Chapter 738

Chapter 738: Starting to Gamble on Stones

"I investigated—he came for Immortal Crystals. Your granddaughter used a single small Immortal Crystal to sway him, which is why he agreed to help!" Madam Hu reported.

"Haha, Heaven was aiding me!" An Daoren exclaimed excitedly. "Immortal Crystals may be rare for others, but they’re trivial for us. You’ve done well. I’ll visit him immediately!"

"But the Master is currently in closed-door training with the Immortal Crystal I provided!" Madam Hu hurriedly interjected. "Shall I inform you once he emerges?"

"That will suffice!" An Daoren nodded approvingly. "Your efforts have been exceptional this time. Expect generous rewards!"

"Gratitude, ancestor!" Madam Hu bowed deeply, her voice trembling with eagerness.

"However, this matter must remain confidential," An Daoren cautioned. "Especially from those scoundrels—if they learn of it, I might lose priority for alchemy services."

"Ancestor need not worry—your granddaughter understands the stakes," Madam Hu assured him promptly.

"Excellent!" An Daoren closed his eyes in contentment.

Recognizing the dismissal, Madam Hu kowtowed swiftly and withdrew.

Once alone, An Daoren’s eyes snapped open. "A master alchemist’s arrival is truly heaven-sent! With a cauldron of Enlightenment Creation Pills, my Dao career’s accumulation toward Heavenly Dao comprehension would surge. I might shatter the final bottleneck and become the first among brothers to reach Semi-Immortal rank. Yet the required materials are excessively stringent—despite gathering thousands of rare components, critical gaps remain. How to resolve this?"

After troubled contemplation, his expression brightened. "If he truly hails from Xuan Sect, supreme-grade materials must abound in his possession. Should negotiations fail, I’ll simply purchase them. Since he favors Immortal Crystals, offering my decade’s collection of ten should secure his cooperation!"

Reassured, An Daoren resumed meditation.

Three days later, Fang Lie emerged from seclusion. "Immortal Crystals live up to their fame," he mused, satisfied. "Even this fragment expanded my Qi Sea by two hundred miles. With sufficient quantities, reaching a ten-thousand-mile Qi Sea seems feasible. But what lies beyond? Legends speak of Heavenly Dao’s ironclad barrier—unbroken even by ancient titans with boundless resources. How could I surpass them?"

Finding no answers, he abandoned contemplation and summoned attendants via Spiritual Light.

As anticipated, Madam Hu and Li Qing entered first—likely having kept vigil at his door these three days. Fang Lie dismissed their eagerness as natural deference to a master alchemist, precisely why he’d revealed this identity.

"Greetings, Master!" they chorused.

"The Immortal Crystals were adequate… but insufficient," Fang Lie remarked offhandedly. "Can you procure more?"

"Without doubt!" Madam Hu gushed. "My ancestor serves as Deputy City Lord and urgently requires a master alchemist’s services. He’d gladly compensate with Immortal Crystals!"

"Acceptable. However, I currently wish to visit this ‘gambling on stones’ venue. Your ancestor may approach me later." Fang Lie’s casual dismissal of a late-stage Thunder Tribulation cultivator would’ve been unthinkable for juniors, but his status equaled Semi-Immortals, permitting such liberties.

Madam Hu showed no displeasure. "At once, Master! I’ll prepare transport to Immortal Stone Pavilion."

Within moments, an ornate dragon carriage arrived, flanked by maids. Its lavish interior boasted carpets of Eighth-Rank Low-Level Beast hide, jade tables bearing delicacies, and two alluring attendants. Fang Lie reclined, indulging in the luxuries while Li Qing trailed outside as guide.

The carriage soared from the rooftop, traversing the small city swiftly. Half a teacup’s time later, they halted at a Treasure Tower’s mid-level VIP entrance.

"VIP arrival! Kneel in reception!" a herald shouted.

Dozens of maids instantly prostrated, chanting in unison: "Welcome, most honored guest!"

At that moment, some Cultivators passed by, saw the scene, and all sneered, thinking, "Where did this bumpkin come from? Spending so much money? What a fool!"

Fang Lie, however, didn’t care about that and strode inside. As soon as he reached the entrance, a middle-aged steward approached and bowed, saying, "I am Wang Laosan, the steward here. Welcome, VIP!"

"Mm!" Fang Lie nodded and said, "This is my first time here; please give me an introduction!"

