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Chapter 196: Chapter 200 Ghost Split Stone
Ye Fan squatted there, not paying attention to him. He stared at the rubble for a long time, suddenly realizing the truth and secretly cursing the Rongxiang Gambling Stone Workshop for its treacherous deceit.
What he learned from the "Heavenly Source Book" was not wrong. It was this Gambling Stone Workshop that was making fakes. These Sources (the stones) had been cut open, the Source (the material) inside taken out, and then filled with other materials and sealed with a secret method.
*Deceitful merchants!* he thought angrily. The Rongxiang Gambling Stone Workshop was truly excessive in its deceit.
He felt like causing a huge scene but restrained himself. Even if he spoke out, not many would believe him. Moreover, those who dared to open gambling workshops in the northern region all had certain backgrounds, supported by large forces.
If he exposed them like this, even if they bowed their heads immediately, they would likely retaliate afterward. He could leave without a care, but it would be bad if the stone village was implicated.
*It seems I must quickly master the ’Change Heaven and Earth’ Miao Skill from the "Heavenly Source Book." In that case, I will have no scruples; the world will be open for me like a fish leaping in the sea and a bird flying in the sky,* he murmured to himself.
"If you won’t gamble, just go back where you came from," the young master of the Qingxia sect glanced sideways at him.
"Gamble? Why not gamble?" Ye Fan suddenly stood up.
In the subsequent stone selection, he was extra careful and meticulous. Indeed, he discovered over a dozen fake Sources (stones) again.
The counterfeiting techniques were very sophisticated. They were hard to detect even with careful observation and hardly distinguishable from the real thing. If it weren’t for the near-natural methods from the "Heavenly Source Book" for analyzing mineral textures, it would have been difficult to notice.
Finally, he selected an ugly stone like a gnarled fruit, about the size of a man’s head, with a dull color and crisscrossing cracks.
The strangest thing was that these cracks resembled mouths, as if some ancient creature had nibbled them, forming this appearance.
When Ye Fan chose to lift this stone, it immediately caused a burst of laughter.
"I say, little brother, do you even know Sources (stones)? This piece is obviously scrap. Quickly change it," a kind-hearted old man advised.
"If this stone can produce a Source (material), it would be a miracle! It’s obviously depleted of enormous Qi, with nothing left."
"This is a ’Ghost Split Stone,’ full of cracks. It’s supposedly been gnawed by the ’Source Ghost’ of Ancient times and is unable to retain any Source (material)."
"That’s right, this is the famous ’Ghost Split Stone.’ It’s just here to make up numbers; it can’t possibly yield any Source (material)."
Everyone shook their heads. Many ridiculed him, thinking Ye Fan knew nothing about Sources (stones) and was merely a miner who only dug stones.
Wang Shu immediately became nervous. The uneducated youth whispered, "Brother Ye, let’s change it."
"No need to change. This is it," Ye Fan signaled to the Source Master to cut it open.
Even though it was a "Ghost Split Stone," the Source Master, following the trade customs, offered a prayer to the "Source God," murmuring a few words before making the cut.
His hands were deft, the knife moving swiftly like a swimming dragon, cold light flashing. The stone skin fell away quickly, and before long, the head-sized Ghost Split Stone was peeled to less than the size of a fist.
The onlookers were unanimously pessimistic, discussing fervently.
"It’s impossible to produce a Source (material)! It’s purely a waste of time. Just split it open with one cut."
"If a Ghost Split Stone produces a Source (material), I’ll swallow this stone skin!"
"If we could go back hundreds of thousands of years, maybe this stone could produce good Source (material). But now, it’s clearly been devoured by a Source Ghost."
The young master of the Qingxia sect had a mocking smile on his lips. Shaking his folding fan, he cast a disdainful glance at Ye Fan but said nothing.
Just then, everyone exclaimed.
The old skin of the Ghost Split Stone fell away until it was smaller than a lychee. Yet, at this moment, a dazzling brilliance shot out.
Dense Spiritual Qi spread, like being bathed in a spring breeze or soaking in a hot spring. All the pores of the body relaxed, feeling very comfortable.
Fiery red radiance flowed out, accompanied by wispy, thin smoke that gently stirred, resembling a fiery cloud or blood-soaked Immortal Qi.
Everyone was astonished. It was clear that a high-quality Source (material) had been extracted; this kind of Source Qi far surpassed that of similar stones.
Inside the lychee-sized Ghost Split Stone, a fiery red Source (material) was embedded. It was only the size of a fingertip, yet it was radiant, dazzling, and mesmerizingly red.
"This is too small... It’s not enough to purchase this stone," the uneducated youth said, a bit stunned.
Wang Shu also frowned. Although a Source (material) was cut out and its quality was high, it was indeed too small. Not to mention by weight, it wasn’t even half an ounce.
"Yes, it’s too small, just a tiny bit." Those who had cried out just now came back to their senses, somewhat disappointed.
In the scene, however, Ye Fan didn’t see it that way because he felt a vigorous fluctuation of enormous Qi. Such a tiny piece of Source (material), only fingertip-sized, had stronger waves than ten jin of Pure Source piled together.
"This is Fiery Red Source!" The Source Master, knowledgeable and experienced, couldn’t help but exclaim but quickly stopped himself, closing his mouth.
Ye Fan instantly understood. This piece of Source (material), although very small, was worth as much as ten jin of Pure Source; it was an Exotic Source.
He immediately laughed, saying, "Fiery Red Source! I think everyone has heard of it. Although it’s not a rare exotic kind, it is absolutely uncommon—very rare and precious. As for its value, you tell me."
"He unexpectedly cut out an Exotic Source! Although small, it’s equivalent to ten jin of Source (material)!"
