Chapter 36: The Ancient Insect Source

Li Yao chuckled. He did not follow Liu Shi's advice, but since the intention was good—regardless of whether it was motivated by ulterior motives—he still offered Liu Shi a word of thanks.

"Many thanks for the warning, Junior Brother, but it is no matter. I have already cut out a piece of fire-red Origin; at worst, I shall consider today a lesson in gaining experience."

After speaking, Li Yao looked around and said, "Since everyone is interested, why don't you all join in?"

The onlookers immediately grew excited. They already had those hundred catties of Origin in their pockets.

Sure enough, youth was reckless, and luck was a fickle thing that always seemed to linger.

A hundred catties of Origin was no small amount for those present; they usually would not dare to wager so much. They only could not resist the urge to profit this time because the Origin stone Li Yao had chosen was incredibly deceptive.

After all, "watermelon stones" were notorious. To call them waste would not be entirely accurate—they could indeed yield Origin, but the contents were always tiny. Usually, they were only the size of a watermelon seed, and even if they were larger, they rarely exceeded the size of a fingernail.

Even if Li Yao were lucky enough to uncover an exotic type of Origin, such a small piece, unless it was something truly rare, would not be worth more than a hundred catties of Origin.

These people had gambled on this exact logic, emboldened by the fact that the chance of losing was minimal.

"Fellow Daoist, open the stone," someone urged, unable to wait. The grin stretching to his ears betrayed his delight.

The others chimed in, pressuring Li Yao to hurry.

"Very well, I shall not dampen everyone's spirits." Li Yao’s lips curled upward. He raised his hand and cut straight into the watermelon stone.

Stone shards flew as the watermelon-sized rock shrank rapidly, soon reduced to the size of an infant’s fist.

Until this moment, nothing had been revealed. Seeing this, the onlookers burst into laughter.

"Watermelon stones usually yield at least a few seed-like grains of Origin. Fellow Daoist, your luck is poor. You truly picked a masterpiece of a stone—not a single grain has appeared. It seems there is little hope left."

On the side, Liu Shi felt as though he were being tortured. Just when he thought Li Yao could not possibly know the art of stone-reading, Li Yao would produce a treasure; just when he began to believe Li Yao was a master, he seemed about to fail.

And this failure was not minor—it was a total Waterloo.

Usually, those who knew even a little of the art of stone-reading would at least reveal something, even if the value didn't cover the cost of the stone, allowing them to recoup some losses.

But this time, Li Yao looked set to lose everything, as the stone had been cut down to the size of a pigeon egg with still no sign of any treasure.

"Do not be impatient; we haven't reached the end yet," Li Yao said, remaining confident and completely unfazed.

"Haha, a young man who refuses to admit defeat. No matter, we are not in a hurry. You may cut slowly; if there is indeed a watermelon-seed-sized piece of Origin inside, it would be a waste to ruin it."

"Truly a masterpiece! Not even a seed, haha... it seems to be a total loss. Consider it a lesson; it is not good for a young man to have it too easy."

The gamblers were in high spirits. By now, everyone was certain this was a "white stone"—a dud containing nothing.

Li Yao looked at the joyful crowd, said nothing more, and continued cutting. Finally, when the stone was only the size of a knuckle, he stopped and picked it up.

"Crack!"

As he squeezed with force, the small stone, no larger than the pad of a finger, shattered. In that instant, a dazzling light burst forth, accompanied by a rich, uncontainable spiritual energy.

"This... a treasure has been revealed!" someone shrieked.

Several figures rushed forward to get a close look, eyes wide and fixed on the object in Li Yao’s palm.

"What kind of Origin is this?"

Resting in Li Yao’s palm was a piece of Origin the size of a corn kernel. It was tiny, yet it shimmered with a brilliant, supernatural luster.

"Ancient Insect Origin!"

"It truly is Ancient Insect Origin! This is a spirit insect from the Primordial Era, sealed within Origin."

"Indeed, it is a primordial spirit insect, though it is a pity it is so young."

"Do not complain about its size! This kernel-sized insect is worth eight hundred catties of pure Origin. Some who are in dire need might even pay over a thousand; it has no fixed value."

"This is no ordinary insect; it has been extinct for countless eons. In the Primordial Era, it fed on Origin and excreted Essence of Origin. It is incredibly rare."

The faces of the gamblers turned ash-white. They had encountered a one-in-a-million chance.

The contents of a watermelon stone are indeed small, and if it had been ordinary Origin, it likely would not have weighed even two taels.

But what had been revealed was Ancient Insect Origin—a rare mutation among exotic Origins, worth many times more than the fire-red Origin.

In Li Yao’s palm lay the tiny, translucent insect, formed entirely of Origin.

A fire-red Origin the size of a human head was worth several thousand catties of pure Origin, while this corn-kernel-sized ancient insect was worth several hundred to a thousand catties. One could only imagine how precious such a primordial spirit insect was.

"Ancient Insect Origin can be used in medicine. Every great holy land has ancient secret prescriptions that require it. It is entirely in short supply."

The surrounding crowd buzzed with discussion. Those who had not joined the bet felt a sense of having narrowly escaped disaster.

Truth be told, when they saw Li Yao choose the watermelon stone, they had truly wanted to join in, but their reason had overcome their greed.

These people were sensible, believing this industry was occult and heavily tied to one's fate and fortune. Since Li Yao had just cut a fire-red Origin, he was clearly at the peak of his luck. Even if he knew nothing of stone-gambling, it was possible for him to strike it rich repeatedly.

Thinking of this, of the thirty-some people in the third courtyard, over a dozen had not bet. They were undoubtedly the lucky ones.

Looking at those who had bet, their faces were now pale. In the third courtyard, few had deep backgrounds; those with influence and connections had all gone to the inner courtyards.

Most people here were slightly better off than the lowest class, yet had not truly escaped it.

A hundred catties of Origin was a massive sum for them. They could scrape it together if they gritted their teeth, but it represented almost a lifetime of savings.

"Fellow Daoists, the win and loss are clear. Pay up."

Li Yao did not let them off. Since they had dared to step forward to gamble, hoping to win and turn their fortunes around, they should be prepared to pay the price of losing.

Their game had been one of the smaller ones; had they played the version where both sides cut stones, the stakes would have been even more extravagant.

Taking this instance as an example, if they had played the second type, the loser would have forfeited this Ancient Insect Origin—nearly a thousand catties of pure Origin.

Liu Shi was quick-witted and acted as the runner to collect the Origin. With his status as a disciple of the Shaking Light Holy Land, the others dared not default on their debts. Gritting their teeth, they took out the Origin they had on them and handed it to Liu Shi.