After activating that talisman, Wang Wei discovered a coordinate that pointed to the Northern Black Tortoise Continent. So, he did not waste time and headed that. By forcefully breaking the space, he was able to get there in just a few minutes.
By following the coordinate, he soon discovered that he was in the Domain of one of the Forbidden Zone: the Blood Earth. Underneath his feet was endless earth that spread for millions of kilometers, however, the entire earth was completely blood red.
From what Wang Wei knew, this place was the entrance to that Forbidden Land, and once in a while, a space crack will appear to allow cultivators to go inside. As long as they do not go deep into the core, many people can survive and receive some fortunate encounters.
While being wary, Wang Wei flew in the direction of the coordinate. Soon, he saw a wood cabin in the middle of this desolate place and the talisman was pointed at it.
He landed not far from the cabin as he looked around, focusing on the ground. He could feel and see countless formations surrounding that cabin, all of them at the level of Quasi-Emperor.
What baffled him was that the number was truly outstanding, making him wonder what was wrong with the creator. Not long after landing, a safe path amongst these arrays was opened up and he followed.
After entering the cabin, it was quite larger on the inside, and he appeared to be teleported to one of the rooms. He saw the old beggar he once met at the Emperor Enlightening Academy.
Nothing much has changed since then except for his eyes; they were more cold and indifferent. To be precise, they switched between normal and cold and indifference, making him appear very erratic.
“You’re here,” said the old beggar.
“Yes, by the looks of it, you expected my arrival.” Oddly, without Wang Wei telling him about hand signs, the old beggar could easily understand him.
“You could say that.”
“So, you succeeded in cultivating the Dao of Heaven.” Wang Wei could tell that this man was now very close to becoming a True Monarch, and if it was not for the restriction of the world, he would have already entered.
“There is no need to waste time. You came here to ask me about Outlaws, didn’t you?”
Wang Wei squinted his eyes at this old beggar to give him a deep look, “Yes, so what are Outlaws exactly? And why will I be killed because of it?”
“Outlaws are people who cultivated certain Daos that are deemed too powerful and unique. As such, they have to pass a trial to prove that they are worthy of cultivating that Dao.
“For example, the people who cultivate the Dao of Time, Karma, Samsara, Destruction and so many others.”
“A trial? Like Heavenly Tribulation?”
“Hehe,” laughed the old beggar with a sneer. “When I say a trial, do you think that you will get teleported somewhere where you have to face countless challenges set up by Heavenly Dao to prove your worth?”
“Is it not?”
“Of course not, otherwise so few people would survive being an Outlaw. This trial is considered a Human Tribulation, making it very unpredictable and hard to see coming.:
“Be more specific. What is exactly is this Human Tribulation you’re talking about you.”
The old beggar paused for a moment to gather his thought.
“The way the trial is set up is that Heavenly Dao will scheme against you using the people close to you or your actions against you. For example, the trial could be in the form that one of your best friends became jealous of your power and success and planned to assassinate you.
“Or, through many circumstances, your sect turned against you and they begin to hunt you down, forcing you on the run. The scary part of this trial is that it is personal, tailored to each specific individual’s life, strength and relationship.
“I can tell you that strength is the least valuable aspect needed to pass this test.”
“How so?”
“This is the best way I can explain it. This trial is essentially having a Great Emperor calculating and scheming against you to lead you to your demise. Because of this, few people have ever survived this trial–especially people like you.”
“People like me?” asked Wang Wei.
“Supreme Outlaws, people who want to cultivate the 5 Supreme Hidden Daos.”
“Which are?”
“Chaos, Creation, Fate, Destruction, and…”
“Heaven, isn’t it?” replied Wang Wei when he saw the old beggar not saying anything. The Dao of Heaven is that path of becoming all-knowing or omniscient, how could such a Dao be normal.
And based on how this old beggar was hiding here, it is obvious that he has been hiding from something because of his status as a Supreme Outlaw.
“Yes, you’re correct.”
Wang Wei paused for a moment before asking: “How are Outlaws different from Supreme Outlaws? And has any of us survived the trial?”
“The best way I can explain is that ordinary Outlaws have a Great Emperor use 1% of its ability to scheme against them, and Supreme Outlaws is more along the line of 50%.
“As for any Supreme Outlaws that survived the test, there is only one but only in a technicality. And that is the Dusk Emperor.
“Dusk, the darkness before twilight, the darkness before everything comes to an end. The Dusk Emperor once cultivated to Dao of Destruction to a very high level. However, after going through the Outlaw Trial, he had no choice but to change his Dao to a lesser form of Destruction–Dusk–to survive.”
