The Master of Beasts
Chapter 26: Myriad Fish Cage

Chapter 26: Chapter 26: Myriad Fish Cage

As one of the Bai Family’s core industries, the Myriad Fish Cage’s business had always been prosperous. After the introduction of the fish-gambling project, the Myriad Fish Cage instantly became the most popular shop in the city—gambling fever never goes out of style!

Outside the Myriad Fish Cage, Chen Jiuge observed cultivators with ashen faces, boisterous laughter, and a myriad of other expressions. He was somewhat surprised; Such vivid and extreme emotions were rare to see on the faces of cultivators.

"Junior Brother, come on, I’ll show you around," Lin Jiu said, rubbing his hands together eagerly.

The Myriad Fish Cage was divided into five levels. The first level featured Flying Fish Eggs laid by Second Rank fish, and so on, with the uppermost level containing Sixth Rank Returning to Void stage Flying Fish Eggs.

"Junior Brother, since it’s your first visit, let’s go have some fun on the third level. The price isn’t too high," Lin Jiu said, expertly leading the way through the crowd to the third floor.

"Seniors, would you like to gamble on fish or purchase Flying Fish Eggs?" The attendants on the third floor were all fair-skinned, beautiful, long-legged female cultivators.

Lin Jiu looked at one of the female attendants and asked, "Are there any available gambling tables?"

"Yes, yes, Seniors, please follow me," the female cultivator replied immediately upon hearing "gamble on fish."

The lobby only contained a display cabinet brimming with samples of flying fish and some idle attendants. The actual gambling took place in rooms to the left and right.

Since they hadn’t arrived early, the attendant led them all the way to the innermost room, Room Twelve, before saying, "Seniors, only Room Twelve is currently available."

"It’s fine. Just give us the Token," Lin Jiu said nonchalantly.

On the first and second floors, fish gambling was a mixed affair, with crowds gathered around large tanks full of fish eggs, where they would choose their own, pay, and have them hatched. From the third level upwards, it was different; the price of Fourth Rank Flying Fish Eggs was already quite substantial, so it was a system of private rooms.

It was rumored that for rooms one through twelve, the lower the number, the higher the probability of securing high-quality goods. Though just a rumor, gamblers loved to believe such things.

The private room was like a different world; it looked merely the size of an ordinary room from the outside, but upon entering, it felt very spacious, adorned with snow-white carpets, magnificent furnishings, crystal tanks, and Flying Fish Eggs glistening with various colors.

"Ahem, Junior Brother, if you see an egg you like, just use the Token in your hand to lift the restriction on it. But once it’s lifted, there are no refunds."

"Once you’ve made your choice, you can have it hatched and then appraised by professionals. You can choose to sell it to the Flying Fish Pavilion or take it with you. The number displayed on your Token will be the amount of Spirit Stones you need to pay or will earn."

After explaining the gambling process, Lin Jiu couldn’t wait any longer and went off in search of his dream egg.

After parting ways with the unreliable Lin Jiu, Chen Jiuge thought that since he was there, he might as well indulge and try something new.

Each crystal tank contained dozens of eggs; tanks with fewer eggs were those from which others had already picked. There were nearly a hundred tanks in the room, each surrounded by one or several cultivators. _{freew\e bnovel.com}

Chen Jiuge approached a tank where only one cultivator stood.

But just as he drew near, the female cultivator said coldly, "If you approached just to get close to me, there’s no need. One egg costs 100 Upper Spirits, and I’m not interested in you, so don’t waste your Spirit Stones."

Chen Jiuge looked at the female cultivator, speechless. She was indeed attractive, with her charming Phoenix eyes, but it wasn’t as if he had never seen beautiful women before—even the perpetually stern Senior Sister Zhen Yan was no less attractive than this female cultivator.

That comment almost made Chen Jiuge explode with anger. Ignoring the narcissistic female cultivator, Chen Jiuge had observed earlier that the Flying Fish Eggs couldn’t be touched before purchase, but they could be afterward. As long as his luck wasn’t terrible, purifying them with his Golden Finger might not yield a large profit, but at least he wouldn’t lose too much.

