Immortality Cultivation

Chapter 221: Cangxuan Continent

Fang Hao holed up in the Qingyun Courtyard for half a month, solidifying his cultivation at the Late Golden Core Stage. He also practiced the incomplete scroll of the Shadowless Evasion Technique until he was more proficient. Now, when he exerted his full strength, his figure could fade until it was like a shadow, making it impossible for even a Late Golden Core Stage Divine Sense to detect him without careful scanning.

He also figured out some new ways to use the empty clarity mirror. Not only could it interfere with space, but if he shone it on himself, it could slightly distort light, achieving a bit of a concealment effect. Although it couldn’t compare to a specialized invisibility Spell, when combined with the Shadowless Evasion Technique, the effect was outstanding.

Feeling that his condition was adjusted well enough, he tucked away the heavy token engraved with the four golden characters "Imperial Collection," changed into a fresh cyan scholar’s robe, and strolled out the door, walking in the direction of the Imperial City.

The Royal Collection Pavilion was located in the southwest corner of the Imperial City, near the Imperial Palace’s library, but the guards were much stricter, and it was generally not open to the public.

Fang Hao displayed the token. After the guards carefully inspected it and scanned him with a mirror-like Magic Treasure to confirm that the token and his identity were correct, they respectfully let him pass and even sent a young eunuch to guide him.

Passing through several corridors, he arrived in front of an inconspicuous black tower that was only three stories high. The tower was built entirely of some unknown black stone and looked plain, but the tower body was densely covered with countless tiny, shimmering runes, emitting ancient and powerful Restriction fluctuations. Guarding the entrance were two old eunuchs with deep auras and expressionless faces, whose cultivation was at least at the Late Golden Core Stage!

"This is the first floor of the Royal Collection Pavilion. You may enter with the token, with a time limit of three months. Just bring the token close to the tower door," the guiding young eunuch said in a low voice, then bowed and retreated.

Fang Hao took a deep breath and pressed the token against the tightly closed, non-metallic, non-wooden door of the black tower.

Hum!

The moment the token touched the tower door, the runes on it lit up slightly. The tightly closed door slid inward silently, revealing a soft light behind it. Fang Hao stepped inside.

Inside the tower, it was much larger than he had imagined! Clearly, an extremely sophisticated space expansion Formation had been used. Looking out, there were rows of huge bookshelves towering to the ceiling, stretching as far as the eye could see! The bookshelves were packed with countless Jade Slips, bamboo slips, silk books, animal skin scrolls, and even some strange-looking things that resembled bones or metal pieces. The air was filled with a faint, special scent mixed with the fragrance of books, ink, and the old passage of time.

The light came from countless night-luminescent pearls embedded in the bookshelves and the dome, soft and not dazzling. The entire first floor was so quiet that a pin drop could be heard, with only his own breathing and heartbeat. He felt that there seemed to be some kind of power in the tower that suppressed the wide-range probing of his Divine Sense, allowing him to only see the range of a few nearby bookshelves.

"Good heavens... just how many classics are there?" Fang Hao was dazzled, his heart filled with shock. As expected of the Royal Collection, this foundation was truly terrifying! And this was just the first floor! It was said that there were two more floors above, where the collected Cultivation Techniques and Secret Manuals were even more precious, but one needed higher authority or to have performed a great service to enter.

He did not immediately go to flip through those Cultivation Techniques and Secret Manuals. As for Cultivation Techniques, he had the Chaos Derivation Art and did not need to change it for the time being. He was not lacking in Divine Abilities and Spells either. What he needed most now was to understand this world! To systematically and comprehensively understand this vast world named "Cangxuan Continent"! What he had known before was merely a corner of the West Province and a small part of the Mingling Empire, like looking at a leopard through a tube.

He walked slowly among the vast sea of bookshelves, his gaze sweeping over the labels on the spines. There were "Records of Mingling Empire Territory," "Study of Central Continent Customs," "Overseas Tales," "Ancient Secrets," "Demon Beast Illustrated Guide," "Complete Collection of Spiritual Plants," "introduction to formations," "Alchemy Insights"... categorized and all-encompassing.

Finally, he stopped in front of a huge bookshelf labeled "History and Geography Notes." His gaze swept over it and landed on a cyan Jade Slip that looked quite old and exuded a faint aura of vicissitudes. On the label of the Jade Slip were written six ancient characters — "Cangxuan Continent Chronicles."

"This is it!" Fang Hao felt a surge of joy and carefully took down the Jade Slip. It was cool to the touch and had some weight. He walked to the nearby quiet room set up for reading (small cubicles separated by screens), sat cross-legged, placed the Jade Slip against his forehead, and submerged his Divine Sense into it.

Boom!

A massive amount of information, like a floodgate opening, poured into his Sea of Consciousness! This time, it was no longer an attack or a Legacy, but purely recorded knowledge. Although the amount of information was huge, it was clearly organized, and he was fully able to bear and understand it.

The first thing that appeared before his "eyes" was a three-dimensional map phantom, unimaginably vast and dotted with stars! In the center of the map was a vast, boundless supercontinent divided into five major regions — the Cangxuan Continent!

