"Hahahaha!"
Hearty laughter resounded through the heaven and earth. Exercising various divine abilities and magical powers, many Heaven Immortals were traveling to Puluo Heavenly Realm with their disciples, filling the void with streams of bright light, clouds, flood dragons, Luan, white deers, white cranes, and many other peculiar transportation methods. The sky was decorated with numerous strange, blinking lights. The atmosphere was filled with breezes that wafted waves of fragrance in every direction. Some Immortals who liked to show off even brought entire palaces, pavilions, or small hills with their immortal energy, rushing all the way towards Puluo Heavenly Realm.
Today was the day that the match between two immortal sects, Yuan Hua Sect and Huiling Sect, would be held. Those Heaven Immortals who heard the news, including those from Puluo Heavenly Realm and several tens of nearby heavenly realms, had set out with their disciples, rushing to Puluo Heavenly Realm so they could witness the grand event.
The disciples from both sects would fight in a match, deciding the ownership of a planet rich in energy stones that had never been harvested. It was an event that could almost determine the next ten thousand years of development of an immortal sect.
And immediately following that would be the one on one match between the Ancestral Masters of two sects, which would then decide the ownership of their bases. It was a match that would directly influence the survival of an immortal sect. Even if one of the sects did win the planet, if they lost their own base, the foundation of their very existence, that sect would soon fall into decay.
It had been over several tens of Periods since a direct collision between two great immortal sects had ever happened. Thus, it sparked curiosity among the Immortals, turning everyone's hearts boiling with excitement, and driving them all the way to Puluo Heavenly Realm, so that they could witness the event personally. It was especially true for the rest of the immortal sects in Puluo Heavenly Realm, as they paid the utmost attention to the result of the match. Despite the final result, the overall strength of both immortal sects would definitely be greatly affected. Perhaps, it would be the rare chance for some of the smaller immortal sects to rise in power.
With all sorts of thoughts and objectives harbored in their minds, over one thousand and three hundred Heaven Immortals from Puluo Heavenly Realm and nearby heavenly realms rushed over to be the onlookers. And surprisingly, a few Immortal Monarchs from nearby heavenly realms were here with their immortal officials as well, all looking very excited and full of interest.
Waves of fragrance and colorful clouds filled the sky above Liu Sa Immortal Abode where Immortal Chuan dwelt. Many Heaven Immortals gathered in small groups on clouds, offering warm greetings to their friends who had just arrived. Immortals spent years in cultivating, and usually, a few thousand years would pass in a blink of an eye with just one secluded meditation. Thus, many of them had not seen each other for several tens of thousands of years. Now that they finally met, it was natural they were offering each other warm greetings with a joyful mood.
Over one thousand and three hundred Heaven Immortals brought several tens of thousands of their disciples here. They came on all sorts of bizarre steeds; some of them had furs that glinted dazzlingly, some with horns that shone brightly, while some had waves of water, fire, wind, or clouds carrying them. The sky was smeared with countless strange and colorful gleams emanating from them, giving the place an immortal touch, and making it look completely different from the mortal world. Every now and then, there would be some immortals arriving on clouds, and it would always attract many voices of exclamation, whispers, and laughter.
All of a sudden, a radiance of bright, clean light sprinkled down from above, as a large cloud carried over one hundred cultivators, quickly descending from a high altitude. Immortal Chuan raised his head and gave it a glance, then clapped his hands and said with a smile, "Nice, our fellow Immortals from Huiling Sect are here! Now, we just need to wait for the people of Yuan Hua Sect!"
Reverend Huilin, who was severely wounded and looked no better than one year ago, brought the group of over one hundred disciples and came before all the Immortals. He was clad in a bright red Daoist robe, and a Daoist crown with a flame flickering on his head. Upon arriving, he darted his eyes here and there, cupping fists as he said, "Thank you for coming all the way here, my fellow Immortals. After Huiling Sect wins the match today, I shall hold a banquet for everyone in celebration of the victory!"
Everyone nodded with a smile on their faces. Apart from some Heaven Immortals who were friendly with Huiling Sect, the rest of them did not take his words seriously. How was he so sure that he would win the match? In fact, during the course of one thousand years of fighting against each other for the planet, while Yuan Hua Sect lost a group of Nascent Soul and Nascent Divinity disciples, Huiling Sect lost an elder of Thirty-Fifth Tier Heaven Immortal realm. It made Huiling Sect suffer a greater loss compared to the Yuan Hua Sect. So, how could he be so confident that he would win the match today?
