The moment those words left Ye Fan’s lips, the old men nearby were all astonished — while those outside the stone garden first went blank, then erupted in a wave of noise.
“A wager? You’re wagering with that white stone on the ground? It’s obvious that’s a white flower stone — source is simply impossible to cut from it. Even the most entry-level stone gambler knows that!”
“Young man, even if the nine-orifice stone figure came up empty, there’s no need to react this way. You’ll have other chances in the future.”
“I think he’s lost his mind. To want to wager with someone at this point — it’s bewitching him.”
Outside the Celestial-Grade stone garden, all manner of opinions were aired. Wu Ziming and his group were the most vocal in their loud mockery.
“What are you wagering with? Do you think you’re going to cut divine source from that white stone? What a colossal joke!”
“I think he can’t take the blow and has gone half-mad. Didn’t I say he didn’t know the height of heaven or the depth of the earth?”
“Fallen back to earth now, hasn’t he? Fancied himself a source arts master, thought he could instruct the world — and now he’s tumbled down hard from the clouds!”
“Overestimating himself — ha ha ha!”
…
Ye Fan’s expression was perfectly tranquil. “Who will wager with me? I stake the nine-orifice stone figure against you. If I lose, I will willingly pay five thousand catties of source.”
A moment of silence — then a great eruption of noise.
“This fellow has lost his mind. He’s simply beyond reasoning.”
“Five thousand catties of source — if you can actually produce it, I’ll wager with you!” Someone challenged him, shouting loudly.
“Can’t take the hit — is he going all-or-nothing out of pure desperation?” Someone laughed in derision.
…
Inside the stone garden, Yaoyue Kong stepped forward to advise: “Brother, there’s no need for this. Think nothing of it — start fresh. White stone like that couldn’t possibly yield anything rare.”
Ye Fan shook his head and held firm: “It doesn’t matter. I simply want to wager with them. I cut free a divine medicine today — I feel heaven itself stands on my side.”
On the ground, the fist-sized chunk of stone was so pale white it was piercing to the eyes — especially when one remembered its sky-high price, which only made one’s tongue-clicking and sighing all the worse.
“Cutting free the divine medicine was an act of heaven-defying fortune — a treasure rare as that hasn’t been seen in ages. And now you think you can cut free another divine object? What a joke!”
“Do you actually have source on you? If you do, I’ll wager with you!”
All kinds of voices drifted in from outside the stone garden. Not one person believed that source could be cut from white flower stone.
Li Heishui was anxious. He transmitted privately: “Are you truly confident? This is white flower stone — even someone just starting out in stone gambling knows that source simply cannot come from it.”
“I have somewhat more than a little confidence,” Ye Fan replied privately.
“Really?” Li Heishui saw that Ye Fan was utterly composed, and was half-convinced.
“Would I ever set a trap for myself?” Ye Fan replied inwardly.
“You’re too underhanded — this is fishing!” Li Heishui’s worry lifted, and he chuckled inwardly: “People say I have a black heart, but I think you’re even blacker than me. You’ve already cut out something fine, and you’re still this composed, not forgetting to lure these people into your trap. I think I should be calling you Ye-the-Black.”
At that moment, the stone garden was loud with clamor inside and out, and no one could keep calm. The old Daoist nun of the Daoist Yishi sacred ground had no choice but to step forward a few paces, lest anyone become overly agitated and rush inside.
Ye Fan swept his gaze across everyone present. “I speak the truth — see for yourselves what this is!” He made a great sweep of his sleeve, and in an instant a great heap of source appeared on the ground, radiance gleaming, spiritual energy surging skyward.
From Wu Ziming, Li Chongtian, and their group of over a dozen people, forty-two thousand catties of source had been won in wagers. From the Great Xia prince, ten thousand catties. Taken together — not more, not less — it came to just over fifty thousand catties.