Western Region, Eastern Region, Southern Region, Northern Region, Central Region! The five regions were like five huge petals, surrounding the core area at the very center of the continent, which was even more mysterious and had the most concentrated Spiritual Qi.

Each region was vast and boundless, inhabited by countless races, with Sects, Empires, and Imperial Dynasties standing in great numbers, and experts as numerous as clouds! A country like the Mingling Empire was just an... inconspicuous little dot on the edge of the Western Region on the map! And the West Province was even more so, one of the more remote and relatively Spiritual Qi-thin areas among the nine continents under the Mingling Empire!

"So... the world is this big..." Fang Hao’s mind was shaken, and he felt an unprecedented sense of insignificance. He used to think that the Mingling Empire was the sky and the earth. He didn’t expect that on this Cangxuan Continent, the Mingling Empire couldn’t even be ranked! The true Dominators of the Western Region were those ancient Holy Lands and super Sects that had been passed down for countless tens of thousands of years and had beings at the Soul Transformation Stage or even higher sitting in charge!

His "gaze" continued to move across the map. Beyond the Cangxuan Continent was the "Endless Sea," which was even more vast, boundless, and full of unknowns and dangers! Islands were scattered like stars in the sea, some larger than a continent, inhabited by the Sea Race, the Yao Race, and forces established by powerful Human Race Cultivators. Deep in the Endless Sea, it was said that there were passages connecting to other continents or mysterious Secret Realms, but they were also accompanied by unimaginable dangers.

The map phantom slowly dissipated, followed by a large amount of written records. It recounted the origin of the Cangxuan Continent (legend said it was related to ancient gods and demons), several earth-shattering wars that affected the entire continent, peerless experts and legendary Sects that emerged in various periods, the customs and practices of different regions, resources and specialties, and the differences in cultivation Systems...

Fang Hao, like a thirsty sponge, frantically absorbed this knowledge. He learned that the Western Region was dominated by Buddhism, Daoism, and Sword Cultivator, where Sect power was stronger than the Imperial Dynasty; the Eastern Region had many Yao Race, with Sects and Imperial Dynasties coexisting; the Southern Region had a hot climate, with many Wu Gu, poison arts, and Body Refining schools; the Northern Region was bitterly cold, with a fierce folk style, where Body Cultivator and beast taming were prevalent; and the Central Region was the center of the entire continent, with the most concentrated Spiritual Qi and the most abundant resources, where it was rumored that there were ruins of the "Ascension Platform" leading to higher planes, making it the true cradle of experts and a land where ten thousand races competed! That was the true grand stage of the Cangxuan Continent!

He also learned the detailed division of the cultivation Realms. Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, Nascent Soul, Soul Transformation... Above Soul Transformation, there were even more unfathomable Realms, but the classics were vague, only saying that they "touched the Laws of heaven and earth and could be called Venerables." Each major Realm was further divided into minor levels such as Early Stage, Middle Stage, Late Stage, and Great Perfection (Peak).

"Soul Transformation... Venerable..." Fang Hao yearned for it. He was currently just a small Late Golden Core Stage, and on this Cangxuan Continent, he didn’t even count as a ripple. The road was still long!

He also saw records about various Heaven And Earth Treasure, rare mineral veins, and dangerous Forbidden Lands, many of which he had never even heard of. He also saw more elaborations on "Spiritual Root." In addition to the common Five Elements Spiritual Roots, there were also variant Spiritual Roots such as wind, thunder, and ice, and even some legendary "Heavenly Spiritual Root," "Earthly Spiritual Root," and "Chaos Spirit Root" (which only existed in records and had almost never been seen by anyone). When he saw "Chaos Spirit Root," his heart skipped a beat. Could his Seven Spiritual Roots be considered a type of mutated Chaos attribute?

Unknowingly, Fang Hao immersed himself in the vast information of the "Cangxuan Continent Chronicles" for a whole day and night! When he withdrew his Divine Sense from the Jade Slip, somewhat exhausted, his eyes were completely different. There was a little less of the previous ignorance and limitation, and a little more openness and... longing and awe for the wider world.

"Sitting in a well and looking at the sky... I used to be that frog in the well." Fang Hao smiled bitterly and shook his head, but a hotter flame ignited in his heart. Knowing how high the sky was and how wide the earth was, he had more motivation to climb and explore!

He carefully put the Jade Slip back in its place and did not immediately go to check other Cultivation Techniques or Alchemy Secret Manuals. Knowing the vastness of the world, he needed to clarify his path forward even more. The Chaos Derivation Art was his foundation and could not be shaken. But to go further, he needed more systematic knowledge to assist him, especially "external paths" like Formation, Alchemy, and Artifact Refining, which were crucial for improving his strength and acquiring resources.

"First, find books related to Formation! My level of Formation is still too shallow. The experiences in the heaven-reaching pagoda and the Star Secret Realm told me that sophisticated Formations are sometimes more important than brute force!" Fang Hao made up his mind and began to search in the sea of books. Having a rough understanding of the layout of the Royal Collection Pavilion, he quickly found the area where Formation books were collected.

Looking at the dazzling array of Formation Jade Slips before him, from introductory to profound, all-encompassing, Fang Hao’s eyes were full of excitement. In these three months, he must stuff the most valuable knowledge here into his brain as much as possible! These were all priceless treasures!