https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-543-Ascending-the-Nine-Heavens-and-Ten-Earths-Meeting-Xi-Xi-at-the-Divine-Duel-s-Peak-Part-2-/13463885/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-544-Apprentice-and-Daughter-Confront-Each-Other-Turning-Them-into-Bound-Deities-Part-2-/13463890/
Chapter 544: Apprentice and Daughter Confront Each Other—Turning Them into Bound Deities (Part 1)
Chapter 544: Apprentice and Daughter Confront Each Other—Turning Them into Bound Deities (Part 1)
The Earth Dragon writhed, mud and rocks flying.
Cloud Peak Village, though only a fifth-rank village, was still a native settlement of the Nine Heavens and Earth. The village elder, Yun He, had specially hired this Earth Dragon, which was the most widely used mode of transportation in the Nine Heavens and Earth.
Faster than a carriage, the Earth Dragon moved swiftly across the ground like a snake, the scenery racing by on both sides.
Li Che released his Divine Spirit Thought to sense the surroundings and realized that this Earth Dragon possessed some power of the Spatial Dao, which was why it moved so quickly.
Its speed far exceeded that of the high-speed trains from Li Che’s previous life.
After about three days of travel, they arrived at the selection site for the Thousand Villages Divine Gambling Battle in the Xuanxiao Sky, nestled at the foot of a mountain rising from the plains.
The Earth Dragon continued its rapid journey, while Li Che sat in the pavilion, sipping hot tea.
Elder Yun He squinted his eyes and pointed to the towering mountain, which seemed to pierce the heavens, with mist shrouding its midsection. He smiled and said, "This mountain is called Ruxuan Mountain. It was crafted by a powerful deity of the Obscure Heavenly Court using great divine power. In the Xuanxiao Sky, there are a total of thirty-three Ruxuan Mountains, known as the Thirty-Three Heavens."
"Each mountain is inscribed with spatial teleportation arrays, allowing travel to other realms and regions."
"The Nine Heavens and Earth are vast, and the Divine Engravings created by the godly engravers are the most important means of transportation, far more extensive than what this Earth Dragon can cover."
"For the Thousand Villages Divine Gambling Battle, if we advance, we can use this Ruxuan Mountain to reach the main battlefield of the Divine Gambling Battle."
Yun He stroked his beard and smiled.
Li Che listened, his gaze sweeping over the mountain. The Great Dao Pattern of the Primordial Heaven and Earth Struggle faintly appeared on his body, revealing the Primordial Spatial Tribulation Pattern.
As the Pattern emerged, Li Che immediately sensed the strong spatial aura emanating from the Ruxuan Mountain. His gaze seemed to see massive Divine Engravings scattered throughout the mountain, interconnected and emitting a spatial field.
"The Dao of Divine Engravings... fused with arrays."
In the Nine Heavens and Earth, the Dao of Divine Engravings was even more important than Li Che had imagined.
Misty corridors wound around the midsection of the mountain.
When the Cloud Peak Village team arrived at the designated area for the Earth Dragons, numerous other Earth Dragons were already resting there, their breaths resonating like thunder.
The foot of the mountain suddenly became bustling with activity, people moving about in great numbers.
Yun Huang and Yun Lei stayed close to Li Che. Li Che glanced around, taking in the various people with different appearances and styles.
"The Thousand Villages Divine Gambling Battle, developed jointly by the Two Saints and the Sanqing Ancient Village, as well as the pantheon, has become one of the most important events in the Nine Heavens and Earth."
"Therefore, most villages in the Xuanxiao Sky choose to participate, as the resources provided by the village’s mysterious temples are insufficient for each village."
Yun He sighed.
"Brother Mo Che, I have brought most of our village’s resources. Yun Huang and Yun Lei are our last hope for Cloud Peak Village."
Yun He said.
Li Che smiled and gently patted Yun Huang and Yun Lei’s heads. "They won’t let you down."
Rumbling sounds echoed through the sky as a powerful aura surged, shattering the void and creating a tidal wave.
Three figures appeared, led by a Path-Cutting Realm deity in luxurious robes, with an aura of divinity. Beside him were two Fusion Path deities.
These three deities were sent by the Obscure Heavenly Court to oversee the initial rules of the Thousand Villages Divine Gambling Battle in the Xuanxiao Sky.