Outside the stone garden, every person who saw that enormous pile of source felt a faint dizziness come over them. The overwhelming majority were young people who had never laid hands on this much source — every single one of them gazed upon it with burning eyes.
“Does anyone dare to wager with me?” Ye Fan asked once more.
This time, every person present was utterly stilled. Fifty thousand catties of source was simply too enormous. In the ordinary run of things, scenes like this were rare — and whoever had that much source on hand almost certainly wasn’t young, and wasn’t the sort to get tangled up in a clash of pride. Most such people were senior figures of great standing, who kept their source for purchasing rare and precious things.
Even figures like Jiang Yifei and An Miaoyi showed a momentary flicker — quite astonished.
Some people’s mouths went dry. They couldn’t help swallowing. Their eyes had gone a little glassy, fixed on the fifty thousand catties of source inside the garden, unable to look away.
Yet this enormous heap of source was simply too much — not a single young person could produce such a sum all at once. They could only watch with longing.
Some of the senior figures present could produce it — but couldn’t bring themselves to lose face. Especially those inside the stone garden: these old men were each of great consequence, and many of them were fully capable of covering fifty thousand catties of source. Yet having just followed behind Ye Fan and watched him select stones, it was beneath their dignity to turn around and wager against him.
“Very well — I’ll lower the threshold. One square block of source per entry. As long as you can pool it together, all of you are welcome. I’ll take on each group in turn.”
One square block equaled ten thousand catties; fifty thousand catties equaled fifteen square blocks. Ye Fan divided the enormous heap into fifteen piles, then looked out at the crowd.
“Wager! We’ll pool our source — we’ll wager with him together!”
At once, seven or eight people pooled their source to reach ten thousand catties and formed the first group of wagerers, walking inside.
Wu Ziming and Li Chongtian and their group could barely contain themselves, eager to enter immediately. This was a rare opportunity — a chance to repay the earlier humiliation with a counterattack.
“These two country bumpkins are headed for serious disaster — but regrettably, none of us have any source. What are we to do?” Wu Ziming was bitterly unwilling to be left out.
“Isn’t that Li Yishui, the Grand Elder of the Illusory Extinction Palace, right up ahead? He’s Li Chongtian’s great-great-grand-uncle in terms of sect seniority. Li Chongtian, why don’t you go and borrow some source from him?”
“Exactly — from what I can tell, Li Yishui elder is thoroughly displeased with those two young men over the matter of the divine medicine. Li Chongtian, go explain the situation — I’m sure he’ll lend it.”
“All right, I’ll try.”
It wasn’t long before Li Chongtian returned — and sure enough, he had borrowed ten thousand catties of source.
Ye Fan didn’t bat an eye, watching them approach with complete tranquility. He had been waiting for these few people all along. He had known from the start they would go to Li Yishui to borrow source.
At this moment, Li Yishui revealed a faint, deep, and indifferent smile — full of meaning — as he looked into the stone garden.
“Old schemer — let’s see if you’ll still be smiling in a little while,” Li Heishui muttered under his breath, a cold smile tugging at the corner of his mouth as he observed this.
“Is there anyone else who wishes to wager?” Ye Fan swept his gaze in all directions.
Many people’s hearts stirred and they wanted to band together — but seeing how utterly composed and unruffled Ye Fan and Li Heishui remained, they hesitated, their minds pulled in two directions.
Especially those inside the stone garden: the old men of great consequence also showed a flicker of something unusual, sensing that there might yet be a turn in events.
“Is there truly no one else?” Ye Fan asked once more.
The little white-robed nun was still crouched on the ground, her beautiful chin resting in her palms, her large eyes pure and clear, muttering in mild dissatisfaction: “Why don’t you just cut already.”
Ye Fan asked several more times, but got no response. By now, many people were growing genuinely doubtful. Even Wu Ziming and Li Chongtian felt a creeping unease.
Because Ye Fan was simply too composed — too unhurried.
In the end, no one else entered. Only two groups had chosen to wager against him, amounting to twenty thousand catties of source combined.
