Chapter 35: The Signature Act

The price of source stones in the second courtyard was significantly higher; a thousand-jin stone required thirty jin of source. Li Yao selected one thousand-jin stone and another weighing eight hundred jin, spending around fifty jin of source in total.

The first thousand-jin stone yielded no source, but the second, the eight-hundred-jin stone, produced forty jin of source. When tallied, Li Yao was technically down by ten jin, but he paid it no mind and continued toward the third courtyard.

Upon arriving at the third courtyard, the quality of the source stones was noticeably superior. There was a wide variety, and some stones looked extraordinary even just from their appearance. There were stones that were entirely cyan with a faint luster, others that were crimson and radiated heat, and even some etched with complex, mysterious patterns on their surfaces.

The stones here were of higher quality and price, and naturally, they were much harder to identify. Even cultivators with decent attainments in source arts could easily stumble here. Li Yao walked and stopped throughout the third courtyard, carefully inspecting each stone. He used the source arts he had mastered to examine them, analyzing the textures of the stone. Many of his results remained ambiguous, with the probability of finding treasure fluctuating only between sixty and eighty percent. Of course, there were many stones that Li Yao immediately dismissed as waste, or which he concluded would yield very little even if they were not entirely barren.

The price of source stones in the third courtyard had reached an alarming level. A stone weighing a hundred jin cost over a hundred jin of source; essentially, it was one jin of source for one jin of stone, and the stones here were generally at least a hundred jin in weight. Reaching this point, even Li Yao had to be serious. A few hundred or a thousand jin of source was not a small sum for him; if he cut into waste, his heart would ache.

After a long search, he finally selected an ugly, misshapen stone, about the size of a washbasin. It was grey and dull, but covered in dense, profound Dao patterns. Using his source arts to discern it, Li Yao found that while the stone looked unremarkable—as if its vital energy had completely faded—his deductions revealed that this was merely an illusion. Though the surface lacked energy, the interior contained profound Dao rhymes.

After paying one hundred jin of source, Li Yao did not use a professional stone-cutter, choosing instead to begin the work himself. With his hand moving like a blade, the rough outer skin of the stone fell away, and it quickly diminished in size. Others noticed the commotion and began to gather around to watch Li Yao cut the stone.

*Chirp, chirp!*

Stone shards flew, and the basin-sized stone was now only the size of a human head when, suddenly, a dazzling radiance burst forth.

A rich, spiritual aura emerged, making one feel as if they were bathed in a spring breeze or soaking in a hot spring; every pore on the body relaxed, and the sensation was incredibly comfortable. A fiery red luster spilled out, accompanied by a faint, drifting mist, resembling burning clouds or blood-stained celestial essence.

Everyone was shocked; it was clear that a very high-quality source had been unearthed, its essence far superior to ordinary stones.

"It's a crimson fire source!" someone exclaimed, their experience showing, though they quickly clamped their mouth shut.

Li Yao instantly understood. Although this piece of source was small, its value was worth thousands of jin of source; it was an exotic type.

"To cut an exotic source in the third courtyard! While the crimson fire source isn't the rarest, this piece is the size of a head and is worth at least several thousand jin of source. He's struck it rich!"

"What incredible luck. In the gambling of source, one truly has to believe in destiny. With a piece like this, one could live without worry for generations."

In the business of source gambling, one occasionally cuts into exotic sources that possess unfathomable power, making them immeasurable in value. Such cases are rare, but this is the charm of stone gambling—when luck strikes, one can truly turn their fortunes around.

Li Yao was also pleasantly surprised. He had spent one hundred jin of source, and his harvest had increased by several dozen times. He had to admit, source gambling was an incredibly fast way to make money. It was faster than robbery! Robbery yielded very little; with his current cultivation, he could at most target cultivators in the Shore-Crossing realm, and a typical practitioner at that level would struggle to even produce ten jin of source. To gather thousands of jin of source, he would have to rob hundreds of Shore-Crossing cultivators—a time-consuming and exhausting endeavor that was far less efficient than gambling.

"Are you interested in a wager, fellow Daoist?" A middle-aged man spoke up from the side. He saw Li Yao as a fat sheep and figured he might as well slaughter him; such fleeting luck could not possibly last.

This was a staple of the source gambling dens. The trade had a long history and had developed many ways to play. For example, one person cuts the stone while others participate; if the value of the contents exceeds the purchase price of the stone, the cutter wins; otherwise, the participants win. Or, two people gamble against each other to see whose stone yields more valuable contents.

Li Yao had thoroughly studied the rules of source gambling and naturally knew this. Seeing someone offer a wager, he readily agreed.

"Coming to a gambling den, one naturally expects to gamble. How does the Daoist wish to play?"

The middle-aged man did not hesitate and said directly, "You cut the stone, I join the bet."

The surrounding crowd grew excited; those who came to the gambling den never wanted to miss such entertainment. Li Yao nodded, accepted the wager, and continued to search the third courtyard. He had already taken a rough look earlier and had some understanding of the stones here, but since this was a formal wager, he was naturally more cautious.

The essence of the source arts flowed through his mind. To ensure nothing went wrong, he activated a secret technique—a method of sensing the connection between heaven and man. It was a common secret technique in the source arts that allowed the practitioner to feel the aura flowing within the stones.

The third courtyard suddenly felt different to Li Yao. These stones now emitted inexplicable auras—some vast and ancient, some sacred and brilliant, and others sinister and ominous.

Finally, Li Yao's gaze settled on a source stone. It was a cyan block with pale yellow veins running across it. The material was not very large, but it weighed about a hundred jin.

The crowd was speechless. At first, they thought this young man might know a thing or two about source arts, but seeing the stone he selected, they immediately dismissed their assumptions, concluding that the previous crimson fire source was likely just a stroke of good luck.

"Fellow Daoist, is it still possible to place a bet? If so, count this old man in." A bystander could no longer resist; seeing Li Yao pick a notorious "watermelon stone," they wanted to take the opportunity to get a piece of the action.

"True, the Daoist's source arts are extraordinary. I would also like to risk it alongside you; why not include me as well?"

"It seems everyone is quite interested. I wonder if I might have a chance to play a round as well."

With someone leading the way, the other onlookers immediately jumped in.

"Senior Brother, don't agree to them! This is a watermelon stone. At best, it will yield a few watermelon-seed-sized grains of source; it's impossible for it to produce a large piece," Liu Shi stepped forward and whispered to Li Yao.