“No bet! Absolutely not! Do you think I’d fall for the same trick twice?” Ancestor Li shook his head like a rattle-drum, flatly refusing.
“No bet? Fellow Daoist Li’s standards have become so high that even the inner core of a Bloodline Flood Dragon can’t catch your eye?” The Daoist feigned astonishment and disbelief.
However, no matter how Han Li looked at it, the act seemed utterly fake.
“Bloodline Flood Dragon core!” Ancestor Li, who had initially resolved to have nothing more to do with the Daoist, abruptly changed expression upon hearing the name, his voice trembling slightly.
“Indeed! I heard that for this very item, Fellow Daoist Li once stayed for over thirty years at the treacherous rapids of Panlong River in Yuanwu Country, yet left empty-handed. So this time, I went to great expense to specially acquire it for you!”
The Daoist spoke unhurriedly, now looking completely at ease, as if he had the other party firmly in his grasp.
“Impossible! The Bloodline Flood Dragon is incredibly difficult to capture, let alone preserving its core intact. Are you just spouting nonsense to mock me?” Ancestor Li snapped out of his excitement, his face clouding with suspicion.
“This humble Daoist is a man of the cloth—I do not speak falsehoods. You may see for yourself.”
Not wanting to waste words, the Daoist flipped his hand, revealing a pale, blood-veined sphere before Ancestor Li’s eyes, making them gleam with a desire to snatch it immediately.
“If your Silver-Armored Horned Python consumes this core and cultivates in seclusion for a decade or two, it will surely leap from mid Foundation Establishment to late stage. With another century of diligent cultivation, reaching Core Formation is not impossible.” The Daoist’s words were dripping with temptation.
Ancestor Li snorted coldly, his face stern as though unmoved, but his flickering eyes betrayed the turmoil within.
“Such a rare wager, and you’re still hesitating? Do you truly have so little faith in the strength of your Valley’s disciples?” The Daoist curled his lip, resorting to provocation.
“The disciples of our Yellow Maple Valley are not for your Clear Void Sect to judge.” Ancestor Li replied with displeasure.
He then glanced at the group behind the Daoist, quickly gauging the strength of the Clear Void Sect disciples. They seemed roughly on par with those of Yellow Maple Valley.
“Fine, I’ll take the bet! But what treasure of mine have you set your sights on?”
After some consideration, Ancestor Li felt the odds of winning were about even, and coupled with his intense desire for the core, he finally nodded in agreement. However, out of caution, he casually asked another question.
“Hehe, this humble Daoist has no interest in your other treasures. If I happen to win, I only hope that within the next twenty years, you will refine two more pieces of iron essence of the same size for me. The purity of Fellow Daoist Li’s True Fire is renowned among the seven major sects—surely this is a trivial matter for you!” The Daoist narrowed his eyes, smiling, though his words carried a hint of cunning.
“Two more pieces of iron essence of the same size?” Ancestor Li’s expression darkened, and he nearly jumped up on the spot.
“Bull-nosed rogue, you plan to use me as your laborer!”
“How could that be? If you win, you won’t have to do anything. This is the core of a grade-four demon beast—equivalent to a human cultivator at early Core Formation stage. It’s absolutely worth the price!” The Daoist shook his head, speaking with confidence.
Ancestor Li’s face shifted between light and shadow. After a long while, he slowly extended a palm and coldly asked, “Same rules as last time? First, we compare which sect collects the most spiritual herbs; second, the quality of the herbs; and finally, the number of disciples who emerge alive from the forbidden area!”
“Of course, everything remains the same!”
The Daoist was overjoyed and hurriedly extended his own palm to seal the bet with a hand-slap.
*Smack!* A crisp sound rang out.
The Daoist had indeed slapped a palm, but his expression showed no joy—instead, it turned mournful.
The hand he had slapped was not Ancestor Li’s, but another grimy hand that had mysteriously appeared out of thin air between them. It was covered in grease and grime, as if it hadn’t been washed in ages!
The disciples of both sects, who had been closely watching their elders’ conversation, were stunned by this eerie spectacle.
“Senior Qiong!” both the Daoist and Ancestor Li exclaimed in unison, their faces pale.
“Senior? I dare not claim such a title. I’m at the same Core Formation stage as you—I just entered it a few years earlier!” a lazy voice rang out between them, followed by the gradual materialization of a strangely dressed figure.
The man wore a blue robe patched in several places, had short hair just a few inches long, and carried a faded blue cloth bag at his waist, suggesting a fastidious nature. Yet his face was smeared with a thick layer of grime, so dark that his true features were indistinguishable.
“A few years? More like a few hundred years!” Ancestor Li and the Daoist inwardly groaned upon recognizing the newcomer. Though they sighed, “It really is him,” they dared not show the slightest disrespect.
This eccentric not only was frighteningly old, with one foot already in the Nascent Soul stage, but his self-created Invisible Escape Technique was also renowned throughout the cultivation world. Even sects in neighboring countries had long heard of him.
Perhaps because his lifespan was nearing its end without him fully breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage, his temperament had grown increasingly peculiar over the past century. He took great delight in teasing Core Formation cultivators, and almost all of the few dozen high-level cultivators from the seven major sects had suffered his mischief.
Yet these cultivators, who were usually revered as ancestors within their sects, could do nothing about him.
In terms of spiritual power, he was unmatched among Core Formation cultivators. In terms of backing, he belonged to the Masked Moon Sect, the strongest of the seven major sects. Asking their own Nascent Soul “seniors” to teach him a lesson was futile—most of them knew him, and the few who didn’t were unwilling to cause trouble over trivial matters.
Thus, among the upper echelons of the cultivation world, he had thoroughly earned a reputation as a “bully” and a “rogue.” Basically, anyone who encountered him could only pray for luck, hoping he was in a good mood that day—otherwise, some teasing and suffering were inevitable.
The sudden arrival of such a “senior” naturally shocked Ancestor Li and the Daoist, filling them with unease. Both had suffered at his hands before!
“Since you’re placing a bet, just the two of you would be too dull. Count this old wreck in!” Senior Qiong seemed to be in good spirits, but his words made the two men inwardly groan.
“Senior, you jest. How can our disciples compare to the esteemed disciples of the Masked Moon Sect? We would surely lose—no bet is needed. We admit defeat outright!” The Daoist forced a smile, trying to appease him.
Ancestor Li remained tight-lipped, but the expression on his face showed he agreed wholeheartedly.
Old Man Qiong chuckled coldly, rolled his eyes, and said strangely, “Would I do something so underhanded? Don’t worry. If the combined achievements of your two sects surpass those of my sect, then I lose. After that, you two can decide the winner between yourselves.”
“Really?”
The Daoist couldn’t help but sigh in relief. Although this senior was capricious and spoke freely, his words were always firm, and he had never gone back on a promise. This made the bet quite fair—even giving the two of them a slight advantage.
“These three Invisible Needle Talisman Treasures were something I refined for fun in my spare time. Since I have no descendants, I’ll offer them as the wager!” The old man raised his hand, revealing three talismans inscribed with seven-colored needles, then swiftly put them away again.
Ancestor Li and the Daoist couldn’t hide their astonishment. They glanced at each other, each seeing a flicker of greed in the other’s eyes.
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage