Chapter 755: Temptation

"The three of us naturally know the trickiness of this, but when the Mulan people were attacking all the way here, they captured quite a few cultivators. Among them, the majority are Fellow Daoists from the Nine Nations Alliance, but there are also quite a few from our various sects and factions who have fallen. I heard the envoy say that this batch of people is as many as a thousand," Supreme Master Brother Zhiyang said with a gloomy expression.

"What do you mean by this? Could it be that if we don't accept the gambling battle, they would dare to kill the captives? If that's the case, aren't the Mulan people afraid that we would use other means to retaliate?" the old man surnamed Kuang was startled and blurted out.

"The envoy didn't say anything about killing captives, but he kept saying that he was giving us an opportunity to rescue these cultivators. Ten gambling matches; besides betting these materials, they are adding over a hundred captured cultivators to each match. As long as we win, these people can be released," Supreme Master Brother Zhiyang continued.

Upon hearing this, the old monsters present looked at each other.

At first glance, these thousand or so cultivators didn't seem like many, and most of them were low-tier cultivators with low cultivation bases, so it seemed they didn't need to be threatened by the opponent. But if anyone truly proposed not to save these people, they would immediately become the target of public criticism.

One must know that these cultivators didn't count for much, but the families and large and small sects they represented were extremely numerous. Especially since quite a few of these cultivators were captured by the Mulan people while trying to delay the Dharma Master offensive. If they were not saved, I'm afraid the morale of the army would be severely dampened before the war even started, and the low-tier cultivators would feel chilled. Many people would no longer fight with all their might.

"To think that these grassland barbarians could actually use such a trick. During the previous few invasions, they rarely used strategies, but this time, the moment they made a move, it was vicious enough. Even knowing it's improper, we have no choice but to jump in," Long Han sighed and said in agreement.

How could the others not understand Long Han's words? They also felt extremely helpless in their hearts and cursed the Mulan people's cunning.

"It seems everyone has already understood. We have to accept this gambling battle whether we want to or not. No matter what the opponent's intention is, we must defeat the Dharma Master army in the gambling battle; otherwise, the blow to morale will be no small matter. And looking at the gambling battle method proposed by the opponent, it doesn't look like they will do anything underhanded during the battle; most likely they have other ideas. So the participating Fellow Daoists don't need to worry about suffering any secret losses. If there is anything improper, we will also directly intervene to stop this battle. Of course, since this is a life-and-death battle, whether you are willing to participate is entirely up to you, Fellow Daoists. The three of us will not force you," Supreme Master Brother Zhiyang said solemnly after scanning the people in the hall.

"Voluntary?" As soon as these words entered the ears of the old monsters, everyone sneered in their hearts, and then they all remained silent with flickering gazes.

No one was stupid! Not to mention that this gambling battle was highly suspicious, even if it weren't, no one was willing to fight a life-and-death battle. After all, having cultivated to their current realm, which one of them hadn't gone through hundreds of years of bitter cultivation to finally get ahead? How could they easily put themselves in danger?

Han Li also had a calm expression and had no intention of sticking his neck out. Although he didn't mind contributing some effort to this great war, it had to be under the condition that his life was not endangered. The last Battle of Mount Huanglong almost cost him his little life, and he didn't want to experience it again.

Seeing the expressions of the people in the hall, the Hehuan Old Demon's expression sank, and he snorted coldly. The snort was icy and bone-chilling, shaking the cultivators present so that their expressions changed slightly, but everyone still sat high, and no one stood up to respond.

Seeing this, Supreme Master Brother Zhiyang shook his head, a trace of helplessness appearing on his face. And Wei Wei Wuya narrowed his eyes, saying nothing, not knowing what he was thinking.

Supreme Master Brother Zhiyang did not let this awkward situation continue and spoke up again:

"The two other Fellow Daoists and I discussed it before coming. This gambling battle is indeed a bit dangerous. So, for the cultivators who participate, if they win, the precious materials won in the gambling battle will belong to the winning Fellow Daoist privately, which can be considered as making up for the risks of participating this time. I wonder what you Fellow Daoists think? And according to what I know, a few Fellow Daoists are currently lacking several types of precious materials in their cultivation and have been searching everywhere but cannot find them. The three of us do have some collections and can satisfy these few Fellow Daoists."

As soon as Supreme Master Brother Zhiyang finished speaking, his gaze swept across the faces of a few people. Surprisingly, it included Han Li.

Han Li's heart tightened, and he became somewhat suspicious.

The others were also not ordinary cultivators, and expressions of shock and suspicion also flashed across their faces.

Although the Daoist stated tempting conditions, most people were moved by them, but for a time, no one stood out to propose participating in the gambling battle.

But just at this moment, Wei Wei Wuya, who had been silent all along, suddenly looked up at the Master Suihun True Person on the side. His lips moved a few times, and he actually transmitted his voice over.

The Master Suihun True Person, who had been hanging his head and lowering his brows, changed his expression. At first, he was startled, and then a look of pleasant surprise appeared on his face.

After listening to a few more sentences, the Master Suihun True Person opened and closed his mouth silently, actually starting to discuss with Wei Wei Wuya.

A moment later, the Master Suihun True Person looked hesitant, his expression flickering.

At the same time, the burly man in black robes also transmitted his voice to the Hehuan Old Demon.

This Old Demon had had an indifferent expression ever since arriving in the great hall, but after hearing the transmission from this Great Elder of his own sect, he immediately frowned, and his expression turned somewhat gloomy. It was unknown what the burly man had told him.

