Chapter 148: Placing Bets

Xu Chen felt a bit discouraged; although he had barely managed to escape the state of being too poor to eat dirt, compared to these Core Disciples of Yuqing Hall, he was still of the variety that was too poor to eat dirt. Not to mention that he currently had no Third-Tier Spirit Materials of equal value on him, he couldn't even find two types of Second-Tier Spirit Materials, and their quality was so low that taking them out would only invite ridicule.

However, not getting his hands on treasures that appeared before him was not his style.

Especially with this group of smug fellows from Yuqing Hall; since a group of Elders looked down on him so much, they would certainly have nothing to say if he scraped some benefits from these fellow disciples. Otherwise, Yuqing Hall's reputation in the Song Kingdom Immortal World might truly collapse in the future.

After thinking it over, Xu Chen felt there was indeed nothing he could bet with. His gaze inadvertently swept over the two Seven-Colored Spirit Sparrows squatting on the roof of the great hall, and his eyes suddenly lit up. He flipped his hand to take out a Jade Bottle and said, "I wonder what the value of this Spirit Material of yours is, Brother Yi? I can use Taiyuan Soul-Entering Pills to wager against it."

"Wow, Taiyuan Soul-Entering Pills!" The entire plaza erupted into another round of intense commotion and noise.

Even Biyunzi, who was sitting in the great hall with his eyes slightly closed, couldn't help but tremble and open his eyes, his face full of astonishment.

This time, Baiyun Zhenjun had kept Xu Chen at Yuqing Hall with the goal of having him help refine more Taiyuan Soul-Entering Pills.

But for the proud and arrogant Alchemy Hall, the matter of needing a small cultivator from the Kaiyuan Realm from another sect to help refine pills was a bit of a slap in the face that they couldn't bear. Therefore, he had originally intended to make it a condition that Xu Chen refine a batch of Taiyuan Soul-Entering Pills on the spot to allow him to enter the Alchemy Hall's Scripture Pavilion to observe. The goal was naturally to rely on his own two hundred years of alchemy experience to crack the refining method of the Taiyuan Soul-Entering Pill.

But unfortunately, Xu Chen didn't take the bait at all.

He would rather not look at the pill recipe inheritance of Yuqing Hall than refine pills on the spot.

Now, the fourth-generation disciple Han Qing had brought a turning point to this matter.

If he won against Xu Chen, he could naturally win back some face.

And if he lost, it would also count as having completed Baiyun Zhenjun's instructions.

However, because of Yi Zhen's intrusion, it led to Xu Chen actually being willing to take out Taiyuan Soul-Entering Pills to bet, which also gave the Alchemy Hall a good opportunity.

As good as the Third-Tier Spirit Material Red Cloud Gold Sand was, it was merely an item for artifact refining, but a precious and miraculous pill like the Taiyuan Soul-Entering Pill was a priceless treasure to every cultivator in Yuqing Hall.

Last time, Yuqing Hall had traded for thirty pills from the Taiyuan Sect; ten of them were kept in the Danyuan to be broken down as test subjects, while the remaining twenty were distributed to a group of Core Disciples and Elders to swallow and experience their miraculous effects.

Although Yuqing Hall still wanted to purchase them on a large scale, the Taiyuan Sect would not sell, claiming that production was limited.

But the group of Elders only learned this time that not only could Xu Chen refine Taiyuan Soul-Entering Pills, but the Spirit Medicine used was low in cost, and he even had so much that he tossed them to the Spirit Sparrows as snacks along the way.

However, they were Xu Chen's things after all; they couldn't rob him, they couldn't buy them, and whether Xu Chen would help refine pills was an unknown variable—heaven knows how many bottles he would end up helping to refine.

If they could take this opportunity to pressure him, as long as they won this round, they could also get some ready-made pills from Xu Chen, which would sound much better when word got out.

As for losing, Biyunzi felt the probability was very low. As long as he gave secret guidance, with Han Qing's strength, there was about a fifty percent chance of successfully refining the Seven Spirit Pill. Looking at how Xu Chen was still identifying materials, there was basically no possibility of success.

In other words, this alchemy challenge was a sure win for Yuqing Hall.

Therefore, Biyunzi whispered a few words of Divine Sense Transmission. Yi Zhen listened silently and then said, "This piece of Red Cloud Gold Sand of mine is ranked in the upper-middle of the third grade, weighing seven jin and nine liang. If converted into Spirit Stones, it is worth at least one thousand. Daoist Friend Xu can use an equivalent amount of Taiyuan Soul-Entering Pills to wager."

When Xu Chen heard this, he was overjoyed. He tossed an entire bottle of Spirit Pills onto the stone table next to the Red Cloud Gold Sand and said, "There are eight Taiyuan Soul-Entering Pills in this bottle of mine. There's no need to be stingy and count them one or two at a time. If Brother Han wins, this whole bottle is yours; the extra few pills are a bonus. How about it?"

Yi Zhen nodded hurriedly upon hearing this and said, "Good, it's a deal!"

Xu Chen turned his head to look at the hundreds of Yuqing Hall cultivators watching the excitement and said, "If any fellow Daoists are interested, you can also place bets. No matter what treasures you take out, as long as the value is worth one Taiyuan Soul-Entering Pill, I can wager against it. If you win, the treasure is mine; if you lose, the Spirit Pills are yours. If you don't have enough treasures, Spirit Stones can also make up the difference!"

"Whoa~"

The scene instantly turned chaotic. Countless cultivators scrambled to search through their Storage Bags. Many took out Spirit Materials and Spirit Medicines with rolling Spirit Qi and surged toward the competition arena, shouting that they wanted to place bets.

The group of proctoring old Daoists sitting at the entrance of the great hall were all moved. While surprised and happy, they began to communicate with Biyunzi inside the great hall via Divine Sense Transmission.

