The Differences between West Continent and South Continent

Gu Xing'er felt a hint of speechlessness in her heart and rolled her eyes slightly.

Standing beside Gu Changyuan, she simulated the scenario her master had described in her mind.

Herself, a weak and pitiful little girl, standing before the enemy and showing weakness.

The enemy lowers their guard.

Then, "Falling Star" is drawn from its sheath, sealing their throat with a single strike.

Gu Xing'er's eyes lit up slightly.

It seems... it could actually work?

Having spent so much time with Gu Changyuan since childhood, Gu Xing'er's way of thinking had almost aligned with his. She didn't feel the slightest bit of shamelessness.

Bai Ling'er was the first to lose her composure. She raised her right hand high, like a student asking a question in class:

"Master, you're teaching Xing'er bad things!"

Gu Changyuan raised his right hand slightly and gave Bai Ling'er's forehead a gentle tap.

Despite the distance between them, Bai Ling'er clearly felt a light knock on her forehead. It didn't hurt, but it felt incredibly real.

"What are you saying?"

Gu Changyuan withdrew his hand, his tone matter-of-fact.

"What do you mean teaching her bad things? I call this outsmarting the enemy.

On the battlefield, victory and defeat are the only absolute truths. Everything else is just empty talk."

Bai Ling'er stuck out her tongue and fell silent.

She naturally knew this logic.

During her past battles, she had also frequently emulated her master's underhanded tactics.

But that didn't stop her from complaining about it.

...

The next day.

Gu Changyuan arrived on the deck of the immortal boat, his gaze sweeping over the surroundings.

Overnight, many more factions had appeared in the sky above the Cangming Sea.

Various flying boats and flight spiritual artifacts densely dotted the entire sky.

Yet, not a single faction dared to get too close to the very center—the location of Gu Changyuan's immortal boat.

"Hmm?"

Gu Changyuan's gaze paused slightly, landing on a newly arrived fleet in the distance.

The fleet was quite large, with several flying boats lined up neatly.

The Tushan clan.

Gu Changyuan raised an eyebrow and looked at Tushan Youyao beside him:

"Little Yao, the people from Tushan have arrived. Do you want to go 'visit' them?"

He paused, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly:

"Your master will help you vent your anger."

Tushan Youyao stood by her master's side, the sea breeze fluttering her robes and long hair.

She looked at the distant fleet, her gaze calm and unruffled.

A moment later, she shook her head and revealed a faint smile.

"There is no need, Master."

Her voice was very light, yet it carried a sense of relieved composure:

"Little Yao does not wish to pay them too much attention.

Those are all things of the past. Constantly dwelling on them will only drag me down and add unnecessary troubles."

She paused before continuing:

"Meeting them now would do nothing but make me unhappy.

Back when Tushan Youyao chose to leave Tushan alone and sever all ties, she had already made up her mind to make a clean break with Tushan and never have any involvement with them again.

During the years she became an Ancestor of the Heavenly Demon Pavilion and made a name for herself in the Demon Realm, the Tushan clan did not shamelessly come looking for her to return, nor did they come to disgust her.

Thus, Tushan Youyao no longer cared about them at all.

Moreover, I heard earlier that after the Great Ancestor of Tushan came out of seclusion and learned the truth of what happened back then, he directly disciplined the entire Tushan clan.

Although it was a belated remedy, at least someone did what needed to be done regarding the events of that year."

Gu Changyuan looked at Tushan Youyao's calm profile, a trace of gratification flashing through his eyes.

The smile on his face deepened, and he nodded:

"Alright, then we'll ignore them."

If Tushan Youyao wanted revenge, Gu Changyuan could strike at any time and directly wipe the entire Tushan clan from the Demon Realm.

But since she no longer wanted to bother with them, Gu Changyuan let her be.

He withdrew his gaze and looked back toward the distant horizon.

Not long after, another fleet sailed toward the direction of the immortal boat.

The totem embroidered on their banners was a crown with patterns of mountains and rivers beneath it, exuding a magnificent aura.

