7: Chapter 7 title: Eaten

Gu Sheng stopped his fingers from tapping the armrest.

1,050,000 exchange points.

The number flickered on the deep blue light screen.

He could not afford to draw from the destiny card pool right now; a single draw cost one thousand, and there were no vouchers for a ten-draw.

The character card pool cost ten thousand for a single draw, and one hundred thousand for a ten-draw.

Gu Sheng quickly reviewed the current situation in his mind.

Sun Yan had been captured, Lingxu Peak had suffered a major loss to offer an apology, and Su Yanzhi and the others had been intimidated.

But this was only a temporary balance.

Once the phantom of that Void Refinement Stage elder stopped appearing, or the higher-ups of the Piaomiao Holy Land realized what was happening, Tianxuan Peak would immediately become the target of public criticism.

He needed new trump cards.

Trump cards that could actually fight.

"System." Gu Sheng transmitted the command in his mind.

"Open the character card pool."

The light screen switched.

A huge golden roulette wheel appeared.

"Ten-draw." Gu Sheng did not hesitate.

One hundred thousand exchange points were deducted instantly.

The balance became 950,000.

[Ding.]

The System's notification sound rang out immediately.

[Detected Host's unhesitating all-in behavior.]

[Warm reminder: The cultivation world has risks, draw cards with caution. Gamblers can have everything, or end up with nothing.]

Gu Sheng ignored this tease.

His gaze was fixed on the light screen.

Ten meteors shot out from the center of the roulette wheel.

The first one, white light.

The light dissipated, and a line of text appeared.

[Thank you for participating.]

The muscles in Gu Sheng's face twitched.

The second one, white light.

[Thank you for participating.]

The third one, white light.

[Thank you for participating.]

The fourth, the fifth...

Nine consecutive white lights.

Nine "Thank you for participating" messages lined up neatly on the light screen.

Gu Sheng, who had been leaning back in his chair, suddenly sat upright.

One hundred thousand points.

Equivalent to one thousand High-Grade Spirit Stones.

Exchanged for nine lines of nonsense.

"System." Gu Sheng's voice was cold.

"You had better give me an explanation. You said you wouldn't earn the price difference, and now you've secretly modified the card drawing probabilities?"

[This System solemnly declares.]

The deep blue text scrolled rapidly.

[The probabilities are completely random. There is absolutely no under-the-table operation.]

[Nine consecutive empty draws fall within the normal range of probability fluctuation. Please face your own Luck value squarely. Don't blame the card pool for being unlucky.]

Gu Sheng crossed his fingers and pressed them against his chin.

He did not get angry.

Impotent rage would not solve any problems.

There was one last light remaining.

The pity mechanism.

A ten-draw guarantees a character of Profound Rank or higher.

The tenth meteor finally exploded.

Purple light illuminated the entire hall.

[Congratulations to the Host for obtaining: Profound Rank Character Card—Blood River Ancestor (Trial Version)]

Gu Sheng's gaze locked onto the three characters "Trial Version".

Trial version.

Another limited-time card.

"Do you dare say you didn't skim off the top?" Gu Sheng stared at the light screen.

[The Profound Rank card has been issued. This System strictly adheres to the pity rules.]

[The trial version also falls under the category of character cards. Please read the user agreement carefully.]

Gu Sheng clicked on the detailed information of this purple card.

[Character: Blood River Ancestor (Remnant Soul State)]

[Rank: Profound Rank]

[Cultivation: Nascent Soul Stage Great Perfection]

[Remaining uses: 3/3]

[Duration per use: One hour]

[Trait: Extremely bloodthirsty. Proficient in various Blood Dao secret techniques. Comes with a Blood Sea Domain upon appearance.]

[Note: This character has a perverse personality; although constrained by the System and unable to harm the Host, his style of conduct is extremely brutal and easily provokes group attacks from Righteous Path Sects. Please summon with caution.]

Three chances.

Two hours each time.

Nascent Soul Stage Great Perfection cultivation.

Gu Sheng calculated in his mind.

In the Piaomiao Holy Land, Nascent Soul Stage Great Perfection was already enough to act unchecked.

Su Yanzhi and the other Peak Revered Masters were only at the Golden Core Stage Peak or half-step Nascent Soul.

Only the Holy Revered Master, Mo Cangtian, was truly at the Nascent Soul Stage Great Perfection, and might even have touched the threshold of Soul Transformation.

This card was enough.

At least for the next few months, as long as he didn't proactively provoke those old monsters in closed-door cultivation, Tianxuan Peak would be absolutely safe.