Soon, the short, thin old Daoist in the middle stood up, his aura suppressing the entire scene. After the scene quieted down, he said, "Since it is a wager, we few Alchemy Hall deacons and Elders can act as witnesses. However, I do not know how many Taiyuan Soul-Entering Pills Little Friend Xu can take out; there are quite a few disciples who want to place bets."

Xu Chen thought for a moment, flipped his hand, and tossed five more Jade Bottles onto the stone table, saying, "I only have these six bottles on me right now, so I can accept at most fifty more pills' worth of wagers."

"Five bottles!" The old Daoist felt a bit regretful, but he still smiled and nodded, saying, "Very well, five bottles are worth ten thousand Spirit Stones, which is certainly not a small amount. Let it be so."

Thus, a large group of Yuqing Hall disciples who wanted to place bets surged forward again.

Xu Chen turned to look at Lan You, Yun Xi, Ling Shuang, and the others, smiling, "There are too many people, I don't recognize them. Besides, I still need to study the pill recipe and identify the Spirit Medicine, so I will trouble you few fairies to help me evaluate the items wagered by the fellow Daoists and keep a record. After the competition ends, whether I win or lose, I will have gifts for you."

Lan You said, unable to laugh or cry, "Then Daoist Friend Xu should focus on refining pills. My junior sisters and I will help you record the betting information."

Ling Shuang, Chen Ying, and the other female cultivators all nodded with strange expressions. Yun Xi even took out a Spirit Material and said with a giggle, "Daoist Friend Xu, I also want to bet to win a Taiyuan Soul-Entering Pill from you."

Xu Chen's face darkened, "This Spirit Material of yours doesn't look valuable at all. I can't give you even half a pill for it!"

Yun Xi pouted immediately. Lan You hurriedly pulled her and said, "Junior Sister, don't interrupt. Don't affect Daoist Friend Xu's alchemy."

The few female cultivators nearby covered their mouths and giggled together.

Whether Xu Chen won or lost didn't matter to them, but this was the first time they had experienced such a lively scene. Xu Chen was so young but so wild at heart, completely different from all their fellow brothers and sisters in Yuqing Hall, which gave them a very novel feeling.

So, under Lan You's leadership, the six graceful and beautiful fairies stepped forward to begin evaluating the various treasures sent for betting. The conditions for acceptance were sorted by value from high to low; the higher the value, the easier it was to bet. Those who had to take out several items to make up two hundred Spirit Stones, or even those who took out piles of scattered Spirit Stones to make up the count, could only be left for last to fill in based on the number of Taiyuan Soul-Entering Pills.

Soon, as the betting progressed, more and more various Spirit Materials and Spirit Medicines piled up on the stone tables, some shining brightly, others placed in Spirit Boxes or Jade Bottles.

If items worth ten thousand Spirit Stones were used to exchange for ordinary First-Tier Spirit items, it would be countless. Even for ordinary Second-Tier or Third-Tier Spirit items, they were generally worth at most a few dozen to a hundred Spirit Stones. Therefore, after this exchange, it quickly became several large piles.

While the group of people was busy with the lively betting, Xu Chen had already calmed his mind and continued to sort and organize the Spirit Medicine.

Han Qing was also immersed in learning the pill recipe with excitement, and Biyunzi's Divine Sense Transmission kept coming to his ears, continuously teaching him some techniques and insights for refining the Seven Spirit Pill.

Cheating on exams happened everywhere. If it were an ordinary cultivator transmitting, Xu Chen would naturally be able to detect and interfere, but Biyunzi's cultivation was too high, far exceeding his perception ability, so even if he knew, he could only stare helplessly.

Moreover, he was now focused and didn't care to concern himself with this matter at all.

As long as Biyunzi hadn't reached the point of being shameless enough to personally step in and help, he would definitely have a chance to win.

Of course, wanting to win was still very difficult.

This pill recipe was too complex; many Spirit Medicines had never been seen or even heard of, and refining them would certainly be quite difficult.

But he believed in his own strength.

In fact, since his first time refining pills, he had never failed in any ordinary Spirit Pill, whether it was First-Grade or Second-Grade; he had always succeeded on the first try. This was closely related to his Soul after merging with the Blue Light Treasure Bottle; he would almost never lose control of his mind regardless of the situation.

Furthermore, he had some basic experience and energy in artifact refining, making his control over his Soul even more meticulous.

The precise application of Divine Sense and Yuan Qi was the greatest guarantee for success in alchemy and artifact refining.

Another nearly quarter of an hour passed amidst the noise and clamor.

Lan You and the others finally finished receiving all the wagers.

On the five stone tables, there were the Red Cloud Gold Sand, the six bottles of Taiyuan Soul-Entering Pills, other categorized treasures, and a large pile of Spirit Stones.

The plaza gradually quieted down.

At this time, Xu Chen had also finished identifying and organizing all the Spirit Medicine. He had also put away two portions, leaving only one on the stone table in front of him. However, it was arranged in a messy and disorganized way, a completely different style from the neat and tidy appearance in front of Han Qing.

Under this comparison, almost everyone was certain that Xu Chen would lose the competition.

As for those cultivators who had successfully placed their bets, they all excitedly clenched their fists and held their breath in anticipation, and all strictly ordered the fellow disciples around them not to make a sound and disturb the alchemy competition.

Xu Chen slightly closed his eyes and pressed the Jade Slip against his brow to view the pill recipe.

Han Qing, however, suddenly put down the pill recipe and began to activate the Pill Furnace in front of him.

"Wow, Senior Brother Han has already started!"

"Shh, keep shouting and be careful I beat you up!"

After a slight commotion and clamor among the crowd, it soon quieted down again.

(End of this chapter)