Chapter 163 The Stone Gathering
Zhong Cai tiptoed over Wu Shaogan's shoulder to look in that direction.
The young man held the seed, looking somewhat bewildered, clearly not recognizing it.
Zhong Cai observed for a while, then tugged at her husband Lao Wu's sleeve.
Wu Shao chuckled dryly and walked over there with Zhong Cai.
Zhong Cai said, "Brother, these are the seeds of the Qionghua grass."
The young man quickly replied, "Thank you for your guidance."
Then, the two exchanged names.
The young man was only at the Suspended Illumination Realm. He had come with his family elders to broaden his horizons and his name was Fan Liukong.
Several other tribesmen also went to select stones, but he happened to take a liking to this one and left it here.
As if to prove Fan Liukong's words, two men emerged from the other side of the giant rock beast, one of whom bore a slight resemblance to him.
Both men were handsome and were holding stones in their hands, greeting Fan Liukong.
"Liu Kong! What are you doing here all by yourself? I turned around and you were gone. You're really fast."
"You've already unearthed a stone? Is it a seed?"
Two young men approached.
Upon seeing him, Zhong Cai was delighted and greeted him immediately: "Brother Fan!"
The man on the right couldn't help but laugh. He quickly took a few steps and said with a smile, "Master Zhong, Brother Wu, it's unexpected to meet you here." He paused, then joked, "But I should have expected it. With Brother Wu's personality, he would definitely enjoy joining Master Zhong in this fun."
Zhong Cai and Wu Shaogan especially liked it when Fan Jiming talked about them together, as if they were intertwined.
Wu Shaogan's expression also showed a hint of a smile.
Fan Jiming, of course, keenly noticed this, raised his eyebrows, and felt that he had done a good job this time as well.
Beside him, another man smiled and said, "Could you two be the friends that Brother Ji Ming often mentions? My name is Fan Zhongyang, it's a pleasure to meet you both."
Zhong Cai didn't show anything unusual and returned a smile: "Nice to meet you."
Wu Shaogan remained calm and composed, yet he had already memorized the man's appearance and aura perfectly.
·
Fan Zhongyang, isn't he just maliciously putting people on the red list?
Currently, among those who harbor ill will towards the two, this is the only one who poses a threat to them.
The name has remained unchanged for ten years. In the past, Zhong Cai even wondered if it might be a member of the Fan family, the same family as Fan Jiming.
Of course, Zhong Cai was just saying it casually at the time, but unexpectedly, he actually met Fan Zhongyang next to Fan Jiming.
However, it's unclear whether he is the exact person in question.
For now... I can't see any malice.
·
Zhong Cai and Wu Shaogan also introduced themselves to Fan Zhongyang.
Fan Liukong only then realized what a coincidence that the two kind cultivators he had met were his cousin Fan Jiming's good friends, and geniuses from the Azure Dragon Academy, one of whom was an extremely powerful alchemist! No wonder the seed he had grown was so inconspicuous, yet it was still recognized immediately.
With this kind of relationship, it becomes much easier to chat.
Fan Liukong then asked, "Master Zhong, this Qionghua Grass..."
Zhong Cai understood and explained, "It is a sixth-grade rare medicine, which is quite rare, and the seeds are also very hard to find. The purpose of Qionghua Grass is to nourish the appearance of cultivators who have built palaces. If it is refined into Qionghua Pill, it can preserve one's appearance for hundreds of years. If it is taken directly, it can keep one's appearance unchanged for a hundred years."
He thought for a moment and then added a sentence.
"The seed is worth about two to three thousand low-grade Xuan stones. It is relatively easy to grow."
That is, about twenty or thirty mid-grade Xuan stones.
Each stone requires one hundred mid-grade mystic stones to open...
Fan Liukong lost a lot of money by opening this stone.
Fortunately, the seeds are quite rare. If we take them back to the family's medicinal herb garden and cultivate them carefully, and if the survival rate is high, it could be a good way to make money.
Fan Liukong smiled and sighed, "My luck is really bad. Of all the seventh-tier giant rock beasts that can be opened, most of them will be at the seventh level, but I only managed to open a sixth-level one."
·
The level of the giant rock beast determines the amount of resources that can be extracted from the stones it carries, which are typically of that level.
