Chapter 255: The Heavenly Dao Lottery

The speaker was the fat Daoist Priest, but his gaze came from a distant future, the river of time manifesting, as if a figure were about to merge with the fat Daoist Priest inside the coffin.

Qu Yanping's soul trembled in terror; the seed of fear planted during his last appraisal of a heavenly artifact sprouted from within his heart's soil.

He wanted to flee, so the surrounding scene shifted rapidly, his vision about to cross time and return to his body—but the path back was far longer than he imagined.

He saw it: ninety-nine dragon vein ancestral mountains swallowing life-star planets to forge an immortal cauldron, and again the fat Daoist Priest burying himself generation after generation, each time reviving after countless eons under different identities to achieve greatness.

Ahead lay nothingness, as if the past had been severed at the waist.

"Young friend? What's wrong?" The fat Daoist Priest's voice sounded.

Though Qu Yanping's return from observation took only an instant, in that instant his face turned ghastly, his sweat soaking through his clothes.

"Wang! Fatso, are you threatening someone?!" The Black Emperor stepped forward two paces, baring his teeth, ferocious: "I knew something was off about your stuff!"

"Disgusting! You fatso should be dragged out and stabbed a hundred times, a hundred times!" The Purple Gold Dragon tried shoving the bronze artifact into his own arms.

Duan De hurried forward to snatch it back, thinking grimly: This kid must have seen something.

He had originally planned to use other timelines to do some "business" in this world to offset losses from recent pursuit—but now, if this wasn't handled well, changing his identity was minor; being held hostage by this black dog and this eel was major.

"Young friend, speak plainly—how could a poor Daoist sell fakes, right?" Duan De forced a kind smile, his fat cheeks making him look every inch the benevolent elder:

"I assure you, I have no fakes here—all are genuine artifacts, though some are badly damaged."

Amid the gazes of the crowd, Qu Yanping's eyes flickered, then he feigned indifference and said:

"There are many fine items here, with quite extraordinary origins—I was merely stunned."

"See? Who says I sell fakes? I hate fake-sellers more than anything in this life!" Duan De shook his robe.

The man, the dog, and the dragon began another round of bickering, while Qu Yanping had no other thoughts left.

The origin of this Daoist Priest was terrifying beyond measure.

Each life he was an immensely powerful supreme cultivator; each life he buried himself, reviving again and again, awakening from corpse to spirit.

Yet no one knew—how many lives had this Daoist Priest passed through?

Did his endless cycles of reincarnation conceal some supreme secret?

Qu Yanping immediately abandoned further thought—only by avoiding the secrets of such beings could one survive longer; his cultivation pierced heaven, even the river of time could not stop him.

'I must not offend him.'

No wonder—he appeared weak in cultivation, yet showed no fear of this five-clawed Purple Gold Dragon; his hidden cards were enough to make him fearless of all under heaven.

"You're saying this thing is really worth fifty thousand spirit stones?" The dog demon asked, holding the long-life lock.

"I don't know if it's worth it, but I sensed traces of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas constantly refining it." Qu Yanping deliberately chose his words:

"Elders, my strength is limited—besides this golden lock, I can confirm only a dozen or so other items here are ancient relics."

Qu Yanping chose not to take sides, for he could not afford to offend any of them; better to find a chance to leave quickly than flatter the terrifying Daoist.

In this world, everyone you meet is a great figure—he hadn't even assessed the dog demon yet, but given this world's malevolent nature, even if the dog demon were an Immortal King reincarnated, he wouldn't be surprised, let alone that the dog demon had already claimed to have once served a certain Emperor.

He knew the Hun Tian Di—but what was an Emperor?

He'd have to visit the Yuzhe Sect again sometime; Mr. Klein and Mr. Amon there were quite decent—if he helped them, they'd gladly share some of this world's secrets with him.

"Fatso, I'm taking everything on your stall!" The Purple Gold Dragon shoved several storage bags into Duan De's arms: "Here's your reward! Keep the change!"

"Get lost! That's not even enough for a fart!" Duan De cursed, then grinned at Qu Yanping: "Young brother, we're fated—I'll let you pick any one item from my stock."

Qu Yanping, who had been formulating his exit, froze—he hadn't expected such fortune; clearly, keeping the secret had paid off.

"Thank you, Elder!" Qu Yanping restrained his joy, hesitated no longer, and picked up a broken bowl.

The next instant, his hand was tightly gripped by the fat Daoist.

Qu Yanping's heart skipped a beat; he asked, puzzled: "Elder…"

"This item is my daily eating utensil—ha, sorry, I forgot to mention this bowl's always been right before me, so you mistook it for merchandise. My apologies." Duan De smiled apologetically, plucking the bowl from Qu Yanping's hand.

