Who Brought Him into the Cultivation World?

”I bet you’ll definitely fall within seven steps!”

Can’t deny, the old Daoist’s way of betting is quite unique, daring to bet on something he would surely lose.

Upon hearing the old Daoist’s words, Han Yu immediately burst out laughing.

Bet? Why not!

He agreed almost without thinking.

Little did he know there was more to it, the old Daoist added with a smile, ”That’s right, since it’s a bet, if you lose, you have to give me something of yours.”

”Does it have to come with a price?”

Han Yu was taken aback, which made the old Daoist roll his eyes.

”Without stakes, how can it be called a bet? If you win, I’ll let you go; if you lose, give me something of yours, very reasonable.”

That’s true, but who knows what he wants?

”Anything on you will do.”

The old Daoist seemed to guess Han Yu’s thoughts and quickly added.

Han Yu thought to himself, he still had a Spiritual Treasure he got from a small grotto, so it’s not impossible.

”Alright, I’ll give this if I lose.”

As he took out the item and accepted the wager, a mysterious force subtly enveloped them both.

”Come on, start walking.”

The old Daoist stroked his long beard with a smile, signaling Han Yu to begin.

Stepping out with the first step, nothing happened.

Second step, still nothing.

This bet was almost like giving away the win; everyone’s a cultivator, it’s hard to fall.

With this thought, Han Yu was overjoyed.

Third step, fourth step, fifth step...

By the sixth step, Han Yu was already grinning, just one more step and he would win.

”Thanks for letting me, elder.”

Han Yu chuckled at the old Daoist and took the last step without thinking.

At this point, something strange occurred, the foot that was supposed to land suddenly felt like it was stepping into thin air.

Not only that, his body began to sway uncontrollably.

Han Yu’s expression changed, trying to steady himself, even using earth-type divine techniques to manipulate the ground beneath him to stabilize.

But the result was even worse, the ground’s movement instantly broke his balance, causing him to inexplicably fall.

Han Yu climbed up with a ghostly expression; he really fell!

How did it happen, when it seemed like the old Daoist never intervened?

It can’t be interference, otherwise, it’s no longer a bet but bullying.

”How...how did you do it?”

Such a thing completely exceeded Han Yu’s understanding, leaving him dumbfounded, even when handing over the Spiritual Treasure.

The old Daoist’s indifferent attitude towards the Spiritual Treasure was even more surprising; he didn’t even care, but was delighted to have won the bet.

”I did it!”

With this declaration, he pointed at Han Yu and laughed again.

”Fall within seven steps.”

This left Han Yu even more puzzled as he looked at him in bewilderment.

”Now that it’s not a bet, try walking seven steps again.”

The old Daoist urged repeatedly, and though Han Yu was confused, he stepped forward as suggested.

This time, Han Yu planned to cheat, starting only after unfolding his Wings of Divine Techniques.

Though he was still walking, his balance was actually controlled by the wings.

The old Daoist did not stop him throughout, even watching with interest, looking even more expectant.

However, something stranger happened, this time even before reaching the seventh step, the damned sense of stepping into thin air reappeared at the fifth step.

Even though the Fiery Wings clearly controlled his body, there seemed to be an unseen force pressing him down.

As expected, Han Yu fell again, though it wasn’t a big deal nor caused any harm, the feeling of being out of control was surely scary, right?

”This isn’t Entering the Dao by gambling, this is Words Combing Reality into Law!”

The Artifact Spirit that had been lurking in the Sea of Consciousness suddenly spoke like a resurrection.

Evidently, the Artifact Spirit was more shocked than Han Yu.

”You rascal, you finally dare to show yourself?”

Han Yu immediately launched a complaint.

”I don’t dare!”

The Artifact Spirit replied grumpily, the mist seemed to thicken, making Han Yu feel almost suffocated in the Sea of Consciousness, only to feel a sigh of relief from the other side later on.

”I was suffocating, if Ping hadn’t turned the Sea of Consciousness like this, I wouldn’t have dared to show up.”

So, this mist was Ping’s doing?

”What’s that Words Combing Reality into Law you just mentioned?”

