Four sky-high rare stones, each one extraordinary — the centerpiece treasures of the garden — and not a single one could Ye Fan truly see through. The more he studied them, the more he felt that this field of knowledge was vast and deep, without end.

In former years, the Source Grandmaster had been called the most extraordinary man of his generation with good reason. With a single glance, he could see through the earth of ancient mines, roaming freely across the world — yet if there were secrets within the source, he could perceive them all.

Tuoba Chang’s brow furrowed slightly as well. Walking through this stone garden, he felt a faint pressure of his own — some of the rare stones were wreathed in obscuring mist that he could not penetrate.

The island was small, no more than several hundred meters in circumference. The ancient trees were powerful and gnarled but not densely packed — each one like a coiling dragon, its aged bark like dragon scales, branches laden with blooms.

Petals fell in drifts — pink, snow-white, sky-blue, pale violet — each one crystalline, the fragrance breathtaking. The island felt like the pure land of some divine being, imbuing all who stood there with a sense of peace, stillness, purity, spirit, sanctity, and wonder.

Most strikingly, beneath the great ancient tree at the very center — amid a rain of falling blossoms — sat the Ji Family’s elder who guarded the stone garden: his skin smooth as an infant’s, his hair white as snow, sitting like a divine being in meditation. From beginning to end, this man had remained with eyes closed, cross-legged, unresponsive.

Many of the cantankerous old men who had come here made no move to disturb him. The man had sat that way from start to finish.

Having made a full circuit of the island, Ye Fan and Tuoba Chang had seen every rare stone. They now faced each other beneath a cluster of ancient blossoming trees, both perfectly calm.

Tuoba Chang said: “Anything below a peerless rarity will not count. If the loser cuts out a divine object, it goes to the winner — along with the ten thousand jin of source.”

“That suits me perfectly.” Ye Fan nodded.

With that, both began to select their stones. Everyone held their breath and watched with full attention.

The Great Xia Imperial Prince, An Miaoyi, Ji Biyue, Jiang Yifei, Yao Yuekong, Jin Chixiao, and the others all stepped forward, opening their divine eyes, concentrating their senses.

As for the group of old men, they pressed even closer to the two of them — walking step in step, their cloudy old eyes blazing with divine light, every trace of the stooped and decrepit old men they appeared to be vanishing in an instant. Each one was vigorous and fierce.

The others all stood at the edge of the island, silent as statues, watching intently.

Tuoba Chang made the first move. His entire right hand turned crimson gold. He strode forward and pressed down on more than ten rare stones he had already had his eye on, one after another.

The Divine Hand of Crimson Gold gave him what seemed like an additional divine sense — a means of seeing through everything. A faint golden luminescence spread across his entire body, connecting him with the stones as one.

Everyone was stunned. For at that very moment, one stone after another became transparent, their interiors clearly visible.

All present knew that source stones were special — even the most powerful cultivators could not sense what lay within. Yet source arts were so wondrous as to shatter that common understanding.

“This is the Source Grandmaster’s method! The old legends say — when the Grandmaster emerged, the stones held no secrets. He could perceive everything within them.”

“The Tuoba Family’s extraordinary arts are world-shaking. To have techniques capable of stripping away all concealment from rare stones — astonishing!”

“Tuoba Chang is truly a genius. At his age to have already reached such heights — perhaps in the future he will become the sixth Source Grandmaster of the Northern Region.”

The group of cantankerous old men were all exclaiming in admiration. They looked as though they had set eyes on a peerless beauty, their gazes shining with excitement, each one forming private calculations in his mind.

The others were equally filled with astonishment, and many felt the urge to try to win him over. The Northern Region thrived on source — a person of this caliber would be an honored guest at any major power.

By comparison, Ye Fan seemed utterly tranquil — like a cloud drifting gently through the air. He passed through the cluster of blossoming trees, his crystalline fingers brushing lightly past stones, emitting neither light nor unusual phenomena. What he possessed was only the natural quality of a clear spring flowing over stones in a pine grove — an effortless, unbounded etherealness.

In the end, Tuoba Chang stopped before the dragon-head stone. His crimson-gold right hand rested upon it, connecting him to the stone as one.

When many people saw this, they let out a low cry. It was clear that the Tuoba Family’s genius had settled on this stone — the expression on his face was uncommonly grave.

The group of old men all crowded around it. This stone had sat there for many years, and no one had ever dared to move it. If it was now to be split open, it would fulfill a long-cherished wish for all of them.

An Miaoyi’s dark hair drifted lightly. She moved with the grace of a lotus flower, coming forward to observe. The refined and elegant Jiang Yifei also showed a look of surprise as he leaned in to take a closer look.

