Chapter 2113: Lottery Draw

After cultivating for an unknown length of time, in a trance, Zhang Xuan seemed to see a vast ocean surface before him, boundless and endless, where divine power surged, and countless golden divine qi wandered within, infinite and inexhaustible.

With intense concentration, he reached out to grasp one of them and extract it, only to find that his entire body shook violently, and everything before him receded like a tide in an instant. Opening his eyes, he was still in the room, illuminated by the light of the night pearl; what he had seen was like a dream.

"Could it be... an illusion?"

He frowned.

Since he began cultivation, he had never encountered inner demons. Occasionally, one or two appeared, but he had taken them as students. As for illusions, they had never occurred. So why... was this problem suddenly arising?

Could it be that the techniques he had comprehended contained many errors?

Turning his wrist, he took out a blank book and wrote down the "Heaven If Has Emotion" technique.

Before he finished writing, the book trembled slightly and turned to ashes.

His face darkened.

He had not used any technique or any power; he had merely written down the technique he had comprehended, yet the book could not withstand it...

Pausing, he took out a piece of hard alloy from his storage ring.

It should be material for refining mid-grade divine artifacts; at least, with his strength, even bending it was difficult.

He wrote "Heaven If Has Emotion" on it again.

Whoosh!

Again, before he finished, it turned to ashes, as if unable to bear the power brought by the technique.

"Heaven If Has Emotion surpasses the techniques of the Heavenly Dao... The Heavenly Dao of the God Realm does not allow its existence!"

He sighed.

He knew very well the power of this technique; it was only stronger than the previously cultivated Heavenly Dao Deficient technique, indicating it had already surpassed the Heavenly Dao...

Being so heaven-defying, how could the Heavenly Dao allow it to exist?

"No wonder... in the Upper Firmament, I could not attract the divine tribulation..."

He gave a bitter smile.

Heavenly tribulation is the punishment of the Heavenly Dao for cultivators' transgressions.

Previously, when he triggered the thunder tribulation, the divine tribulation did not strike him but instead kept striking the little yellow chicken that had just broken through... At the time, he was puzzled. Now it seemed that it should be because the technique he cultivated had surpassed the Heavenly Dao, and the latter was no longer qualified to manage him and could not impose punishment.

"Unable to write it down, the Library cannot determine if there are flaws... It seems I can only rely on myself!"

All along, he had relied on the Library to find flaws in techniques, thus cultivating the most complete and correct ones. Now, this situation was about to end.

He could only rely on himself step by step, slowly accumulating and gradually improving.

He reviewed the technique he had created in his mind again, found nothing wrong, and then continued to take out pills from the jade bottle and swallow them one by one.

He cultivated for an unknown length of time.

With a series of crackling sounds from his body, Zhang Xuan stood up. His entire body seemed to have grown taller, and the power within him surged forth, more than twice as strong as before.

"I've reached the peak of Lower Divine Artifact..."

He smiled slightly.

After a period of cultivation, he had gone from the initial stage of Lower Divine Artifact to the peak, ready to break through at any time.

If not for insufficient pills, he might have already succeeded.

"But even with pills, I dare not directly break through to Middle Divine Artifact..."

Having read the books left by One Inch Ash, he had a certain understanding of the divine cultivation system.

In his current state, as long as he had enough pills, breaking through to Middle Divine Artifact would be no problem. However... during this period of cultivation, only his divine essence had increased; his physical body and soul had not fully transformed.

If he rashly broke through, his body and soul would be unable to bear the vast divine essence, thus falling into danger.

At that time, not only would his strength not improve, but it would be like installing a time bomb inside him, extremely dangerous.

Looking outside, the sky was already fully bright, approaching noon.

Walking out of the room, Sun Qiang greeted him.

"Young master, I've inquired clearly about the matter of divine qi! As Teacher Mo Yun said earlier, it is restricted and not easily obtained. To get it, one must go to the Divine Mountain. But... the Divine Mountain is not accessible at all times; it opens once every six months, and not everyone has the opportunity; one must obtain entry qualifications in advance."

Zhang Xuan frowned: "Qualifications?"

Sun Qiang said: "Yes, the Divine Mountain opens once every six months, allowing one thousand people to enter each time... That is, one must be on the list of these one thousand people to have a chance!"

Zhang Xuan asked: "When is the next opening of the Divine Mountain...?"

"Tomorrow..." Sun Qiang said with a wry smile.

Zhang Xuan was startled, not expecting the time to be so close, and said: "How can one get on this list?"

"Anyone under thirty years old with a cultivation level not reaching the divine level can register. However... the selection competition has already ended, unless... one challenges someone on the list. If victorious, one can replace them."

