Betting on Eggs

Chapter 46: Betting on Eggs

Silent Spirit City was a special city, and a city of freedom.

It was said that the city was governed by a cultivation lineage. Its lord was a supreme human cultivator, whose strength rivaled that of the leader of a first-rate immortal sect. This had cemented Silent Spirit City's position as a regional hegemon. None of the major sects of the Southern Li Land dared offend it lightly; instead, they tacitly accepted its existence.

The skies above the entire city were covered by an air-restriction formation, forbidding flight. Patrol cultivators also roamed the city streets.

Fighting was strictly forbidden within the city. Anyone who broke the rules would be mercilessly executed. As a result, Silent Spirit City had become a place where all sorts of people mingled. Humans, the Demon Race, and ghost cultivators could be seen everywhere. Cultivators who had made enemies or were seeking refuge also chose to settle here.

Of course, Silent Spirit City didn't take in cultivators for free. Anyone entering the city had to pay a substantial fee in Spirit Stones, and leaving also required payment. Whether it was lodging or cultivation, everything in the city cost Spirit Stones. Clearly, putting down roots in Silent Spirit City for the long term was no easy feat.

After traveling all the way there, Chen Lin and Yang Qianqian finally reached the city before nightfall.

They paid a hefty fee, and the two entered the city.

With Yang Qianqian safely delivered to Silent Spirit City, Chen Lin had fulfilled his promise. Forget-Emotion Valley had a branch in the city, managed by sect disciples. Yang Qianqian only needed to find her sect's property, and she would be able to return to the sect safely.

In front of an elegant pavilion adorned with carved beams and painted rafters, Chen Lin and Yang Qianqian stood in silence.

Four bold, flowing characters adorned the sign above the pavilion: "Forget-Emotion Treasure Pavilion." The three-story building was grand and imposing, yet still elegant. It was Forget-Emotion Valley's property in Silent Spirit City.

"Hey, stinking demon, are you really not coming in with me?"

Yang Qianqian still had a fierce little scowl, but her voice carried a hint of reluctance. Even she found the feeling inexplicable. Humans and demons had been sworn enemies since ancient times, and besides, this stinking demon in front of her was so irritating she wanted to punch him. Sometimes she even wanted to smack his ugly face flat...

Chen Lin shook his head and said slowly, "The people inside are all disciples of your sect. If they see you with a demon cultivator, it could cause trouble. Better not."

Yang Qianqian opened her mouth, but couldn't think of anything to say. For a moment, the two fell silent.

"Let's part ways here."

In the end, Chen Lin was the one who spoke softly.

Yang Qianqian nodded, saying nothing.

Chen Lin took one last look at the little girl, then turned and walked away.

"Hey! Stinking demon, will we... ever see each other again?"

"If fate allows, we'll meet again. Goodbye, little girl."

Chen Lin waved over his shoulder.

"Stinking demon..."

As Chen Lin walked farther and farther away without once looking back, Yang Qianqian bit her lip, a trace of gloom flickering in her eyes...

Night deepened, and a tranquil, peaceful darkness settled over the city. Stars glittered across the sky, the moonlight was gentle, and the air was a little chilly.

After saying goodbye to Yang Qianqian, Chen Lin first found an inn to stay at. Even an ordinary inn charged three Spirit Stones for a single night.

After resting briefly at the inn, Chen Lin went out alone.

Even at night, Silent Spirit City was bustling. Precious luminescent stones hung along both sides of the streets throughout the city, lighting it up as bright as day.

Having come to such a lively city, and seeing cultivators streaming past him in every direction, Chen Lin felt as though he had stepped into another world.

Before he knew it, he had arrived at a vast plaza.

The plaza covered nearly a hundred acres. There were no pavilions or shops; instead, stalls of every kind filled the space. Cultivators came and went, stopping to haggle without end. Chen Lin glanced around and immediately understood: this place was much like a marketplace.

"Dharma Artifacts and Spirit Artifacts, all on sale cheap!"

"Puppets, pills, immortal arts—whatever you need, we've got it! Fellow cultivators, come have a look!"

"Fine spirit herbs and pill recipes! Fellow cultivators who want to make pills, don't miss out!"