The rarest of stones were the hardest to judge — even the Source Grandmaster had moments of furrowed brows, let alone in the present age.

Tuoba Chang’s Divine Hand of Crimson Gold pressed down upon the dragon-head stone. The stone did not become transparent — it remained as still as an undisturbed well. Only a faint trace of dragon energy seeped from within.

“Ding!” — “Ding—” — “Ding…”

Tuoba Chang struck continuously — three hundred and sixty-five blows in succession. One by one, rays of divine light sank into the dragon-head stone.

At the same moment, he himself was suffused with a pale-gold radiance, becoming one with the millstone-sized dragon-head stone, united as a single entity.

He closed his eyes. His right hand rested against the dragon’s head. Rosy light flowed around it — like the hand of a god restored to life.

“A radiant wheel has appeared beneath his right hand!”

“A genuine radiant wheel — five colors swirling, auspicious light shimmering in all directions!”

Whether the cantankerous old men, An Miaoyi, the Great Xia Imperial Prince, Jin Chixiao, and the others, or the onlookers gathered outside the small island — all of them showed expressions of astonishment.

“This is the Source-Heaven Treasure Wheel. It can imprint the secrets of rare stones, revealing what kind of rarity is nurtured within.”

“Tuoba Family’s genius is astounding — to have restored even this technique. By all accounts, this is one of the Source Grandmaster’s extraordinary arts.”

Among the veteran figures who understood this, not a single one failed to change color. The others, upon learning what they were seeing, were equally moved.

At this moment, Li Heishui’s heart was pounding fiercely as well. The other party’s source arts were this astonishing — who was truly stronger or weaker in this source arts contest was genuinely hard to say.

“Flash!”

A burst of light, and the brocade-robed young man Tuoba Chang stepped back. The Source-Heaven Treasure Wheel adhered to his palm, its radiance growing even more intense — like a five-colored divine sun, dazzling enough to keep people from opening their eyes.

Yet no one closed their eyes. With divine gazes wide open, they blazed with electric brilliance, all trying to capture what the Source-Heaven Treasure Wheel had imprinted.

“A dragon — heavens, there’s a dragon!”

The premier stone garden erupted. Everyone who saw it cried out in astonishment.

“A dragon has been imprinted in the Source-Heaven Treasure Wheel!”

“Is this real? There’s a dragon inside the dragon-head stone?!”

In Tuoba Chang’s palm, the Source-Heaven Treasure Wheel shimmered. Within it, the silhouette of a dragon moved — raising and swaying its head, swimming endlessly. From within, a bone-deep draconic might surged forth, leaving everyone gaping.

Everyone was dumbstruck. It seemed almost like fantasy. Was a true dragon about to come into the world?

The Ji Family’s people had completely changed their expressions. They had sought out supreme experts to examine the rare stones in their garden — how had they missed a peerless treasure like this?

Never mind Jin Chixiao, the white-robed little nun, or Xiang Yifei — even the veteran elders were ablaze with excitement, all pressing forward.

The people of numerous major powers sent private messages to Tuoba Chang at once, offering sky-high, supreme-tier prices to purchase this stone.

“I have heard that true dragons are born and nurtured by heaven and earth itself. Could it be that within this dragon-head, there truly lies a small true dragon no more than a foot long?”

“Whatever the case, within a millstone-sized dragon head, there must certainly be a peerless rarity — something connected to a true dragon.”

The eyes of every person burned with a fierce and hungry light. And some of the old men with extraordinarily impressive backgrounds were filled with regret — they had once examined this stone long ago, yet had ultimately let it go.

Tuoba Chang’s pale-gold radiance slowly faded. The Source-Heaven Treasure Wheel in his palm vanished. He gave the dragon-head stone a light pat and said: “I choose this stone.”

Now, no one doubted his source arts. The array of techniques he had displayed was absolutely imbued with something of the Source Grandmaster’s bearing.

Li Heishui groaned inwardly and muttered a curse: “No wonder he looks down on everyone. He really does have world-defying source arts. Things are in bad shape for us now.”

Without needing Li Heishui to say it, Ye Fan had already felt the pressure. The other party had chosen the dragon-head stone, and had even used the Source-Heaven Treasure Wheel to reveal a true dragon within.

If it truly was a true dragon, whatever rarity was cut out would be utterly beyond compare — unless Ye Fan himself cut out an immortal.

Ye Fan’s expression remained neutral. He continued to move through the stone garden. Choosing an ordinary stone would no longer be enough — he had to cut out something that would shake the world.

The options still available to him were the Immortal Melody Stone, the Eight Trigrams Dao Diagram Stone, the Peerless Beauty Stone, and the others. He furrowed his brow and stood among those few centerpiece rare stones, thinking hard.

