Chapter 742

Chapter 742: The Sudden Appearance of the Blood Crystal

Wang Laosan acted quickly and hurriedly placed the last batch of stones on the table.

This stone unsealing event drew the attention of many. Numerous people rushed here upon hearing the news, and soon there were thousands gathered, most of whom had a cultivation level above Fire Tribulation. It was clear how great the commotion caused by Fang Lie was, as these people made up nearly seventy to eighty percent of the skilled outsiders in Star Loss City.

As over a thousand Stone Orbs vanished, only one Immortal Crystal remained, and it was just a little bigger than a peanut, smaller than a longan. It didn’t look too special, but this Immortal Crystal was remarkable because it glowed a deep red, as if soaked in blood.

Seeing this, the crowd gasped in surprise, all shouting in unison, "Blood Crystal! It’s actually a Blood Crystal! How is this possible?!"

"According to legend, the blood-colored Immortal Crystal is formed from the blood of an Immortal, containing the Immortal’s understanding of the Dao. Once absorbed, it might even break the ultimate bottleneck and allow one to advance to Semi-Immortal status!"

"Such a thing has only appeared six times in the history of Star Loss City, and each time it created a Semi-Immortal! It is definitely a priceless treasure; I wouldn’t trade it even for an Eighth-rank Treasure!"

"Oh my! What’s happening? Out of a pile of stones, there’s a crystal and a blood one—it’s just too incredible!"

"This treasure is worth more than a Ninth-Rank Treasure! If it were exchanged for an Eighth-rank Treasure, it could probably be traded for five or six of them!"

"Definitely more than that! Just that Blood Crystal alone is worth more than five or six Eighth-rank Treasures. Anything that can help someone become a Semi-Immortal would drive any major sect and Thunder Tribulation Immortal wild!"

While everyone was conversing, Fang Lie swiftly and discreetly collected the Blood Crystal. He then picked out the smallest size of Immortal Crystal and casually tossed it to Wang Laosan, laughing, "Are we even now?"

"Even now!" Wang Laosan said, holding the Immortal Crystal with a wry smile. "Congratulations, VIP Sir! You hit the jackpot in stone gambling. In recent millennia, among those who have gambled here, you have definitely made the most profit!"

"Hahaha!" Fang Lie laughed heartily. "Didn’t I say so? What a foolish Master! He doesn’t even understand that as long as you cast a wide net, you can catch big fish. How can he still call himself a Master? Pfft!"

As Fang Lie spoke, he looked disdainfully at the Elder. The old man was so furious that he spit out blood on the spot, too ashamed to stay any longer, and quickly left in a hurry.

Now, however, he was ignored by everyone, as all eyes eagerly turned to Fang Lie.

One Semi-Immortal carrying a sword directly asked, "Hey there, do you plan to sell your Blood Crystal? I can offer a high price!"

"A high price?" Fang Lie replied playfully. "A Ninth-Rank Treasure? If that’s the case, I’ll make the trade!"

"Well…" the man suddenly wore a bitter smile. "Your Blood Crystal isn’t worth that much!"

"Exactly! That’s what makes it a ‘high price!’" Fang Lie smiled broadly. "Otherwise, it would just be a fair trade, wouldn’t you agree?"

"Just forget what I said!" the man replied helplessly.

Seeing this man deflated, the others quickly realized that Fang Lie would not easily part with his Blood Crystal. They began to sift through the pile of stones themselves, eager to find their own luck with a thousand Stone Orbs.

As a result, the staff here were overjoyed. Typically, they sold Stone Orbs one by one, maybe ten or twenty at most, but today they were selling thousands in one go. One transaction equaled several years’ worth of sales, all thanks to Fang Lie!

Wang Laosan chimed in, chuckling, "VIP Sir, your luck is amazing right now! Would you like to take another big gamble?"

Fang Lie thought for a moment and replied, "Forget it, gambling on such a Little Stone is boring. I want to see other things; perhaps I can find a Ninth-Rank Treasure!"

After saying this, Fang Lie leisurely began to walk toward another direction, which led to the Bright Stone area.

In truth, Fang Lie chose not to gamble anymore because there were no more concentrated Immortal Crystal stone piles. Most of the Stone Orbs in this area were devoid of any Immortal Crystals, and occasionally there were only one or two.

Gambling once costs an Immortal Crystal, and he could make only one more at most. Being in the spotlight with so many people around, Fang Lie naturally was not keen on that.

His understanding of the distribution of Immortal Crystals didn’t come from sharp insight; it was due to the overpowering presence of the Heavenly Dao Turtle.

Since arriving at the Gambling Pavilion, Fang Lie appeared calm on the surface but secretly activated the Heavenly Dao Turtle, visualizing the form of the Immortal Crystals. As a result, even the Stone Orbs that Semi-Immortals couldn’t explore became easy targets for his assessment.

Through the display on the Heavenly Dao Turtle, Fang Lie could clearly identify all the Immortal Crystals in the entire Gambling Pavilion, including those on the Semi-Immortal and other powerful beings, which the Heavenly Dao Turtle could sense without fail.

