Chapter 197: Ghost-Splitting Stone

Ye Fan squatted there, ignoring him. He stared at the gravel for a long time, then suddenly realized something and secretly cursed Rongxiang Stone Gambling House for being treacherous and shameless.

What he had learned from the "Source Heaven Book" was not wrong; it was the gambling house that was faking it. These source stones had been cut open, their inner 'source' removed, then refilled with other materials and sealed using a secret technique. "Deceitful swindlers!" He was furious inside; Rongxiang Stone Gambling House's deceptive practices were truly excessive.

He was tempted to cause a scene but held back. Even if he exposed them, few would likely believe him. Furthermore, anyone daring to open a stone gambling house in the Northern Region usually had some background, supported by a major power.

If he exposed them like this, even if they backed down on the spot, they would likely seek revenge afterward. He personally didn't care; he could just leave, but it would be bad if it implicated Haoshi Village. "It seems I need to quickly learn the 'Heaven and Earth Transformation' technique from the Source Heaven Book. That way, I'll have no more worries; I'll be free as a fish in the wide sea or a bird in the high sky," he murmured to himself. "If you're not going to gamble, then go back to where you came from," the young master from Lingxia Sect scoffed, sweeping a glance at him.

"Why not gamble?" Ye Fan suddenly stood up. As he continued selecting stones, he became meticulous and examined them carefully. Sure enough, he discovered over a dozen more fake source stones.

The counterfeiting techniques were incredibly sophisticated; even with careful observation, it was difficult to distinguish them from genuine stones. They were almost indistinguishable. Had it not been for the "Source Heaven Book's" natural method of analyzing through stone textures, he would have found it very hard to detect.

Most peculiar was that these cracks resembled the shape of a human mouth, as if some ancient creature had gnawed on them, forming their current appearance. When Ye Fan picked up this stone, it immediately drew a burst of laughter.

"Hey young man, do you even understand source stones? This one is clearly a worthless stone; quickly choose another," a kind old man beside him advised. "If this stone can produce a source, I'll be damned. Its vital essence has clearly drained away; nothing will be left." "This is a 'Ghost-Cracked Stone,' covered in cracks. It's said that ancient 'Source Ghosts' gnawed on it, so it's impossible for any source to remain." "That's right, this is the famous 'Ghost-Cracked Stone,' just thrown here to make up the numbers. There's no way it can yield a source."

Everyone shook their heads, and many scoffed, believing Ye Fan knew nothing about source stones and was only capable of digging rocks in a mine. Wang Shu immediately grew nervous, and Simpleton quietly urged, "Brother Ye, let's pick another one." "No need to change, this is it," Ye Fan signaled to Master Yuan, asking him to cut it open.

Although it was a "Ghost-Cracked Stone," Master Yuan still followed the trade's custom: he paid respects to the "Source God" and muttered a few incantations before making his move.

His movements were swift and precise. The blade moved quickly, like a swimming dragon, flashing with cold light. The stone's outer layers rapidly fell away. Before long, the head-sized Ghost-Cracked Stone had its old skin peeled off layer by layer, until it was smaller than a fist.

The onlookers uniformly did not have high hopes and began discussing amongst themselves.

"It's impossible to get a source from it, a pure waste of time. Just split it open with one cut."

"If a Ghost-Cracked Stone yields a source, I'll swallow these stone fragments."

"If time could rewind several hundred thousand years, maybe this stone would yield a good source. But right now, it's clear its interior has been devoured by a Source Ghost."

The young master of Azure Cloud Sect had a hint of a mocking smile on his lips. He fanned himself, then contemptuously glanced at Ye Fan without saying anything. Just then, everyone gasped.

The old skin of the Ghost-Cracked Stone had fallen away, and it was now smaller than a lychee. Yet, at that very moment, a dazzling light burst forth from it.

A rich spiritual energy enveloped them, feeling like a spring breeze or a warm spring bath. Their pores relaxed, and they felt incredibly comfortable.

A fiery red glow emanated, carrying a faint wisp of smoke that gently spread, resembling fiery clouds or blood-soaked immortal qi.

Everyone was astonished. It was clear that a source of extremely high quality had been uncovered, its source energy far surpassing that of similar stones.

Embedded within the lychee-sized Ghost-Cracked Stone was a crimson source, only as big as a fingertip. However, it shimmered with radiant colors, glowing brightly, a captivating red. "It's too small... not even enough to buy this stone," Simpleton mumbled, somewhat dazed.

Wang Shu also frowned. Although a source had been cut out, and its quality was high, it was truly too small – not even half a tael.

"Yeah, it's so small, just a tiny bit," those who had gasped earlier murmured, now somewhat disappointed.

In the arena, Ye Fan didn't agree, as he felt an incredibly vigorous energy fluctuation. This tiny piece of source, no bigger than a fingertip, had a stronger fluctuation than ten pounds of pure source piled together. "This is a Fiery-Red Source!" Master Yuan, being experienced, couldn't help but exclaim, but then quickly stopped speaking and closed his mouth.

Ye Fan instantly understood: although this source was tiny, its value was equivalent to ten pounds of pure source. It was an exotic variety.

He immediately smiled and said, "Fiery-Red Source, I believe everyone here has heard of it. Although not a rare exotic variety, it's certainly uncommon, extremely rare and precious. What's its value? You tell me." "He actually cut out an exotic source! Though small, it's worth a full ten pounds of source!" "What incredible luck! Gambling on sources sometimes truly depends on one's destiny. With a single piece like this, generations could live without want." In the source gambling profession, rare and wondrous sources with unfathomable powers occasionally emerge, whose value is immeasurable, but they are, after all, uncommon.

