Chapter 58: A Decade-Old Fan of the Broken Blade, Uninvited

This was the first time Luo Chen met Uncle Mi.

He was also the old man Qin Liangchen spoke of, the leader of the Broken Mountain Gang.

With a head full of white hair, a round face, and wrinkles, he had a ruddy complexion. Coupled with his large belly, he resembled a laughing Buddha.

If placed in the mortal world, he would look like an ordinary wealthy old man.

However, Luo Chen, and all the scattered cultivators in the Dahan Market, knew that he was far from the simple and amiable appearance he presented.

It was well-known that Foundation Establishment was the first major hurdle on the path of cultivation.

This world was rich in resources, and the heaven and earth's spiritual energy was abundant. In theory, breaking through this hurdle should be very easy.

However, among ten thousand cultivators, only one could successfully establish their foundation.

Only sect cultivators found it relatively easier to establish their foundation.

The reason for this was that the method of refining Foundation Establishment Pills was controlled by major sects.

Even if the formula for the Foundation Establishment Pill occasionally leaked out, it would be reclaimed by the major sects at all costs.

Even if they couldn't reclaim the formula, they would take the person, dead or alive.

Therefore, for ordinary scattered cultivators to establish their foundation, unless they had some special opportunity, they could only hope for the Foundation Establishment Pills that leaked out from the major sects each year.

However, the appearance of each Foundation Establishment Pill often caused various storms.

At auctions, Foundation Establishment Pills were often sold for exorbitant prices.

Thus, although there were many scattered cultivators in the Dahan Market, over the years, very few had successfully established their foundation.

In the past hundred years, despite the comings and goings of cultivators, only two Foundation Establishment cultivators had emerged in the Dahan Market.

Uncle Mi was one of them.

After achieving Foundation Establishment, he became the leader of the Broken Mountain Gang.

He was a man of great vision, kind to low-rank cultivators, and generous in helping young cultivators who struggled to make ends meet.

Even when some cultivators died in the mountains, he would do his best to take care of their families.

Because of this, he gradually won the hearts of people.

Under his leadership, the once poor and scattered cultivator alliance, which only struggled for cultivation resources in the mountains, gradually grew stronger.

Now, the Broken Mountain Gang was the largest force in the Dahan Market, second only to the six major sects.

The gang had over a hundred late-stage Qi Condensation cultivators, over a thousand mid-stage cultivators, and countless low-rank scattered cultivators who relied on doing tasks for them to make a living.

For example, when Luo Chen initially refined the Abstinence Pill, he also benefited greatly from the Broken Mountain Gang.

Those who frequently entered the mountains had the highest demand for Abstinence Pills.

Outside the Jade Tripod Sword Pavilion, Uncle Mi led several hundred people, gathered in front of a huge jade wall.

He paid no attention to the thousands of onlookers, pointed at the jade wall, and said loudly, "In this battle, I hope everyone will work together and defeat the opponent."

"The victor will have the spoils, and I, Uncle Mi, will not take a single share."

"For those who die in battle, their families can be entrusted to me. If they have descendants with spiritual roots, I will do my best to cultivate them as cultivators."

"Furthermore, if we win this battle, I will take out a Foundation Establishment Pill and reward everyone. Of course, there is only one, so whoever first reaches the ninth layer of Qi Condensation will use it."

"Once that person achieves Foundation Establishment, I will also work with them to help the rest of you obtain Foundation Establishment Pills."

"Our Broken Mountain Gang only seeks to break through the great mountain blocking the path to immortality, to achieve Foundation Establishment for all!"

Upon hearing these words, the hundreds of cultivators in the Broken Mountain Gang, as if they had known this all along, shouted in unison, "We will surely win this battle!"

The onlookers, however, were stunned.

Uncle Mi actually had a Foundation Establishment Pill in his possession.

Moreover, he was willing to give it away as a reward.

What a generous gesture!

Similarly, they also discussed the various promises Uncle Mi had made.

Seeing this, Luo Chen couldn't help but admire Uncle Mi's extraordinary generosity, no wonder Wang Yuan and Qin Liangchen recognized and followed him.

His gaze swept over the cultivators of the Broken Mountain Gang, and he saw that they were all excited, as if they couldn't wait to fight.

Wang Yuan, among them, had a cold gaze.

Qin Liangchen and his wife, Murong Qinglian, were also there, standing tall and fearless.

Eh, it turned out that Daoist Zeng was also among them, and he was one of the closest to Uncle Mi.

From the discussions of others, Zeng Wen was one of the "Seven Tigers of Broken Mountain," known as the "Sick Tiger."

Just as he was curious, the passage beside the jade wall emitted a loud rumble.

Then, under the watchful eyes of the crowd, the gate slowly opened.

A long, white passage opened, and seven Foundation Establishment cultivators stood at the entrance, their faces calm.

Another Foundation Establishment cultivator walked out, none other than the familiar Chief Steward Miao Zhen of the Dahan Market.

He said some polite words and then stepped aside to let the passage open.

Without hesitation, Uncle Mi led nine late-stage Qi Condensation cultivators into the passage.

The remaining gang members either took out jade tokens to enter the passage or showed a special iron badge, which was inspected before they entered.

Seeing those iron badges, Luo Chen blinked. He seemed to have one too.

After all the members of the Broken Mountain Gang entered, the other scattered cultivators approached the huge jade wall.

They didn't rush in, as everyone knew that their participation in this grand opening ceremony was different from that of the Broken Mountain Gang.

"This is the list of the eighteen death matches. I've been waiting for days."

"Let me see who is fighting whom, so I can place my bets."

