Chapter 59: Divine Source

Yet, winning!

Everyone felt that the hope was slim. Although what Tuoba Lie had cut out was a Human Origin Fruit, it had already nearly transformed into an Earth Destiny Fruit.

It would not even be an exaggeration to call it a flawed Earth Destiny Fruit. It possessed immense wondrous properties, and in the hands of a master alchemist, it could be refined into a divine pill capable of extending the lifespan of a Holy Lord by one hundred and fifty to two hundred years.

Such a rare and peerless treasure was worth anywhere from three hundred thousand to half a million catties of divine source.

If it were an elderly Holy Lord with only a few years left to live, they would readily accept it even if another twenty thousand catties of source were added.

Such a treasure was undeniably unimaginably rare. For a moment, people could not even conceive of what precious treasure could possibly win this duel.

Li Yao’s eyes flashed with a golden radiance, transforming into two beams that fell upon the Phoenix Blood Stone. His silver blade danced along with the two rays of light, slashing rapidly.

Stone chippings flew everywhere. Li Yao’s movements were light and ethereal, possessing their own sense of beauty, yet compared to Tuoba Lie, they indeed fell a bit short.

It was beautiful, yes, but it lacked that sensation of technique approaching the Dao.

However, this was merely stone-cutting; as long as the stone could be sliced open, pursuing pure aesthetics was not strictly necessary.

"What on earth could it be that can rival a flawed Earth Destiny Fruit!"

"Unless something genuinely related to a phoenix is cut out."

"Quiet!"

There were no clamorous sounds; the Heaven-grade stone garden was exceptionally still. At some unknown moment, the guardian of the stone garden, that elderly man from the Jiang family, had erected a barrier of light, seemingly afraid that some rare treasure might flee.

"Clang!"

The silver blade paused, and a distinct sound emanated from within the source stone.

Suddenly, a beam of divine brilliance surged directly upward, illuminating the Heaven-grade stone garden and casting a crystalline radiance over the entire palace.

The light was dazzling, and a sacred aura soared into the sky, causing the pores of everyone present to relax and their entire bodies to feel utterly serene, as though they were being embraced by immortal spiritual Qi.

"What is this?!"

"A divine object has been cut out!"

At this moment, the Heaven-grade stone garden erupted into a tumult. Everyone found it impossible to remain calm; they went wild. This treasure was simply too astonishing. A single strand of divine light leaking from the fissures of the stone was already this potent, so one could well imagine that it must be an peerless and rare treasure.

A surge of excitement gripped Li Yao’s heart. He slowed the pace of his blade, exercising the utmost caution for fear of damaging anything.

A human-headed stone sphere was sliced out, beams of divine brilliance shooting forth from the cracks. The thin layer of stone skin could no longer contain the divine light harbored within.

This stone sphere was actually suspended in mid-air, refusing to sink at all.

"Heavens, divine source! It's actually divine source!"

"That's right, divine source, as large as a human head!"

Even the older generation of figures was thrown into a frenzy. Such divine objects were exceedingly rare in this world, and all the sacred grounds yearned for them immensely.

"At the most conservative estimate, its value is definitely upwards of half a million catties of source!"

When an old man declared this valuation, everyone gasped in unison. This was divine source! A piece as large as a human head was equivalent to an entire mountain piled high with ordinary, pure source!

Li Yao did not strip away that thin layer of stone skin; he was afraid of blinding his own eyes. Even so, the dozens of rays of divine brilliance it emitted already bathed the Heaven-grade stone garden in dazzling splendor, shining like a sun illuminating all directions.

The birth of divine source was something the Holy City had not witnessed in many years. This was undoubtedly a sensational piece of news that left everyone deeply shocked.

"Hahaha, divine source, it's actually divine source! We've struck it unimaginably rich this time." Everyone else was struck dumb with awe, save for Tuoba Hong, who stood there laughing heartily.

"Are you here just to play the fool? A piece of divine source this large is worth at least half a million catties of source. What do you have left to win with?" Yao Xi rebuked coldly, her voice crisp and melodious like heavenly music.

"Fairy, as everyone knows, treasures that extend life are immeasurable. In the hands of different people, their value varies as well. To youths like us, it is worth three to four hundred thousand catties of source, but to those aging old Holy Lords whose lifespans are nearly exhausted, even if one were to claim it is worth a million catties of source, no one would refute it. Calculated this way, haven't we won?" Tuoba Hong’s face flushed red; the human-headed chunk of divine source made it impossible for him to remain composed.

"Nonsense! What about the divine source then? Who would trade divine source for pure source? This still has no fixed measure of value." Yao Xi’s gaze was cold, akin to looking at a silver-tongued canine.

"The most recent Human Origin Fruit was auctioned at the All-Heaven Divine Pavilion, and the closing price was three hundred thousand catties of source. Viewed in that light, you are the ones who have lost," Yun Shang also stepped forward to say.

The Human Origin Fruit was simply too precious. Many powerful figures within the Primordial Sacred Ground had reached the limits of their lifespans, and to them, the value of the Human Origin Fruit was worth a million catties of source. This gambling on stones originally could have ended without a win, but now they had to win.

