"Cultivation is all about forging ahead boldly, fearless in the face of hardship and danger. Look at Master: making enemies everywhere, yet his cultivation advanced by leaps and bounds under that colossal pressure, turning him into the foremost figure of this era."
Lu Yang advised Meng Jingzhou not to view dodging the inherently lustful nature of dragons as a good thing; such a mindset was hardly conducive to cultivation.
The greater the pressure, the greater the potential. That was the principle Eldest Senior Sister had imparted to him, and Eldest Senior Sister had learned it from Daoist Buyu.
Daoist Buyu had put it into practice himself, flawlessly proving the correctness of his theory, and he was still practicing it to this day. Such tireless dedication commanded Lu Yang's deepest admiration.
Meng Jingzhou shot Lu Yang a sidelong glance. *Easy for you to say, kid. Why don't the two of us trade places and see how you like it?*
The Suanni slain by Third Senior Sister was truly worthy of being considered a prodigy; he had possessed quite a few fine treasures.
"Is this a bottle of Infant Metamorphosis Pills?" Lu Yang fished out a small vial and tipped out a pill. It looked just like the Infant Metamorphosis Pills described in books, which aided breakthroughs from the Golden Core stage to the Nascent Soul stage.
Pill Cauldron Peak never concocted such things, so Lu Yang had never seen one in person before.
"All three of these bottles are Infant Metamorphosis Pills."
"What kind of pill is this?" Meng Jingzhou found a pill stored separately in its own little bottle. Uncorking it released a rush of pill fragrance that smelled extraordinarily valuable.
"From that scent, it should be a Spirit Concentration Pill—a pill used to break through from the Nascent Soul stage to the Soul Formation stage." Third Senior Sister's nose twitched, and she identified the pill's origin at once.
Before long, Meng Jingzhou uncovered another Spirit Concentration Pill.
Leaning against the stone wall, Third Senior Sister explained, "The Suanni was already at the middle Soul Formation stage, so Spirit Concentration Pills were useless to him. He likely stockpiled these to win over subordinates.
"The Suanni Clan is split into many factions. Anyone hoping to contest the position of clan head in the future doesn't just need support from higher-ups; they also need followers to work for them—gathering materials, collecting intelligence, and so forth.
"I've run into plenty of underlings who bullied small tribes under the pretense of gathering materials. I slaughtered them on the spot, which is how I ended up making a portion of my enemies.
"As for how they bring subordinates into the fold, there are many methods: pure trust, establishing life-and-death pacts or master-servant contracts, or death-sworn retainers trained by the older generation, among other things."
"By the way, Third Senior Sister, time was short in the secret realm so you didn't go into detail. What are the Central Continent, the Demon Domain, the Buddhist Kingdom, the East Sea, and the Far North really like?"
"Eldest Senior Sister also mentioned that if the two of us encountered any strange phenomena at the border between the Central Continent and the Demon Domain, we could ask you directly."
Hearing this topic, Third Senior Sister stopped lounging lazily against the stone wall. She sat up straight, her tone turning solemn.
"Normally, this isn't something cultivators of your cultivation level ought to know. But since Eldest Senior Sister said so, she naturally had her reasons. Let me confirm once more: are you certain you want to know?"
Both nodded in unison. With the mystery right before them, not knowing the answer left an unbearable itch in their hearts.
Seeing this, Third Senior Sister let out a sigh. With a few casual strokes of her fingertip in midair, she sketched an undulating, orderly landmass and labeled it: the Central Continent.
"Most cultivators believe the world is flat—that whether it's us, the demon race, or the Sea Race, we all dwell upon a single, continuous continent.
"Yet that is not the reality."
As she spoke, another continent of identical size appeared to the east of the Central Continent, standing perpendicular to it.
This vertical continent to the east was a vast, rolling ocean.
"This is the East Sea."
To the west of the Central Continent, a land veiled in swirling yellow sands rose from the ground, parallel to the East Sea continent.
"This is the Buddhist Kingdom."
To the south of the Central Continent, a continent covered in rugged mountains stood upright.
"This is where we are right now: the Demon Domain."
To the north of the Central Continent, a stark white continent rose, sealing the final gap in the enclosure.
"This is the sparsely populated Far North."
Third Senior Sister pinched the air, plucking out a scalding-red orb between her fingers, and set it directly above the five continents.
"These are the sun and the moon."
Third Senior Sister paused, then continued,
"There is yet another continent—one not recorded in any book, known only to high-level cultivators."
A sixth continent manifested, capping the box from above.
The enclosure was sealed.
Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou shuddered simultaneously, their pupils contracting in utter disbelief.
"This land is called the Spiritless Continent. As the name implies, it is a spirit-deprived land completely devoid of spiritual energy. It holds zero value. Not just cultivators—even mortals are unwilling to go there."
Spiritual energy possessed the effects of dredging meridians and strengthening the physical body; if mortals were to visit the Spiritless Continent, their constitution would deteriorate.
"You should have heard the legend that three hundred thousand years ago, the Ancient Nameless One refined the stars into a continent.
"Yet the Ancient Nameless One didn't refine the stars into a single continent, but six.
"Six indestructible continents, forming a cube that locks everyone inside.
"Throughout the ages, many mighty cultivators have tried to break through the continents to reach the world beyond, but without exception, every single one failed. Even cultivators who mastered spatial arts could not penetrate the bottommost layer of the continents.
"Rumors even say that not even an immortal could shatter these continents.
"As for why the Ancient Nameless One did this, no one knows.
"In truth, whether it's six continents or a single flat plane makes no difference to cultivators. These six continents are vast enough that neither cultivation nor battle ever feels cramped or constrained."
"This..."
Although Lu Yang had already anticipated the existence of a sixth continent and suspected they lived inside a colossal, boundless box, witnessing it with his own eyes still felt like a wild fantasy.
All along, Lu Yang had wondered why the Ancient Nameless One refined the stars into continents. What had been the purpose?
It had baffled him endlessly, but now the answer was finally revealed: the Ancient Nameless One did it to lock something away.
Using stars as raw material and continents as bulwarks, a box beyond calculation had been constructed—one that no divine ability could ever penetrate.
"If you don't believe it, you can go down and see for yourselves—assuming you know the Earth Escape Technique," Third Senior Sister added. Many cultivators found the truth hard to swallow when they first heard it.
Seeing was believing; it was completely understandable.
"I'll go take a look." Without hesitation, Lu Yang rose and prepared to dive into the earth.
This wasn't just his own curiosity—it was also the Immortal Fairy's wish.
The continental barrier was exceptionally thick; at Lu Yang's speed, traveling through it would be measured in days.
Fortunately, Lu Yang was already at the Golden Core stage and could maintain internal circulation, going without breathing for long periods.
The only problem was that maintaining the Shrinking the Earth technique continuously required more mana than he had.
That problem could be solved with Great Restoration Pills.
Channeling the Shrinking the Earth technique, he plunged into the earth with a whoosh.
Three shichen passed, and Lu Yang's spiritual energy ran dry. Using the method of Drawing a Prison, he created a small subterranean chamber, consumed a Great Restoration Pill, rested for a brief moment, and then continued diving downward.
Repeating this process twenty times, five days slipped by.
His descending body suddenly jerked to a stop, feeling as if he had stepped onto solid, unyielding earth.
The Shrinking the Earth technique could penetrate no further.
He had reached the absolute bottom of the continent.
Chapter 573