The Sacred Leaves Family's Wishes for Peace

Because of the Stone Gambling Convention, a flood of powerful cultivators and factions had converged on Seven Kings City—making the street vendors more numerous than ever.

That single street stretched nearly six miles, and was now completely packed.

By the time Fang Chen and his group finished walking the route, they'd uncovered a few trinkets—not particularly valuable, but better than nothing.

Fang Chen was long used to the rarity of true treasures. His mindset remained calm and balanced, unaffected by disappointment.

They now arrived at the inner district's central zone.

The Firmament Chamber of Commerce sat in the most prosperous part of Seven Kings City's inner district, occupying a gilded palace of magnificent splendor.

Clouds floated gently around the palace, with mist curling in the air. From a distance, it looked like a palace of jade and silver in a celestial realm.

"Scram!"

A sudden, icy snort rang out behind them. Even before turning around, Fang Luo and the others felt an overwhelming wave of domineering demonic energy erupting forth.

They turned and saw an elderly man—tall and thin, with blazing red hair. Around his waist coiled a belt of skulls, each skull harboring flickering crimson flames.

His body radiated rolling waves of unrestrained demonic qi—like an ancient demonic beast descending upon the mortal realm.

The sheer aura he exuded was enough to terrify.

Everyone in his path instinctively scattered. None dared meet his gaze. A wide clearing formed before him, as if the crowd had been swept away.

Only Fang Luo, Fang Chen, and Fang Qiufeng remained still, watching silently.

The red-haired elder glanced at the three of them. His eyes were chilling—utterly indifferent to life. It was the look of someone who had killed countless souls.

Had the trio not possessed such formidable minds, even a single look from him would have shattered their spirits.

Only after he had passed did the surrounding cultivators exhale in relief, as though surviving a great calamity.

"Who was that guy? That was terrifying!"

"You don't know? That's a wanted man from the bounty board—used to be ranked 35th. Just recently, to forge a demonic weapon, he wiped out a quarter of an entire continent's factions."

"So that's the infamous Ghostfire Demon Elder everyone's hunting!"

"Only in Seven Kings City could someone like him strut around openly. Anywhere else, he'd be hunted down on the spot."

"Don't forget—he's also a Protector Elder of the Red Moon Sect."

The nearby discussions gave Fang Luo and the others more insight.

When they had first arrived in Seven Kings City, they had heard rumors near the bounty board about this Ghostfire Demon—but they hadn't expected to run into him in person.

Clearly, he was here for the Stone Gambling Convention too.

It was said that half of the top 50 on the bounty board were currently in the city. These people rarely showed themselves, but for such a grand event, many had emerged from hiding.

Fang Luo said quietly,

"The conflict between Buddhism and demons isn't just a Cangzhou issue—it spans the entire Tianyuan Realm. Among the Twenty Supreme Powers, five are immortal sects."

"Besides the Xuantian Holy Sect and the Ethereal Immortal Palace, there's the demonic Red Moon Sect, and the Buddhist holy ground Mount Sumeru. Their struggle has been ongoing for years."

This also explained why demonic cultivators from Red Moon Sect, despite their heinous deeds, continued to exist unchallenged.

It was the same as in Cangzhou—a result of Buddhist sects intentionally allowing them to exist.

After all, when Buddhist disciples entered the secular world to spread their teachings, their banner was slaying demons and subduing evil.

If there were no demons, what would they have left to purge?

Only the high-ranking forces knew the truth—Mount Sumeru, with its power, could easily wipe out the Red Moon Sect, especially with the help of a few allies.

Even alone, it could still do so, though at a cost.

Among the twenty hegemonic forces, Mount Sumeru might not be top three, but it surely ranked in the top five.

Thanks to their experience in Cangzhou, neither Fang Chen nor Fang Qiufeng were surprised anymore.

After a while, they finally arrived in front of the palace of the Firmament Chamber of Commerce.

The wide road before the entrance was utterly packed—a true sea of people.

The three of them barely managed to squeeze their way in.

The palace interior was enormous, but the number of people inside made it feel cramped.

"Today I'm betting my entire fortune—I'm going to strike it rich!"

"Rich? I'd say you're gonna lose your shirt!"

"Anyone want to place a side bet with this old man?"

The hall buzzed like a marketplace—rowdy and raucous.

On the first floor, rows of shelves displayed various Forbidden Spirit Stones, available for public selection.

However, these stones had all undergone multiple rounds of filtering—they were castoffs with low chances of yielding treasure.

Those with true status and power skipped the first floor and went straight to the second.

There, the selection of Forbidden Spirit Stones was not only broader, but also held a higher chance of revealing rare materials and spiritual elixirs.

Each year, the most valuable finds of the entire convention typically came from the second floor.

Before the trio could get their bearings, a thin young man approached them.

"My friends, I discovered a Forbidden Spirit Stone that very likely contains a rare spiritual treasure. Unfortunately, I can't afford it. I'd like to propose a partnership—you provide the spirit stones, I provide the intel. If we hit the jackpot, we split the profits fifty-fifty. What do you say?"

Fang Luo chuckled coldly. This old scam?

He was trying to pull the classic con for naive rookies, treating them as inexperienced youths.

Without wasting more words, Fang Luo directly declined.

"No thanks. We're not exactly rich—just here to look around."

The thin man gave an awkward laugh, then turned and left without pressing further.

Fang Qiufeng looked up toward the staircase.

"So, how do we get up to the second floor?"

Fang Luo replied,

"You need to make purchases worth at least a thousand top-grade spirit stones with the Chamber to qualify as a VIP. Only then can you access the second floor."

Fang Qiufeng scoffed. "Figures. No matter how big the faction, the game's the same."

Fang Chen said, "No rush. Let's browse the first floor first."

Although these were mostly discarded stones, with his Aura Sight Technique, Fang Chen could still identify potential profits.

Fang Luo and Fang Qiufeng didn't follow him this time. The three split up to browse independently.

Fang Luo and Fang Qiufeng were relying entirely on luck—but with their fate as sons of destiny, they could at least expect not to suffer losses.

Whether they gained much, however, was another matter.