“We’ll be waiting for you at the Sacred Ground’s stone workshop — the refined arts of a source arts aristocratic family versus crude rural techniques.”

Those were the words Wu Ziming left behind. Li Chongtian turned back for a round of cold laughter as well, and the two of them escorted the brocade-robed young man Tuoba Chang away with an air of triumphant pride.

“Little Ye, if you don’t win every last strip of clothing off their backs, you’ll have let me down — and you’ll have let them down too.”

These were Li Heishui’s words, transmitted in a private voice. He simply could not swallow this insult and was on the verge of exploding.

“Miaoyi will definitely be there to watch Little Brother Gufeng demonstrate his divine might.” An Miaoyi smiled gently, her white robes flowing like clouds. Riding upon the clouds, she departed the Celestial Demon Treasure Vault.

“This will surely be a contest of winds and clouds — not to be missed.” The Great Xia Imperial Prince smiled, then led the white-robed little nun away.

Afterward, Jiang Yifei offered Ye Fan and Li Heishui a warm and friendly smile before also taking his leave.

Ye Fan returned to the Celestial Demon Treasure Vault to collect the auction proceeds. The primordial divine herb combined with the Source-of-Origin Fruit came to a total of five hundred and thirty thousand jin of source.

The auction house took a ten percent commission, which should have been fifty-three thousand jin of source — but three thousand jin was waived for them. Ye Fan’s actual take was four hundred and eighty thousand jin of source, piled up like a small mountain.

He was immediately struck with a headache. Without converting it into rare variant source, there was simply no way to refine and absorb it — he would be buried under it all.

For now, however, there was no need to convert it into variant source just yet. He still needed to go stone gambling, and he could spend this source to exchange for things of even greater value.

Yao Yuekong insisted on keeping them there, inviting them to drink. A source arts prodigy was someone every major power wanted to win over — especially for an auction house like the Celestial Demon Treasure Vault.

“This way, brothers — today, we celebrate properly.” Yao Yuekong said with a smile.

“Alright — tonight we drink to our hearts’ content, and tomorrow we go and tidy up that mop.” Li Heishui said.

“Which mop?” Yao Yuekong asked with a smile.

“The one from the ancient source arts aristocratic family — supposedly a world-shaking genius, even more arrogant than a Source Grandmaster. His name is Tuoba Chang.”

“Ah, that ancient aristocratic family. They truly have an impressive background — come, let us drink and talk.”

The Tuoba Family was exceedingly ancient, with an enduring heritage and a uniqueness all their own. Together with three other families, they were collectively known as the Four Pillars of Source Arts. Without a figure from the Source Grandmaster’s lineage emerging, no one could surpass them.

The ancient source arts aristocratic families produced outstanding talents in abundance, with prodigies arising from time to time, held in high regard by the various Sacred Grounds. Whenever strange and mysterious occurrences took place in a source mine, they would invariably be invited to investigate.

The banquet lasted from midday all the way until evening, with host and guests alike in high spirits, before Ye Fan and Li Heishui finally took their leave.

At the Celestial Demon Treasure Vault, the sky-high price fetched by a damaged primordial divine herb shook the entire Divine City.

Without question, everyone was envious of Ye Fan, this source arts prodigy who had harvested hundreds of thousands of jin of source in a single stroke, and many people were talking about it.

In the days that followed, the stone workshops of the various Sacred Grounds suddenly became far more bustling than before — especially the Dao-Yi Sacred Ground’s, where visitors came and went without end each day, many of them driven by the notion that a second primordial divine herb might emerge from the same source mine.

Ye Fan and Li Heishui kept an extremely low profile, not venturing out, for there were far too many important figures within the Divine City. They did not want to become the center of attention again at this moment. Influential figures from the immortal dynasties of the Central Continent, the various Sacred Masters of the Eastern Wasteland, and the sacred monks of the Western Desert were all still within the Divine City and had not yet departed. Being overly conspicuous might result in an unfortunate run-in with any one of them.

Even so, a great many people were talking about Ye Fan during those few days. Someone capable of cutting out an ancient divine herb simply could not be ignored.

Though he had not gone out to mingle, Ye Fan’s name grew considerably in the Divine City over those days. Whenever source arts and stone gambling were brought up, his name was sure to be mentioned.

Before seven days had passed, even more mysterious figures appeared in the Divine City — the masters of the Hundred Schools of Thought and leaders of great sects from the Central Continent were making their presence known. This was absolutely earth-shattering!