Gu Sheng put the Blood River Ancestor card into his System inventory.

He cast his gaze back to the pile of remaining basic Medicinal Pills.

qi gathering pills, Peiyuan pills.

The System would not take these, so it was perfect to keep them for his own use.

He was still at the third level of the Qi Refinement Stage.

Too weak.

Even with countless trump cards, the fragility of his own body remained his greatest weakness.

Once someone got close, or his trump cards were exhausted, he wouldn't even be able to beat an Outer Sect Disciple.

Gu Sheng picked up a bottle of qi gathering pills.

Pulled out the wooden stopper.

Poured out three, and swallowed them directly.

The medicinal power dissolved in his abdomen.

Violent Spiritual Qi scoured his Meridians.

Gu Sheng closed his eyes and guided the Spiritual Qi to circulate through the Great Circulation.

At the same time.

The Piaomiao Holy Land, the black prison under the Law Enforcement Hall.

Dark and damp.

Various torture instruments hung on the walls.

Sun Yan was chained to the wall.

Disheveled hair, Taoist robe torn to shreds.

His body was covered in crisscrossing bloody marks.

Li Changgeng stood before him.

The muscles in his face were tight.

"Revered Master..." Sun Yan raised his head, his voice weak.

"Save me..."

Li Changgeng raised his hand.

"Slap."

A loud slap landed on Sun Yan's face.

Sun Yan's head tilted to one side, and he spat out two bloody teeth.

"Save you?" Li Changgeng's voice was shaking.

Not out of pity, but anger, and lingering fear.

"Who did you provoke?"

Sun Yan's face was full of confusion.

"It was just a piece of trash at the Qi Refinement Stage..."

"Shut up!" Li Changgeng roared.

He kicked Sun Yan in the chest.

The sound of ribs breaking echoed in the prison cell.

Sun Yan screamed, curling up in pain.

"Trash? You are the trash!"

Li Changgeng pointed at his nose and cursed loudly.

"Those four Blood Shadow Pavilion assassins you sent didn't even touch a single finger of his before they all became cripples."

"He has a Void Refinement Stage Dao Protector following him!"

"Void Refinement Stage! Do you understand what the Void Refinement Stage means!"

Li Changgeng became more and more agitated as he spoke, spraying spit all over Sun Yan's face.

"I went to Tianxuan Peak to apologize today, and I didn't even get through the door; I was only fit to leave the items outside the Formation."

"You almost got the entire Lingxu Peak killed!"

Sun Yan was stunned.

He forgot the sharp pain in his chest.

Void Refinement Stage?

Dao Protector?

Gu Sheng?

These three words combined were completely beyond his comprehension.

"Impossible... this is impossible..." Sun Yan muttered to himself.

"How could an orphan picked up by Perfected Cloud have..."

Li Changgeng sneered.

"Orphan? That is a Young Master from a hidden powerful clan!"

"You idiot, you were used as a pawn and didn't even know it."

Li Changgeng turned around and walked out of the prison cell.

"The Holy Revered Master has already ordered that a ten-mile radius around Tianxuan Peak be designated a restricted area."

"Just wait here to die."

The iron door slammed shut.

Sun Yan was swallowed by the darkness.

Tianxuan Peak Hall.

Gu Sheng opened his eyes.

He exhaled a breath of turbid air.

Qi Refinement Stage, fourth level.

Three qi gathering pills had forcefully broken through a small Realm.

Gu Sheng stood up.

His bones made a slight cracking sound.

He walked to the entrance of the hall.

The nine servants had already finished tilling all the spirit fields behind the mountain.

They were standing neatly at the bottom of the steps, waiting for new instructions.

Gu Sheng looked at these nine emotionless tools.

A thought popped into his mind.

Although the Formation of Tianxuan Peak was strong, it was ultimately a passive defense.

He needed to establish his own intelligence network.

These nine servants had ordinary appearances and low cultivation; if thrown into a crowd, no one would notice them at all.

They were most suitable for doing this kind of dirty work.

"servant number one to number four." Gu Sheng spoke.

Four young men in gray clothes stepped forward and knelt on one knee.

"Change into the clothes of ordinary Loose Cultivators and go down the mountain."

Gu Sheng issued the instruction.

"Go to the markets, go to the restaurants, go to all the crowded places."

"Collect all rumors about the Piaomiao Holy Land and Tianxuan Peak."

"Return to the mountain to report at midnight every day."

The four servants agreed in unison.

They stood up, turned around, and their figures merged into the night.