Fang Ming shook his head after listening, refusing the painter's suggestion. "I have no choice but to go."
"Reason?" The painter grew interested, descending from the sky to stand before Fang Ming and Nannan.
"Tell me why you want to go in."
"Because my parents are lost in the Changsheng Realm, and I must find them," Fang Ming said with a firm tone.
"Your parents?" The painter was confused, his gaze continuously appraising Fang Ming. Only then did he notice that Fang Ming was not an innate Yuan Sha, but formed later.
"Who are your parents?" the painter suddenly thought of something and asked.
"My father is Fang Daolong..." Fang Ming had just begun to speak his father's name when he was interrupted by the painter.
"What did you say? Who is your father?" The painter exclaimed in surprise.
Fang Ming was stunned by the painter's reaction, stammering, "Fang... Fang Daolong."
From the painter's tone, it seemed he knew his father too?
Fang Ming felt as if his father might be some impossibly significant figure. From Bai Mu Village to the painter before him, it seemed everyone knew him.
"I never expected it, never expected it. After waiting for a thousand years, you have finally arrived!" The painter's usually impassive face showed joy. "Are you Fang Ming? And the woman beside you is Nannan?"
Fang Ming and Nannan exchanged glances, seeing confusion in each other's eyes.
"Yes, you are correct," Fang Ming said directly, without concealment.
"Good, good, good!" The painter said "good" three times in a row, then abruptly changed the subject. "Nannan, come fight me. No need to determine a winner or loser, just a friendly spar."
"As long as your strength reaches a level where you can survive in the Changsheng Realm, I will let you in. Otherwise, you can go back the way you came."
The painter held no ill will towards Fang Ming and Nannan. In fact, the painter himself was not fond of killing. Otherwise, he wouldn't have given Long Kong so many chances to regret before finally revealing his strength to suppress him.
"A fight is acceptable, but could you tell me why you know my father?" Fang Ming voiced his question, unable to hold back his curiosity.
Since the painter had no intention of harming them, he felt a little more at ease and dared to boldly inquire about his father.
"Didn't Fang Daolong tell you?" the painter asked in surprise.
"What? My father has never told me anything." Fang Ming was also bewildered. What had his father been hiding from him? It felt like everyone in the world knew his father except him.
The painter looked at him and slowly said, "Speaking of your father, it inevitably leads to this place called the Changsheng Realm. Do you know the essence of the Changsheng Realm?"
Fang Ming knew nothing about the Changsheng Realm. Before the painter mentioned its name, he had called this world the White Mist World. How could he understand its essence?
"I've always called this world the White Mist World. I learned a little before. That white mist is composed of pure resentment, with many monsters inside. I don't know much more."
After hearing Fang Ming's description, the painter chuckled softly. "What you've described are merely the superficial aspects of the Changsheng Realm. In reality, the essence of the Changsheng Realm is the dark side of the real world. The real world cannot indefinitely accumulate the resentment generated by the world, so the Changsheng Realm naturally came into being to pour all the resentment into it."
"Then why can the Changsheng Realm accommodate so much resentment?" Fang Ming became confused at this point. If the real world couldn't contain it, could the Changsheng Realm?
The painter smiled and shook his head. "Forget the Changsheng Realm; no world can accommodate the massive amount of resentment that has existed since the beginning of the world. Therefore, during its self-evolution, the Changsheng Realm formed a product condensed from a large amount of resentment."
"Are you saying Yuan Sha?" Fang Ming began to understand.
"Yes," the painter sighed. "The formation of Yuan Sha consumes a vast amount of resentment, and its subsequent growth consumes even more. For instance, for me to maintain my daily existence requires a colossal amount of resentment."
"Although the Changsheng Realm carries the word 'Changsheng' (eternal life), it actually refers to the fact that Yuan Sha can achieve eternal life within it. Outside the Changsheng Realm, Yuan Sha can only replenish its resentment by absorbing the resentment generated by other living beings or by consuming its own stored resentment. If there is no resentment supply for a prolonged period, Yuan Sha will also perish."
The painter explained the origin of the Changsheng Realm's name to Fang Ming, then continued, "Due to the uniqueness of the Changsheng Realm, it has nurtured a large number of terrifyingly powerful Yuan Sha. With my current strength, I can only be considered above average in the Changsheng Realm; I'm not even considered top-tier."
"What?!" Fang Ming was shocked. A painter with such formidable strength was not even ranked in the Changsheng Realm? Then what was going on with his father, who could apparently roam freely there?
"Surprised?" the painter chuckled. "I once ventured into the Changsheng Realm and was nearly killed by the Yuan Sha within. It was thanks to your father's intervention that my life was saved. Therefore, I will not allow you two to enter the Changsheng Realm if your strength is insufficient."
