Chapter 207: Betting Game

Chapter 210, Volume 3: A Record of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality - Readbooks.com

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Han Li suddenly recalled another young woman he had met inside the forbidden area. He couldn't help but glance towards the Spirit Beast Mountain group and found Han Yunzhi sitting cross-legged obediently on the ground, her expression serene. Seeing that she was safe and sound, Han Li breathed a sigh of relief.

As the channel approached its closing time, the expressions of the Masked Moon Sect members grew increasingly anxious.

Meanwhile, although members of the other sects outwardly feigned concern for the Masked Moon Sect disciples, they were secretly delighted. After all, as the most powerful sect in Yue State, the Masked Moon Sect had long been a source of envy. Any opportunity to slightly weaken its strength was naturally welcomed by them.

Perhaps these thoughts had an inverse effect, because when only fifteen minutes remained until the channel closed, a flash of white appeared within it. A team of more than ten Masked Moon Sect disciples emerged in an orderly fashion, led by the strikingly beautiful Nangong Wan.

Upon seeing them emerge, Old Monster Qiong merely let out a long sigh of relief. Immortal Ni Chang, however, rushed forward uncontrollably, grabbing Nangong Wan's arm and asking questions with profound concern, her worry clearly evident on her face.

This scene, witnessed by others, caused confusion among the members of the other sects.

It was understandable. Although Nangong Wan had met these Core Formation cultivators a few times before, she had always worn a veil, never revealing her true face. Thus, these individuals had no idea that the beautiful young woman before them was the very "Immortal Nangong" they had met on several occasions.

Han Li was also immensely relieved to see her emerge safely. After all, she was the first woman in his life with whom he had shared an intimate bond. Even though he knew a genuine relationship was impossible again, he couldn't help but feel concerned for her.

However, Ancestor Li and the Daoist's smiles were visibly forced. This was hardly surprising; even disregarding the amount of spiritual herbs the Masked Moon Sect might have collected, the sheer number of their surviving disciples surpassed the combined total of both their sects. How could they not be utterly dejected?

"Alright, it seems all the disciples should be out by now. Those who haven't come out..." The leader from Spirit Beast Mountain cleared his throat and began to speak.

But before he could finish, another person stumbled and crawled out of the rapidly closing channel. It was none other than Xiang Zhili, the old cunning fellow from Yellow Maple Valley. However, the Giant Sword Sect cultivator and the young Daoist who had been collecting herbs with him were nowhere to be seen.

No sooner had the old man scrambled out of the channel than a tremor emanated from the direction of the forbidden area. Then, with a flash of green light, the channel shattered and vanished without a trace.

At this point, anyone still remaining inside the forbidden area was certainly doomed. Disciples who failed to emerge in time never reappeared when the forbidden area reopened later; they simply vanished due to unknown reasons. This was precisely why no one dared to delay.

However, the old cunning fellow, a Yellow Maple Valley disciple with only tenth-layer cultivation, managed to escape with his life at the very last moment. This truly surprised these powerful cultivators, who couldn't help but cast a few extra glances at Xiang Zhili.

"Brother Li, I never imagined your esteemed valley was so rich in talent! Not only can an eleventh-layer cultivator emerge from the forbidden area, but even a tenth-layer disciple can escape with his life. Your sect truly has excellent teaching methods; I am impressed!" The Giant Sword Sect cultivator, seeing that only two of his disciples had emerged from the forbidden area, and his most highly anticipated barefoot man hadn't made it out, while Yellow Maple Valley's two low-level disciples had both escaped with their lives, couldn't help but feel a surge of resentment and utter a few sarcastic remarks.

Ancestor Li's expression darkened upon hearing this. He, too, believed that Han Li and Xiang Zhili were opportunistic individuals who had simply hidden away. He couldn't help but glare resentfully at the old cunning fellow, yet he still had to defend them verbally, saying:

"These juniors have shallow cultivation; their ability to preserve their lives should be considered their good fortune. As for the methods they used, we, as elders, need not criticize them further!"

"Hmph!"

The Giant Sword Sect's senior expert, finding Ancestor Li's pretense highly displeasing, was about to speak further when Old Monster Qiong impatiently interjected.

"What is there for you two to argue about? If someone survives, it's a testament to the junior's ability. Are they supposed to force themselves to do something they know they can't? However, young Li! Quickly check the results of our bet. It's best to settle this matter early. Do you intend for an old man like me to wait here endlessly?"

This old man clearly acted like he was pulling rank, yet the Giant Sword Sect members and Ancestor Li genuinely dared not displease him. They exchanged glances, chuckled dismissively, and let the matter drop. Otherwise, incurring the old monster's grudge would surely bring terrible misfortune!

