Liang Chen faced the dazed leader, who had by now already kneeled down in front of Liang Chen and Yan Ling and was awaiting his orders. The energy of Liang Chen's attack was still wreaking havoc on his insides so Liang Chen swiftly pulled it out of his body and had the energy dissipate in the surroundings.
The leader's wound started to heal at a very slow speed, causing Liang Chen to marvel at how much lifeforce and strength his body contained. To still be able to slowly regenerate his wounds after taking so much damage, his body likely contained even more lifeforce than Liang Chen's. Liang Chen stopped examining the regenerating wound, starting the interrogation with a simple order.
"Tell us a little about yourself and this planet."
The more they learned about this Hidden World, the better they would be equipped to deal with future events. And since they knew next to nothing about this place, even a simple question like this could teach them a lot. The leader started to speak in a monotone and almost mechanical voice, his words trailing at times.
"I am Fan Jia and I am a Five-hearts Fiend Prince who serves as the vice-captain of the guards that protect Claw Valley city, which is located inside the valley located at the foot of the Heaven Reaching Pillars mountains. I am married to the captain of the guards, Huo Feng, and we have been married for almost 52 years. This planet is known as Tripartite God and it is ruled by us Fiendgods, the Undead race, and the White Orchid race, with each race controlling a third of the planet."
Both Liang Chen and Yan Ling raised an eyebrow after hearing the words of Fan Jia. Firstly because they had never heard about this White Orchid race, and secondly because of how old Fan Jia had to be to have been married for almost 52 years. There was also the strange title he used to introduce himself, Liang Chen choosing this title as his next question.
"Five-hearts Fiend Prince, is that your title or is it the rank of your cultivation? Also, tell us all that you know about the cultivation ranks used by the various races on this planet."
Knowing the different cultivation ranks and cultivation processes used by the races on this planet was rather crucial, as it would make it easier to asses the strength of their enemies. Sensing their strength based on the energy they gave off wasn't always accurate, so it was better to know a bit more. Fan Jia couldn't resist the poison, so he could only spill everything he knew.
"It is the rank of my cultivation. Us Fiendgods rank our cultivation based on how strong our bodies are and how many times we can regenerate our heart after it has been destroyed. I can regenerate my heart five times, meaning that I am only a Five-hearts Fiend Prince. After I become able to regenerate my heart more than nine times, I will become a Ten-hearts Fiend Lord, and once I can regenerate it more than 99 times I will become a Hundred-hearts Fiend King. The next step is known as Thousand-hearts Fiend Emperor and finally Ten Thousand-hearts Fiend God. Each of these steps is divided into nine different sub-ranks, so the second rank of a Thousand-hearts Fiend Emperor is Two Thousand-Hearts Fiend Emperor."
When they first spotted Fan Jia and his group, Liang Chen and Yan Ling had noticed that Fan Jia had the strength of someone at the middle stage of the Heaven's Gate realm- Now hearing him list off the various Fiendgod cultivation ranks, as well as hearing his own rank, Liang Chen guessed that the One-Heart Fiend Prince cultivation realm was equal to the Heaven's Gate realm. This likely also meant that a Ten-hearts Fiend Lord would be equal to someone at the Soaring Immortal realm. Liang Chen's thoughts were cut short by slight laughter from Yan Ling.
"One-heart Fiend Prince, Ten Thousand-hearts Fiend God? Do you really call your cultivation realms that? Who came up with these silly names?"
Liang Chen turned his head slightly and saw that Yan Ling was doing her best to suppress her laughter, to the point of even holding her stomach. It seemed like these names, which did indeed sound rather strange to them, were extremely funny to her. Liang Chen stretched out his arm, flicking Yan Ling's forehead.
"Don't mock the cultivation realms of the strange race from a different planet. They can't be blamed for it, a strange race will breed strange names."
The Fiendgod race was indeed a race that would look strange to people like Liang Chen and Yan Ling. Their exoskeleton like skin, their four arms, their strange eyes, and the strange appearance they took on when they fully activated their strength and revealed the Demonic beast parts they used to cultivate. Everything about them could be considered strange to the two of them. Yan Ling did her best to stifle her laughter so Liang Chen had Fan Jia continue his explanation.