As the three deities appeared, the Path-Cutting deity’s gaze swept over the crowd, his aura of power rolling down like a tidal wave, silencing the previously bustling foot of the Ruxuan Mountain.
Then, the Path-Cutting deity began to announce the rules of the preliminary selection.
After explaining the rules, the leading deity clapped his hands, sending out an invisible wave of energy.
A Divine Will then swept over the entire Ruxuan Mountain.
"Under the gaze of the gods, the Divine Gambling Battle begins. Witnessed by the pantheon, may the loser accept their fate."
The voice of the Obscure Heavenly Court’s Path-Cutting deity was ethereal and transcendent, resonating throughout the mountain.
Subsequently, the three deities transformed into pillars of light, gracefully landing on the peak of Ruxuan Mountain, sitting atop it and overseeing the village cultivators below.
The commotion at the foot of the mountain gradually subsided.
Yun He withdrew his gaze and gently tugged on Li Che's sleeve.
"Mr. Mo Che, each village has five chances to participate in the Divine Gambling Battle, which means they have five chances to place bets... If all five attempts fail, or if they can't come up with the stakes, the village loses its eligibility to participate in the Thousand Villages Divine Gambling Battle."
"The Divine Child gambling battle and the Divine Realm gambling battle—our Cloud Peak Village mainly relies on the Divine Child gambling battle..."
Yun He stroked his beard. "For the Divine Realm gambling battle... only I can participate, but... the chances are slim, more for the sake of participation."
After saying this, he couldn't help but give an awkward smile.
Although he was a Venerable of the Second Divine Tribulation, he was...
well past his prime, aged and weakened.
In his youth, he had indeed won many resources for Cloud Peak Village, but now he was old...
And Cloud Peak Village had not produced any new Venerables of the Divine Tribulation to carry the burden. Yun He had no solutions, and he even began to worry that with his aging and eventual passing, Cloud Peak Village might fall from the Five Palaces to the Six Ministries.
"Mr. Mo Che, for the first battle, let's be cautious and place a tenth of our bet to test Yun Huang and Yun Lei's combat state..."
"For the second battle, we can place a larger bet."
Yun He sought Li Che's opinion.
However, Li Che shook his head. "There's no need for that. Since we're here to win more resources from the Divine Gambling Battle, we should take bold risks."
"But for the first battle, we should indeed be cautious. We'll directly challenge a village from the Four Palaces..."
Yun He was stunned upon hearing this.
He suspected he had misheard.
Did he really hear Li Che suggest that directly challenging a higher-tier village was being cautious?
He was old, but he was still a Venerable of the Divine Tribulation and shouldn't be hard of hearing, right?
He looked at Li Che, then at Yun Huang and Yun Lei, who obediently followed with a mix of reverence and zeal. He gritted his teeth!
Challenging a higher-tier village was indeed a classic example of betting small to win big!
If they won, the resources they could gain would be much greater!
However, the risks of challenging a higher-tier village were also significant!
As they spoke, they had already arrived at the first Four Palaces village's white jade arena.
The white jade arena was enormous, about the size of five football fields.
Each white jade arena had a Supreme from the Obscure Heavenly Court overseeing the match, responsible for the refereeing.
Based on the village's tier, different levels of gambling arenas were designated. To step onto the arena, one needed to put down a minimum bet of divine crystals or Dao Essence Crystals.
If they lost, the bet would be split 70-30 between the winner and the Obscure Heavenly Court.
The Obscure Heavenly Court only took 30%, a decision made after an Immortal from the Two Saints Ancient Village met with an Immortal from the Obscure Heavenly Court.
Initially, the three major divine factions took 50% of the bets.
Despite controlling most of the resources in the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, the three major divine factions still maintained their greed, using the Divine Gambling Battle to drain the resources of the ancient villages.
However, to obtain resources, the ancient villages continued to participate in the Divine Gambling Battle, unable to resist.
This was a storm of open conspiracy that swept across the entire Nine Heavens and Ten Earths.
Yun He gritted his teeth, his face twitching. Challenging a higher-tier village carried significant risks...
Not only from the outcome of the match, but also from the risk to the participants' lives.
They could be killed on the arena.
Around the Four Palaces arena, numerous gazes fell upon them.