As all Immortals could live almost forever, it was natural that their lives were dull and boring most of the time. Standing right next to Immortal Chuan was Reverend Miao Miao, the Immortal Monarch of Hua Luo Heavenly Realms, which was adjoined to Puluo Heavenly Realm. He fished out a large bowl from under his sleeve and shouted, "My fellow Immortals, listen to me! As we are witnessing a grand event today, isn't it just boring if we don't have a game of sorts? Now, place your bet here, you can bet on the match between the disciples of two sects, as well as the match between both the Ancestral Masters. Come, come and place your bet! The lowest best will be one immortal stone! Hahaha!"
Reverend Huilin's face took on a ghastly expression. 'While my disciples and I are fighting the match with our lives here, you, Reverend Miao Miao, are using this as a game?'
Gnashing his teeth, he figured out that with Huiling Sect's current overall strength, there was absolutely no way he could fight against the power of Heaven in Hua Luo Heavenly Realm represented by Reverend Miao Miao. Furthermore, he himself was far from matching up to Reverend Miao Miao's overall strength, who was a Twenty-Sixth Tier Heaven Immortal. Therefore, although his chest was filled with pent-up anger, he could only force a smile on his face, nodding and gesturing to the surrounding Immortals.
Among all the Heaven Immortals present, at least ninety percent of them were extremely bored. So, upon hearing that Reverend Miao Miao was hosting a game, they smiled, each took out a jade slip, and threw into the bowl, which recorded the side they bet and the amount of their wager. With Reverend Miao Miao, the immortal official of the Heaven hosting the game, they did not worry that they might not be able to receive their profits later on.
When it came to a gamble between Immortals, the wager they used would always be the rare and precious immortal stones. Among those who placed their bets, quite a few of them were having a decent wealth, and each of them had placed a heavy wager of over ten immortal stones. It was especially so for a few Heaven Immortals who came from Hua Luo Heavenly Realms, as they wished to curry favor with Reverend Miao Miao, their bets were extra heavy. Some of them even bet thirty pieces of lower-grade immortal stones!
The overwhelming response made Reverend Miao Miao grin from ear to ear, revealing his two rows of shining, white teeth. Quietly, he gave Immortal Chuan a meaningful wink, and they immediately reached a mutual agreement - as Reverend Miao Miao was hosting the game, he would take a cut from the total wager, while Immortal Chuan would receive fifty percent of the total profit as the landlord.
While all the Immortals were placing their bets and filling the void with numerous streams of light, a blinding glare suddenly burst out of the Grand Universal Teleportation Formation of Puluo Heavenly Realm. Before long, led by Daoist Chi, Immortal Green Staff, and Goddess Green Melon, the group of 110 cultivators from Yuan Hua Sect paced out of the formation. Compared to those Immortals who came here with their own divine abilities and magical powers, the method they chose to come here was extremely low-profile.
With both eyes gone wide, Reverend Huilin glared at Daoist Chi as he bellowed, "Daoist Chi, where is Yuan Hua?!"
Not wanting to give an impression of weakness, Daoist Chi glared back at Reverend Huilin and said coldly, "My Master is regulating his breath in a quiet place, building up his spirit so that he can kill someone with his sword later!"
Reverend Huilin was taken aback, and he frowned immediately. The one on one match between him and Patriarch Yuan Hua would be held immediately after the match between their disciples. However, right before the match of the two Immortals, one of them impatiently brought his disciples, traveling all the way from Huang Qiao Planet, while the other was sitting cross-legged somewhere in Puluo Heavenly Realm, exercising his cultivation technique and regulating his breath. It became rather obvious that who was more superior. Patriarch Yuan Hua had made his first move without actually doing anything, and even gained himself a slight advantage over Reverend Huilin.
Reverend Huilin's heart sunk. The circulation of his immortal energy became sluggish, and his mind became confused and disconcerted. But, he thought of the trump card he had very quickly. After a brief moment of pondering, he grinned coldly and regained his composure. He nodded and said, "Yuan Hua always covets little advantages. Hehe, why is he still regulating his breath now? Could that make his injury fully recover?"
He shook his head and laughed indifferently, then cupped his fist at Immortal Chuan and said, "Immortal Monarch, please be the witness for the match between the two sects!"
Immortal Chuan laughed heartily, then turned to the four Immortals standing next to him, among which were Reverend Miao Miao from Hua Luo Heavenly Realms, Immortal Zheng Miao from Yuan Luo Heavenly Realm, Immortal Wang You from Mi Luo Heavenly Realm, and Pilgrim Gu He from Cang Luo Heavenly Realm. "Fellow Immortal Monarchs, why don't you join me as the witnesses for the match? I believe it will make a great story for our future generations in all five Luo Heavenly Realms!"