Han Yu asked again about the earlier matter, the Artifact Spirit, this rascal, either knew nothing or understood some odd things.

”It’s the embryonic form of a rule, similar to my ability.”

And what are the rules, then?

”Rules are the most important force between heaven and earth, scattered everywhere, omnipresent. The tides rising and falling are rules, the sun rising is a rule, everything that inevitably follows certain trajectories operates by rules.”

His West River Pill is also a rule, using future outcomes to replace everything today, reversing cause and effect.

Ping’s pills are rules too, but specifically what, the Artifact Spirit couldn’t quite explain.

Calling it the rule of give and take seems to explain it, after all, Ping’s pills involve gains and losses.

Calling it the rule of balance also seems to fit, because Ping never lets anyone gain without effort.

When talking about rules, the Artifact Spirit was eloquent, especially about the abilities mastered by the old Daoist.

It peeked when the bet started, but ultimately didn’t notice anything.

It wasn’t until the old Daoist won the bet and displayed it again that it realized.

This definitely couldn’t be simply Entering the Dao by gambling, or at least not purely Entering the Dao by gambling.

Gambling might be a method of cultivation, so winning the bet could allow mastering some abilities.

For instance, right now the old Daoist had the ability to make someone fall within seven steps.

Han Yu came to realize late, recalling the old Daoist’s words about him interrupting his cultivation.

Doesn’t that mean the old Daoist was indeed cultivating, and he really got interrupted by Han Yu?

”Come on, let’s continue the bet.”

An unkind laugh interrupted the exchange between man and spirit, and coming back to his senses, the old Daoist was wringing his hands, looking at him excitedly.

”I have no stakes left.”

Han Yu waved his hands in refusal, when he didn’t know the opponent’s abilities he still dared to play, but considering the opponent had Words Combing Reality into Law, there’s no point in betting.

The old Daoist wasn’t planning to let him go, pointing at his body with a grin.

”I never cared about the value of the stakes, you can just lose a piece of clothing each time.”

”He wasn’t planning to take any stakes, I suspect the bet is a necessary part of cultivation.”

The Artifact Spirit spoke thoughtfully, then suddenly burst into laughter.

Because at that moment, Han Yu was retreating with his arms crossed.

Playing it this wild?

Betting on stripping clothes, between two men?

Han Yu instantly felt terrible...

...

”Sir, if it doesn’t work, maybe you could show some power and capture them?”

Late at night looking for someone, the messenger was begging with a bitter face.

Compared to their headless, aimless search, wouldn’t it be better if this lord just flicked his fingers to locate them?

”I’d like to, but I haven’t even seen a shadow of them, at least give me a direction.”

Mu Zili was also helpless, the other party escaped too quickly, without any chance for contact, even though his abilities were immense, he hadn’t reached the level to seek out enemies in the void.

”I’m afraid it was that gentleman’s doing, by then it will be awkward for you.”

The messenger smiled bitterly; as a confidant, he certainly wasn’t whining about searching late at night but was truly afraid that if the outsider made a big fuss, it would be hard for his lord to clean it up.

”Perhaps, let my subordinates scatter and search, using signals as a guide then.”

If three hundred cultivators dispersed, the search area could be larger.

The only thing to watch out for is safety.

”Use the signal as a guide, signal once found, don’t act rashly.”

Mu Zili eventually agreed with the messenger’s method, but still instructed repeatedly.

After the vast crowd left, Mu Zili rubbed his temples with a headache.

He had already decided, if it was really Su Xiaoxiao’s doing, he wouldn’t mind abusing power for personal gain to lock him up for a few hundred years to calm down.

At this point, he suddenly remembered something.

His master had also sought him out.

Although the master might not be in danger, it could be that the people with the master are.

Why is the Gambling Daoist’s reputation so terrible?

Isn’t it because his master bets on everything, and if his master loses, it’s fine, he has plenty to compensate.

Actually, he’s most afraid of his master winning everything, leaving people with no way out, and this happens rather often.

Thinking about this, he was still a little worried.

Please don’t let it be his master causing trouble, or else the reputation will worsen again...