The Red Dragon Elder Daoist had a gaunt figure, still wearing his ancient daoist robe. He stared at the golden little creature, with specks of crimson light flickering in his eyes.

The small creature that resembled a true dragon felt somewhat unsettled by his gaze and timidly hid behind the little white-robed nun, peeking out its head cautiously and observing with nervous eyes.

“Little Darling need not be afraid.” The little white-robed nun spoke softly to reassure it, placing it upon her shoulder.

The moment the Red Dragon Elder Daoist appeared, those old men with little lifespan left were filled with deep wariness and no longer dared to speak freely. The others, unfamiliar with his identity, continued chattering away, filling the stone garden with noise.

“Nine Transformations of the Divine Silkworm…” the Red Dragon Elder Daoist murmured, then raised his head to look at the sky, and afterward gazed at the ground, as if sensing something.

Ye Fan wanted to go over and greet him with a bow, but a flash of crimson light passed, and the elder daoist’s figure vanished without a trace, disappearing in an instant without lingering any further.

“Why leave so hastily…” Ye Fan had originally wanted to borrow the Red Dragon’s imposing presence.

Li Heishui squeezed through the crowd and helped Ye Fan begin collecting the source stones. On the ground lay a colorful array of stones of every hue, like gemstones of many colors, piled up in a heap.

“Many thanks to you two for helping me time and again, and today gifting me so much source material — you are truly righteous friends.” He laughed heartily.

Wu Ziming’s eyes blazed with fury, and Li Chongtian’s nose nearly went crooked with rage. The two said not a word, grinding their teeth.

“And this elder gentleman too — you have truly been warmhearted and generous, supporting us repeatedly.”

Li Yishui, the Supreme Elder of the Illusory Extinction Palace, was seething with anger and desperately wanted to slap that dark little brat before him, but could only suppress his fury silently.

He truly felt smoldering with indignation — a single word sufficed to describe his misery. He had jumped headfirst into a pit of his own making, and within less than half a shichen, he had spent two hundred thousand jin of source in total. The vast majority of it had been borrowed, and he would not be able to repay it even in the second half of his life. Thinking of such a wretched state, he nearly fainted and felt the urge to slap himself.

“Elder, don’t tremble so — anger harms the body. Someone as shrewd as you, who could even think up such a scheme as seizing rare stones, surely need not worry about failing to obtain source material?”

Li Heishui poured oil on the fire and kicked him while he was down, doing so with an air of nonchalance — quite similar to how the Supreme Elder of the Illusory Extinction Palace himself had behaved not long ago.

There were others who had made wagers against Ye Fan as well, and one by one they wore expressions as ashen as ash, their faces twisted in shame, brimming with regret and remorse. Tuoba Chang had cut open a divine source, and they had been certain of victory — yet they had still suffered a crushing defeat. Was there no justice left in this world? Heaven itself seemed intent on toying with people.

The several heaps of source stones on the ground amounted to a combined total of one hundred and forty-three thousand jin, gleaming with every color of the rainbow like dazzling gemstones.

Ye Fan swept his wide sleeve and collected all the source material. In that moment, the hearts of many were bleeding, stricken with grief beyond words.

“Brother Tuoba, according to our prior agreement, our wager was one hundred thousand jin of source — how will you pay me?” Ye Fan asked.

Even as the foremost heir of an ancient source arts family, Tuoba Chang had only brought one hundred thousand jin of source with him, and had already accrued a debt of over three hundred thousand jin of source to the Ji Family from cutting stones.

“I will engrave a stone inscription for you and return it within a few days!”

Ye Fan smiled and said, “Why not write it to the Ji Family instead? Owe them another hundred thousand jin of source, and then I will use that source to gamble on stones — what do you think?”

“Fine!” Tuoba Chang bit down and agreed.

However, this time the Ji Family refused no matter what was said, wishing desperately to send them both away immediately.

Strictly speaking, the Ji Family had not truly lost greatly. To cut stones, Ye Fan had invested four hundred and fifty thousand jin of source, and Tuoba Chang had done similarly. Between them, the two had madly thrown in over nine hundred thousand jin combined.

Of course, after cutting out the divine source and the divine silkworm, everything had been recouped.

