Tang Xiu himself had never cared about being praised. But he did feel secretly happy inside when he saw Firecandle’s two companions acting as though they had lost their souls.

“Those who trust me will have eternal life.”

It was a sentence Tang Xiu had forgotten where he heard it from. Yet, it felt so on the mark and appropriate to be used in this situation.

After winning two times in a row, Tang Xiu no longer wanted to bet again. He was well aware that no one could win forever. He had won big with such big stakes twice, the Convict Arena would never let him win too much wealth in the same level prison cell.

“I’m going to exchange the deed and play elsewhere.”

“Where would you like to go next, honored Sir?” asked Qin Yu hurriedly.

“I’m going to the Perfected Golden Immortal prison level!” Tang Xiu said, “In normal times, watching the fight between powerhouses will be helpful for one’s cultivation and combat prowess.”

Qin Yu hesitated before she replied, “Honored Sir, there’s no other fee to enter the rest of the prison level, including the Golden Immortal prison level. But you’re required to pay quite a lot more to enter the Perfected Golden Immortal prison level.”

“How much is the fare?” Tang Xiu asked curiously.

“Everyone needs to pay 100 Immortal Crystals,” said Qin Yu.

Tang Xiu nodded. “It’s just a small amount, no need to haggle over it. Nevermind. Take us there.”

Having said that, he suddenly turned to Firecandle and asked with a smile, “Would you like to come along? You may have some surprises waiting there.”

Firecandle hesitated for a moment before he nodded and said, “Well, since Immortal Friend Tang invites me, then I’m naturally going with you.”

Right as he said that, however, he saw his two companions shook their heads and didn’t speak a word to him, so he left in a hurry, and his previous joy gradually dissipated.

Tang Xiu glanced at him and then spoke with a faint smile while walking outside, “There are countless things one must experience in life in order to be alive. It’s just normal to have friends all over the world along the way. But there’s no feast that lasts forever in this world. Having too many friends can only serve as companions during a certain period on one’s cultivation path. But only with a strong heart will one be able to look at the road ahead as one would become more and more alone traversing the path forward.”

Firecandle’s pace came to a halt as Tang Xiu’s voice echoed in his mind. Only as Tang Xiu was about to walk out of the main portal did he finally take a relieved breath and then flew to catch up.

Four hours later.

The group came to the Perfected Golden Immortal prison level by riding a shuttle artifact. The two Perfected Golden Immortal outside the prison area stood guard outside the portal. The moment they saw the group, both men looked surprised and one of them asked, “Are you sure you want to enter this prison level?”

“That’s right!” Tang Xiu slowly nodded and paid 400 Immortal Crystals and then stepped into the vortex portal. The next moment, his figure appeared inside the prison cage area.

“Immortal Friend Tang, please take these 100 Immortal Crystals.”

Firecandle took 100 Immortal Crystals from his interspatial ring and handed it to Tang Xiu.

Tang Xiu casually waved his hand and said, “Just give them to her!”

Firecandle turned to Qin Yu, looking at her sluggish expression and saying, “Hey, are you going to take these or not?”

“Umm…”

Qin Yu’s lips wriggled a few times and finally shot a grateful look at Tang Xiu. She took 100 Immortal Crystals and quickly stuffed them into her interspatial ring. The high-interest loan she owed had only 40,000 Immortal Stones left to be paid—equal to 400 Immortal Crystals. But now, she received 100 Immortal Crystals as a tip, something that made her really happy.

“Thank you, honored Patron,” Qin Yu said gratefully.

Tang Xiu only faintly smiled in response and headed toward the cages one after another. There were only a few cells here, a total of 36 with 36 Perfected Golden Immortals inside. Without any exception, each and every Perfected Golden Immortal had a blue and white rune on their foreheads that marked them as slaves.

“Honored Patrons, we still have 8 hours until the Perfected Golden Immortals level matches begin. At that time, two among these 36 deathmatch gladiators will fight each other in a brutal fight. As you can see for yourself, there are already many VIPs coming. The minimum bet you can place if you choose to gamble is 1 million Immortal Crystals.” Qin Yu was somewhat worried and she didn’t want Tang Xiu to gamble here. After all, she had been working in the Convict Arena for more than a decade, and it was the first time a distinguished guest tipped her with so many Immortal Crystals.

Tang Xiu nodded with a smile. Every time he passed a cell, he read all the information of each Perfected Golden Immortal gladiator three times.

At the 27th cell.

Tang Xiu stood in front of the cell and halted his pace. Although his expression was extraordinarily tranquil, his heart was actually furious. The fury wasn’t caused by the female gladiator caged in the cell but toward those who captured this female gladiator and sent her here.

That female was Star Tears, the younger sister of Star Soul Supreme, the Sect Master of the Vermillion Bird Holy Sect—as well as Tang Xiu’s aunt in the Immortal World. She was someone the original Young Master of the Vermillion Bird Holy Sect hated the most, but Tang Xiu regarded her as a very close relative.

The reason was very simple.