"I heard that someone at the Jade Lake Immortal Stone Shop once cut out an incredibly rare exotic source, countless times more precious than a Fiery-Red Source. It directly alarmed people from the Holy City and was bought at a high price."

"How come I didn't know about that?"

"Such secret matters naturally wouldn't be widely circulated."

Simpleton finally understood. He dug out the Fiery-Red Source pellet, then started grinning foolishly. To the onlookers, he said, "Who was it just now who said they'd swallow the stone fragments on the ground if a source came out?" Everyone instantly fell silent, no one speaking up to admit it.

Wang Shu, meanwhile, walked over with a smile, extending his hand to the young master of Azure Cloud Sect. "Excuse me, we won. Ten pounds of source, please hand it over quickly."

Ten pounds of source was a considerable amount for anyone present; it would pain anyone to lose it. However, in front of so many people, the young master of Azure Cloud Sect couldn't afford to lose his temper. He simply darkened his face and threw a source pouch onto the ground.

Simpleton picked up the source pouch, his mouth wide in a grin almost reaching his ears, giggling incessantly.

"That's not right, there's still half a pound of source missing," Wang Shu frowned.

The young master of Azure Cloud Sect had only brought that much source with him. Now completely empty-handed after losing to the three source miners he despised, he felt indignant, and his face was extremely mortified.

"Never mind, it's not easy for anyone when they're out and about. Just let him off for half a pound," Ye Fan said calmly. At this moment, he had already squatted down, carefully examining the old skin of the Ghost-Cracked Stone.

Those cracks resembled teeth marks, and what surprised him most was that he actually saw a strand of hair within the stone layer. "Could there really be such a thing as an 'Ancient Source Ghost'?" he mused to himself, secretly wondering if that implied the possible existence of 'Ancient Source Gods' too.

"Should we continue?" Simpleton, hugging a pile of source stones, was content, and Wang Shu was also beaming. They both looked ahead.

The young master of Azure Cloud Sect's face was ashen. He flicked his sleeve, turned, and walked aside, speaking to a few acquaintances, intending to borrow more source. "How about I gamble with you?" Others, seeing the young master of Azure Cloud Sect temporarily withdraw, all had their eyes light up.

In their view, Ye Fan was a big, fat sheep, ripe for the slaughter; his temporary luck couldn't possibly last.

Everyone believed Ye Fan didn't understand source stones at all. Looking at the stones he chose – first the "red-in-white" and then the "Ghost-Cracked Stone" – they seemed like pure flukes, as if a blind cat had stumbled upon a dead mouse, allowing him to hit the jackpot.

"I advise you all to be careful. This profession is very strange and highly dependent on destiny and fortune. Right now, these three 'mud monkeys' have strong luck, so it's best not to gamble against them," an old man spoke up. He seemed to be of some standing, and after hearing him, most of the onlookers decided against gambling.

The young master of Azure Cloud Sect managed to scrape together a bag of source stones, weighing about four to five pounds, and wanted to gamble with Ye Fan again. Others naturally retreated. "Let's go into the ninth courtyard and pick old pit source stones mined from the edge of the Primordial Ancient Mine. Do you dare?"

The so-called "edge of the Primordial Ancient Mine" referred to areas thousands of miles away from that divine mine, not actual source stones extracted from the life forbidden zone itself. Even so, such source stones commanded exorbitant prices because they occasionally yielded rare and excellent sources.

"Why wouldn't I dare?" Ye Fan also wanted to see what was different about the stones from the so-called edge of the Primordial Ancient Mine.

In the ninth courtyard, there weren't many source stones, only fifty or sixty, ranging from small pebbles to millstone-sized ones, none exceeding a thousand catties. Here, one tael of source could only buy one catty of stone, an exorbitant price that few were willing to spend on.

"Do you want to fleece a sucker? Here, stones are tens to hundreds of catties each. Can they really yield good sources? That's outrageous," Wang Shu grumbled discontentedly. "What do you know, mud monkey? Source stones from the edge of the Primordial Ancient Mine are all 'divine materials.' If a wondrous source is cut out, its value will be inestimable, truly priceless." "What a bumpkin, so unworldly," Liu Cheng'en's cronies from Azure Cloud Sect retorted sarcastically.

By now, Ye Fan knew the young master's name: Liu Cheng'en. Liu Cheng'en watched them with a cold, almost mocking smile on his lips.

Simpleton didn't beat around the bush and directly retorted, "You've already lost miserably, yet you're still so arrogant. We'll gamble until your face turns green!" "You—" The others followed them in, gathering around dozens of old stones, everyone chattering and discussing animatedly.

Ye Fan frowned during his stone selection. The people at Rongxiang Stone Gambling House were truly wicked; he discovered that at least a third of the source stones had been cut open and then expertly re-sealed.

The stones here indeed felt very peculiar to him, making him a bit uncertain. Their outer layers were strange, as if tainted with demonic power.

He gasped, taking a sharp breath. If source stones collected thousands of miles from the Primordial Ancient Mine were already like this, then stones unearthed from the divine mine itself... it was unimaginable!

While observing the stones in the courtyard, people also discussed other matters. Someone mentioned the Jade Lake Immortal Stone Shop and suggested everyone go there in the afternoon.

"Why?"

"A fairy from Jade Lake has arrived in Pingyan City and is sure to make an appearance this afternoon."

"Do you think it could be the Saintess of Jade Lake? I heard she's touring various places, so this fairy in Pingyan City is very likely her."