novelraw Chapter 355: The God of Gambling Appears
Chapter 355: The God of Gambling Appears
Long Xuan nodded, suppressing his inner excitement, and asked, “What grade is your Blood Lotus?”
“A Grade-Six Blood Lotus. Impressive, right?” Cao Chang replied smugly.
Hearing this, Long Xuan displayed a look of disappointment.
The grade was somewhat low. While it could still be used to refine Blood Lotus Pills, the efficacy would be much weaker.
The most critical issue was that if the primary ingredient of a pill was of too low a grade, the pill’s effectiveness would never be extraordinary, and it would hardly attract heavenly tribulation.
This was what he cared about the most.
A pill refined from a Grade-Six Blood Lotus might only cause some minor phenomena but would fail to trigger heavenly tribulation, leaving him quite disappointed.
“Hey! What’s with that expression? This is a Grade-Six Spiritual Herb, a Grade-Six Spiritual Herb!”
“Do you even know what a Grade-Six Spiritual Herb means in this world? It means it’s the highest-grade herb here, and yet you dare to look down on it!”
Noticing Long Xuan’s disappointed gaze, Cao Chang was immediately displeased. “Fine, let’s proceed with the transaction. You can take the Polar Ice-Fire Pill. Hand over the Grade-Six Blood Lotus,” Long Xuan said, opening the barrier protecting the pill.
Something was better than nothing, and he could only make do with this Blood Lotus.
He assumed that the core of the Sunset Divine Flame had been severely damaged, and the danger it posed to him was now negligible. The Blood Lotus Pill refined from this herb should be sufficient for his needs.
As soon as the barrier protecting the Polar Ice-Fire Pill was removed, Cao Chang’s full attention was drawn to it. He threw a red medicine box toward Long Xuan and eagerly grabbed the pill bottle, pouring out its contents for inspection.
Moments later, his eyes narrowed in delight. “Indeed, this is the Polar Ice-Fire Pill, and its quality is exceptional! The efficacy has increased by at least thirty percent. I’ve never seen a pill of such outstanding quality before.”
“To refine a pill like this, the alchemist’s skills must have reached the pinnacle of perfection. Few in the same rank could match such expertise.”
Cao Chang looked up at the shopkeeper, his gaze turning serious. A sense of admiration for Long Xuan began to grow in his heart.
Long Xuan took the red medicine box, eagerly opening it to examine the herb inside.
Inside was a blood-red lotus radiating immense spiritual energy. However, due to the passage of time, even with proper preservation, the herb showed slight signs of withering.
Long Xuan’s face lit up with joy as he quickly closed the box to prevent further loss of its potency.
Responding to Cao Chang’s comments, Long Xuan casually said, “Calling it ‘pinnacle of perfection’ is an exaggeration. I’m sure there are plenty of people in this world more skilled in alchemy than I. I wouldn’t dare underestimate the world’s talents.”
Cao Chang shook his head, replying earnestly, “Brother Wei, there’s no need for false modesty. With your current level of alchemy, you’d easily win the championship in next year’s Alchemy Tournament.”
“This isn’t mere flattery. You genuinely have the skill. To know, even Grade-Four alchemists struggle to refine the IcePolar Ice-Fire Pill. If you use this in the tournament, it would be an absolute game-changer!”
Cao Chang’s expression was serious, and he didn’t seem to be joking.
“Alchemy Tournament? Is there an Alchemy Tournament happening nearby?” Long Xuan asked curiously.
If the rewards for the championship were enticing enough, he didn’t mind participating. Long Xuan was confident in his alchemy skills and believed that no matter the tournament rules, winning the championship was as easy as taking a gift handed to him.
“This is such a major event in the alchemy world that even an outsider like me knows about it. And yet you, a Grade-Three Alchemist, are unaware?”
Cao Chang widened his eyes in disbelief as he looked at Long Xuan.
“My apologies. I’ve been in seclusion recently and haven’t kept up with outside news. Could you tell me more about it?” Long Xuan asked.
