Chapter 237

The black-clad girl introduced the situation of the City of Slaughter to Gu Xuan and Du Gu Yan, and they also occasionally raised questions.

To be honest, the City of Slaughter isn't as evil as imagined; at least for now it's quite humane.

Although most of the people who come here are fugitives fleeing pursuit, even those guilty of the ten unpardonable sins, they are treated equally here; of course, this is likely a method employed by that deity to maintain the lineage.

As they walked, a figure suddenly rose from the roadside; in the dark corner where he had been, neither Gu Xuan nor Du Gu Yan had noticed him.

It seemed as if he had appeared out of nowhere, and even Gu Xuan once thought he was a corpse.

"Yo, newcomers have arrived; looks like there'll be another bloody Mary, heh heh heh."

A hoarse voice sounded; Gu Xuan glanced at the person, and both he and Du Gu Yan frowned involuntarily—the speaker's age was indiscernible because his build was truly peculiar.

He seemed to have hardly any flesh on his whole body; if not for the layer of skin covering him, one would easily mistake him for a skeleton.

Moreover, through simple observation, Gu Xuan could clearly feel that this person's condition wasn't due to cultivating some special technique; he was deficient in both qi and blood, and could die at any moment.

Ignoring him, Gu Xuan turned to the black-clad girl and asked, "Can someone like him pass through the Hell Slaughter Arena battle once a year?"

That skeleton-like person then noticed the black-clad girl beside Gu Xuan and Du Gu Yan; as if encountering something terrifying, he dared not speak further and quickly vanished back into the darkness.

The black-clad girl replied, "Of course not; not everyone needs to undergo the baptism of the Hell Slaughter Arena."

"After all, the mortality rate there is too high; besides undergoing one Hell Slaughter Arena battle each year, there is another way to survive in the City of Slaughter: contributing two cups of bloody Mary every month."

Gu Xuan knew that the so-called bloody Mary was human blood; thinking of the black-clad girl's words, he couldn't help but glance at the darkness where that skeleton-like person had just disappeared.

Judging by that, that person must have become like this from not knowing how much blood he had contributed; he probably can't hold out much longer.

"If one contributes too much bloody Mary, isn't that just letting others slaughter them at will?" Du Gu Yan frowned and said.

The black-clad girl replied, "No, you are currently in the outer city of the City of Slaughter, not the true City of Slaughter. Only the inner city is truly lawless; those who eke out an existence by contributing bloody Mary can only move about in the outer city, and the outer city does not permit random slaughter."

"Only those warriors who survive the Hell Slaughter Arena are qualified to live in the inner city; of course, the enjoyment obtainable there far surpasses that outside—even more than many people could ever experience in a lifetime—but it also constantly faces the test of death."

"In that case, the City of Slaughter is entirely another world; then what is its food source? In such a place, farming seems impossible, and no one would bother to plant crops anyway." Gu Xuan said this while keeping his gaze fixed on the black-clad girl.

Actually, Gu Xuan had this question when reading the original work: with so many people in the City of Slaughter, it surely couldn't rely solely on drinking human blood to sustain itself.

Moreover, Gu Xuan had carefully observed that no plants could grow here; he very much wanted to know what the food source was.

Upon hearing this question, the black-clad girl's expression shifted slightly; she said, "Sorry, I don't know this, so I cannot answer you."

Although he didn't get an answer, Gu Xuan didn't press further, because he and Du Gu Yan had packed enough dry rations and water in their Soul Tools to sustain themselves for two or three years even if they stayed here.

Gu Xuan suddenly thought of an interesting question and asked lightly, "Does the Spirit Hall know of this place's existence? If they do, why, given their self-proclaimed righteousness, don't they come to exterminate it?"

Gu Xuan's question was indeed blunt, but it carried considerable weight.

Although the City of Slaughter is an isolated underground world, the fact that they could all know of it, and that there were still many people in the tavern outside when they arrived, shows that outsiders are not unaware of this place.

Upon hearing Gu Xuan's words, the black-clad girl snorted coldly and replied, "So what if they know? The Spirit Hall won't act against us; never mind whether they could gain any benefit in this world—just destroying the City of Slaughter would bring them no advantage at all."

"Mr. 9527, don't forget that those who enter the City of Slaughter can hardly ever leave, and those who are able to come here are all humans steeped in depravity and sin; moreover, this place has no connection whatsoever with the outside world."

"The City of Slaughter is like a special prison that helps the Spirit Hall detain extraordinarily heinous criminals; you say, why would the Spirit Hall want to destroy this place? They'd probably welcome more evildoers coming here."

Listening to the black-clad girl's words, Gu Xuan's inner understanding of this place became even clearer.

One must admit that the existence of the City of Slaughter is remarkable; having this so-called haven for villains prevents those evildoers on the continent from going all-in, because in their hearts they still have a retreat.

Walking along, the number of people on either side gradually increased; almost every face showed an unhealthy pallor, and many were mere skin and bones.

Needless to ask, these are the people who dare not enter the Hell Slaughter Arena and barely survive by contributing two cups of bloody Mary each month.

And Gu Xuan recalled that each cup should be at least nearly half a catty, so two cups a month amount to one catty of fresh blood.

One or two months might be nothing, but continuing like this in a place without sunlight, how could the body possibly endure it?

Walking along, Gu Xuan observed that in the outer city of the City of Slaughter, the streets were lined with simple black stone huts, and only at intervals were there places specifically for eating, where many people queued waiting for food distribution.

Judging by feel, these people are merely a bit better off than beggars; as for the so-called pleasure paradise of sin—

—the so-called enjoyment simply does not exist from the looks of these people.

As for this, the black-clad girl's explanation is also quite simple.

Evildoers are also graded; only truly powerful evildoers can enjoy themselves in this decadent pleasure ground.

As for useless trash, wherever they go they are merely rats in a filthy ditch, with no right to enjoy these things.

This "city" is somewhat larger than Gu Xuan imagined; after walking for about half an hour, when he had gained some understanding of the outer city, the black-clad girl led him to a city wall.

This is the inner city of the City of Slaughter; compared to the outer wall of the City of Slaughter, this wall is not high, its highest point being only about ten meters.

Upon arriving here, the black-clad girl said, "Mr. 9527, this point marks the end of the outer city; proceeding further… is the inner city."

Gu Xuan glanced at the black-clad girl, then said lightly, "Then please lead us in."

ps: Typos will be corrected later.

(End of chapter)