Chapter 248: Well, Let's Start Gambling!

Chapter 248: Well, Let's Start Gambling!

Two hours later, Chen Qiu had arrived at the Heavenly Palace. The place was bustling with people, many of whom had gathered here.

The Heavenly Palace was already home to numerous Heavenly Dao buildings, and in the past, many would gather here, seeking opportunities. However, in recent days, Chen Qiu had single-handedly killed dozens of Refining Void Powerhouses, causing the Heavenly Palace to become deserted for a while, as no one dared to approach.

As time passed, the place regained its liveliness.

Chen Qiu did not disguise himself or wear a veil. The moment he landed, some passersby who unconsciously saw Chen Qiu were momentarily stunned, then froze in place before turning and running away.

In an instant, the surrounding people had mostly fled.

Revering the strong was in everyone's nature, or rather, it was more about fearing death than revering the powerful.

Especially when it came to a madman who had just broken through the Refining Void stage and slaughtered dozens of Refining Void Powerhouses, and was the first in the history of the Vast Continent to create a Twelfth Tier External Body. It was best to keep a distance, as getting too close might not bring any benefits, and this madman might take offense at the slightest thing and take one's life.

After all, this master didn't seem like the type to have a pleasant conversation or reason with you.

Chen Qiu, however, paid no attention to his surroundings. With a calm expression, he strode towards the Entry Pool, eagerly anticipating his first Heavenly Dao Entry Group, the 'Great One Nine'.

Everything else could wait.

After a short while, Chen Qiu walked along the bluestone path and arrived at a shop with its door wide open. Above the door hung a familiar wooden plaque, 'One Thought, Vast Sky'.

And at the entrance, six wells were still arranged.

They were labeled:

"Entry Pool", "Treasure Prize Pool", "Construction Prize Pool", "Domain Prize Pool", "Spell Prize Pool", and "Spirit Treasure Prize Pool".

Having played once before, Chen Qiu was already familiar with the rules.

The last time he had come, he was surrounded by Fei Long and the others, but this time, he was alone.

Drawing once at the Refining Void stage cost 10,000 medium-grade Spirit Stones, and at the Body Fusion stage, it would cost 100,000 medium-grade Spirit Stones.

If one considered the economics, it was indeed more cost-effective to draw at the Refining Void stage.

"Master."

The shopkeeper, of course, immediately noticed Chen Qiu and respectfully hurried over, lowering his voice, "Are you feeling lucky today?"

It wasn't that his eyes were particularly sharp.

The people originally standing by the wells had suddenly dispersed, leaving only a few brave ones watching from a distance. It was impossible not to notice, and the shopkeeper had a deep impression of this master.

Recently, the hottest figure in Xuan Tian State.

The last time this master drew prizes here, he had incredible luck, winning every time.

Such luck was beyond ordinary people.

"Hmm."

Chen Qiu scanned the surroundings and noticed a few brave ones gazing at him from a distance. He even spotted a woman wearing a formation disk at her waist, which was the 'Dao Zong' brand disk that Chen Qiu had created.

Good kid.

He silently praised her in his heart. Those who supported him with their hard-earned money and contributed to his cultivation path were all good kids, worthy of recognition.

After a brief greeting to the shopkeeper, Chen Qiu walked straight to the well engraved with 'Entry Pool'. His primary goal was the Entry Pool, and without hesitation, he took out 10,000 medium-grade Spirit Stones and threw them in.

He didn't activate the Prideful Person's Fortune.

He planned to test his luck first and see if it was worth using the Prideful Person's Fortune. After all, a strand of the Prideful Person's Fortune was a relatively rare consumable, much harder to obtain than Spirit Stones. If something could be acquired with Spirit Stones, there was no need to use such rare consumables.

Soon, the 10,000 medium-grade Spirit Stones sank into the well, disappearing without a trace, not even causing a ripple.

Perfectly normal.

Chen Qiu didn't think much of it and threw in another 10,000 medium-grade Spirit Stones. The last time Ao Tian had drawn eight times before getting a scarecrow, so Chen Qiu's goal was to get a prize within ten draws. If he got a Four-Digit Pure Number Entry, it would be excellent, and if not, he would use the Prideful Person's Fortune tomorrow.

However—

Just as he unconsciously took out another 10,000 medium-grade Spirit Stones to throw in, a white light appeared on the water's surface, and an Entry Scroll slowly floated out.

A prize! He had won on the second try! The shopkeeper standing nearby was also surprised and excited, "Congratulations, Master, you won on just the second try! Truly worthy of being—"

He was genuinely happy for Chen Qiu.

