novelhk Chapter 57 8 Ancient Insects, Divine Source, 5 Jin of Source
Chapter 57 8 Ancient Insects, Divine Source, 5 Jin of Source
Tuoba Zhao did not make a move immediately.
He turned and walked outside.
Crossing the boundary wall between the top-tier park and the eighteenth district, we entered the tenth district.
After lingering at the stone niche for half an hour, I turned into the twelfth area.
The crimson-gold right hand never retracted into its sleeve, its five dark-gold fingers constantly pressing against the stone surface.
Each stone is touched.
His brow would furrow slightly.
The crowd followed them all the way from the tenth district, their whispers gradually turning into silence as they muttered to themselves:
Not reliable!
The footsteps of Tuoba Zhao.
Finally, we stopped in front of a rock the size of a house.
The stone was entirely gray-black, with spiderweb-like cracks covering its surface, from which a faint gray mist seeped.
The sign has three crookedly engraved characters: Ghost Crack Stone.
Price: 30,000 jin of pure raw material.
"Ghost crack stone?"
A wandering cultivator who had come to watch the commotion gasped in astonishment:
"That thing is completely hollow, with too many cracks, it can't seal in any source energy, let alone divine source energy, it can't even store alien source energy—"
Tuoba Zhao ignored him.
Crimson Gold placed his right hand on the surface of the Ghostly Rift Stone, his five fingers spread wide.
A dark golden luster seeped into the stone along the cracks.
This time, he didn't use the Crimson Gold Divine Hand.
Turn your palm over.
A phantom golden disc materialized and took shape above his head.
The disc is three feet in diameter, and its surface is covered with dense dragon patterns and inscriptions. It rotates slowly.
Golden light was projected.
It covered the entire Ghost Crack Stone.
Yuantianbaolun.
One of the six core source techniques of the Source King lineage.
Unlike the basic perspective of the Crimson Gold Divine Hand, the Origin Heaven Treasure Wheel can completely imprint the distribution of Origin Qi inside the stone into the caster's divine sea, with a higher level of precision.
The treasure wheel rotates.
Golden light washed over every crack in the Ghostly Crack Stone.
Tuoba Zhao closed his eyes, sweat dripping from his forehead.
Take a breath.
Two breaths.
Ten breaths later.
He opened his eyes.
A trickle of blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.
"This one."
He pulled out his stone-cutting knife.
The blade sliced through the Ghostly Rift Stone, and the stone's outer layer crumbled off layer by layer like rotten wood.
A gray fog blanketed the area.
It obstructed the view.
When the last piece of stone fell—
The entire room fell silent for a moment.
The Ghost Crack Stone was hollow inside, with only two or three brown particles, about the size of pores, embedded in its core, emitting a faint divine light.
Fragments of divine origin.
"Only this much?"
"The stones bought from Yuanyuan, numbering 30,000 jin, yielded scraps worth at most... 30,000 jin?"
"Even breaking even is uncertain."
Someone did the math for Tuoba Zhao.
The Ghost Crack Stone is priced at 30,000, while the Divine Source Fragments cut from it are worth between 28,000 and 32,000.
Adding the previous nine thousand jin of Cui Lingyuan, Tuoba Zhao's two strikes totaled no more than forty thousand jin of source.
As for Li Xian, the Dragon Pattern Black Gold weapon is a naturally deadly weapon, guaranteed to cost at least 180,000.
The gap is overwhelming.
Tuoba Zhao gazed at the fragments of the divine source.
His face looked terrible, but he showed no signs of dejection.
He glanced back at Li Xian.
Li Xian leaned against a stone pillar, arms crossed, expressionless.
Tuoba Zhao gritted his teeth.
"I'll choose another one."
Someone in the crowd muttered to themselves:
"Still choosing? There's already a difference of over 100,000 jin (50,000 kg), choosing again is pointless..."
Tuoba Zhao turned a deaf ear.
He walked along the stone archway again, this time very slowly.
The crimson-gold right hand and the Origin Heaven Treasure Wheel rotated simultaneously, the golden disc spinning faster and faster, its golden light illuminating the surrounding stone niches.
then.
He stopped in the top-tier stone area and circled around it.
However, they soon returned to Park 18, proceeding with extreme caution.
Even the old woman with a cane couldn't sit still and moved her stone bench several times.
Yao Yuekong yawned.
A cup of tea.
Half an incense stick.
A stick of incense.
The crowd went from initial excitement to anxiety, and then from anxiety to numbness.
Several independent cultivators simply sat down on the ground and started eating dried spiritual fruits.
Tuoba Zhao finally stopped.
He stood in front of a bucket-sized stone in the eighteenth district, drenched in sweat, and the luster of his crimson-gold right hand dimmed by three points—the price of continuously activating the Origin Heaven Treasure Wheel at a high frequency was burning his lifespan, and as a fourth-level Origin Master, he could not afford such extravagance.
The stone is unremarkable in appearance, bluish-gray in color, and dense in texture. It is priced at 10,800 jin.
"This one."
This time he didn't use a regular stone-cutting knife.
He took out a jade knife as thin as a cicada's wing from his bosom.
The blade is almost transparent, with faint traces of primordial patterns flowing through it.
This is a specialized tool for cutting precision Originium.
Tuoba Zhao adjusted his breathing.
His hands were as steady as a rock.
The jade knife slowly cut into the stone along an almost invisible line at the top.
One inch.
Two inches.
Three inches—
"Buzz!"
The stone skin had just cracked open.
A beam of pure white divine light burst forth from the crevice, shooting straight into the sky.
The entire stone detached from the ground and floated in mid-air.
A dense, almost liquid-like life essence surged out from the cracks, engulfing the entire park.