The greatest winner was undoubtedly Ye Fan — two pieces of divine source plus that golden little creature amounted to over a million jin of source, enough to be called the most astonishing gamble of the age.

Ye Fan squeezed out of the crowd and began selecting stones again. During the final round, he had paid one hundred and twenty thousand jin of source and had not purchased any sky-high priced rare stones, but had only chosen a stone worth thirty thousand jin, from which he had cut out the golden little sprite.

“This is madness — will he keep cutting stones?”

“Surely he can’t cut out another world-shaking rarity?”

Everyone watched him closely. Having cut out one astonishing treasure after another, Ye Fan’s every move drew extraordinary attention.

The Ji Family members held their noses and allowed him to continue selecting stones, though in truth they desperately wanted to throw him out — for a stone auction house of the sacred ground, this sort of person was the least welcome guest.

“That stone beneath the ancient tree, that stone over there within the hanging vines…” Li Heishui kept pointing things out. He had detected a total of seven or eight rare stones that had shifted position.

Ye Fan’s brow immediately furrowed. The Stone King had already awakened spiritual intelligence and was deliberately exposing vulnerabilities — this was undoubtedly a provocation.

“If I were a Source Heavenly Master, could you still escape me?” he said to himself inwardly.

In the end, Ye Fan shook his head. The Stone King had turned sentient and surely harbored some world-shaking rarity within it — yet for the moment, he could not locate it. He felt that even if he spent several million jin of source to cut open every precious stone in the Celestial Stone Garden, he might not necessarily find it. He suspected the Stone King was not even within the Celestial Stone Garden — perhaps it lurked beneath the lake, perhaps along the shore — it was very difficult to determine.

Ye Fan selected two pieces of stone, but no rare treasure emerged. However, he did not lose either, having cut out some uncommon source material.

Finally, his gaze drifted toward the center of the small island, where beneath a towering ancient tree lay a smooth purple stone — the resting place upon which the guardian of the Ji Family’s stone garden sat in long-term cultivation.

He looked at the price. If he were to cut open this stone, it would exhaust exactly his remaining ninety thousand jin of source.

“This stone may not be cut — it is where the elder ancestor cultivates.” Someone stepped forward to stop him.

“But is it not marked with a price?” Li Heishui asked.

“Let them cut it.” The silver-haired elder waved his hand.

“Let us leave it be — this is a senior’s place of meditation, and it would not be respectful to disturb it.” Ye Fan shook his head.

In the end, the ninety thousand jin of source was spent in full. No rare treasure emerged, but he had not lost either, having cut out some large chunks of uncommon source material.

“Just giving up like this — not going after that Stone King?” Li Heishui transmitted his voice secretly.

“I’d very much like to find it, but I simply cannot detect it. And even if it were truly cut open, I doubt I could keep it — it would surely be a world-shaking sacred object, most likely triggering a blood-soaked battle. I will come back for it another day.”

Had the Red Dragon Daoist not left, he might have given it a try — but now he abandoned the thought.

The stone-gambling battle thus drew to a close. Ye Fan had reaped enormous gains, making many eyes turn red with envy, yet none dared to entertain wicked ideas.

At this moment, numerous great powers — including the people from the sacred grounds — simultaneously surrounded him, extending olive branches.

In the Northern Domain, the ability to draw out source material made such a genius in source arts a prized guest of every major power, and many old men worked vigorously to draw him in.

Of course, the scramble for the golden little creature had also begun. Ordinary people could not afford to keep it, but for the various sacred grounds there was absolutely no problem.

“Young friend, this old one has already prepared a banquet — shall we raise our cups and enjoy ourselves shortly?”

“I have long since reserved the distinguished guest divine garden at the Golden Family’s Drunken Immortal Pavilion — Brother Gu must come.”

…

Even Li Heishui could not extricate himself, seized by a group of old men whose burning gazes made his skin crawl.

An Miaoyi, Jin Chixiao, Xiang Yifei, and the others were boundlessly enthusiastic, all wanting to purchase the golden little sprite. Among them, Jiang Yifei and the Great Xia Imperial Prince were the most resolute, clearly determined to acquire it regardless of cost.

“Two brothers, it would not be appropriate to sell it to any of them. Why not simply send it to our Heavenly Demon Treasure Pavilion for auction?” Yao Yue Kong stepped forward with this suggestion.

