Immortal Gambling House

The Immortal Gambling House in Taiyun City was the last place Chen Yan knew Song Mingde had gone before turning himself in to the Outer Court Law Enforcement Hall.

It was here that he had gambled away all the Spirit Stones from the Outer Court Shang Gong Hall's accounts. Afterward, he entered the inner grounds, and no one knew what happened next.

Perhaps Chen Yan could find the answer in the gambling house.

Chen Yan stood before the Immortal Gambling House in Taiyun City, gazing at the three-story pavilion before him.

He had long heard of this gambling house. It was said that disciples from all sorts of sects gathered here year-round to gamble and make merry.

Although Chen Yan had once treated Taiyun City as one of his regular footholds, he had never entered this gambling house, because whether in his past life or this one, he had always believed in one principle.

Gamblers deserved no good death.

Rumor had it that this gambling house was a Wang Family property in Taiyun City.

But not even a three-year-old child would believe such a rumor.

A mere Cultivation Family of a secular dynasty, with only two Qi Condensation Realm cultivators as its strongest forces, could never possibly control such a massive enterprise.

At most, the Wang Family was merely a puppet placed in the open, fit only to pick at scraps and leftovers.

The lion's share behind the gambling house must have been carved up by the great sects that truly held power. It was simply not something that could be spoken of openly.

Perhaps Empty Mountain Sect stood behind it.

No, Empty Mountain Sect definitely stood behind it.

Without Empty Mountain Sect's nod, who would dare open a gambling house in Taiyun City?

A servant standing at the gambling house entrance spotted Chen Yan, who was standing some distance away and staring at the establishment before him.

The Empty Mountain Sect daoist robe Chen Yan wore clearly caught the servant's attention. His eyes lit up, and he hurried over to Chen Yan.

"Immortal Master, would you like to play something?"

With a fawning smile, the servant struck up a conversation with Chen Yan.

"Dice, pai gow, mahjong, free tea and wine... none of that common mortal fare, but genuine immortal tea and immortal brew. Immortal Master, would you care to play a few rounds?"

Chen Yan pretended to hesitate for a moment, then nodded.

"Then I'll give it a try."

"Certainly, this way, please!"

As he spoke, the servant began leading Chen Yan inside.

The moment he stepped into the gambling house, a wave of clamor crashed over him, making Chen Yan frown slightly.

Cultivators in all kinds of daoist robes gathered around the tables, shouting and yelling, their emotions running high and their excitement palpable.

Chen Yan recognized several of the robes: Golden Spirit Sect from the east, Ancient River Sect from the south, and so on.

There were also disciples from many sects Chen Yan did not know well.

Most of them were Body Tempering Realm and Qi Condensation Realm cultivators.

Body Tempering Realm cultivators were forbidden from descending the mountain. Such rules essentially existed only in behemoths like Empty Mountain Sect.

For small and medium-sized sects, there were no such restrictions at all.

There were also traces of Empty Mountain Sect disciples among them, though they were relatively few.

Watching the ugly spectacle displayed by the gamblers in the gambling house, Chen Yan could not help but sigh inwardly.

Sure enough, regardless of one's cultivation, once the word gambling was involved, everyone turned into this sort of creature.

"Immortal Master, what would you like to play?"

asked the servant leading the way ahead of Chen Yan.

As they passed several gambling tables, others noticed Chen Yan as well. After all, an Empty Mountain Sect cultivator was rather conspicuous in a place like this.

Some sharp-eyed people even spotted the gilded Cloud Crane pattern on Chen Yan's cuff and could not help crying out.

"Damn, Kongyuan Mountain!"

Beyond the outer court, Empty Mountain Sect's inner sect was divided into Three Mountains Four Peaks, making seven great mountain lineages in total.

As the Main Peak among Empty Mountain Sect's seven great mountain lineages, Kongyuan Mountain's disciples seemed to display a status half a head above the disciples of the other peaks when outside.

Although within the sect, disciples of the seven great mountain lineages did not rank one another by their respective peaks, this stereotyped impression the outside world held of Empty Mountain Sect seemed difficult to change.

Chen Yan's heart sank. He suddenly realized that he might have acted too hastily.

He should have hidden his identity as much as possible.

What was more, under the current circumstances, it was still unknown whether Lu Li, who was leading the team this time, was friend or foe.

"There's nothing in the outer grounds that I want to play."

Chen Yan said,

"Take me to the inner grounds."

"This..."

The servant responsible for leading him hesitated briefly.

"Forgive my presumption, Immortal Master, but entering the gambling house's inner grounds requires verification of assets."

Had Song Mingde undergone asset verification back then? Or had he been able to enter the inner grounds without it by relying on his identity as an Outer Court deacon of Empty Mountain Sect, or his Martial Spring Realm cultivation?

Chen Yan did not know.

He had hardly any Spirit Stones on him, and could even be called utterly penniless, but that did not mean he had no treasure that could be used for asset verification.

Chen Yan took the jade box Lin Qifeng had given him from his robes.

The moment the servant saw the jade box Chen Yan had taken out, his breath caught. Having worked at the gambling house for so long, he had some discernment. Naturally, he knew that what this Empty Mountain Sect Immortal Master had produced was no ordinary item.

Po Bing Needle.

"Can this get me into the inner grounds?"

"Immortal Master, this lowly one does not understand such things. May I take it first and have one of the gambling house's cultivators appraise it?"

Chen Yan nodded and did not refuse.

He was not worried in the slightest. The Immortal Gambling House stood right here in Taiyun City; the monk could run, but the temple could not. Even if they had ten times the courage, they would never dare set their sights on an Empty Mountain Sect disciple.

"Please wait a moment, Immortal Master."

The servant cupped his hands to Chen Yan, then carried Chen Yan's jade box into the inner grounds.

Less than half an incense stick later, someone returned carrying Chen Yan's Po Bing Needle.

It was not the servant from before, but a young woman with a graceful figure, lovely features, and a gauzy dress.

From her gait and aura, it was clear that she was a cultivator rather than a mortal.

She returned the jade box containing the Po Bing Needle to Chen Yan, then bent her knees in salute.

"Sorry to keep you waiting. May I ask this fellow cultivator's honored name?"

"Sun Lu."

Chen Yan answered without hesitation.

"So it is Senior Brother Sun. Please follow me."

The woman spoke, then turned and walked toward the inner grounds, her waist swaying gracefully.

The gambling house's inner and outer grounds were connected by an indoor arched bridge.

The inner grounds were far quieter than the outer grounds, because they consisted of one private room after another. Barrier inscriptions appeared to have been carved from Spirit Stones outside the rooms, preventing the sounds within from carrying outside.

"Senior Brother Sun, what would you like to play?"

The woman asked the same question as the servant before her.

"I'm not here to play anything. I'm looking for someone."

Chen Yan said.

"..."

The young woman stopped walking and turned around. There was not the slightest ripple in her expression or gaze, and then she smiled faintly.

"May I ask whom Senior Brother Sun wishes to find?"

Chen Yan looked at the woman before him and slowly spoke.

"Song Mingde."