Immortal of the Ages

Chapter 331: 900 Battles!

"That's Shen Xiaochan," Mu Dalong whispered, a walking encyclopedia of gossip. "She used to be with the Calamity Seal Purgatory but turned rogue for some melodramatic reasons and joined the Immortal Asylum. Had a whole soap opera with the Talisman Emperor once, but that's ancient history."

"She looks a bit young, doesn't she?" Yun Xiao remarked casually.

"Legend has it, she hasn't aged a day since joining the Immortal Asylum," Mu Dalong replied, a tinge of envy in her voice.

"Ageless, maybe, but seems like she's lost her human touch," Yun Xiao observed.

"Perhaps," Mu Dalong agreed thoughtfully.

Yun Xiao's gaze shifted to the other two envoys from the Immortal Asylum. One was a towering figure, clad in thick, dark armor, with only a pair of crimson eyes visible. Definitely a devil, silent and immovable like a dark monolith.

The last one was downright eeriea baby, about six months old, plump and giggling innocently, reaching out for a hug. A heartwarming scene, if it weren't for the fact that most Sword Cultivators found it utterly spine-chilling. This was no ordinary baby, but a demon!

"That's the Dream Demon, feeds on souls through nightmares. Used to wreak havoc in the Nine Hells before being tamed by the Immortal Asylum. It's never left since then," Mu Dalong explained, then shifted her gaze towards the armored devil, "As for him, he's called Kun Jiang. A mysterious devil, not from the Nine Hells."

Yun Xiao pondered the introductions. "The Immortal Asylum... not to be underestimated," he thought. "But as long as they don't meddle in my affairs, their strangeness is none of my concern."

For now, Mo Jianzhi, Shen Xiaochan, the Dream Demon, and Kun Jiang, the four from the Immortal Asylum, showed no malice towards Yun Xiao.

The stage was set, a grand theater of sorts, awaiting the grand entrance of the other hells. The sounds and murmurs hinted they were already on their way.

Yun Xiao, ever observant, craned his neck to survey the arena shaped like the Eight Trigrams, with eight distinct gates, including the one for the Sword Cultivators.

Above each gate loomed a giant character, shimmering with anticipation as the representatives of the other seven hells drew nearer.

"The Calamity Seal Purgatory has arrived," someone announced, eyes sharp as blades focusing on one particular gate adorned with the majestic character Force. The calligraphy resembled dragons and phoenixes in flight, embodying the very essence of the heavens.

This was the Force Gate, the first of the Eight Trigrams, symbolizing the sky. The Inscription Cultivators emerging from this gate were nothing less than the pride of humanity.

The eight gatesForce, Field, Ground, Shake, Gorge, Radiance, Bound, and Openrepresented the rankings of the eight hells in the previous Nine Hells Conquest Clash.

1st: The Inscription Cultivators symbolized the heavens of the Nine Hells.

2nd: The Yang Devils of the Rising Sun Inferno embodied the earth of the Nine Hells.

3rd: The Undead Depths were the winds of the underworld.

4th: The Primeval Demon Hell represented the thunder of the ancient times.

5th: The Leviathan Ravine stood for the water of the deep seas.

6th: The Eternal Sword Prison served as the fire.

7th: The Yin Devils of the Endless Netherworld acted as the mountains.

8th: The denizens of the Reverie Abyss stood for the marsh.

As the Force Gate lit up, 2,000 Fate Ocean Realm Inscription Cultivators stepped through, their faces bearing the glory of being the first among the Nine Hells. Their demeanor, a product of deep-rooted heritage and pride.

Merely in terms of the number of Fate Ocean Realm experts, the Calamity Seal Purgatory almost doubled that of the Eternal Sword Prison.

Then came the devils of the Rising Sun Inferno from the Field Gate. Claiming the second spot in the Nine Hells, they carried an air of lofty arrogance, even more pronounced than the Inscription Cultivators. A closer look revealed their number of Fate Ocean Realm experts surpassed even that of the Inscription Cultivators, nearing 3,000 truly a force surpassing the Yin Devils of the Endless Netherworld.

As the first two gates opened, the remaining hells arrived almost simultaneously, bringing together over 10,000 elites of the Fate Ocean Realm to the Immortal Asylum's grand gathering.

The Sword Cultivators were quite familiar with the Yin Devils of the Endless Netherworld and the land demons. However, they rarely crossed paths with the three oceanic hells.

The moment had come for a dramatic entrance from the Open Gate's sirens, the Gorge Gate's sea dragons, and the Ground Gate's resentment demons.

The entire Eight Trigrams arena seemed to be engulfed by a tempest of demonic aura, almost painting the Immortal Asylum in a monstrous hue.

"Merfolk and sea dragons?" Yun Xiao mused, having already scoped them out through Moon Fairy.

However, seeing them with his own eyes was a different story. The sirens, being half-human, proudly displayed their fish tails and human torsosquite a sight, mostly quite fetching. Their tribe, with a majority of female warriors, had less than 1,000 participants in the Fate Ocean Realm, the fewest among the eight hells.

The sea dragons, on the other hand, had transformed into human forms. Most had bluish-black skin with subtle scales, broad noses, and fierce, commanding eyes, clearly a tribe not to be trifled with.

