Chapter 1010: The Bet

Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan followed Li Tianyang to a golden circular stone door. A lifelike flood dragon was carved on the door's surface.

The flood dragon opened its gaping maw, revealing an egg-sized groove inside its mouth.

Li Tianyang took out a light golden spherical bead and placed it into the groove. With a flash of golden light, the flood dragon closed its mouth, swallowing the golden bead, and began to move on the stone door's surface.

With a massive roar, the stone door swung open, and a vast expanse of radiant light burst forth, nearly blinding Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan.

Before them lay a stone chamber several acres in size, filled with dozens of tall, azure-colored shelves. Each shelf was laden with numerous cultivation resources: magic treasures, crafting materials, elixirs, spiritual herbs, demon cores, and more. The sheer quantity far exceeded Wang Changsheng's imagination.

"Fellow Daoist Wang, Madam Wang, it's quite inappropriate for you to be sent into battle tomorrow, being new arrivals," Li Tianyang said. "As a token of my apology, you may each choose one additional item. Of course, this matter must not be divulged, or it will be difficult for me to explain to the other fellow Daoists."

Li Tianyang spoke with a sincere tone that was very reassuring to hear.

Wang Changsheng expressed his thanks, though he wasn't overly grateful to Li Tianyang, as he wondered if Li Tianyang had said the same thing to others.

They walked around the shelves. Besides magic treasures and crafting materials used by Nascent Soul cultivators, there were also many items that could strengthen a faction's foundation, such as Earth-grade cultivation techniques.

Earth-grade cultivation techniques could enhance a family's foundation, but they weren't immediately useful. What Wang Changsheng needed were items for self-preservation.

They were skilled at fighting together, but Nascent Soul level demon beasts were not to be underestimated. To be cautious, it was better to prepare a few more life-saving items.

"Oh, Fellow Daoist Li, can these items be chosen?" Wang Changsheng asked.

He stood before a glittering golden shelf. The shelf was crafted from a type of spirit jade, with runes shimmering intermittently across its surface. There weren't many items displayed, but each one was a rare treasure.

There were complete sets of magic treasures, Fourth-tier demon cores, Fourth-tier elixirs, Nascent Soul forming spiritual items, flying magic treasures, and more.

While other shelves were made of wood, this particular one was crafted from spirit jade.

"No, these are not for general selection," Li Tianyang replied. "You can only choose one item from here for every Nascent Soul level demon beast you slay. If you slay five Nascent Soul level demon beasts, you'll be rewarded with seven items. Furthermore, if a fellow Daoist can defeat the foreign tribes and slay a Nascent Soul level demon beast, they can acquire a territory. The size of the territory depends on the magnitude of their contribution."

Li Tianyang spoke with a meaningful expression. Truth be told, since the war began, few Nascent Soul cultivators had been able to slay Nascent Soul level foreign creatures. This wasn't because Nascent Soul cultivators weren't strong enough, but because the foreign creatures wouldn't stand idly by; if a companion was at a disadvantage, they would immediately intervene to save them.

Wang Changsheng suddenly understood, his gaze falling upon a pale blue lotus throne.

It was a flying magic treasure, a Lotus Throne, created by the Divine Weapon Palace. The Divine Weapon Palace was one of the ten major sects in the South Sea, renowned for its artifact forging techniques. "If it comes from the Divine Weapon Palace, it must be a masterpiece" was a widely circulated saying, showcasing the high level of skill of their artifact forgers.

Wang Changsheng retracted his gaze and looked towards the other shelves.

After the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan finished selecting their items: two flying magic treasures and a top-grade Third-tier spiritual talisman.

One was the "Flying Spirit Shuttle," a Second-tier flying magic treasure, suitable for single or multiple users.

If they encountered an insurmountable foe, Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan could use this flying magic treasure to escape. The Zhenhai Sect's treasury did contain flying magic treasures, but they were designed for single users – a cloak and a pair of flying boots. Wang Changsheng had given the flying boots to Wang Qiuming and the cloak to Wang Mengbin.

