Chapter 2426: Win or Lose
"Fifty-five thousand divine stones."
"Fifty-six thousand divine stones."
The former was the bet placed by the black-robed cultivator.
The latter was the bet placed by the old man known as the Gambling God, Seven Hands, who always exceeded his opponent by ten thousand divine stones.
Zhang Ruochen's Nether Sun Divine Wheel had fetched a sky-high price of thirty thousand divine stones because it could be nurtured into a supreme sacred artifact. Other top-tier monarch sacred artifacts could not command such a high price.
It could be said that this gambling match between Seven Hands and the black-robed cultivator was already a peak-level showdown in the mortal world below the divine realm, destined to shake both the Heavenly Court and the Hell Realm, becoming a legend.
Cang Jie was so terrified he could barely breathe; for a taotie, his heart was nearly stopping.
Yan Huangtu's gaze kept sizing up the cultivator shrouded in black gauze, his eyes filled with curiosity.
It was not surprising that Seven Hands could produce fifty-six thousand divine stones. After all, this old man had lived for tens of thousands of years, winning no fewer than ten thousand gambling matches, big and small.
But who was that black-robed cultivator?
How could he afford fifty-five thousand divine stones?
Zhang Ruochen said, "The outcome is about to be decided."
"How can you tell?" Yan Huangtu asked with a smile.
Zhang Ruochen replied, "The Seven-Colored Coral Tree is undoubtedly a dead tree. Even if it has been refined into a supreme sacred artifact, it cannot now be called a supreme sacred artifact because it has no artifact spirit. A supreme sacred artifact without an artifact spirit is worth around fifty thousand divine stones."
Yan Zhexian showed a confrontational expression, deliberately arguing with Zhang Ruochen, "What if the artifact spirit is just sleeping? Or what if the Seven-Colored Coral Tree isn't completely dead?"
Zhang Ruochen shook his head and did not answer her.
Yan Huangtu sighed softly. His niece was naturally brilliant, with talent that surpassed billions of cultivators, but she was too well-protected, too naive, too inexperienced.
"Why aren't you saying anything?" Yan Zhexian pressed on relentlessly.
Yan Huangtu finally couldn't help but speak up, "Those two possibilities of yours are too slim, and the wealth required to pursue them would be unbearable even for Seven Hands."
"Just now, Seven Hands said he was going all in, betting on a ten to twenty percent chance. Fifty-some thousand divine stones for a ten to twenty percent win rate was already an enormous risk."
"If he were to bet on the two scenarios you mentioned, he would have to spend a million or even several million divine stones to bet on a one in ten thousand chance. The cost is too great; even gods wouldn't do such a thing. Didn't the gods of the Nether Hall and the Goddess Twelve Pavilions back off?"
This was Yan Zhexian's first time gambling. Hearing Yan Huangtu's explanation, she suddenly understood and secretly glanced at Zhang Ruochen. Beneath her rune-covered face, it was flushed with awkward embarrassment.
The black-robed cultivator hesitated for a long time, then put down the black chip card he was holding and said, "I won't raise the bet."
Seven Hands stood up and let out a long laugh, "Since the bet is settled, let's open the final seal and see what the Seven-Colored Coral Tree is really made of."
Zhang Ruochen had been observing Seven Hands' eyes the whole time.
He didn't look like someone betting on a ten to twenty percent chance; he seemed full of confidence.
"Could I have misjudged?"
Zhang Ruochen used his Truth Heart to sense again, but a subtle feeling told him the Seven-Colored Coral Tree was indeed not worth betting on.
The atmosphere in the entire gambling hall reached its peak.
A bet of over a million divine stones was about to be revealed—who would be the final winner?
"Gambling God! Gambling God! Gambling God..."
In Gambling Device City, many cultivators were shouting these two words.
Seven Hands' undefeated reputation had long been ingrained in the hearts of every gambler.
The people in the gambling hall all had great status and maintained their composure, yet they held their breath, tense with anticipation.
Ye Xiao was an experienced gambler, but as he unsealed the final layer, he was trembling, his heart pounding like thunder.
"Boom!"
The final seal was broken.
The Seven-Colored Coral Tree erupted with dazzling seven-colored light, accompanied by a storm of spatial and temporal energy that surged in all directions. Even though the people in the hall were prepared, more than a dozen were swept away by spatial turbulence, thrown dozens of feet.
The time imprint light spots were dense but did not form a harmful attack.
"With such a powerful energy storm, who can still say the Seven-Colored Coral Tree has been corroded?" Cang Baizi's eyes were excited as he glanced at Zhang Ruochen with a hint of mockery.
Yan Huangtu frowned and sighed, "It seems Seven Hands has won again."
