Chapter 4: Betting on the Immortal Binding Ring

Dead silence.

A silence so profound that even a falling needle could be heard.

Gu Ziyuan's indifferent words were like a bolt of Nine Heavens Divine Thunder, striking the crown of everyone's heads on Siguo Cliff.

The expressions of everyone present shifted from shock to bewilderment, finally transforming into a sense of absurdity, as if they were looking at a madman.

A Heavenly Immortal wanted to bet his life against a Taiyi Golden Immortal?

And he even wanted to bet for the other's Low Grade Innate Spirit Treasure?

What did he have to bet with? His Heavenly Immortal cultivation that hadn't changed for ten thousand years, or that seemingly ordinary, broken stone?

"Haha... Hahahaha!"

Long-eared Dingguang Immortal was the first to break the dead silence.

It was as if he had heard the funniest joke since the creation of heaven and earth. He clutched his stomach and laughed wildly, doubling over until tears almost flowed from his eyes.

The surrounding Outer Sect Disciples also burst into fits of laughter.

"Did I hear that right? This trash wants to bet against Senior Brother Dingguang Immortal for the immortal binding ring?"

"Did the aftershocks of the Shangqing Divine Thunder break his brain? What wishful thinking!"

"I'm dying of laughter. What qualifications does he have? His life? In Senior Brother Dingguang Immortal's eyes, his life is probably worth less than a single weed!"

Zhao Ming, hiding in the crowd, laughed until his face turned red. The look he gave Gu Ziyuan was full of disdain and pity. This fool—did he think he wasn't dying fast enough?

Long-eared Dingguang Immortal finally managed to stop laughing. He wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes and looked down at Gu Ziyuan with a playful gaze, like a divine dragon looking down at a suicidal ant.

"Good! What a prize! What guts!"

He intentionally raised his voice, his face full of mock "admiration" as he said, "As expected of the peerless genius who could comprehend the 'Chess Immortal Great Dao'! This courage alone is enough to put ninety-nine percent of the Jie Sect Disciples to shame! I, your Senior Brother, am impressed!"

"Fine! I'll give you this chance! I'll let you die with full understanding!"

These words were praise in name but intended to set him up for a fall; the contempt and disdain within them were almost overflowing. In his eyes, Gu Ziyuan and that chessboard were already his for the taking.

"Are you crazy?"

An anxious voice transmission rang out in Gu Ziyuan's mind; it was Bixiao.

"Take back your words, quickly! He is a Taiyi Golden Immortal; his Primordial Spirit is strong beyond your imagination. He could crush you with a single finger! Don't throw your life away for a moment of spite!"

Bixiao was truly worried.

She disliked Gu Ziyuan's lack of ambition, but he was still a fellow Disciple of the Jie Sect. She disliked Long-eared Dingguang Immortal's villainous, gloating face even more. But right now, Gu Ziyuan's behavior was no different from striking a stone with an egg—seeking his own death!

Gu Ziyuan did not respond.

He simply met Bixiao's gaze and calmly gave her a reassuring look.

Then, his gaze shifted back to Long-eared Dingguang Immortal. His voice wasn't loud, but it spread clearly throughout the area:

"A word spoken by a gentleman cannot be taken back even by a team of four horses."

"All the Senior and Junior Brothers present, as well as Senior Sister Bixiao, are witnesses. Senior Brother Dingguang Immortal is one of the Seven Attendant Immortals; surely he won't go back on his word?"

With one sentence, he dragged everyone into it, checking Long-eared Dingguang Immortal and cutting off any path for him to regret the decision.

"Naturally!" Long-eared Dingguang Immortal flicked his sleeve arrogantly, as if afraid others wouldn't know his status. "My word is my bond! As for you, have you thought about how you want to die?"

He held out a finger and wagged it contemptuously.

"Speak, how do you want to compete? Magical combat? Discussing the Dao? Or a contest of Primordial Spirit deduction?"

"I'm in a good mood, so I'll give you a three-move head start!"

As soon as he said this, another round of echoing flattery followed.

Bixiao clenched her silver teeth in anger, but she was helpless. She could only stare fixedly at Gu Ziyuan, hoping he could come up with some way to escape.

However, Gu Ziyuan's answer once again left everyone dumbfounded.

He reached out a finger and lightly tapped the stone chessboard in front of him, his tone as indifferent as water.

"No magical combat, no discussing the Dao."

"We'll compete with this."

"Each of us will take black or white and play a game of chess. One game to decide life and death, and the ownership of the treasure."

..."

The entire scene fell into an eerie silence once more.

If proposing the bet earlier was madness, then setting the terms of the match now was utter stupidity!

Defeating an enemy in your own area of expertise is called skill.

Defeating an enemy in their area of expertise is called humiliation.

But Gu Ziyuan actually wanted to challenge a Taiyi Golden Immortal in the 'game' he had studied for ten thousand years?

How absurd and laughable!

"Good! Good! Good!"

Long-eared Dingguang Immortal laughed out of extreme anger, saying 'good' three times. He felt his dignity had been provoked like never before.

This ant actually dared to use his ridiculous hobby to challenge him?

He would show this trash that in the face of absolute strength, all techniques were a joke! Before the vast, sea-like Primordial Spirit of a Taiyi Golden Immortal, so-called Way of Chess deduction was nothing more than child's play!

"As you wish!"

Long-eared Dingguang Immortal shouted sharply, afraid that Gu Ziyuan would back out.

"If I lose to you on this chessboard, I'll write the name of Long-eared Dingguang Immortal backwards!"

In the crowd, Zhao Ming and Li Qing were already laughing so hard they couldn't stand straight.

"He's lost his mind! This trash has completely lost his mind!"

"What does he think chess is? Senior Brother Long-eared is a Taiyi Golden Immortal; how powerful is his Primordial Spirit? Deducing the billions of variations in a chess game is a matter of an instant for him! How can he possibly win?"

Bixiao stared blankly at Gu Ziyuan. On that face that always carried a hint of laziness, there was now a look of calm and confidence that she couldn't understand.

She suddenly realized that she seemed to have never truly known this Junior Brother who had sat at the foot of Siguo Cliff for ten thousand years.

While the crowd was buzzing with discussion, Long-eared Dingguang Immortal had already lost his patience.

With a wave of his large sleeve, he ignored his status and walked directly across from Gu Ziyuan to sit cross-legged.

He glanced at the black and white pieces in the chess containers, a flash of greed appearing in his eyes, and then grabbed a black piece.

Bang!

A loud sound erupted.

The black piece was slammed heavily by him onto the Heaven's Origin position of the chessboard. The force was so great that the entire bluestone vibrated.

A fierce and domineering magical power seeped through the piece into the chessboard, as if it wanted to tear this small world apart directly.

Long-eared Dingguang Immortal looked up, his narrow rabbit eyes filled with cruelty and playfulness as he stared intently at Gu Ziyuan.

"You wouldn't win even if I gave you the first move, so I'll go first!"

"Kid, get ready to offer up your miserable life and your chessboard!"

As the piece fell, the wind and clouds changed color.

On the chessboard, the killing intent had already manifested.