“There is no need to go there — their commission is as high as one-tenth. Brother Gu, do you not find that wasteful?” An elder figure objected.

They feared that once the news spread further, even more people would come to compete for it, and the price would then be unimaginably astronomical. Even the corpses cut from source stones were considered precious objects worthy of study — how much more so a living divine silkworm!

Ye Fan and Li Heishui deliberated for a long time, discussing whether or not to sell the golden little sprite.

The Nine Transformations of the Divine Silkworm rendered it unmatched in all the heavens and earth below, making its value impossible to measure. And yet, how easy was that to achieve? Even in the immemorial era it had been exceedingly difficult to accomplish, let alone in the current age.

“I have decided — this divine silkworm will not be sold.” Ye Fan spoke.

A dead silence fell over the scene, and then a wave of icy killing intent spread out — no fewer than dozens of streams of it, from unknown origins.

Ye Fan’s heart lurched. Every major power was determined to have it, and if he persisted in refusing to sell, his life could be in danger.

“I wish to lease it out.”

The moment these words left his mouth, the murderous intent dissipated, replaced by a wave of astonished voices as many people began speaking at once.

“This can be leased? But it is a living creature.”

“This is really…”

“How exactly would such a lease work?”

Many voices debated the matter, and the major powers all settled down and began to inquire.

“Starting at six hundred thousand jin of source, for a term lasting until its third transformation.” Ye Fan said.

“Young man, you truly dare to open your mouth wide as a lion. As a Source Heavenly Master once said, the value of a single divine silkworm is six hundred thousand jin of source — yet you are only leasing it out, and still ask for such a high price.”

Ye Fan smiled but said nothing more, for he understood clearly: whether he leased or sold, the result would be the same — once it entered the hands of one of these great powers, it would never be returned. Therefore, though he called it a lease, he priced it as a sale.

The benefits of this arrangement were manifold. First, he would not lose out, receiving source material as compensation. Second, the framing of a lease left open the possibility that in the future, once he had grown powerful enough, he could go and reclaim it.

“Eighty thousand jin of source — our Great Xia Imperial Dynasty takes the lease!”

Suddenly, an imposing voice rang out, and the many old men turned around. At some point, a middle-aged man had appeared in the stone garden. He wore a golden dragon robe and a dragon crown upon his head. Tall and powerfully built, with a heroic bearing, nine true dragons coiled faintly around his body, and above the dragon crown upon his head, there materialized from dragon energy a dragon’s head that struck awe into the hearts of all who beheld it.

“Imperial Uncle…” The Great Xia Imperial Prince and his sister stepped forward to pay their respects.

He gave a slight nod, then released an incomparable and overwhelming aura of power that pressed down upon the group of old men, rendering them unable to speak. This was unmistakably a figure of the Sacred Lord level. Only the silver-haired elder of the Ji Family remained unaffected, meeting him with composure.

“Brother Ji…” The great figure of the Great Xia Imperial Dynasty’s lips moved slightly — clearly transmitting his voice.

“Very well — I shall not contend with Brother Xia over this.” The silver-haired elder nodded.

As for the others, they could not even get a word in edgewise. Before such a supremely powerful being, those old men were utterly suppressed.

“Young friend, what do you say?” The great figure of the Immortal Divine Dynasty spoke, asking Ye Fan.

Neither Ye Fan nor Li Heishui had been suppressed by the pressure. Without much hesitation, he nodded in agreement. Whatever the case, there was no possible way for him to keep this golden little sprite — not with so many great powers eyeing it covetously.

“Good — I will gather eighty thousand jin of source within three days.” The great being of the Immortal Divine Dynasty finished speaking and vanished in an instant.

Ye Fan’s cutting of a living being more precious than divine source had truly shaken the divine city. First the Red Dragon Daoist had appeared, and then the Imperial Uncle of the Great Xia Dynasty — both had shown themselves in succession.

The little white-robed nun let out a cheer of delight, extremely happy.

Only then did the others breathe a long sigh of relief and find their voices again.

“That was far too domineering — using power to crush others, leaving us with no room to speak at all.”

“Would you dare to argue with a Sacred Lord-level figure?”

