Chapter 1642: Lively Gambling Arena

The spectators below all perked up, their eyes gleaming with excitement.

Two thousand *gongde*—that was an enormous sum, an absolute high-stakes gamble. Everyone wanted to see it, to witness if Ye Chen, the one who could smash a quasi-saint zombie with a single strike, could take on a *shengren* zombie.

Many had already taken out memory crystals, ready to record the upcoming scenes for later bragging.

The *taizhu* sat up straight, perfectly composed, his old eyes sharp and alert, with a faint glint of cunning flashing through them.

This *shengren*-level zombie was his trump card.

It wasn't an ordinary zombie; its physical body was overwhelmingly powerful, its secret techniques formidable, with the strength to clash head-on with a *shengwang*. It was absolutely ferocious.

With such a zombie fighting an *huangjing*, there was no reason it should lose.

In other words, he could win back the *gongde* he had lost, and not only that, he could earn over a thousand more.

Not far away, Zhao Yun had found a comfortable spot, arms crossed as he leaned against a pillar, watching with great interest.

He glanced at Ye Chen, then pityingly at the *taizhu*.

After this battle, the *taizhu* might end up spitting blood.

Even a flawless *shengren* might not be Ye Chen's match, let alone a zombie. This fight had no suspense.

"On a *shengren* level, it should be quite tough to beat." On the battle platform, Ye Chen blew on his spiked club and polished it to a shine.

As an *Huanggu Shengti*, he felt no pressure at all. First, he had condensed his *yuanshen*, then fused his *sheng* bones, giving him an innate ability to fight above his level.

"Fight." The *taizhu* suddenly stood up and gave the order.

As soon as he spoke, the *shengren* zombie moved, forming secret seals and manifesting divine abilities on its own. A surge of blood sea flowed from its palm.

Within the blood sea, blood dragons roared, stirring up massive waves that threatened to engulf Ye Chen.

It was a terrifying secret technique; the blood sea was eerie, with sealing and devouring powers. Any ordinary *huangjing* hit by it would turn to ash on the spot.

But Ye Chen wasn't an ordinary *huangjing*.

The zombie's attack was domineering, and so was his. He transformed the spiked club into a divine sword, slashing out an immortal river that split the zombie's blood sea.

The zombie attacked again, firing a sinister nether light from its forehead, targeted specifically at the *yuanshen*. It was icy cold and utterly destructive.

Ye Chen sneered, merging his nine divine afflictions in an instant. They swirled with thunder, piercing through the void with devastating power.

The nether light clashed with the divine light, producing a clang of metal and sparking bright flames that made both dazzled.

The zombie's nether light was shattered, crushed by the divine afflictions.

However, the zombie had no *yuanshen*, so the divine afflictions couldn't harm it; they only left a blood mark on its forehead.

The zombie's blood was green, flowing out briefly before reversing and healing the wound instantly.

This overwhelming regenerative ability left the spectators stunned. A *shengren*-level zombie was already fearsome, but with this recovery power, it was even more terrifying.

What shocked them even more was Ye Chen's combat strength—he had countered the attacks one after another and held the upper hand. Just how powerful was he?

Even the *taizhu* couldn't stay calm; he had underestimated Ye Chen again.

This *huangjing*-level expert was full of hidden strangeness.

For some reason, a bad premonition arose in him; he felt the *shengren* zombie might lose, and he might lose more *gongde*.

Thinking of this, he issued a deadly command to the zombie: "No matter the cost, destroy him for me."

The zombie's aura instantly strengthened, its body writhing and growing taller, bursting through its armor and covering itself in ghost patterns.

Its nails elongated, gleaming with a sinister light as it condensed various secret techniques into a single finger, thrusting straight at Ye Chen's forehead.

"You're far from it." Ye Chen chuckled leisurely, stepping through the *taixu* to dodge the finger, instantly circling behind the zombie.

Without a word, he raised his club and smashed it down.

The zombie was hit, its head nearly splitting open with blood spraying, but the wound healed at an alarming speed.

Oh! Ye Chen was getting excited; he knew how terrifying that strike was, yet it hadn't crushed the zombie's head.

A *yinfeng* swept in as the zombie summoned a battle spear into its hand.

It was a *shengren* weapon, etched with ghost patterns and radiating a sinister glow. Eerie ghost wails could be heard, and the spear hummed on its own.

The zombie's aura grew stronger as it swung the spear, thrusting forward.

Ye Chen met it head-on with his *sheng* body, smashing the zombie staggering back with his club, causing it to retreat unsteadily and crack the platform behind it.

The zombie had no thoughts, only the instinct to attack. Once it steadied itself, it pounced again, spewing essence fire that turned into a sea of flames.

"You know quite a few tricks." Ye Chen smirked slightly, summoning his Chaos Realm vision and Golden Divine Sea with a thought.

The vision and divine sea intertwined, surging with momentum and overwhelming the sea of flames.

"What kind of vision is this?" the people below exclaimed in shock.

"Such a vast vision—what path does he cultivate?"

"Golden qi and blood—he's an *Huanggu Shengti*." The *taizhu* showed a look of alarm, as if he had recognized Ye Chen's powerful bloodline.

"Chaos Dao." Zhao Yun raised an eyebrow, also surprised. "This universe truly has talents emerging everywhere."

Exclamations of shock boomed like thunder, making the mountain tremble.