“Faster!” The little white-robed nun tilted her head and blinked her big eyes impatiently, her expression mildly displeased.
“Little miss, since you’re in such a hurry, shall I let you cut the stone?” Ye Fan said with a smile.
The little white-robed nun scrunched her nose and paid him no mind — her attention was wholly fixed on that chunk of stone.
The Great Xia prince had grown thoroughly vexed and wanted nothing more than to give Ye Fan a slap. He frowned, took several steps forward, and came to stand beside his younger sister.
“Cut the stone already!” Wu Ziming and the others called out impatiently.
“Very well — now await the emergence of a peerless rare treasure.” A look of focused seriousness came over Ye Fan’s face. He took up the sharp silver blade and began working it around the fist-sized chunk of stone.
Crack!
The moment the cutting sound rang out, everyone around him fell silent — it was as though they had returned to the very beginning. Not a single person spoke.
Stone powder cascaded down. The silver blade moved quickly, and in a short span of time the fist-sized stone had already been reduced by half — and still it was all white flower stone, not a single phenomenon appearing.
Though Wu Ziming and the others wanted to mock him, they couldn’t bring themselves to laugh. In this solemn atmosphere, they even felt a faint unease.
Finally, the stone was no larger than a grape. Still no rare treasure had appeared — and many people could hold themselves back no longer. Discussion broke out.
The vast majority now believed it truly was impossible for anything to be cut from the stone. It was down to a piece this small, and still all white flower stone. If a divine object had been harbored within, the spiritual energy would already have been sensed by now.
Even Li Heishui could no longer hold steady. Every eye turned toward Ye Fan — and still he was calm, bringing the blade down with precision, cutting the stone with speed.
Snap!
When the stone was no larger than a lychee, its color at last changed — turning a dark red. Many people cried out in shock.
Ye Fan slowed his pace and carefully peeled away the stone skin. Everyone immediately held their breath, falling silent, watching intently.
At last, a heart-shaped piece of dark red stone was exposed.
Every old man present was astonished — their faces flooding with profound regret.
“What a pity — this nine-orifice stone figure truly had the faintest beginning of a transformation. The heart has already taken form. Had it been given another few million years, it very likely could have gained spiritual awareness and become a sacred spirit bordering on immortality!”
“A terrible shame — it should never have come into the world so early, only to be discovered now. Now everything has come to nothing.”
All the old men shook their heads, feeling this was the will of heaven. Had it not been disturbed, in a few million years it would have been an existence of terrifying power — one capable of contending with the great emperors of antiquity.
“And so the nine-orifice stone figure ends here. In the end, nothing precious was yielded. A pity for this stone embryo that heaven and earth had shaped.”
With the old men present drawing such a conclusion, Wu Ziming instantly burst out laughing in contempt: “Source arts prodigy — hand over your source.”
Ye Fan paid them no mind and continued bringing down the blade. Sure enough, when the dark red stone heart was cut open, there was nothing inside.
“Ha ha ha!” Li Chongtian and the others all roared with laughter, full of triumph and mockery.
Outside the stone garden, an uproar broke out. Many people were overcome with regret, wanting nothing more than to give themselves a good beating — they had missed such a perfect wagering opportunity.
“Heh heh heh…” The Grand Elder of the Illusory Extinction Palace, Li Yishui, let out a meaningful cold laugh.
The Great Xia prince and Yaoyue Kong also shook their heads, feeling Ye Fan had been far too rash — this amounted to simply handing over source for nothing.
“Young man — what can I say? You truly shouldn’t have done this. Ten wagers, nine losses, and source stones have a kind of bewitching power — once you haven’t cut one open, it’s very hard to predict the outcome.”
The old men around him shook their heads, all feeling it was undeserved for Ye Fan.
Ye Fan remained utterly tranquil, and said nothing more.
But Li Heishui had broken into a cold sweat. Nothing had been cut out — this was a severe blow.