"At your command!" Wang Laosan then said, "Please follow me this way; we can talk as we walk!"

Saying this, he led the way, with Fang Lie following behind.

Once inside, Fang Lie found that this place had also been expanded into a garden, but there were no flowers or grass; only raw stones of various sizes.

Some were as big as fists, some as big as tables, and others were enormous, over a hundred feet long. Some were piled casually together, while others were displayed separately, even placed in golden and jade boxes to show their preciousness.

At that moment, Wang Laosan began his introduction: "Dear guest, our stones can be categorized into two types, one is Bright Stone and the other is Dark Stone!"

"A Bright Stone is one that shows something on the surface, clearly indicating it contains treasure, like that one." Wang Laosan pointed to a three-foot large stone displayed in a jade box.

Fang Lie looked over and saw that the stone was perfectly round, with burnt marks all over, but on the front, it revealed a small part, seemingly the tip of a bronze handle, showing less than half an inch.

"See?" Wang Laosan smiled and said, "Since it shows this little bit, it means there is definitely something inside. Perhaps it is a complete sword or a broken one; you can only determine what it is once you purchase it! This is a Bright Stone."

Fang Lie stroked his chin and said, "In most cases, it should be a fragment, right?"

"Hehe, that’s true! It is most likely a fragment. But fragments come in different sizes. If it’s a large fragment, you won’t lose much since it’s made from Immortal-level materials; at the very least, it’s from an Eighth-rank. However, if it’s a complete sword, it could be an Eighth-rank Treasure or even a Ninth-Rank Treasure, then you would make a big profit!"

"Hehe~" Fang Lie sneered and said, "How could there be a Ninth-Rank Treasure? Who are you fooling?"

"Oh dear VIP Sir, I wouldn’t dare to deceive you!" Wang Laosan hurriedly replied, "There really have been Ninth-Rank Treasures discovered, and not just a few! The most recent one happened over five hundred years ago when a Fire Tribulation Immortal opened a Bright Stone and obtained a Ninth-Rank Treasure, a golden battle spear. Its item spirit, a golden-armored general, recognized him as the master on the spot. This matter is well-known; it’s certainly not a small fabrication!"

"Hmm? There’s such a thing?" Fang Lie looked back at Li Qing in confusion.

Li Qing quickly said, "That’s absolutely true! In history, our city has unearthed no fewer than ten Ninth-Rank Treasures, two of which belong to the City Lord. This can be verified!"

"Hehe, I can’t believe there is such a thing!" Fang Lie then chuckled and asked, "So how likely do you think it is that this is a Ninth-Rank Treasure?"

While talking, Fang Lie began to use his divine sense to investigate; however, to his disappointment, his divine sense was completely ineffective and could not penetrate at all.

Li Qing wryly smiled and said, "Young master, isn’t this asking a question you already know the answer to? Our city’s Ninth-Rank Treasures come out once every few thousand years, and during this time, the number of stones sold is in the hundreds of millions."

"Hehe, at least you understand!" Fang Lie then pressed on, "Why is it that these things can resist divine sense probing?"

"My dear VIP Sir, you may not know, but these stones, despite looking unassuming, are transformed from the Immortal Land in the sky, having been washed by the Ninth Heavens Fierce Heavenly Winds and scorched by Heavenly Fire before falling to the ground. They are incredibly dense and contain an extremely chaotic power of laws; even Semi-Immortals cannot use their divine sense to probe. If they could, the good treasures would have been dug out long ago, and how could we conduct gambling on stones?"

"I see!" Fang Lie nodded, then continued walking forward. He discovered the area covered hundreds of miles, with over a hundred people selecting stones, among whom was even a Semi-Immortal-level expert, showing just how many skilled individuals were present.

At this moment, Fang Lie continued, "Since Bright Stones refer to those stones with exposed treasures, then the so-called Dark Stones must refer to those stones that show no signs, right?"

"You are indeed clever, that’s correct!" Wang Laosan laughed and said, "Here, the stones are priced according to size; the larger they are, the more expensive they are. Bright Stones are ten to even a hundred times the price of Dark Stones of the same size, depending on what is exposed."

At this point, Li Qing added with a smile, "Generally speaking, the more that is exposed, the better it is, and the more expensive it becomes. However, it doesn’t guarantee that something good will come out of it. There was once a stone that revealed a large part of a divine weapon and a jade box, but when they opened it, they found both were incomplete. What was exposed was just a large portion of them. As a result, they incurred a huge loss."