“So, what you’re saying is that another way to pass the trial is to either change Dao or cultivate a lesser version of it?” gestured Wang Wei.
“Exactly. For example, your little peer named Lin Fan, as the owner of the Absolute Chaos Physique, is allowed to cultivate many Daos that could make him an Outlaw without consequences–that is one of the functions of the number 1 Heavenly Physique.
“However, the moment he decided to walk the path of cultivating all 3000 Grand Dao, he instantly became a Supreme Outlaw. The same goes for you, if you only focused on a certain aspect of fate, you would never become an Outlaw.
“Unfortunately, you want to control the entire Dao.”
Wang Wei nodded but he did not care. If he knew of this trial beforehand, he would still make the same choice. After pondering for a moment, he asked:
“What about my father, is he an Outlaw?” Wang Wei knew that his father’s Dao was quite powerful, so he wanted to know.
“No, your father only cultivate the Dao of Cutting, the reason it is so powerful is that he raised it to such a level relying purely on his swordsmanship talent.
“People like him who take an ordinary Dao and elevate it to such height are usually very favored by Heavenly Dao and blessed with some luck. Another example of this is Empress Wu’s, Sealing Dao.”
“What about Di Tian? Since he cultivates the Dao of Samsara, he should be an Outlaw, right?”
“His situation is different,’ replied the old beggar slowly.
‘As expected.’ He just had a whim to ask so he did.
“Based on the information that I gather by fusing my mind with Heavenly Dao, I discover that Di Tian was once a Supreme Outlaw that once cultivated the Dao of Creation.
“Do you know anything about what occurred in the Beginning Emperor and the Null Era?”
“Yes, I know about the war.”
“Well, that will save me some time. During that war, Di Tian used his Dao of Creation to create many human beings with high cultivation talent. Of course, back then, he needed accompanying resources to create life, nevertheless, his ability granted him a very high status in the world.
“Because of the situation of the war, Heavenly Dao gave him a pass and ignore his status as a Supreme Outlaw, however, he grew too ambitious. He wanted to create the perfect human, a person born with the utmost beauty, temperament, and talent.
“His act crossed a forbidden zone, so his status as an Outlaw was activated. In the end, his proud creation was killed in front of him and he was severely injured.
“In the end, he had to enter reincarnation and change his Dao not only to save himself but apparently to revive her. Because of this, he does not have to pass the trial.
“Of course, one of the main reasons that he does not have to pass the trial is because of the great Karma tied to him.
“What do you mean?”
“Many of the people he created would one day become Great Emperors, so Di Tian held the title of Creator of Emperors, which is a great form of Karma protecting him throughout his reincarnations, otherwise, his life would have been even more miserable.”
Wang Wei pondered for a moment as he remembered the ghost or spirit that he met and gave him an Innate material. He did not expect her to have such a story.
“I only have a few more questions. What about the Dao of Nothingness? Would that make someone an Outlaw?”
“Nothingness? That is considered a taboo. Most people who walked that path ended up turning into nothingness and disappearing from the world.”
Wang Wei smiled wryly as this almost happened to him during his fight with Di Tian. He decided to be more careful from now on.
“Second question, do Great Emperors and Dao Ancestors also have to pass a trial if they one day decided to change their Dao to one of these?”
“No, the rules are different from these Immortal Beings. For example, Empyreans–who is more powerful than Great Emperors–all have the natural ability to create life–even without cultivating the Dao.
“However, I imagined that it is very difficult for them to change their Main Dao to one of these Daos.”
Wang Wei nodded his head before gesturing again: “Okay, why don’t we get down to business. You told me all this information because you want me to help you with your trial.
“Most likely, you want to see how I pass or fail the trial and learn from it, isn’t that right?”
“That’s correct.”
“So, what do I get out of this deal?”
“Didn’t you say it, the information that I provided?”
“No, this information is the payment for me helping you find your Dao a couple of thousand years ago. Now, we did not owe each other anything” After saying that, the old beggar saw a Karma Thread connecting the two of them, which displayed the fact that he was telling the truth.
“What do you want?”
“One, I want the information on other people passed their trial and the formation you have placed in this house.”
“I do not know have that kind of information. I only know who was an Outlaw and who survived the trial in the end. As for the exact method of the trial and how they passed, Heavenly Dao has made these the highest form of secrets.
“As for the array, there is no problem in giving it to you.”
Wang Wei has been secretly observing that array and he realized that it was set to borrow the power of the Forbidden Land and hide from the eyes of Heavenly Dao.
If the trial is as the old beggar stated, Wang Wei knew that he would need to hide from the latter’s calculation if he want a slight chance of survival.
After agreeing to some terms, the two signed the necessary contract before Wang Wei left.