Yang Chan recalled how, inside the Baihua Building, his Spiritual Power would unconsciously emanate from him and merge with the building itself. When he first sensed it, he had even severed a portion of that Spiritual Power, vaguely feeling that something was amiss.
It now seemed to be a special technique of the Supreme Sect, designed to draw a small amount of Spiritual Power from people. The method was somewhat similar to how the No-Life Evil Cult’s Taiyin Heavenly God Skill extracted Spiritual Power, but with a major difference: this extraction was only partial and occurred without the person’s awareness.
The No-Life Evil Cult’s method, on the other hand, first induced faith in its victims, then extracted Spiritual Power from their beliefs—or to be more precise, it extracted the Power of Faith itself.
Those subjected to this extraction would suffer severe physical repercussions. Before long, their minds would break down, and they would die. This was why the technique was considered so incredibly sinister.
As for Fragrance Tower, Yang Chan recalled it used a special rhythm combined with a unique, subtle fragrance. The combination could draw out the most primal desires from the depths of a person’s heart.
Yang Chan remembered these two brothels vividly. At the time, however, he had merely considered these to be their unique specialties. After all, each of the Jade City Twelve Floors had its own distinct characteristics and widely differing methods.
He had never imagined these two brothels would be connected to the Holy Lands.
Furthermore, according to Princess Lan Yue, members of these Holy Lands would even cultivate within these brothels, using the raw, vibrant energy of the mortal world to practice.
’It seems that human desire and spirit are the very source of cultivation for these major sects,’ he thought. ’It sounds utterly bizarre. After all, these aren’t exactly righteous methods. If people actually died from it, they would probably be labeled an Evil Cult.’
After all, such methods were far from being upright and honorable.
"Before I left White Jade City, I heard a rumor that the Saintesses of the two major sects had appeared in the city, but I don’t know if it’s true," Princess Lan Yue continued, sharing a piece of information she couldn’t verify.
This was because her movements were severely restricted at the time, preventing her from investigating properly.
Not long after that, she was forced into a political marriage with the Jin Meng Empire.
’If I had actually been taken away back then, I’d probably be long dead by now.’
’Whether in the earlier clash between the two Imperial Dynasties or the recent fall of the Jin Meng Empire, I wouldn’t have been able to escape. I would have almost certainly died. In comparison, staying in the Cyan Yuan Sect is much safer.’
’Now I’ve even changed my cultivation path, and I’m not lacking for Cultivation Resources.’
"What other Holy Land-level powers have you heard of?"
Yang Chan asked.
’I’m not very familiar with these two Holy Lands, even if I’ve brushed up against them before. But I might well run into them later.’
’Besides these, I’m naturally interested in other Holy Land-level powers too. If I need to leave the Taiyu Divine Continent in the future, I’ll need to know about them.’
’After all, if I can’t find a way to leave the Taiyu Divine Continent through the Merak Sacred Land, I’ll have to turn my attention to the others.’
"Then there’s the notorious Taiyin Demon Sect. They’re a major power on par with the Holy Lands, and while they call themselves the Holy Sect, their methods are ruthless, and they always cause immense chaos."
"The members of this Demon Sect don’t always act personally; they often use other Affiliated Forces to stir up all kinds of trouble."
"The Demon Sect that caused so much trouble within the Great Zhou Imperial Dynasty was one of the Taiyin Demon Sect’s Affiliated Forces."
Princess Lan Yue said slowly, recalling what she knew about Holy Land-level powers.
"Some Holy Lands once tried to join forces to annihilate the Taiyin Demon Sect, but they failed because they couldn’t find the sect’s Grotto Heaven. Their location remains a mystery."
"There’s also the Myriad Beasts Dao, a Holy Land focused on Beast Taming. They control all sorts of strange Exotic Beasts, and their techniques are very unusual. I once saw someone from the Myriad Beasts Dao ride a rare species of flying beast straight up into the clouds. It left a deep impression on me."
"Besides them, there’s also..."
Princess Lan Yue named quite a few Holy Lands. Yang Chan had never even heard of some of them, while Princess Lan Yue herself had only heard of most by reputation and had never witnessed their power firsthand.
The Great Zhou Imperial Dynasty kept records on the Holy Lands. With a Martial Saint Ancestor of their own, they naturally had access to many secrets.
However, it was extremely difficult for members of the Imperial Family to join a Holy Land; it was practically impossible.
It seemed the major Holy Lands were all extremely wary of anyone from the Imperial Family.
The Holy Lands would have to think long and hard before even allowing one to enter and cultivate for a short period.
After Princess Lan Yue demonstrated her extraordinary talent as a Pharmacist, she had wanted to join a Holy Land to cultivate but was rejected. That was why she ended up studying under Xu Chuan, the Vice Alliance Leader of the Pharmacist Alliance.
’So there really are a lot of Holy Lands, and their methods vary greatly.’
Even though some of what Princess Lan Yue described wasn’t from her own experience but from historical records, the information still broadened Yang Chan’s horizons considerably.
The number of Holy Lands was far greater than he had anticipated.
But when he considered the vast, resource-rich, and populous Taiyu Divine Continent, it began to make sense.
A territory this vast had given rise to numerous Imperial Dynasties; it was only natural that it could also produce many Holy Lands.
This was especially true considering that in the past, the Taiyu Divine Continent had even been home to Divine Dynasties that had broken the Human-God Boundary. Though such dynasties had vanished, their legacies remained.
It wasn’t out of the question that some of the major sects had founded their powerful Holy Lands after obtaining legacies left behind by those Divine Dynasties.
There were also Little Worlds like Taiyin Heaven. If someone managed to obtain the legacy from its tower, they could very well establish a new Holy Land. Opportunities of that magnitude were not uncommon.
Take Secret Realms, for instance. They appeared periodically, and each time, a new group of powerful individuals would rise to prominence.
If someone was lucky enough to break through to the Blood Exchange Martial Saint Realm and then find a Secret Realm suitable for founding a new power, they could fashion it into a Grotto Heaven. Perhaps a few hundred years later, a new Holy Land would be born.
The defining feature of a Holy Land was actually simple: the ability to produce a Martial Saint in every generation. As long as each era had a reigning Martial Saint to oversee it, the Holy Land’s name would not fade.
The existence of an Imperial Dynasty was somewhat similar, but because of the Emperor Dao National Fate, there were significant differences between them. They chose different paths and had different ultimate goals.
While Imperial Dynasties and Holy Lands didn’t completely ignore each other, their relationship was merely superficial and never went deep. On the whole, their interactions were quite mundane.
"The legacies within the various Holy Lands differ, which is why their techniques vary so greatly. It seems these legacies are the key."
"Some legacies are obtained from Little Worlds like Taiyin Heaven, eventually becoming the unique techniques of a given Holy Land!"
"Even when two people obtain the same legacy, different users will lead to different specializations. As it’s passed down through generations, those differences naturally grow even larger," Princess Lan Yue explained slowly.
She, too, had once wanted to join a Holy Land. They had seemed so mysterious to her back then. After being rejected, however, she harbored no goodwill toward them.
And yet, she never imagined that she would now have to join one.
Life was truly hard to predict. One could never know where a path would ultimately lead until they walked it to the very end. It was entirely possible to change course midway, taking a turn onto a road one had never even considered before. Such choices were impossible to foresee.
This was precisely Princess Lan Yue’s situation. After being rejected, her pride made her unwilling to have anything to do with the Holy Lands. But now, she was joining one purely for the Cultivation Resources it offered.
As someone cultivating the Emperor’s Shocking Book, she needed increasingly rare Cultivation Resources.