Chapter 2423: The Bet
“Why is this witch here too?” Zhang Ruochen muttered to himself.
That figure, dressed in male attire, wore a green layman’s cloth robe and held a string of prayer beads in hand. Her appearance was not particularly striking and did not attract much attention from the other cultivators. Although she had employed a transformation secret art and deliberately suppressed the demonic aura on her body, the unique deathly aura she exuded still caught Zhang Ruochen’s notice.
This woman was none other than Guyeshe Jing from Luozu Cloud Mountain Realm.
Zhang Ruochen had met her briefly at the engagement banquet. She was one of Luo Sha’s close friends, and her cultivation was unfathomably deep.
Zhang Ruochen had only glanced at her for a moment before she sensed it. Her gaze shot over and met his for an instant. Zhang Ruochen immediately looked away, pretending he had just noticed her by accident.
Inside Guyeshe Jing’s sleeve, her five jade-like fingers toyed with the prayer beads. A flicker of doubt passed through her eerie pupils. She did not spare another look at “Xue Qi” and walked straight toward the depths of the Divine Maiden Tower.
“Tonight’s Divine Maiden Tower is certainly not ordinary.”
Zhang Ruochen said to Xue Tu, “Go investigate and see what major event is happening at the Divine Maiden Tower.”
After parting ways with Xue Tu, Zhang Ruochen walked alone through the Reception Hall, heading into the layers of extravagantly luxurious palaces.
Han Yunge had been able to deduce that Xue Qi was Zhang Ruochen based on his absence from the Fate Divine Domain. Other well-informed cultivators from major powers could naturally guess the same.
He had to change his identity.
“Crack.”
Passing through a dimly lit area, Zhang Ruochen’s body flickered, instantly transforming into a different appearance.
He was tall and lean, with long arms. He was not particularly handsome, but he carried a certain captivating heroic spirit.
The Divine Maiden Tower had nine clusters of palace complexes, each containing dozens of palaces, adorned with cloud towers, moon boats, and flower terraces. Passing through the Reception Hall and crossing a stone path over water, the area ahead became even livelier, with lights blazing brighter.
That was the largest cluster of palaces in the entire Divine Maiden Tower, known as “Jade Mountain Palace.”
Jade Mountain Palace was built on an island made of piled sacred bones. Its main body was the shell of a Supreme Realm Great Saint tortoise, rising over eight hundred meters high. A variety of uniquely shaped palaces were built around the mountain, with sacred flame lanterns hanging from their eaves.
This cluster of palaces, Jade Mountain Palace, was the main body of the Divine Maiden Tower, including the Gambling City, the Martial Arena, the Pool of Wine and Forest of Meat—everything imaginable. Over ninety percent of the cultivators could only stay here.
The other eight clusters of palaces each had their own characteristics, with extremely high fees that ordinary cultivators could not afford.
Phoenix Cry Palace was located in another cluster called “Destiny Palace,” very close to Jade Mountain Palace, connected by a stone path over water.
Zhang Ruochen did not immediately head to Phoenix Cry Palace. Instead, he wandered around Jade Mountain Palace, secretly observing which other powerful figures had arrived, while waiting for news from Xue Tu.
Passing by a three-zhang-tall platform made of frozen jade, he saw twelve graceful, stunningly beautiful girls dancing on it.
Some were fox-women, sexy and alluring, their tails swaying; some were dragon-women, with horns on their heads and a cold, aloof demeanor; some were elves, with pointed ears, lively and pure.
They had clearly been meticulously trained, their dance movements exquisite, making even Zhang Ruochen find them pleasing to the eye.
Other cultivators from the Hell Realm, however, showed no trace of the demeanor of Saint Realm experts. They shouted and cheered, occasionally tossing sacred stones or sacred pills onto the stage.
A Corpse Clan Great Saint directly stepped onto the frozen jade platform, took a fox-woman by the hand, and headed straight for a lively palace, leaving countless Hell Realm cultivators envious.