Level 7 resources are rarely worth less than 100 mid-grade Xuan Stones.
This is why Feng Ling offered a price of one hundred mid-grade Xuan stones to open one stone.
Otherwise, who would be the sucker?
·
Fan Zhongyang comforted him, saying, "It's better than those empty ones, right? Of the tens of thousands of yuan worth of stones, only 30% or 40% will yield anything. You're already considered lucky."
Fan Liukong brushed the stone fragments off his hands, not really caring about the loss, and said, "Anyway, I still have two more chances, and I plan to use them both. If I still can't come up with anything good, I'll give up on betting with people from now on. Otherwise, if I keep losing like this, I'll lose my spirit."
·
The Fan family won some good items this time, and the two patriarchs of the Palace Construction Clan were naturally overjoyed. They couldn't participate in many of the subsequent auction items, and they didn't have any more Xuan Stones to spend.
When Feng Ling, a Spirit Transformation expert from Tianxing Trading Company, was going to hold that "Stone Opening Conference," they agreed to let the younger generation go and join in the fun.
—The Ice Mandarin Duck is a rare beast egg, and the younger of the two Palace-Building Ancestors has already signed it with blood. Therefore, they don't need to rush to escort the treasure away like many of their fellow cultivators who have also won good items with similar strength.
However, how much savings could a junior in the Suspended Illumination Realm possibly have? The cost of opening this stone will still be borne by the two elders.
So each of these juniors had three hundred mid-grade mystic stones to choose from, and each person had three chances.
Fan Jiming, Fan Zhongyang, and Fan Liukong came together, and each of them chose a piece first.
·
At this moment, Fan Jiming also said with a smile, "My cousin Zhongyang and I have just chosen our stones. Brother Wu, Master Zhong, you two are very knowledgeable, could you help us take a look?"
Zhong Cai and Wu Shaogan readily agreed.
Picking stones already takes a lot of time, so I'm not worried about wasting this time.
They also wanted to observe Fan Zhongyang more closely.
Let's see how Fan Zhongyang reacts when he faces them... The malice on the Mirror Ranking is so intense, if it really is him, will he reveal even a trace of it?
·
At this moment, Fan Zhongyang and Fan Jiming exchanged a glance, sat down on the spot, and took out the stones they had chosen and placed them in front of them.
Fan Liukong simply sat down to the side and waited, and warmly invited his two new friends to join him.
Zhong Cai and Wu Shaogan simply sat down next to them as well.
For cultivators of the Suspended Illumination Cultivator, splitting stone was quite simple. The two of them took out a sharp knife or short sword and began cutting the stone with considerable skill. Their proficiency was in no way inferior to Fan Liukong's.
Zhong Cai smiled and looked on with a hint of anticipation.
Wu Shaogan remained expressionless, only showing a gentle light in his eyes when he looked at Zhong Cai—which wasn't strange to the Fan family. Fan Jiming had previously mentioned the two of them, describing their personalities in general; Wu Shaogan was far less amiable than Zhong Cai.
And this couple...
At this moment, he was actually pretending to be watching someone open a stone very seriously, while secretly transmitting his thoughts through his soul.
"Old Wu, I have a feeling this Fan Zhongyang is that guy."
【Me too. 】
Do you think he/she is a transmigrator from a novel?
[Most likely. We've never even met him. In the earliest days, I hadn't even heard of E'shang City, which is quite far from Kunyun City. We can be certain that we have absolutely no connection with him.]
Zhong Cai agreed.
[If we're not mistaken, this guy is pretty sharp. The previous ones were exposed too quickly, but this one, just by looking at him, you can't detect any difference. He seems to have a good relationship with Fan Jiming, and he seems quite sincere.]
Wu Shaogan smiled slightly.
Regardless of his temperament, let's summon more Dao soldiers when we get back this time.
Zhong Cai's eyes flashed, and she wholeheartedly agreed.
[This time, we'll focus on summoning powerful units, aiming to get a few Golden Armored Soldiers. If that's not possible, we'll start synthesizing lower-level ones, making sure we get as many as possible... We made a lot at the auction, so let's get your Sun-Shooting Bow sorted out first. Aside from saving some for expenses, we'll use everything else on summoning and training our soldiers!]
