The realm should have collapsed, for as a Grand Formation without an Eye of Formation, there was no reason for it to continue existing.
Moreover, it had been previously judged by the Way of Heaven, with its spiritual energy and opportunities depleted. Under such circumstances, survival seemed impossible.
But just like the Great Death Realm, the fragmented will of this realm would frantically seek ways to survive.
Chen Xia, who had absorbed the Way of Heaven and possessed a trace of its essence, became the last hope for the realm's remaining will.
It desperately entered Chen Xia's body, making him the sole support of the realm, attempting to turn him into the final and only Eye of Formation.
But Chen Xia was not capable.
His life force was too weak, seemingly on the verge of disappearing at any moment. He couldn't withstand such powerful pressure from the realm's will, let alone bring the entire realm back to "life".
Chen Xia's flesh, spiritual energy, and inner lake were rejuvenated under the realm's nurturing, but his soul was not. The disappearance of his soul continued.
This was an irreversible process.
The realm's remaining will could only do its utmost to retain him. Using the entire realm as a Grand Formation, it locked Chen Xia's remnant soul in place, preventing further dissipation. At the same time, it placed Chen Xia at the core of the realm's innermost part, nourishing him with all available spiritual energy and opportunities, in hopes of reviving this final and only Eye of Formation.
Only in this way could the entire realm survive.
Chen Xia was embraced by the threads of the realm's will, as if encased in a massive golden cocoon, continuously absorbing nutrients from all directions.
The realm survived.
In an extremely fragmented state.
The upper layer of the realm's Celestial Curtain had collapsed. Looking up, one could see the void, a place devoid of spiritual energy, fortune, and opportunities.
The middle layer of the Celestial Curtain fared no better, with half of it shattered. Looking up, one could see the upper layer; looking down, the lower layer was visible.
Great cultivators had become extremely rare. The masters of the Twelve Restricted Zones had all vanished. Only a few saints from the Saint Hall remained. Surprisingly, the highest-ranking cultivator in the realm now was the Wu Saint.
Wu Saint was also astonished, somehow stumbling into the position of number one, and genuinely being the strongest in the current realm.
Because those stronger than him had either died or fled.
In contrast, the realm's fortune had diminished to the extreme, seemingly disappearing by more than half. The current realm struggled even to produce a single Heaven Mending Realm cultivator.
Opportunities were far fewer than before, making enlightenment increasingly difficult.
Wang Yangzi had been searching for traces of Chen Xia all this time. Since that day of battle with the Emperor Shaman and the Way of Heaven, Chen Xia had disappeared without a trace. No one knew where he had gone, but Wang Yangzi felt certain that Chen Xia wasn't dead.
There was no particular reason; he just felt it.
After all, this was Chen Xia, the most formidable prodigy across all realms, capable of chasing and fighting the Ancestral Dao. He was destined to reach the pinnacle of Great Emperors in the future. How could he possibly fall in such a small place as this realm?
Wu Saint didn't know what to say, only patting Wang Yangzi's shoulder, telling him to accept the loss and move on.
Wang Yangzi turned to look at him calmly and asked,
"Want to guess if you'll get hit?"
Wu Saint frowned, "Old Wang, I advise you to calm down. I'm now the number one in the realm, a saint of the second path. If it really comes to a fight, who knows how strong I might be!"
His words were meant to be intimidating, but they certainly couldn't intimidate Wang Yangzi.
"Guess first," Wang Yangzi said again.
"I won't," Wu Saint shook his head confidently.
Slap!
Wang Yangzi's palm struck Wu Saint's head, and he shook his head, "Wrong guess."
Wu Saint frowned, but considering that Wang Yangzi had already become a pseudo-saint and was pitiful enough, he decided not to quibble over such small matters.
Wang Yangzi suddenly spoke again, "Don't say such things in the future. If Chen Xia were to hear about it, you wouldn't get off with just a slap."
"What would happen?" Wu Saint couldn't help but ask curiously.
Wang Yangzi turned his head and gave him a deep look before replying.
"You'd be hung up in the sky and whipped."
This was indeed something Chen Xia would do.
Wu Saint swallowed hard, not out of fear, but feeling that one shouldn't speak carelessly about the deceased.
This was the first two hundred years of the fragmented realm. Not only was there no new Heaven Mending Realm cultivator, but even a new Sea Inversing Realm cultivator hadn't appeared. The entire realm seemed to be paused, with cultivators locked in their current realms.
Lower realm cultivators naturally didn't know the reason, only feeling that their talents were too low, blaming their own incompetence.
Those above the Heaven Mending Realm knew the real problem.
The realm had no opportunities.
There were truly no opportunities for cultivators to break through or gain enlightenment. Perhaps it was because the current realm was too broken. They comforted themselves thinking that things would improve once the realm was repaired.
Three hundred years after the realm's fragmentation.
Suddenly, the entire realm began to converge, forming a massive sphere, forcibly merging the upper, middle, and lower layers into one location, isolating itself from all other realms.
Wang Yangzi looked worriedly at the newly formed Celestial Curtain of the realm, unsure whether this was good or bad.
Wu Saint was more optimistic, laughing heartily.
