Chapter 964: Gua Lao Borrows Money Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios Xiao Shan forced Xiao clan’s reinforcements into retreat, and after naming this mountain Yi Tian Mountain, he began to invite demonic path members from all over, building up his forces. Before he was expelled from the clan, he was known for his grand morals, his social network was extremely large and he had been popular in both the righteous and demonic path. Xiao Shan’s nature was straightforward, he clearly separated kindness and hatred, and emphasized close connections and loyalty. On the other side, Xiao clan was weakening, suppressed and pressured by Wu clan and other forces from all sides. Sometimes, even demonic path Gu Masters could not be offended, especially those lone warriors with rank four and rank five cultivation. These demonic path experts were different from the righteous path experts. Demonic path experts were loners, acting without scruples, but righteous path experts were bound by morals, family, reputation and so on. Xiao clan had established a caravan years ago to strengthen themselves. These wandering demonic path experts were treated with even more caution compared to other clans. Over these last years, Xiao Shan let these demonic path Gu Masters go, or roped them in if he could, but if it came down to killing, he would do it with all his strength and as fast as possible. Occasionally, he even aided some lone cultivators or demonic cultivators financially. Thus, although he was a righteous path clan leader, he had obtained the approval of many Gu Masters of the demonic path. All these gave Xiao Shan a strong rallying force. When the news of him creating a fortified village was spread, there were many immediate responses. A few days later, several demonic path experts traveled from far away to join Xiao Shan. Moreover, the Gu Immortal of Southern Border intensified the situation in secret, so as to easily put their own pawns in the battlefield. Thus, more and more demonic path Gu Masters and lone cultivators started joining Yi Tian Village. In just six to seven days, Yi Tian Village already had over thirty members. Such a speed made even Xiao Shan shocked and surprised. As the number of people grew, they formed an organization. Any organization needed to have distinctions in status. In the world of Gu Masters, the strong were always revered. Among all these people, Xiao Shan not only had the highest strength, he also had the highest reputation, he was chosen by everyone as Yi Tian Village’s leader, stably placed at the highest ranking. His two sworn brothers, Sun Pang Hu and Zhou Xing Xing, respectively were placed at the second and third ranks. After all, they were rank five experts, having the highest strength among others. As for the other people, the vast majority were rank two and rank three, with few at rank four. Their statuses were arranged simply according to their cultivation and strength. In a mountain cave, Fang Yuan was drinking wine with a Gu Immortal. This demonic path rank six Gu Immortal was short but had a large head, he was an old man and his name was Gua Lao. “Here, brother Sheng Ying, give it a sip, how is the taste of my melon wine?” Gua Lao enthusiastically urged Fang Yuan to drink. Fang Yuan knew Gua Lao’s intention in coming, without saying anything, he drank a mouthful and nodded, critiquing: “Not bad, not bad.” Although he said ‘not bad’, but Fang Yuan’s expression was impassive and it was clear he had spoken only half-heartedly. Gua Lao was observing him, he chuckled and pointed outside: “I wonder what opinion brother Sheng Ying has towards this grand contest of Southern Border?” Fang Yuan calmly replied: “Given that it concerns who Graceful Chaotic Duel Stage will belong to, no one will yield a step. Since everyone is participating in this contest and has joined the agreement, putting forth their wagers, there should not be anyone who will cause trouble.” In the past, it was always the righteous path who suppressed the demonic path. Whether it be in the mortal Gu Master world or the Gu Immortal world. But right now was an exception. The appearance of the Immortal Gu House completely shook the world of Southern Border’s Gu Immortals. To seize the Immortal Gu House, demonic and lone immortals emerged, forming a huge force that gave the righteous path no choice but to compromise and set up this large gambling contest. The