He was also thinking that since Puppet 2 had already shown up, it was best to keep it hidden as a trump card. When Puppet 1 returned, it would also be kept under wraps.
Let's call the remaining one Puppet Three. Although it's a bit sensitive because it's also level eight... fortunately, its crafting method is not from the same school as Puppet One and Puppet Two, so it can still be used when really needed.
The highest level of the Golden Armored Soldiers can be the peak of the Spirit Transformation stage, which is slightly lower than the level of the puppets, but they can be assigned to do many private tasks.
For example, what about staring at this suddenly appearing Fan Zhongyang?
In any case, the highest level of the Fan family is only the Palace Building stage. As long as the Golden Armored Soldiers at the peak of the Spirit Transformation stage act cautiously, they will not arouse the vigilance of the Fan family.
As for Fan Zhongyang, unless he stays at the Fan family's residence, whenever he travels or is alone...
·
Wu Shaogan understood Zhong Cai's thoughts and had no objections.
Listen to A-Cai.
Zhong Cai turned her head to look at him, her eyes full of pleasure.
Wu Shaogan also has gentle features.
"Old Wu, we should look in the mirror more often. If that guy has any schemes up his sleeve, the mirror will definitely reflect them."
Don't worry, Acai.
The two communicated quickly, occasionally exchanging glances, which appeared to others as flirtatious exchanges. No one could tell that they had actually become extremely wary of Fan Zhongyang.
Fan Zhongyang was working with Fan Jiming on the stone, and he was very calm, showing no signs of anything amiss.
His overall demeanor was not much different from Fan Liukong's—the only difference being that their personalities were somewhat different, but Fan Zhongyang's temperament was not unpleasant either.
·
Once the agreement was reached, Zhong Cai wouldn't dwell on such negative things. He leaned against Wu Shaogan and began looking back and forth at the stones in Fan Jiming and Fan Zhongyang's hands.
The two were just like the most ordinary, healthy competition between members of the same family, seeing who could cut the stone faster and with more steady movements.
Currently, they have already cut off most of the outer shell of the stone.
The stones themselves are roughly the same size, all similar to round shapes, with a diameter of more than a foot.
Gradually, Fan Jiming cut the stone clean.
Empty.
Fan Jiming brushed the stone chips off his hands and said with a smile, "Looks like I'm still the unluckiest one."
Fan Liukong patted Fan Jiming on the shoulder, his cousin was even more unlucky than him.
At this moment, Fan Zhongyang smiled and carefully broke the stone—
He had already split a crack in the stone, and now it split apart to both sides from that crack.
What was inside was also exposed.
Fan Zhongyang carefully dug out a piece of ore from the crevice.
It is a relatively common type of level 7 resource - level 7 common shadow iron, which is a material for refining various level 7 mystic weapons.
Its price... is around 150 medium-grade Xuan stones.
Immediately, everyone present congratulated Fan Zhongyang:
"Congratulations, cousin Zhongyang! You're really lucky!"
"You must treat us to a good meal later!"
Fan Zhongyang was also all smiles, cupping his hands in greeting and saying, "Of course, of course." He then looked at Zhong Cai and Wu Shaogan, who were smiling silently to the side, and tentatively invited, "Would you two do me the honor of joining us?"
Zhong Cai smiled and politely declined, saying, "Of course it would be nice if Lao Wu and I came out alone, but we're still with our master, and there are so many people from the academy here. We appreciate Brother Zhongyang's kindness, but we'll talk about it again when we have the chance to meet again."
Fan Zhongyang smiled nonchalantly and said, "Alright then, see you again sometime."
Zhong Cai still had a smile on her face and remained very amiable.
[It's really hard to see the problem. If it weren't for the mirror's effect, who would have noticed his hostility towards us? This kind of person who isn't afraid of you is definitely more difficult to deal with than the previous ones.]
Wu Shaogan held Zhong Cai's fingers, seemingly oblivious to everything around him.
[If the mirror hadn't been mentioned, given A-Cai's keen perception, she would have instinctively not felt any goodwill towards Fan Zhongyang.]
Zhong Cai carefully considered her first impression and subsequent feelings after meeting Fan Zhongyang... and realized that it was indeed true.
So he was very pleased with himself—secretly pleased with himself.
Of course!
·
Fan Zhongyang and Fan Jiming each opened a stone, and the three of them continued to choose.