"With my fifty years of experience in the Dahan Market, I know most of the experts from both gangs. The outcome of each match is clear to me!"

There were nine match lists, numbered from one to nine, listed vertically.

Such a large-scale late-stage Qi Condensation battle was not easily seen, so everyone was very concerned.

However, as soon as they gathered around, someone let out a surprised cry.

"Who is this Min Longyu? Does the Great River Gang have such a person?"

"And this Bai Qi, I've never heard of him."

"Yang Rusheng? This name sounds familiar. Wait, isn't he a scattered cultivator from the Heavenly Leaf Market? When did he join the Great River Gang?"

"How shameless, the Great River Gang is even seeking outside help."

"At least it's our local gang. Seeking outside help in a match, isn't that against the rules?"

Against the rules?

Of course not!

The first rules disclosed only limited the realm, but never restricted either side from seeking outside help.

The Broken Mountain Gang chose to have their well-known experts participate.

The relatively weaker Great River Gang, on the other hand, had somehow gathered four scattered cultivators from elsewhere.

One or two were occasionally heard of, but the other two were completely unknown.

However, while they cursed, for the gamblers, guessing the outcome of the battles was the most important thing.

"Regardless of where they come from, they are still limited by the Qi Condensation realm, so it all comes down to their individual skills."

"Right, in that case, the order of the matches is crucial if you want to win five out of nine."

"The first match is the opening match, and both sides will go all out. Let's see who will fight."

"Han Dang, the leader of the Seven Tigers of Broken Mountain, the Heart Devouring Tiger. Isn't this a sure win? I'm going all in!"

"Brother, you're so bold? Betting requires wisdom. Do you know what skills Min Longyu has?"

"Ha, you know nothing. Who is Han Dang? He's at the peak of the ninth layer of Qi Condensation, ready to break through to Foundation Establishment at any time. Who knows where Min Longyu came from? He's no match for Han Dang. Wisdom? Going all in is wisdom!"

Amidst the discussions, Luo Chen used the Spirit Eye Technique to read through the match lists and the order.

The first, fifth, and last ninth matches were undoubtedly the most important.

Neither side would give up these three matches and would surely send their strongest fighters.

Heart Devouring Tiger Han Dang vs. Min Longyu, Broken Blade Xu Renke vs. Dragon Stirrer Gao Tingyuan, Mad Blade Wang Yuan vs. Xiao Wuyan.

Seeing these three matchups, Luo Chen's eyelids twitched.

He was familiar with most of the participants in the last two matches.

Brother Wang was that strong? Placed in the final position by Uncle Mi.

Gao Tingyuan's participation was inevitable, but his luck seemed bad, facing Xu Renke.

The name "Broken Blade" was even more renowned than the Heart Devouring Tiger, with formidable combat strength, unmatched among Qi Condensation cultivators.

If he died on the Dao Discussion Platform, that would be great.

Decided, Luo Chen would now be a decade-old fan of the Broken Blade Xu Renke, supporting him enthusiastically!

As he was thinking, the ticketing and inspection at the Dao Discussion Platform began.

Some cultivators who had placed bets were eager to enter the passage.

"Let's not worry about it. Go buy a ticket quickly!"

"A total of ten thousand tickets are sold. After deducting the free tickets for the two gangs' guests, there aren't many left."

"Give me one, here are a hundred spirit stones!"

Even after deducting some free tickets, there were still over nine thousand tickets.

The Jade Tripod Sword Pavilion, without mentioning anything else, would earn nearly a million spirit stones from ticket sales alone for this grand opening ceremony!

This didn't even include the income from the trading fair, auction, and betting.

Luo Chen patiently wandered around, occasionally checking the betting area and listening to the discussions under the jade wall about who would win and who would lose.

The feeling was like watching the World Cup in his previous life, where fans compared the players of both teams one by one.

From defense to offense, from overall strategy to personal specialties, even their appearances and auras were discussed.

Hey, you can't say the atmosphere wasn't good!

Time passed quickly, and the hundreds of members of the Great River Gang also arrived.

However, they didn't stop, just glanced at the jade wall, and then entered.

Luo Chen paid special attention to Dragon Stirrer Gao Tingyuan, who was being discussed by the crowd.

He was a short, stocky man with a fierce aura.

He looked completely different from the poor man Gao Ting'e he had killed, making it hard to believe they were brothers.

Gao Tingyuan's face was grim, possibly because he saw the name of his opponent.

But he couldn't show any fear.

Being placed in the fifth position, a key match, indicated that the leader Wang Haichao highly recognized his strength and hoped he would win for the gang.

Could he show any cowardice?

Luo Chen could only say, "Good luck!"

As the cultivators entered one by one, even some Foundation Establishment cultivators went in, the crowd outside remained large.

Tens of thousands of people gathered in front of the jade wall, waiting for the grand opening ceremony of the Dao Discussion Platform to begin.

The Jade Tripod Sword Pavilion had said that the jade wall was enchanted with a Water Mirror Spell, which would transmit the scenes inside.

It was said that to maintain the Water Mirror Spell, the Jade Tripod Sword Pavilion had arranged for two Foundation Establishment cultivators to take turns casting it.

Of course, some people were heartbroken for not buying the entry jade token tickets.

After all, the Water Mirror Spell could only transmit the scenes, not the sounds.

But the program list that leaked out mentioned there would be dance and music performances!

Amidst the noisy crowd,

Suddenly, someone raised his arm and shouted.

"My younger brother has an emergency at home, I'm selling a ticket, highest bidder wins!"

Thank you, Xiao Min, for the 10,000 Qidian coins. Your support is greatly appreciated.

(End of Chapter)