Next!

The Treasure Pavilion Master and the Divination Pavilion Master both revealed profound looks, just about to speak.

But at that moment, the seductive Gambling Pavilion Master took the initiative to speak.

"Esteemed guest, don't forget one thing. You chose to conduct this transaction with me through a wager. The wager between the three Pavilion Masters is only one part of the transaction between you and me.

"If you win all three wagers, then so be it. But if you lose even one, then I win. Your fleshly shell will belong to me. Esteemed guest, you'd best think this through."

Clearly, the two Earthly Fiend Divine Abilities Shen Yuan had produced had placed far too much pressure on them, forcing the Gambling Pavilion Master to threaten him.

"So this is what they call a house's tactics?"

Shen Yuan chuckled, utterly unconcerned by the Gambling Pavilion Master's threat. His index finger lightly tapped the gambling table as he casually said, "Continue."

"I'll go!"

The Treasure Pavilion Master's enormous mountain of flesh rose from his seat, and the entire Gambling Pavilion seemed to tremble faintly with his movement.

The Treasure Pavilion Master glared with his mung-bean-sized eyes, a cunning glint flashing through them.

"I won't play tricks like that bookworm and use treasures accumulated by the Ghost Market over countless years to compete with you. I'll choose only one item.

"Likewise, you may only choose one treasure."

"As long as your treasure can destroy the one I choose, I'll concede defeat. If it can't, then you've lost.

"You'll have to fulfill your wager and hand over your fleshly shell and your treasures."

"No problem!"

Shen Yuan agreed readily.

The Treasure Pavilion Master immediately burst into laughter, his eyes filled with the delight of having succeeded.

"Good, then the treasure I choose is—the Treasure Pavilion!"

The moment those words fell, everyone was stunned.

As one of the Ghost Market's Four Pavilions, the Treasure Pavilion was indeed a rare treasure. But calling it exceptionally precious would have been complete nonsense.

Among the Treasure Pavilion Master's collection were plenty of treasures far more valuable than the Treasure Pavilion.

Yet the Treasure Pavilion possessed one trait that no other treasure could compare to: it was part of the Ghost Market. In essence, it was almost no different from the masters of the Four Pavilions themselves.

To destroy the Treasure Pavilion, one would have to overcome the Ghost Market's own defenses. That alone was enough to eliminate the overwhelming majority of offensive treasures.

Moreover, the Ghost Market possessed the ability to repair itself. As long as the Treasure Pavilion Master connected with the Ghost Market and continuously restored the Treasure Pavilion, Shen Yuan would never be able to destroy it.

The other three Pavilion Masters immediately understood the crux of the matter, strange smiles appearing on their faces.

The space within the Gambling Pavilion began to expand continuously, then swallowed the entire Treasure Pavilion into itself.

Before Shen Yuan's eyes appeared that massive, glittering building once more. Yet its heavy defenses, linked to the Ghost Market, were enough to make anyone shrink back.

"Esteemed guest, please!"

The Treasure Pavilion Master watched Shen Yuan with ill intent.

Shen Yuan's gaze swept over the Treasure Pavilion, his expression utterly calm.

The Treasure Pavilion Master's apparent discovery of a loophole had, in a sense, played right into Shen Yuan's hands.

If one spoke of peerless killing power in this world, what could compare to an immortal sword manifested in the present age?

With a slight movement of his divine sense, white light suddenly rose from his storage ring, illuminating the gloomy gambling den as brightly as day.

The hairs on the four Ghost Market Pavilion Masters stood on end, immense terror suddenly surging through their hearts.

They tried every means to glimpse what lay within that white light, but in the next instant, Dawn-Glow Purple Qi that banished evil appeared upon the Dark-Bright Sword.

A purple roaming dragon carrying razor-sharp Sword Qi pierced through their pupils. The Treasure Pavilion Master's mung-bean-sized eyes exploded, blood gushing from his sockets like fountains.

"Damn it!!!"

The other three Pavilion Masters were no better off. Cracks spread across their eyeballs.

