Elder Ji continued narrating.
The Zhendan Realm.
To those who had never stepped onto the path of cultivation, the name might have sounded like nothing more than a distant world filled with myths and legends. However, to every cultivator who had successfully gathered their first strand of Qi, the Zhendan Realm was a name that carried immense weight.
It was an enormous world.
A world where countless sects, clans, dynasties, kingdoms, forbidden regions, ancient inheritances, and hidden powers had existed for countless generations. The strong occupied the highest places while the weak struggled beneath them, and throughout the long history of the realm, several forces had become so powerful and influential that almost every cultivator knew their names.
Among them were the Eight Divine and Demonic Holy Lands.
Each Holy Land possessed its own beliefs, traditions, cultivation methods, and values that had been passed down for generations. Their teachings were so deeply ingrained into their disciples that some Holy Lands would rather destroy themselves than allow their principles to be corrupted.
At the very peak of these Holy Lands stood extraordinary Saints and Saintesses, individuals whose names alone could shake entire regions.
The most famous example was the Heavenly Divine Holy Land.
It was said that the Heavenly Divine Holy Land did not simply accept talented cultivators.
They accepted those chosen by the heavens.
Those possessing extraordinary Fates, terrifying bloodlines, unique physiques, or destinies that could potentially shake the world were said to have a chance of entering its gates. Countless young geniuses had traveled thousands of kilometers hoping to be accepted, yet only a tiny fraction ever managed to obtain recognition.
Then there were the Three Domains.
Unlike ordinary territories established by cultivators, the Three Domains were said to have been created by the Great Dao itself.
Each Domain was inhabited by different races and ancient clans whose origins were said to stretch back to the earliest eras of the Zhendan Realm. Their bloodlines were ancient, their inheritances unfathomable, and some of their clans had existed for longer than many of the current great sects could even remember.
Very few outsiders knew what truly existed within the deepest regions of the Three Domains.
Even fewer had the courage to investigate.
After the Three Domains came the Twelve Celestial and Immortal Families.
These twelve families were among the oldest surviving forces in the entire Zhendan Realm. Every one of them possessed an inheritance that ordinary cultivators could only dream of, and each family was known to possess at least one ancestor who had reached the Immortal Realm.
The mere existence of such an ancestor was enough to make countless forces wary.
An Immortal-level existence did not need to personally interfere with the affairs of a lower-level family.
Their name alone was often enough.
Then there were the Four Major Sects.
These four sects held tremendous influence throughout the Upper Zone and possessed countless disciples, elders, treasures, inheritances, and experts.
They were the Azure Moon Sect, the Heavenly Sword Sect, the Divine Blaze Sect, and the Purple Cloud Sect.
The Azure Moon Sect was known for its profound cultivation arts and numerous talented disciples.
The Heavenly Sword Sect was famous for its sword cultivators, many of whom pursued the path of absolute killing through the sword.
The Divine Blaze Sect specialized in fire-based cultivation techniques and possessed terrifying alchemical and flame inheritances.
As for the Purple Cloud Sect, its true strength was difficult to measure, with many of its ancient techniques and formations remaining mysterious even to outsiders.
Below these ancient and terrifying forces were the Seven Imperial Families.
Unlike the Celestial Families, the Imperial Families did not necessarily possess Immortal-level ancestors. However, every Imperial Family possessed enough strength to dominate enormous territories, and each was known to possess at least a King Realm cultivator powerful enough to serve as a door guardian.
The Yun Family was one of these seven Imperial Families.
The identity of the Second Prince, Yun Feng, suddenly made his appearance at the ruins far more significant than it initially seemed.
However, these were only the most widely known powers.
Much of the Zhendan Realm remained shrouded in mystery.
Even powerful cultivators could spend their entire lives without discovering the true extent of the world they inhabited.
The Zhendan Realm itself was divided into three enormous regions.
The Origin Zone.
The Upper Zone.
And the Lower Zone.
The difference between these three regions was not merely geographical.
The higher one traveled, the denser the Spiritual Qi became, and the more abundant the energy of Heaven and Earth grew. Even the laws of cultivation became more profound in the higher zones, making them places that ordinary cultivators could only dream of reaching.
The Origin Zone stood at the absolute peak.
The Twelve Celestial and Immortal Families, the Eight Divine and Demonic Holy Lands, and the Three Domains were primarily rooted within the Origin Zone, although their influence extended throughout the Upper and Lower Zones.
The Upper Zone was where forces such as the Four Major Sects and the Seven Imperial Families primarily established themselves.
As for the Lower Zone...
