Heavenly South

Biodata

Geography

• Scale: Heavenly South is smaller than Great Jin but substantially larger than the Mulan Prairie. Its mainland contrasts with the island-based geography of the Chaotic Star Sea 90 94 97 107.
• Resources: The region as a whole has abundant resources, although its western reaches are impoverished, with thin spiritual energy and comparatively few cultivators 99 111.
• External dangers: Besides the Mulan border, Heavenly South faces lurking threats in the Boundless Sea that its cultivators must suppress 77.

Documented Locations

Cultivation Powers

Four Major Factions

Notable Sects

• Falling Cloud Sect — Initially has two early Nascent Soul elders, Cheng Tiankun and Lü Luo, and more than twenty Core Formation cultivators. Its elders are particularly accomplished in pill refinement. Lu Shang later joins as its third elder 95.
• Hundred Crafts Academy and Ancient Creation Sect / Ancient Sword Gate — Share the Cloud Dream spiritual vein with the Falling Cloud Sect, making the three sects both allies and rivals 95 98.
• Ghost Spirit Sect — Its extensive influence makes remaining in Heavenly South dangerous for Lu Shang after his conflict with Wang Chan 17.
• Spirit Beast Mountain — A substantial force within the Yue Kingdom 16.
• Yellow Maple Valley and Covering Moon Sect — Participate in the early regional conflict through cultivators including Li Huayuan and Nangong Wan 11 13.
• Spirit Purification Sect — Occupies Lu Shang’s former western residence, where its elder discovers a cultivation-enhancing spirit spring 99.

Cultivation Strength and Internal Rivalry

• Leading cultivators: Wei Wuya, Old Demon Hehuan, and Revered Master Zhiyang are the region’s three great Nascent Soul cultivators. Heavenly South’s leadership includes three late Nascent Soul cultivators 110 113 114.
• Rogue cultivators: Lu Shang states that Heavenly South has more than several dozen early Nascent Soul rogue cultivators, apart from those belonging to the four major powers 104.
• Deity Transformation: Lu Shang describes the region as having no current Deity Transformation cultivator. Several thousand years earlier, Heavenly South’s cultivators surrounded and severely injured one after repeated clashes with the Righteous and Demonic Paths, but failed to kill him 99 111.
• Divided defenses: During previous border wars, sects attacked rivals whose strongest cultivators were away fighting. Consequently, sects retain at least one-third of their strength at home rather than committing everything against Mulan 111.

Society and Travel

• Mortals and cultivators live separately. Most mortals regard cultivators as little more than legends, unlike the more integrated society of the Chaotic Star Sea 95.
• The local language differs from that of the Chaotic Star Sea. Wen Siyue and Mei Ning cannot understand ordinary local speech on arrival; Lu Shang advises learning the language for an extended stay 95.
• Mortal commerce uses gold. Zi Ling distributes the gold Lu Shang leaves them because Spirit Stones cannot be used for their shopping in the mortal settlement 95.
• A teleportation formation connects the regions. Lu Shang identifies a relocation formation leading directly to the Outer Sea of the Chaotic Star Sea and offers to arrange Zi Ling’s return through it 95.
• The Mulan frontier is dangerous for travelers. Lu Shang requires Zi Ling to reach Nascent Soul before leaving Heavenly South, warning that even life-saving escape talismans may be insufficient against the grassland’s powerful cultivators 91 112.

Heavenly South Trade Fair

History

Early Seclusion and the Righteous–Demonic Conflict

Lu Shang begins his cultivation life in a remote country near Heavenly South’s western fringe, deliberately avoiding other cultivators and encounters with Han Li. After emerging into the wider cultivation world, he identifies himself as a Heavenly South rogue cultivator when leaving the Blood Secret Realm 1 9.

The struggle between the Seven Sects and the demonic sects draws him into regional affairs. At Yan Family Castle, the Ghost Spirit Sect and the castle’s cultivators massacre visiting Seven Sects disciples under the Ten Thousand Ghosts Formation. Lu Shang initially avoids intervening in the war, but his later conflict with Wang Chan makes continued residence unsafe 11 13 17.

He escapes through a teleportation formation in a Ghost Spirit Sect-controlled spirit mine, reaching the Chaotic Star Sea with the intention of returning after becoming strong enough to settle the dispute 17.

Return and the Falling Cloud Sect

Lu Shang’s eventual return does not follow his intended teleportation route. After escaping the Netherworld Land with Zi Ling, Wen Siyue, and Mei Ning, he flies over the sea for several days before reaching and recognizing Heavenly South’s mainland 90 94.

He joins the Falling Cloud Sect as a middle Nascent Soul cultivator, partly to secure protection for Wen Siyue during his absences. Cheng Tiankun and Lü Luo welcome him as their third elder, but he asks them to delay publicizing his arrival 95.

Zi Ling chooses to explore the region with Mei Ning, while Wen Siyue enters the Falling Cloud Sect. Lu Shang later attends the regional trade fair and uses a trading gathering to confront Wang Chan, inflicting recurring agony on him without violating the prohibition on killing 95 98 102 105.

Mulan Invasion and the Great Border Battle

Heavenly South and the Mulan Grassland have fought for at least several hundred years. The later invasion is driven by pressure on Mulan from the Tuowu people, with Great Jin’s Yin Luo Sect assisting the invaders 91 114 116.

The Mulan side proposes a contest involving ten middle Nascent Soul cultivators, then traps Heavenly South’s participants inside a barrier. Recognizing the contest as an attempt to weaken their forces, Heavenly South’s cultivators launch a full battle 112 114.

Lu Shang arrives during the fighting, kills Old Demon Fang’s Dao Companion, and strikes down Shaman Tian. After defeating Old Demon Fang, he returns to find the Mulan leaders willing to negotiate an end to the war 114 116.

Mulan proposes receiving two border countries in exchange for peace. Lu Shang rejects territorial concessions, arguing that Heavenly South has won, and instead demands one million Spirit Stones—or equivalent treasures—from every Mulan tribe each year. He threatens to exterminate those who cross the border if the demand is refused 116.