Chapter 847: Chapter 846 The Origin of the Duel [Requesting Monthly Ticket]
The two of them were escorted into the stone formation, and throughout the entire process, no one explained what they were supposed to do. The Unihorn Clan carried laziness to the extreme, as if saying one more word would waste their nap time.
As a white light flashed by, when they came to their senses, they were already in a huge palace. Underfoot was a complex and ancient space formation, and strange lines covered the palace walls around them. Welcoming them were not the Unihorn Clan, but a few human Golden Core Cultivators.
The elderly man at the forefront had a kindly demeanor, “I am Wang Zuo. Are you two Daoists at the initial Upper Realm, visiting for the first time?”
Both of them nodded. The old man smiled slightly, “There are certain rules that the Unihorn Clan are too lazy to explain, so due to an incident, we are here at the duel arena to help newcomers understand and explain the rules.”
He paused, “The Unihorn Clan calls it the Duel Arena, that’s their understanding. We call it the Trial Arena, which aligns with human thinking. The Trial Arena on Hell Star provides a rare place for mid-level cultivators in this universe to exchange combat abilities. I don’t know if other universes have similar places, but I’ve heard that places like Hell Star are rare in the cosmos.”
Hou Niao jested, “Because no other universe has as many criminals as we do?”
Wang Zuo looked at him seriously, “You may think this is cruel for you, but have you considered, in another universe without a place like Hell Star, when you commit heinous mistakes, it would mean the moment of your death and the end of your Dao?
But in this universe, there’s a relatively stable place for you people. Without considering other factors, the environment here can even be called leisurely, you can do whatever you want in your free time.
But you have to pay the price for your mistakes, there’s no way to just support you here for nothing. The Trial Arena is the place for you to give back to this universe. Do you still feel wronged after hearing this?”
Most criminal cultivators wouldn’t have thoughts like Hou Niao’s because he wasn’t a criminal cultivator, but this didn’t need explaining, nor would it solve any problems.
Daoist Zhi Xuan was rather blunt, “You say ‘you people,’ so I want to know, Daoist Wang, how did you come here? Was it voluntary? Or do you no longer consider yourself part of this group?”
Wang Zuo remained unchanged, “All humans here are criminal cultivators, myself included. The difference is, I sincerely repent, willing to pay the price for my past mistakes, and hope for a better result in my next life.”
It was either self-deceptive rhetoric or noble words, maybe this person was just afraid of death, or maybe he had ulterior motives. Of course, it could be that he thought this way genuinely.
Hell Star housed thousands of criminal cultivators, varied and strange, some unrepentant till death, others having moments of sudden realization. This complexity is part of human nature, and there’s no need to argue about right or wrong.
Hou Niao didn’t want to waste time on this life philosophy; it was like chickens talking to ducks to him. He preferred hearing something practical,
“Dao Brother, it is said that to err is human and to forgive is divine… So, could you tell us about the origin and the rules of these trials? After all, some of these we might be able to use very soon.”
The origin of the trials? Daoist Zhi Xuan snorted. Of course, he knew this was the Sword Cultivator taking the opportunity to spread his scarce cultivation knowledge; things that were no secret to disciples of major sects were fresh to every country bumpkin out of Jinxiu. They couldn’t miss the chance now that they encountered a chatterbox.
And of course, he wouldn’t admit he also wanted to learn a thing or two. Taiching was indeed a top-tier Daoist lineage in the universe, but because it was so top-tier, it didn’t concern itself much with less important realms and Daoist lineages, including the cultivation forces in this universe.
Wang Zuo didn’t mind too much. He knew clearly what kind of people he faced — a sharp tongue was nothing compared to a black hand.
“Hell Star became a prison star tens of thousands of years ago, reportedly linked to an agreement with an Immortal, but this cannot be verified, so take it lightly. What they follow is an ancient set of rules, and for the Unihorn Clan, this is what they excel at, capable of adhering to a set of rules to the end of time without change.
However, the emergence of the Trial Arena was around two thousand years ago, just before and after the start of the New Era, and the specific reasons are equally unverifiable. Our realm level isn’t enough to touch these upper-level cultivation secrets.”
“They chose Hell Star because of its natural advantages, like having enough criminal cultivators as trial targets, and because its space formations allow for instantaneous comings and goings, making trials possible.
The Trial Arena is such a place where Golden Core cultivators in this universe can use some method to spiritually attach here, gaining experience by battling with you in the trials…”
Hou Niao, “They gain combat experience, while what about us? They fail, and their spirits can return, but we fail and head directly to the Underworld?”
Wang Zuo looked at him, “I remind you again, you are atoning! Of course, you can refuse; it depends on whether the Unihorn Clan’s Thunder Whip agrees or not?”
It seemed like they were fully squeezing out the remaining value of these criminal cultivators, said so nicely. Of course, it couldn’t be said to be completely unreasonable; at least the criminal cultivators were still alive after committing crimes.
“Why only the Golden Core stage? Is there any specific reason? Why not Foundation Establishment? Or Nascent Soul?” Hou Niao was already starting to adapt to the external realm divisions — this was the trend.
“What comes through the space passage is their spiritual awareness, and the Foundation Establishment spirits are too weak, might turn into idiots upon transmission; Nascent Soul can traverse the void, so they are unnecessary. Hence, only the Golden Core Realm is most suitable to help them quickly accumulate combat experience, and adapt to more Daoist systems.
You also know, most cultivators actually don’t have many opportunities to face life-and-death battles. This is crucial for their future.”
Daoist Zhi Xuan remained indifferent there, but Hou Niao turned into a myriad of ‘whys,’
“Why do they need to send their spiritual consciousness over? Why don’t we transmit over there? Or come in person for the battle? Is such a battle fair?”
Wang Zuo was also a bit at a loss, these two newcomers were not easy to please, one was cold and sarcastic, and the other verbose,
“The wonders of cultivation are not something we at this level can comprehend; only upon reaching Nascent Soul, truly touching the Great Dao, can one be considered having entered the universe’s cultivation world. Like frogs at the bottom of a well, we have not yet jumped out.
As for fairness, that is not your concern. If it is fair to you, is it fair to those you hurt?”
Hou Niao was somewhat speechless, had this guy already appointed himself as the embodiment of justice?