Chapter 7: The Gambler's Alley

  He shook his head, putting aside the thoughts that had been weighing on him, and pointed to the entrance of the cave, explaining: "This is called the Extreme Yin Cave, it's a treasure land of our Cloud Mist Peak, ordinary people can't enter. The yin energy inside is ten times, a hundred times more intense than outside, it's where our master and senior sister practice. Hmph! You all train hard, one day you'll have the chance to go in too."

  There was a young man who couldn't help but ask: "Second Brother, this is such a wonderful place, you must have been inside before, right? Can you tell us what's really going on in there?"

  "I naturally went in." Bai Jin raised his head, with a smile on his face. "However, this extremely yin cave is divided into ten layers, each layer more dangerous than the last. I only made it to the third layer. Master is at the innermost layer, while Eldest Senior Sister can stay in the first five layers."

  He paused, his face showing a hint of longing as he said: "Not only can it accelerate cultivation, but there are also many precious treasures inside. Hehe, it's truly the treasure land of our Yunwu Peak!"

  The young people listened with their eyes wide and their spirits soaring, for a time they were speechless.

  Shi Dong looked out at the mysterious cave, staring at it repeatedly. The dark entrance seemed like a big mouth, and the cold wind emanating from it made him shiver, so he quickly retreated back into the crowd.

  Can't help but exclaim in my heart: "The sound of the wind is so loud, just being blown by the wind at the entrance of the cave makes me feel like my bones are about to shatter! That senior sister actually dares to stay on the fifth floor, I don't know how scary she must be? Hey, look at this green turtle with a face full of admiration, from now on if I meet that senior sister, I'll have to treat her as if she's my master!"

  Just as they were whispering to each other, Bai Jin waved his hand and said, "Alright, let's go quickly! The yin energy here is too heavy, you can't withstand it. I'll take you to a fun place, and after that, it's time for you to rest."

  He walked quickly forward, with the young men following closely behind.

  Shí dòng tīng shuō yǒu hǎo wán de, bù yóu dé jīng shén yī zhèn, yī shuāng xiǎo yǎn gū lù lù dì sì xīa dǎ liàng zhe.

  English Translation:

  Shi Dong heard that it was fun and couldn't help but perk up, his small eyes rolling around in all directions.

  After walking out for more than a hundred feet, the terrain gradually rose, and suddenly it brightened in front of my eyes, arriving at a large hall with an area of about 100 square feet.

  The layout here is quite peculiar, with hundreds of square tables similar to counters placed on the ground, and a faint light shining out a small sky above, which looks very beautiful when viewed from afar.

  And right in the center of the brightness, a layer of fog was lingering, with something vaguely standing inside.

  At this moment, there are dozens of monks gathered here, surrounding those square tables, sometimes bowing their heads to gaze intently, sometimes closing their eyes in contemplation, sometimes comparing left and right, and sometimes discussing with each other... Looking at their solemn appearance, it's as if they're shopping around for the best deal.

  As soon as Bai Jin led the group of young men into the hall, they immediately caught the attention of the cultivators. Most of them hurried over to pay their respects to Bai, saying things like "Second Brother is well" and "Greetings, Second Brother". Judging from their respectful demeanor, they should all be senior disciples of Cloud Mist Peak, but their cultivation was not as high as Bai Jin's.

  Some of the other junior masters glanced over, some nodded slightly, and then bowed their heads to focus on studying the objects in the light, apparently not disciples of Yunfeng Peak, but from other peaks, so they didn't know Bai Jin very well.

  In the center of the hall, there is a tea house-like area where some monks are drinking tea and resting. A stout middle-aged monk is taking care of things on the side, seemingly in charge here.

  When he saw Bai Jin walking into the hall, he immediately rubbed his hands and hurried over, smiling and greeting: "Second Master, you're here. What instructions do you have?"

  He pointed to the plump middle-aged cultivator and introduced him to the crowd of young people: "He is your Seventh Shixiong, named Hao Ren, in charge of the storage room of our Cloud Mist Peak, issuing sect tasks, and... this is also the Gambling Ghost Hall. He's like our big steward! Haha... he has a lot of things to take care of, with great power, you will all be interacting with him from time to time, come and pay your respects!"

  The young men hurried forward to pay their respects, and Hao Ren smiled and returned the courtesy, waving his hand: "Everyone doesn't have to be so polite, ah, Second Brother is really flattering me. I, Hao Ren, am actually the worst among Master's direct disciples, my skills are the most lacking, compared to Second Brother, it's really a huge difference."

  He smiled obsequiously at Bai Jin and said, "That's why Master has me manage some miscellaneous things, it can also be considered as serving the fellow disciples, so that everyone can focus on their cultivation. Hehe... if there's anything you need in the future, just come find me, I'll definitely make sure everyone is satisfied!"

