Gu Qingfeng had searched the Fengyue Small World for a long time without finding the Gambling City.
It wasn't until he arrived that he realized the so-called Gambling City wasn't on the ground, but in the sky.
Yes.
In the sky.
An entire city.
The moment he stepped into the Gambling City, even Gu Qingfeng, who had once traversed the heavens and earth, couldn't help but be awed and amazed by this opulent, luxurious city that resembled an imperial palace.
Looking around, the entire Gambling City was like a meticulously carved city of gold and jade, shimmering with dazzling, colorful brilliance under the sunlight, exceptionally splendid.
Leaving aside everything else, just the two characters 'Gambling City' above the city gate left Gu Qingfeng deeply impressed. They were clearly the work of a great literary master or a calligraphy immortal. A single glance at them carried a might comparable to the Great Sun, leaving one feeling shaken and intimidated.
The street leading into the city was a rainbow bridge. On both sides of the rainbow bridge stood rows upon rows of uniformly beautiful, flower-like Maiden Attendants, a dazzling sight. These attendants not only respectfully welcomed the arriving gamblers but also affectionately called out 'Young Master this,' 'Elder that,' 'Immortal this,' 'Immortal Master that.' Their voices were so pleasing to the ear, they stirred one's heart.
"They really know how to have fun," Gu Qingfeng sighed as he walked along.
He marveled at how much the world had changed over the past ten thousand years of the Present Era; it was truly incredible.
He also lamented that he had practically wasted his previous life, fighting and killing all day long without enjoying a single good day. He figured since he was here today, he might as well properly indulge in this dizzyingly luxurious lifestyle.
The Maiden Attendants on both sides of the rainbow bridge were all dressed up in their finest, wearing bright, beautiful dresses that revealed fragrant shoulders above and shapely legs below, their figures each more graceful than the last.
Gu Qingfeng had heard from Qianniao that the Fengyue Small World had many Maiden Attendants and servants. Most of them were people from various impoverished secular worlds, carefully selected by the Fengyue Small World's inhabitants and then trained and educated over a long period to become true Maiden Attendants and servants.
Although the past ten thousand years of the Present Era had seen the revival of all things, and the spiritual energy between heaven and earth had grown increasingly rich, the same was true for the myriad heavens and worlds.
But not all Great Thousand Worlds were like this. Some Great Thousand secular worlds still had very sparse spiritual energy and relatively scarce resources even now. Cultivating in such worlds was naturally very difficult. Some Great Thousand secular worlds had only recently seen the rise of cultivation civilization, and some Great Thousand Worlds, let alone cultivation civilization, might still be living in a primitive era.
This situation was not an exaggeration.
In his earlier years, Gu Qingfeng had once accidentally stumbled into a Great Thousand World in a primitive era. The people there hadn't even developed intelligence, lacking even basic language. If an immortal descended to teach and guide the masses, it would be better. But if no immortal descended, such a primitive world would need to go through an extremely long period to develop into a cultivation world.
Therefore.
For those born in impoverished Great Thousand Worlds, being able to enter the Fengyue Small World to serve as Maiden Attendants or servants wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
After all, the spiritual energy of the Fengyue Small World was richer and purer than that of most secular worlds, even more so than many secret realms within the Great Desolation.
Cultivating here would yield twice the result with half the effort.
Most importantly, one could broaden their horizons in the Fengyue Small World. After all, the Fengyue Small World was the liveliest trading center in the Twin-Pole Celestial Domain, with countless immortals coming and going. With broadened horizons, one could gradually comprehend many things.
Gu Qingfeng casually walked into a manor. It was very lively inside, with every table surrounded by crowds of people. He walked over to take a look; they all seemed to be playing dice, betting on big or small.
There were three dice in total, each with a maximum of six pips.
The sum of the three dice: four to ten pips was considered small, eleven to seventeen was big.
One could also bet on odd or even numbers; these odds paid one-to-one.
Additionally, one could bet separately on the total sum of the pips on the three dice. Different total bets had different odds. Betting on nine, ten, eleven, or twelve paid one-to-six. Betting on eight or thirteen paid one-to-eight. Betting on seven or fourteen paid one-to-twelve. Betting on six or fifteen paid one-to-fourteen. Betting on five or sixteen paid one-to-eighteen. Betting on four or seventeen paid one-to-fifty.
A triple (all dice showing the same number) paid one-to-thirty.
The highest odds were for a specific triple, meaning specifying the exact pip value for all three dice. If all three matched, it paid one-to-two-hundred!
These games had been passed down since ancient times in the Great Desolation, and the rules had never changed.
Both the dice and the dice cup were forged from special spirit-isolating resources. No matter how high your cultivation, you couldn't hear them, see them, or even probe them with divine sense.
Most importantly, the dice weren't shaken by a person, but by a formation—the Minor Thousand Fortune Chaos Formation. This formation possessed infinite variations, and its changes were unpredictable. Even if you had unparalleled comprehension, you couldn't discern its mysteries. It was as chaotic and changeable as chaos itself, utterly without order, law, or reason. Everything proceeded according to fortune.
At least.
Since the Minor Thousand Fortune Chaos Formation had been passed down to the present day, no one had ever been able to see through its mysteries.
This was also why everyone loved playing dice—because gambling this thing relied entirely on luck.
Not only could gamblers not cheat, even the house couldn't cheat.
Gu Qingfeng watched for a while, then went to exchange for some chips. He only had a little over sixty Immortal Stones on him, and even these he had taken from Qianniao. He originally planned to exchange fifty Immortal Stones' worth of chips first, but to Gu Qingfeng's surprise, the minimum bet here was one hundred.
Well, this was a bit awkward.
"I say, brother, is this all the capital you have?"
Horse King stared with his horse-like eyes, looking somewhat incredulously at the pitiful few dozen Immortal Stones in Gu Qingfeng's hand. He had initially thought Gu Qingfeng wanted to use his entire fortune to make a desperate gamble at the Gambling City. Since it was his entire fortune, even if it wasn't tens of thousands, it should at least be several thousand. He never imagined Gu Qingfeng's entire fortune was just a measly few dozen Immortal Stones.
"With just this little capital, you say...
What are you even here to play? You can't even afford a decent meal."
Gu Qingfeng smiled wryly. "This is my first time coming to play. I don't have much experience. I thought a few dozen Immortal Stones would be enough."
"Enough, my ass!
It's not even enough to fill the gaps between my teeth."
"How about you lend me a hundred first? I'll pay you back tenfold later."
"Brother, it's not that I'm stingy. I could lend it to you, but the key point is, what can you do with such a small stake? One bet and it's gone. You won't even have a chance to win it back."
"Just say whether you'll lend it or not."
"Ah, forget it. I won't try to talk you out of it. Your spirit must be a bit off, kid. Consider yourself lucky today, running into a kind soul like me. Fine, fine, take this, play a few rounds, get it out of your system, then hurry up and leave. Go do whatever you need to do later."
To be fair, Horse King was quite generous. He directly tossed Gu Qingfeng a chip worth one thousand. As he left, he didn't forget to warn, "Kid, remember, just play two or three rounds to get it out of your system. Don't get carried away. Save some Immortal Stones for living expenses later."