Chapter 2004 - Paradise of Sins
Li Yao was silent for a while before he continued with a low, solemn, and inhuman voice. “Other than the ‘kill streamers’ like you, some more Immortal Cultivators seem to have landed here who call themselves ‘players’, right?”
Liao Fei was slightly dazed. He nodded and said, “Yes. A lot of people arrive in the paradise of sins every day. Usually, everybody is scattered across the planet. This time, word is that ‘Fist King’ Lei Zonglie, a local expert of the Land of Sins who distinguished himself recently, is going to attack Liberty City, an Elysian World. That’s why the players everywhere have gathered to enjoy the great game.”
“The paradise of sins?” Li Yao chewed on the name slowly. “For the locals born and raised here, this is a desolate land with natural-born sin, but for the ‘players’ like you, it is naturally a paradise. Then, besides the ‘killing streamers’ such as you, who else is out there?”
“Some are here for trials and competitions.” Liao Fei was referring to the players such as the Red Viper Squad. “The Imperium of True Human Beings worships competition. Advancing from academies of lower levels to those of higher levels for further studies, competing to be the heir of a major family, or to be admitted by great sects and corporations when you are a nobody, all those things require a decent result in trials.
“The Land of Sins is the perfect trial field. There are all kinds of monsters and brutal men, and one will encounter the least expected situations. This is the best place to test the comprehensive qualities and intuitional reactions of a trial-taker. Also, it is relatively secluded and controllable, which makes it easier to draft quests of different difficulties.
“Therefore, a lot of famous academies, families, and sects in the Imperium have been holding the trial missions and the advancement tests in the Land of Sins. Those examinations have a high credibility.
“For the rookies who have just left school, passing the tests in the Land of Sins will certainly be a highlight on their resume.
“Other than the ‘killing streamers’ and ‘trial takers’, there are also tourists…”
“Wait.” Li Yao frowned. “Tourists? Somebody actually comes here for sightseeing?”
“Of course.” Liao Fei smiled bitterly. “Life in the Imperium of True Human Beings is very difficult. Even the Immortal Cultivators are often faced with immense pressure. Not only do they have to carry out all kinds of dangerous tasks, but they also have to deal with the internal conflicts and conspiracies among themselves. While the high-level Immortal Cultivators above the Building Foundation Stage can live an extravagant life, those in the Refinement Stage and the Building Foundation Stage, especially when they are not sponsored by noble families and ancient sects, may find their life dull and boring.
“Those people from underprivileged families are at the bottom level of the Immortal Cultivators in the first place. Most of them do not have their fiefs and slaves to demonstrate their authority to. The majority of hominoids are not slaves, at least not in the legal sense. Even if they are slaves, they cannot be played with or butchered by the low-level Immortal Cultivators when they belong to an expert.
“Therefore, after the low-level Immortal Cultivators gain a sum of money and feel stressed out, they will often come for a vacation in the Land of Sins. After all, the people here are slaves of the slaves, nothing more than ants. With enough money, they can do whatever they want here.
“In fact, how many sinners in the Land of Sins are qualified to enjoy the so-called Elysian Worlds? Most of the extravagant entertainment is for the tourists.
“Naturally, if the tourists do not like sensual pleasure, they can also go on a killing spree in the Bloody Worlds. In the carefully-devised mission scenario, under the support of the most advanced magical equipment, even sinners multiple levels higher than them will be butchered and blown up by them easily like pigs and dogs, giving them the ultimate ecstasy of beating enemies far stronger than them!”
Li Yao narrowed his eyes and said, “That explains a lot. The so-called ‘Bloody Worlds’ are actually not plagued by the fights of the sinners in most cases but the blatant massacres of the tourists.”
“Yes,” Liao Fei said matter-of-factly. “Those tourists pay a fortune to come to the paradise. Naturally, they will not be satisfied just by playing some three-legged whores in the ‘Elysian Worlds’. Those Immortal Cultivators in the Refinement Stage and the Building Foundation Stage experience too much chastisement and exploitation from the high-level Cultivators. They will not be gratified until they have vented all their anger.”
“Are there any other Immortal Cultivators? How many in total?” Li Yao asked.
“Other than the killing streamers, the trial takers, and the simple players, there should also be magical equipment testers as well as the staff and guards who are responsible for the functionality of the entire paradise,” Liao Fei said. “As for their total number… I’m not very certain about that. Planetwide, there should be around a hundred thousand.”
“This is not a planet with a huge population,” Li Yao said. “Reproduction is quite difficult in such a harsh environment. If a hundred thousand Immortal Cultivators are acting flagrantly here, there can never be enough sinners for you to kill, can there? Also, have you never been spotted by the locals?”