"I see…" Qu Yanping noticed the bowl had indeed always rested before the Daoist, so he didn't question it: "Elder, don't mention it—I was the one at fault."

The Daoist released his hand, gesturing for him to continue.

Qu Yanping picked up a Bai Yu short sword; though marred by cracks, from the visions he'd seen, it had once cleaved apart the great sun.

He was about to leave with the sword when his hand was seized again.

"Elder…" Qu Yanping wasn't stupid—he immediately understood the intent, yet still forced a smile: "What's the reason now?"

"This sword belonged to a senior of my sect—I've come to realize I still can't bear to part with it." Duan De wiped nonexistent tears, snatching the sword from Qu Yanping's grasp: "Keep going."

"." Qu Yanping couldn't fathom why a powerful being would behave this way—if this weren't a man of deep origins but an ordinary person, he'd make him feel the agony of soul-drilling torment.

【Layman, you're not being honest~ You clearly know which items have origins!】

"Kid, keep picking." The dog demon stepped forward, pressing a claw firmly on Qu Yanping's head: "Find me everything—pull out every single item! I'll teach you ancient array patterns!"

A divine array pattern, containing ultimate truth, connects the forces of heaven and earth to form the shape one desires.

"This?!" Qu Yanping's eyes widened slightly—he hadn't expected the dog demon to truly grant him such an opportunity; this was a technique for summoning heavenly forces unlike anything he'd ever seen!

"I'm packing up." Duan De wasn't fazed, pretending to gather his stall.

"You dare leave? I'll team up with this dead dog and beat you!" The Purple Gold Dragon raised an eyebrow, holding a cellphone: "My brother used to be the Hun Tian Di—if you leave, I'll call my brother Song to deal with you!"

"So what if he used to be the Hun Tian Di?!" Duan De cursed, but his hands stopped moving: "I, Duan De, despise people like you who rely on connections!"

It seemed he'd just heard some unimaginable term.

Qu Yanping felt his heart freeze.

The dog demon Black Emperor had unknown origins, the Daoist Duan De was untouchable, the Purple Gold Dragon was a connection man—could a demonic cultivator like him, who'd barely scraped together some luck and was trying to go straight, possibly handle such company?

Was this too absurd?

"Enough, young disciple—hurry and choose." The Black Emperor urged.

More and more cultivators gathered, some daring to approach and ask prices—but the fat Daoist Duan De ignored them all.

【Layman, hide a few good items and use others to send them away! I'll leave you one—this time I swear a Heart Demon Oath!】

Qu Yanping sighed bitterly and selected about ten items from the stall.

"First off, you dead dog and you eel, each of you can buy at most three items!" Duan De looked as if they'd just scored a massive bargain.

"We want to buy too!" a cultivator shouted.

"Did your brother once serve the Dao? Did you ever lick the Emperor's boots? Go sit in the corner!" Duan De cursed.

The Black Emperor and the Purple Gold Divine Dragon exchanged a glance, then smiled as they selected items from Qu Yanping's choices.

Not long after…

"Pay up!" Duan De, eyes red, snapped at the other two.

"Don't rush. You fat bastard really can't afford this?" The Purple Gold Divine Dragon winked, openly sneering: "Didn't expect your shabby stall actually had decent goods."

"Would anything from the Shanhai Ruins not be valuable?" Duan De's voice trembled, as if his heart were bleeding: "Eel, sixty thousand. Dead dog, fifteen thousand. Pick something expensive, you poor dog!"

Amid Duan De's curses, the dragon and the dog completed payment.

"Now it's your turn, layman. Pick one item." Duan De looked at Qu Yanping.

"Go ahead. With the Dragon Elder here, he won't dare cheat you." The Purple Gold Divine Dragon slapped Qu Yanping's shoulder. "Pick the best one."

Qu Yanping glanced at the remaining artifacts. Though all bore great origins, many were severely damaged and useless, or required immense cost to repair…

He picked up a spearhead of unknown material. Compared to the others, it looked utterly ordinary, covered in rust.

Qu Yanping met Duan De's gaze. Duan De stared with desperate longing, even swallowing saliva—he clearly knew Qu Yanping had chosen the finest item here.

Qu Yanping made no move. Only after Duan De sighed and waved his hand in silence did he finally pocket the spearhead.

"Thank you, Elder." Qu Yanping bowed deeply.

He turned to leave.

"Wait!" Duan De called out.

Qu Yanping turned back, helpless, daring not to ask—only to obey.

To be honest, this feeling of walking on thin ice was unbearable.

Yet Duan De wore a cheerful grin as he asked:

"Layman, do you have time in a few days to accompany this Daoist to the Kunlun Ruins?"

"If you cooperate with me, we might unearth one Daoic relic after another."

He wants me to work for him…

Qu Yanping pondered, then shook his head. "I am shallow and unskilled—I fear I'd only burden you. Moreover, I've already made prior arrangements with several friends. I beg your pardon, Elder."