This item truly deserves to be the only one in the world, a beast blessed and cursed by the heavens. Its ability to detect treasures is extraordinary.

If it weren’t for this, Fang Lie wouldn’t be foolish enough to gamble with others.

Fang Lie believes the reason for the concentration of Immortal Crystals is that they were originally held by a True Cultivator. When something happened, they all fell to the mortal realm, likely not too far from each other.

They were then collected by the people of Star Loss City, naturally accumulating together, which allowed Fang Lie to benefit.

However, such coincidences are rare. Anyway, Fang Lie hasn’t found another pile with concentrated Immortal Crystals.

In fact, after Fang Lie left, the ones who gambled on stones almost lost everything. In just half a shichen, six out of seven participants in that big gambling game ended up bankrupt.

One billion small spirit pearls are a lot for Fang Lie, who possesses wealth comparable to a Semi-Immortal, making him feel distressed to give them all up, let alone the Thunder Tribulation Immortal. Many were forced to use Eighth-rank Treasures to settle their debts.

The only one who didn’t lose didn’t gain anything either; he just ended up with one Immortal Crystal, which meant he broke even after paying for the stone.

This puzzled everyone, and they suspected Fang Lie was a plant, but without evidence, they dared not act rashly. They could only follow Fang Lie in frustration, eager to see what tricks he might still have up his sleeve.

As for Fang Lie, after wandering around inside, he felt uncertain. Deep down, he knew he wasn’t the type who could easily distinguish good from bad.

However, if he wanted to use the Heavenly Dao Turtle, he needed to have a goal in mind and visualize an image of what he wanted to find to invoke its power.

Yet Fang Lie didn’t know what he was looking for. He just knew there were many treasures here, including Immortal Realm treasures, spirit pills, spirit pills, and all kinds of valuable materials, without any fixed target.

At that moment, Fang Lie suddenly thought, ‘What I want most right now are the innate earth element Nascent Fetus and water element Nascent Fetus. Why not directly look for those?’

With that thought, Fang Lie stopped hesitating and first visualized an image of a pure water baby. The surface of the Heavenly Dao Turtle rippled like a playful kitten batting at the water, unable to settle down for a long time.

Fang Lie quickly realized this meant the Heavenly Dao Turtle couldn’t find a target.

Knowing this, he visualized an earth element Nascent Fetus instead. This time, he was astonished by what appeared: a black Stone Orb the size of a hundred zhang.

Fang Lie didn’t need the Heavenly Dao Turtle’s guidance; he knew exactly where it was. It was too large, the biggest Bright Stone in the entire Gambling Pavilion.

Yet, it seemed unvalued, carelessly tossed into a corner. If it weren’t for its immense size, no one would have noticed it.

At first, Fang Lie hadn’t planned on checking it out, but now he changed his mind and pretended to be curious, saying, "Oh my, there’s such a big fellow here!"

As he said this, Fang Lie walked over confidently and asked with a smile, "Wang Laosan, what is this?"

"Oh my, VIP Sir, you truly have an eye for treasures!" Wang Laosan praised before explaining, "This treasure is our pavilion’s greatest treasure. Other stones are made from low-quality ceramics, but this one has a surface of the finest ink colored glaze! It has no impurities whatsoever!"

"Ink colored glaze?" Fang Lie frowned. "That’s just a Sixth-rank material, isn’t it?"

"Indeed, this is just a solid piece of ink colored glaze, likely formed from the raw ore of Immortal Land glass. It’s not a treasure; yet they in the Gambling Pavilion insist it’s wrapped around some Immortal Realm treasure and demand an Eighth-rank top-grade treasure in exchange!"

"Isn’t this cheating? It’s said to have been here for nearly ten thousand years with no one wanting it!"

Wang Laosan was in a panic, sweating profusely. He quickly defended, "Everyone, you can’t say that. We have rules here. The price of a Bright Stone is calculated by size. This fellow’s outer skin is ink colored glaze, and it clearly qualifies as a Bright Stone! Its hundred zhang size makes it many times larger than the second biggest Stone Orb, so we had to mark it at this price; otherwise, it would break our rules!"

"What nonsensical rules? You just want to find someone foolish to trick!"

"Exactly! Switching a useless piece of ink colored glaze for an Eighth-rank top-grade treasure is such a good deal!"

"Even if it doesn’t sell, it doesn’t matter; it’s worthless anyway. But if it does sell, you’ll make a fortune! Such little tricks can fool others, but who here isn’t sharp-witted? Who would fall for your scheme?"

Wang Laosan was drenched in sweat from their pressure and didn’t dare to argue back with the group of experts.

Yet, at this critical moment, Fang Lie suddenly said, "I’ll take this! But without an Eighth-rank top-grade treasure, can I use Immortal Crystals instead?"

"Yes, yes! According to our rules, two large Immortal Crystals can be exchanged for one Eighth-rank top-grade treasure!" Wang Laosan quickly replied, overjoyed.