The Sin Province stretched 230 million miles from east to west and 80 million miles from north to south.
Not particularly vast, yet not insignificant either, it ranked as a mid-to-lower-tier territory in the Upper Realm.
After several days of travel, Shi Hao finally arrived in the Sin Province, having traversed hundreds of regions through several colossal teleportation arrays.
Emerging from the altar alongside a group of long-distance travelers, Shi Hao watched as the spatial gate behind them closed. He surveyed the surroundings, knowing that a single city could reveal much about a land.
Sang City was suffused with sparse spiritual energy, its massive stone structures hewn from gray-brown boulders, exuding a primal aura.
**Thud!**
The ground trembled as several elephant-headed beings lumbered past, their towering frames causing the streets to quiver. Their bluish bodies bore streaks of dried blood, their limbs shackled in heavy chains.
Slaves. Purchased and now being escorted away.
**Whoosh—**
A gale howled overhead as dozens of demonic bats soared across the sky like a flock of wyverns, their baleful presence unmistakable. These creatures served as mounts, ferrying passengers into the distance.
This was merely a glimpse of what Shi Hao witnessed upon stepping out of the altar.
Sang City was steeped in antiquity, lagging behind the grand metropolises of other provinces.
“The spiritual energy here is severely lacking. This place isn’t suitable for long-term habitation,” someone muttered, frowning.
Inter-provincial travel via massive teleportation arrays required a minimum of several thousand passengers to be cost-effective. Yet, the crowd that emerged was sorely disappointed by the city before them.
“Don’t expect too much. This is the Sin Province, a land once cursed. Did you really think you’d find sprawling spiritual mountains and pristine waters here? Be content,” another remarked.
Shi Hao frowned at the words. The living conditions here were indeed far from ideal.
“Why was it cursed?” he asked, curious about its origins—especially since descendants of beings from the Lower Realm had gathered here.
“Long ago, powerful prisoners and descendants of great evils who ascended from the Lower Realm’s prisons were exiled here. Their blood carried sin, and thus, the entire province was cursed,” an elder explained.
Shi Hao clenched his fists briefly before relaxing them. He pressed further, careful not to arouse suspicion. Given the Upper Realm’s vastness, it was common for people to know little beyond their own province.
“Such a curse must have been cast by someone immensely powerful, right?” another traveler chimed in, intrigued.
“Best not to delve too deeply. Rumor has it, it was a curse from the Heavens,” the elder cautioned.
A collective gasp rippled through the crowd. Many shuddered, unwilling to probe further.
Yet, some of the younger ones grew even more curious, questioning the validity of such an ethereal explanation.
“Heavens? Nonsense. It was the work of living beings—just a terrifying myth they concocted,” someone muttered skeptically.
“True. There were whispers that it involved ancient sects, now vanished or hidden. Their forbidden figures joined forces to lay the curse.”
“Pure speculation!”
Arguments and debates erupted.
“My friends, it’s unwise to speak of such forbidden history in this land. It may invite misfortune,” a composed middle-aged man warned.
Sang City was vast, its structures and streets all carved from stone, exuding an ancient, untamed aura.
After leaving the teleportation array, the crowd dispersed into the city, most going their separate ways.
Shi Hao learned that many had come to the Sin Province to participate in the Three Thousand Provinces Genius Battle, hoping to secure a better ranking in this backward, primal land.
With limited slots to enter the “Ancient Immortal Realm,” cultivators from various sects sought every advantage, even competing in weaker provinces for qualification.
The Sin Province had become a prime target, drawing hordes of outsiders.
Sang City was but a microcosm—other cities across the land were similarly flooded, stirring unrest.
“With so many participants, what’s the point?” Shi Hao asked a bystander.
Countless competitors from every province were willing to cross vast distances just for a chance at the final qualification—yet only one could claim the title of “Number One Under Heaven.”
To Shi Hao, such a frenzy seemed hardly worth it.
“The initial stages aren’t dangerous. Most cultivators know their limits and won’t challenge the freaks or Prodigies. If unavoidable, they’ll submit immediately. People enter for other opportunities—divine artifacts, sacred herbs, inheritances… treasures that make even sects covetous.”