The immortal sword, possessing Evil-Breaking Qi, naturally countered ghostly beings like them. That their eyes had merely burst from rashly peering at it was already fortunate enough.

If Shen Yuan's Earthly Baleful Sword Art had reached the First Glimpse of the Path, and the Dark-Bright Sword had awakened a step further, he could have taken this opportunity to slay all four Pavilion Masters.

The Dark-Bright Sword pierced through the entire Treasure Pavilion without restraint. Countless treasures scattered amid the roaring explosions, while the Ghost Market's defenses were as though nonexistent before the immortal sword.

Ghost Mist rose from the shattered Treasure Pavilion. The Ghost Market instinctively tried to repair it, but then the closed-eyed Candle Dragon Inscription upon the Dark-Bright Sword's crossguard slowly opened its mouth.

In an instant, vast amounts of Ghost Mist rushed toward the Dark-Bright Sword. Even the shattered Treasure Pavilion transformed into Ghost Mist, within which sharp wails of ghosts and phantoms seemed to echo.

The four Pavilion Masters were completely dumbstruck. Even Shen Yuan hadn't expected the scene before him.

The Candle Dragon pattern on the Dark-Bright Sword's crossguard could manifest a Yin-Cold Domain. Shen Yuan knew of that marvelous use.

But even while wielding the Dark-Bright Sword, he had never figured out how to trigger the Yin-Cold Domain.

Now, as the Dark-Bright Sword actively devoured the Ghost Mist within the Ghost Market, Shen Yuan immediately realized that the Yin-Cold Domain perhaps needed to absorb something before it could be released.

The Ghost Mist before him happened to meet the Dark-Bright Sword's requirements for absorption.

Large amounts of Ghost Mist swiftly gathered around the Dark-Bright Sword. The violently churning mist became a storm that swept across the entire Ghost Market.

Amid the howling storm, the shattered Treasure Pavilion turned into mist and was completely devoured by the Dark-Bright Sword.

The Ghost Market, an aberrant lifeform, finally reacted. It began withdrawing the Ghost Mist that had been trying to repair the Treasure Pavilion, but the Dark-Bright Sword pressed its advantage and continued forcefully contending for it.

At last, in this strange confrontation, the Ghost Market abandoned the entire shattered Treasure Pavilion, allowing the rising black mist to be devoured by the Dark-Bright Sword.

The Ghost Mist gradually thinned, and after several breaths, it was completely absorbed by the Dark-Bright Sword.

The once resplendent Treasure Pavilion had vanished, leaving only ruins in its place, scattered jewels strewn across the dust.

As if full and satisfied, the Bronze Ancient Sword wobbled as it flew back to Shen Yuan's side.

Shen Yuan caught the immortal sword in his left hand. In that instant, it seemed as though the cries and howls of departed souls rang beside his ears, while another side of the Dark-Bright Sword quietly revealed itself to him.

At the point where sword sheath and blade connected, another fleck of mottled rust fell away, turning to ash and dispersing into the air.

The Treasure Pavilion Master's newly regenerated eyes stared fixedly at the immortal sword in Shen Yuan's left hand, his stunned expression filled with disbelief.

"A sect-protecting Dao artifact? No, no!

"Even a Dao artifact couldn't forcibly destroy the Treasure Pavilion in such a damaged state, much less seize part of a ghost's essence from the Ghost Market's main body. This is definitely more than a Dao artifact!"

"Could this be a legendary immortal artifact? Some peerless immortal sword lost to history?"

The Gambling Pavilion fell into dead silence once more.

The shock brought by this wager surpassed even the two Earthly Fiend Divine Abilities.

During the previous Qi Tide Era, although Earthly Fiend Divine Abilities had been rare, there were still rumors of them. Even the Ghost Market's Arts Pavilion had once possessed the lesser divine abilities derived from eight Earthly Fiend Divine Abilities.

But legends of immortal swords had already vanished for more than ten thousand years alongside Heaven-Earth Severance.

At the gambling table, Shen Yuan lightly tapped the tabletop with his index finger and declared with an indifferent expression:

"Next!"