Ye Fan crouched there and ignored him entirely. He stared at the broken stones for a long while — and then it all clicked into place. A string of silent curses rose in his mind at the shamelessness of the Rongxiang Stone Gambling House.

The knowledge he had drawn from the Source Heaven Scripture was correct. The fault lay with the house — these source stones had been tampered with. They had been cut open, the source removed, and then filled with ordinary rock, resealed using a secret method.

“Swindling cheats!” He seethed inwardly. The Rongxiang house had gone too far with its deceit.

He was tempted to make a scene — but held himself back. Even if he revealed the truth, few would believe him. And stone gambling houses bold enough to operate in the Northern Region always had some backing behind them, supported by powerful forces.

If he exposed them directly, the other party might bow their heads in the moment but seek revenge afterward. He himself could walk away without a second thought — but dragging the stone village into the mess would be another matter entirely.

“I need to master the ‘Reshaping Heaven and Earth’ art from the Source Heaven Scripture as soon as possible. Then there will be nothing holding me back — the seas will be open for fish, the skies open for birds.” He told himself quietly.

“If you don’t want to bet, fine — go back where you came from,” the Qingxia Sect’s young master said, throwing him a sidelong glance.

“I’m betting. Why would I stop?” Ye Fan sprang to his feet.

When selecting stones this time, he was meticulous — carefully inspecting each one. He found more than ten additional tampered stones without much difficulty.

The deceptive craftsmanship was extraordinary. Even under close scrutiny, it was nearly impossible to detect — a near-perfect imitation of the genuine article. If not for the Source Heaven Scripture’s near-natural method of reading the grain and texture of the stone material, the fraud would have been nearly undetectable.

In the end, he chose an odd, misshapen stone — about the size of an adult man’s head, dull gray in color, covered all over in crisscrossing cracks that ran every which way.

Most strange of all, these cracks bore a resemblance to the shape of a mouth — as though some ancient creature had gnawed at it, leaving behind this peculiar form.

The moment Ye Fan lifted the stone, a wave of laughter rippled through the crowd.

“Young friend, do you actually understand source stones? This one is obviously a worthless piece — trade it for something else,” a kindly elder nearby advised.

“For this stone to yield source would be an absolute miracle. Its vital essence has clearly been exhausted — nothing could possibly remain.”

“That’s a ‘Spirit-Crack Stone’ — covered in fractures all over. They say it was gnawed on by ‘ancient source spirits’ in the time before memory. There’s no way source could still be inside.”

“Exactly. That’s the famous ‘Spirit-Crack Stone.’ It’s lying here just to fill space — absolutely no chance of yielding source.”

Everyone shook their heads. Most of them laughed outright, certain that Ye Fan had no real understanding of source stones — that he could only dig them out of mine shafts, not read them.

Wang Shu grew tense immediately. Er Lengzi tugged at Ye Fan’s sleeve and urged quietly, “Little Brother Ye, let’s swap it for another one.”

“No need. This is the one.” Ye Fan nodded to the source appraiser to begin cutting.

Even for a “Spirit-Crack Stone,” the source appraiser followed the customs of his trade — he bowed respectfully to the “source deity,” murmured a quiet prayer, and only then took up his knife.

He worked with practiced efficiency, the blade moving swiftly like a coiling dragon, its edge flashing cold. Stone skin fell away rapidly. In no time, the head-sized Spirit-Crack Stone had been stripped layer after layer and had shrunk to smaller than a fist.

Not one among the onlookers had the slightest faith in it. They watched and murmured.

“There’s no possible way this yields source. A complete waste of everyone’s time — just split it open with one stroke and be done.”

“If this Spirit-Crack Stone yields source, I’ll eat these stone skins off the floor.”

“Turn back the clock a hundred thousand years and maybe this stone had something worthwhile inside — but by now, it’s been hollowed out by source spirits. That’s plain as day.”

Young Master Liu Cheng’en of the Qingxia Sect wore a faint smirk at the corner of his mouth, fanning himself idly, giving Ye Fan a brief glance of contempt without bothering to say a word.

Then the crowd gasped.

