As the two walked and chatted, Horse King suddenly paused, staring at Gu Qingfeng while rubbing his long chin. "Something's off," he said.
"What's off?"
"You don't look like an Immortal, kid. Wait! Not just 'don't look like'—you're not an Immortal at all." Horse King shook his head again. "That's not right either. Even if you were a menial servant in the Fengyue Small World, you should have at least a bit of Cultivation Level. But you don't have any Cultivation Level at all, not even a trace of spiritual aura."
"Are you saying you're a congenital waste body? Can't cultivate? Or did your cultivation go wrong and you lost all your Cultivation Level?"
Discovering that Gu Qingfeng was not an Immortal and had no Cultivation Level whatsoever, Horse King couldn't help but grow curious.
"Me?" Gu Qingfeng said indifferently, "A congenital waste body isn't quite it. Let's just say my cultivation went wrong and I lost all my Cultivation Level."
"So that's how it is. I was wondering—if you were a congenital waste body, your family wouldn't let you out alone. So it really was a cultivation mishap."
Hearing that Gu Qingfeng had lost his Cultivation Level due to a cultivation mishap, Horse King's curiosity eased somewhat, and he seemed quite moved. "Only folks like us, with no family background or connections to rely on, end up with no one caring after we lose our Cultivation Level."
Perhaps out of pity for Gu Qingfeng, Horse King lowered his voice and stopped calling him 'kid'. "But, brother, don't lose heart. In the Great Desolate, many people lose their Cultivation Level due to cultivation mishaps. As long as you don't give up on yourself and endure, you can stand up again."
In these past ten thousand years, becoming an Immortal had grown easier. But precisely because many Immortals were too impatient, failing to solidify their foundations or consolidate their realms before rushing to ascend, the path after becoming an Immortal only grew harder. Once cultivation went awry, the light consequence was a stagnant Cultivation Level; the severe consequence was losing all Cultivation Level; the gravest consequence might even be immediate disintegration.
Horse King said that as long as one didn't give up and endured, they could stand up again. This statement might contain elements of comfort, but it was also a fact. In the ancient era, with scarce resources, losing one's Cultivation Level from a cultivation mishap made it nearly impossible to rebuild a foundation and cultivate anew. However, in these past ten thousand years, resources were incredibly abundant, with all kinds of Immortal Pills and Marvelous Medicines available. The market had at least seventy or eighty types of Immortal Pills and Marvelous Medicines that could condition the body. Once properly conditioned, one could cultivate again.
Only, such Immortal Pills and Marvelous Medicines were often terrifyingly expensive, far beyond what ordinary people could afford.
In a word, it still came down to family background. With a good family background, everything was fine. During cultivation, elders could keep an eye on you; even if something went wrong, they could intervene in time. Taking a step back, even if intervention failed and you lost your Cultivation Level, you could still condition your body and cultivate anew. Relying on powerful resources, reaching Immortal ascension again wasn't difficult.
But with a poor family background, once cultivation went awry, you could only resign yourself to fate.
Horse King felt this deeply. His own family background was very ordinary. Now he muddled along with a group of brothers in the Jinnwu Secret Realm. In Jinnwu Secret Realm, Immortals with ordinary backgrounds like his were a dime a dozen. Almost every year, some would lose their Cultivation Level for various reasons. With a poor background to begin with, losing one's Cultivation Level basically rendered a person useless, devoid of any value, worse off than a dog.
In Jinnwu Secret Realm, if someone lost their Cultivation Level, they would be tossed out like trash. Sworn brothers from blood-oath alliances would leave; usual friends and relatives would pretend not to know them; even blood relatives might quietly avoid them.
Exaggerated? Not at all. This was reality. After all, survival was difficult for everyone in the Great Desolate. No one wanted to be burdened by a useless person. Losing one's Cultivation Level meant losing the ability to survive in the Great Desolate. Such people often ended up left to their own devices. Without Cultivation Level, they couldn't even earn a single Immortal Stone—how could they afford those body-conditioning Immortal Pills and Marvelous Medicines?