In the Divine Maiden Tower, only Great Saints dared to do such a thing.
It was a special privilege of Great Saints.
Zhang Ruochen also went to the Pool of Wine and Forest of Meat and tasted a fine brew called “Forget the Heart.” It was indeed excellent wine, comparable to what the Wine Madman brewed.
The Martial Arena was built at the top of Jade Mountain Palace, visible from anywhere in the Divine Maiden Tower.
At that moment, on the Martial Arena, two Undying Realm Great Saints were engaged in a fierce battle.
One was from the Underworld Clan, the other from the Death Clan.
The two seemed to have a deep grudge, fighting with great intensity. In the end, the Underworld Clan Great Saint proved superior, cutting off the Death Clan Great Saint’s head, drawing cheers from countless cultivators.
Passing by a castle-like building, Zhang Ruochen sensed Yan Zhexian’s aura. He stopped and looked up.
The castle was built of black stone, five stories high and grand in scale. Above the main entrance, three characters were piled up with bones: “Gambling Artifact City.”
“What does Gambling Artifact City mean?” Zhang Ruochen muttered to himself.
Beside him, a Nine-Step Saint King, clad in chainmail with a human body and a gluttonous beast head, said, “You don’t know about Gambling Artifact City? Is this your first time at the Divine Maiden Tower?”
“You’re right, it is my first time.”
Zhang Ruochen stepped forward and entered the castle.
Crossing the threshold, the light inside dimmed considerably, but the noise grew louder, chaotic and piercing.
“This is definitely an ancient weapon comparable to a Monarch Sacred Artifact. I bid ninety million sacred stones.”
“This ring contains a strong Great Saint aura; its value must be considerable.”
“I bid three million sacred stones.”
…
In the hall on the first floor of the castle, ten gambling tables were set up.
On each table was a vessel, covered by a layer of light shield.
Around the tables, a large crowd of frenzied cultivators gathered, judging the value of the vessels while placing bets.
These cultivators were generally of low cultivation, with Saint Kings rarely seen.
The glutton-headed Nine-Step Saint King walked up to Zhang Ruochen and glanced at the ten vessels under the light shields, shaking his head. “The first floor is just low-level games. You won’t find anything good here. The stuff upstairs is what’s really valuable.”
They headed to the second floor.
Zhang Ruochen asked, “Is this a place to sell vessels or to gamble?”
“Both, I suppose.”
The glutton-headed Nine-Step Saint King said, “The Divine Maiden Tower can sell the vessels and also take a cut from the bets. They profit from both ends.”
They reached the second floor.
On this floor, almost all the cultivators were Saint Kings, but their realms were low, with few Nine-Step Saint Kings in sight.
Arriving at the third floor, the glutton-headed Nine-Step Saint King reached his destination and walked into the hall.
In the hall, there were only six gambling tables. The cultivators betting here were almost all high-level Saint Kings, with even some Great Saints present.
The glutton-headed Nine-Step Saint King stopped at Table One, widened his eyes, and carefully observed a rust-covered war hammer on the table. His breathing became rapid.
He instantly entered a gambler’s state.
Zhang Ruochen glanced at the war hammer. Although it was rusted, black light seeped from the cracks in the rust, and a powerful Great Saint aura leaked out through the light shield.
That Great Saint aura was strong enough to reach the Thousand Questions Realm level.
“So it’s a Great Saint ancient artifact. There really are good things here.”
He quietly released his spiritual power, intending to probe the war hammer.
As the spiritual power touched the light shield, the shield immediately emitted a blinding light, accompanied by thunder and lightning.
“Who is this ignorant fool, using spiritual power to probe?”
“Bad luck! You guys go ahead and bet; I’m not betting here anymore.”
“Cang Jie, is this someone you brought?”
…
The cultivators below the table shouted curses, glaring angrily at Zhang Ruochen.
Gamblers were always irritable when betting.