Reverend Miao Miao and the other three Immortals nodded with a smile as they agreed to Immortal Chuan's suggestion. For these Immortals who could live forever and felt extremely bored, if a fun game such as this were to spread, it could allow them to enjoy the pleasures of retrospection for the next several tens of Periods. On top of that, a grand event like this could potentially bring great benefits to their reputation. Therefore, they were more than happy to be the witnesses.
Hiding among Yuan Hua Sect's disciples, Wu Qi kept looking at Pilgrim Gu He who stood right next to Immortal Chuan. While the rest of the Immortal Monarchs were either clad in Daoist robes or official outfits of the Heaven, a vague immortal gleam emitting from their bodies, Pilgrim Gu He had a completely different look. He had a clean-shaven head with incense scars, clad in a green monk robe and wearing a pair of straw sandals. A string of Buddhist meditating beads was seen twining on his left wrist, each of the beads as large as a chicken egg. Apparently, he was a Buddhist cultivator who had attained a significant cultivation base.
This was the first time Wu Qi met a Buddhist cultivator in this world. Pilgrim Gu He was a skinny man, and he always wore a solemn expression. Vaguely, there were golden gleams that kept flowing across his skin, an evidence that he had cultivated his Vajra body, a unique cultivation technique of Buddhism, to a very strong level. As a matter of fact, those Vajra Arhats of Buddhism were one of the rare existences that could compete with Heavenly Dragons in term of their fleshly bodies' strength.
A green wooden medallion was hanging on his waist, on top of which, four relics were carved. They glinted dazzlingly, showing that he was a Vajra Arhat with the cultivation base of Twenty-Fourth Tier Heaven Immortal realm, one tier higher than Immortal Chuan.
As if he just noticed Wu Qi's glance, Pilgrim Gu He turned suddenly to him, clasping his palms together and silently chanting the name of Buddha.
The soundless chant rang out directly in Wu Qi's mind, "Amitabha! Dear alms-giver, there is a fate between you and the Buddha!"
It gave Wu Qi a fright, and made his hair stand on their ends. He suddenly recalled those fantasy novels he read back on Earth. Wasn't this Pilgrim Gu He behaving exactly like those monks in the stories? They always had the same line of 'Dear alms-giver, there is a fate between you and the Buddha!', and then the precious treasures belonging to the 'alms-giver' would become theirs, while disciples with excellent latent potentials would become their disciples as well. This was the trick that these monks really liked to play!
Wu Qi did not expect that just giving Pilgrim Gu He a brief glance immediately created a fate between them! There was no way he could be convinced that he was a monk in his past life!
With an embarrassing smile on his face, Wu Qi quickly turned around and grabbed Princess Zhang Le's hand, showing that he was just an ordinary mortal who was in no way related to Buddhism. Pilgrim Gu He stared in shock for a brief moment, then curved his lips into a smile while moving it a little. Immediately, his voice rang out in Wu Qi's mind again, "Alms-giver, don't be scared and don't panic. Listen to me, there really is fate between you and the Buddha! Sooner or later, you will be converted to Buddhism, and we will study the ultimate principles of the universe together. For those who are following you, as long as they are your friends, they can join us as well. They can be Bodhisattva, Vajra, or the Guardians of the Buddha. No matter which they choose, they will always attain the ultimate fruit of righteousness. We, the Buddhists, have three thousand Great Dao which they can choose from, and every single one will help them attain the ultimate fruit of righteousness. The Nirvana of Buddhism is the ultimate home for everyone. The power of Buddhism cultivation techniques is boundless. It is..."
Pilgrim Gu He talked endlessly for at least the time to finish a full meal. Sweat broke out all over Wu Qi's body and trickled down his back, and he nearly let loose a torrent of abuse. How could anybody endure the pain of having ten thousand flies nagging and babbling right next to their ears constantly?
All of a sudden, a loud uproar broke out and interrupted Pilgrim Gu He's nagging.
Then, Wu Qi, who had his head spinning from earlier, heard Immortal Chuan say proudly, "That's right, the venue for the match between disciples of both sects will be at the place which I've found recently - the remains of an ancient mansion that once belonged to the human race!"
An ancient mansion that once belonged to the human race? What was that? Wu Qi quickly went through Lady Dark Gold Water's memory, but he found nothing.
Meanwhile, all the Immortals present were already shouting and yelling excitedly.