Chapter 1641: Merit to Make Up for Insufficient Nether Stones

Chapter 1641: Ming Shi Isn't Enough, Use Gongde to Make Up

Ye Chen followed Zhao Yun deeper into the ghost city.

Before long, the two of them stepped through a ghost gate at the same time.

As soon as they entered the ghost gate, the scene changed dramatically. It was a vast spatial realm with mountains, rivers, and forests, all shrouded in dimness and swirling yin fog.

This place was filled with many restrictions, ancient and mysterious beyond comprehension.

Looking around, they saw numerous small hills, each topped with a fighting platform. Crowds of figures gathered below every platform.

Most were lesser ghosts, greater ghosts, and ghost kings, with few ming jiang-level beings in sight.

Their cultivations were mostly at the huang jing or zhun sheng levels, with sheng ren-level ones being rare but present, each possessing extraordinarily high prowess.

"Hit him! Beat him down, and I'll buy you a drink."

"Don't back down, get up and keep fighting. I believe in you."

"What are you waiting for? Attack! Use your ultimate move!"

The atmosphere here was lively, filled with shouts and cheers that echoed loudly, even more chaotic than outside.

"What is this place?" Ye Chen asked Zhao Yun in surprise.

"A fighting arena," Zhao Yun said with a smile. "To put it bluntly, it's a gambling spot. It's the fastest way to make money around here."

Ye Chen couldn't help but twitch his mouth, his expression turning strange.

The underworld's realm of the dead was truly full of variety and color.

Was this really the yin realm? Aside from being a bit dark, it didn't seem any different from the yang world—just like the yang world at night.

Seeing this fighting arena completely upended his worldview.

"Come on, let's give it a try." Zhao Yun said, pulling Ye Chen along to a hill and stopping below one of the platforms.

Like the other platforms, this one was surrounded by crowds of greater and lesser ghosts, all shouting excitedly as if pumped up.

Ye Chen glanced at the people below before turning his attention to the platform.

The platform was rumbling nonstop, with an intense battle underway.

Looking at the fighters, one was a greater ghost with a bull's head, not very high in cultivation—just at the huang jing level—but fiercely menacing.

The other was a neatly armored figure wielding a battle spear, attacking with brutal force.

However, it looked odd, with a dull expression and empty eyes, showing no hint of human emotion.

"A puppet?" Ye Chen raised an eyebrow, stroking his chin.

"More accurately, a jiangshi," Zhao Yun said with a smile.

"See that old man? He's the platform master, and all these jiangshi belong to him." Zhao Yun pointed to one side of the platform, where a stone seat held a black-robed elder—a genuine sheng ren, with the rank of a ming jiang.

"How does the gambling work?" Ye Chen glanced at the elder and turned back to Zhao Yun, more interested in that.

"It's simple. Just go up and fight. The platform has restrictions that will automatically provide a jiangshi opponent. The jiangshi's level is one rank higher than the challenger's. For example, if you're at huang jing, your opponent will be at zhun sheng. If you win, the ming shi goes to you. If you lose, it goes to the platform master."

"I see!" Ye Chen laughed and casually put on a mask to avoid being recognized.

"Hit him! Aim for his head—that's his weak spot!"

As they spoke, the shouts erupted again, with people holding wine jugs and yelling at the top of their lungs, as if they wanted to jump in and help.

"Interesting." Ye Chen smiled faintly, quietly watching the platform.

The zhun sheng-level jiangshi was incredibly fierce, capable of using secret techniques and divine abilities. It swung its battle spear with wide, powerful strokes, beating the greater ghost mercilessly.

The greater ghost was all bluster but kept getting hammered down, looking utterly wretched. Every time it tried to attack, it was forced back, and its body had already been shattered several times.

Blood splattered across the platform. The greater ghost was defeated without any doubt, knocked off by the jiangshi's spear, its face twisted in defeat.

"Any more challengers?" The platform master stretched lazily.

"I'll go." As soon as the master spoke, a greater ghost shouted.

That greater ghost was strangely confident, thinking he looked handsome as he tossed his head and smoothed his hair.

But before he could finish his pose, Ye Chen pulled him aside—he had no time for that.

Ye Chen stepped onto the platform, planting his feet firmly and cracking his neck.

The platform master lazily glanced at Ye Chen. "How much are you betting?"

"Just this much." Ye Chen waved his hand, pulling out his meager dozen or so blocks of ming shi and suspending them in the air.

"Minimum is five hundred." The platform master said flatly.

"So much?" Ye Chen coughed awkwardly, looking hopefully at the crowd below, his gaze landing on Zhao Yun. "Do you have any ming shi?"

"Not a single one." Zhao Yun also coughed, patting his pockets—they were completely empty.

"Why are you causing trouble if you have no money?"

Curses erupted from below, especially from that greater ghost who'd been pulled aside, shouting the loudest.

I hadn't even finished showing off, and you yanked me away. Now you're up there wasting a measly dozen blocks of ming shi.

Ye Chen felt embarrassed and chuckled. "Maybe next time."

"If ming shi isn't enough, you can use gongde to cover it." Before Ye Chen could step down, the platform master spoke up, his tone casual.

"Can it really work like that?" Ye Chen's eyes lit up instantly.

"One gongde equals a thousand ming shi." The platform master yawned.