"What amazing luck! Stone gambling sometimes really depends on fate. Having such a piece of Source (material) secures enough for generations to live comfortably."
In the trade of Source gambling, occasionally a strange Source with unpredictable strange power is revealed. Its value is immeasurable, but such occurrences are indeed rare.
"I heard that last time, someone at the Yaochi Immortal Stone Workshop cut out a rare Exotic Source, countless times more precious than Fiery Red Source. It even alarmed the people of the sacred city, who bought it at a high price."
"How come I didn’t know about this?"
"Such secrets naturally don’t spread widely."
The uneducated youth finally understood. He dug out the Fiery Red Source granule and then giggled foolishly, non-stop. He said to the onlookers, "Who just said that if a Source (material) came out, they’d swallow the stone skin on the ground?"
The crowd was instantly speechless; no one admitted to it.
Wang Shu then walked over with a smile, reached out to the young master of the Qingxia sect, and said, "Sorry, we won. Hand over ten jin of Source (material) quickly."
Ten jin of Source (material) was a significant amount for anyone present, painful to part with. However, faced with so many people, the young master of the Qingxia sect was reluctant but couldn’t act out. With a grim face, he threw a Source Bag on the ground.
The uneducated youth picked up the Source Bag, his mouth stretched in a foolish grin almost to his ears.
"That’s not right; there’s half a jin of Source (material) missing," Wang Shu frowned.
The young master of the Qingxia sect had brought only this much Source (material) and was now completely out. Losing to the three miners he looked down upon made his heart furious, and his face became extremely unpleasant.
"Forget it. It’s not easy for anyone away from home. Just forget about the half jin," Ye Fan said calmly. At this point, he had already crouched down and was intently examining the old skin of the Ghost Split Stone.
The cracks looked like tooth marks, and what surprised him most was seeing a strand of hair inside the stone layers.
*"Could there really be such a thing as a ’Primordial Source Ghost’?"* he muttered to himself, contemplating silently. *If so, does that mean a ’Primordial Source God’ could exist as well?*
"Do you want to continue?" The uneducated youth, contented with a heap of Source (material), asked. Wang Shu also grinned broadly, and they looked ahead together.
The young master of the Qingxia sect’s face was ashen. He flicked his sleeves, turned aside, and began asking a few acquaintances to borrow Source (material).
"How about we bet?" Seeing the young master of the Qingxia sect momentarily withdraw, everyone else’s eyes shone brightly.
In their eyes, he was a fat sheep, ripe for the slaughter. A streak of luck couldn’t last forever.
The crowd believed Ye Fan didn’t understand Sources (stones) at all. Looking at the stones he chose—first a red and white one, then a Ghost Split Stone—they thought it was just dumb luck, like a blind cat catching a dead mouse.
"I advise you to be cautious. This line of work is very peculiar, heavily reliant on fate and fortune. These three mud monkeys have strong momentum right now. It’s best not to gamble," an elderly man spoke up. He seemed highly respected, and upon his words, most people backed off.
Young Master Liu, from the Qingxia sect, cobbled together a Source Bag weighing four to five jin, ready to gamble with Ye Fan again, prompting others to step back.
"Let’s enter the ninth courtyard layer and choose the old mine-Sources excavated from the edge of the Great Primordial Mine. Do you dare?"
The so-called edge of the Great Primordial Mine referred to the region thousands of miles away from the Divine Mine. It did not mean Sources taken directly from the perimeter of the Ancient Desolation Forbidden Land.
Even so, such Sources (stones) were sky-high in price, as sometimes exceptionally rare Source (material) could indeed be cut from them.
"Why wouldn’t I dare?" Ye Fan said, also wanting to see what differences there were in stones from the so-called edge of the Great Primordial Mine.
In the ninth courtyard layer, there weren’t many Sources (stones), only fifty to sixty pieces, ranging from pebble-sized to grinding disc-sized, with none over a thousand jin.
Here, one or two units of Source (material) could only buy one jin of stone. It was exceedingly expensive, and few were willing to splurge here.
"Are they looking for a sucker to fleece? Here, the stones typically weigh dozens, even hundreds of jin. Can they really yield good Source (material)? This is absurd," Wang Shu complained.
"You mud monkey, what do you know? The Sources (stones) brought from the edge of the Great Primordial Mine are all ’divine material.’ Cutting out a strange Source would be invaluable, beyond measure," one of Young Master Liu’s cronies retorted.
"Such a country bumpkin, never seen the world," Young Master Liu’s clique all chimed in with ridicule.
By now, Ye Fan had learned Young Master Liu’s name—Liu Cheng’en.
Liu Cheng’en sneered, looking at them with near mockery.
The uneducated youth didn’t mince words, saying bluntly, "You’ve lost miserably, yet you still act superior. We’ll keep betting until your face turns green!"
"You..."
Others followed them inside, gathering around dozens of old stones, chattering animatedly.
During the stone selection process, Ye Fan frowned. The people of Rongxiang Gambling Stone Workshop were cunning. He found at least a third of the Sources (stones) had been previously opened and then expertly sealed back.
The stones here truly felt peculiar, making discernment difficult. The stone skin seemed to be imbued with a demonic power.
He drew a cold breath. *If the Sources (stones) gathered thousands of miles from the Great Primordial Mine are already like this, then the stones from within the Divine Mine itself... Unimaginable!*
While the people in the courtyard were examining stones, they were also discussing other matters. Someone mentioned the Yaochi Immortal Stone Workshop and suggested everyone go there in the afternoon.
"Why?"
"A fairy from Jade Lake has arrived in Pingyan City and will likely make an appearance in the afternoon."
"Do you think it could be the sacred lady of Jade Lake? I’ve heard she’s inspecting various places. The fairy arriving in Pingyan City is most likely her."