The glutton-headed Nine-Step Saint King named “Cang Jie” quickly apologized to them, saying, “My friend is here for the first time and doesn’t know the rules. Please forgive him; don’t take it personally.”
After calming them down, their anger subsided.
However, a few cultivators chose to leave and not continue betting here.
Cang Jie transmitted to Zhang Ruochen, “The vessels here are all covered by light shields. Cultivators can only judge their value based on the aura they emit; they cannot use spiritual power to probe.”
Zhang Ruochen said, “That makes it hard to judge, doesn’t it?”
“Exactly because it’s hard to judge that it’s called gambling,” Cang Jie said.
Zhang Ruochen found it novel and asked, “How does the betting work?”
Cang Jie said excitedly, “Two or more cultivators bid on a vessel together. If the final price is lower than the vessel’s true value, then the highest bidder wins. They get the vessel and all the sacred stones from the other bidders.”
“If the final price is higher than the vessel’s true value, then the lowest bidder wins, getting the vessel and all the sacred stones.”
Zhang Ruochen said, “The winner takes all?”
“Exactly! Exciting, isn’t it?” Cang Jie laughed.
Zhang Ruochen shook his head. “From the first floor to the third, I’ve roughly observed. All the vessels placed on the gambling tables are quite special, seemingly ancient artifacts dug from tombs. Their value is probably not easy to judge.”
Cang Jie said, “You may not know, but the Divine Maiden Tower works closely with the Nether Hall. The Nether Hall travels through various realms, specifically excavating large tombs. Their main goal is to find powerful corpses and bones, selling them at high prices to major forces in the Corpse Clan and Bone Clan. But they also dig up quite a few ancient artifacts, most of which are sent to the Divine Maiden Tower.”
Zhang Ruochen said, “The truly good stuff must have been picked out by the Nether Hall first, right?”
Cang Jie shook his head vigorously. “Artifacts dug from tombs are hard to value because of their age. Some may seem to emit a strong aura, but internally, they’ve already decayed. If you use sacred power to activate them, they turn to dust instantly.”
“Especially Divine Relic Ancient Artifacts, which have been imbued with divine power and developed divine patterns internally. Even spiritual power can’t probe them. You have to refine them first to judge their value.”
“So, these tomb artifacts are usually sealed as soon as they’re unearthed and sent to the Divine Maiden Tower or other gambling venues for cultivators to bet on their value. That way, the Nether Hall and the Divine Maiden Tower make a steady profit without loss.”
Any vessel used by a Great Saint was a Great Saint ancient artifact.
Any vessel used by a deity was a Divine Relic Ancient Artifact.
But artifacts had grades and levels of rarity. A wine cup and a war weapon used by the same Great Saint might emit the same level of Great Saint aura, but their values were worlds apart.
If you misjudged, you’d lose everything.
Below the gambling table, seven cultivators had already placed bets.
Four of them had bid one hundred million sacred stones each.
The other three had bid: one point two billion sacred stones, eight hundred million sacred stones, and two point one billion sacred stones, respectively.
A representative from the Divine Maiden Palace by the table said, “This vessel emits a strong Great Saint aura, and it’s a war hammer, most likely a Great Saint’s war weapon. Does anyone else want to raise the bid?”
Cang Jie laughed loudly, sat down by the table, and said, “Based on the Great Saint aura this war hammer emits, it can be determined that its former owner was a Thousand Questions Realm Great Saint. A Thousand Questions Realm Great Saint’s war weapon should at least be a Second-Rank Monarch Sacred Artifact. How can sacred stones measure its value? In my opinion, it’s worth at least eighty divine stones.”
Eighty divine stones were equivalent to eight hundred billion sacred stones.
The three cultivators who had already placed bets stared at Cang Jie as if he were an idiot.
Just because it was a war hammer, did it have to be a Thousand Questions Realm Great Saint’s war weapon?
Even if it was, with all that rust, it was highly likely a waste artifact.
