Chapter 132: Looting Monsters for Gear? A Game?

At the time, upon hearing Dugu Shang’s account, Zhou Yi was utterly stunned.

According to Dugu Shang, Peerless Island is divided into six zones, each occupied based on the strength of its inhabitants. Within these six zones reside a vast array of ferocious beasts and monsters. Sometimes they appear singly, sometimes in swarms; there is no set rule. By slaying these beasts, one can obtain Dharma Crystals, Dharma Techniques, and Dharma Artifacts.

The strength of these creatures varies, and the quality of the spoils—the crystals, techniques, and artifacts—corresponds directly to the power of the beast defeated. No one knows where these creatures come from, but legend has it that they were all created by the master of Peerless Island.

Created.

When he heard this, those two words completely dominated Zhou Yi’s thoughts. What level of power must one possess to be able to mass-produce so many monsters, all of which are formidable?

According to Dugu Shang, the most powerful entities on the island are not the cultivators themselves, but these very monsters. Even a cultivator who has mastered the meridians and acupoint infusion techniques to the pinnacle of their current zone—a hegemon of their territory—would not dare to claim they can roam freely without fear.

Because on this island, there are always monsters capable of humbling even the most arrogant.

Zhou Yi found it difficult to imagine the sheer level of power required to create so many strong beings, but he knew it must be a realm he could only look up to from afar. Previously, he had heard that his own sect possessed nearly a hundred "False Core" legends—more than the rest of the martial world combined—all created by the sect’s ancestors. At the time, he had felt that such power was truly immense.

But now, after listening to Dugu Shang, Zhou Yi profoundly understood the truth of the saying: "There is always a higher mountain, and every wave is stronger than the last." Compared to the ancestors who created a hundred False Core legends, how terrifyingly powerful must the being who created every monster on Peerless Island be? And which of those monsters is anything less than a False Core in strength?

More importantly, what truly filled Zhou Yi with dread was that the operational model of Peerless Island felt disturbingly familiar. He knew exactly why it felt familiar, and that knowledge chilled him to the bone.

"A game? Slaying monsters to grind for loot?"

Yes, everything Zhou Yi had learned pointed clearly to one conclusion: Peerless Island was akin to a gaming arena. All the cultivators were players, the island’s denizens were monsters, and perhaps there were even local NPCs.

"What exactly does the great power behind this island intend?" The question arose in Zhou Yi’s mind, bringing with it a sense of crushing oppression alongside his fear. "Players? Heh, who knows who is playing whom?"

On the surface, it looked like a game—grind for levels, change maps, clear stages—all appearing simple. But Zhou Yi knew that nothing here was as simple as it seemed. This was the real world, not a virtual one. The idea of reality being turned into a game was inherently terrifying.

Rather than a gaming arena, having gained a brief understanding of the island, Zhou Yi preferred to think of it as a "Gu" jar—a place where venomous creatures are pitted against one another. He had heard the term "desperate souls" from Dugu Shang, and he had keenly sensed the deep fear and sorrow in Dugu Shang’s voice when he spoke it. That was not a term used for the fortunate. If it were truly just a game, why would the participants be called desperate souls?

"Forget it. Thinking too far ahead is useless with my current strength." His mind was a whirlpool of chaotic thoughts, but finally, Zhou Yi took a deep breath and waved his hand, forcing himself to discard these musings for now.

Given his current level, while not weak, the moment he thought of the "final boss" who had created all these monsters and set the rules of this game, his pride vanished. Compared to that entity, he was nothing but scum. When one lacks the strength, thinking clearly about such matters is futile.

So, Zhou Yi suppressed these thoughts, deciding to revisit them only when he became strong enough. For now, the logical path was to fully understand the mechanics of Peerless Island.

"Dharma Crystals, Dharma Techniques, Dharma Artifacts." He pondered. If he could not resist, he would follow the flow and grow stronger first.

Dharma Crystals are solidified essence of mana. Using them allows one to rapidly increase their own mana. The amount of mana contained depends on the strength of the monster killed, categorized into six tiers: one year, ten years, a hundred years, a thousand years, ten thousand years, and a hundred thousand years.

These six tiers correspond exactly to the six zones of the island—one zone per tier. Simply put, the first zone only drops crystals containing a year’s worth of mana, the second zone drops ten years’ worth, and so on, until the sixth zone, which yields crystals containing a hundred thousand years of mana.

Of course, the amount of mana within each tier is not fixed. A first-tier crystal contains between one and ten years of mana, depending on the strength of the monster. This logic applies to all six tiers; a crystal could contain anywhere from one year to nearly a million years of mana.

However, possessing a crystal with a certain amount of mana does not mean one will gain that exact amount upon refining it. Firstly, there is a loss during the conversion process. Secondly, there is the purity of the mana. Everyone’s mana has a different texture—some like water, some like ice, some like iron—and naturally, the results vary.

It is like a unit of measurement; one year of effort for one person is not necessarily equal to one year for another. The greater the difference in personal cultivation, the greater the disparity in their mana. How could a year of cultivation from someone in the first stage of the False Core realm compare to a year from someone in the sixth stage?

Does having a hundred million years of mana make one invincible? Not necessarily. One must remember that this is cultivation—the pursuit of moving mountains and draining seas. What is a hundred million years of mana to the vastness of nature? One must realize that the world has been tempered over countless eons—millions, hundreds of millions, even billions of years. That is the true scale of the world.