The news of the eighteen billion won in the Gambling City was spreading like wildfire throughout the Fengyue Small World.
Many people on the streets were discussing it. Xuan Yun, Qiānlíng, and the others had also heard about it. They were fine, not particularly affected, but Qiānniǎo was different. Every time she heard someone mention it, she was filled with envy.
"Eighteen billion!"
"Heavens!"
"That's so many Immortal Stones!"
"Even if you spent it recklessly, you could never finish it! I'm so envious I could die! Why wasn't it me who won eighteen billion? I work myself to the bone all year just to earn twenty or thirty thousand Immortal Stones!"
"When will I ever earn eighteen billion? Probably not for several lifetimes!"
Qiānniǎo was consumed by envy and resentment, hating herself for not having such good luck.
"Eighteen billion... that's truly an astronomical sum..."
"It's terrifying just to hear it."
Liu Li also murmured in awe. Although she was a disciple of the Lotus Secret Realm, with no worries about food, clothing, or cultivation resources, even she couldn't remain unmoved by eighteen billion Immortal Stones. "That guy's luck is just too good..."
"He must have saved all living beings in his past life. Otherwise, how could he have such incredible luck in this one?"
Xuan Yun nodded in agreement. "Winning eighteen billion playing dice—that's never happened before in the Gambling City of the Fengyue Small World. One has to admit, his luck is truly extraordinary."
"I heard that when that guy was handing out money, he gave away tens of millions in chips in one go, all of them ten-thousand chips. He was so outrageously generous! I heard many people picked up a lot of chips—some got over a hundred thousand, and someone even picked up over a million!"
Thinking of this, Qiānniǎo stamped her feet in frustration. "It makes me so mad!"
"It really makes me mad!"
"Why wasn't I in the Gambling City?"
"Damn it!"
"Heaven!"
"Even if you didn't let me win eighteen billion, you could at least have let me go pick up some chips! I'm not greedy—just a few million would be enough!"
"Yeah!"
"It's also our bad luck. If we had been in the Gambling City at the time, we could have picked up quite a few chips too. Sigh!"
Not only Qiānniǎo felt regretful; Liu Li also thought it was a great pity. In all her life, she had never picked up more than ten thousand Immortal Stones.
Xuan Yun said, "Compared to him giving away tens of millions, I'm more curious about how that person managed to drink over four hundred pots of Bitao Wine without getting drunk."
"I heard over four hundred pots of Bitao Wine are worth ten or twenty million. That guy can really drink!"
Xuan Yun shook his head. "It's not a matter of whether he can drink or not, but..." He paused, unsure how to describe it. "The Bitao Wine in the Gambling City isn't weak. Most people get quite drunk after a few pots. Even those with a high tolerance can only handle a dozen or so pots. But that person drank over four hundred pots in one go. It's truly unbelievable."
Qiānlíng, who had been silent until now, also frowned and said, "I find it very strange too."
Qiānniǎo asked, "I heard that guy lost all his Cultivation Level and is now just a mortal with a flesh-and-blood body. Bitao Wine intoxicates the Immortal Energy. Could it be that because he's a mere mortal without Immortal Energy, he doesn't get drunk?"
Liu Li explained, "Bitao Wine contains Mist Spirit essence. After entering the body, it does indeed react with Immortal Energy. The more one absorbs, while it can temper the Immortal Energy, the Immortal Energy also becomes increasingly intoxicated."
Qiānniǎo said, "That's why I'm asking if it's because he has no Immortal Energy, so he doesn't get drunk."
"No."
Qiānlíng clarified, "The Mist Spirit essence contained in Bitao Wine is extremely potent. Not to mention cultivators, even immortals can't withstand it without refining it. If it circulates in the body for a long time, his physical body simply couldn't bear it."
