Heavenly Net Immortal Domain.
The region was one of the largest domains and could be ranked in the top 50 regions in the entire Immortal World, and the owner of this domain was a Supremacy Stage powerhouse.
18 large landmasses separated by 1 million kilometers from each other formed a thriving gathering place for all walks of life in the vast universe. Countless Immortal sects could be found on these 18 large landmasses, where various good and evil forces mixed, causing one's strength to be the best means to survive in this place.
On the 16th mainland, there were several Convict Arenas—the largest of its kind—in the surrounding regions, as well as the most chaotic place in the entire Heavenly Net Immortal Domain. The strong smell of money pervaded the land, while at the same time, also brought forth a rich violent atmosphere.
As long as one had Immortal Stones, Immortal Crystals, Crystal Essences, or other precious treasures, they would be able to enjoy life like in paradise, standing aloof at the high ground and overlooking the poor whoever they were, even if the other party was a Golden Immortal.
When Tang Xiu took Battle Peng's group of Golden Immortals through the gate of space and landed on this land, he spent quite a lot of Immortal Stones to pay the fare of the teleportation array and appeared in this mainland's Central City.
The Central City itself had a late-stage Perfected Golden Immortal at the helm, assisted by 4 early and mid-stage Perfected Golden Immortals. They seldom appeared in public unless a major event occurred in the 16th mainland.
Riding on their Immortal Swords, Tang Xiu's group circled around the Central City perimeter twice before they finally landed at the gate of the Convict Arena. The site itself resembled a giant black beast lying prone on the ground and occupied a vast and bustling area. Even with his eyesight that could see as far as 100,000 miles ahead, Tang Xiu couldn't see the end-point of the building outside the front gate.
"Master."
Battle Peng's group of five looked at a giant plaque 1,000 meters long and 200 meters wide with a dazzling golden "Convict Arena" character written on it. Their expressions were complicated. It was the place they hated the most, the very place they really never wanted to ever visit again unless it was absolutely necessary.
Tang Xiu slowly turned around, noticing the complicated look of the five men's faces. He secretly sighed inwardly before stating, "You guys have shed off yourselves from the Convict Arena with your own strength. You'll never return to this place again unless I'm killed. Therefore, you've bid farewell to that episode. You're now a guest who possesses a lot of wealth. What's more, if you haven't gone through such a life and death situation in the Convict Arena, will you now have such a cultivation level now? Keep in mind, everything has two sides, depending on your view and perception, and on what aspect you perceive it."
Battle Peng's group of five looked at each other and immediately nodded.
They always thought such an unbearable past was hard to look back on and was shameful. However, after Tang Xiu's reminder, they suddenly realized that if they hadn't been tempered with such a life and death situation in the Convict Arena, they definitely wouldn't have their current Golden Immortal strength.
They were now powerhouses! Though they must go through such torment to whet themselves, in order to achieve such a feat, they frequented the border of life and death countless times. Was that any different from others except for the fact that their freedom was restricted?
In a flash, the enlightenment transformed their state of mind. Although it was difficult for them to comprehend the truth thoroughly, at the very least, they now had the mentality experts must have where any tribulation was nothing but the tempering process of their lives. Whatever dangers it may bring would serve as the cornerstones that led to the path of becoming stronger.
Tang Xiu watched these five guys and was keenly aware of the slight change in their auras. Although such a change was very faint, he knew they had untied all the knots that burdened their minds. As long as their hearts were firm, they would eventually have a glimmer of hope of breaking through to the Perfected Golden Immortal Stage in the future.
"Let's head inside!"
Tang Xiu nodded with satisfaction and turned to enter the gate of Convict Arena.
The wide space made the place feel like entering a world cast of steel. At the top, about 10,000 meters in the air, a finely carved mural design and a soft crystal emanated a milky white light, illuminating the interior just like the sun in daylight. On both sides of the wide corridor close to the steel wall was a statue of fierce birds and beasts in aggressive stances. The red sapphire emitted lights while a sweet scent of spirit liquid radiated from the mouths of the exquisite bird and ferocious beast sculptures that by themselves formed a picturesque scene.
On the side of the statue next to the corridor, a beautiful attendant stood still. Whenever a guest arrived, she came forward and welcomed them.
The female attendant was named Qin Yu. Once an orphan girl raised by a loose, solitaire female immortal who failed her tribulation and lost her soul. In order to support herself, Qin Yu finally joined the Convict Arena after the recommendation of her bosom friend and then became a welcoming attendant. Recently, Qin Yu's life had been very difficult because her only bosom friend was gravely injured after offending an arrogant and rampant guest. To buy healing medicine for her friend, not only did she have spent all the Immortal Stones she had saved for more than 10 years, but she also owed some high-interest loans from some loan sharks.
