Nonsense! How could my adopted son be a villain?

As soon as this statement came out, everyone in the audience was shocked.

Hu Lie stood up abruptly: "Your second young master?"

Huai Qing put his hands in his pockets, squinted and scanned his surroundings, deliberately drawing out his words: "What, do you all not know? Didn't Young Master Gongyang tell you?"

"My second young master has been living in seclusion for many years and rarely comes out. He passed through Junan City and got excited to try his luck at the Hundred Refinement Tower. Unexpectedly, Young Master Gongyang was young and impetuous and insisted on making a bet with my second young master. Although my second young master felt that it was wrong to bully the younger one, he had no choice but to accept the challenge since Young Master Gongyang insisted."

Huai Qing spoke very skillfully, first clarifying Xu Lingguang's identity and informing everyone that he was not a powerless rogue cultivator.

He then implied to everyone that the bet was Gongyang Songfeng's insistence, since Xu Lingguang was much older than Gongyang Songfeng. This way, if Xu Lingguang won, the Gongyang family would not be able to renege on their debt by claiming that Gongyang Songfeng was young and ignorant.

His words immediately changed everyone's expression.

Hu Lie, in particular, was not afraid of Gongyang Songfeng at all. He spat and cursed, "That bastard Gongyang Songfeng dares to play me for a fool!"

The news of this bet was naturally spread by someone deliberately arranged by Gongyang Songfeng.

Every year when the Hundred Refinement Tower opens, the Daoist Temple opens betting platforms with ever-changing betting methods. As the young master of the Daoist Temple, Hu Lie is naturally the bookmaker who earns the most.

This year is certainly no exception.

However, Gongyang Songfeng took the initiative to approach him and cooperate with him.

Gongyang Songfeng's original words were that the alchemist had no sect or school, but obtained the Sun Furnace through a fortuitous encounter. Now, he had been provoked into using it as a wager, and it was already in Gongyang Songfeng's pocket.

But Gongyang Songfeng was clearly not satisfied with this. He approached Hu Lie to open a betting pool, wanting to take another cut from this sure-win bet.

If you only bet on whether someone will win or lose, there's not much suspense; the outcome of the Ode to the Rams is almost guaranteed to be a win.

Hu Lie started this game just to warm things up; since the odds weren't high, he could afford to throw away that amount of money.

His real plans to make money were on several other betting platforms, such as whether Xu Lingguang could make it onto the Little Shennong List, or how long Xu Lingguang could stay in the Hundred Refinement Tower, and so on.

Because of the fame of the Ten Thousand Year Stone Milk and the Sun Rising Furnace, the betting match between the two became quite famous, attracting many people to place bets, and the number of bets at the venue was several times higher than in previous years.

Hu Lie was just about to make a big splash when he didn't expect that Gongyang Songfeng would keep such crucial information from him.

He gritted his teeth; he would remember this grudge.

Hu Lie was so angry that his face turned ashen, and the others present were not much better off, as they had placed real bets on Xu Lingguang to lose.

But now that we know Xu Lingguang is not a powerless rogue cultivator, but has the Qianjin Tower backing him, the outcome of this bet is hard to predict.

Immediately, many people clamored to place bets again.

Hu Lie was an old hand. He chuckled and said, "Once you've placed your bet, you can just place another one if you regret it."

He took out the two Qiankun bags that Huaiqing had given him and counted the quantity. He exclaimed, "Wow!" and said, "Ten thousand mid-grade spirit stones. The odds on both sides are going to change."

After saying that, he quickly had someone calculate the new odds, then spread his hands and said, "Hurry up, does anyone else want to place a bet?"

Seeing his posture, everyone hesitated again.

Huaiqing glanced around, took the betting slip, and turned to leave.

Hu Lie noticed him leaving and beckoned to his servant: "Go and send a message to Gongyang Songfeng, tell him that everyone already knows the identity of that alchemist and they're all betting on him to lose. Ask him if he wants to increase the bet."

*

Huaiqing returned after placing his bet, just as the Hundred Refinement Tower was about to open.

Each alchemist who attempts to conquer the tower possesses a teleportation talisman. Once the Hundred Refinement Tower is activated, simply burning the talisman allows entry into the tower.

Seeing that Huaiqing had returned, Xu Lingguang greeted Lan Jian and Youyu, and then touched each of the cubs before lighting a communication talisman.

"I'm going."

He smiled at the little ones, and the next moment his figure disappeared from the spot.

When his vision returned, Xu Lingguang was standing in front of a colossal tower reaching to the heavens.

The colossal tower soared into the clouds, its base barely visible at a glance, while its spire was shrouded in mist, exuding an indescribable aura of power.

Xu Lingguang took a deep breath, looked at the ancient and heavy door in front of him, and reached out to push it open.

The door was wide open, making a dull creaking sound.

Xu Lingguang calmed his slightly excited and nervous feelings and stepped inside.

Huaiqing had already explained the general process of clearing the tower in detail. The initial three levels of the Hundred Refinement Tower were relatively basic. After entering, you could easily pass by answering questions and refining pills step by step. The main purpose was to allow the alchemists to adapt and transition.

However, after the third level, the changes and difficulty of the levels gradually increase, and there will be various random levels, which the alchemist will need to deal with randomly.

According to the experience of predecessors, the first level usually requires answering ten questions, and then refining three first-grade high-quality pills to proceed to the next level.

This was incredibly simple for Xu Lingguang.

He composed himself, sat down on the futon in front of him, and waited for the Hundred Refinement Tower to present its questions.

However, to everyone's surprise, the question that should have been asked did not come. Instead, Xu Lingguang felt a lightness all over his body and then found himself in a wilderness.

Xu Lingguang: ?

He sat up blankly, and just as he was about to get up, a sharp pain suddenly shot through his calf. He hissed and looked down, only to see that a bright red venomous snake had somehow coiled around his calf, its fangs now deeply embedded in his calf.

The snake venom spread rapidly, and Xu Lingguang felt dizzy and lightheaded.

He barely managed to calm himself, thinking that this must be a level of the Hundred Refinements Tower.

Although it was somewhat different from what Huaiqing had said, and it caught him off guard, he was no longer the clueless young man who had just transmigrated.

He recognized the snake; it was a seven-ringed fire-refined snake.

This snake is entirely fiery red, but has seven black rings on its tail, hence its name.

The venom of the Seven-Ring Fire Serpent is not difficult to cure. As long as you take the snake's blood and find the Seven Luminaries Grass nearby to take together, you can detoxify.

Xu Lingguang quickly calmed down, bared his teeth, grabbed the seven-ringed fire snake by its seven-inch mark, and forcibly pulled the venomous snake, which was biting his calf, off.

His entire calf, entwined by the venomous snake, was bruised and numb. Xu Lingguang endured the dizziness, picked up the snake, and limped to his feet to find the Seven Luminaries Grass.

The Seven Luminaries Grass and the Seven-Ring Fire Serpent grow together, usually not too far apart.

Xu Lingguang scanned the area and quickly spotted the inconspicuous Seven Luminaries Grass among the plants covering the mountains and fields.

Fortunately, he has made great progress in his cultivation recently, and his eyesight has also improved, otherwise it would have really taken some effort to find him.

Having locked onto his target, Xu Lingguang limped over, grabbed a Seven Luminaries Grass and stuffed it into his mouth, then cut off the snake's tail, frowned, and drank a few drops of snake blood.

The Seven Luminaries Grass and snake blood mixed together, creating a pungent, irritating smell. Xu Lingguang swallowed it painfully, threw the now-corpse-like Seven-Ring Fire Serpent aside, and plopped down on the ground.