Not for any other reason.

If Chen Qiu had drawn ten times without winning, his mood would surely sour. If he took out his frustration on the shopkeeper, it might not end well. It was unnecessary, wasn't it? He couldn't afford to offend the King of Xuan Tian.

At this, Chen Qiu's eyes flashed with surprise. He was quite familiar with the drop rate of the Entry Pool, which was about one in ten. He hadn't expected to win on the second try. His Divine Perception instinctively reached out to examine the Entry Scroll and see what it was.

-

"Entry Name": 1111.

"Entry Level": Green.

"Entry Effect": Your Golden Core, Nascent Soul, Domain, External Body, and Kill Moves for all major breakthroughs will be defaulted to First Rank, unable to be upgraded. Your spells will deal more damage to all enemies of higher ranks, with the damage increasing with the rank difference.

-

Chen Qiu's expression turned complex as he silently stared at the Entry Scroll before him.

Good news! With the effect of the '9999' Entry, he had only spent 20,000 Spirit Stones to draw the '1111' Four-Digit Pure Number Entry, which he didn't have. So far, he had acquired the '1111' and '9999' Four-Digit Pure Number Entries.

He was one step closer to his 'Great One Nine' Heavenly Dao Entry Group.

Bad news.

This Entry Scroll is completely useless, full of side effects. Fortunately, his "Nine Thousand Nine Hundred and Ninety-Nine" Entry allows him to freely choose whether to activate the effects of other pure number Entries, otherwise, he wouldn't even want to keep this Entry Scroll and would want to throw it away immediately.

All of them are defaulted to First Rank, which means his foundation will be significantly weakened, basically suppressed to nothing.

He was still waiting for his Body Fusion breakthrough, relying on the 24th-tier Fusion Strike to dominate with his powerful kill move.

As for the effect given, it would probably only be effective in the initial stages, but the slight increase in damage it brings is completely insufficient to make up for the gap caused by the tier difference.

A First Rank Fusion Strike versus a 24th-tier Fusion Strike.

Can this increase in spell power brought by a single green Entry make up for it?

It's enough to blow your head off!

However, he was still satisfied inwardly, although this Entry was completely useless, he didn't come for this Entry alone, but for the Great Nine Entry Group that followed it.

And—

He discovered something. The Entry Groups from the people, like the ones recorded in his Entry Compilation, are formed by combining different Entries that can produce greater power when used together.

Basically, they can achieve an effect of one plus one equals three.

But the Heavenly Dao Entry Group is not formed based on this principle at all.

The effect of the "FourFourFourFour" Entry is that witnessing dusk will grant a reward, with different levels of rewards after four, forty-four, and so on, with the highest being a Refining Void-level reward.

The effect of the "SevenSevenSevenSeven" Entry is that there are only seven minor cultivation stages in each major realm, but the overall strength will be weakened by seventy percent.

The effect of the "TenTenTenTen" Entry is also similar.

These three Entries can be said to have almost no correlation and no synergy at all, the only relevance being their Entry names.

This is the difference between official and unofficial.

Unofficial Entries are formed based on their effects.

Official Entries are formed based on their Entry names.

It's like—

An unofficial chef cooks a dish with garlic, ginger, scallions, garlic sprouts, shredded meat, onions, and carrots because these ingredients combined create a dish with a decent flavor.

An official chef cooks a dish with garlic, Chinese cabbage, coriander, cabbage, and kale because these vegetables have a commonality in their names.

That's the difference.

Chen Qiu casually crushed the Entry Scroll in his hand, setting it to not activate the Entry effect, before striding towards the Heavenly Palace Inn. He didn't plan to return to the Celestial Palace for a few days, intending to complete the Heavenly Dao Entry Group "Great Nine" here before returning.

Things were progressing more smoothly than he had anticipated.

At least, on the first day.

He only needed twenty thousand Medium-grade Spirit Stones to exchange for a four-digit pure number Entry, and according to the Heavenly Dao rules, after the distribution, he would have to wait until the next day to participate in the prize pool draw again.

Although cultivation at the Heavenly Palace Inn would be slightly slower.

After all, he lacked the support of the Domain "Chickens and Dogs Ascend to Heaven," the Top-grade Spirit Gathering Array, and the Monster-Suppressing Tower, but in reality, it wasn't much slower. After all, his most important cultivation speed was derived from the Heaven Sovereign Throne, the Profound Heaven Seat, and the boost from "Far-Famed Reputation."