The value of a waste artifact depended on the degree of decay.
It could be worthless, or it could still yield some refining materials, retaining some value.
Clearly, most cultivators believed the war hammer was a waste artifact.
Especially the four who had bid one hundred million sacred stones—they were convinced the war hammer was worthless and were trying to win big with a small bet. If not for the table’s minimum bid of one hundred million sacred stones, they might have bid even lower.
If the war hammer was truly worthless, the four of them would win, splitting the sacred stones from the other three bidders, each making a fortune of one billion sacred stones.
For a Nine-Step Saint King, one billion sacred stones was an enormous wealth.
Of course, if the war hammer was intact and was a Second-Rank Monarch Sacred Artifact-level Great Saint ancient artifact, then the winner would be the one who bid two point one billion sacred stones.
Not only would they win all the sacred stones, but they’d also get a Great Saint ancient artifact worth dozens of divine stones—a massive profit.
Of course, that probability was extremely low.
With the Divine Maiden Tower’s strength, they could judge the value of a Great Saint ancient artifact. If it were truly an intact Second-Rank Monarch Sacred Artifact, even with only a twenty to thirty percent chance, they would have sent it to the fourth floor of the Gambling City, not here.
This kind of bet was half luck, half eyesight.
The Divine Maiden Palace representative looked at Cang Jie and squinted with a smile. “How many sacred stones are you planning to bet?”
“I’m poor, so I’ll just bet one hundred million sacred stones.”
Cang Jie took out a red crystal card and tossed it onto the table.
The surrounding crowd immediately erupted in boos.
After all that bragging, he was just another one trying to get a bargain.
The four cultivators who had already bet one hundred million sacred stones each showed displeasure. With one more person betting, if they won, each of them would get fewer sacred stones.
The Divine Maiden Palace representative asked, “Does anyone else want to place a bet?”
Many onlookers were present, but none placed bets.
After all, one hundred million sacred stones was no small amount; it could bankrupt some Saint Kings.
The Divine Maiden Palace representative looked at the eight cultivators who had placed bets. “Do you want to raise your bids?”
The cultivator who had bid one point two billion sacred stones hesitated slightly but ultimately did not raise.
Although he couldn’t use spiritual power to probe or inject sacred energy into the vessel, Zhang Ruochen possessed the Heart of Truth. A mere light shield couldn’t block his perception.
Earlier, Cang Jie had spoken up for him and explained the mysteries of Gambling Artifact City. Zhang Ruochen had a good impression of him and decided to give him an opportunity.
So, Zhang Ruochen secretly transmitted, “Raise the bid to two point two billion sacred stones.”
Hearing Zhang Ruochen’s voice, Cang Jie was startled and turned to look at him.
Zhang Ruochen nodded at him.
Cang Jie certainly didn’t think Zhang Ruochen was a secret accomplice of the others, but he didn’t fully trust Zhang Ruochen’s judgment either.
Two point two billion sacred stones was no small amount.
Did he really think the war hammer was worth more than two point two billion sacred stones?
“Brother, are you sure about this? If I lose two point two billion sacred stones, I’ll be left with nothing—all my centuries of savings gone!” Cang Jie transmitted back.
Zhang Ruochen patted him on the shoulder. “Trust me.”
With that pat, a powerful Great Saint energy surged into Cang Jie’s body.
“So… so you’re a Great Saint senior…”
Cang Jie had seen the might of Great Saints in battle, but those Undying Realm and Hundred Shackles Realm Great Saints were far inferior to the brother… no, the senior behind him.
Could the senior be a Thousand Questions Realm Great Saint?
Cang Jie took a sharp breath, both excited and fervent. “I, Cang Jie, have finally met my opportunity. With a Thousand Questions Realm Great Saint senior guiding me, how can I lose? Maybe today I’ll win big.”
The Divine Maiden Palace representative asked for the third time, “If you’re all sure you won’t raise the bid, I’ll open the light shield now and verify the war hammer’s value.”
