Chapter 290 - 288: Corpse Gambling (Part 1)

After Lou Yi changed his cave abode, his cultivation speed didn’t increase due to the limitation of his Spirit Root.

However, he spent half as much time on cultivation daily, leaving more time to gather Energy.

Every morning, he would take Lou Er to Zone Wujiu’s fields to kill insects and accumulate Energy.

At the same time, he controlled Lou Er to weed and loosen the soil, clearing a small area for planting, and then planted the Spirit Rice seeds obtained from the Spirit Field Pavilion, watering them with the Rain Technique.

Due to the limited amount of Spiritual Qi in Lou Yi’s body, he could only perform the Rain Technique three times a day at most.

And if insects dared to invade the fields,

Lou Yi only needed to lightly raise his index finger for a thin red True Strength to shoot out, turning these mindless insects into a puddle of mush.

Even the highly defensive Golden Beetles would be blasted to death, unable to survive.

Their shells, although hard, lacked the same strength in their flesh and blood, unable to withstand the tremendous impact of True Strength.

The destructive power of True Strength was much stronger than what Meng Konghua exerted back then and had become one of Lou Yi’s great weapons.

After killing numerous invading insects, their bodies turned into fertilizer for the fields.

The aura they emitted made other insects increasingly hesitant to act rashly.

Over time, the cleared field became a forbidden zone for insects, with no insect daring to enter even if Lou Yi wasn’t there.

Ten days later, green seedlings had sprouted in the fields, full of vitality.

At this pleasing rate, before the end of the new disciples’ three-month period, Spirit Rice could be harvested, ensuring no impact on his assessment.

Each quarter, the Corpse-Driving Sect assesses the Outer Disciples, including their progress in cultivation, Lifebound Corpse control level, and Spirit Rice yield.

Those who rank highly in the assessment receive generous contribution point rewards.

In the Corpse-Driving Sect, as long as you have enough contribution points, you can buy nearly anything.

Whether it’s a Cultivation Technique, Magical Artifacts, Elixirs, talismans, teachings from elders, or Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, all require varying amounts of contribution points.

If Lou Yi wants to enhance his strength and find the treasures needed for the Skin Refining Technique, Profound Yin Technique, and other major talents, he must learn to earn contribution points.

...

One day, Lou Yi, accompanied by Lou Er, returned to Disciple Peak from the fields of Zone Wujiu.

Upon reaching the foot of the mountain and looking up, the mountaintop was bustling with people and very lively.

’What’s happening?’

Lou Yi climbed to the mountaintop and found a crowd surrounding an area, with continuous cheers and curses.

"Get him, beat that round face!"

"Hurry, don’t stop, take down the horse face!"

"Damn it, I’ve bet three hundred taels of silver. If I lose, I’ll make sure someone loses sleep tonight!"

"Come on, take your loss like a man, stop threatening. Why don’t you just fly to the sky?"

Lou Yi squeezed into the crowd.

He saw two tall figures ferociously engaging in combat within a ’closed area’ drawn with black charcoal, the scene extremely intense.

The ’closed area’ was about ten feet in diameter.

The combatants inside were both of pallid complexion, bare-footed, without hair, beard, or eyebrows, their exposed skin covered with black lines, clearly two cultivators’ Lifebound Corpses.

Judging by the skin on their exposed chests through their tattered clothing, both had plum blossom marks, obviously at the Spirit Corpse level.

However, there was still a difference between Spirit Corpses.

The horse-faced Spirit Corpse obviously had a power advantage, forcing the round-faced Spirit Corpse to retreat step by step.

It almost reached the edge of the black circle drawn with charcoal.

Seeing this, many cultivators screamed.

"Damn it, hold on!"

"Damn it, I can’t bear to watch!"

Although Lou Yi didn’t know the rules, he could easily see that if the round-faced Spirit Corpse was forced out of the circle, it meant it had lost the fight.

’These people are really bored.’ Lou Yi thought.

Driven by a spur of impulse, he used the Corpse Control Technique on the horse-faced Spirit Corpse about to win.

’Caw!’

In his mind, an eagle let out a cry of excitement.

The Talent Control naturally followed alongside the Corpse Control Technique.

Subsequently, the horse-faced Spirit Corpse’s movement paused slightly, showing some stiffness.

The round-faced Spirit Corpse, which was steadily suppressed, found an opportunity to counterattack.

It maneuvered to the side of the horse-faced Spirit Corpse, striking its chest with both fists and knocking it out of the circle.

The atmosphere at the scene fell into a temporary silence.

The next moment, roars, ten-fold more intense than before, echoed out, enveloping the entire Disciple Peak in clamorous noise.

"Impossible, absolutely impossible, what level is the person controlling the corpse?"

"Damn it, using this trick on me at a crucial moment!"

"Hahaha, I won, I, the Daoist, have won, I bet a thousand taels of silver, hahaha!"

The cultivators involved in the game all had red faces and thick necks, arguing with each other.

’Clap, clap, clap!’

At a crucial moment, an older disciple in a dark blue Daoist Robe, looking about thirty years old, approached the crowd with applause and a cheerful smile:

"Everyone, the result of this corpse bet is out, accept your loss if you bet.

Those who just bet on Wang Xiang’s Lifebound Spirit Corpse winning, your silver won’t be returned."

Behind him, a young man in a light blue Daoist Robe was carrying a black round wooden tray about a foot in diameter, filled with heavy silver ingots and gold leaves.

"Those who bet on Niu Li’s Lifebound Spirit Corpse to win can come and claim the winnings. The more you bet, the more you get; the less you bet, the less you gather."

As soon as he finished speaking, a queue of people lined up, all showing excited expressions.

"Quickly finish collecting your winnings so we can start the next round!" the older disciple urged.

’Not a single person noticed?’ Lou Yi was a bit surprised.

Nobody at the scene seemed to notice his little trick just now.

He thought for a moment and realized the reason.

Firstly, his Great Success Level Corpse Control Technique plus Talent Control was too aberrant, able to influence others’ Lifebound Corpses.

It’s not recorded in any books and surpasses normal people’s understanding of Magic Techniques, so regular people wouldn’t think in this direction.

Secondly, the movement was too subtle, showing no anomalies, at least to disciples of the Qi Cultivation Level.

Thinking of this, Lou Yi’s eyes lit up.

Since he was currently broke, why not use this method to earn some side money?

However, he still lacked the initial capital.

Lou Yi turned and walked towards the mountainside, near the cave he originally lived in.

"Miss You, are you there!"

"What is it?" a cold voice replied without the person appearing.

"I’ve found a good business opportunity and plan to get you rich along with me," Lou Yi thought for a moment and tempted.

This time, however, You Qingyi didn’t even bother to respond, clearly uninterested.

Lou Yi felt a bit awkward, but he needed to find a way to borrow the initial capital, so he straightforwardly said, "Miss You, help me this time, and the matter you have been contemplating before will be written off, and we will owe each other nothing."

As soon as he finished speaking, he heard clear footsteps, and You Qingyi came out quickly.

...