"Huff"

Inside the inn, Chen Qiu, seated cross-legged on the Heaven Sovereign Throne, took a deep breath and closed his eyes to continue cultivating after setting up a Spirit Gathering Array beside him. His "Far-Famed Reputation" Entry, along with the lost cultivation speed from the destruction of the Pingxi Continent, was compensated for when Liu Zide and his group returned from the new continent.

After all, it had been over a month since Liu Zide and the others left.

Before leaving the Celestial Palace for the Heavenly Palace, he had remembered this matter. After bringing Liu Zide and the others back, he praised them briefly before sending them off to the new continent again. This time, Liu Zide and his group had brought back nearly a million Spirit Stones.

Filling another gap.

For some reason,

when he saw Liu Zide's face brimming with suppressed excitement and boasting about his harvest, although he had wanted to seriously and solemnly praise Liu Zide at the time, in his eyes, Liu Zide's image had gradually merged with that of a frog.

He felt that Liu Zide was like his traveling frog.

Always traveling outside.

Returning home once a month, bringing him a large number of Spirit Stones and approximately 20 times the cultivation speed.

Pretty good.

He finally understood why those in the know all wanted to establish a sect. Which of the know-how could refuse the opportunity to have their traveling frog diligently and industriously earn Spirit Stones and cultivation resources for them while they cultivated with the best resources in the sect?

This... made him feel a little embarrassed. After this matter was over, he would help Liu Zide improve his cultivation, as his current cultivation was too low, and his lifespan was too short. How could he travel for him in the future if he didn't live long enough?

And—

As long as he went to the Third-grade Continent, he could visit the other eleven Lower Continents. These eleven Lower Second-grade Continents each had twelve Lower First-grade Continents.

That's 132 First-grade Continents.

These First-grade Continents all required Liu Zide and the Dao Sect's Sect Master to lead the expeditions personally. He had already planned that after touring all the Lower-grade Continents, he would promote Liu Zide to the Fourth Elder of the Mock Heaven Sect.

No need to stay in the sect.

He could be in charge of traveling and acting as the Mock Heaven Sect's External Propaganda Division, spreading Chen Qiu's name throughout the Three Thousand Worlds!

Pretty good.

Chen Qiu nodded with satisfaction, slowly calming his mind and beginning to cultivate. He would wake up refreshed the next day.

"Heavenly Dao Entry Group?"

At this moment, in the Dao Sect's reception hall, the Heavenly Axe Sect's Sect Master sat there perplexed. His senior had ordered him to investigate information about the Heavenly Dao Entry Group, but after searching for a long time, he couldn't find any information about it in the entire Profound Heaven State.

I've never heard of such a thing.

Could it be some new invention? Although there are restrictions between states, and he couldn't investigate the existence of the Heavenly Dao Entry Group in other states, according to his memory, no one seems to have ever discussed the Heavenly Dao Entry Group. He has cultivated to the peak of Refining Void strength, and yet he has never heard of this.

However, the series of entries that his senior had asked him to inquire about recently has been found.

He looked at the entry scroll in his hand, which contained a series of entries. He had acquired this scroll at a high price, as the "Series Entry Heavenly Dao Mystic Realm" had only recently emerged, making series entries still quite rare in Profound Heaven State.

This situation is quite normal.

After a new item appears on the market, it often receives some hype, and due to its scarcity, the price forms a premium. Once the production increases or the novelty wears off, the market gradually returns to its original pricing.

As for this entry, well, he couldn't quite judge its strength or weakness.

-

"Entry Name: Lightning Whirl"

"Entry Rank: Series Entry (First Rank)"

"Entry Effect: Within a permanent random radius of ten zhang around you, four lightning rings will appear and deal damage to nearby enemies. This does not consume your spirit qi, and the entry is automatically activated upon acquisition. The entry can be destroyed at will, but it cannot be used again after destruction."

"Entry Promotion: The entry can be promoted up to Sixth Rank, and each promotion requires 1,000 Medium-grade Spirit Stones."

-

This is a new type of entry that appeared after the last Heavenly Dao change.

Series Entry.

To be honest, he didn't quite understand the use of this entry. The permanent random appearance of four lightning rings within a ten-zhang radius is similar to a smaller and weaker Refining Void domain.

The difference is that it can be constantly activated and doesn't consume spirit qi.

But the problem is—

It's permanently activated! Who can live a normal life with four lightning rings constantly appearing within a ten-zhang radius? When you go to the market, you have to maintain a ten-zhang distance from others. If you upgrade the entry, it might extend to a hundred zhang.

