Chapter 896 - 291: Seventy-Two Cangmin Realms (Part 3)

"Since you don’t care for it, I’ll gladly take it,"

"Take it, take it," Xu Zhan quickly waved his hand.

Thinking of the past few months spent digging up this rubbish made her inexplicably irritable.

Xu Zhan waved his hand to collect the items into the Storage Bag, then looked at Zhou Xuan, pondering slightly before speaking, "Fellow Daoist, since you’ve come to Yangnao Land, do you have somewhere to stay?"

From the initial conflict upon meeting, to both parties later finding the other disagreeable.

Finally, due to the arrival of the Tribulation Fire Sect’s group, they were forced to join forces, and in time, as they excavated the Profound Frost Sect’s relics together, Xu Zhan discovered that apart from some arrogance, Zhou Xuan was quite easy to get along with.

Plus, her Cultivation in the Purple Mansion Realm sparked Xu Zhan’s interest in forming an alliance.

As time ticked away, the collapse of the Dao in Yangnao Land approached ever closer.

Many Outer World Cultivators flooded in, and during such uncertain times, forming connections with cultivators from great Outer World factions would only be beneficial, not harmful, to the Shen Family.

This was the survival method the Shen Family had verified years ago.

Zhou Xuan tilted her head and contemplated for a moment, "Why, do you want to invite me to the Shen Family?"

Xu Zhan nodded openly.

"As of now, the Shen Family still holds some strength in Yangnao Land. As you saw earlier, while the Shen Family isn’t a Nascent Soul Noble Family, it is under the care of a Nascent Soul True Monarch."

Zhou Xuan pondered for a moment upon hearing this and then nodded, "Alright then!"

"I’ll take a look at your Shen Family first."

Seeing her agreement, Xu Zhan immediately ordered preparations to be made and then brought out the Void Treasure Ship.

Seeing the ship again, Zhou Xuan’s eyes flashed with a hint of envy, "This ancient Flying Magical Artifact would be considered superior even among the Seventy-Two Cangmin Realms."

"Your Shen Family really has good fortune."

Seventy-Two Cangmin Realms?

By the Treasure Ship, Shen Chongzhen, who occasionally stole glances at Zhou Xuan’s eyes, immediately stepped forward upon hearing this, "What are the Seventy-Two Cangmin Realms?"

Zhou Xuan looked at him with some curiosity, "You don’t know about matters beyond here?"

Shen Chongzhen gestured for her to get on the ship first, then smiled wryly, "To be honest, the Shen Family’s foundation is limited, and we don’t know much about external affairs."

Zhou Xuan understood, noticing the Void Treasure Ship slowly ascending and heading southeast.

"Well then, with nothing better to do, let me tell you,"

On the ship, many Shen Family cultivators surrounded Zhou Xuan expectantly.

Facing everyone’s gaze, Zhou Xuan felt quite proud, raising her chin as she spoke, "The so-called Seventy-Two Cangmin Realms refers to all the small worlds within the Cangmin Sea Region."

"Legends say that long ago, the entire Cangming Sea Region was a single complete world, known as the Cangmin Great World."

"Back then, the laws of the Cangmin Realm were complete, filled with Spiritual Qi, countless Heavenly and Earthly Treasures, and a myriad of cultivation systems flourished like flowers."

"Among all races, talented individuals abounded, with occasional peerless geniuses suppressing an entire era, soaring to immortality with the fortune of a realm."

"Unfortunately, later the Cangming Realm, for reasons unknown, was drawn into a great war."

"In the end, the entire world was thoroughly shattered, and the outer void was turned into Chaos."

"The countless fragments of the broken Cangming Realm evolved over countless years, eventually forming seventy-two small worlds."

Upon hearing this, Shen Chongzhen and others all listened intently, feeling deeply moved.

As she spoke, Zhou Xuan’s eyes sparkled with brilliance, revealing longing.

But then, she let out a soft sigh, "Unfortunately, the glorious scene of ancient cultivation is no more, and the world belonging to my Ice God Palace and the current Yangnao Land among the seventy-two realms were formed as small worlds from the shattered Cangmin Realm, lacking complete Great Dao Laws."

"We cultivators spend our entire lives and can only cultivate to the Nascent Soul Perfection Realm."

"Over the generations, the Seventy-Two Realms’ sages pondered deeply and reached one conclusion."

"To break through Nascent Soul and reach higher levels, there are only two ways."

As part of the Shen Family’s Direct Lineage, Shen Chongzhen clearly understood some aspects about the Dao Source.

Upon hearing Zhou Xuan’s words, he frowned, "Apart from entering the Dao Source Secret Realm, is there another way?"

Zhou Xuan glanced at him, then looked toward the void above and said, "Leave the Cangmin Sea Region."

Facing the crowd’s puzzled expressions, she continued, "Entering the Dao Source Secret Realm indeed allows cultivators to achieve Divine Transformation."

"But that kind of Divine Transformation is pseudo; within the Dao Source Secret Realm, one possesses Divine Transformation strength, but once leaving, they’d immediately revert to their original state."

Pausing, Zhou Xuan scoffed, "Yet despite this, those old fellows of the Seventy-Two Realms still pursue the Dao Source Secret Realm zealously."

"Ultimately, it’s because after reaching Nascent Soul Perfection, day after day and year after year of seeing one’s Cultivation stagnate, this too becomes a form of torment for them."

"The feeling of watching one’s lifespan slowly fade away and wither in wait is genuinely an unbearable burden for most," Shen Chongzhen echoed softly.

The lifespan of a Nascent Soul lasts a thousand years.

Reaching such a realm, although easy reincarnation is possible, knowing one cannot progress further, each reincarnation becomes just another cycle of pain.

Moreover, reincarnation holds risks; many powerful beings are obliterated before fully maturing post-rebirth.

And some are unfortunate, unable to awaken their previous lives’ Innate Wisdom post-rebirth, ultimately equating to total death and Dao dissolution.

"Indeed," Zhou Xuan nodded and continued, "According to Master’s words, as of now in the Seventy-Two Cangmin Realms, forty small worlds have transformed into Dao Source Secret Realms."