When they looked again, they saw Ye Chen had grabbed one of the zombie's legs and slammed it hard onto the platform, sending fragments of stone flying.

Slamming opponents was Ye Chen's signature move, something he often used in the *yang* realm, and now in the *yin* realm fighting a zombie, it came just as smoothly.

The zombie's body cracked, green blood splattering everywhere.

It tried to counterattack, but before it could unleash its secret technique, Ye Chen flung it up again and smashed it down.

The mountain trembled again as the platform shattered completely, throwing the scene into chaos.

Bang after bang echoed relentlessly in a lawless display. The *shengren* zombie was repeatedly slammed into the ground by Ye Chen like a beast, without pause.

This sight was truly frightening, leaving the crowd of big and small ghosts below staring with wide eyes. Each slam made their hearts skip a beat—they had never seen such a savage style.

Even the *taizhu*'s mouth twitched. He had heard of the *Huanggu Shengti*'s fame, but seeing it firsthand still shocked him.

Perhaps the commotion was too great, as people from other gambling arenas on nearby mountains were drawn over, gathering like a tide and crowding onto this mountain.

There were quite a few of them, filling the surrounding skies—big ghosts, small ghosts, and even *guiwang*, all in various forms.

When they saw the scene, they were all stunned on the spot.

"Who is this guy? He's fighting a *shengren* zombie?"

"When did the *Mingjie* produce such a powerful *huangjing*?"

"Could it be the one who slaughtered the evil dragon in the *Niehai*?"

"He's wearing a mask, so we can't see his face, but with combat strength like this, it's obviously the one from the *Niehai*."

"*Huanggu Shengti*." Among those drawn over, besides spectators, there were many *taizhu*, all utterly shocked.

As *taizhu* in the gambling arenas, each was a *mingjiang*.

As *mingjiang*, they knew more. In the *Mingjie*, there was already one *Huanggu Shengti*, revered as the emperor, standing shoulder to shoulder with the Ming Emperor.

But they were surprised that the *Mingjie* had produced a second *Huanggu Shengti*, and one far more formidable than expected.

The rumbling eventually faded, signaling the end of the battle.

Ye Chen straightened his clothes and smoothed his hair.

As for his opponent, the *shengren* zombie, it lay in a pit, no longer resembling anything human—just a mangled wreck.

Silence fell, extraordinarily quiet, as everyone stared at Ye Chen like he was a monster. He was a demon, incredibly domineering.

"I've won. The *gongde*." In the midst of the silence, Ye Chen broke it with a grin, looking at the *taizhu*.

The *taizhu*'s old face twitched, his mouth opening and closing, his expression turning dark.

Had he eaten dog shit today? His luck was this bad, running into an *Huanggu Shengti* and losing twice in a row.

And each loss was worse than the last—over three thousand *gongde* in total. How many years would it take him to earn that back?

In his mind, he slapped himself twice hard.

It was all his own fault; he had no one else to blame.

Earlier, when the man didn't have enough money and wanted to come back later, he had insisted that *gongde* could substitute for *ming* stones and dragged him back.

Well, now, after two fights, over three thousand *gongde* were gone.

"Hand it over! No welching." The people below started jeering.

They had lost money here plenty of times and were holding grudges. Seeing the *taizhu* lose *gongde* was incredibly satisfying.

The *taizhu* from other mountains were clicking their tongues in amazement.

They hadn't realized the stakes were so high until now. Such a huge amount of *gongde* was terrifying.

Many had already memorized Ye Chen; this guy was incredibly strong, and they needed to be on guard—he might target them next.

Gambling was all about who was the toughest. Someone who could cripple a *shengren* zombie—who could beat him?

Under everyone's watchful eyes, the *taizhu* pulled out his *gongde* ledger.

His face was full of reluctance and pain as he deducted two thousand *gongde* with a finger, nearly bursting into tears.

Ye Chen hugged the *gongde* ledger, staring at it for a long time.

Looking at the nearly five thousand figure on it, he was truly excited. Just a few thousand more, and he'd have enough for promotion to *mingjiang* rank.

Once his cultivation advanced, he could go to the judge for a travel document and finally see Chu Ling.

Thinking of this, he tossed the ledger into the air with a bold flourish. "All in! Come on, let's go again."

"Get lost." The *taizhu* roared so loudly it shook the heavens.

Again? Did you have any conscience? With so many platforms, why target me alone?

He had lost over three thousand *gongde* in two fights; he was on the verge of losing his position. All his hard work over centuries was wiped out.

If he had a *shengwang* zombie, he'd pull it out and beat you to tears, winning back every bit of *gongde*.

Ye Chen coughed awkwardly and chuckled sheepishly, putting away his ledger.

He had been a bit ruthless; if he kept going, the *taizhu* might lose his status. He had to leave some for others—can't be too straightforward.

So, he turned his gaze to the *taizhu* on the other mountains.

At his look, those *taizhu* all twitched their mouths.

We've got you figured out; don't even think about causing trouble at our places.

Losing a few thousand *ming* stones was fine, but not *gongde*.

This *taizhu* was a bloody example; they didn't want to follow in his footsteps. Go wherever you're comfortable.

Ye Chen's mouth also twitched. These old *mingjiang* were guarding against him like he was a thief—this feeling wasn't great.

Zhao Yun nearly laughed, waving his hand to signal Ye Chen to leave quickly, or he might get beaten.

Ye Chen sensed it too, feeling a chill wind at his back.