Beastmaster of the Ages

”Let me try,” Tianming said as he used his Order Relic Universal Body to absorb it like he did with xeno fatigue, but he noticed that it didn’t work at all. Xeno fatigue was a toxin that afflicted the body which could be extracted, but chaos defect was a problem that stemmed from the constitution of one’s body directly.”

”That’s why we sometimes feel rather envious of those living in the Realm of Order. While your cultivation progress is slower, you have order as your foundation and your bodies are inherently stable. We, on the other hand, can easily end up with death as our only recourse if things go wrong,” Mu Qingqing said.

Tianming had tried everything he could think of, though he wasn’t as lucky as the previous times. This time around, he was no savior. ”Is this something that happens to everyone or just the Mu Clan?”

Mu Qingqing let out a pained smile. ”If it was just us, then quintessence herbs wouldn’t be in that high demand.” Realizing that Tianming didn’t know what that is, she continued, ”Quintessence herbs are the second-most important resource in the Realm of Chaos right behind middlekin stars. They are a kind of plant life that absorbs chaotic nova source, coming in different aspects. Their main two functions are to aid in breakthroughs and growth like dazzling radiance and to amend divine defects to save a cultivator’s life. Naturally, you’ll need quintessence herbs of the appropriate aspect for it to work.”

”I see, so divine defects result from cultivation gone wrong, while quintessence herbs are the panacea that can set cultivation right again.”

”More or less. Quintessence herbs are also distinguished based on aspect and grade, which need to match the right person to be able to save them. The higher the grade, the more expensive it is. You can’t even trade for them using cosmic relics of the same grade.”

Tianming looked at the people around him and had an idea. ”So, did all of them come for quintessence herbs?”

”Almost all of them, either for their own use or for their families. Who else would be willing to leave their homes and bet their lives at a place like this?” Mu Qingqing sighed.

”Why the Inverse Battlefield of all places?”

”Because eighty percent of all quintessence herbs come from the Inverse Battlefield, making it the best place to find them. Quintessence herbs are the rarest resource across all starcages, so it’d be hard to find them on the market at all.”

”And the more people get sick, the more costly it becomes...” Tianming had a rough idea of the situation.

”Many people also came to get rich. Quintessence herbs are guaranteed to sell for lots. Unlike Chaos Star Ruins, which can only be harvested by armies of heavencosmic gods, everyone in the Inverse Battlefield stands a chance of finding quintessence herbs. The Dongshen Arena is a haven for gamblers, which also attracts lots of people who want to trade. People use quintessence herbs to bargain for relics, arts, and even women and protection.”

”Do the herbs also play a role in the bets?”

”Of course. How else would you attract people to fight?”

The girl, Ying He, added, ”My dad and mom are betting their lives in the arena in hopes of getting me a quintessence herb...”

”Oh!”

Then, the vice guild leader, Dao Feng, came over with a smile of resignation. ”It can’t be helped. Far too many people come to the Dongshen Arena for survival. They have no choice but to bet their lives. With there being so many people gathered in one place, anyone without an organization supporting them will be oppressed, which is why we’ve decided to set up a guild here as a home for our people. We care for each other here.”

Tianming realized why Mu Qingqing said they had really hard lives. If the ones who were suffering were only a thousand plus of them, they would’ve been rescued long ago, but divine defects were common ailments in the Realm of Chaos. The supply of quintessence herbs was also limited, so not everybody could be saved. Death and disease were just as universal as birth and life; they couldn’t be avoided no matter what. When disaster finally came knocking, those unfortunate enough would have no choice but to place their lives on the line for the sake of survival.

Tianming looked at Dao Feng and said, ”Do you also have the divine defect?”

Dao Feng scratched his head and said, ”It appeared in the past few years. At the start, it was only one toe, so I didn’t give it much heed. When it spread to my whole leg, even amputating it wouldn’t stop its spread. There’s no helping it, so the only thing I can do is to bet. I still haven’t found a quintessence herb that suits me, so I have remained here to serve the rest.”

”I see.” Tianming didn’t have much more to say about it. People came to the Dongshen Arena nonstop, and he wasn’t able to change anything, not even their deaths.

”Still, the organizers of the arena have a firm grasp on our survival instinct. The more desperate one wants to live on, the more they would gamble. It is very easy to lose everything they have and even drag their families into it. That’s how the organizers rake in so much profit,” Mu Qingqing said.

”Isn’t there anyone to regulate this?” Tianming asked.

”It’s not something that can be regulated. Everyone has a firm backing here, and it doesn’t change the fact that some have managed to find hope in a place like this.”

Regulating and stopping the betting would also extinguish the hopes of many of obtaining a quintessence herb. Even so, Tianming could tell that Mu Qingqing wasn’t satisfied with the state of affairs.

Before he left, a youth entered the building and shouted at Dao Feng, ”Brother-in-law, something happened to Sister!”

Dao Feng’s entire body shook as he rushed out to grab the youth by the sleeves. ”What is it?!”

”The scion from the Godly Sands Yueling Xi, has a void-class quintessence herb called the Flame Universal Root! Isn’t that the herb that can save you? Yueling Xi knows you need it and used it to lure Sister to challenge him! I wasn’t able to stop her!”

”Darn it!” Dao Feng’s eyes turned bloodshot as he charged outside without hesitation.