As for romantic nights, forget about it.

Unless your Lingling Vine is a hundred zhang long, you'll probably never experience intimacy in your life.

This is why he couldn't quite understand the purpose of this series entry. He hadn't acquired the others, but from what he had seen, they were similar. They just changed the attack methods and techniques, but the permanent activation remained the same.

If he had to say it increased combat power, he would admit it was slightly better than nothing.

Perhaps it's friendly to lower-level cultivators, but for cultivators at his level, the combat power increase from this series entry is easily overshadowed by a single level of the Refining Void domain.

However, lower-level cultivators would find it difficult to spare 1,000 Medium-grade Spirit Stones for promotion, making this series entry somewhat contradictory and unappealing.

It's the type of thing that's neither here nor there.

He shook his head, tucked the entry scroll into his chest, and prepared to meet his senior, offering the scroll for his judgment. He didn't need to worry about its usefulness.

The sun set and rose again.

Another day passed slowly.

At noon.

Chen Qiu arrived punctually at the entrance of the shop from the day before. After taking a deep breath, he held the Shadow Stone he had purchased at the Mountain Opening City gate and prepared to absorb some of Master Wang's good fortune. He realized that he was truly nostalgic, as this Shadow Stone had accompanied him from Daxia Country all the way to the Second-grade Continent, Vast Continent.

During the journey, he had experienced countless hardships.

Perhaps even the Shadow Stone was unaware of the trials it had endured to reach this place.

The surrounding crowd was larger than the day before, perhaps because Chen Qiu hadn't gone on a killing spree yesterday, easing their vigilance. They wanted to witness the legendary Supreme Heavenly Prodigy who had risen from a First-grade Continent to seize the Profound Heaven King's throne! Many of them had purchased a "Qiu's Spirit Disk" from the Daoist Sect.

They had heard of Chen Qiu's achievements and knew that his journey had been filled with miracles. They spent a few Spirit Stones on the Spirit Disk, not for any particular reason, but in the hope that in times of crisis, they could borrow some of his good fortune.

A few Spirit Stones might not save their lives, but the Spirit Disk provided some psychological comfort. Looking at the back of the disk, where Chen Qiu's encouragement was inscribed, they felt a sense of inner strength.

Often, when faced with adversity, people are like climbers halfway up a mountain. With a single breath of determination, they might reach the summit. But if they start to feel weak and fearful halfway, realizing the distance to the peak and unable to retreat, their courage wavers, and their legs turn to jelly.

Although they had purchased the Spirit Disk, this was their first time witnessing Chen Qiu's lineup in person. Usually, they only saw him through the Shadow Stone.

"Huff"

Chen Qiu placed the Shadow Stone in his chest and then threw one hundred thousand Spirit Stones into the well engraved with "Entry Pool."

Once, twice, thrice, four times.

The water's surface remained calm, like a stone sinking into the ocean.

Even after the seventh attempt, there was still no result.

The shopkeeper, who had been standing by and feigning a smile, was now drenched in sweat, wiping his forehead with his sleeve and stammering, "Th-that..."

He wanted to explain but didn't know how. After all, it's quite normal to not win anything after seven attempts! It's not uncommon to go twenty attempts without success.

However, that's for lower-level cultivators. Refining Void cultivators need one hundred thousand Spirit Stones for each attempt, and there hasn't been a Refining Void cultivator in Profound Heaven State who could casually throw two million Spirit Stones.

But that was for normal people!

This master had hit the target on his first try and twice on his second, but now, on his third attempt, he had missed seven times. He was genuinely concerned that the master might not be able to handle the psychological blow and blame him for it. He was truly afraid!

Finally—

On the eighth try, a talisman scroll slowly emerged from the water's surface.

".

Chen Qiu picked up the talisman scroll, calmly nodded to the shopkeeper, and then turned to stride back to the Heavenly Palace Inn. With so many people around, he decided to wait until he returned to the inn to examine the entry's effect.

At first, he was also puzzled as to why he had won twice yesterday but was taking so long today.

But he soon figured it out.

The 'Nine Thousand Nine Hundred and Ninety-Nine' entry didn't affect his chances of winning; it only increased the likelihood of drawing a four-digit pure number entry when he won. It wouldn't suddenly make him win when he was originally not going to.

Yesterday's consecutive wins were purely due to his luck skyrocketing.

A person's fortune doesn't skyrocket only when they use consumables like 'A Strand of Heaven's Pride Fortune'. Occasionally, it can also surge on its own, which is when fortune arrives and cannot be stopped.