Clearly, participants had different goals. A rare few aimed for supremacy, while the majority sought resources—bone scriptures, secret treasures, immortal texts, sacred wood, and even seeds of immortality.
“Some have unearthed immortal artifacts, others obtained wordless heavenly scriptures. There are those who consumed Celestial Fruits and ascended to divinity on the spot,” one sighed.
Another nodded. “Legends speak of True Dragon eggs and Phoenix nests—things beyond imagination exist there.”
Shi Hao couldn’t hide his astonishment. Such mythical treasures truly existed?
“Could these just be exaggerations?”
“No. At least one ancient sect’s freak, after winning first place, concealed himself and participated multiple times—not just for the ultimate prize, but because he discovered a sealed dragon’s den, exhaling chaos qi, with a True Dragon egg inside!”
“You know of this?” Shi Hao was skeptical.
“Walls have ears. It wasn’t just him. Many sects know, and even sect masters have spoken of it.”
Shi Hao was stunned. To enter the Ancient Immortal Realm… he’d have to fight tooth and nail!
“That’s nothing. Some even witnessed a Phoenix Blood Pool—a divine phoenix’s essence condensed into an immortal pond. To bathe in it… one’s achievements would be unimaginable!”
A single drop of Phoenix blood could induce nirvana and rebirth. An entire pool? Even ancient monks would covet it, let alone Shi Hao.
Dazed, he parted ways with the group. As a glutton, the thought of such treasures in the Ancient Immortal Realm made his heart itch with anticipation.
“With so many grand opportunities, I, the Stone of Destiny, am destined to rise and shine for eternity,” the Divine Striking Stone whispered from Shi Hao’s hair, drooling.
Sang City was immense.
Yet Shi Hao found all inns packed—mostly with outsiders aiming to seize the province’s slots.
Soon, his mood soured.
Many outsiders looked down on the Sin Province, viewing its inhabitants as descendants of vile prisoners.
Their disdain was palpable.
“Sin-blooded descendants, exiled here, with their entire land cursed—proof of their ancestors’ unforgivable crimes!”
“Such filth should’ve been eradicated long ago. Why spare them?”
Such extremist remarks darkened Shi Hao’s expression. Regardless of their past, these were descendants of people from the Lower Realm. To be scorned like this…
No wonder the province bore the name “Sin.” It sickened him.
“In recent years, this province hasn’t produced any monsters. Most slots will likely go to outsiders.”
“A cursed land, drained of spiritual energy—especially after the ancient war broke their spirit. What strong cultivators could emerge? It’s only natural for elites from other provinces to take their slots. Survival of the fittest!”
Shi Hao’s fury burned hotter.
In the Lower Realm, he’d heard of “descendants of great evils.” Now, in the Upper Realm, an entire province was branded as such—a land of exile, cursed.
Some were from the Lower Realm, others descendants of ancient Upper Realm criminals.
He couldn’t accept it. Generations had passed. Even if their ancestors had sinned, why punish their descendants?
Determined, Shi Hao sought answers.
Soon, he learned the Fire Clan was a dominant force here, ruling an ancient kingdom.
But another revelation shook him to the core.
“There was once a Stone Kingdom… destroyed in ancient times?!”
Shi Hao paled. If true, this was the ancient kingdom founded by his ancestors.
“Why?” he pressed.
“Sin-blood manifested, drawing the Heavens’ curse. The kingdom vanished,” came the reply.
“Impossible!” Shi Hao refused to believe it.
“Shh! The Stone Clan once flourished, producing extraordinary figures. Then… a giant hand descended from the sky, erasing the kingdom and burying the clan!”
Shi Hao left, seething. The news enraged him.
After further inquiry, he arrived at the Stone Clan’s ruins.
Barren, desolate, littered with rubble—the remnants of a once-glorious capital.
For two days, he wandered the ruins, his heart ablaze with fury. An entire kingdom, wiped out so cruelly.
At the ruins’ edge, he stumbled upon a dilapidated village—descendants of the Stone Kingdom.
“Reduced to this…” He gazed at the elderly, the weak, the ordinary youths—all mortals now, devoid of cultivation.
“They could’ve lived peacefully, like others. But their ancestors uncovered a truth… and brought annihilation upon themselves.”
In another crumbling stone hamlet, a blind elder whispered shocking revelations…
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