Thus, under Old Monster Qiong's urging, Daoist Fu Yunzi of the Pure Void Sect and Ancestor Li reluctantly began to tally their results. They then instructed the disciples from the three sects who had emerged from the forbidden area to display their harvests one by one, to determine the winner of the wager.

Only four Daoists from the Pure Void Valley had emerged from the forbidden area this time. However, when the first middle-aged Daoist displayed his spiritual herbs, everyone's expressions subtly changed.

"Three mature century-old Blood Orchid plants, two three-hundred-year Heaven Spirit Fruits, three four-hundred-year Jade Marrow Ganoderma plants..."

The Daoist continued to lay out eleven or twelve spiritual herbs one by one on the ground. Their sheer quantity astonished all onlookers. Only Daoist Fu Yunzi, who had made the bet, smiled complacently, seemingly very satisfied with everyone else's stunned expressions.

In contrast, the items displayed by the Yellow Maple Valley elder and the Masked Moon Sect male disciple who came up first were far inferior, only a meager few plants each.

Next, the second Daoist from the Pure Void Sect didn't display such an exaggerated haul, but he still had seven or eight spiritual herbs, which was considerably more than a normal harvest! This made Ancestor Li a little uneasy, and Old Monster Qiong's jovial expression also faded, becoming serious for the first time.

The senior experts from the other four sects, having heard about the wager, naturally stepped forward to observe. Upon seeing this situation, they all secretly marveled.

However, the spiritual herbs presented by the Chen siblings finally brought some comfort to Ancestor Li, as their combined harvest was nearly twenty plants, comparable to the two previous Daoists. The next person from the Pure Void Sect, fortunately, showed a normal harvest of only four plants.

As for the Masked Moon Sect members, they maintained an ordinary standard, with three consecutive individuals displaying fewer than five plants. This allowed both the Daoist and Ancestor Li to secretly breathe a sigh of relief.

However, when the next youth from Yellow Maple Valley stepped forward to display his spiritual herbs, he hesitated for a few moments, then shamefully produced only three plants. This nearly made Ancestor Li's nose skew from anger, almost causing him to burst into curses. He had held no expectations for Han Li or the old cunning fellow to contribute anything significant!

It was supposed to be Han Li's turn next, but to everyone's surprise, the cunning Xiang Zhili darted forward, preempting Han Li. He then respectfully produced two Purple Monkey Flowers. This greatly surprised Ancestor Li, whose expression immediately improved slightly – but only slightly! Although the current total of his sect's spiritual herbs was one or two plants more than the Pure Void Sect's, if their last member presented a normal quantity, he would surely lose. He had absolutely no expectations for Han Li's harvest, believing that Han Li would, at best, be like the old cunning fellow and present a mere two or three plants, considering it an acceptable contribution from these lower-level disciples.

At this thought, Ancestor Li couldn't help but glance at Fu Yunzi, who appeared restless and happened to be looking at him as well. After a brief mutual surprise, they quickly averted their gaze, resuming their attention to the wager.

The last Daoist to come forward was a white-haired elder. After reaching the front, he unhurriedly began to pull out plants one by one, his slow, deliberate pace making everyone roll their eyes.

However, when he had already displayed five spiritual herbs and was still reaching into his storage pouch, Ancestor Li's face instantly darkened, while Fu Yunzi's brows rose in delight. For a moment, neither of them bothered to inquire about the Masked Moon Sect's people.

Finally, to everyone's great surprise, this white-haired Daoist unexpectedly produced a total of seven spiritual herbs.

Ancestor Li's face had turned completely ashen by this point, while the Daoist, turning his gaze with excitement, began to observe the Masked Moon Sect disciples, convinced that victory over Yellow Maple Valley was now assured.

At this moment, Han Li stepped forward. The others merely cast a dismissive glance at him before turning their attention back to the Masked Moon Sect, completely ignoring him.

Ancestor Li also witnessed this, but he, too, did not look at Han Li. Believing he had no chance of turning the tables, he assumed this eleventh-layer cultivation disciple would only embarrass himself and therefore did not offer Han Li a pleasant expression.

Han Li paid no mind to others' reactions, nor did he even consider holding back any mature spiritual herbs or presenting fewer. This was because the other two supervising elders leading each sect had one or two "scenting spirit beasts" with them. These peculiar creatures, resembling squirrels, could detect any hidden spiritual herbs over a hundred years old within three *zhang*, even if they were concealed within a storage pouch. Therefore, after disciples emerging from the forbidden area voluntarily handed over their spiritual herbs, they still had to be sniffed by these small beasts before being allowed to leave, to prevent any ill-intentioned disciples from secretly hoarding herbs.

Han Li walked to the designated spot, took out a storage pouch he had already prepared, and unceremoniously tipped it over. After a flash of white light, a large pile of over twenty spiritual herbs of various colors filled the ground.

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