The other was the "Heavenly Fire Glazed Pearl," which integrated offense and defense. It could unleash fierce flames to harm enemies and strengthen defenses.

The "Nine-Origin Demon-Binding Talisman" could temporarily stabilize a section of space. Sea and demon creatures often used evasive techniques to get close and injure human Nascent Soul cultivators in close combat. With this Nine-Origin Demon-Binding Talisman, if a demon or sea creature approached, they could be held in place for a moment.

Seeing the three items Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan had chosen, Li Tianyang secretly nodded to himself, saying nothing.

"Fellow Daoist Wang, you two may return to rest for now. For tomorrow's battle, I will send someone to notify you."

"Alright, then we shall take our leave."

Wang Changsheng agreed, and he and Wang Ruyan left the treasury.

"Madam Han, what do you think of those two?" Li Tianyang asked towards a certain section of empty space.

With a flash of azure light, a curvaceous young woman in a green dress appeared from thin air.

Judging by the powerful aura she exuded, she was clearly a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator.

"They didn't choose any offensive magic treasures or talismans. This either means they are quite confident in their own strength, or they already possess powerful magic treasures. Given their choice of flying magic treasures, the latter seems more likely. We'll see tomorrow if they are dragons or worms."

The young woman in the green dress analyzed calmly. Her beautiful eyes shifted, and she said with a smile, "Fellow Daoist Li, how about we make a wager? Let's bet on whether they can slay a Nascent Soul level foreign creature."

"Oh, Madam Han, are you that confident in them?"

Li Tianyang was somewhat surprised. In his opinion, it would be impressive enough if Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan could severely injure an enemy, given that they hadn't formed their Nascent Souls long ago.

Gongsun Yang's ability to slay powerful foes was largely due to him being a key cultivation target of Myriad Beast Island.

The Wang family was merely a cultivation family, far less resourceful than Myriad Beast Island. For Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan to severely injure a powerful enemy would already be quite remarkable.

The young woman in the green dress smiled faintly, saying nothing.

Li Tianyang took out a green jade box and said in a deep voice, "Alright, a wager it is. I bet they cannot. This 'Ascending Dragon Elixir' will be my stake. If your azure flood dragon consumes this elixir, it will greatly benefit its advancement to the Fourth-tier. While Third-tier flood dragons are rare, high-tier cultivators can still cultivate them with enough time and effort. However, Fourth-tier flood dragons are exceedingly rare; it's hard to say about other places, but in the South Sea cultivation world, only Azure Flood Dragon True Monarch, the vice-island master of Myriad Beast Island, possesses a Fourth-tier flood dragon as a spirit beast."

"Very well, then I shall use this 'Crimson Moon Blazecrystal' as my stake. If this item is refined into your Natal Magic Treasure, Fellow Daoist Li, it can significantly enhance its power." The young woman in the green dress took out a red jade box and handed it to Li Tianyang.

Li Tianyang took the red jade box, opened it, and saw a watermelon-sized red crystal inside, radiating an overwhelming heatwave.

"Madam Han, now you can tell me why you think they can slay a Nascent Soul level demon beast!"

The young woman in the green dress smiled sweetly and said, "Their auras are perfectly synchronized, indicating they must have cultivated a combined secret technique. This is something I've only witnessed in the Dual Saints of Sun and Moon, the two palace masters of the Sun-Moon Palace. It is said that their combined strength can contend with Soul Transformation cultivators. Had my cultivation technique not been somewhat unique, I wouldn't have discovered this."

Li Tianyang smiled and shook his head, saying, "Contending with doesn't mean they can truly defeat Soul Transformation cultivators. However, the combined power of the Dual Saints of Sun and Moon is indeed formidable; few below the Soul Transformation stage can match them when they work together."

The young woman then added, "With two Heaven-grade cultivation techniques enabling combined attacks, their reputation is certainly well-deserved."

Li Tianyang nodded, saying nothing further.