It'd been half a year and she only had half a year left until the due day she must pay them. If she didn't have enough Immortal Stones within this half a year, she would be seized by them and turned into a slave. Countless times had she looked forward to meeting some generous patrons. She would be grateful if the reward was higher than usually given by other distinguished guests.
"The guests are coming."
Qin Yu's expression shifted fast and she quickly focused her attention on the six people approaching from the distance. As her eyes finally landed on Tang Xiu, she suddenly felt disappointed. Based on her more than 10 years of experience working here, such a handsome young cultivator was normally not very generous. On the contrary, it was those big-bellied guests who radiated an aura of the haves that were mostly very generous. One could expect to earn a lot of tips as long as they could make these people happy.
By order, however, it was her turn, so Qin Yu could only swallow her disappointment and greet them. "Welcome, distinguished guests. I'm Qin Yu, the attendant here and your guide during your visit to our Convict Arena. You may consult me if you have any questions."
"Lead the way, then." Tang Xiu calmly nodded.
Qin Yu nodded gently before she turned and walked inside. But the moment she turned around, the disappointment in her eyes intensified. It was because ordinary guests usually threw some Immortal Stones the first time they met, which made the attendant be more attentive in the services.
Quickly after, when the crowd disappeared in the front corridor, several female attendants on the two sides of the corridor closest to Qin Yu's previous standing position all sneered. They could see clearly that Qin Yu did not receive any tips just now.
One of them, Wenwen, who didn't have a good relationship win Qin Yu since she had a quarrel with Qin Yu's friends, sneered and said when there were no guests nearby, "Heh, that idiot Qin Yu used all her savings to buy some healing pills for that bitch. She even borrowed some high-interest loans from those loan sharks. If she fails to collect enough money to pay them 6 months later, she will end up miserable by that time."
Another female attendant gloatingly added, "Who told her to poke her nose and be nosy, huh? Does she even know how limited her ability is? Yet she still extends her hands to help here? Heh, let's wait and see. Based on her bad luck, let alone half a year, even if she was given another year, she will never be able to get enough Immortal Stones. Who knows if she will be sold to a brothel six months later and then become a slave to some prominent family?"
"The greater the ability, the more you can do indeed. Pity that Qin Yu has such a docile personality to actually stand up for this matter. I hope good fortune will find her!"
"You know, I'm a bit sympathetic to Qin Yu. But I immediately think that she deserves it when recalling her friends, though."
"Let's just wait and see, gals! Not only will Qin Yu be out of luck, that bitch will also be unlucky."
"Meh, I hope they get extremely unlucky."
"…"
Wenwen's smile turned thicker and her eyes swept across these female faces, while also praying that Qin Yu and her bosom friend would be out of luck.
Suddenly, her expression shifted as she noticed that several guests were approaching quickly. Her eyes immediately lit up because the leader of the group, a middle-aged fatty, dressed up like an upstart. Running into this kind of guest usually yielded them many tips and rewards.
"Guide us."
When the middle-aged fatty saw Wenwen welcoming them, he didn't give her a chance to speak and just threw an Immortal Crystal and walked to the interior in high spirits.
In a flash, there was a burst of exclamation in the corridor, since they seldom met such a generous guest that tipped an Immortal Crystal at the beginning, equal to 100 Immortal Stones. If they felt the later services given were better and it satisfied them, it was very likely she would get more tips.
The next moment, a pair of envious eyes wandered in the direction Wenwen and the middle-aged fatty disappeared.
Tang Xiu paced forward in the seemingly endless corridor. He seemed to advance very lightly, but his speed was in fact very fast. Hundreds of meters were traversed for each step he took in. However, Qin Yu only had a Nascent Soul Stage cultivation, so she was wrapped by Battle Peng's Immortal Force and didn't need to spend energy to walk steadily beside Tang Xiu.
"Your name is Qin Yu?"
"Yes." Qin Yu hurriedly nodded.
"It's been 2,000 years since I last came to the Heavenly Net Immortal Domain's Convict Arena. I'm no longer familiar with this place, so tell me about the current situation here," Tang Xiu said.
2 millenniums?
Qin Yu's eyes were full of disbelief. Tang Xiu was so young. She could even sense a full lifeforce aura from this man, one that was unlike those old freaks who had lived for 2 millennia.
However, she also knew that Immortals had the ability to constantly adjust and change their appearance during their cultivation process. Even an old monster that had lived for 10 millenniums may look like a teenager. Further, the intelligent Qin Yu realized that the guest likely had a very high cultivation level. At least he was a powerhouse above the Immortal Stage.
Facing such a powerhouse, Qin Yu finally had a trace of expectations because many big figures in the Immortal World would give quite a hefty reward in tips.