"Fellow Daoist Yun, that Human Origin Fruit from three years ago simply cannot compare to this one. Measuring this one by the value of that one is hardly fair." An old monster stepped forward to refute.

The other old monsters also flickered their gazes. They knew very well that if this Human Origin Fruit fell into the hands of the Primordial Sacred Ground, it would definitely not be put up for sale—they needed it for themselves.

Conversely, looking at the Tuoba clan, their oldest member was still a long way from his ultimate limit, so they did not have such an urgent need for it.

"Indeed, that Human Origin Fruit was far inferior to this one. If this Human Origin Fruit were with this old man, I would be willing to purchase it even for six hundred thousand catties of source." Another old monster stepped forward.

"Indeed, sixty-five thousand catties of source, and my Five Elements Palace would also be willing to close the deal."

The old monsters stepped forward one after another, fiercely determined to place a price tag on this Human Origin Fruit.

Their statuses were hardly low; they were all Supreme Elders of various sacred grounds and noble families, and their words carried immense weight.

By now, they had reached a tacit agreement: they could not let this flawed Earth Destiny Fruit fall into the hands of the Primordial Sacred Ground. As for who it would eventually belong to, that would be decided by the highest bidder.

However, they were also unwilling to offend the Primordial Sacred Ground, so they merely claimed that this flawed Earth Destiny Fruit was worth upwards of six hundred thousand catties of source, stopping short of explicitly declaring that the Primordial Sacred Ground had lost.

Yun Shang felt somewhat helpless. Pricing this item truly was difficult because what everyone said was indeed the truth. If it were just an ordinary Human Origin Fruit, there would indeed be nothing to argue about, as the price hovered around three hundred thousand catties of source.

However, the price of this particular Human Origin Fruit—or more accurately, this flawed Earth Destiny Fruit—was hard to pin down. To stubbornly claim it was only worth thirty thousand catties of source was simply too far-fetched.

Because the medicinal efficacy of the two was worlds apart. The former could likely only prolong a Holy Lord's life by fifty to a hundred years, whereas the latter could extend a Holy Lord's life by at least one hundred and fifty to upwards of two hundred years.

"Even if that is the case, it is still a draw. Isn't it far too far-fetched to declare them the winners?" Yun Shang said.

Everyone fell silent. A human-headed piece of divine source was worth at least half a million catties of source, and as for such a divine object, if some prodigal son really decided to sell it, there were those willing to buy it for six hundred thousand catties.

The prices were simply too close, making it difficult to distinguish a victor.

"In my view, it would be better to call it a draw and continue picking source stones to gamble. Whoever cuts out the greatest total value of rare treasures wins," suggested one old monster.

The expressions of the Jiang family members turned even greener. Cutting out a flawed Earth Destiny Fruit and a human-headed piece of divine source had already dealt them heavy losses, and now they wanted to continue? Who could endure this?

Especially Jiang Xiong; his intestines were practically tied in knots from regret at this moment. He had severely underestimated Li Yao's skill in source arts, leading to this current predicament.

In his original plan, he had intended to block Li Yao outside the Heaven-grade stone garden entirely.

Had he known this would be the outcome, what was the point of inviting Tuoba Lie? It would just be bringing yet another source art grandmaster into the Heaven-grade stone garden to cut stones!

Jiang Xiong wanted to bash his head against a wall. If things continued like this, the Jiang family's stone workshop would truly suffer a vital blow.

In truth, as far as the loss of the rare treasures went, it could not be considered a fatal injury to the Jiang family. If they simply called it a day right here, the stone workshop's business might even experience a surge in the short term.

The Jiang family could entirely use these rare treasures that had been cut out for publicity, letting others know that coming to the Jiang family's stone workshop could indeed yield peerless rare treasures.

This was a living advertisement. But if they continued gambling, the situation would be entirely different.

Just think about it: two source art grandmasters gambling on stones here, cutting out several extraordinary rare treasures, while leaving the remaining source stones completely untouched—what would other people think?

Others would not think that the Jiang family's source stones had a high yield rate of treasures; they would only assume that all the good items had been picked away, leaving behind nothing but junk. And once they were all junk, who would still come to the Jiang family's stone workshop to gamble on stones?

For at least several years, no one would come again. They would have to wait until new source stones gradually replaced this batch before the stone workshop could recover its vitality.

Such a loss was far greater than the loss of the rare treasures cut out today.

Jiang Xiong thought of this, and naturally, everyone else thought of it as well. For a moment, the gazes many people cast toward Jiang Xiong were filled with pity.

Damn it, source art grandmasters were sometimes genuinely a scourge. This was the thought running through the minds of many powerful figures present who also owned their own stone workshops.

"Alright, this farce has gone on long enough; it's time for it to end." Just as everyone was waiting and preparing to continue watching the two source art grandmasters cut stones, Li Yao stepped forward and uttered these words.

Hearing him say this, everyone turned their gazes toward him, uncomprehending of what his words meant. What did he mean by "it's time for it to end"?!