Some believe that a person's fortune should fluctuate like waves.

Sometimes it's high, and sometimes it's low.

When fortune is high, everything goes well, and even Heaven seems to be on your side.

When fortune is low, everything goes wrong, and even drinking water can feel like a chore.

Chen Qiu shook his head, not wanting to dwell on it. Instead, he lay on the bed, took a sip of tea, and stretched comfortably. He was tired of sitting cross-legged; his legs were starting to feel numb. Lying down was so much more comfortable than sitting cross-legged, but he had to sit that way when cultivating to benefit from the cultivation speed boost on the Profound Heaven King's throne. Otherwise, he wouldn't have chosen to sit there for so long.

Chen Qiu, lying on the bed, looked at the talisman scroll in his hand.

-

"Entry Name: TwoTwoTwoTwo.

Entry Rank: Purple.

Entry Effect: Each time you break through a major realm, you will have an additional chance to choose from a three-choice entry."

"Hmm?"

Chen Qiu's expression turned slightly odd as he looked at the entry before him. It wasn't that the entry was too strange, but that it was a good one, a useful one for him.

He liked it.

However, he had always had a poor impression of four-digit pure number entries because the ones he knew had mediocre effects and often had negative consequences. He never expected that a new entry without negative effects and with a good effect would suddenly appear, and he wasn't quite used to it yet.

He liked this one.

Just in time, after he broke through the Body Fusion Stage, he could have an additional chance to choose a three-choice entry.

Speaking of which, it's worth mentioning that when you possess all four four-digit pure number entries, you must confirm whether to activate their effects at the moment you obtain them. You can't decide to activate the positive effect when you want to use it and deactivate it when you don't want to use the negative effect.

You can't repeatedly activate and deactivate them.

The reason the 'Nine Thousand Nine Hundred and Ninety-Nine' entry has this effect is simply because some of the other four-digit pure number entries may have negative effects. This prevents you from enduring a series of negative effects while collecting the Heavenly Path Entry Group "Great Nine".

The entry group from 'Double Casting' to 'Tenfold Casting' probably won't have similar issues since none of these entries have negative effects.

Of course, it's hard to say if these tenfold casting entries can form a Heavenly Path Entry Group; it's just his guess, without a definite conclusion. But based on his understanding of the Heavenly Dao's nature, it's likely to be very close!

Thus—

The third four-digit pure number entry, the purple entry 'TwoTwoTwoTwo', was successfully obtained!

-

The third day.

Chen Qiu arrived at the shop on time again. After spending sixty thousand medium-grade spirit stones, he finally drew another talisman scroll on the sixth try.

It was 'FourFourFourFour'.

Another four-digit pure number entry, one he had randomly obtained before, but he had discarded it without a second thought due to its mediocre effect. Now, he had to buy it back for sixty thousand medium-grade spirit stones.

Fortunately, talismans couldn't speak; otherwise, he could imagine the smug look on this entry's face.

He also realized that even without using rare consumables like 'A Strand of Heaven's Pride Fortune', his luck seemed a little better than that of ordinary people. Normally, he could win something in six or seven tries.

For ordinary people, it usually took twelve or thirteen tries, or even more, to win something.

Hey!

Chen Qiu, in the inn, looked at the 'FourFourFourFour' talisman scroll in his arms, a slight smile on his face. He nodded in satisfaction, thinking that it would take a few months to collect the Heavenly Path Entry Group "Great Nine", but now it seemed it would be much faster than he had imagined. In a few more days, he would have them all.

Currently, he already possessed—

'OneOneOneOne', 'TwoTwoTwoTwo', 'FourFourFourFour', and 'NineThousandNineHundredAndNinetyNine', the four four-digit pure number entries.

The fourth day.

After a night of cultivation, Chen Qiu arrived at the shop precisely at noon. Today, he planned to use 'A Strand of Heaven's Pride Fortune' to draw entries and also try his luck with the other prize pools.

Let's see if anything good came out.

He was quite satisfied with the previous 'Body-Law Conversion' and the other items, including the special building, the Monster-Suppressing Tower.

Although 'A Strand of Heaven's Pride Fortune' was a precious consumable, it was only useful when used. For him, it was hard to use it as a material for upgrading; it felt insufficient for that purpose, but it was perfect for drawing prizes.

So, next—

Let the gambling begin!

PS: I'll correct any typos later. I'm adding a chapter late at night, so please give me some monthly votes!

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end