Many were displeased, especially the representatives of the major powers, yet they were helpless. Supreme beings stood high above, utterly beyond challenge.

Ye Fan’s decision to lease out the little sprite had achieved three objectives at once.

First, it had redirected the target of the various sacred grounds — otherwise, his life would undoubtedly have been in danger. Second, the golden little creature was a genuine “devourer of wealth” that no one could truly afford to keep, so this arrangement was equivalent to finding someone to raise it in his stead.

The third point was that by sending the little creature out in this way, he had secured a great deal of source material, and in the future, if he became powerful enough, he could rightfully go and reclaim it.

The golden little creature, thoroughly displeased at being treated as a rare commodity to be leased out, stared at Ye Fan with wide round eyes, baring its teeth and clawing at the air in repeated protest.

“Little Darling, don’t be angry — whatever source you wish to eat, you shall have.” The little white-robed nun soothed it.

“It’s fortunate we leased it out,” Li Heishui said. “Otherwise, that little thing is so fast — who knows when it might have just run off.”

Ye Fan nodded and said, “Even if it had truly stayed by my side, it would have only been scheming against my divine source. Once it got what it wanted, it would certainly have bolted.”

“Exactly — the thief you fear most is not the one who steals, but the one who’s always eyeing your things. There’s no guarding against it.”

The two consoled themselves. The decision had ultimately been made not by choice, but by necessity — the various sacred grounds would never have allowed them to simply walk away with it.

“The divine silkworm belongs to the little nun, and the little nun belongs to…” Li Heishui had not yet finished speaking when Ye Fan hastily signaled him to stop.

The Great Xia Imperial Prince and his sister had already moved up behind him. Xia Yiming wore a darkened expression and said, “Brother, I do not wish to hear such words again.”

“It’s absolutely a misunderstanding…” Li Heishui hurried to explain.

The golden little creature and Great Xia Princess Xia Yilin were truly kindred spirits — their two pairs of large eyes blinked in unison, their expressions remarkably similar in spirit.

The great stone-gambling battle thus came to its complete and final close. A very long time passed before the crowds dispersed entirely.

Ye Fan and Li Heishui were surrounded by people, and even though the divine silkworm had found a new keeper, the major powers still worked vigorously to draw both of them in.

In the following days, the two were kept busy with various social obligations, moving in and out of banquets held by the major powers.

On the third day, the great figure of the Immortal Divine Dynasty personally delivered eighty thousand jin of source. Not long after, Tuoba Chang also returned the one hundred thousand jin of source he owed.

In the days that followed, Ye Fan successively entered the stone auction houses of three more sacred grounds and made generous purchases. However, no world-shaking rarities emerged — he only exchanged the pure source material in his possession for uncommon source through stone gambling.

The so-called world-shaking rarities were the kind of thing one encountered by fortune rather than by seeking — there was no way he could keep cutting them out endlessly. If he could, they would not be called rarities.

By this point, Ye Fan had obtained sufficient source material to advance his cultivation realm.

He decided to temporarily leave the divine city, for he had drawn too much attention recently and needed to lie low and find a quiet place to break through.

At the same time, there was one more matter he wished to attend to — aiding the Divine King Jiang Taixu in breaking free from his imprisonment.

Jiang Taixu had transmitted the Sacred Combat Art to him, a debt of gratitude he could never forget, and had been thinking all this time about how to repay it.

Now, with the various sacred grounds preparing to use the Extreme Path Sacred Weapons to break open the Purple Mountain, if Jiang Taixu the Divine King was still alive, there might be a chance to rescue him — but the news had to be conveyed to the Jiang Family first.

How was little Tingting doing? How had Elder Jiang fared? He had been thinking of them constantly.

He had been in the Northern Domain for quite a long time now, yet had never drawn near the region where the ancient Jiang Family dwelled.

Outside the divine city, Li Heishui saw Ye Fan off and asked, “Brother, when will you be back?”

“Very soon — I still need more source material!” Ye Fan said.

“Come back sooner rather than later. Those eight madmen and several people from the ancient source arts families have all arrived, looking to challenge you to a grand contest of source arts.” Li Heishui relayed this piece of news.

“Is Brother Gufeng leaving the divine city? Miaoyi is also about to set out on a journey — shall we travel together?” An Miaoyi walked out from the divine city.