Star Tears had a very cold personality and always taught her nephew, the dandy silk pants Young Master of the Vermillion Bird Holy Sect, countless times. It was precisely because of her that the original Young Master left the sect in fury and rushed to the Death Swamp alone. It must be noted that the Death Swamp was a place nobody under the Immortal Stage dared to traverse easily, but the fellow went there and met his death there. Afterward, his body was occupied and possessed by Tang Xiu’s soul.

The moment Tang Xiu saw Star Tears then, he was beaten up severely. She even dragged him to her own cave abode and got imprisoned for 3 months before being released and his injuries were healed. Those 3 months were the most painful torment Tang Xiu had experienced in life as he had to go through some brutal and inhuman training and torture that caused severe injuries. Yet that occasion also shaped Tang Xiu’s ability to survive in the Immortal World.

At first, it wasn’t like Tang Xiu didn’t hate this paternal aunt of his either. But when he first encountered a life-and-death crisis later on, he suddenly realized something. The torture he went through previously turned out to be for his sake so that he could survive and live longer in the future.

At the moment, Star Tears’s wrists and ankles were shackled by a chain made of 4,000 years old black iron. Her coarse linen attire was already ragged and full of bloodstains. Even her purple long hair was messy. Tang Xiu keenly discovered a shocking bloody wound on her left shoulder that revealed her bones inside.

“Blackdevil Miasma?”

Tang Xiu took a deep breath. The Blackdevil Miasma could corrode the Immortals’ body and prevent their ability to nourish their Immortal Force from healing their wounds. It also caused enormous pain to the injured.

“Qin Yu, go find the Manager of this area.”

Although Qin Yu had no idea what Tang Xiu was going to do, she just left happily. It took only half an hour before she came back with five other figures. The figure on the front, the leader, was a white-haired old man, a Perfected Golden Immortal given the aura he exuded.

“Are you the Manager here?” Tang Xiu asked indifferently before the other party introduced himself.

The old man smilingly replied, “This old man is indeed the Manager for this Convict Arena. Does Honored Patron needs something important by asking the attendant to summon me?”

Tang Xiu pointed to the cell where Star Tears stood with a numb expression and lifeless eyes and then said lightly, “The henchmen under me are rather disappointing, so I want to buy some Perfected Golden Immortals to run errands for me. She got quite a record and is also a woman. I want to buy her.”

The old man looked a bit surprised and replied with a smile, “No problem. All the gladiators in our Convict Arena have a clear price tag. She indeed has a pretty good record and is valued at 12 million Crystal Essences. May I ask how Little Friend would like to pay? Paying directly with Crystal Essences or with some treasures?”

Tang Xiu originally only had 10 million Crystal Essences, but he had won 7 million Crystal Essences after coming here, so he directly took out 12 million Crystal Essences and handed it to the old man, saying, “Please count them and take her out.”

The old man’s eyes glinted. After counting the number, he took out a Soul Plate from his interspatial ring and turned around to give an order. “Release her!”

Inside the cell.

Star Tears’ cold expression changed a bit, and there was a touch of emotional change in her lifeless, numb eyes. She had been captured and confined for more than 6 centuries. Although she had concealed her real identity, she had been through more than 200 fights in the past 6 centuries. If it wasn’t for being compelled by circumstances and the privilege to choose to surrender in the fight, she would likely have died long ago in this place.

Prior to this, she also had expectations, hoping that someone would purchase and take her away from this hellhole. However, the price tag put on her was too high. She was disappointed and eventually became desperate.

She wanted to die, thinking that death would settle everything.

However, she thought about the crisis her sect was in. She recalled the deep blood feud and enmity that had not been avenged, so she survived time and again. A Perfected Golden Immortal had the privilege to surrender three times. Except for the tied match where she and her opponents were mutually injured, she had used up all the three chances.

The expert of the Convict Arena unchained the Black Iron Chain from her. Under the scolding of several experts, she wobbled to the door of the cell and looked at Tang Xiu’s appearance. She sensed a pang of familiarity from the guy and felt that she seemed to have met this guy before but couldn’t recall where. However, it wasn’t the most important thing, as the very one thing that plagued her was the familiarity coming from Tang Xiu’s aura.

Who exactly is this guy? An ant that has just broken through to the Immortal Stage?

Star Tears racked her brain and searched in her memories. Yet she wasn’t able to recall anything about this strangely familiar young man and where she had seen him before.

The old man in charge of the Convict Arena looked at Tang Xiu and smilingly said, “Little Friend, this deathmatch fighter is now yours. If you still have needs in this regard, please feel free to contact me. I’ll give you a discount since you’re a regular patron.”

“Alright.” Tang Xiu slightly nodded.

While suppressing the excitement in his heart, he didn’t attempt to make an introduction or recognize Star Tears but continued walking towards the next cells. After reading all the information of Perfected Golden Immortal gladiators in the cells, he then came back to the auditorium.

From beginning to end, Tang Xiu didn’t say a word to Star Tears, nor did he ever glance at her. He only let her follow him quietly and acted as a guardian.

“You’re really awesome, Immortal Friend Tang!”

Firecandle, who had been following Tang Xiu all this while, witnessed as Tang Xiu took out 12 million Crystal Essences to purchase a Perfected Golden Immortal level gladiator—something that made his attitude change greatly compared to before.