To Shi Yan, Mo Duanhun was undeniably an eccentric. He was a man of few words, never initiating conversation with Shi Yan, and speaking only when absolutely necessary.

Throughout their journey, unless directly questioned by Shi Yan, Mo Duanhun would not volunteer a single extra sentence, giving the impression of utter lack of curiosity about anything.

Shi Yan was keen to learn more about the Galo Sea Region, and regardless of Mo Duanhun's potential annoyance, he posed every question he had immediately.

Mo Duanhun never spoke unsolicited, but whenever Shi Yan inquired, he answered each question thoroughly.

From Mo Duanhun’s lips, Shi Yan managed to glean a considerable amount of vital information.

In the Galo Sea Region, there were three major powers: besides the Yang Family, there were the Xia Family and the Tianxie Cave Heaven.

Of these, the Tianxie Cave Heaven seemed to possess slightly superior strength compared to the Xia Family.

The martial artists of the Boundless Sea Feng were all extraordinary; each harbored some mysterious peculiarity, and Tianxie Cave Heaven was no exception.

According to Mo Duanhun, Tianxie Cave Heaven was a truly miraculous place within the Boundless Sea.

Legend had it that several thousand years ago, a couple accidentally stumbled into Tianxie Cave Heaven. Inside, they discovered numerous bizarre martial arts techniques and extraordinary treasures. Realizing Tianxie Cave Heaven was an ancient, mysterious grotto-heaven, they claimed ownership of it.

Within Tianxie Cave Heaven existed all manner of marvels, chief among them an extremely dense concentration of spiritual energy—it was one of the richest spiritual veins in the entire Galo Sea Region.

The most wondrous feature of Tianxie Cave Heaven, however, was a chamber known as the "Soul Nurturing Chamber"—the very foundation of the entire sect.

Mo Duanhun could not elaborate on the precise function of the "Soul Nurturing Chamber," but he did inform Shi Yan that its primary utility was to gestate Martial Souls.

Generally, if one parent carried a Martial Soul within their body, there was a chance the resulting offspring might inherit a Martial Soul. If both parents housed Martial Souls, the probability of the child possessing one increased significantly, even potentially inheriting both parents' Martial Souls.

For instance, Shi Yan carrying both the Yang Family's Undying Martial Soul and the Shi Family Martial Soul marked him as a rare, blessed anomaly.

However, even for couples possessing Martial Souls, the resulting children did not always inherit one, and dual Martial Souls remained an extremely low-probability event.

This principle applied equally within the Boundless Sea.

The marvel of the "Soul Nurturing Chamber" was its ability to dramatically increase the probability of a child inheriting a Martial Soul! If a couple where at least one member possessed a Martial Soul combined and conceived within the "Soul Nurturing Chamber," the offspring's chance of inheriting a Martial Soul was several times higher than under normal circumstances.

This was astonishing, almost defying the very rules of the cosmos. Every couple blessed with Martial Souls yearned for their children to inherit them, hoping their offspring would rise above the common folk and become figures admired by all.

Consequently, countless couples from the Boundless Sea would travel vast distances to conceive within Tianxie Cave Heaven's "Soul Nurturing Chamber," seeking to secure a Martial Soul for their future progeny.

Naturally, Tianxie Cave Heaven was not easily swayed.

Couples wishing to conceive in the Boundless Sea first had to join Tianxie Cave Heaven and become its members.

This was the most fundamental stipulation.

Only their own people were qualified to enter the "Soul Nurturing Chamber" for conception; this rule had remained unchanged for a millennium.

Beyond this, there were numerous other restrictive conditions.

Generally, Tianxie Cave Heaven would not accept martial artists from other factions in the Boundless Sea, even if they desired to join.

To enter Tianxie Cave Heaven, one needed an irreproachable background. They had to undergo meticulous scrutiny by Tianxie Cave Heaven, and their souls had to be meticulously examined by the masters there, every memory combed through to ensure no hidden issues, before acceptance would even be considered.

Even those with spotless backgrounds were subjected to further trials. The grade and potency of the parents' Martial Souls mattered greatly; only those with valuable Martial Souls, beneficial to the future of Tianxie Cave Heaven, would be permitted access.

It could be said that Tianxie Cave Heaven's status as one of the fifteen major powers in the Boundless Sea was inextricably linked to the existence of the "Soul Nurturing Chamber."

Without it, Tianxie Cave Heaven could not have amassed so many powerful experts, nor maintained such a pool of capable martial artists. Thus, regarding the use of the "Soul Nurturing Chamber," Tianxie Cave Heaven exercised extreme caution.

He Qingman was conceived in the "Soul Nurturing Chamber," possessing both the Wind and Water Martial Souls.

The He Family had once been a moderately known clan within the Galo Sea Region. He Qingman’s parents, one carrying the Wind Martial Soul and the other the Water Martial Soul, sought out Tianxie Cave Heaven so their child could become exceptional.

After rigorous examination of He Luo and Xu Man, He Qingman's parents became members of Tianxie Cave Heaven and earned the privilege of conceiving in the "Soul Nurturing Chamber."

Upon He Qingman's birth, she fortunately inherited both parents' Martial Souls. She was immediately brought into Tianxie Cave Heaven’s sanctuary, nurtured as a future pillar of strength, becoming the most outstanding prodigy among Tianxie Cave Heaven's younger generation.

Tianxie Cave Heaven was not a hereditary family; it lacked innate Martial Soul lineage. Yet, through the existence of the "Soul Nurturing Chamber," it had ascended to become one of the three dominant powers in the Galo Sea Region.

The Xia Family, conversely, was different.