Especially seeing Wu Ziming, Li Chongtian, and the others mocking him, he was burning with frustrated fury. And seeing the expressions of others — some pitying, some gloating — he couldn’t help but sigh.
“What’s the matter — nothing to say now?!”
The two groups who had wagered against Ye Fan were now brimming with satisfaction. Someone spoke up with a jab.
“Source arts prodigy — go home and practice a few more years before coming back. A sky-high stone isn’t something just anyone can cut!”
“Overestimating yourself — fancying yourself the Source Heavenly Master reborn. Truly laughable.”
“Since you’re not talking, we’ll help ourselves to the source — ha ha ha!”
These people roared with laughter, wholly unbridled in their glee — Wu Ziming and Li Chongtian most of all, the most outrageous of the bunch.
The onlookers fell into a great swell of noise. The vast majority of people were kicking themselves and drowning in regret.
“Wait!” At that moment, Ye Fan’s calm voice rang out: “The nine-orifice stone figure has not been fully cut. On what basis are you touching my source?”
Those words brought everyone to a standstill. Even Jiang Yifei and An Miaoyi showed a flicker of surprise.
“You still have stone left to cut?” Wu Ziming and the others all looked down at the ground, though none of them took it particularly seriously.
The little white-robed nun was still resting her chin in her palms, having not risen to her feet. Her voice was clear and musical: “Hurry up and cut it — let me see what’s inside.”
Ye Fan picked up from the stone powder a flat piece of stone — roughly half a palm in size, about an inch or more thick.
“A stone this flat, and you still expect to cut out something rare from it?”
“You truly won’t give up until you see the coffin — even now you still won’t let go!”
“We’ll wait for you to cut it open and see what you can produce!”
The two groups who had wagered against Ye Fan had no belief whatsoever that anything could be cut from it, and watched with cold smiles pulling at the corners of their lips.
“Can I still enter now? You still have stone left — I’d like to wager with you too,” someone called from outside the stone garden.
“Me too!”
“Count me in!”
The Celestial-Grade stone garden erupted in an instant. Many people called out loudly, clamoring to join — the tens of thousands of catties of source was too enticing to resist.
“What do we do?” Li Heishui was frantic, transmitting privately.
“Stand by and prepare to collect source,” Ye Fan replied.
“You… I understand now — you deliberately dragged this out, one step after another, until even those who were hesitating at the start finally dared to step in. You really do deserve the name Ye-the-Black,” Li Heishui suddenly saw it all clearly.
This time, Ye Fan did not agree as readily as before — he appeared to hesitate: “Everyone, is this really necessary?”
“It was you yourself who made the declaration to wager with everyone present. Why are you backing down now?!”
“Words spoken are like water poured — we want to join.”
…
“That old schemer!” Li Heishui cursed under his breath. He had spotted Li Yishui providing source — lending it to Li Chongtian’s group, the dozen-odd people who were fanning the flames and stirring things up.
Ye Fan’s lips curled into a faint cold smile. He transmitted: “This is exactly the big fish I was trying to hook. That old fellow alone can produce tens of thousands of catties of source — while the others, dozens of them combined, can barely scrape together ten thousand catties.”
In the end, when Ye Fan agreed, several people came rushing in rapidly and stacked thirty thousand catties of source on top of Wu Ziming’s pile. Others who were unwilling to miss out — several dozen of them — scraped together ten thousand catties, but had been a step too slow, and returned in frustration.
“Fifty thousand catties against one hundred and fifty thousand catties in stake blocks — everyone be prepared to honor your wagers when the time comes,” Ye Fan said, growing ever more composed.
“Who is losing to whom — I think you’ve got it backwards!” Wu Ziming scoffed.
In that moment, a jolt shot through Li Yishui’s heart. He sensed something was off — but regrettably, the source had already been handed over.
“Hurry up and cut the stone already. We’re waiting for you, source arts prodigy, to hand over fifty thousand catties of source — ha ha ha!”
