High-level martial arts: Long spear with black flames to suppress demons.

Its gaze shifted to Shen Chang'an's left arm.

"Even this body had already slipped out of my control. Those things invaded through the broken parts, and with the help of my remaining obsession, they gradually distorted my senses, making me mistake what I should have been protecting."

"It was because you burned off part of the pattern that I was able to regain my senses."

As Shen Chang'an recalled its frenzy when it struck the seal, and the rotting flesh he had just seen, his heart grew heavier.

Before being brought under control, Wuya had been guarding this sea alone for a long time.

Wuya skipped over his own affairs and brought up the topic from earlier.

"As for the limitations of heaven and earth, I do know some of them. The current situation did not arise naturally."

"The spiritual energy in this world has been sealed off."

He frowned. "Does the senior know who did it?"

"It should be... the Phoenix Clan."

Shen Chang'an stood there, stunned.

Du Yue, Wang Tingzuwu, the treasures left by phoenixes throughout the ages... These thoughts had barely crossed his mind when Wuya continued speaking.

"After the war in the Northern Sea subsided, the last phoenix left with some belongings. They still had another task to complete: to seal off the spiritual energy between heaven and earth."

Wuya gazes at the horizon where the sky meets the sea, as if trying to recognize a distant memory.

"I don't know the specifics of how it will be carried out. They mentioned it a few times before they left, and it sounded like they were acting on the decree of the Celestial Venerable."

It's Ji Siye again.

Shen Chang'an originally thought that the Northern Underworld Sect was an important arrangement left by that old man. Only now does he realize that even the realm restrictions that confine cultivators in the world seem to be related to him.

"Can the Phoenix Clan alone seal off this entire world?"

Wuya shook his head: "Of course it's impossible. The only thing in this world that can do this is the method of an Immortal Venerable. They are just responsible for carrying it out."

"What you can currently mobilize is only a portion of the spiritual energy of heaven and earth."

Wuya said, "With spiritual energy sealed, the path for living beings to continue ascending is also narrowed. The eighth realm can still be maintained, but at the ninth realm, what is needed is not just more spiritual energy."

"The world can no longer contain such life forms. Those who try to break through will be blocked at the door, and those who have already made it can only maintain themselves by consuming their own resources."

Shen Chang'an gradually understood.

He once thought that the Nine Realms could only awaken briefly, a result of the changing times. But according to Wuya, what has truly changed is the condition that supports the continued existence of the Nine Realms.

Why did Keiji do this?

Why would the Phoenix Clan, who paid such a heavy price in the Northern Sea, ultimately seal off the path for cultivators to continue their ascent?

Shen Chang'an recalled the "He" that Ji Siye had mentioned, but temporarily kept his doubts to himself.

Wuya's knowledge is limited, and even if he asks further, he may not get an accurate answer.

He pondered for a moment, then changed his question: "Do you know where that blockade is located?"

Wuya looked at him: "It should be... Kunlun."

"Mount Kunlun in the demon realm?"

Wuya slowly shook his head: "No, it should be the border between the human world and the demon world."

"Traveling only in the demon realm may not be enough to get there."

Long ago, the human world and the demon realm were one world.

"Later, the Immortal Venerable split them in two."

In the light blue sea, the silhouettes of rolling mountains are faintly visible, their full form hidden deep in the clouds and mist. High above, the snow reflects the sunlight, resembling a white line stretching to the horizon.

"Kunlun was thus divided into two sides."

Wuya gazed at the mountain shadows.

"All I know is that the phoenix ended up there. As for where the blockade actually landed, I didn't see it with my own eyes."

Shen Chang'an remained silent for a long time, and finally a vague connection was made between the two realms, Kunlun, and the blockade left by the Phoenix Clan.

Knowing that a blockade exists is one thing, and figuring out whether it should be lifted is another.

Ji Siyue's arrangement must have been for a reason; he was trying to guard against something.

To bring the elders from Zhenyuan City out, we need to go to Kunlun and figure these things out first.

Wuya looked at him: "You can go find the answers, but don't rush to try to touch anything there. I only know a part of it. As for what other arrangements the Immortal Venerable has made, I'm afraid you'll have to investigate it yourself."

Shen Chang'an nodded slowly.

"I see."

He noted down the location and the point where the two worlds met, and took one last look at the mountain shadows gradually fading into the sea.

Whether to go to Kunlun first depends on finding more clues.

Just as I was about to continue asking questions, the seawater beneath my feet suddenly trembled.

A thin crack stretched out from afar, as if some force had torn this realm of consciousness apart from the outside.

Wuya suddenly turned his head, and the Kunpeng figure in the clouds stopped at the same time, then faded away one after another. The verdant islands, the ancient trees on the shore, and the sunlight shining on the sea all faded rapidly in the tremor.

Shen Chang'an's expression changed.

"senior?"

The purplish-black tinge remaining in Wuya's eyes suddenly spread outwards.

His dark golden pupils contracted sharply, and his body tensed up.

A heavy impact was heard from beneath the sea surface.

The crack suddenly widened.

"They...are coming out."

Wuya's voice suddenly fell silent.

Before Shen Chang'an could ask any questions, the sea split open from the center. Darkness surged in, instantly engulfing the clouds and islands.

A force pushed him forward, sending his divine sense out.

In the final moment, he only saw Wuya slowly lower his head, as if desperately resisting some kind of erosion. In those dark golden eyes, fine purplish-black lines were reappearing.

......

On the surface of the Northern Sea, Du Yue stayed by Shen Chang'an's side the whole time.

He had been standing still for quite a while.

The Kunpeng ahead was equally still, with only the seawater beside it gently rippling. Cang Gu and the others were scattered nearby, maintaining their distance, their divine senses constantly monitoring the changes on both sides.

In the distance, the demon army was clearing out the remaining monsters.

Several damaged warships were towed towards Zhenhai City, where cultivators of the Xuanjia clan meticulously inspected the underwater array patterns and repaired the broken connections. The entire sea area bore the scars of the great battle, and work continued in various places.

Du Yue looked at Shen Chang'an's pale face, and was about to sense the soul fluctuations between the two again when the Xuan Yuan Zhen Hai Seal above her head suddenly let out a dragon's roar.

The illusory image of the sea that had emerged from the bottom of the seal suddenly collapsed inward.

Du Yue's expression changed drastically, and she immediately raised her hand to support the ancient seal.

"There's something down there!"

Before he finished speaking, the previously calm sea surface suddenly arched upwards.

The Kunpeng remained in place, the tremor originating from the deeper seabed.

A heavy force spread along the seawater, and the foundation stones beneath the twelve Zhenhai Cities simultaneously groaned. The newly formed array patterns lit up one after another, only to quickly dim amidst the violent tremors.

Cang Gu suddenly looked down into the water, where the Ding Cang Pearl shimmered. His divine sense then probed into the depths. But before he even approached the Abyss Gate, a chilling aura swept back towards him along with his senses.

He immediately severed his spiritual connection, his expression changing drastically.

That aura was incredibly powerful; it was definitely at the ninth realm level!

Moreover, unlike the Kunpeng, that power flowed freely, and its aura was complete and strong, unlike the Kunpeng's decay!

Beneath the deep sea, there exists a truly living Ninth Realm being!