The outer skin of the Spirit-Crack Stone fell away — it was now smaller than a lychee fruit. And in that very instant, a dazzling radiance burst out.

A dense, rich spiritual energy washed over them like a warm spring breeze, like sinking into a hot spring — every pore on the body relaxed and opened, filling with an extraordinary sensation of ease and comfort.

Brilliant crimson light spilled out, trailing wisps of faint mist that drifted gently through the air — like clouds aflame at sunset, like celestial blood-soaked vapor.

Everyone was stunned. Clearly, the source that had been cut out was of an exceptionally high grade — its source energy far surpassed anything of the same variety.

Within the lychee-sized Spirit-Crack Stone, a tiny piece of deep crimson source was embedded — no bigger than a fingertip, yet it flowed with luminous, brilliant color, glowing scarlet with a radiance that was mesmerizing to behold.

“This is so tiny… not even enough to cover the cost of the stone.” Er Lengzi was somewhat dazed.

Wang Shu also frowned. Yes, they had cut out source, and the quality was clearly superior — but the quantity was pitifully small. Not even half a tael, let alone anything measured in catties.

“You’re right, it’s incredibly small. Just that little bit.” Those who had cried out in astonishment earlier came back to themselves and sank back into disappointment.

In the crowd, Ye Fan saw it quite differently. He could feel the vigorous pulse of vital essence radiating from it. That tiny fragment, no larger than a fingertip, was emanating a more powerful surge of energy than ten whole catties of pure source stacked together.

“This is a Crimson Flame Source!” The source appraiser, who had seen much in his years, could not help but cry out — only to clap his mouth shut quickly, sealing his lips.

Ye Fan understood immediately. This piece of source was small, but its value equaled ten catties of ordinary pure source. It was a rare variant.

He smiled then, and turned to the crowd. “A Crimson Flame Source — I’m sure everyone here has heard of it. It may not be the rarest of rare variants, but it is certainly uncommon and hard to come by. Precious and valuable. Would anyone care to say what it’s worth?”

“A variant source — and from cutting stones no less! Small as it is, it’s worth ten full catties of ordinary source!”

“What extraordinary luck. In stone gambling, sometimes you really do have to trust in fate. One little piece like this could keep generations of a family comfortable.”

In the stone gambling trade, cutting open an uncommon source with mysterious properties was a rare and extraordinary event — its value beyond simple estimation.

“I heard that at the Jade Pool Immortal Stone Hall last time, someone cut out a variant source so incredibly rare it dwarfed the Crimson Flame Source by countless times. The people from the sacred city were immediately alerted and bought it for an enormous sum.”

“How did I not hear about this?”

“A matter this secretive wouldn’t circulate widely, naturally.”

Er Lengzi had finally pieced it together. He pried the tiny Crimson Flame Source free, then broke into a wide, foolish grin. He looked at the watching crowd and said: “Now then — who was it that said they’d eat the stone skins off the floor if this thing yielded source?”

The crowd fell into an abrupt and sheepish silence. No one spoke up to claim the remark.

Wang Shu smiled and walked calmly over to Young Master Liu Cheng’en, extending a hand. “My apologies — we won. Ten catties of source. If you would.”

Ten catties of source was a figure that would make anyone wince — no matter who you were. But with so many witnesses present, Young Master Liu Cheng’en could hardly make a scene. His expression darkened, and he dropped a source pouch on the ground.

Er Lengzi picked it up, grinning so wide it seemed his smile might reach his ears.

“Something’s off — this is still half a catty short,” Wang Shu said, brow creasing.

Young Master Liu Cheng’en of the Qingxia Sect had brought exactly this much — and was now completely empty-handed. He had lost to three source miners he had looked down upon with contempt. His face burned with humiliation he could not express.

“Let it go,” Ye Fan said in a mild tone. “We’re all far from home. Half a catty — call it even.” Even as he spoke, he had already crouched down and was carefully examining the stone skins of the Spirit-Crack Stone.

Those cracks truly looked like tooth marks. And what astonished him most was that he could see a single hair embedded within the stone layers.

