Within an exquisite room, Chen Xi looked at the dark golden plate that was similar to a badge in his hand, and he couldn’t help but be surprised in his heart.
This was a Virtue Plate. It was only the size of an infant’s palm, and its surface was densely covered with complicated and profound dark golden striations. It was a strange treasure that recorded one’s energy of virtue.
The Talisman Dimension was filled with numerous Cosmos Beasts. Everyone time one killed a Cosmos Beast, one would obtain the corresponding energy of virtue according to the Cosmos Beast’s strength, and the exact figure would appear within the Virtue Plate.
Of course, there were many other paths to obtaining the energy of virtue. For example, repairing Talisman Towers, escorting merchant groups, completing the assignments of the Ninth Rank Hall, and so on and so forth.
In short, the Talisman Dimension was completely different from the Dark Reverie, and the energy of virtue was the only foundation that decided if a cultivator was able to survive here!
The reason was very simple. It was because the heavens and the earth within the Talisman Dimension didn’t contain any spirit energy.
There was naturally no need to question how important spirit energy was because it was related to a cultivator’s cultivation, strength, and at the same time, it was the only source of energy of one’s combat strength.
How would cultivators survive without spirit energy? Let alone command the clouds and rain or slaughter evil?
All of this allowed Chen Xi to deeply understand why Liang Bing would say that the only thing he had to worry about while beneath the Talisman Dimension’s Laws of the Heaven Dao would be how to survive.
Indeed, without the presence of spirit energy, it was undoubtedly equivalent to severing the greatest reliance of a cultivator, and it caused survival to become the most important matter.
Similarly, the Talisman Dimension didn’t possess ores similar to Shaman Blood Crystals, so the situation of body refiners was no different than qi refiners.
All in all, the Laws of the Heaven Dao in the Talisman Dimension had predetermined how unique and different this world that was created on the frontline of the battlefield of the three dimensions would be.
But even though it didn’t possess spirit energy, the Talisman Dimension possessed the energy of virtue!
In contrast to other worlds, such an energy could be considered as a unique product of the Talisman Dimension because in the other worlds, condensing the energy of virtue could only be accomplished through slaughtering great sinners or assisting the ordinary people in the mortal world to escape calamity. Not to mention these methods lacked variation, very few cultivators were capable of accomplishing it.
After all, great sinners weren’t figures that just anyone could kill, whereas assisting ordinary people escape calamity was similarly not something that could be carried out at all times.
However, all of this had become simple in the Talisman Dimension.
Because there were practically infinite amounts of Cosmos Beasts, countless Talisman Towers to repair, and unending assignments to be taken from the Ninth Rank Hall in the Talisman Dimension, whereas every single method would provide a certain amount of the energy of virtue.
Even if it was amongst the 3,000 large worlds and myriad of minor worlds, it was probably impossible to find another place like the Talisman Dimension.
The strangest thing was that the energy of virtue could be utilized a currency in the Talisman Dimension!
If this was conducted in the Dark Reverie, then such actions would practically be no different than deceiving the heavens, and once it was detected, one was bound to fall to the fate of being obliterated.
Because the energy of virtue was a form of judgment from the Heaven Dao. Those with great virtue received the protection of the Heaven Dao, whereas those with no virtue lived mediocre lives. On the other hand, great sinners would suffer the punishment of the Heaven Dao instead.
This was a type of rule, and it was a type of prestige that came from the Heaven Dao. The existence of virtue was like a blessing from the heavens to the myriad of living beings in the world, and it was a taboo that couldn’t be encroached upon. So how could it be utilized like a currency or goods?
But in the Talisman Dimension, the energy of virtue had its shackles of being a taboo opened. Not only could it be utilized in exchanges, it could even be utilized as a currency to purchase what one required.
Most importantly, the amount of the energy of virtue one possessed had an intimate relationship with the survival of cultivators here.
Only by earning the energy of virtue would one be able to exchange for spirit liquids and Immortal Stones that cultivators require, and at the same time, it was the symbol of one’s status and natural endowments. Only one with high virtue could enter a city from a village, then a county, and even enter the Imperial City of Four Emperors!
After he sized it up for a long time, Chen Xi carefully put away the Virtue Plate.
Once this plate was lost, it would be equivalent to losing all the energy of virtue he’d earned, and it would be equivalent to losing his foundation to survive in the Talisman Dimension.
…
“Young Master Chen Xi, you have to undergo a test next to determine which village you’ll start from,” said Mo Jiang with a smile.
Presently, Chen Xi was already aware that any cultivator that entered the Talisman Dimension for the first time would start cultivating at a village in the outermost area of the Talisman Dimension after obtaining a Virtue Plate.
If one wanted to enter a city, then one had to assist the locals in the village to annihilate Cosmos Beasts, repair Talisman Towers, and so on and so forth. One could only enter a city once one gathers sufficient amounts of the energy of virtue.
In similar fashion, if one wanted to enter a county from a city, and the imperial city from a county, one similarly had to utilize the energy of virtue as one’s proof of qualification.
Under Mo Jiang’s lead, Chen Xi arrived at a place called ‘Virtue Establishing Courtyard’ in the depths of the tower.
At this moment, there were many young men and young women standing on the square within this ‘Virtue Establishing Courtyard’, and all of them wore luxurious clothes and possessed extraordinary bearings. Obviously, they were experts from the 3,000 worlds, and based on their appearances, all of them possessed impressive identities.
In short, someone that was capable of traversing the universe and arriving at the Talisman Dimension was absolutely someone of great origins.