"So beautiful, so exquisite!"
"Such strong space-time fluctuations—could it be that the Seven-Colored Coral Tree isn't dead but is a living tree?"
"Impossible! A living Seven-Colored Coral Tree... this, this would alarm all the gods of the Hell Realm..."
"To miss out on such a divine treasure, I should have bet everything on it." Some cultivators sighed in regret.
Yan Zhexian felt a pang of regret, thinking she should have stuck to her own idea. For a treasure like the Seven-Colored Coral Tree to appear, no amount of divine stones was too much to bet.
The Gambling God's eyesight was truly superior.
This Slayer of Heaven and Destroyer of Emperors had ultimately misjudged.
Just as everyone was immersed in the beautiful glow emitted by the Seven-Colored Coral Tree, only three people remained silent. They were Zhang Ruochen, Seven Hands, and the black-robed cultivator.
Seven Hands had only laughed once at the very beginning.
As the seal was removed, his smile faded, his expression grew more serious, and finally, his face turned pale. Clearly, something had happened that he had not expected.
"How could this be?" someone shouted in terror.
"Rustle, rustle."
On the gambling table, the Seven-Colored Coral Tree, growing in a stone cauldron, rapidly lost its luster.
The tree body gradually turned to sand and slid down.
The cultivators who had been excited, thrilled, and amazed were all stunned, unable to believe what they were seeing.
Yan Huangtu was stunned for a moment, then let out a laugh, "So, the energy fluctuation just now was the last of the tree's essence. Once the seal was broken and it was exposed to the air, it dissipated instantly. Hmph, even the Gambling God can misjudge."
Thinking this, Yan Huangtu looked at Zhang Ruochen and thought to himself, "His eyesight surpasses even the Gambling God's. This person is no ordinary fish."
"Impossible, impossible. I clearly saw life fluctuations. How could it be a dead tree? Impossible, absolutely impossible."
Seven Hands erupted with a powerful spiritual energy storm, blasting away several people nearby. His hair disheveled, he flew onto the stone cauldron and reached out with both hands to embrace the Seven-Colored Coral Tree.
As soon as his hands touched it, the seven-colored sand slid down even faster.
The six cultivators who had bet a thousand divine stones all had excited looks in their eyes.
But there was a difference: three of them were utterly delighted, their laughter seemingly capable of shattering the entire castle.
The other three were also smiling, but Zhang Ruochen keenly noticed that their gazes subtly flickered toward the black-robed cultivator.
That glance was very quick and very subtle. Except for Zhang Ruochen, no other cultivator noticed it.
Zhang Ruochen suddenly understood and couldn't help but smile, thinking to himself, "Impressive!"
He wasn't sure whom he was praising.
"Smack!"
Seven Hands' face twisted in rage as he thrust out a hand like an eagle's claw, piercing through the Seven-Colored Coral Tree.
With a bang, the ten-foot-tall tree completely shattered.
Seven Hands slowly opened his clenched fist, revealing a faint seven-colored glow in his palm. Inside the glow was a worm the size of an earthworm, with seven-colored rings.
"So that faint life force was coming from you. It was you all along..." Seven Hands' eyes seemed ready to pop out of their sockets, and his whole body trembled uncontrollably.
Clearly, Seven Hands had sensed the life fluctuation of the Seven-Colored Coral Tree, thinking it wasn't a dead tree, and had bet everything on it.
Who could have guessed that a worm had grown inside the tree?
Zhang Ruochen now had a new doubt. Even with his Truth Heart, he hadn't sensed the life fluctuation inside the Seven-Colored Coral Tree. How had Seven Hands sensed it?
It seemed that to become the Gambling God, Seven Hands indeed had an extraordinary side, likely hiding a great secret.
A cultivator from the Undying Blood Clan, draped in a blood robe and with ten wings on his back, looked at Ye Xiao and said smugly, "City Lord Ye, isn't it time to announce the result of the bet?"
Ye Xiao looked at Seven Hands, who was still standing on the stone cauldron, and bowed, "Senior Gambling God, are you alright?"
"It's nothing... nothing... I accept defeat."
Seven Hands closed his eyes, his emotions hard to calm.
After so many years in the game, this was his first loss, and such a devastating one.
"The Gambling God has taken a heavy fall. Even if he has immense wealth, this time will surely drain him," Cang Baizi said softly, a smile on his face.
Yan Zhexian felt a lingering fear. If Zhang Ruochen and Yan Huangtu hadn't stopped her, she might have bet fifty-some thousand divine stones. She couldn't imagine the consequences.
Losing fifteen thousand divine stones was the best outcome.
She looked at the tall, thin man known as the Slayer of Heaven and Destroyer of Emperors, feeling a surge of gratitude and also a hint of curiosity.