Liao Fei rolled his eyes and said, “The sinners locally born and raised are certainly far from enough to make up for the dead. Therefore, a lot of hominoid slaves and Immortal Cultivators who have committed felonies are shipped here from the other Sectors of the Imperium every year. After their memories are sealed, they are tossed down to make up the numbers. The Imperium has a large territory and population. This is not a problem.
“As for whether or not we have ever been spotted by the locals, of course we have. But what can they do even if they have? Nothing grows in the Land of Sins. Most of the resources have to be projected from the Heavenly Rails. As long as the transmission is cut off, even the most unparalleled experts have to grovel and cooperate with us obediently to erase other informants. Otherwise, they will only be erased altogether!”
“What is Manjusaka exactly?” Li Yao asked. “Is it true that the sinners here can get rid of their identity and become ‘angels’, or Immortal Cultivators?
“It is a restricted area. We are not allowed to approach,” Liao Fei said. “I’m told that it is a heavily-guarded prison and laboratory, in which the most dangerous men and beasts are locked. They are probably the best champions who have distinguished themselves in the cruel competitions in the Land of Sins.
“As for whether any of them can become an Immortal Cultivator, I have never seen any of such cases before.”
“Therefore,” Li Yao asked, “even if somebody helps ‘Fist King’ Lei Zonglie conquer Liberty City and is delivered to the City in the Sky, they will not become an Immortal Cultivator?”
“Of course not!” Liao Fei grinned hideously. “Master of the Elysian World? They are just dogs that we have tamed. If they listen to us obediently, we can give them a couple of bones, but how can they be equal to us?”
After pondering for a moment, Li Yao asked, “Right now, who is the highest controller of this ‘paradise of sins’?”
“That will be Wuying Lan, the helmsman of the ‘Heavenly Eye Group’,” Liao Fei answered.
“Wuying Lan? Is he from your royal family? Tell me all the intelligence you know about him.”
Liao Fei nodded and said, “Wuying Lan is indeed from the royal family, but he is not from the main bloodline. When it comes to his generation, the influence of his branch is too weak for him to compete for the supreme power. So, he has been ‘exiled’ to the Devilish Scorpion Galaxy to oversee the weapon test field and the magical equipment laboratory.
“It was supposed to be a redundant job, because the weapon test field and the magical equipment laboratory had been used for hundreds of years with all their value exploited. Also, the test field and the laboratory had their own supervisors, and there was barely any part he could meddle with. This job basically had no requirements or duties and was specifically designed to relocate the branches of the royal family. Whoever was exiled to the Devilish Scorpion Galaxy would essentially be gone from everyone’s sight forever!
“However, Wuying Lan was an ambitious and imaginative man. He was the one to come up with all the ideas to exploit the value of the Land of Sins.
“All in all, the planet was only revived because of Wuying Lan’s delicate operation. It has been developing at a high speed in the last hundred years under the support of many big shots. It is now one of the most important test bases for new magical equipment and techniques in the Imperium.
“Wuying Lan’s ‘Heavenly Eye Group’ also rose miraculously through the live streams. Now, it controls more than half of the betting businesses and media industry in the Imperium, transforming him from an unappreciated member of the royal family to one of the most influential people in the Imperium!”
Li Yao’s eyes were glittering. “So, Wuying Lan can be called the mastermind behind the ‘paradise of sins’ and the ‘chief director’ of the gory battle right now?”
“Yes!” Liao Fei nodded heavily.
“One last question. Have you ever heard of ‘Starlight’ and a Cultivator that has been lost for a thousand years?”
Liao Fei laughed. “Of course I have. It was only a legend in the Devilish Scorpion Galaxy at the beginning, but it is showing the sign of spreading throughout the entire Imperium now. Perhaps some guys with ill intentions have been disseminating it for clandestine purposes. Cultivators? They are a bunch of idiots who got themselves extinct more than a thousand years ago. What trouble can they possibly cause?”
“Got it now,” Li Yao said, while the bloody ocean began to bubble. “Thank you for your honest answers. There are some more questions that I would like to ask you, but due to the time limit, I think we will stop here.”
The bloody bubbles exploded one after another, releasing vague killing intent.
The smile on Liao Fei’s face gradually froze. With surprise and fear beaming out of his eyes, he stammered, “Wait. You promised that you wouldn’t kill me! There’s no reason for you to kill me! Whether you are an alien species or an expert among the sinners, you shouldn’t kill me! Without my help, you’ll never get away. You cannot escape from the Land of Sins. You cannot escape Wuying Lan’s dragnet! Just calm down and think about it!”
“Maybe.” The devil standing at the center of the bloody ocean put on a hideous smile and said casually, “However, who told you that I am going to run?”