Zhong Cai and Wu Shaogan also started making their selections, while chatting with several members of the Fan family.
While making their selections, the group also kept an eye on the other people opening stones—most of them were at the Enlightenment or Suspended Illumination Realm, and were probably juniors like themselves.
The younger generation comes here to pick stones for fun, and they are always accompanied by elders of higher cultivation levels who are in charge of finding the stones... They are also more reserved and do not personally participate in the selection.
Several cultivators at the Palace Building and Spirit Transformation stages stood at a distance, their spiritual senses sweeping over the stone, and then they reached out and grabbed it from afar—
The stone automatically detached from the giant rock beast and flew directly in front of the cultivators.
It's easy for them to open stones—they don't even need any sharp tools. Just gently stroke the stone with their fingers, and the outer shell will naturally peel off, revealing what's inside.
The stones on the giant rock beast are affected by its own aura. Regardless of whether there are treasures inside, the aura will not leak out, and the soul cannot penetrate into the stones. Therefore, even a powerful cultivator who has reached the Palace Building and Spirit Transformation stage can only vaguely sense whether the stone is empty inside, but cannot truly know what kind of treasures are inside.
Those powerful individuals rarely get empty loot boxes; they almost always contain resources.
Moreover, they are mostly level seven resources.
·
Zhong Cai, of course, couldn't figure out what was inside the stone either, but he enthusiastically sent a telepathic message to his old man, Wu.
"Old Wu, let me tell you, I also did some stone-cutting in my past life, but back then it wasn't these beast-like stones. There was a jade vein where you could mine a lot of stones. Some contained jade, some didn't, and some contained jade but it was of poor quality..."
[Some vendors specifically let customers choose and open the stones themselves. Often, the gamble pays off, some winning, some losing – a phenomenon known as "one cut to poverty, one cut to wealth"... Many people can use their eyesight and knowledge to observe the patterns and other characteristics of the minerals to determine if there is jade inside, and if so, the quality and size of the jade.]
[However, there's hardly any jade left now. Even with all resources unlocked, there's no way to observe and judge... it's purely based on luck!]
Wu Shaogan listened with a smile, occasionally agreeing with Zhong Cai, his emotions completely mirroring her description.
Zhong Cai, beaming with excitement, pointed to a rock about the size of a water vat on the upper right and said enthusiastically, "Old Wu, this is the first rock I've chosen!"
Wu Shao chuckled dryly and praised, "Ah Cai has a good eye! That stone is beautiful."
Fan Jiming and Fan Liukong, whose attention had been drawn to the compliment, were speechless. This praise was so awkward!
Fan Zhongyang, on the other hand, always wore a smile.
Zhong Cai didn't feel awkward at all. He said smugly, "It looks good!"
With a smile on his face, Wu Shaogan pointed to a stone not far from the one Zhong Cai had chosen and said, "I'll choose this one."
Zhong Cai looked over and immediately exclaimed, "That one looks good too! Old Wu has good taste!"
Wu Shaogan's smile deepened.
Fan Jiming and Fan Liukong: "..." No matter how you look at it, that place is quite rugged. What's so beautiful about it?
However, the young couple was just playing around, and although the others were a little speechless, they quickly went to choose their own toys.
Zhong Cai and Wu Shaogan then each took their turn and picked the stones they had chosen.
Then, the two of them each took out an empty mustard seed bag to fill with stones.
·
Sang Yunchu and Jiang Chongguang simply tossed a bag of Xuan stones to Feng Ling without specifying the exact number or giving the disciples any opportunity to choose their own stones.
This means that Zhong Cai and Wu Shaogan can choose whatever they want.
·
Zhong Cai and Wu Shaogan had no burdens; they took whichever piece they liked, unlike the Fan family's younger brothers who were very selective.
After each had collected about ten stones, the two prepared to fulfill their promise and give the stones to their masters.
Zhong Cai smiled and said, "Brother Fan, Lao Wu and I have an agreement with our master, so we're going to open the stone now. What are your plans?"
Fan Jiming was actually quite troubled when choosing stones.
His original intention was to keep the Xuan Stone given to him by the ancestor for spending – it could be exchanged for a large amount of resources.