"Then let's just bet with gongde." Ye Chen said with a laugh.

"That's fine." The platform master was straightforward, mainly because he was confident in his jiangshi—it could crush a huang jing opponent with ease.

"You should have said so earlier!" Ye Chen got even more excited. If he'd known about this great spot, he wouldn't have bothered killing evil dragons in the sea of sin—it was dangerous anyway.

"How much are you betting?" The platform master looked at Ye Chen with interest.

"As much as is in this gongde book, that's how much I'll bet." Ye Chen took out his gongde book and suspended it in the air.

"Whoa, over a thousand four hundred gongde—this guy's crazy!"

Ye Chen's words caused an uproar below. People had bet with gongde before, but no one had ever been so extravagant.

Not just them, even the platform master was stunned for a moment.

Gongde was incredibly precious, tied to divine ranks and more useful than ming shi. Over a thousand gongde was an enormous amount.

He couldn't help but sit up straighter, narrowing his old eyes as he scrutinized Ye Chen. Anyone bold enough to do this must have some trick up their sleeve.

But after a thorough look, he was certain Ye Chen was just at huang jing and wasn't hiding his cultivation.

The only one relatively calm in the scene was Zhao Yun.

He knew Ye Chen's combat strength best. Not to mention a zhun sheng-level jiangshi, even a sheng ren-level one would be taken down.

He was sure that if Ye Chen had more gongde, he'd bet it all without hesitation.

"So, are we on?" Ye Chen smiled at the platform master.

"We're on." The platform master said indifferently, waving his sleeve to summon a jiangshi that stood opposite Ye Chen.

It was a zhun sheng-level jiangshi, one infinitely close to sheng ren level—the strongest he had.

"Ha, straightforward." Ye Chen flashed a grin, a large mace appearing in his hand.

"Fight." The platform master barked the order to the jiangshi.

At his command, the jiangshi that had been standing still suddenly moved, slapping out a palm as heavy as a mountain.

Ye Chen sneered, stepping forward to shatter the platform and swinging his wolf-tooth mace.

The palm and mace collided, sparking thunderous flames with a boom.

Then, everyone present tilted their heads back, their eyes widening in unison and their mouths dropping open.

What they saw was the jiangshi being sent flying by Ye Chen's single strike, soaring who knows how far.

The one with the most dumbfounded expression was the platform master.

That was a zhun sheng-level jiangshi, nearly at sheng ren level—it could easily crush a huang jing peak expert with one palm.

But now, this scene was completely beyond his expectations.

Such a powerful jiangshi had been knocked away in one hit by a huang jing cultivator. How could it end so quickly?

In that moment, the way he looked at Ye Chen changed.

The people below watching the fight all turned their gazes to Ye Chen. What kind of monster was this, so outrageously strong?

Ye Chen smoothed his hair, his demeanor growing more imposing.

The evil dragons in the sea of sin? I'd wiped out over a dozen in one go. A mere zhun sheng jiangshi thinking it could take me down? You're joking.

I'm not kidding—if you brought out a sheng ren-level jiangshi, I'd still send it flying. That's just how it is.

"Good one." After a brief silence, Zhao Yun shouted.

The scene instantly erupted, with people smacking their lips and exclaiming, "A huang jing expert? That's way too fierce—must be cheating!"

"One strike to send it flying—I'm still in shock."

"No wonder he dared to bet over a thousand gongde—he's got the skills!"

"I won, so hand over the gongde." Ye Chen extended his hand.

The platform master's face turned pitch black, like charred coal, with dark lines crisscrossing it endlessly.

He'd overestimated his jiangshi and underestimated Ye Chen, getting tricked without realizing it.

Now, he'd lost big—over a thousand gongde. Even as a ming jiang, that was a tough loss.

"Senior, the gongde." Ye Chen rubbed his hands with a smile.

"I'll give it." The platform master grumbled through gritted teeth, pulling out his gongde book and reluctantly transferring it with a wave.

His gongde book lost over a thousand, while Ye Chen's gained that amount, doubling instantly.

Ye Chen beamed with joy, thrilled beyond words. This was way better than killing evil dragons—faster and easier.

If he kept this up, he could go all the way to ming jiang without stopping. With gongde like this, who needed ming shi to buy dragon-summoning powder?

Below, people kept clicking their tongues, swallowing hard as they watched.

Over a thousand gongde—that would take killing how many evil dragons, standing guard for how many years, or escorting how many ghosts as a cow head or horse face?

But just like that, it was won in a flash, all with one swing of a mace.

"Come on, all in—let's go again." Ye Chen chuckled, not putting away his gongde book and keeping it suspended, full of energy.

"You're too strong. I'll have to use a sheng ren-level jiangshi." The platform master said grimly. "You can choose not to challenge."

"Challenge? Why not?" Ye Chen grinned.

"You asked for it." The platform master acted quickly, summoning a sheng ren-level jiangshi, afraid Ye Chen might back out.

After losing over a thousand gongde, he had to win it back.

Soon, a jiangshi appeared opposite Ye Chen.

This jiangshi wore dark gold armor and stood like a pole, completely still, its body heavy and aura overpowering.

An ancient divine mark was on its forehead, with faint lightning flickering across its surface. Just looking at it was terrifying.

Compared to the previous zhun sheng jiangshi, this one was on a whole other level.