Under the cover of night, Immortal's Abode was livelier than anywhere else during the day.
This was Tianfeng City's largest casino.
It was also a Golden Slough, a hero's grave.
Countless people struck it rich overnight here, while countless others lost everything they owned.
The enormous casino was divided into three floors.
The first floor was the hall for ordinary guests, a place where fish mingled with dragons. Dice, pai gow, big or small bets—every kind of gambling game could be found here.
The air was thick with the mingled stench of sweat, alcohol, and desire.
Countless gamblers, their eyes red with frenzy, howled and cursed themselves hoarse, laying bare humanity's most primal greed and madness in all its vivid ugliness.
Chen Chen had changed into ordinary gray cloth robes, removed his conical hat, and used the Breath Concealment Art to disguise his cultivation as that of an unremarkable Fifth Level of Body Tempering martial artist.
He entered the clamorous hall without drawing anyone's attention.
His gaze swept over the hall, but he did not spot Liang Feng.
Shadow Tower's intelligence said Liang Feng was a regular here, but given his status as the Liang Family's eldest young master, he presumably would not be gambling in a hall for ordinary guests like this.
Chen Chen walked up to the counter for exchanging chips.
"Exchange some chips."
"Honored guest, how much would you like to exchange?"
"One thousand spirit stones."
Chen Chen answered indifferently as he tossed over a storage bag.
The attendant in charge of exchanging chips was startled at first, then his face immediately broke into a broad smile.
One thousand spirit stones in a single move—this was a major customer!
Before long, a pile of chips made from special jade, each carved with a different denomination, was stacked before Chen Chen.
Rather than heading for the noisy gambling tables, Chen Chen walked straight toward the stairs leading to the second floor.
"Honored guest, please wait."
At the foot of the stairs, two guards with fierce auras and cultivation at the Third Level of Qi Condensation stretched out their arms to stop him.
"The second floor is the VIP area. You must verify assets of three thousand spirit stones or possess an Immortal's Abode VIP token before you may enter."
Chen Chen said nothing. He merely casually waved the pile of chips worth one thousand spirit stones before them.
Then, he circulated the Nine Nether Soul Refining Art.
A vast surge of Spiritual Power, like an invisible tidal wave, slammed viciously into the two guards!
The two guards only felt their minds buzz, as if an invisible sledgehammer had struck them. Their faces instantly turned deathly pale, and they staggered back several steps before barely managing to steady themselves.
They stared at Chen Chen in horror, their eyes filled with fear and disbelief!
What... was going on?
How could a Fifth Level of Body Tempering martial artist possess such terrifying Spiritual Power?
This pressure was even more terrifying than the Late Qi Condensation Stage experts they had seen!
How could they still dare to stop him?
"Se... Senior, please!"
The two hurriedly bowed and stepped aside, their attitude respectful to the extreme.
Chen Chen withdrew his Spiritual Pressure and walked onto the second floor without changing expression.
He knew that in a place like Immortal's Abode, one had to display sufficient strength to earn respect.
Sometimes, the power of the soul was more intimidating than the pressure of cultivation.
The second floor was arranged far more elegantly than the first.
Separate gambling games were partitioned off by screens, while cultivators gathered in groups of three or five, playing more high-end games.
Though the atmosphere here was tense as well, it was nowhere near as noisy as the first floor.
Chen Chen's gaze quickly settled on the liveliest gambling table in a corner.
More than a dozen people had gathered there.
Surrounded by them was a handsome young man in white brocade robes, though his face had gone somewhat pale from losing money.
Two solemn middle-aged guards with bulging temples stood beside him.
It was Liang Feng!
At that moment, he was staring fixedly at the table before him, his forehead covered in sweat.
"Open it! Hurry up and open it!" he urged hoarsely.
The dealer expressionlessly lifted the dice cup.
"One, two, three. Six points, small."
"Fuck!"
Liang Feng cursed furiously, slammed a hand onto the table, and pushed out the last few chips before him.
"Lost again!"
"Young Master Liang, your luck isn't good today."