However, what puzzled Horse King was that Gu Qingfeng didn't look like someone who had lost his Cultivation Level. He had seen those who had lost their Cultivation Level, and quite a few at that. Each was almost like a walking corpse, utterly despondent, awaiting death. But this guy? There wasn't a hint of despondency about him. Forget despondency—there wasn't even a trace of despair or worry on his face. He was even sipping wine! This didn't look like someone who had lost his Cultivation Level; he seemed more like a pampered young master out looking for fun.
Horse King tried sensing again, confirming that this guy truly had no Cultivation Level whatsoever and that his essence, energy, and spirit were extremely weak. He simply couldn't understand how this guy could still be so cheerful when he had fallen to such a state.
"This... little brother, I have something I don't know if I should ask."
"What?"
"You've lost all your Cultivation Level. How come you look even happier than me?"
"Otherwise, what should I do? Wear a long face?"
"That's not what I mean. It's just... you've lost all your Cultivation Level. How can you still be so cheerful? It's hard to fathom."
"What kind of talk is that? It's just lost Cultivation Level, not soul dispersion. Does that mean I shouldn't live?"
"This..." Gu Qingfeng's words left Horse King momentarily unable to retort. Scratching his head, he thought carefully—it seemed to make sense. No one had decreed that losing one's Cultivation Level meant one couldn't live.
But then another thought struck Horse King. "Wait, that's not the right reasoning. I almost got tangled up by you, kid. I'm not saying you can't live without Cultivation Level. But like you, having lost your Cultivation Level, instead of finding a way to condition your body, why are you going to the Gambling City?"
"My hands are just itching. Going to the Gambling City to stroll around, play a couple of hands, and incidentally earn some Immortal Stones to spend."
Hearing this, Horse King seemed to guess something. "So you want to try your luck at the Gambling City, kid. If you get lucky and win, you can buy Immortal Pills and Marvelous Medicines to condition your body, right?"
Gu Qingfeng said with a laugh, "Right, that's the idea."
"But brother! Listen to this old brother's advice—go back. Every single person wants to go to the Gambling City to win big with small stakes. But often, they end up losing terribly, terribly badly. Your old brother here is a prime example. I won't hide it from you, brother. Back in the Jinnwu Secret Realm, I used to be somebody. Had a big gang of brothers following me, was awe-inspiring wherever I went. Even those noble young masters from Immortal families called me brother. But ever since I came to the Gambling City once and lost everything... sigh, things have gone downhill day by day..." Perhaps reminded of sad memories again, Horse King grew quite melancholy, unable to help sighing repeatedly. "The past is like clouds, not worth mentioning. Thinking about it makes me want to chop off my own hands."
Gu Qingfeng looked at this tall, sturdy man. "Since you know, why are you still going to the Gambling City?"
"Isn't it because I want to win back my losses?"
Gu Qingfeng laughed and scolded, "Nonsense. There aren't many gamblers in a casino who don't want to win back their losses. But in the end, they don't recover their losses—they only capsize."
"Brother, those are words of great wisdom. But there's no helping it. Blame my own lack of restraint. I can't control myself, can't resist. Always want to take a gamble. If I lose, I lose. At worst, I start over from scratch. It's not like it's the first time anyway. But, old brother, I have Cultivation Level. Even if I lose everything, I can go out for half a year and still hustle for quite a few Immortal Stones. But you're different, brother. If you lose, you lose completely. Without Cultivation Level, you can't even earn an Immortal Stone outside. You won't even have a chance to win back your losses."
"Don't worry. I've never lost at gambling in my life."
"Brother, I've never met anyone who only wins and never loses."
"That's because you hadn't met me before."
The Gambling City finally arrived. Gu Qingfeng couldn't wait to go in and play a couple of hands. With a laugh, he said, "Meeting me today, I'll let you witness the legendary Supreme Gambling God!"
Behind him, Horse King watched Gu Qingfeng's retreating back, shook his head, and couldn't help sighing. "Sigh... This brother must have lost his mind after losing his Cultivation Level. Blame me for being slow-witted. How could I shoot the breeze with a crazy lunatic for so long? Gambling really ruins people. It's made this old man's brain duller and duller."
Shaking his head and sighing, Horse King muttered about how gambling ruined people as he hurried into the Gambling City.