Chapter 308: The Dusk Zone

The sealing of his Herculean cultivation was a possibility he didn't wish to experience, but he was prepared for this mentality, so he didn't dwell.

It was as if they, the laws long since etched within his body, were unable to interact with this world. He still was a Herculean due to the physiological changes that were permanent, but his physical body instantly suffered a reduction of strength, and his gates seemed to be re-established and sealed.

It was an odd feeling, as if the heavens limitations were enforced to its maximum with no leeway. It was an oddly disturbing and fiercely oppressive sensation. However, considering this place was called the Heavenly Origin Grounds, it only makes sense that the heavenly rules were heavily enforced here.

Unlike in specific heavens where the Heavenly Gods decide what is allowed or outlawed.

"It's not just that…" Yan Zaizen's expression darkened as he sensed the integrity of the Sirius Slaughter Robe. The armament contained the Sirius Law of Xiha, the White Sirius Heavenly Monarch. Unfortunately, it was also subjected to the same suppressive force as the Herculean Law.

At the moment, the Sirius Slaughter Robe was only materials and no power. "The robe still has its defensive qualities, but it's weakened due to the absence of the law." As he deduced this exasperating detail, he slowly reconciled. The robe may lack its supportive, innate enhancements, and top-quality defensive ability, but it still functioned better as a defensive tool than anything else he had.

"I'm assuming Sky Shatter doesn't work either, haaa…" Sighing, he turned his gaze towards the surroundings. A somewhat crude scenery formed in front of him. Quite a few people were looking at him and many who ignored his existence.

The scene had buildings of various mix-matched colors in certain areas, various symbols in the air on sky-high pillars or flags, likely indicating an organization's base of operations, and the people within were considerably varied.

Yan Zaizen saw humans of races he had never seen before, likely native to this area or the 17th Heaven. He even saw pale-skinned, crimson-eyed individuals that were quite similar to Dracula and Ariel.

Divine beasts walked among humans in a humanized form, but those humanized forms only had a torso, two legs, and two arms. There were divine beasts with fur all over, two wings for arms, looked as if they were standing in their hind legs like bears, and heads that were purely beastial.

Their sizes varied, often being smaller or larger than humans, but barely of average height. Just this part of the city alone had so much variety than other realms.

Taking a closer look, Yan Zaizen realized this area had a large portion of traffic, likely a central intersection. He turned around to inspect behind him, noticing that he was indeed at the center of the city. He slowly nodded after realizing his correct deduction.

"I should find a location to settle, figure out a way to obtain a map and find the compass…" Yan Zaizen thought before leaving, but then he halted suddenly. Looking back at the cube, he realized it was pitch-black.

"Hm?" Looking around, no one seemed particularly bothered by this, so Yan Zaizen was unsure.

"The Gate of Heaven is sealed." A manly voice sounded nearby. He turned to look at the speaker. It was a male of an unknown race to Yan Zaizen. He had green skin and yellow eyes, but they were pieces of topaz. His eyes were that of a humanoid, not a divine beast who lacks pupils, but it still felt oddly beastly.

A hybrid?

The man was about three meters tall, but his body was lean. He dressed in black, and it clashed quite well with the green of his skin. Yan Zaizen couldn't deduce if the person was attractive to his race, but Yan Zaizen felt he was good-looking. Not as handsome as himself, but rather close.

The cultivation of this figure wasn't hidden. In truth, no one's cultivation was hidden. He was a fourth-floor Heavenly Genesis cultivator, but his soul was odd. Yan Zaizen suspected he didn't cultivate the Soul Source Path but something similar to Phantasm, a byproduct of the Heavenly Laws.

As for his physical body, it was refined but didn't have vibrant, vital energy within.

"Sealed?" Yan Zaizen questioned curiously. The Gate of Heaven was freely open in the 17th Heaven, why would it be sealed now?

The figure didn't smile in an approachable manner. Instead, his face was quite neutral with an inspecting gaze. This gaze was soft yet had a vague pressure to it. "Yes. If you wish to go back, you'll need to pay the price."

Price?

Yan Zaizen furrowed his brows, but any cultivators who were watching didn't say or do anything that could make him suspicious of the man's words, as if common knowledge. There wasn't a sly smile or dark flicker in the crowd's expression, and those with wolf-like eyes were still staring as before.

Yan Zaizen maintained his neutral expression. "What's the price?"

The green-man turned his eyes away from Yan Zaizen, "Ten thousand heaven hearts." He didn't wait for Yan Zaizen to inquire, and lifted up his palm to reveal a piece of crystal. This crystal was in the shape of a prism, it throbbed slightly like a heart, sometimes smaller, sometimes bigger, and it was completely golden.

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"Heaven hearts…?" Inspecting the crystal, Yan Zaizen could sense a fairly odd energy within. This energy wasn't heavenly essence. In fact, it was slightly demonic and contained a trace of spirituality and physicality intermixed within.