“Source arts prodigy? He’s just a reckless youngster who doesn’t know the height of heaven or the depth of the earth!”
Ye Fan smiled — growing even more unhurried and at ease. He turned to the old Daoist nun of the Daoist Yishi sacred ground: “Elder, would you please seal this space, lest any rare treasure escape.”
When he said that, everyone was given a tremendous shock. They couldn’t help but look toward the center of things. Even those who had been speaking went quiet.
“Are you certain this is needed?” the old Daoist nun asked calmly.
“I am certain — a peerless rare treasure is about to emerge!” Ye Fan was completely sure.
The moment those words landed, everyone was stunned. It was truly one twist after another. Seeing his expression, many people instinctively believed him.
Of course, quite a few still doubted — and some laughed coldly in contempt.
“He’s gambled himself into madness — still won’t give up. Let’s see how he handles this!”
“If nothing is cut out, let’s see where he puts his face!”
“He’s picking up a stone to drop on his own foot — let’s watch him make a fool of himself!”
…
These voices naturally came from those wagering against him — they were the most cutting of all, each wearing a cold, dismissive smile.
The old Daoist nun of the Daoist Yishi sacred ground said nothing more. She acted decisively, sealing the space — a transparent curtain of light descended and enveloped the area.
From beginning to end, the young Daoist woman of the Daoist Yishi sacred ground remained calm, tranquil as still water, observing it all with unhurried detachment.
If one were to ask who among all those present was the most curious, there was no question — it was the little white-robed nun. She was thoroughly dissatisfied with Ye Fan, had scrunched her delicate nose and urged him to hurry with cutting the stone several times already.
“Little brother, are you certain you can cut out something rare?” Yaoyue Kong asked. The Great Xia prince also looked over.
“I have a few parts confidence,” Ye Fan answered.
With that said, the old men nearby were undoubtedly the most astonished of all. This extraordinary stone, the nine-orifice stone figure, held a special quality for them — they had been keeping an eye on it for many years. If truly nothing was cut from it in the end, they would undoubtedly be deeply disappointed.
This time, Ye Fan’s expression became one of absolute gravity and seriousness. This particular piece of stone material was the forehead of the nine-orifice stone figure — including the area of the brow’s center.
From the moment he had cut this piece free, he had already determined that something extraordinary lay within. But he had not been hasty in cutting it open — instead, he had continued stripping away the other parts first.
Now, at last, he had no choice but to act in earnest. The silver blade came down, and the stone skin was slowly peeled away. His movements were extremely slow — terrified of damaging whatever lay within. He took every possible precaution.
Crack!
When Ye Fan brought down the final stroke, the entire piece of stone cracked of its own accord. From the area of the brow’s center, an object shaped like a silkworm cocoon tumbled out — only about an inch long and half an inch thick.
It was a dark gold color, shimmering with a faint, flickering light. It was a metallic cocoon of some kind, and no one could say what it harbored within — yet it gave off an impression of being something entirely out of the ordinary.
“Something truly was cut from it!”
Everyone was given a tremendous shock. A rare treasure had emerged from white flower stone — far beyond what anyone had imagined.
“This was birthed from the brow-center of the nine-orifice stone figure. What on earth is it?!” In that instant, the dark gold metallic cocoon drew every pair of eyes.
Boom!
Suddenly, it gave a faint tremor — it shook of its own accord.
“What?! It can move — could this be some kind of ancient creature?!”
The crowd’s faces all changed color. Legends of ancient creatures were not few in number. What, then, could be harbored within a metallic cocoon such as this?
Ye Fan swiftly stepped back — he had sensed danger.
In that very moment, an earth-shaking aura of killing intent spread outward, overwhelming the mind and shaking the spirit. Many faces went white in an instant.
“What is it that’s about to emerge?!” Many of the senior figures began to put their guard up.