Ye Xiao calmed himself and began to announce, "As everyone can see, the Seven-Colored Coral Tree has lost all its essence and turned to sand. Although the seven-colored sand has some value, it's far from being worth a thousand divine stones. Therefore, the winner of this round is..."
"Wait."
A voice interrupted Ye Xiao's impending announcement.
The hearts of the six winners were already in their throats. Being interrupted was naturally frustrating, and their eyes turned cold as they glared at the one who had spoken.
The one who said "wait" was, of course, Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen walked up to Yan Zhexian and said with a smile, "Miss, would you be willing to let me buy the worm in Senior Gambling God's hand for a thousand divine stones?"
Yan Zhexian was stunned, unable to react.
Was this Slayer of Heaven and Destroyer of Emperors crazy, spending a thousand divine stones on a worm?
No, wait!
Why was he asking her to buy it?
That worm wasn't hers.
In the gambling hall, some cultivators quickly caught on to Zhang Ruochen's intention.
Cang Baizi laughed loudly, "Slayer of Heaven and Destroyer of Emperors, do you take everyone here for fools? Buy that worm for a thousand divine stones, and then its value becomes a thousand divine stones? So she wins? Haha!"
If a worm was worth a thousand divine stones,
plus the seven-colored sand,
then the total value of this bet would exceed a thousand divine stones.
If it exceeded a thousand divine stones, the six who had only bet a thousand divine stones would be eliminated first.
Those who had bet more than a thousand divine stones were only Yan Zhexian, Seven Hands, and the black-robed cultivator.
According to the rules, the lowest bid wins.
So, the winner would naturally be Yan Zhexian.
Ye Xiao scolded Zhang Ruochen, "Sir, it's best not to break the rules of the Goddess Pavilion. The value of something is not determined by you alone."
Seeing Zhang Ruochen openly trying to cheat, the six "winners" were the most furious.
The Undying Blood Clan great saint with ten wings said coldly, "A fool who thinks he's clever."
"Throw him out. He should be banned from entering the Goddess Pavilion from now on."
"He's so desperate to win, he's gone mad."
...
Cang Jie was mortified. He felt that his senior must be a first-timer in Gambling Device City, unfamiliar with the rules, causing such a blunder. He wanted to explain, but the saintly might pressing down from all sides made it impossible for him to speak.
In the presence of so many great saint-level experts, a nine-step saint king like him had no right to speak.
Zhang Ruochen remained calm and composed, saying, "Have you all considered that a worm capable of growing inside a Seven-Colored Coral Tree cannot be an ordinary creature? If this young lady agrees to sell it to me for a thousand divine stones, I have a way to prove its value exceeds a thousand, and I will make sure everyone is convinced."
Cang Baizi laughed uproariously, as if he had heard the funniest joke in the world, "Even if it is a rare species, its price would never exceed a hundred divine stones."
"Everyone here is an experienced expert. Truly top-tier worm species, even if we haven't seen them, we've heard of them. But this worm is not among them."
The six "winners" were already worried about a change in circumstances and communicated with each other through telepathy.
Then, they all adopted a tough stance.
"Throw him out."
"If the Goddess Pavilion won't act, I'll do it myself."
"Dare to cause trouble before me? You don't know how to spell death. If not for being in the Goddess Pavilion, you would already be annihilated in body and soul."
...
Those who dared to gamble were all powerful and well-connected.
They no longer wanted to argue and instead unleashed their saintly might, pressing down on Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen remained unfazed, a smile on his lips.
"I'd like to see who dares," Yan Huangtu said, his voice like a thunderclap.
Immediately, the four experts behind him shattered their talisman robes, revealing their true forms, and erupted with even greater saintly power than the six "winners."
One was at the mid-stage of the Thousand Questions Realm, two at the peak of the Thousand Questions Realm, and one had reached the Ten Thousand Deaths, One Life Realm.
Someone recognized the four experts and exclaimed in shock, "The Earth Demon Clan's Xuan Wuji, Xuan Wutian, Xuan Wuying... and the Earth Demon Elder, Kun Yunhuang."
The Earth Demon Clan was a small clan, but on the fringes of the Hell Realm, they were a regional power.
Who could make the four experts of the Earth Demon Clan their attendants?
Remember, among the four experts was an Earth Demon elder at the Ten Thousand Deaths, One Life Realm.
Everyone looked at Yan Huangtu with tense and shocked expressions, wondering who he really was.
The six "winners" were all intimidated.
Yan Huangtu found a chair, sat down steadily, and said, "My meaning is, let the Slayer of Heaven and Destroyer of Emperors finish what he has to say. No objections, right?"