Chapter 329: Ark Traversing Countless Worlds!
"A prison? Jailers?" Yun Xiao glanced towards the direction of the Immortal Asylum.
Although located in the heart of the Nine Hells, the asylum exuded an eerie and sinister aura, clearly not a place for the faint-hearted. The air was thick with resentment.
"Such a massive structure, and it's an Immortal artifact?" Yun Xiao mused, noting that even the part of the asylum emerging above the ground was colossal.
"It's shaped like a hellish column, eighteen floors in total," Blue Star explained.
"Sounds like eighteen levels of hell, each imprisoning its own prisoner?" Yun Xiao wondered aloud, his curiosity piqued.
"Not necessarily just one. Could be a whole gang," Blue Star replied.
"Can I get my hands on this thing?" Yun Xiao suddenly asked.
"How should I know! Just go in and figure it out," Blue Star responded, rolling his eyes.
The truth of the Immortal Asylum remained a mystery, even to the likes of the Sword Warden.
The focus of the Sword Ruins remained on the Nine Hells Conquest Clash. The current headache was how to protect Yun Xiao from the assassination attempts of the other hells.
The roar of the Nian echoed wildly, causing the lands within a hundred miles of the asylum to tremble. But such disturbances had become routine.
Yun Xiao decided to put that aside for the moment and turned to Mu Dalong, asking, "By the way, if we win the Nine Hells Conquest Clash, what's in it for us?"
His question nearly caused a few to choke on their spit.
"Exile Yun, you don't even know this and you're participating in the battle of the Nine Hells?" Mu Dalong didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
"You didn't tell me," Yun Xiao retorted.
"Uh..." Mu Dalong was at a loss for words.
Everyone had assumed Yun Xiao knew what he was doing, not realizing he was completely clueless.
"It's okay, there's still time to answer," Yun Xiao reassured. With time of the essence for him, every quarter of an hour was as precious as a day. Such oversights were bound to happen.
"It goes like this..." Mu Dalong began, speaking softly, "The Nine Hells Conquest Clash is organized by the Immortal Asylum, happening once every ten years. The hell that wins becomes the Nine Hells Conqueror for the next decade."
"Does becoming the Conqueror come with any perks?" Yun Xiao asked.
"Absolutely," Mu Dalong replied seriously.
"And what might those be?"
"Did you know that the Nine Hells is semi-closed? Most beings are not allowed to visit here, and we're not allowed to visit other worlds either!" Mu Dalong inquired.
"I didn't. Does this relate to the benefits?" Yun Xiao shook his head.
"It does. Only the winner of the Nine Hells Conquest Clash can venture outside. That's the first perk," Mu Dalong explained.
Yun Xiao, though he didn't ask why, surely knew it had to do with the Immortal Asylum.
After all, if it was a prison, allowing the inhabitants to wander around freely wasn't exactly on the table.
"The path of cultivation frowns upon isolation. The ability to exchange doctrines and trade resources with the outside is crucial. Otherwise, working in isolation can lead to being out of touch with the times," Mu Dalong said with a hint of resignation.
"True enough," Yun Xiao agreed, then asked, "What else?"
"The Nine Hells Conqueror also enjoys a set of traditional privileges, like mining rights in unclaimed areas and harvesting rights for spiritual herbs. Even just for ten years, these can bring in a substantial amount of extra resources," Mu Dalong paused for a moment, "And most importantly, the winner has the right to collect Immortal Tax from the other hells. It's an annual collection, and in places like the Eternal Sword Prison, it's not just from the Sword Ruins, but every Sword Cultivator contributes... All those people add up to a considerable sum."
"Who decided this?" Yun Xiao raised an eyebrow.
"The Immortal Asylum," Mu Dalong responded.
"Why should the other eight hells listen to them?" Yun Xiao wondered.
External interactions, extra resources, Immortal Taxes... these three benefits were indeed substantial, enough to strengthen an entire hell within a decade!
"Because, in name, it's the battle of the Nine Hells, but in reality, it's just the eight, with the Central Heaven Immortal Asylum acting more like a referee... So, some of these benefits were actually proposed by the eight hells themselves. The stronger the hell, the more they want to reap," Mu Dalong shook her head.
Now, Yun Xiao understood.
It wasn't that the Immortal Asylum had authority over the other eight hells. Instead, within their own competitive struggles, they needed a set of rules to determine the winner and reap the benefits.
Otherwise, the competition for resources would devolve into war, bringing calamity to all beings.
"The Nine Hells Conquest Clash is a miniature war under a set of rules. The victor reigns supreme for ten years," the Sword Warden reflected.
"Who's been the Nine Hells Conqueror for the past decade?" Yun Xiao asked.
"The Talisman Emperor," the Sword Warden replied.
"Him?" Evidently, the current might of the Calamity Seal Purgatory was also tied to these ten years of supremacy.
"Our Eternal Sword Prison hasn't been the champion for a long time. In the last millennium, it's mostly been a rotation among the Inscription Cultivators, Yang Devils, and the Undead Depths, with the occasional victory by the other hells," the Sword Warden explained.
"Even with the Talisman Emperor as the Nine Hells Conqueror, I haven't seen much respect for him," Yun Xiao noted.
"The difference in strength between the hells isn't that vast. It's already impressive that the Talisman Emperor reaped benefits for a decade. Yet, he expects to be revered like a true Emperor of the Nine Hells? That's hardly realistic. Without the balance maintained by the Immortal Asylum, the Nine Hells Conquest Clash wouldn't even be feasible," the Sword Warden stated matter-of-factly.