These people came from Five Palaces-tier ancient villages. From the divine aura emanating from Yun He, Yun Huang, and the others, they could determine the tier of their village's temple.
"Is a Five Palaces village challenging a Four Palaces village? It seems... this village is at the end of its rope, planning to take a bold risk. The Obscure Heavenly Court encourages higher-tier challenges. If they win, the Obscure Heavenly Court will add an extra bet, meaning that a successful higher-tier Divine Gambling Battle will result in double the reward!"
"Hmph—The rewards are generous, but they have to have a chance to win."
"Every year, there are such desperate ones trying to turn their fortunes around through higher-tier challenges, but most end up with tragic outcomes, harming the village's Divine Children. If they lead to their downfall, there's even less hope."
...
Voices rose and fell like the rustling of leaves in the wind, the sound waves like a tide.
Yun He's old face was a mix of unease.
Although higher-tier challenges could succeed... such successes were few and far between.
Whether it was the village's Divine Children or Divine Realm participants, they needed to far surpass their peers in talent and resources to achieve a higher-tier challenge.
With limited resources, surpassing an opponent with a higher tier and more resources was like climbing to the heavens!
Li Che's black robe fluttered in the wind. Zhang Ya held Little Su Da, following closely behind him, while Yun Huang and Yun Lei obediently trailed, their resolve unshaken by the surrounding whispers, which were like sharp blades.
Over the past month, Li Che had given them intensive training, making them fully realize just how powerful and mysterious this teacher truly was.
The Divine Embryo cultivation he displayed was certainly not his limit!
Yun Huang clenched her small fists, determined to do her best. She wanted to help her master find his daughter if she won the Divine Gambling Battle!
For Yun Huang, she didn't want to let her master down, so she would give it her all.
Yun He took a deep breath, nodded at Li Che, and then approached the Supreme of the Four Palaces seated at the White Jade Arena.
"The stakes for the Four Palaces Divine Gambling Battle start at ten Four Palaces Divine Crystals or one Four Palaces Dao Essence Crystal."
The Supreme of the Obscure Heavenly Court, dressed in official robes, had a cold and indifferent gaze.
Yun He had no choice but to take out all the stakes Cloud Peak Village had prepared, and even added some of his own, to barely meet the required bet.
"Agreed."
The Supreme of the Obscure Heavenly Court gave a faint smile.
"Your opponents will be randomly matched from the lower-level ancient villages of the Four Palaces..."
The Supreme then turned his gaze to the village chiefs of the lower-level ancient villages of the Four Palaces, who were swiftly arriving.
The village chiefs of the Four Palaces' ancient villages were all at the Supreme realm, and some of the chiefs from the higher-level ancient villages had even ignited the Godfire, becoming gods!
After a selection process, one of the Four Palaces' ancient villages secured the right to compete against Cloud Peak Village in the Divine Gambling Battle.
About fifteen minutes of preparation later.
In the waiting area below the White Jade Arena.
Li Che's gaze fell on Yun Huang. "Huang'er, get ready. You're up."
Yun Lei's eyes dimmed instantly.
Yun Huang clenched her fists, her excitement palpable.
"This match, no use of mechanisms, only Divine Armaments are allowed", Li Che said.
Yun Huang nodded vigorously, knowing this was a test from her master!
...
...
The wind blew, stirring up the sand and dust, swirling around.
Yun Huang stepped onto the White Jade Arena, where many fragments of sand lay scattered—remnants from previous battles.
She carried the hopes of the village on her shoulders. The cultivation resources for the village's children depended on winning the Divine Gambling Battle. Even though it was her first time participating, Yun Huang didn't want to lose at all!
She only wanted to win!
Boom—!!
Lifting her head, Yun Huang's divine aura surged, powerful life force intertwining and surging within her. The month of special training from Li Che, including the Divine Engraving visualization, had brought her state and cultivation to their peak.
Opposite her stood a ten-year-old child from a lower-level ancient village of the Four Palaces. Sensing Yun Huang's fierce fighting spirit, the child's body trembled, and divine aura burst forth from him as well.
"Stepping onto the Divine Gambling Battle arena, no one wants to lose! We're all fighting for our villages! Who wants to lose? Losing... is a waste of the village's resources!"
