Secret Talks Between the Two Purities

Guang Chengzi shrugged and spread his hands. "Then forget it!"

With that, he turned to leave.

Duobao looked at the two Acquired Spirit Treasures in Guang Chengzi's arms, his eyes flickering as calculations churned endlessly in his mind.

Suddenly!

"Senior Brother, wait!"

Guang Chengzi turned to Duobao in confusion. "Junior Brother, is there anything else?"

Duobao drew a deep breath, as though he had made an enormous decision.

"Senior Brother, I'll bet with you—but the stakes need to change!"

"Go on."

Duobao chuckled, a glint flashing through his eyes.

"As for how long Bai Ze will take to fully master the grand formation, we'll still wager the two Acquired Spirit Treasures.

"But whether he can break through, we'll wager True Dragon Blood Essence instead!"

Looking at Duobao's sly grin, how could Guang Chengzi not know what he was thinking? Yet he did not mind in the slightest.

He nodded slightly and agreed.

"However, I no longer have any True Dragon Blood Essence. The dragon clan has been somewhat turbulent recently. If I lose, may I substitute equally precious True Phoenix Blood Essence?"

Duobao considered it, then nodded without hesitation. In any case, he was not confident he could win the True Phoenix Blood Essence. As long as he won the Acquired Spirit Treasures, that was enough!

Yet at the same time, curiosity rose in his heart. Why did Guang Chengzi possess True Phoenix Blood Essence, something as precious as True Dragon Blood Essence?

"Senior Brother, both True Dragon Blood Essence and True Phoenix Blood Essence are exceedingly precious. Why do you possess both?"

Guang Chengzi shook his head with a laugh. "I never said the True Phoenix Blood Essence was on me.

"But Junior Brother, if you lose, what will you wager?"

Duobao had long made his plans. He said proudly, "If I lose, I'll repay you with the blood essence of the first Treasure-Seeking Mouse in heaven and earth, as well as the first Bai Ze in heaven and earth."

Guang Chengzi's brows furrowed slightly as he looked at Duobao in surprise. But Duobao remained smug and unconcerned, as though he had gotten the better end of the bargain.

Guang Chengzi could not help gaining a fresh understanding of his junior brother's thick skin.

After pondering for a moment, he said, "Both you and Bai Ze possess the foundations of innate sacred beings. Together, you are no worse than a true dragon or true phoenix.

"These stakes will do!"

"Of course!" Duobao burst into laughter. "The blood essence of Bai Ze and me is very precious!"

Seeing this, Guang Chengzi smiled gently. Losing blood essence would take several hundred years to recover from.

Looking at Duobao, who was still riding high and had completely forgotten the loss he had just suffered, Guang Chengzi thought, This time, consider it a lesson paid for by your own temperament!

Within a mysterious space in the small courtyard.

Venerable Lingbao, refreshed and spirited, and Venerable Yuanshi, calm as still water, continued playing the unfinished game before them.

"Junior Brother, your disciple truly forgets the pain as soon as the wound heals. He has not realized the value of blood essence at all."

Venerable Lingbao was equally helpless in his heart.

"It is not that Duobao does not realize it. He simply cannot move when he sees a treasure!

"He did not see at all that Guang Chengzi was yielding to him!"

Hearing this, Venerable Yuanshi picked up a white stone and pondered.

"Then should I tell Guang Chengzi to stop here?"

Venerable Lingbao shook his head. "No need. This brat deserves to suffer a little!

"Otherwise, who knows what trouble he may stir up in the future!"

Venerable Yuanshi did not insist further. After all, there were still some existences in the Primordial World that even he was wary of.

With Duobao's flighty temperament, he would inevitably provoke some remnants of chaos that Pangu had not completely slaughtered!

Click!

Venerable Lingbao placed a stone and looked toward Venerable Yuanshi. "Senior Brother, Bai Ze has already cultivated outside the formation for a thousand years, hasn't he?"

Venerable Yuanshi nodded slightly. He picked up a black stone, weighed it for a moment, and placed it in a corner.

"Junior Brother, what are you trying to say?"

"Recently, my disciple has been constantly talking about Bai Ze in my ear. It has become unbearably irritating."

Venerable Lingbao paused before continuing.

"So, during my leisure time, I took a look and discovered that this child's talent in the Dao of formations is astonishingly high.

"In my view, the forbidden formation I spent nearly ten thousand years devising would take him no more than six thousand years to completely break."

"Heh."

Venerable Yuanshi chuckled softly and set down the white stone in his hand, looking at his junior brother.

"Previously, you treated this child as though he were a venomous snake or savage beast, guarding against him at every turn. Why have you now taken an interest in him?

"The Primordial World does not lack exceptionally gifted people."

Venerable Lingbao swept out a hand, and the figures of Bai Ze and Duobao immediately appeared above the chessboard.

Looking at Duobao's smug expression, he gave a bitter smile.

"My eldest disciple is arrogant and overbearing, looking down on everyone beneath heaven. Sooner or later, he will stumble because of it.

"But Bai Ze is cautious and careful, yet he advances steadily amid that caution. If he remains by Duobao's side, then even if Duobao causes trouble, he can maneuver from the sidelines. In the future, I will have one less worry to bear."

Venerable Yuanshi looked at Venerable Lingbao with a smiling gaze, saying nothing.

That gaze made Venerable Lingbao feel guilty.

Before long, he confessed, "I still cannot hide it from Senior Brother. Eldest Senior Brother said this child would become a variable in the future.

"Yet he did not state whether he would bring fortune or calamity to us. Still, the future has no fixed course.

"I believe that if we can take this child into our grasp early, then even if he is a variable, he will not be able to stir up any great waves."

Venerable Yuanshi did not answer immediately. Instead, he waved his sleeve, and two cups of emerald-green tea appeared.

After taking a small sip, thoughts surged through his mind. Only after a long while did he speak.

"What Junior Brother says is not without reason. At present, the Heavenly Dao is still immature, and no one can say what the future holds.

"However, this matter is of great importance. Let us discuss it further once Eldest Senior Brother returns.

"But Bai Ze may remain in the courtyard for now."

Venerable Lingbao was not surprised by Venerable Yuanshi's answer. After all, Eldest Senior Brother was wholly devoted to cultivation and paid no heed to worldly matters.

All matters large and small in the courtyard were handled by Second Senior Brother.

Moreover, he had never expected Second Senior Brother to agree at once.

As long as Bai Ze was permitted to remain, he would always be beneath their watchful eyes.

Venerable Lingbao did not want to watch such a variable wander blindly through the Primordial World.

Venerable Lingbao drained the spirit tea in his cup in one gulp.

The sight immediately earned him a glare from Venerable Yuanshi, who said helplessly, "Junior Brother, this is Enlightenment Tea from the summit of Mount Buzhou. To swallow it like an ox drinking or a whale gulping water is truly a waste of such fine tea."

"Haha, no matter how precious the tea is, is it not meant to be drunk?"

Venerable Lingbao laughed carelessly, then looked at the scene hovering over the chessboard: Bai Ze comprehending the Dao and Duobao making his wager.

"Senior Brother, with Bai Ze's cautious temperament, how long do you think it will take before he comes in?"

Venerable Yuanshi raised his head to look at Venerable Lingbao and chuckled. "Tired of waiting?"

Venerable Lingbao smiled, rolling a chess piece between his fingers. "Watching the disciples below fool around has made my hands itch for a game."

Venerable Yuanshi shook his head with a laugh. "In my view, Duobao's temperament comes from you!

"Very well. Since you are tired of this game, let us play another round to pass the time."

With that, both men turned their gazes toward Bai Ze on the chessboard.