It was the territory of countless smaller clans, sects, kingdoms, cities, rogue cultivators, and ordinary people.
Yet even the Lower Zone occasionally attracted the attention of the great powers.
Whenever ancient ruins appeared, powerful treasures descended from the heavens, or unusual phenomena occurred, cultivators from the Upper Zone would inevitably make their way downward.
After all, opportunities were not always born in places of great spiritual energy.
Sometimes...
Heaven itself would create an opportunity where nobody expected it.
The ruins outside Lu Jin City were one such example.
However, traveling between the three zones was not something that could be done freely. The Heavenly Dao itself placed restrictions upon cultivators attempting to enter higher regions.
A cultivator from the Lower Zone could not simply fly into the Upper Zone because they desired better Spiritual Qi.
They needed strength. The minimum requirement to naturally enter the Upper Zone was the King Realm.
Likewise, entering the Origin Zone naturally required one to reach at least the Saint Realm.
The reason was simple.
The Heavenly Dao of the higher zones was too powerful to accept weaker cultivators freely.
A cultivator who had reached the King Realm or higher would not be rejected when entering the Upper Zone, while those who had reached the Saint Realm or higher could naturally enter the Origin Zone.
Of course...
There were exceptions.
The cultivation world had never lacked people willing to challenge the rules of Heaven.
Certain treasures possessed the ability to conceal one's cultivation.
Some ancient formations could distort the restrictions imposed by the Heavenly Dao.
There were even mysterious artifacts capable of allowing someone to cross between zones despite being far below the required cultivation realm.
Because of this, many ancient clans and powerful families had developed secret methods to help their younger generations overcome the restrictions.
They would construct enormous formations, refine special treasures, or utilize ancient inheritances that allowed their descendants to temporarily bypass the Heavenly Dao's restrictions until they possessed sufficient cultivation to remain there naturally.
However, even if such methods existed...
Would anyone truly dare to enter a higher zone while being weak?
The answer was obvious.
No.
Even if a cultivator possessed a treasure capable of bypassing the Heavenly Dao, the higher zones remained extremely dangerous.
A cultivator from the Lower Zone who somehow entered the Upper Zone while possessing only the Qi Refining Realm might believe they had obtained a heaven-defying opportunity.
Unfortunately...
They would soon discover just how cruel reality could be.
In the Upper Zone, even a seemingly ordinary dog might possess King Realm strength.
Countless experts guarded important territories, cities, sects, and transportation routes.
If one of them discovered a cultivator whose realm was clearly below the minimum required to enter the zone, they would immediately become suspicious.
How did this person get here?
What treasure are they carrying?
Who is backing them?
Those questions would inevitably arise.
And if the cultivator did not possess a powerful faction supporting them?
Their chances of escaping alive would be extremely slim.
However, the restriction was not entirely equal.
Those born in the higher zones did not suffer the same limitation when traveling downward.
A Saint could descend into the Lower Zone.
A King could travel between regions.
An Immortal could wander wherever they pleased.
This created one of the most absurd inequalities within the cultivation world.
A powerful cultivator could descend from the heavens and casually enter the territory of weaker beings.
Yet the weaker beings could not freely travel upward.
And this was precisely why the cultivation world had countless stories about mysterious young masters from higher zones.
A person from a lower zone could spend their entire life carefully avoiding powerful cultivators, only to accidentally offend someone from a higher zone over something completely meaningless.
Perhaps they spilled a mysterious young master's cup.
Perhaps they accidentally breathed the same air beside him.
Perhaps they looked at him for one second too long.
And suddenly...
They might find eighteen Immortal Ancestors standing outside their home.
This was not an exaggeration.
This was simply the cultivation world.
The strong could do as they pleased.
The weak could only pray that the strong did not notice them.
Who didn't know this of the Cultivation World.
Elder Ji sighed deeply as he finished his explanation, his gaze finally returning toward the enormous gathering before the ancient bronze gate.
His attention once again settled upon Wei Qiang, Zhang Yuxuan, Feng Yun, and the many other powerful figures who had gathered around the ruins.
Compared to these people...
The Xiao Family was nothing more than a small wave within an endless ocean.
Elder Ji's eyes narrowed beneath his hood as he silently observed the situation.
He had originally believed that obtaining the treasures within these ruins would be difficult.
Now, after seeing so many great forces gathered here, he realized something far more frightening.
Obtaining the treasures would not be the difficult part.
Surviving the competition for them would be.
Elder Ji exhaled slowly, his expression becoming somewhat bitter as he watched the powerful cultivators continue arriving from every direction.
"Cultivation is Hard," Elder Ji sighed.