Chapter 4111: Betting

Outside the Seven-Colored Sky Cave, at Sky Roar Hall.

Fu Sen sat in the main seat, while Cao Mingjing and his four companions sat on either side, conversing. "Fellow Daoist Fu, I heard you and a few other fellow Daoists ventured into the Immortal Fallen Valley for treasure. Your gains must have been substantial!" Cao Mingjing said with a smile.

"Fellow Daoist Cao seems to know a lot about my movements! Did you go too?" Fu Sen said meaningfully.

"An old friend of mine passed by, encountered you, and mentioned it to me," Cao Mingjing explained.

Fu Sen was half-skeptical, saying, "The Immortal Fallen Valley has too many restrictions, and there are also Chaos Beasts at the Grand Unity Golden Immortal stage. Our gains were modest, and we lost several immortal artifacts."

"Modest gains, you say!" Cao Mingjing chuckled.

"The Immortal Fallen Valley is an ancient battlefield, and it certainly holds many valuable items. However, acquiring them isn't easy. If entering the valley guaranteed a great treasure, who would bother spending time cultivating?" remarked Immortal Master Liuhuo.

"I heard that Fellow Daoist Fu obtained an unformed Primordial Spirit Treasure and fused it into his life-bound immortal artifact, which must have significantly increased its power," Yang Junyou said with an envious look.

"Fellow Daoist Yang, you must be joking! A Primordial Spirit Treasure cannot be taken away before it fully forms; forcibly removing it would ruin it. It can only be taken once it's complete. Whenever a Primordial Spirit Treasure appears, one must wait for it to fully form before taking it, otherwise, before the news even spreads, it would be snatched by others," Fu Sen stated.

"That may be true, but I've never seen a Primordial Spirit Treasure myself, so who knows if Fellow Daoist Fu's words are genuine or not," Cao Mingjing said with a chuckle.

"If Fellow Daoist Cao doesn't believe me, there's nothing I can do. If my life-bound immortal artifact had truly fused with a Primordial Spirit Treasure as you suggest, then if Grand Unity Golden Immortal-stage Chaos Beasts attacked, they wouldn't escape so easily," Fu Sen said. His tone then shifted as he continued, "Last time the Seven-Colored Sky Cave opened, the Nine Yuan Palace had the most surviving Golden Immortal cultivators. This time, I wonder who will emerge victorious. How about we make a wager?"

He flipped his right hand, revealing a golden fruit pit that glowed with a faint, unusual aura. "Is this a Golden Lotus Immortal Fruit pit?" Immortal Master Liuhuo asked in surprise.

"Fellow Daoist Fu obtained a Golden Lotus Immortal Fruit? Have you cultivated into a peak true spirit?" Cao Mingjing asked, astonished.

Fu Sen shook his head. "I wish, but I don't have that fortune. I merely obtained a fruit pit. I'm using this pit as my wager, so your stakes shouldn't be too far off in value."

Immortal Master Liuhuo and the other four pondered for a moment before each presenting their wagers.

***

Seven-Colored Sky Cave, a continuous stretch of lush green mountains.

A mound of earth swelled, and Wang Yingjie emerged from underground, looking terrified, his body covered in blood, and his aura weak.

The ground shook violently, and a long, thick crack appeared, rapidly widening as if something immense was about to burst forth from beneath.

With a thunderous roar, the ground exploded, and a five-colored Chaos Beast resembling a rhinoceros burst out from below. Wang Yingjie's body glowed with a bright green light, and he vanished from his spot.

In the vast dense forest, a towering tree emitted a green light, and Wang Yingjie reappeared, panting and pale. His Five Elements Sky Escape Art was quite effective; otherwise, he would have perished long ago.

"I should have shaken it off now!" Wang Yingjie muttered to himself. Ever since he separated from Wang Qingshan and Wang Yidao, he had constantly been on the run, encountering either mutated five-colored Chaos Beasts at the Golden Immortal stage or six-colored Chaos Beasts.

An extremely bizarre shriek echoed, and numerous trees snapped in half as a six-colored Chaos Beast resembling a bat lunged towards him.

Wang Yingjie's mouth twitched. His luck was truly terrible! He had just barely shaken off a mutated five-colored Chaos Beast, only to run into a six-colored one. When someone is unlucky, even drinking water can get stuck in their teeth.

Wang Yingjie formed a hand seal, and a dazzling five-colored halo swept out. Upon touching the six-colored Chaos Beast, it was immobilized. His body glowed brightly with yellow light, and he burrowed into the ground.

Enveloped in a ball of yellow light, Wang Yingjie moved swiftly forward.

The ground shook violently, and immense pressure assailed him from all directions.

Wang Yingjie had to descend ten thousand feet before he felt somewhat better. He took out a blue pill, swallowed it, and a touch of color returned to his pale face. A moment later, the space ahead suddenly opened up. He found himself in a massive cavern, and his body plunged downwards, falling into a pool of water. The water in the pool was silvery-white, and in it grew a five-colored lotus with five glistening, multi-colored beads.

"Where is this?" Wang Yingjie paused, slightly stunned.

He realized he was in an enclosed cave with uneven stone walls.

Wisps of crimson gas and azure gas converged towards the five beads. As he appeared in this place, the crimson and azure gases rushed towards him, pouring into his body.

Wang Yingjie felt two powerful energies surge into his body, coursing wildly through him, severing his meridians.

He felt as if he had fallen into a volcano, his body unbearably hot, his skin turning crimson. He felt like he was on fire. Before long, the intense heat vanished, replaced by extreme cold. His body curled into a ball, shivering uncontrollably. His skin turned from crimson to white, and frost appeared on his surface. He felt as if he had plunged into an ice cellar, and his entire being seemed about to freeze.

He tried to stop these two energies from entering his body, but found it impossible. More and more gas flowed into him, and his body slowly swelled like a massive balloon, causing him to let out agonizing screams.

Had he not been a top-tier true spirit with a powerful physical body, his body would have already burst.

Veins bulged on his body, his skin tore open, and blood flowed continuously, turning him into a blood-soaked figure, staining the pool water red. At this rate, he would inevitably be bloated to death.

Wang Yingjie's gaze swept over, spotting the five glistening spherical beads. These five beads could absorb the two types of gas. Having no other choice, he dug out the five beads and crammed them into his mouth.

Logically, the five spherical beads should have been lotus seeds, but he couldn't bite them at all; they seemed to be some kind of artifact-refining material. He could only swallow them, hoping to use the five beads to absorb the two energies surging into his body.

Wang Yingjie's judgment was correct; the five beads could absorb these two energies, and his body slowly shriveled. However, soon after, he again felt an unbearable heat, as if he had fallen into a volcano. And that wasn't all; a piercing pain emanated from all parts of his body, as if someone were slowly carving him up with a dull knife.

Wang Yingjie gritted his teeth, his body swaying, before he collapsed into the pool.

The five beads contained five energies of different attributes, even more violent than the two gases. Bloodied and disoriented, Wang Yingjie hurriedly activated the Aperture Fusion Art, hoping to use this secret technique to merge the five energies together.