"Good, as long as the Supreme Master can keep his promise, what does it matter if I, this True Person, take a risk?" The Master Suihun True Person pondered for a while and actually said this.

Hearing these words, the other old monsters were stunned.

But just at this moment, the Yunlu Old Demon also spoke:

"Since Fellow Daoist Master Suihun is participating, I, although untalented, will also go for a trip. It would be too much of a pity not to take so many precious materials," the Old Demon said with a cold laugh. But a trace of anger appeared between his brows, and he seemed full of unhappiness.

The other cultivators looked at each other, and although they didn't say anything, they were secretly shocked.

Regardless of why the two of them were persuaded, it made the rest of the people feel uneasy.

Sure enough, the following three great cultivators, one after another, separately transmitted their voices to a few people for detailed discussions. As a result, after these people finished listening, most of them agreed to the gambling battle trip with either joy or worry. Only two people shook their heads with cold faces and flatly refused the matter.

Seeing this scene, Han Li's mind raced with various thoughts. But just at this moment, Supreme Master Brother Zhiyang's voice reached his ears.

"Fellow Daoist Han, I heard that you are searching everywhere for a large amount of Geng Essence; I wonder if this is true?"

Han Li had vaguely anticipated this. But upon hearing these words, he couldn't help but feel his heart thump twice. It was not a secret that he had asked the Heaven Dao Alliance to help him search for Geng Essence, so it was not strange at all that the other side knew about it.

"Not bad, Han indeed needs some Geng Essence to refine magic treasures. Could it be that Fellow Daoist Brother Zhiyang has a large amount of this item in his hands?" Han Li stabilized his mind and asked without changing his expression.

"Hehe! Fellow Daoist Han guessed correctly; Wei and I each have a not-so-small piece of Geng Essence. The quantity should be enough for you, Fellow Daoist. Are you interested in taking a look, Fellow Daoist?" Supreme Master Brother Zhiyang said with a smile.

"I must first see if the Geng Essence is satisfactory before I will consider participating in the battle," Han Li pondered for a moment and replied without committing himself.

Supreme Master Brother Zhiyang chuckled and readily agreed.

Thus, within a short period of time, five people had successively agreed to the matter, and a few others, like Han Li, had to consider it first before giving a definite answer. But this had already made Brother Zhiyang and the others extremely satisfied.

They immediately stopped transmitting voices to others and began to arrange the specific matters of how to deal with the Dharma Master army.

Sitting in the hall, listening to the old monsters discussing the reality of the Dharma Master army and the details of how to use array flags and other array-setting tools to deal with the extremely tricky spiritual art arrays of the Dharma Masters, Han Li's mind had long since flown away, thinking about the Geng Essence.

To tell the truth, Han Li was truly not satisfied with the power of his own natal magic treasure, the Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords.

This was not to say that this set of flying swords was inferior to the natal magic treasures of other cultivators. It was because the enemies he encountered were either extremely weak or extremely strong. Against extremely weak opponents, there was no need to mobilize the flying swords; the Azure Origin Sword Qi alone was enough to kill the opponent. Against extremely strong enemies, their cultivation bases were generally higher than his, and the flying swords were truly somewhat like chicken ribs.

However, when he saw the last divine ability recorded on the book pages, the "Great Geng Sword Array," Han Li finally understood the terror of the Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords combined with the Azure Origin Sword Technique. Even if he could only display a small portion of this sword array's power, it would be enough to contend with a Core Formation late-stage cultivator.

As for that Void Heaven Cauldron, although it was boasted to the heavens by Silver Moon, Han Li had always held three parts of doubt about its actual power before seeing it with his own eyes.

Therefore, this Great Geng Sword Array was absolutely a great divine ability for him to establish himself in the cultivation world in the future.

Because of this, he must get his hands on a large amount of Geng Essence. Otherwise, he would be unable to refine the sword array.

But whether he should really participate in the gambling battle for this, Han Li still couldn't make up his mind for a moment. After thinking for a while, he decided to see the quantity of Geng Essence provided by the other side first. If the provided Geng Essence was enough, giving him great hope of refining the Great Geng Sword Array, then participating in this gambling battle was not out of the question.

As long as the opponent was not those Mulan Divine Masters, he naturally wouldn't fear anyone. Even if the Mulan people did something underhanded in the gambling battle, with the power of the Wind and Thunder Wings and the Purple Luo Heavenly Fire, could a mere barrier really trap him?

Han Li made up his mind. His mind calmed down again, and he began to listen carefully to the discussion of the cultivators.

This gathering lasted for nearly an hour. Among the three great cultivators, Supreme Master Brother Zhiyang was clearly the leader. The Hehuan Old Demon occasionally added supplementary remarks. And Wei Wei Wuya was silent, not saying a few words in total.

However, during the discussion, whether it was Supreme Master Brother Zhiyang or the Hehuan Old Demon, both clearly held Long Han in high regard. Whenever they encountered matters related to the Heaven Dao Alliance, they would ask for his opinion. It seemed that the words that Long Han and his wife could contend with one of the three great cultivators were indeed true.

Finally, the matters were discussed almost completely, and some more specific duties were assigned to those cultivators who did not participate in the gambling battle.

Then, with Supreme Master Brother Zhiyang's words of "Fellow Daoists, go back and prepare," everyone bid farewell and left one after another. But three cultivators were left behind alone, and Han Li was among them.

The other two were the Yunlu Old Demon and a beautiful woman with a bloodless face. This woman had been silent just like Han Li during the discussion just now.

===== CHAPTER 756 =====