"You'll see heaven's demons. Kill them, obtain the hearts, send the hearts to the cube and it'll open for a single person." After explaining, the figure turned and walked away. It was as if he had done his job, no longer willing to help or offer advice.

Yan Zaizen saw his back, and his eyes narrowed. It was the symbol of the Sword Paradise Palace! This person...wait…

"The Sword Paradise Palace only allows females, are you?" Yan Zaizen instinctively asked, unable to confirm his suspicions. He didn't even care if it was slightly offensive to the individual.

The man stopped, turned his head slightly towards Yan Zaizen with a glimmer in his eyes that were like topaz. "I'm only a member of a disciple's faction here, not a disciple." His voice was slightly cold, but he didn't have any hostility within.

"Watch yourself." With those words, he left.

Yan Zaizen furrowed his brows. "It's possible his job was only to inform members of the 17th Heaven how to leave, but nothing else. In that case...it's probably only wanderers like myself who are offered such privilege." Thinking up to here, Yan Zaizen decided to see the layout of the city and see what information he could gain during.

Yan Zaizen took a stroll around the area. He realized that despite many watching him from the shadows, both which he could and cannot actively sense, did not take action despite their likely hostile intentions. "The city doesn't tolerate violence?" Deducing this, he observed more to verify.

Indeed, the city did not allow violence of any sort, and many were overly cautious about that. "There must be a fearsome power, likely originating from the Paradise Sword Palace, to enforce such rules."

Yan Zaizen could feel the bloodlust and dense intent on many individuals here. They often smelled like blood. He saw many people in various districts exchanging pieces of crystal in spatial bags. Normally, seeing what's inside the bags were impossible, but unless it was absolutely top-quality with inherent seals to prevent theft or inspection, Yan Zaizen could faintly see the contents.

"Pieces of those Heaven Hearts are being traded...sometimes full ones as well." Observing this, he became curious about these heaven hearts. While walking through the shopping district, he searched for someone young and of a weak cultivation base. It wasn't long before he found a small, cute little girl.

This girl reminded him of Ma Xiuren, but her eyes were that of a divine beast, no pupils. He strolled over and asked her about heaven hearts. It was only after a little bit of bargaining that he got the information. He also got a little bit more.

"Heaven Hearts belong to Yaoguai, a unique race of creatures within this world." Recalling Mei's earlier words about odd creatures that were nearly infinite and of great danger within the Fortune Cemetery, he could only pout his lips. From what he learned, Yaoguai were divided into two different types and consumed cultivators for strength.

There were even Immortal Yaoguai, those who've succeeded in amassing power and becoming deities, both intelligent and terrifying, amongst the usually mindless Yaoguai. They commanded vast armies of Yaoguai and battled human factions often.

In fact, it was like a constant war between cultivators and divine beasts against the Yaoguai. Yet, the Yaoguai were simply not strong enough; cultivators were still the main threat within as the conflicts were far too often.

As for the heaven hearts, they were Yaoguai cores. They contain a dense and demonic aura that could be used for power or transformed into heavenly materials. They were like mirrors. If you integrated your concept within, they reflect it onto themselves, and you can instantly create heavenly materials.

"So this is why there's a nearly infinite amount of heavenly materials...because there's a near infinite amount of Yaoguai." Coming to this conclusion, Yan Zaizen's eyes brightened with an all-too-familiar light.

"There's also this place, the Dusk Zone." Yan Zaizen looked at the dark clouds above. They floated about with only faint traces of light entering, barely lighting up the surroundings. Luckily, cultivators barely used their eyes to 'see.' They had spiritual sense, heavenly sense, and even sensory arts.

"The coin isn't showing any reaction…" Yan Zaizen interfaced with the compass within his Meteor Ring. According to the method Ezekiel had given him, the general location of the compass would be shown by the coin.

His eyes narrowed as suspicions emerged in his eyes, but he shook his head upon further thought. If Ezekiel wanted to harm him, he could've with his force. If Ezekiel didn't want him to have the compass, he could've just refused. It's not like they swore an oath, even if they did, Ariel was still alive so a loophole could've been formed.

"I'll need to take the coin out of the Meteor Ring likely…" He looked around at his location, the senses locked onto him, he couldn't do so now. It may lead to unnecessary issues, but he also wasn't confident of his chances of trekking out at the moment.

His cultivation bases were rendered beyond weak, and chaotic space in this realm didn't exist. No, it would be better to say that he couldn't interact with it. There seemed to be a lock surrounding space, even the spatial void. "I'll need to reach the heavenly path before I can interact...likely."

"Hey!" A voice called out. Yan Zaizen turned around to see the small girl from earlier, beside her was a young woman that looked to be in her early twenties. She was quite a beauty, but Yan Zaizen didn't focus too much on that. Beauties were a dime a dozen, and Pinaka overshadowed all of them in his eyes.

It was the young woman who called out to him.

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