Chen Xi noticed that these over a thousand of people were respectively standing at different areas according to their varying cultivations.
But the weakest amongst them was at the Golden Core Realm, and these cultivators occupied around half of the total. Cultivators at the Rebirth Realm occupied around 30% of the total, whereas cultivators at the Nether Transformation Realm occupied around 20% of the total and were around 200 plus people.
The group with the least amount of people were those at the Earthly Immortal Realm, and there was only a mere 10 plus people amongst them. They stood proudly there while coiled with Immortal Energy, and they seemed to be extremely dazzling.
These cultivators were led into different areas by the representatives of the Ninth Rank Hall based on their cultivations, and they went to undergo the test.
“There are differences in villages as well. A good village will allow one to gain the most energy of virtue in the shortest period of time, whereas not only would a bad village have adverse conditions, it was utterly impossible to gain sufficient energy of virtue without over 10 years of time.” Mo Jiang led Chen Xi as he explained in a low voice. “But, the differentiation between a good and bad village depends on the cultivation realm of a cultivator.”
“Some villages have damaged Talisman Towers, adverse environments, and surroundings filled with an enormous amount of Cosmos Beasts that are peerlessly ferocious. This would absolutely be the worst village for a cultivator at the Golden Core Realm because not only would the cultivator be unable to gain the energy of virtue, the cultivator’s life would be in danger. But it would be a good village to a cultivator at the Nether Transformation Realm instead because an enormous amount of Cosmos Beasts would allow the cultivator to obtain a large amount of the energy of virtue within a short period of time.”
Chen Xi came to a sudden understanding, and then he asked. “Then how should I select a village?”
Mo Jiang’s expression turned serious as he said solemnly, “Young Master Chen Xi, logically speaking, you were brought here personally by the Eldest Young Miss, so you can choose any village you like. But our Ninth Rank Hall has its own rules and the Eldest Young Miss has already instructed earlier that we should treat you like everyone else. So I hope you don’t make it difficult for me.”
Chen Xi was stunned, and he knew Mo Jiang had misunderstood, so he said with a smile, “I’ll listen to senior’s arrangement in everything, and I’ll absolutely have no objections.”
Mo Jiang roared with laughter. “Young Master Chen Xi, I brought you here to undergo a test, and it will determine which village you will head to. This is something that even I’m unable to interfere with.”
Just as he’d said, the entire Talisman Dimension had always been extremely fair on the topic of selecting villages, and it was very rare that they provided special treatment to disciples from influential clans and sects.
This was also the foundation of the Talisman Dimension, otherwise if a useless profligate disciple from an influential clan were to lead a large village to slaughter the Cosmos Beasts, then it would be a calamity because the Cosmos Beast would absolutely not care about one’s status when it killed.
In next to no time, they arrived on an empty square. The square had a length of 30km in both directions, and people seemed extremely tiny when standing on it. Especially the deepest depths of the square, there was a pitch black door that faintly emanated a ferocious, overbearing, cruel, and bloody aura from within.
The entire square seemed like a place that was used to seal up a devil.
After they arrived here, Mo Jiang bid his farewells and left.
Chen Xi looked over and saw there were already over 100 cultivators at the Nether Transformation Realm long since standing here, whereas there was a representative of the Ninth Rank Hall standing ahead with a stern expression.
This was a middle aged man with a clear gaze, and his entire body emanated a terrifying aura. According to Chen Xi’s estimation, this person’s strength ought to be around the 3rd level of the Earthly Immortal Realm and was roughly on par with Priest Zi Yun.
“Even a servant is not allowed to be brought in while training in the Talisman Dimension, so who will serve me while I cultivate here in the future? Could it be that I have to take care of drinking wine and amusement by myself?” A young man that held a lilac folding fan fanned it as he spoke.
“Chunyu Kang, do you think you’re still in the Spirit Pond World? If you dislike having no servant to serve you, then you can give your position to me because I just happen to have a maidservant that didn’t get a place.” Another young man in a bright yellow embroidered robe and wore a crown gilded in gold spoke coldly.
“Jiang Dingyi, watch your words!” The young man called Chunyu Kang grunted coldly, and he was extremely infuriated.
“What? Want to play?” Jiang Dingyi’s brows raised as he spoke with disdain.
“Both of you stop fighting until you’ve passed the test and selected a village. There are many more cultivators that are entering the Talisman Dimension this time when compared to the past, and it isn’t so easy to obtain a good village!” A cold and indifferent red clothed young woman that possessed a graceful figure and bright eyes spoke with a frown on her face.
Chunyu Kang and Jiang Dingyi instantly shut their mouths, and they seemed to be extremely fearful of the red clothed young woman’s strength and identity.
Chen Xi noticed this scene inadvertently, and he couldn’t help but be surprised because he noticed that this red clothed young woman’s cultivation and every single move she made was suffused with a familiar aura.
It was the materialization of a person’s cultivation when it arrived at the Exalted Rank of the Nether Transformation Realm, and it was the first time Chen Xi had seen another expert besides himself at the Exalted Rank of the Nether Transformation Realm since he started cultivating. Moreover, it was even a woman!
Looks like there are numerous formidable figures entering the Talisman Dimension this time… Chen Xi seemed to be lost in thought.
Clang!
Right at this moment, the grand sound of a bell resounded out, and it caused the clamorous atmosphere at the scene to stop abruptly and become perfectly silent.
At the front of the square, the representative of the Ninth Rank Hall took a step forward, and his gaze was like a bolt of lightning as it swept past everyone present before he spoke in a deep voice. “The tests begin now!”