Chapter 176: Making a Bet

　　“No bet! Absolutely not! Do you think that I would do the same thing twice?” Martial Ancestor Li shook his head as if he were beating a drum and voiced his refusal.

　　“No bet? Benefactor Li’s standards are actually so high. Does the blood from the inner core of a demonic flood dragon not even enter his eyes?” The Daoist priest wore an astonished expression as if he couldn’t believe it.

　　However, when Han Li saw his expression, he felt it was very false.

　　“Blood from a flood dragon’s inner core?” Although Martial Ancestor Li originally intended to absolutely refuse to be pulled into a relations.h.i.+p with the Daoist priest, when he heard the name of the item, his expression abruptly changed, and his words somewhat trembled.

　　“Yes! If Benefactor Li wants to know about this item, I shall explain. Thirty years ago, at the dangerous rapids of the State of Yuan Wu’s Coiling Dragon River, I paid a great price for this item so I could procure it for Benefactor!” The Daoist Priest calmly and leisurely said while eating up the other party’s expression.

　　“Impossible! How could the blood of a flood dragon be acquired, not to mention blood kept in its inner core. This is not something that can be said without thinking. Are you making fun of me?” Martial Ancestor Li sobered up from his excitement and exposed an appearance of doubt.

　　“Is this humble Daoist not a monk? I would not lie. Benefactor can take a look for himself.”

　　The Daoist Priest did not want to waste time explaining and merely flipped his hand, revealing a white sphere filled with wisps of blood. Martial Ancestor Li’s eyes widened, wis.h.i.+ng he could rush over and grab it.

　　“If Benefactor’s Horned Silver Python were to consume this core and undergo secluded cultivation for ten to twenty years, in all likelihood it would leap from the middle stage of Foundation Establishment to the late stage. With another hundred years of bitter cultivation, it wouldn’t be impossible toenter Core Formation.” The Daoist Priest’s words were filled with enticement.

　　When Martial Ancestor Li heard these words, he coldly snorted and stiffened his face. It seemed he was unmoved, but his indefinite and flickering gaze exposed the restlessness of his heart.

　　“With such a rare wager, why is Benefactor hesitating for so long? Could it be you truly don’t think very highly of the strength of your valley’s disciples?” The Daoist Priest curled his lips, goading him to accept.

　　“To say the disciples of our Yellow Maple Valley are inferior to those of your Clear Void Sect is overcritical.” Martial Ancestor Li wore a displeased expression.

　　He swept his eyes past the party behind the Daoist Priest and immediately gained a rough estimate of the Clear Void Sect’s disciples. Their strength was about the same as that of the Yellow Maple Valley’s disciples.

　　“Fine, I will gamble! However, what treasure of mine would you have me wager?”

　　After a moment of consideration from Martial Ancestor Li, he felt that his odds of winning were fifty percent. With the addition of his extreme longing for that inner core, he eventually nodded and agreed. However, he still cautiously asked that question.

　　“Hehe, this humble Daoist isn’t interested in any of Benefactor’s other treasures. If he happens to luckily win, then he desires Benefactor to give this humble Daoist two equivalent chunks of iron essence twenty years from now. The essence of Benefactor Li’s True Fire is clear. It is quite famous among the Seven Great Sects. For you, this is surely a trivial matter!” The Daoist Priest said with squinted eyes and a smile. Even so, a faint trace of treachery was contained within his words.

　　“You want two equivalent chunks of iron essence?” Martial Ancestor Li’s complexion was unsightly and he almost jumped immediately after hearing these words.

　　“You old facetious Daoist, you plan to have me toil bitterly!”

　　“How is that? So long as you win, you aren’t required to. This is the inner core of a grade two demonic beast, equivalent to that of us initial Core Formation stage experts. It is absolutely worth the price.” The Daoist Priest said while shaking his head.

　　Martial Ancestor Li’s complexion grew uncertain. After a moment, he eventually extended his palm and coldly asked, “Are we following the same rules as last time? Which sect gathers the most spiritual medicines, followed by the quality, and lastly the number of people who leave the forbidden area alive!?”

　　“Of course, it will be the same as before.”

　　The Daoist Priest was greatly happy and hastily extended his palm. He struck it against the other party’s, officializing the bet.

　　A sharp Pa! sound out.

　　Although the Daoist Priest struck his palm, he wasn’t happy in the least and was actually grieving.