"I'd like to ask, my father... what is his strength?"
Fang Ming truly couldn't understand his father. If it weren't for the series of bizarre events that followed the appearance of his diary, he wouldn't believe his father had actually saved the painter.
"Your father?" The painter clicked his tongue with emotion. "He is a genius. I'm not clear about his exact strength, but he has at least reached the Xu Sha level. Only with this level of strength can one freely traverse the past worlds through the Yuan Sha worlds within the Changsheng Realm."
Xu Sha. Another realm Fang Ming didn't understand, but from the painter's fragmented words, he could grasp the power of this level – freely traversing time and space, altering world history. No wonder he had seen his father's shadow in different time periods. It was because of this.
"Can you explain the specific strength distribution of Yuan Sha to me?" Fang Ming had always been unclear about how Yuan Sha realms were divided. He basically only knew the realm when Nannan reached it.
"From low to high, Yuan Sha is divided into six stages: Sha Zhong, Xiong Sha, Ming Sha, You Sha, Xu Sha, and Chang Sheng Sha. Each stage represents a difference between heaven and earth. It is said that only the Lord of the Changsheng Realm has reached the Chang Sheng Sha realm."
The painter sighed. The more he experienced, the more he realized his own insignificance. This was how the painter felt.
Fang Ming was dumbfounded after hearing the painter's words. Was this a joke? There were so many more realms after Yuan Sha?! So, the half-sha realm he had been so proud of was theoretically just a first-stage cannon fodder? Even Nannan was just bigger cannon fodder. Even Nannan's expression became solemn after hearing the painter's words. It seemed she had to become stronger faster, to protect Fang Ming. She wanted to reach the pinnacle so Fang Ming would never be harmed!
"Alright, enough talk. Let's begin our spar," the painter said, his smile fading and his face turning indifferent as he looked at Nannan.
Nannan also regained her composure, staring at the painter with a solemn gaze. A fierce battle was about to erupt between them.
"Wait, I have one more question," Fang Ming said, snapping back to reality and quickly interrupting their escalating tension.
"What question?" the painter asked.
"Why has my father been traveling through different time periods? What is he trying to achieve?" Fang Ming asked the question that weighed most heavily on his mind. What was his father so busy doing?
Upon hearing this question, the painter shook his head. "I don't know your father's intentions either. He is such a prominent figure; someone like me cannot possibly comprehend his thoughts."
"..." Fang Ming was speechless. How did he suddenly feel like a remarkable second-generation heir?
"Then, you two begin. Be careful not to hurt each other," Fang Ming said helplessly. Of course, the latter half was mainly directed at the painter, as he didn't believe Nannan could defeat the painter.
"Be careful," the painter said with a faint smile. He took out his brush and waved it, painting in the air. In an instant, three duplicate copies of Nannan appeared simultaneously.
Nannan's expression became serious. Although her talent countered this type of talent possessed by the painter, it didn't mean she was invincible against these duplicates.
After all, her duplicates would also use her abilities!
"Blood Python."
A blood python emerged from the void and coiled around Nannan's feet. The three opposite duplicates also summoned their own duplicates. The four Nannans flew into the air, beginning a fierce battle.
"Nannan has great potential," the painter said to Fang Ming, looking up at the battlefield.
"Yes, Nannan has always been very capable and hardworking."
Fang Ming smiled. All the way, she had done so much to protect him. He was very fortunate that he had gone to Bai Mu Village and met Nannan.
In the sky, the four began to fight. Nannan made the first move, attempting to control the blood within the bodies of the three duplicates. However, the three duplicates were not to be trifled with. They immediately joined forces to suppress the changes within their bodies and even counterattacked, trying to control Nannan's blood.
Sensing the anomaly within her body, Nannan let out a cold laugh and chose not to resist the control. Her blood surged instantly.
"Bang!" Nannan's body, along with the blood python, instantly dissolved into a shower of blood.
"Nannan!" Fang Ming exclaimed in horror from below. He could never have imagined that Nannan would be killed!
"Don't worry, she's fine," the painter said calmly. "Keep watching."
"I hope so!" Fang Ming glared at the painter angrily, then fixed his gaze on the sky, watching how events unfolded.
Nannan, having transformed into a mist of blood, was being controlled by the three duplicates and flew towards them. The three duplicates, unhesitant, opened their mouths and swallowed the dispersed blood of Nannan into their bodies.
Suddenly, the three duplicates stiffened. Their skin began to writhe, and they then struggled in pain on the ground. They had tried to devour Nannan, but they didn't realize that Nannan's talent meant she could never be devoured in such a manner.