  Hao Ren slapped his chest with a loud bang, his beady eyes narrowed into two lines, and the fat on his face was shaking. His voice was full of enthusiasm, making people not doubt his sincerity at all, and the young men present looked delighted.

  "Good guy, this Seventh Brother is too slick with his words! Hmph... his words can only be taken at a 20% discount, otherwise he'd be sold out without even knowing it."

  Shi Dong worked as a waiter in the tea house of Si Shui City for three years, where all sorts of people gathered. He had seen all kinds of people and could judge someone's character with just a few words from Hao Ren.

  Although Hao Ren's words were humble and smooth, they were too humble and smooth, revealing his flattering intentions towards Bai Jin. Other young people thought he was a good person, but Shi Dong immediately discerned that he was a slick and cunning city dweller who couldn't be trusted.

  Under close observation, it was indeed seen that Bai Jin secretly winked at Hao Ren, and Hao Ren immediately chuckled and said: "Does everyone know what this Gambler's Alley is for?"

  Many young people shook their heads, Shi Dong's heart said: "Gambling Ghost Building? What kind of strange place is this?" Looking around, he saw the bright lights covering the counters and couldn't help but feel a strong sense of curiosity.

  Seeing the crowd of young people with curious faces, Hao Ren beckoned and led everyone to a nearby counter, pointing at the glowing object, "Come see, what's inside this thing?"

  Shi Dong blended into the crowd, and upon closer inspection, a round, bulging object appeared in the fog, about the size of two fists. The dark gray surface had some eerie patterns distributed across it, which were blood red in color and flashed with a bright light.

  Suddenly, it thudded and jumped twice, like a heart.

  "Oh!"

  The crowd of young people let out a cry of surprise and retreated backward, frightened by this living thing.

  Seeing the young men's faces full of surprise, Hao Ren and Bai Jin burst out laughing. Hao Ren explained: "Don't be afraid, everyone, this is a ghost fetus, which is a ghost transformed into a fetus. It is now in a dormant state and will not harm you. Moreover, with the protection of this seal, even if it wakes up, it cannot rush out." As he spoke, he pointed to the ball of light.

  A young man asked: "Seventh Brother, what is the use of a ghost fetus?"

  "Heh heh, the Ghost Fetus's uses are vast! To us Mo Xie Men cultivators, it's a precious treasure. Haoren changed the subject and asked: "By the way, do you guys know about Gambling Stones?"

  A few of the youngsters nodded, but most looked bewildered.

  Shi Dong's interest was suddenly piqued, because next to the Si Shui City teahouse was a stone gambling house. The customers of the stone gambling house would often ask the teahouse to serve tea there, so Shi Dong had frequent access and was very familiar with the ways of stone gambling. As soon as he heard that this ghost fetus was related to stone gambling, he immediately stared at Hao Ren with his big, round eyes, not blinking once.

  Hao Ren continued, "Ordinary people like beautiful and precious treasures such as pearls, jadeite, diamonds, etc. Among them, natural jadeite is hidden in various jadeite ores, wrapped in a layer of stone coat, some are rough, some are colorful, and some reveal a bit of the original jade material. People extract these jadeite ores, collect them together for good people to gamble on, if they win, they become rich overnight, if they lose, they may go bankrupt. Hehe... this is what's called gambling on stones!"

  The crowd of young people listened intently, without making a sound, all pondering the connection between gambling on stones and ghosts.

  Hao Renton paused, then said: "We cultivators naturally wouldn't be interested in the mortal's gambling stones, but this gambler is different. Every lone soul and wild ghost must go through a crucial step of forming a cocoon before transforming into a powerful spirit, and once they successfully break out of their cocoon, they will become a sharp and fierce spirit that we can use."

  However, the possibility of a ghost fetus transforming into a spirit is extremely low, about one in a thousand. So, our Mo Sha Men cultivators are like gamblers betting on stones, hoping that one of the ghost fetuses will hatch into a spirit. If it hatches into a rare spirit, then they'll become rich overnight!

  Everyone listened with a thoughtful face, but didn't react. However, Shi Dong was very interested and thought to himself: "Wow, that sounds like a thrilling gamble! Is it a ghost fetus? A spirit? It's like betting on spirits, just like betting on stones! Sounds really fun!"

  Everyone obviously has no concept of Ling Gui, Hao Ren beckons and leads the young men to a secluded area, pointing to the corner of the bluestone wall: "You guys take a good look, I'll show you the power of Ling Gui."

  Everyone held their breath and stared with wide eyes.

  Hao Ren smiled faintly and suddenly waved his hand, only to see a black shadow flash in the air, and a giant block of ice jumped out, lightly and nimbly falling to the ground.

  The crowd of young people took one glance and were frightened into retreating in disorder.

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