Demon Sword Sect's Undercover-Chapter 836 - 835: The Truth of Hell [End of the Month Ticket Request]

"Hell Star, from a functional perspective, can basically be divided into three parts.

The crust is the two to three thousand miles of the shell wall you entered, which is also where the Unihorn Tribe resides. They don’t like the cloud sea or blue skies, mountains, or water plants; they just like burrowing in caves. That’s why you don’t see many Unihorn Tribe people here; the few you do see are just the prison guards on duty."

He pointed to the ground beneath him, "This second part, well, consists of islands one through nineteen, mostly used to imprison the cultivators. The environment is quite similar, as such relatively enclosed spaces rarely show starkly different terrain or landscapes.

Only the nineteenth island is not used to hold people but serves as a trial arena with another function."

Finally, looking in the direction where the sunlight came through, "The third part is the Hell Star Core, which provides energy, light, and life forms, being the source of life here. We can’t go to that place; we’d melt into slag."

"As for how many cultivators are on an island, it’s hard for us to accurately count; all these things are controlled by the Unihorn Tribe. Their nature is inherently tyrannical, and they have no idea what compromise means.

But we privately estimate that it’s possible to have a rough guess. For instance, on Shiqi Land, there are just over three hundred cultivators, most of whom are at the Golden Core Realm; their activity range is mostly very far from the central stone tower, so if they make a mistake and get struck by the thunder whip, it might hurt a bit less.

This is why you didn’t see anyone on your way down here. Based on this calculation, there are about five thousand cultivators on Hell Star, covering this entire universe."

"This universe? The entire universe?"

"No, a ’universe’ refers to a certain space within the greater universe, containing countless stars and star systems. For example, your Jinxiu, my southern shore, and the most powerful Anchor Chain, along with dozens or hundreds of cultivation star domains, make up a universe.

The entire universe is made up of countless such universes. So, your so-called entire universe concept is faulty; the universe is infinitely vast, and there’s no such thing as an entire universe. There are always other star domains outside of star domains, and we are merely an insignificant part of it."

In Hou Niao’s mind, Hell Star became more three-dimensional and full, but he still had countless questions,

"When I came in, I heard the Unihorn Tribe say that they would return us our freedom here. Is that true?"

Wang Wang sighed, "Freedom is too broad a term; what is freedom? For someone who can’t fill his belly, being able to eat is freedom, even if he’s inside a cage. So what is freedom for us?

Don’t mention this word, for humanity, which is never satisfied, freedom is always an unattainable goal.

In reality, for you Foundation Establishment cultivators, there’s indeed not much pressure. If you want to idle away, it seems no one will bother you except other cultivators on the island giving you trouble.

There is no commerce here, as there is no one to trade with; there are no sect legacies, as there are no mortals; just like a normal prison, what you should do is make more friends and then keep yourself alive.

But if you reach the Golden Core Realm, the battle arena is your final destination."

"Have the cultivators fight each other to the death? Is this also part of the agreement the Unihorn Tribe made with the Immortals back then?"

"You misunderstand; it’s not a fight to the death between cultivators but rather duels with cultivators from the normal world of this universe. Through the duel arena, some connection is established. They project themselves here; we fight physically. They won’t die because the projection is what disappears, but for us, death is death..."

Hou Niao frowned, "This doesn’t seem very fair. Why must it be this way?"

Wang Wang sighed, "Win a hundred consecutive matches, and you’ll regain freedom! If you refuse, one refusal means a hundred thunder whips... How would you choose?"

Hou Niao keenly noticed a loophole, "Has anyone ever left after winning a hundred consecutive matches?"

Wang Wang shook his head, "No, there’s not been one so far. The duel arena has its own rules; when your consecutive wins increase, they’ll elevate you to a higher level, facing stronger opponents. Don’t expect to achieve your goal through easy opponents; there’s a strict set of rules here. Generally, after more than fifty consecutive wins, there’s fewer chances to compete in duels because the outside world’s cultivators have the choice, and they too bully the weak and fear the strong."

Hou Niao was speechless, "Isn’t this treating us as meat targets? This Immortal agreement is really..."

Wang Wang sneered, "What Immortal agreement? That Immortal died during the start of the new Epoch two thousand years ago. Since then, the duel arena came into being. The Unihorn Tribe says that to flatter themselves; they follow two sets of rules, the Immortal’s from two thousand years ago, and the new set after two thousand years. novelbuddy-cσ๓

We don’t know what agreement the Hell Star’s Unihorn Tribe reached with this universe’s cultivation forces, but the fact is we’re part of the agreement, helplessly.

Thus, all prisons in the world are the same, dark rules, dark people, because we touched upon things we shouldn’t have. Now, do you still think this is as beautiful as an Immortal’s realm?"

Perhaps for mortals it is, but not necessarily for cultivators.

Yet Hou Niao thought more, "What happens to an Upper Realm Nascent Soul cultivator?"

Wang Wang sneered coldly, "Here, Upper Realm Golden Core is easy, they encourage it because it means another cultivator to train. However, if you want to reach Nascent Soul, hah, anyway, it’s not been heard of in these two thousand years, as for two thousand years ago, who knows?"

Is the reality worse compared to the beautiful appearance of Hell Star?

For a Tongtian Realm cultivator like him, hmm, what the outside world calls Foundation Establishment, these small cultivators can’t avoid going to the duel arena if they know they must ascend. Not achieving Golden Core means no extended lifespan, but achieving Golden Core means becoming someone else’s training target, and the path to Nascent Soul seems out of reach...

"Failing to reach Nascent Soul isn’t due to our failings? Someone can control this?"

Wang Wang grumbled resentfully, "Over these two thousand years, countless cultivators have been thrown into Hell Star, including many with exceptional talent. Everyone’s been trying to find a way to leave, and the most crucial way is to achieve a Nascent Soul.

Why has no one succeeded? Even with such an enclosed environment, with two thousand years of tens of thousands of Golden Cores charging forward one after the other against Nascent Soul, the Cultivation Technique isn’t an issue, the Daoist isn’t an issue, heaven and earth aren’t an issue, even if it’s thousands of stones, one should reach Nascent Soul, right?

After much thought, many possible factors were summarized, and it ultimately fell upon the Thunder Ring, the restriction placed on each of us upon entry. It appears to prevent us from wandering, but its bigger role is to incite trouble at certain moments?

With the Thunder Ring entangling, trying to ascend Upper Realm, you can imagine the result."