Evidently, they had come for the legacy of Emperor Wushi, crossing the void to arrive here and passing through the Divine City on the way.

For a time, the Eastern Wasteland was shaken to its core, and even the various Sacred Grounds cried out that the wolves had come — for the Central Continent was far too powerful, leaving no one anything but alarmed and on guard.

With the masters of the Hundred Schools of Thought and the sect leaders of the Central Continent personally arriving, even the great Sacred Grounds of the Eastern Wasteland felt unable to handle the pressure. The weight of competition surged dramatically.

Without question, the third assault on Purple Mountain would be earth-shattering!

At last, half a month later, the many influential figures began departing one by one, heading toward Purple Mountain to make preparations for the final grand assault.

Over those half-month, another source arts prodigy had risen to prominence in the Divine City.

Tuoba Chang had made a name for himself — yet in just over ten days, having made only a handful of moves, he had already displayed astonishing source arts.

In the stone workshops of the various Sacred Grounds, even white-haired master source readers sought guidance from him, listening as he imparted his methods.

Meanwhile, rumors began circulating through the city that the source arts prodigy known as “Gufeng” had, out of fear of Tuoba Chang, shut himself away and no longer dared to enter the stone workshops.

At first, no one believed such a thing. But as Ye Fan and Li Heishui had vanished for a full month without returning to stone gambling, the rumor gradually began to feel true.

As time went on, many people came to believe it — that with the arrival of the world-shaking genius Tuoba Chang from the ancient source arts aristocratic family, the other source arts prodigy, Gufeng, had chosen to avoid the confrontation and refuse to fight.

“Didn’t he cut out a primordial divine herb? With such a grand feat to his name, why doesn’t he dare to face someone in a contest of source arts?”

“What do you know? The Tuoba Family is a sacred ground of source arts, representing a supreme and transcendent heritage — even the Source Grandmaster of former days once paid them a visit.”

Throughout the city, on every street and alley, people were talking about it.

The heart of the Northern Region was fundamentally built upon source. Nearly everyone understood it to some degree, and so anything that happened in the stone workshops spread quickly and widely.

“The young source arts prodigy Gufeng even dared to move the Nine-Aperture Stone Man — a statue that had stood there for who knows how many years, with no one giving it a second glance — yet he cut out a Sacred Spirit Sword from within it.”

“This only goes to show how terrifying Tuoba Chang must be, if even Gufeng is avoiding the fight.”

“Tuoba Chang must possess source arts that defy this age. Rumor has it he cut out divine source several years ago, and by now, he must have grown even more formidable.”

Throughout the Divine City, many people were talking. Tuoba Chang had barely made any moves, yet his reputation had already risen like the sun at its zenith.

When Ye Fan stepped out onto the streets, he heard many of these rumors. He had not expected that after closing himself away for half a month, so many stories would have been spun.

Li Heishui sneered: “It’s definitely Wu Ziming and Li Chongtian spreading these rumors — slandering us while propping up that Tuoba Chang.”

After making a round through the city and hearing far too many whispered accusations, it seemed as though they truly had been too afraid to fight.

“Eh — they’ve appeared! Could they be coming out to fight after all?”

“The boy who cut out the primordial divine herb is out again — are they going to enter a stone gambling workshop today?”

“Something exciting is definitely about to happen.”

Some people had recognized them and were pointing and whispering behind their backs.

“What are you all gossiping about? We’ve only been in seclusion for half a month — how have rumors run this wild?” Li Heishui swaggered with all the nonchalance in the world. “Does anyone here know that pigheaded Wu Ziming? Go — tell him that the two Stone-Gambling Sages have emerged from seclusion, and have them hurry over to hand their source over.”

Everyone was left utterly speechless. With the city full of rumors saying they didn’t dare face Tuoba Chang in a source arts contest, no one had expected that the moment this dark-skinned young man stepped out, he would talk like this.

“Boom!”

An uproar instantly broke out on the street, and the news spread at lightning speed.

Without question, something exciting was about to unfold. Hearing the commotion, many people surged toward this street.

“Those two have appeared again — a real source arts contest is about to happen. What a show this is going to be!”

“That’s right — they’re just up ahead on the main street. By the look of things, they might be heading to the Ji Family’s stone workshop.”