There was a groove on the surface of the crystal tank. Chen Jiuge pondered for a moment and placed the Token inside. Instantly, layers of patterns lit up on the tank’s surface, and then a light screen appeared.

Looking at the glowing dots on the light screen, Chen Jiuge quickly compared them to the positions of the Flying Fish Eggs in the tank and randomly selected a blue-glowing egg. He saw the number on the Token, which had initially shown "0," jump to "-100."

This whole operation truly stunned Chen Jiuge. As expected in a world of cultivation, technology wasn’t necessarily much inferior to that of the non-supernatural world of his previous life; Spiritual Energy just made things more convenient and efficient.

Watching the blue fish egg float out from the tank, Chen Jiuge reached out and grabbed it. Upon inspection with his Golden Finger, he realized this fish egg’s quality wasn’t great.

It was a Third Rank Blue Water Spiritual Fish, its Bloodline mixed with many others. The egg was barely worth a few Upper Spirits, and even after extracting the three most substantial Bloodlines, its purity only increased slightly. It seemed he had made a losing deal; his ideals were too optimistic.

"Senior, would you like to incubate it right here?" The attendant who had led them in saw Chen Jiuge had purchased a fish egg and immediately asked, her face wreathed in smiles.

"Yes." The Third Rank Blue Water Spiritual Fish was of no use to Chen Jiuge. It was better to deal with it now rather than take it back with him, as that wouldn’t be suitable.

"Please wait a moment, Senior." The attendant formed a hand seal, casting a beam of light onto the egg.

CRACK. CRACK.

The blue fish egg slowly cracked open, revealing a sky-blue Spiritual Fish.

The attendant took out a piece of White Jade and tested it on the Spiritual Fish’s head, saying, "Senior, this is a Third Rank Blue Water Spiritual Fish with moderate Bloodline purity, valued at four Upper Spirits. Do you wish to sell it to us directly, or will you keep it?"

"Sell it," Chen Jiuge waved his hand.

"I told you, there’s no need to waste Spirit Stones on me," the female cultivator said with a scornful expression after watching Chen Jiuge’s entire process.

Speechless, Chen Jiuge immediately moved to an unoccupied tank, wanting to avoid the narcissistic female cultivator.

Chen Jiuge had just selected another fish egg and was about to examine its Bloodline when he heard a commotion.

"It’s a Fifth Rank Blue Sea Flying Fish! I’ve struck it rich!"

"Such incredible luck."

"I’ve bought dozens and haven’t found a single Fifth Rank one."

Holding his own fish egg, Chen Jiuge drew closer and saw a Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator proudly holding a green Spiritual Fish. The cultivator exclaimed, "I’m selling this fish! How many Spirit Stones?"

"Senior, 3,200 Upper Spirits," said an attendant who was accompanying a Golden Core Cultivator nearby, also smiling.

"Excellent! It’s a deal!" the Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator said joyfully.

Fish-type Spiritual Beasts were generally not very powerful. A typical Fifth Rank Spiritual Fish was usually valued at around 1,500 Upper Spirits. For this Blue Sea Flying Fish to be worth over 3,000 Upper Spirits, that Cultivator had truly hit the jackpot.

Watching the spectacle from the side, Chen Jiuge thoughtfully looked at the fish egg he had just purchased. The first egg he’d selected had contained traces of the Fifth Rank Blue Sea Flying Fish Bloodline. This current egg’s primary Bloodline was only Fourth Rank, but it too contained the Blue Sea Flying Fish Bloodline.

If every fish egg here contained that Spiritual Fish’s Bloodline, then judging by the concentration, buying about ten more could almost guarantee him a pure Blue Sea Flying Fish. That would be pure profit, wouldn’t it?

Realizing the crucial point, Chen Jiuge’s eyes lit up. An opportunity like this, to fleece the house, wasn’t easy to come by!