End of the First Selection Phase
After the Dread Barrens, which was the worst fate a survivor could face after failing this first challenge of the Armhands Selection, anyone who failed to climb the stairs between steps 1,001 and 2000 would be sent to the Blue Field.
Minos and his people didn't know the real difference between being sent to these two places, but the difference was brutal.
In the Dread Barrens, one would basically live as a slave, working most of the time and barely having time to rest. As for cultivation, even if one could find the time, it would be a luxury, as the area was particularly low in energy for a demigod or sovereign to make progress there.
The area's requirements weren't low either, and if you didn't put in a lot of effort or weren't very lucky, you might be forced to stay in such a place for the rest of your life!