Chapter Twelve: The Mysterious Map

  All that can be seen is that this picture is not complicated, with a few lines outlining a rectangle, a circle, and four smaller circles around the circle, with the numbers "four", "two", "one" and "three" marked randomly on top.

  "Huh? What does this mean?" Shi Dong was puzzled, and upon closer inspection, he vaguely saw a few small characters in the middle of the large circle.

  "What is this character? Oh...... it's a 'light' word, no, it's an 'jing' word; the two in front are... seem to be 'pig' and 'rabbit'... Pig Rabbit Jing? What does this mean?" Shi Dong muttered to himself, his thick eyebrows twisted together, confusion shining through his eyes.

  Suddenly his eyes lit up and he exclaimed: "The Gambler's Scripture! This is... this is the Gambler's Scripture left behind by that old madman!"

  This discovery suddenly excited him, the stinging pain in his lower abdomen seemed to have disappeared, he jumped up from the ground, but when he saw the layout of the room, he was as if frozen in place.

  A stone bed in a rectangular shape, a round table in a large circular shape, and four stone stumps around it.

  He was stunned for a moment, and Shi Dong's face showed extreme joy. An idea flashed through his mind: "So that's it! Zhou De Nuo must have hidden the real Gambler's Scripture under the stone table, and these four stone pedestals are the opening mechanism. Hmm... 'Four', 'Two', 'One', 'Three', haha... this is the sequence to open it!"

  Shi Dong's small eyes sparkled as he quickly figured out the mechanism, and immediately took action. He tapped and hit the four stone pedestals in sequence, then rotated them, but nothing happened.

  He furrowed his brow, patted his head and suddenly lost his smile: "I'm really stupid, this map must be referring to Zhou De's cave mansion, what's the point of messing around here?"

  But a new problem has arisen. At this moment, Zhou De's cave is where Mao Feifei lives. How can he have an excuse to go there and investigate the Ghost Scripture?

  Moreover, he suddenly remembered that on that day, Bai Jin had driven Zhou De out and then personally entered his cave to check it out, as if looking for something.

  Intuition made Shi Dong feel that there must be something fishy going on, and it's likely that Bai Jing was also searching for something. It's possible that Zhou De Nuo being kicked out wasn't because of his stagnant cultivation, but due to some other reason.

  In the midst of panic, Zhou De Nu chose himself and left a strange map on his left palm. Was he hoping to take out the Gambler's Scripture for him?

  Shi Dong's face turned solemn, and he flexed his ten fingers back and forth, repeatedly pondering the severe consequences.

  After a long time, he finally sighed and shook his head, muttering to himself: "Damn it, no matter what the truth is, I'm afraid only by getting that real Gambler's Scripture can we know for sure. But one thing is certain, there must be a real Gambler's Scripture, and it really has the strange effect of the gambler, otherwise, Bai Jin would not have driven Zhou De Nuo out in front of everyone and searched his cave thoroughly."

  He couldn't help but shudder, Shi Dong suddenly felt that the demonic gate was fraught with murderous intent, and he had unknowingly become entangled in a perilous conspiracy. Thinking of his own life, he decided to temporarily suppress his desire to find the Gambler's Scripture and instead observe quietly for a while.

  Suddenly, he thought of something and his face changed greatly: "Oh no! If that's the case, then Zhou De Nuo must have had a response, otherwise how could he be willing to be driven out of the sect by Bai Jin?" He slapped his thigh and exclaimed: "That's right! Zhou De Nuo must not be dead, he must be hiding somewhere! So... so... no matter what, whether he launches a counterattack or is discovered by Bai Jin's plot, it's possible that in the end... I'll be dragged into this. What... what can I do?"

  He raised his palm, staring at the eerie flashing map, Shi Dong's forehead was covered in cold sweat, knowing that his situation was extremely dangerous, and the choices in front of him were only four -

  One is to immediately find Bai and confess, seeking his forgiveness, but it's possible that he might kill himself to silence him, given his narrow-mindedness, this possibility is extremely high!

  Another was to meet the master, but looking at the master's dragon-like appearance, a small disciple like himself had no chance of meeting him. He was afraid that as soon as he proposed this idea, it would arouse Bai Jin's suspicion.

  Again, pretending that nothing has happened and not even touching the map, in the end you will still be implicated, at that time hiding and not reporting, your own guilt will be great, and you will definitely be killed.

  Finally, it was according to Zhou Denuo's arrangement that the gambler's remains were dug up. Although this move was very risky, the initiative was in his own hands, and if handled properly, it would likely bring the greatest benefit to himself.

  "Hahaha! Hahaha! You dolls will all die here sooner or later! Hahaha! All of you will die! Unless... the Gambler's Scripture..."

  Zhou Denuo's crazy laughter was still ringing in his ears, Shi Dong finally understood his hint, and cursed in his heart: "Damn old man, you bastard! This time I'm really being ruined by you! Mom, gambler... gambler... what book is that anyway?"

  "Foolish!"

  Accompanied by a loud shout, Bai Jin was slapped flying into the air with a palm, falling one zhang away, and spitting out a mouthful of blood.

  Bai Jin's face showed extreme fear, he crawled on the ground and knocked his head against the high seat: "Master Shifu, forgive me! It's all my fault for being bewitched, I wanted to drive out Zhou De Nuo and deal with him outside the sect to get the Gambler's Scripture. Who would have thought..."