An extraordinary sight formed: the moment Ye Fan and Li Heishui showed their faces, they drew ten thousand people converging toward one place, clearing the streets of everyone else as the crowd rushed together.

The street became packed wall to wall. The many people who loved stone gambling had all come running.

“Brother Gu — are you two serious? You’re really going to face Tuoba Chang in a source arts contest?” Someone called out loudly.

Li Heishui put on an utterly unconcerned air. “Didn’t I just say so? Who’s going to go deliver the message to that pigheaded Wu Ziming? Tell him not to show up without ten thousand jin of source — we don’t accept anything less.”

The crowd was in an uproar. This dark-skinned young man’s confidence was overflowing. Setting aside source arts entirely, just based on Wu Ziming’s background, very few people would dare to speak of him this way.

The Ji Family’s stone workshop sprawled across a vast area, stretching out in continuous sections like an imperial garden. Stepping inside, one found strange stones arrayed in rows and luxuriant trees standing tall. Small bridges arched over flowing streams, and the scenery was pleasing to the eye.

Various stone materials were arranged naturally throughout, and each stone garden had its own unique character. Some were veiled in drifting mist, resembling the water towns of the Southern Region; others had maple trees swaying in the breeze, evoking the crimson leaves and frosted air of the North.

When the Ji Family’s stone workshop learned that the source arts prodigy had arrived, they braced themselves as if facing a formidable enemy. With any other visitor, they would naturally welcome the guest warmly.

But the last time Ye Fan and Li Heishui had come, they cut out a primordial divine herb and split open the Nine-Aperture Stone Man to obtain the Sacred Spirit Sword — the uproar had been far too great.

By now everyone understood that these two possessed deep and astonishing source arts. Whether or not every stone they chose would contain a rare treasure, they came close enough to make it unsettling.

For visitors like these, no stone workshop in the land would roll out a welcome mat. If they cut out some peerless rarity from the Ji Family’s premier stone garden, the loss would be excruciating.

The people of the Ji Family’s stone workshop thought about quietly setting aside some of their most valuable and enigmatic stones, but they had no idea which stone harbored a divine object, so they could not make a choice.

And moreover, if they truly removed them, it would surely invite ridicule from everyone in the Divine City. Those sky-high valued stones were too well known — if even one went missing, people would notice.

Ye Fan strode through the stone gardens without pausing, passing through eighteen sections in succession, walking all the way to the innermost depths — clearly his destination was the premier stone garden.

The people of the Ji Family’s stone workshop felt a weight settle in their hearts, a pressure they could not shake. Indeed — it was just like the old days when a generation of extraordinary men, the Source Grandmaster, had swept across the Northern Region. Whenever he appeared, every Sacred Ground’s stone workshop, without exception, was filled with trepidation.

Now, though Ye Fan had only gambled once in the Dao-Yi Sacred Ground’s workshop, the things he cut out had been far too extraordinary. He had already taken on something of the Source Grandmaster’s imposing presence, enough to inspire wariness in all who witnessed it.

“Why hasn’t Wu Ziming brought Tuoba Chang yet?” Li Heishui asked around with the air of a stone gambling sage born to it.

The crowd was left momentarily speechless. This dark-skinned young man was truly domineering — the half-month of rumors had crumbled all on their own. This was clearly a fierce counterattack in the making.

More and more people arrived. The Ji Family’s stone workshop was packed to capacity. Hearing that a great source arts showdown was about to take place in the Divine City, people flocked here from every direction.

Before long, Ye Fan reached the innermost depths of the workshop. There lay a lake — pale blue, like crystal — brimming with spiritual energy, breathtakingly beautiful.

In the center of that pale-blue lake was a small island, no more than several hundred meters in circumference, laden with blossoming trees. Fallen petals drifted through the air in a glittering, crystal-like curtain of fragrance that wafted across the lake’s surface.

The small island at the center of the lake was the Ji Family’s premier stone garden — beautiful as a piece of divine land, almost dreamlike.

Suddenly, a commotion broke out behind them. The crowd parted to both sides, clearing a path.

“So you two actually dare to show your faces.” Wu Ziming’s cold laughter carried across the distance as he approached: “Today — the refined arts of a source arts aristocratic family versus crude rural techniques.”

“The genius of the ancient source arts family, Tuoba Chang, has arrived!”

The lakeside erupted in clamor. The main players had come. Everyone knew that a great source arts showdown was now inevitable.