Realizing this, Cao Chang nodded and patiently explained, “Then let me inform you. With your skills, not participating in this Alchemy Tournament would indeed be a shame.”
“This Alchemy Tournament is the grandest in the Western Region’s history, jointly hosted by the ten most powerful empires in the region.”
“It will gather most of the alchemists from across the Western Region.”
“The Western Region is vast. While Grade-Three Alchemists are rare, when the best alchemists across the region are gathered in one place, Grade-Three Alchemists will be as numerous as cattle.”
“Such a grand event is sure to produce countless prodigies and divine pills. To see ten thousand Grade-Three Alchemists refining pills simultaneously would be a sight worthy of the history books.”
“Even as an outsider, I can’t resist the urge to witness this grand spectacle and maybe learn a thing or two.”
Cao Chang’s eyes sparkled with excitement. He seemed genuinely eager to travel far and wide to witness this event.
Such a massive gathering would not only attract alchemists but also countless spectators like Cao Chang, eager for the thrill of the spectacle.
Long Xuan, too, was slightly surprised.
A tournament covering the entire Western Region—this encompassed nearly one-fifth of the entire Gu World. Long Xuan was astounded by how many alchemists would come to participate in this event.
“What’s the champion’s prize for this tournament?” Long Xuan asked.
He decided to consider joining the tournament after hearing about the reward.
Cao Chang chuckled and said, “The tournament will take place in the capital city of the Phoenix Heaven Empire, Phoenix Heaven City. I don’t know what the champion’s prize is, but the rewards are said to be incredibly generous. Even the top thirty contestants will receive the royal treasure of the Phoenix Heaven Empire: Enlightenment Tea.”
“Enlightenment Tea—surely you, as a Grade-Three Alchemist, know better than I what it is, right?” Cao Chang looked at Long Xuan with a sly grin.
Upon hearing this, Long Xuan's spirit was immediately lifted, and a flash of greed briefly crossed his eyes.
How could he possibly not know what Enlightenment Tea was?
Among the Ten Divine Trees were the World Tree, the Heaven-Mending Tree, and the Enlightenment Tea Tree, though its exact ranking he couldn’t recall. The function of Enlightenment Tea was extraordinary: with just one sip, one could achieve instant enlightenment.
Some who drank a sip of Enlightenment Tea created new cultivation techniques, others formulated Gu recipes, and still others devised pill recipe.
The effects of Enlightenment Tea varied from person to person. The higher one's comprehension, the richer their experience, and the more books they had read, the more extraordinary the things they could create after drinking it.
However, although an Enlightenment Tea Tree could produce many tea leaves, an individual could only drink it once every fifty years. Drinking more than that would damage the brain.
If not for this restriction, the most brilliant minds of the Phoenix Heaven Empire could drink Enlightenment Tea daily, and the empire’s unparalleled legacies would have already become vast as the sea.
Faced with such a miraculous divine tree, how could Long Xuan not be tempted? His Heaven-Devouring World Toad desperately needed such a heaven-defying treasure.
That’s right; Long Xuan wasn’t just interested in the Enlightenment Tea. He was eyeing the entire Enlightenment Tea Tree. He was already scheming how to secretly uproot it without anyone noticing.
"An Enlightenment Tea Tree is a divine tree, a spiritual herb surpassing the twelfth grade. Would the Phoenix Heaven Empire really be willing to offer such a heaven-defying treasure as a prize? Are they insane?" Long Xuan exclaimed in disbelief.
“Hehe, if they didn’t offer such a treasure, how could they attract all the genius alchemists from the entire Western Region?” Cao Shang chuckled.
“This doesn’t mean the Phoenix Heaven Empire is doing a losing deal.”
“The rules of this alchemy event limit participants to those under the age of fifty, and two-thirds of the pills refined during the competition will belong to the organizers.”
“You can’t even begin to imagine how many alchemists are participating in this event. Each of them will refine the highest-value spiritual pills during the competition. How many rare spiritual pills will the organizers get for free?”
“The value of the pills is secondary. The ten great empires will use this opportunity to recruit a vast number of genius alchemists. This is an immeasurable fortune and the true goal of the alchemy event.”
