve.
He then recounted everything contained within the memory fragments he had obtained, along with his deductions.
"General Fan, General Bai, in the memory fragments of these individuals, they indeed come from the other side of the Endless Sea."
"To be precise, they are from a world called Earth. On Earth, there are hundreds of countries and factions, complex and without unification."
"The humans on Earth have not mastered supernatural powers but have mastered something called technology, similar to the Great Wilderness's automaton and artifact refining techniques."
"However, their technological weapons are incredibly powerful, especially a weapon called 'nuclear.' Judging by its destructive power, it can kill cultivators in the Divine Rope realm! Furthermore, the dosage can be increased at any time, making it not impossible to kill even cultivators in the Heaven-Treading realm."
"These individuals stumbled into the Great Wilderness by accident. From their memories, it seems the Great Wilderness appeared on Earth, which is why they were able to intrude."
"The memory fragments obtained so far only record this much."
After listening to the officer's account, both Fan Cheng and Bai Zhan fell silent, deeply shocked.
On the other side of the Endless Sea, there indeed existed civilization!
And it seemed that although these people were mortals, their capabilities should not be underestimated.
They could create weapons called 'nuclear,' and with mortal power, they could contend against the supernatural. Even cultivators in the Divine Rope realm couldn't resist.
They could even increase the dosage to annihilate powerful cultivators in the Heaven-Treading realm!
This was incredibly unbelievable to them, and it also deepened their vigilance.
They themselves were only at the half-step Divine Rope realm, not even the full Divine Rope realm. If they were subjected to a nuclear strike, they certainly wouldn't survive!
Fortunately, they had His Majesty. The two knew that His Majesty's cultivation had reached an unfathomable level.
It was even possible that he had surpassed the Heaven-Treading realm and entered the Quasi-Sage realm, a realm that everyone feared to tread!
Although a Quasi-Sage was not a true Saint, they had already begun to grasp the methods of Saints.
They could pluck stars and seize the moon, burn the sky and boil the sea, their power was unimaginably great!
It was in no way comparable to the Heaven-Treading realm, because the Quasi-Sage realm had achieved transcendence, a qualitative leap!
"Wait a moment, in these people's memories, the Great Wilderness appeared on Earth?" Bai Zhan suddenly noticed a very serious problem.
How could the Great Wilderness appear in another world? This was too bizarre, and he found it hard to believe.
The officer replied, "Yes, these people were sailing on the sea when they encountered the same mist as the Endless Sea. Afterward, they intruded into the waters of the Endless Sea, and only then were they discovered by us."
"Hiss... How is this possible!?"
Bai Zhan gasped, finding it too unrealistic.
The receding mist of the Endless Sea had brought about this unacceptable outcome.
For a moment, he didn't know what was going on. This already involved the fundamental secrets of the Great Wilderness.
Fan Cheng also sensed the seriousness of the matter. His tone became heavy as he said,
"Old Bai, have you ever heard of 'Contention for the Crossing' (争渡)? I'm afraid this is related!"
Bai Zhan's face twitched. His eyes widened as he looked at Fan Cheng and said, "You mean, the receding mist of the Endless Sea signifies that 'Contention for the Crossing' is coming?"
Contention for the Crossing was a very ancient legend in the Great Wilderness.
Every time Contention for the Crossing appeared, a person of extraordinary talent would emerge in the Great Wilderness, and it also involved great secrets!
Fan Cheng shook his head, "I'm just guessing, there's no basis for it. I just feel that the current situation resembles Contention for the Crossing a bit. However, upon closer thought, it's probably unlikely."
"Let's not even mention that Contention for the Crossing is just a legend, and whether it's true or not is yet to be determined. Even if it were true, the current Great Wilderness does not meet the conditions for Contention for the Crossing."
"You must know that in the legends, during each of the three Contention for the Crossings in the Great Wilderness, a peerless Saint emerged.
"And in the current Great Wilderness, no one has become a Saint yet."
Hearing Fan Cheng's words, Bai Zhan finally felt a sense of relief.
The main reason was that Contention for the Crossing was too terrifying. Even he, who was usually carefree, could not take it lightly.
The two stopped discussing the topic and looked at the captives in the prison, frowning, unsure of how to proceed.
According to the officer, the forces behind these mortals possessed considerable power. If His Majesty didn't intervene, they wouldn't be able to deal with them.
Should they just let them go?
Fan Cheng and Bai Zhan exchanged glances, their eyes conveying the same thought. They both shook their heads.
"We cannot let them go!" Fan Cheng and Bai Zhan said in unison.
The officer looked surprised and asked, "Generals, why can't we let them go? Does our Great Gan intend to offend the forces on Earth?"
He had personally witnessed the memory fragments of these Earthlings and knew the power of nuclear weapons, which cultivators like them couldn't resist.
Therefore, he believed that letting these people go and maintaining peaceful coexistence was the best course of action.