A true dragon is an immortal being — it does not descend to the mortal realm. Something like this shouldn’t be the case. Perhaps it is something else entirely. As long as I cut out a peerless rarity, I should be able to contend.

Ye Fan stood before the Eight Trigrams Dao Diagram rare stone. He made no move, only walking around it in a slow circle, thinking continuously.

The innate Eight Trigrams Dao Diagram was deeply compelling. Simply gazing upon it, one felt a flowing rhythm of Dao and the sensation of ten thousand laws converging into one.

Yet Ye Fan ultimately turned away from it and came to stand before the Peerless Beauty rare stone, running his hand gently over its surface, then tapping it lightly.

His movements were deeply rhythmic. His fingers were nimble, like a few sprites dancing — tracing out a series of graceful, flowing paths.

“Young fellow, you’re out of options — just choose one of these centerpiece treasures.” An old man urged.

“The genius from the Tuoba Family has chosen the dragon-head stone. You can only select from stones of the same tier.”

“Exactly. If he truly cuts out a small true dragon, the only thing that could compete would be a Female Sacred Spirit Queen cut from your stone.”

Ye Fan had grown calm. After much deliberation, he ultimately put down the Peerless Beauty Stone and walked aside.

“Can’t you make up your mind? Are you scared?” Wu Ziming, seeing that Ye Fan still had not chosen a stone, moved in to disrupt his focus: “You think crude rural techniques can contend with the refined arts of a source arts sacred family? Overreaching yourself — laughable!”

“A frog in a well, looking at the sky from a tiny hole. How could someone like you even be mentioned in the same breath as Brother Tuoba? Calling someone like this a source arts prodigy is an insult to Brother Tuoba.” Li Chongtian sneered as well.

Li Heishui snapped: “Shut your mouths. This is interference — a blatant disruption of the source arts contest.”

“He can’t even pick a stone — he’s already lost his nerve, and we’re not even allowed to say so?” Wu Ziming scoffed.

“Even if he manages to cut out something rare, it won’t compare to Brother Tuoba’s dragon-head stone. I say just admit defeat now — save yourself the expense of buying a stone at a sky-high price.” Li Chongtian laughed without restraint.

Before a single stone had been cut, the air was already thick with gunpowder, both sides trading blows, with no shortage of voices joining in on one side.

Tuoba Chang spoke in cold composure: “Say no more. Let him choose his stone — I want to make him lose so completely that he has nowhere to hide his face.”

Ye Fan heard this and turned back, a faint smile on his lips. “In the realm of stone gambling and source arts, anything is possible. Even if one believes they’ve seen a true dragon within, it may all prove to be nothing more than an illusion — a flower seen in a mirror.”

He came to the edge of the clear spring pool, lifted the Immortal Melody Stone out of the water, brushed away the moisture with a light sweep, and let the stone’s brown-green body dry naturally in the sunlight — unassuming and unpolished.

Ye Fan felt that this stone was the strangest of all. It did not resemble stone materials that came out of source mines, yet it gave him a peculiar feeling unlike any other.

The crowd fell silent — quiet enough to hear a pin drop — for they noticed that Ye Fan’s expression had become uncommonly solemn. He was clearly about to deploy his source arts.

Suddenly, Ye Fan’s eyes blazed with two rays of purple light, piercing straight through the stone material.

“Heavens, that is the Source-Heaven Divine Sense!”

“The Sight That Pierces Illusion — a source arts technique from the Source Grandmaster’s lineage. Using divine sense to perceive everything within a stone — this is a heaven-defying technique!”

All the veteran figures were shaken. An Miaoyi, the Great Xia Imperial Prince, and the others were equally stirred — all of them moved forward.

Wu Ziming, Li Chongtian, and their companions, upon learning what the Source-Heaven Divine Sense was, fell silent at once and no longer uttered a word.

Suddenly, the great sound of the Dao filled the air, drawing all into a state of deep enchantment — as though some supreme and boundless Dao was being transmitted from a realm of immortals.

That stone began emitting strange sounds of its own accord, resonating with Ye Fan’s Source-Heaven Divine Sense, the sound reverberating through the entire stone garden.

It was like a passage of unfathomable scripture, spoken in slow and measured tones, cleansing the souls of all who heard it.

At the center of the island, beneath the great, thick ancient tree, amid a rain of crystalline falling blossoms, the elder who sat like a divine being — the guardian of the stone garden — snapped his eyes open with a sharp sound and swept his gaze across the scene.

“I choose this stone.” Ye Fan’s calm words rang out and carried across the entire island.