“Wait.”
Cang Jie stood up, struggling to control his excitement, but his hands still trembled. “I bet… I bet two point two billion sacred stones.”
All the cultivators below the table froze.
Someone laughed. “This stupid glutton is too greedy! Does he really think the war hammer is an intact Monarch Sacred Artifact?”
“A Nine-Step Saint King betting two point two billion sacred stones—I wonder if he’ll cry when he loses.”
“We’re going to make a killing! With an extra two point two billion sacred stones, the four of us can each make an extra five hundred and fifty million sacred stones.”
…
The Ghost Clan Great Saint who had bid two point one billion sacred stones scowled and threw two more red crystal cards onto the table, raising the bid to two point three billion sacred stones.
“I have a senior backing me. Am I afraid of a Ghost Clan Undying Realm Great Saint?”
Cang Jie rolled up his sleeves and threw down eight crystal cards in a row, betting three billion sacred stones.
That Ghost Clan Great Saint was clearly not wealthy. Though his anger flared, he ultimately did not continue bidding. He snorted, “Fine, you’ve got guts. Let’s see if you can actually come up with that many sacred stones when you lose.”
“Old senior, worry about yourself. I’m confident I’ll win the whole table,” Cang Jie said arrogantly.
“The Glutton Clan is too greedy. Just wait—he’ll be crying soon.”
“This round’s total sacred stones are seven point seven billion. What a huge bet. I wonder who will win.”
…
The Divine Maiden Palace representative said, “Since no one else is raising the bid, I’ll open the light shield now. Win or lose, it’s up to fate.”
The Divine Maiden Palace representative formed a seal with both hands, and two blood patterns appeared on his palms, pressing them onto the light shield.
The light shield gradually faded and finally dissipated.
In the hall, other onlookers gathered around, holding their breath, waiting for the answer.
No one was more nervous than Cang Jie.
Although the senior behind him had deep cultivation, without using spiritual power to probe, who could be one hundred percent certain?
If he lost three billion sacred stones, he would have to sell all his assets and even sell himself as a slave to the Divine Maiden Tower to pay off the debt.
But if he won, he would make a considerable amount of sacred stones.
Cang Jie pressed his hands on the table, his eyes bloodshot, his sharp teeth clenched, his whole body trembling—excited, nervous, blood boiling.
As soon as the light shield opened, streams of spiritual power surged toward the war hammer.
“Crack.”
Unable to withstand the chaotic spiritual power, a crack appeared on the war hammer’s surface.
The cracks multiplied, spreading like a spider web.
Moreover, the Great Saint aura flowing from the cracks dissipated into the space, growing thinner and thinner, as if it would drain away completely.
Anyone could see that this Great Saint ancient artifact had been corroded by the power of time, all its essence drained. Even extracting some rare materials from it seemed impossible.
A waste product!
The four cultivators who had only bet one hundred million sacred stones each were already slapping the table and laughing with excitement.
“We won! Haha, we won! Let me calculate—I’ve won at least one point eight billion sacred stones.”
“That stupid glutton really came through, betting three billion sacred stones.”
…
The other cultivators who had placed bets all wore bitter expressions, sighed, and left the table, waving their hands.
Cang Jie felt as if he had been struck by lightning, all strength leaving him. His sturdy, tall body slid to the ground, with only one thought in his mind: “It’s over! It’s all over!”
He didn’t blame Zhang Ruochen—everyone made mistakes.
In the end, the decision was his own.
He could only blame his own greed. Now he had lost everything, with no chance to recover.
The four cultivators who had bet one hundred million sacred stones each began collecting the red crystal cards from the table under the envious, jealous, and greedy gazes of countless onlookers.
Each card represented one hundred million sacred stones.
“Hold on.”
Zhang Ruochen stepped forward and tapped the table lightly with his finger. “Who said you won?”
The other participants who had been about to leave all stopped.
Was there still a twist?