content of the wager was to select mortals as pawns who would participate in the battle between the righteous and demonic paths in Yi Tian Mountain, helping the Gu Immortal behind them to refine the Immortal Gu House. But to participate in this huge contest, there were some conditions. Any Gu Immortal that wanted to participate in this gambling contest had to make a wager. Those who made larger wagers could arrange pawns with higher cultivation and enter the battle earlier. Finally, when the gambling contest ends, all the wagers would be redistributed. Each Gu Immortal would be ranked according to the amount of battle will they refined. Whoever had higher quantities of battle will in the Immortal Gu House would accordingly have higher returns. Naturally, one that refined over fifty percent of the battle will would be the winner who could activate the Immortal Gu House, obtaining the highest returns from their bet. But other Gu Immortals would also be able to get some profits, they might even be able to get great returns from small bets, earning a huge fortune. This condition could be considered to be superb! It was because of this that all the Gu Immortals participating in the gambling contest, be it righteous path, demonic path or lone cultivators, whether they had enmity or resentment, they all subconsciously worked together to maintain this unrivaled gambling contest. Anyone who attempted to play dirty tricks or acted shamelessly would have their wagers completely confiscated. Gu Immortals who arrived later could also join in, but they had to take part in the gambling. And as the gambling contest progressed, if Gu Immortals wanted to raise their bets, they could do so. And this demonic immortal Gua Lao in front of Fang Yuan was a person who wanted to raise his bet. But he lacked the capital to do so. Over these last days, he went around borrowing money, so everyone knew of it. This time, he intentionally came to find Fang Yuan. Fang Yuan was giving him the cold shoulder, Gua Lao had no choice but to take the initiative to mention the gambling contest. Fang Yuan had only given a casual analysis, but Gua Lao squinted and gave a thumbs-up, exaggeratedly smiling: “Brother Sheng Ying, you are right, you have hit the nail on the head. The rules of this contest cannot be broken by anyone. If anyone breaks them, it will be akin to making Gu Immortals of the whole of Southern Border their enemies! So they need to earn capital and participate honestly in the contest.” “Just look at it, the contest has just started, but Xiao clan’s supreme elder is already at the lead. Xiao Shan is his pawn and from the previous battle of Xiao Shan and Xiao Mang, Xiao clan’s supreme elder has become the first to refine the battle will in the Immortal Gu House. As long as Xiao Shan doesn’t die, his lead will continue increasing.” Fang Yuan glanced at Gua Lao: “Xiao Shan is a rank five Gu Master and was the first to enter the mountain, Xiao clan’s supreme elder naturally will have a huge advantage. But, he has also paid a large price for this, although he is only a rank seven Gu Immortal, his wagers are the highest, to the extent that even rank eight Gu Immortals cannot match it.” Gua Lao nodded repeatedly, and grinned, revealing his yellow teeth: “Yes, the earlier we can place our pawns in Yi Tian Mountain, the more beneficial it would be. Of course, the cultivation of these pawns need to be ensured, they should at least be rank four, otherwise they will likely die there and we will just suffer losses. Brother Sheng Ying, I won’t conceal it from you, I really hate not being able to put myself as a wager! I am a bit short on funds right now, brother Sheng Ying, could you lend me some immortal materials? Wait till this is over, and I will return double the amount!” Fang Yuan smiled: “Sure.” Gua Lao was joyous, and was just about to say his thanks, when Fang Yuan said: “But we need to set a vow.” “This is natural, and it is a must as well.” Gua Lao nodded quickly. Fang Yuan continued: “Also, take out an Immortal Gu as collateral.” Gua Lao’s joyful expression immediately stiffened: “Brother Sheng Ying, is this a joke? If I had an Immortal Gu, why would I go for this Immortal Gu House?” Fang Yuan’s expression also changed, with a face filled with coldness, he glared violently and spoke: “Gua Lao, you don’t even have one Immortal Gu, but are actually scheming for this Immortal Gu House? Don’t