I wonder if they can still hold on.

“Haha, Brother Xu, you don’t look too well, do you?”

Wang Tianjing sneered.

“Hmph, enough idle talk… One card: [Earth].”

Xu Hao calmed his nerves and coolly played a new target card.

“But, Brother Xu, for someone like you to actually feel afraid, could it be that this crossbow hides some secret trick...?”

Wang Tianjing shook his head in mock pity as he drew two cards from his hand, placing them face down on the table. His voice rose a few decibels:

“Two cards: [Earth].”

Lu Ze raised an eyebrow slightly.

This guy was just like many card players he had met in his past life—

Whenever they lied, they’d chatter endlessly to distract others.

“Uh…”

Chen Yiyun’s gaze flickered between the cards Wang Tianjing had played and her own hand.

After a long moment, she frowned and made up her mind.

“Challenge!”

“Ah?”

Wang Tianjing was taken aback.

He never expected the seemingly harmless Chen Yiyun to challenge him on the very first round.

The cards were flipped over, revealing one [Heaven] and one [Human].

“I knew it… Brother Wang, I never thought you’d be such a person—lying to me!”

Chen Yiyun grinned as she flicked her cards open—

Four [Earth] cards plus one [Demon].

There were a total of eight [Earth] cards in the deck, and five were in her hand.

So Wang Tianjing’s claim of playing two [Earth] cards was far too suspicious.

He couldn’t have left not a single genuine card in his hand, right?

“Ill—illusions… can you really call that lying?”

Wang Tianjing’s face flushed red as he stammered out excuses about “all’s fair in war” and “strategic deception.”

He grabbed the crossbow beside him and pressed it against his temple.

In an instant, his previously relaxed body tensed up sharply.

“Haha, Brother Wang, don’t soil yourself now.”

Xu Hao chuckled quietly at the sight.

As one who had experienced it firsthand, he knew full well that Wang Tianjing must be seeing his own “death vision” right now.

“Tch… what’s there to be afraid of?”

Wang Tianjing tried to steady his voice.

But the faint trembling of his wrist betrayed his true feelings.

“I’m from the Tianxuan Sect; I’ve calculated the odds—one hit out of six chances!”

He shouted loudly to mask his fear.

Then, closing his eyes, he pulled the trigger with all his might.

“Fire!”

*Bang!!!*

A deafening explosion echoed, much like a gunshot from his past life.

A silver crossbow bolt, etched with runes and moving too fast for the naked eye to see, pierced through Wang Tianjing’s skull.

Blood sprayed out from the gaping hole.

The expression of unimaginable terror froze forever on Wang Tianjing’s face.

His head dropped heavily onto the table, blood slowly oozing from the wound.

The atmosphere around the table instantly thickened with tension.

Behind them, the street performers began plucking their strings.

A chilling, murderous melody filled the air.

Both Xu Hao and Chen Yiyun swallowed hard.

The seemingly strongest player, Wang Tianjing, had died on his very first trigger pull!

What odds? What one-in-six chance…

All lies!

If luck ran out, you’d die on the very first shot!

Although it was only death within an illusion, the intensity of the moment made them instinctively nervous.

“Hurry up, you guys…”

The fallen “body” of Wang Tianjing’s mouth opened and closed.

“Finish quickly, let’s play again! I’m not convinced by this round!”

Xu Hao and Chen Yiyun both blinked in surprise.

The oppressive atmosphere from before was instantly broken by the eerie corpse speaking up.

This was a game design from the previous life’s “The Trickster’s Tavern,” and Lu Ze hadn’t made any changes.

When players pulled the trigger or shot arrows, he used certain techniques to heighten fear and immersion;

but he also understood well that constant high tension and terror were unsustainable.

“The Trickster’s Tavern” cleverly used cute animals like pigs, dogs, and rabbits, combined with fun elements such as the ability to speak after death,

to soften the harshness of death and bloodshed.

After all, this was a “game” meant to attract as many players as possible.

Xu Hao and Chen Yiyun exchanged smiles. Amid Wang Tianjing’s constant chatter, they resumed their card game.

The final outcome surprised everyone.

Xu Hao, who seemed least likely to win at the start, actually emerged victorious.

This formed a sharp contrast with Wang Tianjing, who was the first to be eliminated despite being the most calculating and strategic.

“Such a pity, my last hand was just terrible...”

Chen Yiyun lamented, pounding on the card table.

“Damn it, Xu brother, why is your luck so damn good!?”

Wang Tianjing gritted his teeth in frustration.

He was deeply interested in this game.

But being knocked out in the second round left him itching to play.

The key to Xu Hao’s victory was that in one round, the game fired five arrows, and he still didn’t die.

A perfect example of what it means to have “ironclad fate.”

“Haha, it must be that you’ve done too many bad deeds, Wang brother!”

Xu Hao, savoring his first win, was in high spirits.

This game had changed his perspective on illusions and even on card games.

Traditional chess or card games focus heavily on calculation and strategy.

For rough warriors like them who devoted themselves to martial arts, such games were not friendly.

But “The Trickster’s Teahouse” was different!

Just as Lu Ze had said, it required not only calculation but also courage and luck!

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After playing this round, he even felt that calculation played the smallest role.

Even the calculating Wang Tianjing was undone by just one arrow.

Overall, the experience was extremely satisfying.

“Again!”

Wang Tianjing eagerly suggested, completely forgetting that their original goal in entering the illusion was to seek the secret realm’s treasure.

“Come on, come on!”

Xu Hao and Chen Yiyun, equally excited, pressed ready again.

The three of them played round after round of this life-or-death gambling game.

……

Meanwhile,

Outside the secret realm,

The elders from various sects, each using their secret techniques, had gathered.

The entire mountain range housing the secret realm was sealed off by their collective divine senses.

“This secret realm... why is the sealing formation so strong!?”

Zhao Wendao’s expression turned grave after probing the protective seals around the secret realm.

The strength of the outer seals correlates with the strength of the seals or traps around the treasure ground.

With such a powerful secret realm seal, there must be advanced formations limiting divine senses or spells around the treasure ground!

Normally, this wouldn’t be a big deal.

But if the demonic sect had already set an ambush inside, these inexperienced disciples would be in grave danger!

The elders of each sect wore grim expressions.

Especially the masters of the four disciples who had entered the secret realm.

No one knew what kind of crisis those four were facing within the secret realm.

If the demonic sect truly had ruthless individuals who used forbidden medicines or secret techniques inside...

The more they thought about it, the more anxious they became.

“Not good!”

Chi Shengtian’s eyes sharpened as he stared at the divination chart in his hand, his face instantly darkening.

The seals of the Heavenly Dao Secret Realm were incredibly strong, making it extremely difficult to divine the situation inside from the outside.

Only by employing the sect’s secret methods was Chi Shengtian able to obtain some incomplete information about the four disciples.

On the chart appeared a single word:

“Death.”

Everyone gasped sharply.

Although they didn’t know who had died, how many had fallen, or the exact circumstances of their deaths...

It was clear that something had gone terribly wrong.

And it was a major crisis!!

“Stop hesitating. Let’s act together!”

Nangong Yuan furrowed his brow and urged.

“All right!”

The elders and officials all agreed without hesitation.

Using Zhao Wendao as their formation core, dozens of elders unleashed their combined power!

“Ah…”

Zhao Wendao sighed deeply, his gaze filled with worry as he looked toward the secret realm.

“I wonder if they can still hold on in there…”

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