Lastly, the resentment demons numbered over 2,000. They appeared eerie and ghastly, shrouded in a chilling mist of the deep sea. Their ominous presence felt even more menacing to Yun Xiao than the devils and the Inscription Cultivators.

"It seems those three are in the top rankings," Yun Xiao concluded. The Inscription Cultivators, the Yang Devils, and the resentment demons were clearly eager for Yun Xiao's demise.

Yun Xiao's philosophy was simple. Those who wished death upon him would find the favor returned in kind.

So, it was clear as day to Yun Xiaohim against these three factions of humans, devils, and demonsit was a fight to the death, no room for negotiations.

Aside from them, he had essentially secured the allegiance of both the Endless Netherworld and Primeval Demon Hell. That left only the sirens and sea dragons, which hardly seemed daunting.

Among these two oceanic hells, the sirens bore no ill will towards Sword Cultivators and, being ranked last in the Nine Hells, lacked any real autonomy.

"This means the Inscription Cultivators, Yang Devils, and the resentment demons are the true adversaries," Yun Xiao concluded, discerning their animosity through their icy, murderous, and scornful gazes upon entering the scene.

The sirens, on the other hand, seemed more anxious than malicious, their hostility towards the Sword Cultivators feeling more coerced than genuine.

"So, is it really me against the seven?" Yun Xiao thought with a cold chuckle.

The Talisman Emperor, Wick Devil, and others were all watching him. In fact, nearly ninety-nine percent of the powerhouses in the Nine Hells were now staring coldly at this young prodigy.

Yun Xiao stood at the forefront of the Radiance Gate, commanding 1,000 Sword Cultivators with a presence like a clear, moonlit breeze, unfazed by the dark, raging tempest, shining like a bright star over a dark, tumultuous sea, and remaining untouched by the world's demons and ghosts.

Standing alone against thousands of murderous gazes, Yun Xiao was a figure of defiance on the Eight Trigrams arena.

The Wick Devil, growing impatient before the appointed time, spoke up, "Let the Immortal Asylum announce this year's rules."

His voice, deep and tyrannical, rolled over the crowd like a raging fire, searing everyone's ears.

The Sword Cultivators, bearing the brunt of it, frowned deeply.

"Now that all are present, we may proceed with the announcement," Mo Jianzhi declared, his gaze coldly sweeping across the competing teams from all eight directions, the atmosphere tensing instantly.

Humans, devils, and demons held their breath.

The rules were crucial. Could they kill Yun Xiao, the Exiled Sword Immortal, and cripple the Eternal Sword Prison?

Shen Xiaochan, the Dream Demon, and Kun Jiang remained silent, all eyes turning to Mo Jianzhi, the Sword Cultivator at the center of it all.

In a hush of anticipation, Mo Jianzhi raised his voice, announcing with solemnity, There are two standards to measure the might of a hell. First, by the size and power of the Fate Ocean Realm forces; and second, by the combat prowess of the strongest individuals.

"As per tradition, our Nine Hells will again conduct two rounds of battle, testing these standards. The weight of these two rounds will be six and four, respectively.

This meant that in the rules of the Immortal Asylum, the Fate Ocean Realm forces were deemed even more crucial than the peak experts above the rank of Overseer. It made sense, given their greater numbers.

Today, we'll have the Fate Ocean Realm forces battle each other to decide the victor and seating order, Mo Jianzhi continued.

Please enlighten us with the rules, Brother Mo, the Talisman Emperor.

Mo Jianzhi nodded. Upon entering the Immortal Asylum, the participants from each hell received a token corresponding to the Eight Trigrams. Collecting all eight tokensForce, Field, Ground, Shake, Gorge, Radiance, Bound, and Openforms one Trigram. The final ranking of the hell realms will be based on the number of Trigrams collected.

This announcement stirred whispers and queries among the crowd.

What does it mean?

It means we need to seize one token from each hell to form a complete Trigram. Missing any, and it's all for naught.

The final ranking will be based on the total number of Trigrams for each hell!

For instance, us Inscription Cultivators currently hold 2,000 Force tokens but none of the others. So, our Trigram count is zero. Everyone starts at zero.

This means we have to fight against every hell!

Exactly!

Protect our tokens, and others can't increase their Trigram count. Get one token from each of the other seven hells to assemble one Trigram and contribute to our Calamity Seal Purgatory!

These powerhouses quickly deciphered the victory rules through discussion.

Once clear, their expressions turned steely.

Whats the Immortal Asylum's game? Forcing internal strife among the eight hells?

There's never been such a blunt rule before

Should we oppose it?

Let's see how the Talisman Emperor decides.

Over 10,000 participants buzzed with conversation.

This rule favors the Sword Ruins. They were going to be ganged up on, but now, after everyone's done beating them, there's another round of chaos.

Someone quickly realized this advantage.

As the atmosphere in the Eight Trigrams arena grew more intense, Mo Jianzhi remained unfazed, continuing, In the first round, the Fate Ocean Battle Royale, each hell selects their 900 strongest for a total of 900 battles. Each eight-way battle involves one representative from each hell, carrying their token. Each battle is limited to 15 minutes. When the time is up, regardless of how many tokens one has, everyone must leave the arena.