Chapter 343: God Pit

“I refuse to believe it! There’s no way you can turn this around now!” Wu Ziming’s face was twisted in a sneer.

It wasn't just him; no one else believed a miracle could still happen.

Divine Source, the most precious of all sources, was formed from the primordial essence of heaven and earth. Even the Holy Lands coveted it immensely.

It had been years since a Divine Source was unearthed in the Divine City. How could anyone turn the situation around when such a head-sized, priceless piece had just appeared? What could possibly be more valuable or even exist?

“Today, I’ll bet everything I have against you!” Wu Ziming sneered repeatedly.

Not long ago, he had lost tens of thousands of jin of Source to Ye Fan. Now, he finally had a chance for revenge, so he and Li Chongtian immediately started borrowing Source from others.

Their network was quite extensive, and they knew many people. More importantly, their sects, the Five Elements Palace and the Illusion Palace, were influential in the Northern Region, with senior figures present. As a result, they managed to gather a significant amount of Source.

It wasn't just these two who were tempted; others also found it hard to remain calm. Since Ye Fan had made his challenge, many were eager to participate.

With a head-sized Divine Source already unearthed, few believed Ye Fan could reverse the situation. It seemed almost impossible, as such a divine artifact was incredibly rare.

“We’ll also bet against you.”

Over twenty cultivators united, gathering fifteen thousand jin of Source, which they strode forward and piled onto the ground with a clatter.

At that moment, Wu Ziming and Li Chongtian also gathered enough Source. With the support of their sect elders, they collectively raised thirty thousand jin of Source.

“I’ve been waiting for this day for a long time!” Wu Ziming gnashed his teeth. His previous crushing defeat had cost him a vast amount of Source and left him humiliated and ridiculed.

Now, with such an opportunity, he felt it was a godsend.

“Is there anyone else?” From beginning to end, Ye Fan remained calm. After standing up from in front of the exorbitantly priced mystic stone, he walked forward and asked a few more times if anyone else wished to bet.

“He’s too composed and calm.”

“Doesn’t he know the value of the Divine Source? Such a large piece... unless a complete ancient divine medicine is unearthed, nothing can compare to it.”

Many wanted to participate, but seeing Ye Fan’s composure and lack of discouragement, everyone started to have doubts.

People inevitably recalled the last time when the Nine-Orifice Stone Man had been mostly cut open, and everyone thought nothing more would appear, only for Ye Fan to have laid a trap for others to fall into.

Although many were confident about the Divine Source, they still hesitated, fearing that Ye Fan might have held back something, just like last time.

“Is there really no one else? That’s Divine Source. Don’t you have confidence in Tuoba Chang?” Ye Fan asked again, walking quite a distance away, as sparkling petals fluttered and landed on him.

Flower trees swayed, exuding a rich fragrance. Ye Fan walked beneath the ancient trees, already some distance from the two exorbitantly priced mystic stones.

Suddenly, two figures moved towards the center of the field, quickly approaching the stone material that Ye Fan had just carefully tapped and almost settled on.

“Our hands are itching; we’ll pick a stone too.”

The two chose the mystic stone Ye Fan had just been examining and piled one hundred and twenty thousand jin of Source onto the ground.

These were two old men who had been in the Stone Garden nearby, allowing them to quickly approach.

One of them was Li Yishui, the Grand Elder of the Illusion Palace, who had previously instigated and lent tens of thousands of jin of Source to Li Chongtian and others to bet against Ye Fan.

Today, he didn’t act rashly but had been observing, making his move at this crucial moment.

“You…” Li Heishui’s expression changed instantly. He had faith in Ye Fan, believing he could definitely choose an unparalleled treasure.

However, he had never imagined that Li Yishui would act like this, teaming up with another influential old man to hijack the Source mid-way.

This was absolutely intentional, almost shameless, exploiting a loophole to purchase that stone.

“Do you have any questions?” Li Yishui smiled faintly, appearing indifferent.

“Have you no shame?” Li Heishui, fuming, pointed at them, finally unable to hold back his curses.