Xuan Yun nodded. "Lady Qiānlíng is right. The Mist Spirit essence in Bitao Wine is a great tonic after refinement. But if it stagnates in the body without being refined, it's not a tonic but a potent poison. Ordinary cultivators, who don't even have Immortal Energy, relying solely on their primordial spirit, cannot refine the Mist Spirit essence in Bitao Wine. They can't even drink a single cup. And he, a mere mortal, has neither Immortal Energy nor a primordial spirit or Nascent Soul. How could he refine it?"
Xuan Yun continued with a furrowed brow, "But if he didn't refine it, forget drinking over four hundred pots—even a single cup would be too much for his flesh-and-blood body to endure. With my current Cultivation Level, if I drank a few pots of Bitao Wine without refining it, and let it stagnate in my body, it would harm my physical form within three days. Yet he drank over four hundred pots..."
Qiānlíng said, "It seems his physical body is likely not an ordinary flesh-and-blood one."
Qiānniǎo exclaimed, "Yeah, yeah!"
"Didn't they say that guy lost all his Cultivation Level? They said he used to be some great lord. Since he was a great lord, he must have been a mighty figure who shook the world. His physical body is naturally extraordinary. Maybe his body is some kind of Creation Body. Losing his Cultivation Level doesn't necessarily mean the Creation Body disappears."
Qiānlíng and Xuan Yun both nodded, feeling this was the only explanation that made sense.
Suddenly, Qiānniǎo said excitedly, "How about we go to the Gambling City too and win ourselves eighteen billion?"
"Pfft!"
Liu Li laughed. "Little Sister Qiānniǎo, you really dare to dream! Win eighteen billion? Haven't you heard that nine out of ten gamblers lose? You only heard about someone winning eighteen billion. Haven't you heard about the many people who lost everything they had?"
"Alright, alright! We won't gamble. Can't we just go take a look?"
"Qiānniǎo, you're a girl," Qiānlíng said. "How can you go to such a place?"
"I just want to see it."
Xuan Yun smiled. "If Qiānniǎo wants to see, in a couple of days, the Fengyue Small World will host a gambling tournament. I can take you to watch then."
"I also heard that during this grand assembly, the Fengyue Small World will host such a gambling tournament. I just don't know what they'll be gambling on. Is it dice?"
"For such a grand gambling event, they wouldn't use dice. Dice are too low-class. They'll naturally be gambling on the Heaven and Earth game!"
"Wow! Gambling on Heaven and Earth! Is it the Tai Chi Transformation? That's great! I love watching people gamble on Heaven and Earth and play Tai Chi Transformation. When I was little, I often watched our ancestors play."
"Really?" Liu Li smiled. "Then you can feast your eyes this time. Many masters of Heaven and Earth gambling from our Dual-Pole Heavenly Domain will be coming."
"But... such a grand gambling event. Will they let us in?"
"Of course! Brother Xuan Yun has been invited to participate in this gambling event. He can take us in!"
"Ah! Brother Xuan Yun was invited to participate?" Qiānniǎo was somewhat surprised.
"What?" Xuan Yun smiled faintly. "Is that not allowed?"
"Hehe! Little Sister Qiānniǎo, you didn't know, did you? My Brother Xuan Yun is a master of Heaven and Earth gambling!"
Qiānniǎo stared at Xuan Yun with a hint of admiration. "Wow! Really? That's amazing! Brother Xuan Yun is not only handsome and extraordinary in bearing, with high Cultivation Level, great fortune, and strong power, and a disciple of the Lotus Secret Realm, but also a master of Heaven and Earth gambling! That's truly worthy of admiration!"
Xuan Yun shook his head with a helpless smile, then looked at Qiānlíng. "Ling'er, you should come too when the time comes."
"I..."
"We'll see," Qiānlíng hesitated for a moment before responding. "If there's nothing else going on, I'll definitely go."
Seeing Qiānlíng agree, Xuan Yun was quite pleased.
"It's getting late. We've been out for so long. I wonder how the others are doing."
Worried about the others from the Xiaoluo Secret Realm, Qiānlíng suggested, "How about... we head back first?"
"Oh, right! We've been out for ages. I wonder if that little drunkard is bored in the garden on the floating island."