"Yeah, you've lost more than ten rounds in a row, haven't you?"
The people around him began discussing the matter with undisguised schadenfreude.
Liang Feng's face turned from green to white, ugly beyond measure.
He turned and growled at the guards behind him, "Go! Exchange another two thousand spirit stones' worth of chips for me!"
The two guards showed troubled expressions.
"Young Master... the Family Head instructed that your monthly allowance has already been used up..."
"Bullshit!" Liang Feng raged. "My father is my father, and I am me! Go when I tell you to go! If anything happens, I'll bear it!"
"But, Young Master..."
"Get lost!"
Liang Feng shoved the guards aside and stared at the casino steward with bloodshot eyes.
"Steward Wang! Lend me another two thousand spirit stones! Tomorrow, I'll pay you back double!"
A fat middle-aged man in luxurious robes, his belly protruding, approached with a genial smile.
"Young Master Liang, it isn't that Immortal's Abode refuses to give you face. It's just that you still haven't repaid the ten thousand spirit stones you owed last month. This... doesn't follow the rules."
"I..." Liang Feng's face flushed the color of pig liver.
As the Liang Family's dignified eldest young master, being lectured like this was simply the greatest humiliation.
However, just as he was about to fly into a rage,
an indifferent voice came from beyond the crowd.
"Young Master Liang, since you have no money left, why don't we gamble on something else?"
Everyone turned around.
They saw a young man in gray robes who had somehow already arrived beside the gambling table.
It was Chen Chen.
He casually tossed his one thousand spirit stones' worth of chips onto the table.
"What do you want to gamble on?" Liang Feng frowned, looking impatiently at this fellow who had suddenly appeared.
"Let's gamble on... the most valuable thing on your person." Chen Chen's voice carried an inexplicable allure.
"The most valuable thing on my person?" Liang Feng froze for a moment, then sneered. "Kid, you've got quite the mouth! Do you know that any accessory on this young master's body is enough for a poor bastard like you to strive for an entire lifetime?"
"I'm not talking about those worldly trinkets."
Chen Chen shook his head, his gaze burning as he looked at him.
"I'm talking about... that Azure Cloud Token that can let you soar to the heavens in a single step and enter the Azure Cloud Sect."
Boom!
The instant the words "Azure Cloud Token" were spoken, the entire second floor fell into dead silence!
All eyes instantly converged on Liang Feng, filled with shock, greed, and envy!
Liang Feng's face turned deathly pale with a swish!
He cried out in shock, "You... how did you know?!"
The Azure Cloud Token was his greatest secret and his final trump card!
Apart from his father and a few people closest to him, absolutely no one knew!
Who exactly was this kid before him?!
How could he know this secret?!
"How I know isn't important," Chen Chen said indifferently. "What matters is whether Young Master Liang dares to gamble."
"As long as you win, all of my one thousand spirit stones' worth of chips will be yours."
"If you lose..."
"Your Azure Cloud Token belongs to me!"
Liang Feng's breathing instantly grew rapid.
His mind was locked in a battle between heaven and man.
Reason told him that this was absolutely a trap.
The other party's origins were unknown, yet he knew every detail about him. He clearly harbored ill intentions.
Yet the temptation of one thousand spirit stones, along with a gambler's unwillingness to admit defeat, was like a devil whispering endlessly in his ear.
"Gamble! As long as you win this round, you can win it all back!"
"What are you afraid of? This is Immortal's Abode! He wouldn't dare play any tricks!"
In the end, greed defeated reason.
"Fine!" Liang Feng slammed the table, madness flashing in his bloodshot eyes. "I'll gamble with you!"
"However, we won't play any of these flashy games."
"We'll gamble on the simplest thing—high or low!"
"One round decides victory or defeat!"
He carefully pulled a token from his robes, entirely azure in color and engraved with auspicious cloud patterns.
It was the Azure Cloud Token!
He slammed the token heavily onto the gambling table!
"Come!"
"Today, I'll let you see what a true... God of Gambling is!"
Before you continue