The Samsara Martial Soul carried by Xia Xinyan was a hereditary Martial Soul passed down within the Xia Family. Any descendant bearing Xia Family blood had the potential to possess the Samsara Martial Soul.

However, the Xia Family's Samsara Martial Soul varied significantly in strength.

Many Xia Family members, despite bearing the Samsara Martial Soul, possessed only what amounted to crippled Martial Souls. If their past life was not that of a powerful martial artist, even with the Samsara Martial Soul, they would gain no useful insight from it.

If someone's past life was merely that of a florist, a great scholar, or an academic, their resulting Samsara Martial Soul offered virtually no assistance to their cultivation in this life.

Such individuals were not highly valued within the Xia Family.

Some others had indeed been martial artists in their past lives, but their cultivation level was not high, perhaps only reaching the Hundred Tribulations or Status Realm. After obtaining the Samsara Martial Soul, they could, at best, gain the insights corresponding to the Hundred Tribulations or Status Realm, having to rely on themselves for anything beyond that.

These individuals held minor status in the Xia Family but were not considered central figures.

Only those Xia Family descendants whose past lives were those of martial artists who reached exceedingly high realms could truly be considered pillars of strength.

The Samsara Martial Soul allowed them to rapidly break through cultivation bottlenecks by drawing upon their past life's understanding and comprehension of the martial path, allowing them to quickly advance to new stages. The higher the realm of their past life, the faster their cultivation in this life would proceed—a tremendous advantage over ordinary practitioners, offering a path relatively free of bottlenecks.

The variance in the strength of the Samsara Martial Soul rested on another critical standard.

The vast majority of Xia Family descendants, upon acquiring the Samsara Martial Soul, only received their past life's martial comprehension and knowledge; they could not draw upon the past life's power of Samsara. Yet, a tiny minority could not only gain that insight but also, in moments of extreme peril, borrow the latent power of Samsara.

If their past life's realm was extraordinarily high, the Samsara Power they could borrow would be terrifyingly potent.

Xia Xinyan was one such uniquely favored daughter.

By borrowing the power of Samsara, she could momentarily reach the Heavenly Position Realm. This implied that Xia Xinyan’s strongest martial realm in her past life must have been the True God Realm! Only those whose past life reached the True God Realm could briefly attain the Heavenly Position Realm in this life after borrowing the Samsara Power via their Martial Soul.

This was terrifying.

A past life at the True God Realm meant that until Xia Xinyan herself reached the True God Realm in this iteration, she could bypass bottlenecks by utilizing the wisdom of her previous existence.

This effectively positioned Xia Xinyan as a near-True God Realm martial artist!

Given time, relying on this Samsara Martial Soul and undergoing a period of accumulation and training, free from hindrances, as long as Xia Xinyan survived, she was destined to reach the True God Realm eventually.

If for no other reason than this, the Xia Family had every justification to invest heavily in Xia Xinyan.

Consider the heights the Xia Family could achieve in the Boundless Sea if they possessed a future True God Realm martial artist.

It was for this very reason that Xia Xinyan held an unparalleled status within the Xia Family.

Since her soul had suffered grievous damage on this trip, if the Xia Family learned it was connected to Shi Yan, they might become furious and potentially seek retribution from the Yang Family over the matter.

When discussing the marvel of Xia Xinyan’s Martial Soul, Mo Duanhun had subtly warned Shi Yan that the Xia Family might erupt in anger. He cautioned Shi Yan to tread carefully upon reaching the Galo Sea Region, to speak with discretion when meeting the Xia Family members, and not to jeopardize the long-standing amicable relations between the two houses.

Throughout the journey, Shi Yan learned much about both Tianxie Cave Heaven and the Xia Family from Mo Duanhun.

Tianxie Cave Heaven possessed the "Soul Nurturing Chamber," and the Cave Heaven itself was an ancient treasure trove harboring numerous profound martial arts. Through the "Soul Nurturing Chamber," Tianxie Cave Heaven had amassed a legion of masters, gathering martial artists possessing diverse Martial Souls, creating a network that permeated the Galo Sea Region and even exerted unusual influence in other sea regions.

The Xia Family’s Samsara Martial Soul was inscrutable; it offered past life martial comprehension, accelerating cultivation breakthroughs, and even nurtured heaven-defying figures like Xia Xinyan, whose past life directly reached the True God Realm, and who could momentarily harness the power of Samsara to attain the Heavenly Position Realm.

Whether it was Tianxie Cave Heaven or the Xia Family, Mo Duanhun's descriptions left Shi Yan deeply shaken.

Compared to these two powers, the four great families affiliated with the Abandoned Alliance seemed vastly weaker, possessing a monumental disparity in resources.

Yet, even though Tianxie Cave Heaven and the Xia Family were so formidable and deeply rooted, in the Galo Sea Region, they willingly submitted to the Yang Family, recognizing them as the true sovereign power.

Just how strong was the Yang Family?

As far as Shi Yan knew, the Yang Family had held sway over Tianxie Cave Heaven and the Xia Family for hundreds of years!

For centuries, neither faction dared to challenge the Yang Family's supremacy in the Galo Sea Region, consistently following their lead.

What power did the Yang Family wield that compelled such mighty entities as Tianxie Cave Heaven and the Xia Family to bow in allegiance?

Shi Yan was deeply puzzled and voiced his query to Mo Duanhun.

However, on this specific point, Mo Duanhun offered no answer, only stating that Shi Yan would gradually understand once they reached Undying Island.

Shi Yan, filled with burning curiosity, felt a surge of anticipation for his expedition into the Galo Sea Region.

..., (To be continued)