The Southern Continent, the Zichen Imperial Dynasty.

Cities in the Nine Heavens Realm were divided into two types.

One type was the independent city, which did not belong to any nation.

They were managed by various factions—some were solely ruled by the City Lord's Manor, some were dictated by the strongest faction in the city, and some were operated through the cooperation of several factions.

The other type was the subordinate city, which belonged to a specific nation.

The city's administrators were appointed by the nation, had to obey the nation's orders, paid annual tributes to the nation, and enjoyed its protection.

The geopolitical landscape of each continent also varied greatly.

Buddhism flourished in the Western Continent because, ten thousand years ago, human cultivators and demon cultivators in the Wanluo Immortal Realm were still at war.

That war spread to the lower realms, plunging the human and demon races of the Nine Heavens Realm into a prolonged slaughter.

For revenge, demon cultivators would enter the human realm, ignoring whether the humans were innocent or what their cultivation levels were.

Even ordinary mortals could not escape their vicious hands.

And the Western Continent happened to be the place closest to the Demon Realm.

The war there was the fiercest, and the casualties were the most tragic.

Being the closest to the Demon Realm, the Western Continent suffered the deepest hardships. The common people were displaced, and life became unbearable.

As this chaos intensified, Buddhist cultivators began to rise in prominence in the Western Continent. Cultivating through faith, they generously bestowed mercy and stepped forward to help the suffering mortals.

While protecting the common people, they fought against the invading demon race.

At the same time, they improved their own cultivation through the power of the mortals' faith. Over time, Buddhism became the mainstream path in the Western Continent.

The Southern Continent was different.

The Southern Continent was close to the Devil Realm. Devil cultivators rarely attacked mortals because their method of improving their cultivation relied on the "Three Qis."

And these Three Qis were only generated by cultivators. The higher a cultivator's cultivation level, the denser and purer the Three Qis would be, providing greater assistance to a devil cultivator's training.

Therefore, the targets of devil cultivators had always been cultivators with cultivation bases, rather than unarmed mortals.

In order to combat the incursions of devil cultivators, the various city factions in the Southern Continent began to cooperate with each other, electing lords and forming joint defenses.

As ten thousand years passed, these cooperative relationships gradually evolved into a national system.

Dynasties, Imperial Dynasties, Emperor Dynasties...

The Southern Continent was the place with the most dynastic factions in the entire Nine Heavens Realm.

The people from the Zichen Imperial Dynasty came to a halt not far away.

They did not approach rashly, let alone land directly on the immortal boat.

The leading old man first had the fleet stabilize before bringing a few people over, flying through the air.

There were eight arrivals in total.

Three old men at the peak of the Half-Immortal realm, and five from the younger generation—three men and two women, who were evidently the meticulously nurtured juniors of the Zichen Imperial Dynasty.

The leading old man stepped forward and bowed in greeting, his posture respectful:

"Hou Wuluo of the Zichen Imperial Dynasty pays his respects to Senior."

Standing on the deck, Gu Changyuan swept his gaze over the arrivals and gave a slight nod.

"There is no need for such formalities."

He raised his hand in an inviting gesture:

"Come aboard."

"Thank you, Senior."

Hou Wuluo straightened up and led the group to land gently on the deck, coming to a stand before Gu Changyuan.

After stabilizing themselves, the gazes of the five young disciples behind him were involuntarily drawn to the sights within the immortal boat.

The spiritual energy inside this immortal boat was astonishingly dense, even thicker than that in the sacred cultivation grounds of the Zichen Imperial Dynasty.

The youngest among them, a girl dressed in a pink dress, had sparkling eyes as she couldn't help but exclaim:

"Wow, the concentration of spiritual energy in this immortal boat is so high! Just taking a breath makes my whole body feel relaxed. It's so comfortable!"

Her voice was not quiet, showing no intention of being lowered at all.

An older woman beside her immediately tugged gently at her sleeve, reminding her in a low voice,

"Keep your voice down, Xiao Qi. You must not be impudent in front of the senior."