Gambling Life

The moment the Immortal Master pointed his fingertip toward him, a glimmer of hope could not help but rise in Zhang Huan's heart.

However, it lasted for only a fleeting instant.

Jade Cauldron Grotto-Heaven.

As one of the six most famous Immortal Gates in Yan Country, it was situated in a blessed land with a superior environment and numerous Immortal Masters, holding a transcendent status within the Yan Country Cultivation World.

After several years, the Immortal Gate was once again publicly recruiting disciples.

The entire country was in an uproar!

Once selected, one's destiny would be turned upside down; like a carp leaping over the dragon gate, one would henceforth be high above, becoming an unreachable Immortal!

There were countless people like Zhang Huan who had heard the news and rushed over to participate in the assessment.

Some had even traveled thousands of miles, braving great dangers, all for the sake of joining Jade Cauldron Grotto-Heaven to secure a better Dao Path.

Unfortunately, Zhang Huan was eliminated in the first round, losing his chance at cultivation.

Transmigrated into a cultivation world, yet I have no aptitude for cultivation. Is this reasonable?!

Zhang Huan was filled with emotion and let out a long sigh.

If he did not have a Golden Finger, he would even consider a restart.

In his memory, Jade Cauldron Grotto-Heaven was a sect in the "novice village" when Ye Fan first arrived at Big Dipper in Covering the Heavens; its entry requirements were low, making it very easy to join.

When he transmigrated to Yan Capital several months ago, Zhang Huan had set his sights on this assessment.

He had not expected to suffer a Waterloo in the very first battle; even such a small sect had not taken a liking to him.

"It seems I can only cultivate by burning my lifespan."

Touching the strange treasure in his eye, Zhang Huan shook his head.

Like most other transmigrators, Zhang Huan possessed his own unique Golden Finger.

A strange treasure resided in his left eye, which he could perceive clearly.

[Name: Zhang Huan]
[Consume lifespan to project an avatar infinitely into Ancient History to cultivate]
[Current Anchor: 1]
[Remaining Cooldown: 4 hours]
[Current Remaining Lifespan: 24 years]
[Spatial Items: None]

Zhang Huan nodded slightly.

He had already undergone two real experiences. The cooldown for this time would end tonight.

The cultivation insights and memories gained by the projected avatar as it traveled to a certain era in Ancient History were all his own, and the experiences were entirely real.

With no limit on the number of attempts, this meant that after multiple trials and errors, Zhang Huan would surely achieve some success, influencing his future self and thereby helping his true body rise rapidly.

Even a pig could rise after infinitely reloading its save; Zhang Huan had absolute confidence in this.

Thinking of the divine medicines in the original work that could seize the creation of heaven and earth and change one's aptitude, Zhang Huan felt it was necessary to plan accordingly.

With his Golden Finger to assist him in this life, Zhang Huan's greatest pursuit was cultivation, and he would not give up no matter what.

Looking up at the sky to check the time, Zhang Huan calmed his mood.

Waiting in line for the test had taken quite a bit of time, and the stall still needed his care; now that the test was over, it was time to return.

He walked through several streets, winding his way through, and cast aside all distractions.

"Big Brother! You're back!"

A little girl's tender voice reached him, and she immediately rushed out from the stall, pouncing toward Zhang Huan with a joyful face, still holding a few Candied Hawthorns she had been selling.

The little girl playfully threw herself onto Zhang Huan's legs, rubbing her cheeks against him; she looked clever and adorable.

"Brother, let me tell you, Nannan is very capable! I sold a lot of Candied Hawthorns!"

Zhang Huan picked up Nannan and held her affectionately.

Although she was wandering the streets just like the Dao Fruit of the Great Emperor Ruthless, and shared the name Nannan, this Nannan did not suffer from amnesia; she simply did not remember things from the past, making her seem similar yet different from the other Nannan.

After living together for a long time, Zhang Huan had long since treated her as his own younger sister.

Nowadays, they had a Candied Hawthorn stall.

Thanks to his refined features and Nannan's diligent hawking, their Candied Hawthorns—boosted by a touch of modern technology—had earned a loyal following, bringing in enough income to keep them well-fed every day.

The child possessed an inexplicable charm that drew people to her, and many customers grew quite fond of her. She was sharp and attentive, showing great focus whenever she prepared the Candied Hawthorns.

"Candied Hawthorns! A secret recipe passed down for a thousand years, smooth and sweet enough to fill the sky~"

They began setting up the stall in the afternoon, and by the time the sun dipped below the horizon, only a few lonely skewers remained.

Nannan had run out of steam from all the hawking; she crouched on her chair, propping her head up as she drifted off to sleep.

The various stall owners nearby had gathered together again to shoot the breeze and pass the time; unlike his previous life, there was little in the way of entertainment here, so most people relied on idle chatter to relieve their boredom when they were free.

Zhang Huan joined in as well, listening to them talk about everything under the sun, analyzing hearsay with such conviction that it sounded quite intriguing.