“The prizes for the event are jointly provided by the ten empires. The Phoenix Heaven Empire is merely contributing one-tenth of the total prize value.”
“Also, don’t think the Phoenix Heaven royal family values the Enlightenment Tea that much. While Enlightenment Tea is priceless to any clan, it’s an exception for the Feng Clan.”
“Don’t forget what the Feng Clan’s most powerful exclusive Gu recipe is. It’s the infamous Evil Phoenix True Eye, capable of replicating all methods—a terrifying existence.”
“What kind of legacy doesn’t the Feng Clan already have? They hardly need the legacies that could be created through Enlightenment Tea, so its usefulness to them is minimal.”
“To be precise, the Feng Clan also treasures Enlightenment Tea, but far less so than other clans. That’s why they can afford to offer a significant amount of it as a reward.”
Hearing Cao Shang’s explanation, Long Xuan suddenly understood.
He accepted Cao Shang’s reasoning. He still vividly remembered the collection of books he discovered in the Long Clan's archive tower in the Western Lands.
The Long Clan ancestors had once relied on the complete Evil Dragon Emperor Eye to break all techniques. They even recorded the methods to counter all techniques on paper, preserving them for future generations.
If the Long Clan ancestors had done this, why wouldn’t the Feng Clan ancestors do the same?
The Feng Clan, having replicated all legacies with the complete Evil Phoenix True Eye, might very well have recorded all techniques for eternal preservation. If so, what legacy wouldn’t the Feng Clan possess?
The Enlightenment Tea’s usefulness to them was truly negligible. Offering this rare tea as a reward was entirely plausible.
As Long Xuan was lost in thought, Cao Shang smiled and added, “There’s another interesting matter related to this alchemy event that I forgot to tell you.”
“Whenever there are ruins or competitions, the participating forces usually make wagers. This time is no exception.”
“However, this time, the stakes are enormous.”
“The Feng Clan and the Long Clan, being mortal enemies, have escalated their rivalry as the Long Clan Alliance continues to grow. To counter this, the Phoenix Heaven Empire has formed a Feng Clan Alliance to oppose them.”
“These two mortal enemies have decided to use this alchemy event to gamble on their clan’s fate. The wager is that whichever clan’s alchemists achieve the highest ranking in this competition will take half of the other clan’s fate.”
“Remarkable…”
“The Glorious Moon Empire and the Flaming Court Empire have also wagered half of their clan fates in the same way. They’re playing at a scale that’s absolutely insane.”
Hearing this, Long Xuan’s pupils constricted, and his expression immediately changed. He could no longer remain calm.
The Feng Clan Alliance and the Long Clan Alliance gambling half their clan fates left him in a state of panic. He couldn’t help but curse inwardly.
Who knew whether, if the Long Clan lost and half their clan’s fate was gone, it would affect him? Technically, he was part of the Long Clan Alliance.
If the Long Clan lost half their fate, would it drag down his luck as well? He couldn’t be sure.
Cold sweat trickled down Long Xuan’s face.
This wager had become a mortal threat to him. How could he not panic?
Taking a deep breath, Long Xuan muttered incredulously, “How is this even possible? Can a clan’s fate really be wagered like this?”
Suddenly, he thought of something, his eyes widening, and his face turned grim.
There was a certain power that could gamble with clan fate—he recalled the God of Gambling from the Sky Island Ruins.
Whoever had released that cursed entity was to blame. Now, the God of Gambling could appear anywhere.
The God of Gambling had an army of puppet soldiers numbering in the tens of millions, all high-tier puppets. If released, the world would undoubtedly fall into chaos.
The God of Gambling was a true scourge! Long Xuan had a premonition that this was just the beginning. Soon, the God of Gambling would provoke even greater storms.
With that in mind, Long Xuan realized he had no choice but to participate in the alchemy event. He couldn’t trust the Long Clan’s alchemists with his fate and dared not leave his destiny in their hands.
This time, he had to take first place. Long Xuan slowly clenched his fists.