Chapter 72 (continued)

Shen Duheng hugged him tightly. "I'll never let you take any risks again."

Shen Duheng was referring to the fact that Shan Heyuan burned his own body when facing Ji Li.

Shan Heyuan patted Shen Duheng on the back. "Although the process was a bit difficult, the ending was still good."

Even after Shan Heyuan transformed into human form, his Dantian Small World remained.

He invited Shen Duheng back in. "The Dantian Small World is now a unified whole, not the pieced-together kind it was before."

Shen Duheng raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean by 'not assembled from parts'?"

Shan Heyuan: "The previous spirit spring and sun were created later, so they could be removed at any time. Now it's different. They are integrated. The Pu Core Fire has truly transformed into the sun, and there are no longer Top-Grade Spirit Stone and talisman arrays under the spirit spring. They have merged into a part of the small world. I only need to guide the Pu Core Fire or Spiritual Power into my meridians when I need to use it."

Shen Duheng understood. "Your Dantian Small World has advanced?"

Shan Heyuan: "Yes, yes, it's bigger and more perfect now. It doesn't need manual operation; it has everything it should have."

The two stood atop a mountain in the miniature world.

Looking down from above, at the center of the Dantian Small World, there is still a giant tree, but it is neither like the Illusionless Tree nor the Lightning-Struck Tree; instead, it has formed a new tree.

Shan Heyuan pointed to the tree and said, "That's my true form, somewhat similar to a Nascent Soul, but not exactly the same."

Shen Duheng looked at the giant tree. "Your understanding of planting has improved significantly; are you now at the level of a second-grade planter?"

Shan Heyuan laughed, "What time is it? You're still concerned about this? Even if you have the skills, you can't go outside to take the exam now."

Shen Duheng: "As a layman, let me use this to make a slight assessment of your current situation."

"Haha, that's a pretty clever way to judge." Shan Heyuan nodded in affirmation. "If there were other institutions that offered exams, I could definitely get the jade token for a second-grade planter now."

Shen Duheng: "Truly remarkable."

Second-grade planters are already masters in the planting industry, representing that they have created their own path.

Shan Heyuan has only been in the planting industry for a few years, and his high level of expertise is entirely due to his hard work.

Shan Heyuan had no intention of boasting; he simply led Shen Duheng on a tour of the Dantian Small World.

The Spiritual Power within their Dantian Small World was abundant, allowing them to fly directly overhead on their swords.

When flying overhead, unless it is explained beforehand that this is the Dantian Small World, they can hardly distinguish between the Small World and the normal world.

The Dantian Small World has mountains, lakes, grasslands, and springs, and looks exactly the same as the ordinary world outside.

No, many cities in the outside world have died, but the Dantian Small World is full of life; it is more beautiful than the outside world.

After reading it, Shen Duheng said, "I really hope that one day we can live peacefully in our Dantian Small World and never have to worry about that mess outside again."

"That would mean banishing my body into the void. And from then on, the world would consist of only the two of us, enduring boundless loneliness."

I don't feel lonely when I'm with you.

"That's still impossible." Shan Heyuan laughed and put his arm around his shoulder. "My sword cultivator friend, don't talk big. If the cultivation world is completely wiped out and humanity ceases to exist, we will become survivors. One day, we will always remember this destroyed world and miss the home we can never return to."

Shen Duheng gripped his sword, and after a long while, he hummed in agreement with Shan Heyuan's assessment.

Shan Heyuan finally regained his body, and they didn't plan to stay on Changlin Island any longer.

Shen Duheng asked for his opinion, "Where do we go now?"

"Let me think about it." Shan Heyuan looked at the map. "Are you confident in facing Ji Li now?"

Shen Duheng was silent for a moment, then honestly shook his head. "I don't have enough time. There's nothing I can do right now."

Shan Heyuan: "Therefore, our top priority is to improve our cultivation. Let's find a place far away from the Sword Reverence Sect to cultivate."

Shen Duheng: "You have an idea?"

Shan Heyuan smiled and suggested a location that surprised Shen Duheng: "What do you think about us going to Fu Province to find Realm Spirit?"

Shen Duheng commented. "Unexpected."

Shan Heyuan said cheerfully, "At times like this, we need to be unpredictable so they can't catch us."

"That makes sense. Let's go to Fu Province and find a way to improve our cultivation first."

"Yes, let's launch a surprise attack."

The two didn't stay on Changlin Island for long and didn't have much furniture, so they could leave after a little packing.

This time they weren't in a hurry, so they didn't use the teleportation array, but instead traveled from city to city.

Although Shan Heyuan remembered some things from more than 3,000 years ago, they were only fragments of memory and he didn't understand them very well. Now, revisiting these cities was no different from the first time he went there.

If there's anything different, it's that the situation is much worse now than before; retracing it reveals countless tragedies.

The two were already considered capable cultivators, but in the face of these major natural disasters, there was very little they could do.

Along the way, they could only try their best to restrain themselves, to suppress their sympathy, and to resist the urge to act.

Countless cities perished with a deafening roar, and countless cultivators became remnants of civilized society.

In this process, many sects and cultivators focused on their own affairs, while many others, despite facing dire circumstances, rushed forward to help those unfortunate cultivators.

It was because of so many brilliant people that Shan Heyuan did not completely despair of this world, nor could they simply gather resources and retreat into a small world to wait for the opportunity to ascend.

This world is both terrible and beautiful enough.

It is a world of bad people, a world of good people, and a world that Shan Heyuan and his friends cannot abandon.

Their current goal is cultivation, so the two are not in a hurry to travel.

It took the two nine years to walk from Changlin Island to Fu Province.

In these nine years, the number of cities that have died has increased to one-third of the entire cultivation world.

This is a truly alarming number.

With so many dead cities, a massive leak of Spiritual Power throughout the cultivation world, and the collapse of the Heavenly Dao, the entire cultivation world is no longer able to function properly.

As a result, the average cultivation level of cultivators in the cultivation world has dropped from Foundation Establishment to Qi Refining, the number of high-level cultivators has decreased significantly, and humanity is even more powerless in the face of the harsh environment.

What was once a thriving cultivation world now looks like the end of the world.

Wasteland

That feeling.

Shan Heyuan and Shen Duheng exchanged a lot of spirit herbs for many Spirit Stones, so they haven't really neglected their cultivation over the years.

When they arrived in Fu Province, Shen Duheng was at the Peak Spirit Transformation stage, Shan Heyuan had also entered the Spirit Transformation Realm.

With their level of cultivation, they would be addressed as seniors anywhere they go.

Over the years, the couple has had a good material foundation, but their moods haven't been great.

Having witnessed too many tragedies, it's difficult for them to remain detached.

After nine years on the road, the two no longer felt any excitement when they returned to Fu Province.

On the contrary, both of them were deeply weary.

Many cities in Fu Province have also perished, but this continent is not yet free from the control of the Spirit Jade Palace.

Several other continents, such as Bi Province where Azure Bird Palace is located, Ze Province where Three Nine Sect is located, and Wei Province where Proliferation Sect is located, were too severely impacted and had too many underground rebellions. They were willing but unable to do anything and could only shrink their forces and hide in their main cities.

Fu Province was able to maintain relatively good order mainly thanks to their West Jing Secret Realm.

With the return of the Realm Spirit, the West Jing Secret Realm returned to normal. Faced with many dead cities, Spirit Jade Palace opened the secret realm and accepted many refugees.

With the existence of the West Jing Secret Realm, although everyone's living conditions have become somewhat worse, they are not yet driven to the brink of despair. Therefore, Fu Province is one of only two continents in the entire cultivation world that can maintain normal operation.