“Could ‘ancient source spirits’ truly exist as real beings?” he wondered inwardly, quietly turning the thought over. If so, then did that not mean “ancient source deities” might equally be real?

“Are we continuing?” Er Lengzi clutched an armful of source, thoroughly satisfied. Wang Shu was beaming with equal contentment, both of them looking ahead with eager eyes.

Young Master Liu Cheng’en’s face went iron-gray. He flicked his sleeve and stepped to one side, quietly approaching a few acquaintances to borrow some source.

“How about a bet with me!” Several bystanders noticed Liu Cheng’en temporarily stepping back and their eyes lit up. To them, he looked like a plump sheep just waiting to be sheared — surely one streak of luck couldn’t hold forever.

In the crowd’s assessment, Ye Fan simply did not understand source stones. His selections — first the red-inside-white stone, then the Spirit-Crack Stone — were pure blind luck from a cat stumbling onto a dead mouse. Good fortune would not sustain itself.

“I’d advise you all to be careful,” said an elder from among the crowd, speaking with apparent authority. “This business is exceedingly strange — it puts great stock in fate and fortune. Right now, these three mine-workers have an exceptionally strong streak running. I would not advise betting against them.” Most of those present heeded the words and pulled back.

Young Master Liu Cheng’en of the Qingxia Sect cobbled together a source pouch from various lenders — about four or five catties in total — and declared his intention to gamble with Ye Fan again. The others, naturally, stepped aside.

“We go to the ninth courtyard and choose stones from the old-pit source mined near the edge of the Primordial Ancient Mine. Do you dare?”

The so-called “edge of the Primordial Ancient Mine” referred to territory several thousand li from that forbidden sacred mine — it was clearly not source stone actually extracted from the deadly forbidden zone itself.

Even so, such stones commanded astronomical prices, because occasionally they truly did yield rare and extraordinary source.

“Why wouldn’t I dare?” Ye Fan was equally curious to see what made stones from near the edge of the Primordial Ancient Mine different from the rest.

The ninth courtyard held far fewer stones — only fifty or sixty in all. They ranged from the size of a goose egg to the size of a millstone, with none exceeding a thousand catties.

Here, one tael of source bought only one catty of stone — outrageously expensive, and very few people were willing to spend lavishly in this section.

“Looking to fleece a fool? With stones running dozens of catties and hundreds of catties each — can they really yield good source? This is absurd,” Wang Shu said with dissatisfaction.

“What do you know, you bumpkin? Every stone brought from near the Primordial Ancient Mine is prime divine material. If an exceptional source is cut out, its value would be beyond price, beyond calculation.”

“What a country bumpkin — no idea how things work.” Several of Liu Cheng’en’s close companions joined in with their mockery.

By now Ye Fan had learned Liu Cheng’en’s full name — Liu Cheng’en.

Liu Cheng’en wore a cold smile, watching them with something close to contemptuous amusement.

Er Lengzi, never one to dance around a point, spoke directly: “You’ve been losing hand over fist, and you still think so highly of yourself? In a moment I’ll make your face go green!”

“You…”

The other bystanders crowded in, surrounding the few dozen old stones, talking excitedly all at once.

As Ye Fan examined the stones, a frown settled on his face. The Rongxiang house was truly unscrupulous — he found at least a third of the source stones had been cut open and resealed by the same sophisticated method.

The stones here genuinely felt different to him — harder to read, harder to be certain of. The outer skin had a peculiar quality, as though it had absorbed some demonic influence.

He drew a sharp breath inwardly. If stones mined several thousand li from the Primordial Ancient Mine were already like this — what must the stones actually quarried inside that sacred forbidden zone be like? Unimaginable.

While the crowd was examining stones, they were also talking among themselves. Someone mentioned the Jade Pool’s Immortal Stone Hall and suggested everyone head there in the afternoon.

“Why?”

“Because a Jade Pool immortal lady has come to Pingyan City — she’ll certainly be making an appearance in the afternoon.”

“Do you think it could be the Jade Pool’s Holy Maiden herself? I’ve heard she’s been traveling to inspect various locations. The immortal lady who’s arrived in Pingyan City — she very well might be her.”