Pausing, Sun Qiang continued: "But... those on the list are well-hidden and certainly unwilling to compete. Moreover, almost all of them are from major powers. To replace them... how easy can it be!"

With the Divine Mountain opening tomorrow and the opportunity to become a god, who would be willing to take out such a chance for a competition?

The gap between a god and a non-god is too great. Once missed, it is like losing the chance to ascend to heaven, completely losing the opportunity in the cultivation world.

"Is there no other way?" Zhang Xuan frowned deeply.

Although he knew the principle of might makes right in the God Realm, with his and his students' abilities, snatching some spots should not be difficult. But without doing anything wrong, directly taking away someone's chance to change their fate was not something he would do.

Sun Qiang said: "There is! A city as large as Nightmare City only gets a thousand spots every six months. The Nether Soul Heaven probably also thinks this will cause fights and turmoil, so... the City Lord's Nether Soul Hall has set aside another two hundred spots for purchase. Those who succeed also have the opportunity to enter the Divine Mountain."

The city has rules that everyone must follow, but... when pushed to the limit, some are still willing to take risks.

To avoid such trouble, this method was specially prepared.

"Purchase? Does that mean the highest bidder wins?" Zhang Xuan was startled.

If so, as long as someone had money, they could buy all the spots?

Isn't this openly collecting money?

"Of course not. The price is not high, but... success depends on luck!" Sun Qiang nodded.

"Luck?" Zhang Xuan became more confused.

How did luck come into this?

Sun Qiang said: "This spot is not directly sold. It's like rolling dice. Each time, a hundred points are arranged, and you can buy any one of them. If you hit, you get the spot; if not... you have to wait for the next time. Each point can only be bet on by one person, no more, and each person can only buy once a day. As soon as the number reaches one hundred, the result is announced!"

"This..." Zhang Xuan was dumbfounded. This sounded like a lottery draw. With doubt, he looked over: "How much does it cost to buy once?"

"It's not expensive, but not cheap either! One divine coin per try!" Sun Qiang said.

Zhang Xuan nodded.

Based on the purchasing power of one divine coin, not many in all of Nightmare City could afford it, which would prevent people from just trying their luck.

If a rich person wanted to buy, with a one percent probability, it would cost about a hundred divine coins to get one spot... They probably couldn't afford it either!

It gives others a chance, yet is not easy to obtain... Indeed, a good method.

"Where is the Nether Soul Hall? Let's go take a look!" Zhang Xuan said, and after taking a few steps, instructed: "Bring Zhao Ya and the others!"

Since they were vying for spots to enter the Divine Mountain, it was better for them to participate personally.

Besides, one person could only buy once a day. If not, they could all try and see whose luck was good. Regardless, they needed to get the spots first.

"Alright! But the Nether Soul Hall is not far from here; if we walk, it will take at least three or four hours." Sun Qiang said.

"It's fine; if not, we'll ride horses." Zhang Xuan smiled.

Having robbed the bandits, they were now well-off, with over a dozen pseudo-divine realm horses. Walking three or four hours, riding a horse would take less than half an hour.

Sun Qiang said no more and turned to walk out. Before long, Zhao Ya, Zheng Yang, and the others all came before him.

From their expressions, they seemed to know what they were going to do, each face filled with excitement and anticipation.

"Let's go!"

Mounting the horses, they set off together.

As estimated, in less than half an hour, they arrived.

They found a place to park the horses and walked in.

This so-called Nether Soul Hall was far inferior to the previous life's Communication Hall. It didn't look grand, but it was spacious, somewhat like a large shopping mall.

Entering, they indeed saw many people crowded inside.

"I've won a spot! Anyone want to buy? Fifty divine coins! One-time payment, no credit!"

"I'll take it..."

"Give it to me, I'll pay fifty-one!"

"I'll pay fifty-two!"

Immediately, a crowd scrambled over.

"This..." Zhang Xuan was puzzled.

"One divine coin buys one chance to draw. Many people come to try their luck. Once they succeed, they sell at a high price... As long as it doesn't exceed one hundred, someone will definitely buy. People are willing to sell. After all, even if you have a hundred divine coins, you need to draw continuously for a hundred days, or find a hundred people to each buy one number... Neither is easy to do..."

A one percent probability doesn't mean drawing a hundred times guarantees success.

It could succeed on the first try, or it might not succeed even after a hundred tries.

Sun Qiang smiled bitterly and continued: "Over time, it has become a business. Many people study the patterns and make a living from it..."

"Study patterns?" Zhang Xuan shook his head.

Like the lottery in his previous life, there were no patterns.

It's better to work steadily; the chance of earning five million is greater than winning the lottery!

Of course, many people don't understand this and make a living and a life from it, not a few.

Thinking carefully, it was remarkably similar to the scene before him.