Chapter 57: Originium Recycling

Representatives of many major powers even sent secret voice transmissions to Tuoba Lie, offering astonishing heavenly prices in order to purchase this stone.

However, unfortunately, none of them received any response.

The pale golden radiance on Tuoba Lie's body slowly faded away, and the Origin-Heaven Treasure Wheel in his hand vanished. He gently patted the Flying Immortal Stone and said, "I choose this stone."

Now, no one questioned his choice. Having displayed various profound techniques, he undoubtedly possessed a trace of the demeanor of an Origin-Heaven Master. Coupled with the miraculous phenomenon of the Flying Immortal Stone, everyone became convinced that this stone would surely yield a supreme and astonishing treasure.

Yun Shang could no longer remain calm. His opponent had made such a massive stir right at the outset; even with his state of mind, he found it impossible to maintain composure at this moment.

Li Yao remained expressionless as he walked through the stone garden. He was in no rush, because immortals were extremely distant from this world. If that origin stone were truly related to immortals, it would likely have already gained sentience and evolved into a spirit, rather than ending up discarded in a stone workshop.

Yet, since it produced such a phenomenon, it proved that the origin stone was certainly extraordinary. He needed to unearth an peerless and rare treasure to contend against it.

In the end, Li Yao also selected a few origin stones that gave him the strongest resonance.

The Innate Dao-Diagram Stone, the Bamboo-Forest Beauty Stone, and that Phoenix-Blood Stone he had laid eyes on first.

These three origin stones were the ones that reacted most intensely under his celestial-human resonance.

The Innate Dao-Diagram Stone resounded with the Grand Dao's heavenly chants, resembling an innate divine being preaching the Dao alongside him. The Bamboo-Forest Beauty Stone genuinely formed an illusion within his sea of consciousness, as if a beauty were dancing gracefully within a bamboo forest. As for the Phoenix-Blood Stone, although it gave him a sensation of being hollow and flawed, it still required careful inspection before a conclusion could be made.

Li Yao stood before the Innate Dao-Diagram Stone. Suddenly, a blinding divine light shot from his eyes—brilliant and golden, densely woven with Dao patterns—capable of seeing through all illusions.

"Heavens, this is the Origin-Heaven Divine Eye!"

"The Eye of Piercing Illusion, a supreme technique of the Origin-Heaven Master! To perceive everything within the stone through divine eyes, this is a heaven-defying skill!"

All the older-generation figures were shocked. If the crimson-gold divine hands and the Origin-Heaven Treasure Wheel used earlier had merely been wielded by past Origin-Heaven Masters, then the Origin-Heaven Divine Eye was essentially the signature trait of an Origin-Heaven Master. Every single generation of Origin-Heaven Masters had relied on this divine technique to roam and dominate the world.

Especially Yun Shang and Yao Xi; they had no idea Li Yao possessed this hidden card. Shouldn't the Origin-Heaven Divine Eye be a secret technique recorded only in the Origin-Heaven Book?

How could Li Yao possibly know it? Where did he study the Origin-Heaven Book? The Plucking Light Sacred Land did not possess the Origin-Heaven Book!

Both of them were extremely shocked, but aside from them.

If one were to ask who was the most shaken person in the venue at this moment, it undoubtedly had to be Tuoba Lie. As a scion of an origin-craft family, he knew all too well the true value of the Origin-Heaven Book.

Upon seeing Li Yao employ the Origin-Heaven Divine Eye, his very first reaction was that the Origin-Heaven Book—lost for ten thousand years—had resurfaced in the world. His second reaction was to use every possible means to acquire it.

However, Tuoba Lie quickly discovered something amiss. After carefully observing Li Yao's divine eyes, he realized that this was not actually the Origin-Heaven Divine Eye.

Although somewhat similar, it was definitively different from the true Origin-Heaven Divine Eye. For a moment, he could not tell whether he should feel relieved or disappointed.

The Origin-Heaven Book had not reappeared, meaning the status of his origin-craft family would not be challenged, yet as an origin-craft grandmaster, he also yearned incomparably to witness the might of the Origin-Heaven Book.

"No, this is not the Origin-Heaven Divine Eye, merely something similar," suddenly, an old monster stepped forward and said.

The crowd was puzzled, but Tuoba Lie also stepped forward shortly after.

"Indeed, this is truly not the Origin-Heaven Divine Eye."

With Tuoba Lie's confirmation, everyone's doubts were completely put to rest. As a descendant of an origin-craft family—where even the fifth-generation Origin-Heaven Master had personally visited the Tuoba clan—his denial meant that this was definitely not the Origin-Heaven Divine Eye.

"Alas, I thought we would be able to witness the power of the Origin-Heaven Book today," some of the elders muttered with a hint of disappointment.

Just as the crowd transitioned from shock at the supposed emergence of the Origin-Heaven Book to the realization that it was false—their emotions riding a roller coaster—the Grand Dao's heavenly chants suddenly resounded, startling everyone once again.

The Grand Dao's heavenly chants echoed through the heavenly-grade stone garden, yet it felt as though they were not originating from within this place, but rather transmitted from the immortal realm itself.

That stone inexplicably emitted a bizarre sound, resonating with Li Yao's Origin-Heaven Divine Eye and echoing throughout the entire stone garden.

It was as if an innate divine being was expounding on the scriptures, speaking in a leisurely and profound manner that cleansed one's soul.