"I see," Yun Xiao nodded in understanding.
Winning the battle of the Nine Hells, while not making one a true Emperor of the Nine Hells, was undeniably significant. It was a virtuous cycle! Victory begot more success and a brighter future for the victor. If Yun Xiao could clinch this competition, he'd be setting up the Eternal Sword Prison for a decade of prosperity.
"Forget everything else, the mere act of collecting Immortal Taxes from the other seven hells is a hefty perk," Yun Xiao remarked. From another angle, after a decade, the Calamity Seal Purgatory and the Talisman Emperor had to be rolling in riches.
"If the Inscription Cultivators extend their golden era for another ten years, our pressures will mount. Soon, my old man will retire, and with Qingzan returning, the future of the Sword Cultivators looks murky," Mu Dalong expressed her concerns.
Yun Xiao fell silent for a moment before asking, "So, how is this battle of the Nine Hells fought exactly?"
"The rules change yearly, and the Immortal Asylum decides," the Sword Warden said, looking towards the dark, icy column. "But one thing's for sure, the Immortal Asylum's reputation for fairness and justice has always been reliable."
The authority of the Immortal Asylum ensured that all parties accepted the outcome of the battle. If even one refused, centuries of tacit understanding would crumble, leading to a real war for interests something many cultivators, demons, and devils dreaded.
"We're almost there."
As they discussed, the vast Immortal Asylum loomed ahead. Stretching out was a colossal black wall, seemingly endless in every direction. Its height rivaled the tallest peaks of the Sword Ruins.
As thousands of Sword Cultivators approached, Yun Xiao could see a dark figure waiting beneath the Immortal Asylum.
"That's a Sword Cultivator from the Immortal Asylum, named Mo Jianzhi," the Sword Warden introduced to Yun Xiao.
"What kind of strength does he possess?" Yun Xiao inquired.
"Unknown," the Sword Warden replied, glancing in that direction. "All we know is that he looks exactly the same as he did ten years ago, as if he hasn't aged a day."
"Oh?" Yun Xiao focused his gaze, observing a man in the black sword robe, his complexion as pale as parchment, resembling a long-frozen corpse just thawed, with lifeless eyes.
Upon seeing him, the thousand Sword Cultivators from the Sword Ruins in the Fate Ocean Realm tensed up, their expressions solemn.
"I am Mo Jianzhi, welcome fellow daoists from the Eternal Sword Prison," the black-robed swordsman greeted with a bow, his voice dry.
"Brother Mo," the Sword Warden greeted, sheathing his sword and returning the bow.
"This year, the Eternal Sword Prison enters through the Radiance Gate. Here are the tokens," Mo Jianzhi said, producing a hefty Bag of Holding.
"Thank you, Brother Mo." The Sword Warden caught the Bag of Holding and opened it, revealing tokens inscribed with the character for Radiance. He began distributing these tokens, ensuring each Sword Cultivator received one.
"The battle of the eight hells corresponds to the Eight Trigrams. The Immortal Asylum has eight gates, with each hell entering through a different gate," Mu Dalong explained to Yun Xiao.
Given this, there would naturally also be a Force, Open, Shake, Ground, Gorge, Bound, and Field Gate.
"Understood." Yun Xiao took a token, weighed it in his hand for a moment, then hung it at his waist.
"Lastly, the number of trigram tokens could be key to victory," Mu Dalong reminded in a low voice.
Yun Xiao nodded.
"Is this Exile Yun?" Mo Jianzhi suddenly turned his attention to him, his eyes gray and lifeless.
"Senior Mo, I've heard much about you," Yun Xiao said.
"You've only been in the Nine Hells for a few days, not long enough to hear much," Mo Jianzhi replied.
Yun Xiao smiled without saying much.
"Follow me." After speaking, Mo Jianzhi turned and walked towards the Radiance Gate of the Immortal Asylum. The gate, associated with fire, blazed like a hellish inferno, making Mo Jianzhi's ghost-like figure seem even more unsettling as he entered.
"Let's follow." The Sword Warden motioned for everyone to proceed, then quickened his pace to catch up with Mo Jianzhi, asking, "Brother Mo, why has the Immortal Asylum pushed forward the date of the Nine Hells Conquest Clash?"
Mo Jianzhi's expression tightened slightly as he replied in a low voice, "Because the Primordial Ark has arrived early."
"The Primordial Ruins?" The Sword Warden's face showed surprise, a sense of awe washing over him. "Is it the legendary vessel that travels through countless worlds, a moving Immortal Empire?"
"Correct," Mo Jianzhi confirmed.
"So, the new Nine Hells Conqueror will have the privilege to board this divine vessel that traverses thousands of worlds?" the Sword Warden asked, his eyes shining.
"Merely to go up and take a look," Mo Jianzhi said calmly.
"That would be the dream of a lifetime for any cultivator!" the Sword Warden exclaimed.
"Mhm." Mo Jianzhi nodded.
Behind them, Yun Xiao overheard their conversation.
"Primordial Ruins?" He remembered that the Central Heaven Immortal Asylum had another nameImmortal Ruins. "So, does this moving world vessel have something to do with the Immortal Asylum?"
Most importantly, anything with Primordial in its name surely had connections to that Ancestral God.
Yun Xiao looked down at the stone in his hand. "I'm starting to miss her."
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