  "Hmph! Who would have thought he had a big background, and is actually an undercover agent of the San Shan Fu Sect? Is that right?" Another cold hum came from above.

  A pale and handsome face turned deathly white, with sweat dripping from his forehead, he hastily said: "Master Hui's eyes are like a torch, I planted a tracking mark on him, but when I tracked it down, I only saw a substitute symbol, and then I realized that he was an undercover agent of the San Shan Symbol Sect."

  "Is this the token?" The person on the high platform raised two fingers, holding a talisman that emitted a dull, eerie glow. Their sharp eyes, like those of an eagle, shot downwards, and the golden skulls embroidered on their body seemed to come alive, each one letting out a strange laugh as they stared at Bai Jin kneeling below.

  This man is none other than the leader of the Demon Sect - Yin Lao Mo.

  Bai Jin slightly raised his head and glanced over, being pierced by Yin's sharp gaze like a knife, he trembled and said: "Yes, it is this symbol."

  Yin Lao Mo chuckled and blew a mouthful of air onto the talisman, enveloping a ghost within. The ghost let out a shrill cry as it pounced on top, and in an instant, a red glow flashed, revealing a ghostly face on the talisman that began to twist violently.

  "Go!" He pointed and waved his hand, a red light shot towards Bai Jin.

  The red light didn't enter his forehead, but a white light did, and he let out a miserable cry as he fell to the ground.

  "I'll spare your life for now, and plant this ghost symbol on you. If Zhou De appears within a hundred feet of you again, it will automatically activate and help me take him down with my divided soul." Yin Laomo explained coldly.

  Bai Jin's body trembled, his face turned pale, and he knew that this ghost symbol was planted in his own spiritual sea. As long as he showed a little disrespect, Yin Lao Mo could activate it at any time, causing him to suffer the agony of having his soul torn apart.

  "Yes, thank you for sparing my life, Master." He could only reply respectfully.

  Yin Lao Mo nodded, his complexion slightly easing, and said: "As long as you focus on doing things for me and don't act arbitrarily again, I won't activate this ghost symbol. What are you still afraid of?"

  "Yes."

  "Hum! But you'd better be prepared to take responsibility, for the sake of a small gain, you're stirring up trouble and alerting Si Tu Jin. If that happens, I'll activate the Ghost Symbol and let you taste the agony of having your soul torn apart!"

  "I don't dare, I don't dare." Bai Jin's forehead was sweating as he hastily explained, "Master, please listen to my explanation. I...I had already obtained the consent of Si Tu Jin beforehand, and can clear out some old disciples who have not made progress for a long time."

  The disciple just thought... wanted to use this to deal with Zhou De Nuo, but this person is really strange. In the sect for over 30 years, he has gambled with the Ling Ghost multiple times and has spent over a thousand pieces of Ling Stone on his accounts. With such wealth, even if his talent was poor, he should have broken through to the later stage of Qi Refining by now. Where did this person's Ling Stone go? It's really puzzling!

  Shibo Ping reminded him every day to keep an eye on the people around Situ Jin, and this week, De Nuo was so suspicious that his disciple couldn't help but take the opportunity to test him, only to find out that he was a mole from San Shan Fu Pai.

  "The disciple rushed here in the first time to report to Shibo, just wanting to ask Shibo to show how to respond?"

  Yin Lao Mo's eyes flickered with a hint of surprise, and upon hearing this, his expression slightly relaxed: "In that case, it seems you can't be entirely blamed either?"

  Bai Jin hastily presented a scroll and said, "Master, please take a look. This is the list of materials that Zhou De Nuo secretly purchased, which I discovered when I followed him stealthily earlier."

  Yin Lao Mo took a look and read: "Black iron sand, blood cinnabar, white crystal soil... Hmm? These are all materials used to break seals. Hehe, it's interesting, do you know what Zhou De Nu wants to do?"

  Bai Jin saw that the other party was starting to take an interest, and he couldn't help but show a joyful expression on his face. He raised his head and replied: "Master Shibo, I just discovered that he seems to have a major plot, so I took the opportunity to make my move against him. Alas... unfortunately, this guy is extremely cunning and managed to take advantage of the situation to escape!"

  Yin Lao Mo sank into thought, thinking to himself: "The authenticity of the Gambler's Scripture is temporarily set aside, but Zhou De seems to have grasped a clue to opening some sort of secret realm." Suddenly remembering something, he was shocked: "Could it be that this Gambler's Scripture is actually related to the Demon Emperor's inheritance?"

  "Hmm! The Demon Emperor's inheritance is vague and elusive, who knows if this isn't the Three Mountain Symbol Sect playing tricks on us, messing with our sect's major affairs? Hmm, we need to be cautious about this, don't rush into it."

  His face was uncertain, and he was sweating profusely on his forehead as he lay down. Suddenly, he touched his chin, chuckled, and said, "Alright, you tell Situ Jin about this matter in detail, and listen to his instructions on how to proceed."

  Bai Jin was taken aback for a moment, then immediately understood and praised Yin Laomo highly: "Master's plan is truly brilliant!"

  "Oh? What's so great about it, tell me."