"Heard the news? A certain Yao Di appeared not long ago, and it's already caught the attention of quite a few Immortal Masters."

Someone spoke up with great fervor.

"I know. Then I heard that someone called the Eastern Wasteland Divine Body appeared, claiming they could suppress Yao Di with their bare hands."

"In my opinion, it's mostly just hot air. Otherwise, the Immortal Masters of the various Great Caves would have been fighting over them already."

The uncle selling pancake rolls nearby analyzed the situation with sound logic.

"Exactly. What kind of Eastern Wasteland Divine Body dares to challenge Yao Di? Has any Immortal Master gone to find him to take him as a disciple?"

The stall owners were almost unanimous in their support for Yao Di.

After listening for a while longer, as the sunset began to fade, the stall owners could no longer afford to chat idly.

The residents of the capital were also free at this hour, and most would come to the streets to join the bustle. The stream of men and women strolling by was endless.

Hundreds of thousands of people lived in the Imperial Capital, and the crowd grew quickly. The sound of hawking was incessant.

Suddenly, as if a radar had detected something, Nannan jumped to the ground, grabbed Zhang Huan's trouser leg like a little kitten, and pouted.

"Boss, how do you sell your Candied Hawthorns?"

The next moment, a beautiful young girl with exquisite features and gorgeous attire walked up to the stall.

The young girl had an ethereal, otherworldly aura. Although she was smiling politely, the coldness between her brows was like ten-thousand-year-old ice.

A cultivator!

Zhang Huan's heart tightened; he had just been listening to stories about cultivators, and now he had run into one.

He replied respectfully, "Three coppers for one, ten coppers for three."

The capital was a gathering place for mortals, thick with the dust of the mundane world, so one rarely saw cultivators here.

"Give me three!"

"Right away!"

Zhang Huan dared not be slow, immediately packing them up and handing them over. He took the ten coppers and watched her depart.

Not long after, several more cultivators passed by. They made no attempt to hide their aura or their attire, making them very conspicuous in the crowd.

Zhang Huan couldn't help but ponder. Just now, while chatting, someone had been complaining that disappearances among the neighbors were becoming frequent.

With more and more cultivators appearing in the capital lately, he wondered if there was a connection.

Hardly three days would pass before another family vanished into thin air, leaving no trail behind. When the bailiffs arrived, they would merely brush the matter aside, and that would be the end of it.

This left the neighbors feeling anxious, mostly believing it was the work of cultivators; otherwise, the government wouldn't be so avoidant, not even daring to investigate.

"Let's go, Nannan, time to head home."

Seeing the sky growing dark, Zhang Huan felt a sense of unease. Having lived here for a few months, he had heard enough rumors to know that the capital was not as safe as it appeared.

"Hmm? There are still a few Candied Hawthorns left, aren't we selling them, Brother?"

Nannan blinked, pointing a finger at her chubby cheek and asking in confusion.

"No more selling. We'll do a little less these days and head back at this time from now on."

Without further explanation, Zhang Huan packed up the stall and, taking advantage of the crowd, pulled Nannan back to their courtyard.

With the rumors in the capital growing more frequent, Zhang Huan was desperate to possess the strength to protect himself. Tonight, he had to make use of his Golden Finger.

He cooked a simple meal for the evening; the rice was fragrant, drizzled with a layer of meat sauce, and smelled appetizing enough to stir a great hunger.

Not dwelling on the day's events, Nannan hugged a large bowl and ate until her mouth was glistening with grease.

After wiping the oil from her mouth, Nannan grinned, revealing her white teeth and a face full of happy smiles.

"The food was good today, right? There was meat, after all."

Zhang Huan touched her face and seized the moment to flick her soft forehead. Nannan's childish voice echoed in the room as she pouted and acted spoiled.

The two played and frolicked for a while until the Jade Rabbit hung high in the sky.

Time in the evening always passed quickly, harmonious and warm.

By the light of the bright moon, Zhang Huan closed the doors tightly and blocked them with heavy objects; the windows had long since been nailed shut with wooden planks.

Once Nannan was sleeping peacefully and silence had fallen inside and outside the house, seeing that the time was right, Zhang Huan tapped the hidden characters before him and chanted silently in his heart.

Ascend to Immortality!

"Sacrifice Lifespan!"

[Current Anchor: 1]

[Current Remaining Lifespan: 24 years]

As the halo swirled, in a trance, his consciousness drifted into a void of chaos.

The Dao and the Law intertwined, surging with a power far beyond imagination, converging into a roaring River of Time, magnificent and vast.

The past, present, and future were all revealed upon the crests of the waves, with scene after scene and vision after vision washing through the long river.

Zhang Huan split off a strand of his true spirit, transforming into a brilliant radiance that flew into a spray of foam.

He had not become a classmate of Ye Fan to hitch a ride and be fast-tracked to Quasi-Immortal Emperor. Nor had he achieved success in his cultivation early enough to moonlight as a security guard, waiting to collect parking fees from Ye Fan.

He would just have to rely on his cheat to make up for it!