Chapter 104: The Bet
"Old Freak Haw, Old Freak Thorne, what brings you two to lead the expedition this time?" A beam of cyan light shot up from the Ancient Sword Sect's flying warship. The resonant voice echoed like a great bell, reverberating through the surroundings.
Within the surging cyan light, an elder with green-tinted hair and beard strode through the air, a long trail of afterimages behind him.
"Old Freak Greenbeard, I specifically requested this mission when I heard you were coming." Haw boomed with laughter. "Your Jade Marrow Blood Crystals aren't very durable, you know. I ran out three years ago."
Greenbeard's eyes widened in outrage. "What! It takes ten years to produce a single one of my Jade Marrow Blood Crystals. I can barely bring myself to use them. You won fifty years' worth from me in one go, and you dare complain? Outrageous! I won't fall for your tricks again this time!"
"Don't be so hasty, Old Freak Greenbeard. This time, my senior brother has prepared a Moon Jade Stone, just when you've hit a bottleneck in your Frostchill Art." Thorne laughed, calling out across the void.
"What? A Moon Jade Stone? Impossible! I've tried for one at the Moon Jade Nether Pond multiple times without success. Old Freak Haw, how did you obtain it?" Greenbeard was stunned.
"Don't try to wheedle it out of me, old monster. Never mind how I got it. Here's the deal: if our Palace disciples collect half the spiritual items your Ancient Sword Sect disciples do inside, you give me five more Jade Marrow Blood Crystals. If not, this Moon Jade Stone is yours." Haw produced a fist-sized, translucent green stone, chuckling.
"Half? Haw, how can you say that? Our sect only has ten percent more disciples entering the Battlefield than yours. They're all peak Qi Refining cultivators—no disparity in cultivation. Your share is too low. I disagree." Greenbeard shook his head vehemently.
"Your Ancient Sword Sect's artifact forging is unmatched in the Moonwatch cultivation world. Your disciples are naturally stronger than ours from the start, and you have more of them. Cumulatively, you hold a significant advantage. If you disagree, fine. I don't absolutely need those crystals for my cultivation." Haw snorted.
Greenbeard's eyes darted, then he smiled. "Stronger, perhaps, but some disciples bring magic artifacts. Your Palace surely has its share. The more powerful the artifact, the more spiritual power it consumes. How much can a Qi Refining disciple truly wield? Seventy percent of its power, at most."
Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work!
"Sixty percent! Or I'll take this to the Withered Wood Freak from the Demonic Sun Sect and trade for his century-old Ginseng. Slightly weaker, but not far from your crystals." Haw haggled.
"Fine, sixty percent it is. We have a deal." Greenbeard hesitated, then agreed.
"A deal's a deal. Have I ever gone back on my word?" Haw chuckled.
"Haw, laugh now, but when the Bloody Battlefield trial ends, you won't be smiling." A round-faced elder leaning on a black cane laughed from Verdant Pill Palace's flying warship.
"What makes you so sure I'll lose, old freak?" Haw retorted.
The cane-wielding elder winced, his face pained. "I just made a bet with Greenbeard myself. Afterwards, I learned the Ancient Sword Sect has a little girl with a Moonlight Sword Body."
"A Moonlight Sword Body? You treacherous, despicable old freak Greenbeard! You tricked me out of my hard-won Moon Jade Stone! And you, old freak, why didn't you warn me?" Haw raged, consumed by regret.
"I bet a five-hundred-year-old Yellow Dragon Mushroom. If I have to lose, why shouldn't you? At least I'll have company." The cane-wielding elder's reply was both absurd and pitiful.
"Don't be angry, Haw. You did win five of my crystals before. I'm just recouping my losses." Greenbeard stroked his green beard, smug and satisfied, as if the bet was already won.
Watching his sect's Golden Core elder, Haw, storm back in a huff, Leo was speechless. These Golden Core elders, apart from living longer and possessing greater power, weren't so different from ordinary people. They haggled over minor gains, flew into rages, and felt shame. They were simply more powerful and had better self-control.
The flying warships now hovered over verdant, spiritual-energy-rich mountains. Below, demon beasts, sensing the overwhelming presence above, scattered in all directions. Leo, like the other disciples, was puzzled. The area below, aside from lush mountains and scattered beasts, bore no resemblance to the legendary land filled with spiritual herbs and spirit stones.
Haw, still fuming, returned to the Kite Warship and addressed the Qi Refining disciples. "Listen up, you little whelps. The Bloody Battlefield hasn't opened for millennia. No one knows exactly what's inside. We only have fragmentary records from our sect's archives. To prevent disciples from other sects from ambushing you near the teleportation array at the end, we Golden Core elders will set up restrictions. Within several miles of the teleportation array, all activity will be monitored from outside. Inter-sect fighting is forbidden there, on pain of death."
"Also, despite my bet with that old fox Greenbeard, the Ancient Sword Sect's disciples are indeed formidable. Avoid direct confrontation if possible. If it comes to it, I'd rather lose to that cunning old freak than see you killed."
Thorne added, "By the way, Senior Brother, the Bloody Battlefield hasn't opened in millennia. Though Qi Refining cultivators can't reach the second level, there must be numerous spiritual items within. I suggest dividing our disciples into a dozen teams to search separately. Items won't be concentrated in one area. A single group would be inefficient. Also, if we encounter large packs of demon beasts, this prevents a total rout."
Haw nodded in agreement. "The items obtained from the Bloody Battlefield directly affect the Palace's allocation of Foundation Establishment Pills. If our disciples are wiped out, it would delay the foundation establishment of our talented disciples and jeopardize the sect's continuation. That cannot happen. Junior Brother Thorne is right. We'll search separately. But teams can't be too small, or they'll be vulnerable to other sects' disciples or demon beasts. Let's say ten disciples per team."
Leo's heart raced. If he was grouped with Sylas, things would turn ugly. He didn't fear Sylas alone, but Sylas had allies. In the Bloody Battlefield, Sylas would certainly make sure he was the first to die. But with two Golden Core elders and a crowd of Foundation Establishment masters present, he had no voice.