His character was poor; Qu Yanping had no desire to associate further with such powerful figures. Better to keep his distance.

"Pity." Duan De sighed, extending his hand. "Hand it over."

Qu Yanping pulled out the spearhead, expressionless.

"Who told you to hand me that!" Duan De, rarely angry, snapped. He glanced at the dragon and dog, who were tensing to act. "Pay me! I said you could pick one item—I never said I'd give it to you!"

"Woof! So shameless!" The Black Emperor sneered. "I'm a dog, but you're even more of a dog!"

"Why not just call him 'Depraved'?" The Purple Gold Divine Dragon scoffed.

Are you two any better?! Duan De wanted to retort immediately—but he reminded himself to focus on the matter at hand.

"This item is worth fifty thousand spirit stones. Since you helped me greatly, I'll give you a ten percent discount: five thousand spirit stones." Duan De curled his fingers, urging: "How about it? Haven't I treated you well?"

Qu Yanping froze. Duan De had never said he'd give it away—and indeed, the spearhead had been labeled at fifty thousand spirit stones…

But he didn't even have five thousand in total!

He had less than three thousand altogether—every bit accumulated over these past days. What could he do?!

If he had another month, he might even gather fifty thousand… but now?

"You don't have any spirit stones, do you?" Duan De's face lit up. "Wu Liang Tian Zun! Don't say I didn't give you a chance—if you can't afford five thousand, walk away. It means this artifact and you have no destiny!"

Murmurs rose from the crowd. Not hostile, but they reminded Qu Yanping of the atmosphere in the Qu family over a decade ago.

The surrounding murmurs reached him; though not malicious, they reminded Qu Yanping of the atmosphere in the Qu family over a decade ago.

Qu Yanping fell silent, then smiled lightly. "It seems so."

He lifted the spearhead with both hands, preparing to return it to the man before him.

Duan De's delight was unmistakable—he reached out eagerly.

Duan De made no effort to hide his delight and reached out to take it.

A storage bag slammed into Duan De's face.

Qu Yanping turned in surprise. There stood the purple-haired youth—once the Purple Gold Divine Dragon—eyes sharp, brow calm, no trace of his earlier insolence.

"I despise scum like you!" The Purple Gold Divine Dragon's voice was icy. "I'll pay his spirit stones! I lack everything—but never spirit stones."

Qu Yanping's arms slowly lowered. A strange, unfamiliar emotion stirred within him.

Qu Yanping watched this scene, his arm slowly sinking, an unprecedented emotion arising unconsciously within him.

Qu Yanping opened his mouth to speak—but found no words. He bowed instead.

"Thank you, Divine Dragon Elder!" Qu Yanping said.

"The Dragon Elder said you won't be shortchanged." The Purple Gold Divine Dragon lifted his chin. "But I'm curious—what's the origin of that spearhead?"

Hearing the question, Qu Yanping knew he could no longer pretend. "A cultivator fought countless powerful beings in the Star River. This was all that remained—slightly damaged."

"With your current strength, you can't refine it or repair and awaken it." The Purple Gold Divine Dragon stroked his chin, smiling.

Qu Yanping fell silent for several seconds. "Indeed."

"How many spirit stones do you have?" the Dragon asked.

Qu Yanping hesitated. "Two thousand seven hundred and eighty-three."

"Don't say I'm taking advantage." The Purple Gold Divine Dragon shifted back into his true form—a hundred-zhang dragon coiling through the sky, his golden eyes radiating majesty:

"I'll trade you one Daoic relic for that spearhead. Will you accept?"

"I, Great Dragon, will trade with you a marvel of the Dao's mystery—will you agree?"

Seeing Qu Yanping suspected he had misheard, he cried out, "What?!"

A rectangular sheet of black and yellow paper floated before Qu Yanping.

"The Heavenly Dao Big Lottery: pay ten Spirit Stones for one draw. The prize pool contains immortal fruits, Dao techniques, and even Heavenly Dao wonders—though the odds are low."

"Every time you spend a thousand Spirit Stones, you receive a fixed reward: something like a resurrection spell. If you're willing, Old Dragon here will take a loss—you give me another thousand Spirit Stones, and I'll trade this for it."

The Purple Gold Divine Dragon explained the use and effects of this Heavenly Dao wonder.

Qu Yanping could not believe it at all; he even thought he was dreaming.

【Help me identify some things when you have time.】

The other party seemed to be seeking his help, yet this was far too generous.

"Alright…" Qu Yanping said, filled with gratitude.

……

……

After the three great figures vanished, Qu Yanping shook off the harassing cultivators and reached a secluded spot, clutching the Big Lottery tightly in his hand, as if grasping his future!

(End of Chapter)