A sweet aroma filled the air; inhaling it made my lungs feel like my bones were humming.
"Divine Source!"
"It's Shenyuan again!"
Several elderly men nearing the end of their lives suddenly opened their eyes, their withered bodies radiating a terrifying aura.
Tuoba Zhao did not stop.
The jade knife carefully peeled away the stone's outer layer inch by inch, moving with utmost care.
The moment the stone skin completely peeled off—
The entire room fell silent.
A divine source the size of a fist floated in mid-air.
A shimmering white light flowed around it, yet a strange scene appeared within.
Eighteen silkworm-like insect bodies, golden in color and with intricate patterns, were curled up deep within the divine source.
Although the insects were still, each one emitted source energy fluctuations far exceeding those of ordinary alien sources, almost like a dream.
"Ancient protozoan? No—"
The old woman with the cane suddenly stood up, almost dropping the cane from her hand.
"Insect Kings." Her voice trembled. "Eighteen ancient primordial insects at the Insect King level. They feed on divine energy and use it as their cocoon. If refined into a precious elixir, each one can extend one's lifespan by three years. Eighteen..."
He lived to be 54 years old.
For the few old monsters present who were nearing the end of their lives, this was not a treasure, but their life.
"Two hundred thousand catties of raw materials!"
"Three hundred thousand!"
"500,000 jin of pure mineral water! I want it all!"
The bidding erupted almost simultaneously.
The auras of several elders surged, and their powerful pressure, like a tangible force, swept down, leaving the surrounding young cultivators completely scrambled.
Yao Yuekong was pushed three zhang away by an invisible force. Her blue eyes flickered, but she did not resist.
Tuoba Zhao put the divine source into a jade box.
The jade box was placed in his bosom.
He hadn't even spoken yet.
Three pressures locked onto him simultaneously.
"Young friend, I'm offering 500,000 jin of ore; you should sell it now."
A gaunt old man stepped forward with a kind smile, but his spiritual suppression had already firmly locked onto Tuoba Zhao.
Tuoba Zhao's face turned ashen.
He is a fourth-level Origin Master, not a combat cultivator.
In the face of a powerful being, they should have been powerless to fight back.
But he is an elder of the Yuan King's lineage.
"How dare you?"
Tuoba Zhao roared.
He stomped his right foot on the ground.
"boom!"
The earthquake trembled.
A golden source pattern exploded from beneath his feet, spreading for hundreds of feet along the bluestone slab.
Deep within the source patterns, the earth's vein dragon energy surged.
A giant, earth-yellow dragon burst forth from the ground and coiled around Tuoba Zhao.
The dragon's body was half-real and half-illusory, its eyes were piercing, and the breath it exhaled from its mouth forcefully pushed back the oppressive aura of the three old men.
Origin King Dragon Vein Technique.
He draws upon the earth's energy from the dragon veins to protect himself, using the power of the earth to counteract the supernatural abilities of cultivators.
Its imposing presence is no less than that of a dragon at its peak.
"When did it become the domain of outsiders to steal what belongs to the Yuan King's lineage?"
Tuoba Zhao's beard and hair were all standing on end.
His aged face was filled with anger.
The previous Yuan King was a king-level combatant!
The three elderly men's expressions changed slightly.
A moment of silence.
"Elder Tuoba, don't get angry."
Yao Yuekong had somehow returned to the circle, the black token of the Heavenly Demon Palace twirling between his fingers.
"Seniors, please don't be hasty. As for the ownership of this ancient insect source, why not wait until after the gambling game is over and then send it to the Heavenly Demon Treasure Palace for a public auction, where the highest bidder wins? That would be fair and dignified."
Tuoba Zhao glanced at him.
The dragon's aura slowly receded.
"I never said I wouldn't sell."
Tuoba Zhao carefully put the jade box away, his voice hoarse:
"But the bet isn't over yet; this is the stake. I'll sell it after I win that kid's Source Master's Manual."
The elderly men then realized what was happening—
Yes, the jade gambling isn't over yet.
Immediately, someone in the crowd started doing the math.
"After the third strike of the Tuoba family, 9,000 jin of Emerald Spirit Source, 30,000 jin of Divine Source Fragments, and a guaranteed 500,000 jin of Ancient Insect Divine Source... totaling at least 540,000 jin of Source!"
"What about the rogue cultivators? The Dragon Pattern Black Gold is worth 180,000, plus that Purple Crystal Source... ah no, that sword, it's worth a little over 180,000."
"The rogue cultivator still has one cut left, while the Tuoba family's third elder has used all his cuts. But the gap is already over 300,000 jin; even if he manages to cut out a second piece of dragon-patterned black gold with his last cut, he still won't be able to catch up!"
The discussion grew louder and louder.
Someone shouted in Li Xian's direction.
"Brother, just admit it! Minimizing losses is better than nothing. Let bygones be bygones in Master Yuan's notes, but don't gamble away your life savings!"
"Yes, the Tuoba family is, after all, a descendant of the Yuan King; their foundation is undeniable. The fact that you were able to cut out the dragon-patterned black gold is already astonishing enough. Once you've made a name for yourself, you'll have no trouble finding any job. Know when to quit while you're ahead!"
"If you keep gambling, I'm afraid you'll ruin your reputation!"
The calls to withdraw were constant.
Even the old woman with the cane looked at Li Xian, hesitant to speak.
Li Xian stood still.
He looked calmly at the jade box in Tuoba Zhao's arms.
There was no anxiety, no hesitation.
There wasn't even a trace of thought.
It seems that all of this was part of his plan.
He turned and walked towards the Tianzihao Park.
"Hey! Where are you going?"
Li Xian did not turn around.
Only one sentence was left behind.
"Choose the last stone."