you think you are indulging in a wild fantasy? Aren’t you too greedy?!” “Sheng Ying, you...” Gua Lao was just about to flare up, but suddenly he sensed an aura of Immortal Gu from Fang Yuan’s body, no longer concealed. “He actually has Immortal Gu!” Gua Lao’s heart immediately sank. Many rank six Gu Immortals did not have even one Immortal Gu. But Fang Yuan did. This surpassed Gua Lao’s expectations. As far as he was concerned, any Gu Immortal with Immortal Gu would have some reputation. But Sheng Ying clearly did not. He had taken Fang Yuan to be a weak lone immortal, cultivating bitterly in some unvisited area of the world. But Fang Yuan had Immortal Gu, this caused fear to emerge in Gua Lao’s heart. With an Immortal Gu, the Gu Immortal’s battle strength would often rise by a large extent. Sheng Ying, with Immortal Gu, was not someone Gua Lao could handle. Thus, he did not vent his anger and finally forced a smile as he cupped his fists towards Fang Yuan: “I was too abrupt and rude, brother Sheng Ying, please don’t mind it!” Fang Yuan gave a cold snort: “You can leave.” “I am leaving, leaving now, farewell!” Gua Lao smiled as he retreated a few steps, before turning around and leaving, not daring to linger. When he walked out of the cave, the smile on his face disappeared, replaced by shame and anger. His gaze was cold, as he roared in his mind: “Hmph! Having Immortal Gu is indeed amazing! I shall remember this humiliation. Wait for the day I have an Immortal Gu, I will return this humiliation back to you!!” Inside the cave, Fang Yuan was thinking. Gua Lao’s matter made him aware of the gambling mentality of many bottom tier Gu Immortals. Most of these people did not have Immortal Gu, so they had an extreme thirst for the Immortal Gu House. They all knew that success could not be built on small efforts, but when it concerned themselves, who did not want to soar to the sky with a step and get rich overnight? The gambling contest in front of them gave these Gu Immortals an extremely favorable environment to compete in. If it were a normal situation, for instance, finding wild Immortal Gu, the Gu Immortals would engage in fighting each other. These bottom tier Gu Immortals with no Immortal Gu had low battle strength, how could they compete with other Gu Immortals? But what this gambling contest examined were other aspects, not the Gu Immortal’s own battle strength. This gave hopes of success to the bottom tier Gu Immortals. Examples like Gua Lao were not few in number. Fang Yuan then thought of Xiao clan’s supreme elder. According to the news, this rank seven Gu Immortal was facing a huge problem. He had barely gotten past extreme danger in his previous tribulation, and his strength had yet to recover. The next tribulation, which would be even more powerful, was already approaching. Xiao clan only had one Gu Immortal remaining, that was him. Without another Gu Immortal’s support, he would not be able to face this tribulation by himself, and his death was almost certain. However, this gamble gave him hope of surviving. If he obtained the Immortal Gu House, he would have huge assurance in getting through this tribulation. Thus, he brought out all he had and went all in on this gamble, placing the highest wagers. These wagers gave him the qualifications to select two pawns. Moreover, both the pawns had rank five cultivation. Among them, Xiao Shan was the first to enter the area of the contest, the other, Xiao Mang, would enter the stage after some more time. Xiao Shan belonged to the demonic path and Xiao Mang belonged to the righteous path, no matter what the result between the righteous and demonic paths was, or how the process went, Xiao clan’s supreme elder was well-prepared with having these two arranged. The two rank five pawns had a low likelihood of death, as time passed, the advantage of Xiao clan’s supreme elder would continue growing larger. “This time, I intentionally leaked out an Immortal Gu’s aura so as to let other Gu Immortals feel sufficiently cautious and not take me as a weakling.” “I need to properly participate in this gambling contest. The information exposed from the gambling contest is extremely valuable, it is a most precious opportunity for me to get close to the world of Southern Border’s Gu Immortals and understand their structure!” “As for this gamble, maybe I can personally take action...” A sharp light flashed past Fang Yuan’s eyes.