"The Undead differ from us Fiendgods in that they focus on cultivating their soul, their cultivation rank based on how many extra souls they are able to create and control. Their ranks are One-Soul Spirit Prince, Ten-Souls Spirit Lord, Hundred-Souls Spirit King, Thousand-Souls Spirit Emperor, and finally Ten Thousand-Souls Spirit God."
Hearing the description of the Undead race cultivation realms, Liang Chen couldn't help but be somewhat curious. Creating and controlling multiple souls? Did each soul have the same personality as the main soul, or were there differences between them? If they implanted one such soul into a new body and had it travel the world, would they learn everything it learned? Liang Chen's questions were put on hold when Fan Jia started talking about the next race, immediately catching Liang Chen's and Yan Ling's attention.
"The White Orchid race focuses on cultivating their Qi and their laws, their ranks based on how many leaves their Tiger Orchids have. Their ranks are One-leaf Tiger Prince, Ten-leaves Tiger Lord, Hundred-leaves Tiger King, Thousand-leaves Tiger Emperor, and finally Ten Thousand-leaves Tiger God."
Liang Chen and Yan Ling locked gazes after hearing the description, both thinking the exact same thing, this White Orchid race likely had a connection to the Sebettu race. The Sebettu cultivated their Dragon Lotuses, their cultivation rank based on how many leaves their lotuses had. The two of them refused to believe that this White Orchid race didn't have a connection with the Sebettu race, their cultivation systems were simply too similar, there was no way it could be a coincidence.
There was also another thing Liang Chen noticed after hearing about the three ruling races. One cultivated the body, one cultivated the soul, and the last one cultivated their Qi, perfectly divided and organized. It was simply far too neat and divided, why wasn't there any race that cultivated or specialized in more than one of the systems? Just how had these three specific races come about to be the rulers of this planet? Liang Chen temporarily put these thoughts aside, asking his next question.
"You called us cattle previously, why? And is there a powerful human organization on this planet?"
Yan Ling pricked up her ears after Liang Chen asked this question, her eyes narrowing slightly as she awaited Fan Jia's answer. Both of them already had their guesses, but they still wanted confirmation. Fan Jia slowly spoke up, affirming their fears.
You are reading story Monarch of Heaven’s Wrath at novel35.com
"I called you cattle because that is what humans are on this planet, animals to be reared and raised for food. Your souls are excellent food for the Undead, your bodies are good nourishment for us Fiendgods, and your Qi and laws are perfect for the White Orchid race to use in cultivation. There are no human organizations on this planet, this is because of the fact that we kill any humans before they can become too strong."
They had expected the answer, but the expressions of Liang Chen and Yan Ling still twisted in disgust after getting confirmation. This was why there had never been any humans who had arrived on their planet after being sucked into spatial rifts, they were kept in pens and reared as food, unable to enter any places where spatial rifts may open.
One might argue that humans were no better, as they did the same to pigs and cows, but Liang Chen and Yan Ling were humans, so they would, of course, take the side of the humans in this argument. Knowing that humans were nothing but food to these people, Liang Chen and Yan Ling wanted nothing more than to kill Fan Jia right now, but there was still two more questions Liang Chen wanted to ask.
"What sort of place is Ten Thousand Hearts city and the other cities you mentioned earlier, and are there any places on this planet where some of your cultivators train their body by transforming it into a single element?"
Earlier, Fan Jia said that Liang Chen and Yang Ling were too strong to be cattle from their town, asking if they were from a place called Ten Thousand Hearts city. Could it be that even people of their strength were reared as cattle in some cities on this planet?
Liang Chen also hadn't forgotten why Yan Ling had risked entering the spatial rift that brought them here, the fragment of the Ocean God's Physique that he owned had resonated with something here. Since they were already here, they would, of course, have to do their best to find that fragment. Fan Jia nodded his head, swiftly responding to the questions.
"Ten Thousand Hearts city is the main city of the Fiendgods on this planet, the main city of the Undead race is the Ten Thousand Souls city and the main city of the White Orchid race is the Ten Thousand Leaves city. The cities are the ultimate tempering grounds on this planet, holding both great dangers and great opportunities. The cities are each built around a tower that houses several arenas, the people entering the towers engaging in deadly battles in order to increase their ranking so that they can earn rewards. On average, only 1 in every 10 000 who enters any of the towers ever leaves alive. But since anyone can enter these towers, there are always more people willing to test their strength."