The young boy gritted his teeth. Even though his opponent was a prodigy from a five-elder ancient village, he didn't dare to underestimate or relax!
After all, he was standing on the White Jade Arena, and the outcome would determine the fate of the village's hard-earned stakes!
Would the stakes increase, or would they be completely depleted?
"Attack!"
Bang—!!
The prodigies of the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths were a different breed from ordinary prodigies.
These two children, one nine and the other ten, were both at the Great True Man of Divine Essence realm, having reached the peak of the Divine Essence stage with their Divine Essence Golden Cores fully formed, just one step away from the Divine Embryo realm.
Yun Huang's blood boiled, her crimson hair standing on end, each strand distinct, dancing in the wind. In the next moment, she clenched her fingers, and a long bow with intricate crimson patterns appeared in her hand.
Crimson flames continuously spewed from the bow.
This was a long bow Li Che had engraved for Yun Huang using the Divine Engraving technique, now classified as a Divine Armament of the Four Palaces level!
Li Che had named this bow the "Crimson Phoenix Withering and Flourishing Bow", and it was sealed with Solar True Fire and the Dao Reincarnation power of the Primordial Withering and Flourishing Branch.
Her feet lightly touched the ground, divine aura converging, Yun Huang drew the bow, took a step forward, and pulled the bowstring to its limit. It was as if an invisible bowstring was fully drawn, and countless flames converged, forming a spinning arrow on the Crimson Phoenix Withering and Flourishing Bow!
The young prodigy from the lower-level ancient village roared, his long spear trembling as he began to move at incredible speed across the White Jade Arena, creating numerous illusions.
However, as Yun Huang released her fingers, the Blood-Crying Phoenix Withering and Flourishing Arrow shot forth!
It was as if the heavens and earth resounded with the mournful cry of a divine phoenix. The long bow trembled, and the divine arrow sped forth!
One by one, the illusions exploded!
A blood hole burst open on the young boy's shoulder. He couldn't resist the force and was pinned to the White Jade Arena, blood flowing, staining the white jade red.
One arrow... and the enemy is down!
Buzz, buzz, buzz—
The sound of the longbow reverberating still echoed, as Yun Huang's fiery red hair danced in the air. Her bright eyes sparkled, and a smile curved her lips.
She heard that her teacher's daughter would also be participating in the Divine Gambling Battle.
If she and her teacher's daughter met at the peak of the Divine Gambling Battle...
What if she accidentally defeated her teacher's daughter? What should she do?
Should she hold back?!
After easily defeating her opponent, this thought popped into Yun Huang's mind, but she shook her head slightly, dispelling it.
She didn't need to think about that right now. What she needed to think about was how to continue winning the remaining gambles.
"This round of the Divine Gambling Battle, Cloud Peak Village wins, receiving the bet from Changlong Village. Additionally, because Cloud Peak Village's prodigy is challenging a higher rank, the bet is doubled!"
A divine official from the Obscure Heavenly Court, seated on the white jade arena, announced in a solemn voice.
At this moment, the strong figures from Changlong Village finally came to their senses, their faces twisted in an ugly, almost dripping gloom.
However, to prevent the opponent from winning just one round and then stopping, the rule for each ancient village participating in the Divine Gambling Battle was to complete at least two rounds.
"Do you want to continue or change participants?" the Supreme on the arena asked.
Yun Huang smiled lightly, gripping the Crimson Phoenix Bow and waving it gently.
She turned to look at her teacher, Mr. Mo, who stood in the rest area with his hands behind his back, wearing a black robe embroidered with golden lotuses.
Li Che gave her a warm smile, offering her strength and courage.
The second round began quickly. Changlong Village, having lost the first round due to a conservative and steady strategy, decided to change participants for the second round to win back the bet.
However, the result was the same.
Yun Huang's arrow shot out like a cloud-piercing arrow, instantly piercing through her opponent's chest and pinning them to the ground, causing a wound that looked severe but was actually not.
Two consecutive victories!
A beautiful smile bloomed on Yun Huang's face.
Below the arena, Yun He finally let out a long breath, his face creasing into a radiant smile.
He represented Cloud Peak Village to collect the winnings. After deducting the share for the Obscure Heavenly Court, the resources gained far exceeded what Cloud Peak Village could accumulate in a year!
(End of Chapter)
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