Chapter 331: 900 Battles!

Chapter 331: 900 Battles!

Mo Jianzhi made his way to the trio, a curious assemblage that caught Yun Xiao's eye. He sized them upan Inscription Cultivator, a demon, and a devil. "With Mo Jianzhi, that represents all four races of the Nine Hells," he mused to himself.

First, his gaze landed on the female Inscription Cultivator. She was a sightpetite, draped in oversized clothes that hung off her like a child playing dress-up, and her hair in a wild disarray. She stood there, a bit awkwardly, nibbling on some black beans with a crunch that echoed in the still air. Eyes closed, her long lashes seemed to stitch her eyelids together, a delicate embroidery of solitude.

"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.

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.