Li Yishui’s face immediately darkened. “Young man, don’t be disrespectful, or I’ll discipline you on behalf of your elders.”

“You really are…” Li Heishui was so angry he wanted to curse at them, feeling he couldn’t swallow this insult without spitting in their faces.

Ye Fan quickly stepped forward to stop him, then turned to Li Yishui, stating with a somber expression, “Sirs, aren’t you going too far?”

Li Yishui said casually, “Oh? How is it too far? Are you talking about selecting the stone? You didn’t choose it earlier, and now we’ve purchased it.”

“Old fogeys, didn’t you see Gu Feng tapping and examining it just now? He clearly had that stone selected!” Li Heishui wanted to beat the two of them.

“He didn’t ultimately choose it, did he? He walked away,” Li Yishui replied with a faint smile.

At this moment, the Stone Garden inside and out was filled with uproar and discussions: some envious, some cursing, some sympathetic, and some gloating.

“These two old men are truly shrewd, making such a decisive move. It’s quite unexpected.”

“How despicable, how shameless! How could they do such a thing?”

“Indeed, old age makes one crafty. They pulled such a trick, though it’s truly underhanded.”

“Why didn’t I think of that? That Source Art genius is too naive; they exploited a loophole against him.”

Outside the field, there was a clamor that refused to die down. Some were resentful, some mocking, and some indignant.

Everyone acknowledged Ye Fan’s Source Art, believing that with the confidence he had just displayed, the stone he had selected would most likely yield an unparalleled treasure.

Although many thought it would be difficult to compare to the Divine Source, everyone unanimously believed that a valuable treasure would be cut from it.

“Don’t stop me! If I don’t punch them, I can’t breathe!” Li Heishui was truly enraged, wanting to throw the black iron token he carried to strike the two men in front.

“Such a young age, yet such a big mouth. Didn’t your elders teach you to respect your seniors?” Li Yishui’s face darkened, and he sneered, a fleeting murderous intent flashing in his eyes.

“They stole our mystic stone and now they harbor murderous intent towards us…” Li Heishui was about to throw the black iron token to assault them.

Ye Fan, however, held him back firmly, preventing him from advancing.

Li Heishui calmed down, suppressing his impulse. He turned to the Ji family members and said, “We already paid one hundred and twenty thousand jin of Source first. Are you going to ignore what they’re doing?”

The Ji family’s Source Master showed a troubled expression. “Although you’ve paid for the Source, it was only for a few of the garden’s prized treasures, and you hadn’t definitively chosen a specific stone.”

Ji Biyue, dressed in green, with her curvaceous figure and bare, glistening jade feet, gracefully approached. She smiled faintly and said, “Two young brothers, there’s truly nothing that can be done. You can only blame yourselves for not confirming your choice sooner.”

Since the Ji family members had spoken, it was clear nothing could be changed, leaving Li Heishui seething with indignation.

Yao Yuekong stepped forward, advising Li Heishui, “Let it go.”

The Great Xia Prince shook his head, also transmitting a message, “You were too careless.”

Some people disdained Li Yishui’s actions, but could only discuss and curse verbally. They couldn’t change anything, as this was the Ji family’s Celestial Stone Garden, and everything had to follow its rules.

Some senior figures found it intolerable but could not say much.

The small island was ablaze with splendor. The head-sized Divine Source floated in the air, not sinking, emitting dozens of divine rays from its stone skin that bathed the ancient trees and dancing, sparkling petals in a sacred glow.

Li Yishui, nonchalantly, glanced at Ye Fan and Li Heishui. “Young men, this world is both fair and unfair, depending on how you look at it. There are many things you need to learn well.”

“You’re just rubbing it in after gaining an advantage. Fine!” Li Heishui pointed at the two men in front.

Li Yishui was unconcerned, calmly saying, “Brother Yang Kun and I have borrowed some Source from a few old friends. Besides wanting to purchase a Heaven-grade mystic stone, we also wish to bet against you.”

“Indeed!” The elder named Yang Kun, a Grand Elder of the Five Elements Palace, immediately piled sixty thousand jin of Source onto the ground.