The concept of the cities was not unheard of to Liang Chen and Yan Ling, as even their own home planet had similar places. The best way for cultivators to grow stronger was through repeated battles, so each sect, clan, even the smaller cultivation families, had places where their disciples could engage in battles to temper themselves. Their most recent venture into the Myriad Convergence could be considered something like this, tempering themselves through battles while hunting for treasures.
Of course, looking at the death rates, which were even more horrid than the death rate of those who entered the Mystic's Hidden Realm, it was clear that these towers were incredibly bloody and deadly, likely far bloodier than anything Liang Chen and Yan Ling had ever seen. Fan Jia continued to explain, both Liang Chen and Yan Ling listening intently.
"The reward for reaching the top 10 ranks is a piece of a technique that sounds like the one you are asking for. But if one wants to earn the full technique, they must reach the top rank in all three towers, a feat only achieved by the current Tripartite Slayer, the overlord of this planet, Sun Cailin."
Liang Chen and Yan Ling locked gazes, a complicated and bitter expression flashing past their eyes as they shook their heads. So it really was like that. If they wanted to get their hands on the thing they had come here for, they would have to jump into the maw of the beast. The two exchanged looks once more, their eyes growing determined, Yan Ling giving a strong nod of her head. Liang Chen returned a nod of his own, turning his eyes back onto Fan Jia.
"Last question, where are these cities located and how can we get there?"
They had come here for the Ocean God's Physique technique, so they could not avoid heading to these cities. There was also the fact that they had no idea how they could return home, so they would have to head to large cities like these to look for any information on how to leave. Of course, they also had some assurance in their choice. They had the Heaven Altering Masks, they could change their appearance and aura as they wished. They could easily make themselves look like someone from the Undead race, or depending on how they looked, the White Orchid race.
There was also another thing they had realized. This planet was perfect for cultivating their Chaos King technique, to the point that it was almost scary how well-suited it was. There was one race for the body, one for the soul, and one for their Qi, they could freely pick whichever they wanted to cultivate and just devour people from the race that fit. The people of this planet ate humans to grow stronger, and in turn, Liang Chen and Yan Ling would eat the races of this planet to grow stronger. Fan Jia turned his head slightly, stretching out his arm and pointing to the distant right.
"All three cities are located close to each other, forming a triangle, so reaching one allows you to quickly reach the other. Walking a few tens of thousands of kilometers in that direction will allow you to reach the city, but your best option is to head to any city or town and catch a ride with the Tripartite Ship that leaves once every month, bringing new people to the cities so that they can enter the towers."
Liang Chen and Yan Ling locked gazes once more, their future course of actions decided. Liang Chen gave a slight nod of his head, Yan Ling understanding what he meant. She stabbed out with her sword so fast that it turned into a white blur, the tip of it stabbing into Fan Jia's eye and piercing through his head. The sword unleashed a burst of wind inside Fan Jia's head, turning his brain to mush and killing him.
Yan Ling had been waiting to kill Fan Jia ever since she heard that they reared and ate humans, so this left her rather satisfied. She stored his body into her interspatial ring, saving it for later cultivation. Liang Chen looked into the distance, at the foot of the pillar-shaped mountains. Fan Jia said that he came from the city located there, he also said that they could hitch a ride with something called the Tripartite Ship that would take them directly to the three main cities. He pointed at the city with one hand, taking out his Heaven Altering Mask with the other.
"The town should be over there, let's hope that we can catch a ride with that ship as quickly as possible. While we're there we should also see if there is anything we can do for the people being reared as food."
The thought of people living in pens and being reared as food disgusted Liang Chen. It also served to further reinforce his belief that the heavens were truly indifferent, to the point of being vile and cruel. There was truly no need for any heaven that allowed something like this to happen to exist, the universe was better of if such heaven was destroyed.
Yan Ling nodded her head and took out her own Heaven Altering Masks, the two of them putting them on and altering their appearance so that they looked like people from the Undead race. They then started making their way toward the distant city, both of them thoroughly disgusted with this entire planet.