The one reassuring thing was this: today had drawn no shortage of senior cultivators of great power to this place.
Crack! The dark gold metallic cocoon cracked apart rapidly — and then a streak of black sword radiance shot straight upward, piercing straight through the old Daoist nun’s seal.
The piercing killing intent made souls tremble. The bone-chilling aura of slaughter shook the spirit!
The cocoon shattered completely, crumbling into dust. A black sword, no more than an inch long, appeared in the spot where the cocoon had been.
It rang and shivered with vibration, releasing a surge of sky-piercing killing intent that bored through the sealed space, and a shaft of dark light shot straight up toward the sky.
“Heavens — the killing intent is terrifying. It has absolutely woven together ‘Dao’ and ‘Principle.’ The nine-orifice stone figure was truly worthy of being an extraordinary embryo shaped by heaven and earth, to have harbored a divine sword like this!”
“If it had not emerged into the world too early and been placed on display here, the nine-orifice stone figure would eventually have become a sacred spirit. This is the sword of slaughter that heaven and earth nurtured for it!”
Some of the old men cried out in astonishment.
“Heavens — look at its material! What is it made of? It appears to be — Dragon-Patterned Black Gold!”
“That’s right — it truly is the sacred material exclusive to the great emperors — Dragon-Patterned Black Gold!”
This was even more shocking. Every single person was overwhelmed with excitement.
The black sword, less than an inch in length, bore countless naturally formed dragon patterns across its surface — ancient and unadorned — yet at this moment its edge blazed with a dark rushing torrent of light aimed at the sky.
“It’s made of the same material as the Daoist Yishi sacred ground’s supreme sacred weapon, the Dragon-Patterned Cauldron!”
“This truly is a peerless rare treasure. The nine-orifice stone figure actually harbored something like this — this was to be its weapon.”
“This nine-orifice stone figure is something else entirely. If it had not been cut open, it could one day have contended with the great emperors!”
Dragon-Patterned Black Gold — a sword not even an inch long, a very small sacred object — yet had it not emerged into the world prematurely, had it continued to be nurtured alongside the nine-orifice stone figure, it would eventually have grown into a supreme sacred weapon of the utmost Dao.
The crowd felt grief and astonishment in equal measure. The nine-orifice stone figure was truly extraordinary — naturally harboring a weapon within itself, and one of Dragon-Patterned Black Gold at that. Had it truly been able to emerge in its own time, it would have been a battle-strength that shook the world!
Everyone acted together to seal the small black sword.
“Quickly seal it! It has emerged too early into the world — the stone figure carries grievance within it. Hold fast for a moment, and this sword will return to its ordinary state.”
Dragon-Patterned Black Gold — a sacred material that had birthed a small sword of its own!
This outcome left every person who had wagered against Ye Fan utterly dumbfounded. Wu Ziming and Li Chongtian went green in the face right where they stood. The Grand Elder of the Illusory Extinction Palace, Li Yishui, came very close to vomiting blood.
This outcome had been far, far beyond anyone’s expectations!
Their hearts were bleeding — tens of thousands of catties of source, just like that, swindled away.
In that moment, not a single one of these people could bear it.
“What the hell, this is too savage!”
“Tens of thousands of catties of source — and both of those boys are absolutely black-hearted. Black faces and black hearts!”
Every one of those who had joined the wager felt utterly drained, and continued to curse without end.
But right now, no one paid them any attention. The emergence of the Dragon-Patterned Black Gold small sword — without question it qualified as a rare and precious object — had drawn every heart and mind entirely to itself.
Especially given that it had been birthed from the nine-orifice stone figure — it was utterly captivating to the spirit.
The white-robed, transcendent Jiang Yifei was the first to transmit a private message to Ye Fan. And then the magnificently beautiful An Miaoyi’s eyes flowed with expression — had the stone garden not been sealed, she would already have floated inside.
In that moment, many people offered goodwill toward Ye Fan, eager to purchase the sword — small as it was.