This move was truly ruthless. They had just snatched someone else’s stone, and now they were using the opportunity to bet, clearly intending to completely crush them.

“Aren’t you going too far?” Ye Fan said with a solemn face.

“Words spoken are like water splashed out. You yourself said you wanted to bet against everyone present,” Li Yishui replied with a faint smile.

Although many felt it was too much, they couldn’t say much. There was clearly an old grudge between the parties, and the two young men had been outmaneuvered; they probably had no choice but to accept defeat.

Li Heishui immediately flared up. The other side’s actions were utterly deceitful and unscrupulous, making him unable to hold back his outburst.

“Old fogeys, you can’t suppress us with your power!”

“Oh, and what can you do?” Yang Kun asked.

Li Yishui calmly remarked, “I’m quite interested in the Dragon-Patterned Black Gold Saint Spirit Sword you possess. I believe it’s worth one hundred thousand jin of Source. How about I borrow some more Source from a few old friends, gather one hundred thousand jin, and then you can simply hand over the Saint Spirit Carving as payment?”

Yao Yuekong, An Miaoyi, and others had previously estimated the Dragon-Patterned Black Gold Saint Spirit Carving to be worth a vast amount of Source. Li Yishui’s statement was clearly malicious, aiming to seize the sword at a drastically low price.

“Dream on forever!” Li Heishui exploded.

“No matter, let him,” Ye Fan secretly transmitted, pulling him back at the crucial moment.

“Little Ye Zi, you…” Li Heishui turned to look at him, then, as if remembering something, he forcibly suppressed his inner turmoil and slowly calmed down.

“I only managed to borrow twenty thousand jin of Source, so this will have to do. A total of eighty thousand jin of Source to bet against you,” Li Yishui said with a faint smile. “I’m quite fond of that Dragon-Patterned Black Gold Saint Spirit Sword, you see.”

“Very well, I accept. You may cut the stone first.” At this point, Ye Fan asked loudly, “Is there anyone else who wishes to participate?”

Yao Yuekong transmitted a message, advising, “Brother, are you really going through with the bet? This time, it might be better to just admit defeat.”

“There’s no need to act impulsively,” the Great Xia Prince also advised.

At this moment, everyone looked over. Jiang Yifei, in white robes, looked calm, refined, and handsome. An Miaoyi, with spiritual energy in her eyes, was dreamily beautiful, watching quietly. Jin Chixiao’s expression was solemn and unmoving.

More senior figures also remained silent, quietly observing everything.

“In that case, we’ll give it a try too!”

Over a dozen people stepped forward, united, gathering eighteen thousand jin of Source, which sparkled brightly as it was piled high.

Although many were still tempted, they resisted the impulse. First, they felt it was too disingenuous to kick someone when they were down. Second, they were unsettled by Ye Fan’s invitation and his unusual calmness.

“Alright, since there are no more, it will just be us then,” Ye Fan said with a smile.

The first group, over twenty people, gathered fifteen thousand jin of Source. Wu Ziming and Li Chongtian together gathered thirty thousand jin of Source. Li Yishui and Yang Kun collectively raised eighty thousand jin of Source for the bet. The last group gathered eighteen thousand jin of Source.

Adding all their Source together, the total amounted to one hundred and forty-three thousand jin of Source.

At this moment, Li Yishui’s expression changed. He saw Ye Fan smiling at him, a radiant smile on his handsome face, revealing perfectly white teeth.

His heart immediately sank, his head throbbed, and he mentally screamed, “Damn it! This harmless-looking little scoundrel might have tricked me again!”

“Senior Li, aren’t you going to cut the stone yet? Let’s all have a look,” Ye Fan said with a smile.

Everyone was startled, their gazes simultaneously sweeping towards Ye Fan, Li Yishui, and the exorbitantly priced mystic stone.

Li Heishui finally relaxed completely, almost bursting into laughter as he mumbled, “Ye Hei, oh Ye Hei, this truly is a technical skill. Tricking people can indeed be considered an art.”