Clearly, this place was far more prosperous than the Myriad Demon Sect's marketplace. As Chen Lin walked along, the dazzling array of strange cultivation materials made his eyes swim, and he broadened his horizons considerably.

"Betting on eggs! Come try your luck, fellow cultivators! You might just win a rare insect egg and soar to success overnight!"

Suddenly, amid the many noisy cries, a coarse middle-aged man's shout caught Chen Lin's attention. Many cultivators nearby stopped when they heard it, their faces curious as they crowded toward the source of the voice.

Chen Lin's eyes flickered, and he followed the crowd.

At a stall, a rugged-looking middle-aged man was shouting at the top of his lungs. His cultivation was so profound Chen Lin couldn't discern it, but he was clearly beyond the Xiantian stage.

Seeing the crowd grow larger, the middle-aged man perked up and shouted with even greater vigor. "Fellow cultivators, these are fresh insect eggs from the Fierce Insect Forbidden Land! They're all dormant and haven't hatched yet. Why not try your luck?"

The Fierce Insect Forbidden Land? Chen Lin's eyes flickered.

On the Nanli Continent, there was a saying about four forbidden lands and three dead zones. The four forbidden lands were places of great danger, but there was still a chance of surviving them. The three dead zones, on the other hand, were places of absolute peril, where no one who entered could possibly make it out alive.

The Fierce Insect Forbidden Land was one of the four forbidden lands. Chen Lin knew only the broad outline; he had heard of the place, but knew nothing else about it.

Curious, Chen Lin studied the insect eggs of various shapes displayed at the stall. Most were oval, while a small number were irregularly shaped. Every single egg was wrapped in layers of strange material in different colors, making it impossible to see through.

"How does this egg betting work?"

At that moment, a cultivator in the crowd, their face concealed by a black veil, asked in a hoarse voice.

Hearing the question, the middle-aged stall owner answered without hesitation. "My eggs may not compare to the Exotic Insect Workshop run by Insect Taming Studio, but I risked my life to bring them back from the forbidden land. Naturally, I can't sell them cheap. Even the least expensive ones cost twenty Spirit Stones!"

"What? Twenty Spirit Stones? That's too expensive! The Exotic Insect Workshop charges only thirty. Aren't you asking an outrageous price?" The cultivator who had asked the question sounded clearly displeased.

Hearing the steep price of twenty Spirit Stones, many of the onlookers began discussing it, all agreeing that it was indeed a bit too expensive.

"Heh, fellow cultivator, you can't put it that way. Ordinary cultivators like us can't just walk into a place like the Exotic Insect Workshop. Besides, I risked death countless times to bring these eggs back from the forbidden land. They may well be just as good as the ones there."

The middle-aged man remained calm and unruffled, as if twenty Spirit Stones were a perfectly fair price. He wouldn't budge.

Chen Lin was thoroughly baffled. His eyes flickered as he quietly nudged the arm of a demon cultivator beside him and asked, "Fellow cultivator, what does this egg betting mean?"

The demon cultivator was only at the early Xiantian stage. He had not maintained a human form, but had transformed into his true body: a strange-looking porcupine demon with a round body and pointed ears.

The porcupine demon's round face took on a bemused, almost human expression. He glanced at Chen Lin and said gruffly, "Fellow cultivator, have you only just stepped into the cultivation world? You don't know anything about egg betting?"

Chen Lin smiled wryly. It seemed he really was lacking in basic knowledge about the cultivation world. He nodded and answered honestly, "I've only recently entered the cultivation world. Please explain it to me, fellow cultivator."

"I see." The porcupine demon nodded earnestly. Perhaps because they were both demons, or perhaps because Chen Lin's cultivation was higher than his, he was quite friendly. He explained warmly, "Actually, this egg betting business only became popular within the last thousand years..."

Listening to the porcupine demon's explanation, Chen Lin gradually understood how egg betting had come about.

As it turned out, the Fierce Insect Forbidden Land, one of the four forbidden lands on the Nanli Continent, had not existed since ancient times. It had suddenly appeared a thousand years ago.

For a time after the forbidden land appeared, powerful cultivators from every direction went in to investigate, but the vast majority perished inside. According to the survivors who made it back, the forbidden land connected to another strange world—a world teeming with insects. It was home to peerless vicious insects with enormous powers, creatures that cultivators simply couldn't hope to fight.