Every fifty years, cultivators from the sects belonging to the rightful faction sent cultivators to the lower continent in order to block the evil factions over there from ruling like tyrants over the mortals. That did not mean that there were only mortals there, of course not. What differentiated the lower and higher continents was the density of spiritual energy in the surroundings.

Just as their names implied, they had lower concentration of spiritual energy. It was to the point that it was impossible to exert a might beyond that of the 30th stage. Spiritual energy, to a cultivator, was like oxygen in a way. Without sufficient energy in the surroundings, there was nothing one could do. The laws over there restricted everyone to a certain level. Of course, a cultivator of a higher could go there but he would be stuck with a 'quality' of spiritual energy at the 30th stage. That did not mean he would be at the same level as a real 30th stage. The 'quantity' of energy he had would remain that of his true stage and same went with his techniques. Only the 'quality' of the energy was capped.

That being said, no one who reached the 30th stage went there. That was because it was impossible to find something of a higher 'quality' over there. It meant that evolution was impossible.

The cultivators sent there from both factions were those they had no longer any hopes for or those that were exiled. It was, in a way, a natural jail. Of course, they made sure to give incentives to the people there and those going there.

The members of the evil factions were in heaven over there. They could rampage all over the place and even the weaker cultivators could rule in some areas. They could harvest human lives like wheat, find slaves and much more...

Of course, they had to deal with the rightful faction at the same time. Benefits always came with risks.

As for those of the rightful factions, they considered it their duty to protect the mortals from the evil factions. But there were many more things to earn from that place. They could temper their battle senses and they did earn quite a bit whenever they managed to take down the forces of evil...

All in all, it was a training place for the younger generations and a jail for those of the older ones.

Jin's sister decided to go to such a place for many reasons. The first one was because she wanted to prove herself. She dreamt of having her legends told all over the world like her big brother.

Aside from that, the rewards were high considering her status as an outer disciple with low talents and the requirements were close to inexistant. They only needed one to be a spiritual warrior. Being at the 4th stage of spiritual accumulation, she was allowed to become a candidate.

Not everyone thought like she did. To most of the others being sent there, it felt like the sect gave up on them. To be fair, it was not too far-fetched to consider it this way. Unfortunately, if they tried to leave or escape that fate, they would be deemed as traitors to the rightful faction. Needless to say, there was only one choice they could make.

That was how she ended up in a boat filled with gloomy men and women. She expected them to go there by flying spiritual vessels but they did not. It turned out that even when it came to transportation, the many sects and clans went for cheapness. While the boat did not make for a quick and cozy ride, it was still just as safe and cheaper. There were many spiritual beasts in the waters but they kept to themselves most of the time. Only an extremely unlucky boat might ever end up colliding with one.

Thanks to a few maritime sentient beast clans ruling over the seas, there were very few accidents... aside from war times.

They were using a certain route that was considered safe. With their armada of three dozen boats accommodating more than ten thousand cultivators in each, there was nothing to fear.

And soon, they landed as expected. As she disembarked, she was probably the only one with a big smile on her face and high expectations...

...

How long had it been?

He did not know. At first, he planned to keep the count by keeping tabs on his number of meals. But after some time, he felt like he had to spare the food as much as he could since it was a finite commodity. He waited until he could no longer endure every time before he ate. And he did so with reservation. He kept himself barely alive as he stayed in the same position at all times. He sat inside his marble, meditating constantly. He kept as much stamina as he could in order to spare even one more loaf of bread. And sooner or later, as if bound to happen, he lost count of the date. Or maybe he stopped caring?

In any case, nothing matters anymore but his comprehension of his will. He fastened and meditated. Continuously.

Until that fateful day...

...

Johnny was a young teenager at 15 years old. He was a mortal and son of a farmer. His task was to watch over a herd of goats throughout the day from the top of his hill.

Every single moment was dull and the weeks repeated with never a single change to his life. With all the time he had, he wondered many times if this was his destiny. To sit on this rock in the middle of goats until he died.

Then, one day, a dark crack appeared in the sky in front of him over the forest. He rubbed his eyes many times, disbelieving his sight. But it remained there. Until something came out of it like a meteorite and crashed within the forest. He hadn't seen what it was but he certainly heard it and saw the aftermath. A big hole in the canopy appeared.

That's when he had an idea: "This might be the turning point of my life! I have to check it out!"