"We should have died three hundred years ago. Now, every year we live is a bonus. What's there to fear? Just enjoy it!"
Not many cultivators shared this view, so the current realm was in chaos. Cultivators fought each other, trying to seize others' divine abilities and treasures to enhance their own power.
In a realm without opportunities, this was the only way to increase one's strength.
The upper realm cultivators were the most competitive, as their high strength and strong foundations allowed them to seize other sects first.
The entire realm had become a chaotic battlefield, with sects fighting against each other.
Some cultivators who were unwilling to participate in the fighting simply went into seclusion. Unable to gain enlightenment or break through, they simply waited quietly for death.
Among the warring factions, the Zhang family was considered a powerful force.
This was because their sect had some of the few remaining Heaven Mending Realm cultivators in the entire realm: Zhang Guang and Zhang Nianming.
The former was at the third level of the Heaven Mending Realm, while the latter was at the second level. However, being a sword cultivator with powerful flying swords, his combat ability was not inferior.
Not to mention that the Zhang family also had several veteran Heaven Mending Realm cultivators guarding them.
Due to the presence of these Heaven Mending Realm cultivators, the Zhang family occupied tens of thousands of miles of territory in this chaotic world, and no sect dared to displease them.
But the Zhang family never actively engaged in war, and even offered some protection to fleeing cultivators from destroyed sects.
This was the will of Zhang Feiyu, the head of the Zhang family.
The current Zhang Feiyu was advanced in years, his figure hunched, leaning on a plain walking stick, looking just like an ordinary elderly neighbor.
"Why not attack the Mystic Weapon Gate? It's one of the few treasure sects in the middle layer, one of the few ways to increase power in the current realm. If you don't attack now, others will do it later!"
An urgent voice came from behind him.
Zhang Feiyu didn't rush to respond, but slowly turned around and asked,
"And then what? After seizing their treasures, are we to attack other treasure sects? Then continue to attack upper realm sects? Fight our way to become number one in the realm?"
"It's not impossible," came the voice from behind, with a hint of laughter.
"Foolish talk! The foundations of upper realm sects are not as simple as you imagine. They have numerous peak Heaven Mending Realm cultivators, and even several quasi-saints. The Zhang family's current non-involvement in the fighting is a wise move for self-preservation!"
"Self-preservation? The entire realm has turned into a mess, and the Zhang family still thinks about self-preservation? What nonsense! You're as stubborn-headed as Zhang Nianming. What's the point of being a cultivator if you don't strive? Now that chaos has come, it's even more important to fight and seize!"
Zhang Guang shouted angrily.
"Other sects can do so, but not the Zhang family," Zhang Feiyu still shook his head.
"Why not?!" Zhang Guang demanded.
Zhang Nianming turned his head, his cloudy eyes looking at the ten-thousand-foot-tall true image at the center of the Zhang family, and said in a deep voice,
"Because Ancestor Chen would not approve."
Zhang Guang gritted his teeth, clenched his fists, and finally couldn't help but shout,
"Ancestor Chen, always Ancestor Chen! Ancestor Chen no longer cares about the Zhang family's fate, so why should we still care about what Ancestor Chen thinks? Just because he doesn't like it, should we stop doing things? I don't think so!"
"You beast!" Zhang Feiyu roared in anger, his usually gentle expression turning unusually gloomy today. He continued to berate,
"Ancestor Chen is like a second parent to the Zhang family, even more, he's a heavenly benefactor. Without Ancestor Chen's intervention, the entire Zhang family would have been finished long ago. There wouldn't even be a day for you, Zhang Guang, to speak like this. Not to mention that Ancestor Chen and Ancestor Ming are of the same generation!"
"If you dare to say such things again, I will have all the Taishang Elders take action and execute you first, you ungrateful beast!"
Zhang Guang dared not speak again, only lowering his head.
"Go, kneel and repent before Ancestor Chen's divine image. You are not to rise until you are truly sincere!" Zhang Feiyu shouted again.
Zhang Guang dared not talk back and could only agree to retreat.
His expression was somewhat bitter, knowing he had misspoken.
To the Zhang family, Chen Ancestor was like a divine being.
However, this divine being seemed too lofty and distant, making Zhang Guang feel uncertain and doubtful, which led him to speak such words.
He had once seen Chen Ancestor in person, but he couldn't remember how long ago it was.
So much so that now, as he knelt before the deity's statue, he couldn't help but ask dazedly,
"Does Chen Ancestor really exist?"
No one answered.
It's not uncommon for later generations to forget their ancestors.
Outside the realm.
A female figure crossed hundreds of realms to arrive, but she was only greeted by a sealed domain.
Xu Zhen stood there stunned, not knowing what to do.
There was no wind in the void.
Yet her hair suddenly began to flutter, as if someone was caressing it, lifting it upwards.
Xu Zhen stared blankly as the tips of her hair seemed to catch a faint, fragmented breeze.
It kept blowing and blowing.
Until it reached the highest point of all realms, to a place she could no longer see.
Xu Zhen stood there, dazed, and suddenly asked in a trance-like state,
"Brother Chen?"
At that moment, the wind ceased entirely.