At the center of the palace, beneath the thick ancient tree where crystal-like flower petals fluttered like rain, the god-like elder's gaze shifted away from the Flying Immortal Stone and swept across the area.

The Grand Dao's heavenly chants lingered for a long time, while the heavenly-priced rare stone, simple and unadorned, left people utterly mesmerized.

Many were left dumbfounded. This stone actually emitted Dao sounds, triggered by the Origin-Heaven Divine Eye to reverberate across heaven and earth. It was truly wondrous beyond measure.

Immediately, representatives of several major powers began sending voice transmissions, offering astronomical prices to acquire this stone, including members of various sacred lands and the Jiang family clan as well.

Everyone present was astonished. This was truly a supreme duel of origin-craft; both origin-craft grandmasters had selected astonishing pieces of stone material.

"Extraordinary items will definitely be cut from this; miraculous heavenly chants have actually rung out."

"The Grand Dao is boundless, lofty and profound, giving one the urge to sink completely into it."

"Perhaps it could even be an immortal scripture..."

No one remained calm; all looked on with deep envy, closely monitoring the situation.

However, to everyone's unexpected surprise, Li Yao reached out, patted the Innate Dao-Diagram Stone, and actually spoke: "If I sell this origin stone, what happens to the gambling match? Will the selling price of this stone serve as the final result, or am I allowed to continue choosing the next one?"

Everyone was stunned for a moment, and then a vague sense of unease began to drum in their hearts. What did this mean? Clearly, this stone was extraordinary; why would Li Yao want to give it up?

Seeing the crowd shift from excitement to silence, Li Yao quickly explained: "This origin stone is extraordinary, but only relatively speaking. At least, in my feeling, it falls short of Tuoba Lie's stone. If I choose this origin stone, then I will lose the gambling match. But if I just give up on it like this, I feel somewhat reluctant."

He spoke slowly, a look of lingering attachment on his face. Hearing this, the people around him thought it made sense, yet those with more cunning minds still felt there was a trap hidden within.

"Or perhaps I could purchase this origin stone, but leave it uncut for now, and continue by buying the next one?" Li Yao asked with utmost sincerity.

At this moment, Yao Xi's nimble eyes rolled, and she immediately stepped forward, saying, "Junior Brother, you've forgotten your Senior Sister is right here. I will buy this origin stone; go ahead and pick the next one."

With that, she prepared to retrieve origin resources to directly claim the stone.

The others could no longer sit still. Even those who felt something was amiss had no time to ponder further and hurriedly stepped forward to stop her.

"You two are on the same side; doing this is going too far."

"Little friend, you can choose another origin stone and sell this one to someone else. There has been a precedent for this; it does not violate the rules."

"Bulls**t! Since when has there ever been such a rule?!" Tuoba Lie roared, but it was in vain; his voice was quickly drowned out by the crowd.

"Times are changing; one cannot blindly obsess over the past. We must keep pace with the times. When one encounters a good stone, a person cannot simply be expected to give it up."

"That's right, little brother, sell it to me! I will pay the origin resources for this stone, and add another fifty thousand jin of origin resources on top of that."

"I am willing to offer sixty thousand; I want this origin stone."

"No, I do not recognize this kind of gambling result! Don't even think about it!" Tuoba Lie protested angrily.

Li Yao also looked somewhat troubled. He looked at Tuoba Lie and said, "How about this: the proceeds from selling this origin stone will count toward the wager. If you win, all these origin resources will be yours."

"That works." Tuoba Lie instantly changed his attitude.

*Damn your mother,* judging by how furious you looked just a moment ago, I thought you had some backbone. This was the unanimous inner voice of many people present.

"Since that is the case, my Jiang family will buy back this origin stone. One hundred thousand jin of origin resources, how about that?" At this point, Jiang Xiong stepped forward and named his price.

This origin stone was extraordinary; if it truly contained some supreme treasure, it would break their hearts to let it go.

Even at the risk of being scammed, they could not accept such an outcome.

With the price driven up to one hundred thousand jin of origin resources, those who had been clamoring earlier fell silent.

One hundred thousand jin of origin resources, plus the twelve thousand jin required for the stone itself, totaled one hundred and twenty-two thousand jin of origin resources.

This was by no means a small sum. Youngsters could not afford it, and while the old monsters possessed it, this was merely for an uncut origin stone.

Although this origin stone had displayed extraordinary signs, it merely increased the probability of obtaining a treasure; it did not guarantee that a treasure would definitely be produced in the end. Even origin-craft grandmasters could not hit the mark one hundred percent of the time.

Spending over two hundred thousand jin of origin resources was truly absurd.

With no one else bidding, the origin stone ultimately belonged to the Jiang family, yet Jiang Xiong's face bore no trace of a smile.

Nonsense, this was their own origin stone to begin with! Now, not only did they get no profit, but they also had to subsidize an extra one hundred thousand jin of origin resources—how could he possibly smile?

Looking at the origin resources piled up on the ground according to standard measures—a full thirty-four heaps—Jiang Xiong felt his heart ache terribly.

Now he could only pray that this origin stone was truly extraordinary and would yield some magnificent treasure.

Damn it, how on earth did the origin-craft grandmasters who inspected the stones originally look at this? They actually let such a supreme treasure slip through their fingers, forcing the Jiang family to waste an extra one hundred thousand jin of origin resources for nothing.