However, the ancestors' meaning was clear: the younger generation could only use the Xuan Stone to open other stones, and only the resources found inside would belong to them—if the resources were of great use to the family, they would be given priority and cheaply to the family. Opening several empty stones would be extremely shameful.
Therefore, now that Fan Jiming has already failed once, he is being very cautious in his choices.
It was quite a struggle to choose just two pieces.
Fan Zhongyang and Fan Liukong both managed to obtain items, so they weren't under as much pressure as Fan Jiming.
When they choose stones, they do so based entirely on their first impression, which makes them much faster.
·
After hearing Zhong Cai's words, the members of the Fan family exchanged glances.
Fan Jiming chuckled: "Master Zhong, you and Brother Wu have always been very lucky. Otherwise, we could all go and see if we could get some of your luck too?"
Fan Liukong and Fan Zhongyang also echoed this sentiment.
Zhong Cai found it amusing, but didn't refuse. She nodded and led the way with Wu Shaogan.
Several members of the Fan family quickly followed.
·
Sang Yunchu and Jiang Chongguang didn't know how long their two disciples would play with picking stones, and they didn't want to just stand there. So they quickly took out a table and chairs, found an empty spot to sit down, and drank tea while waiting.
Zhong Cai ran over excitedly, her face beaming with a bright smile: "Master! Master! We've chosen!"
Wu Shaogan let him pull him along, and followed at a steady pace.
Further back, there were a few more young people.
Sang Yunchu glanced at it only once before turning his gaze to his own disciple.
He chuckled and said, "Cai'er, you've made your choice so quickly?"
Zhong Cai immediately replied, "Just find someone you like. I've found several that I like."
Sang Yunchu found it even more amusing and said, "I made a deal with your Master Jiang that after you two finish picking the stones, we'll see who has better luck. Cai'er, what do you say?"
Zhong Cai said naturally, "Then let's have a competition! Old Wu and I often compete!"
Sang Yunchu raised her delicate eyebrows: "Who wins more?"
Zhong Cai said with a grin, "Of course it's me!"
Sang Yunchu encouraged, "Very good, are you confident this time?"
Zhong Cai blurted out, "Yes!"
Beside him, Jiang Chongguang immediately looked at Wu Shaogan, and seeing that he also looked relaxed, he didn't say anything.
Wu Shaogan didn't speak either, he just smiled.
Behind them, the Fan family members who had followed but dared not interrupt in front of the two powerful figures were also obedient and did not approach.
Aside from Fan Jiming being a true friend of Zhong Cai and Wu Shaogan, the other two were just casual acquaintances, and there was no need to introduce them to Sang Yunchu and Jiang Chongguang.
·
Zhong Cai and Wu Shaogan both took out their mustard seed bags and placed the stones they had selected in front of their respective masters.
They're all ten yuan each, and they're all oddly shaped.
Sang Yunchu couldn't help but chuckle when she saw this.
Jiang Chongguang glanced at it and didn't find it ugly—it was certainly not as ugly as the ones on his own mountain.
Zhong Cai hadn't thought much of it before, but now that she saw them all together, quite a few of them were indeed strikingly ugly, and she couldn't help but want to laugh.
He cleared his throat: "Master, shall I open it with Old Wu now?"
Sang Yunchu smiled and said, "Go ahead and open it."
So Zhong Cai and Wu Shaogan sat in front of the two piles of stones and began to split them.
Both of them were swift and careful in their actions.
They mostly selected very large stones, the smallest of which was about the size of a water vat, while the largest one was ten feet tall!
Now, Zhong Cai has opened the relatively medium-sized one, while Wu Shaogan has opened the relatively smallest one.
Stones kept falling, and the outer stone shells were all opened up.
A faint, pleasant fragrance suddenly wafted from the stones on Zhong Cai's side.
The aroma was faint, but that undoubtedly proved that this was no empty stone!
Zhong Cai's eyes lit up slightly as she looked at Wu Shaogan with a beaming smile.
Wu Shao chuckled and showed off the stone he had just split open, which already had a hole in it and seemed to have an attraction inside.
Clearly, his stone wasn't empty.
Zhong Cai chuckled and increased the speed at which he split the stone.
Wu Shaogan raised an eyebrow, doing the same.
Soon, the two stones were completely opened, revealing all the resources inside.
·
On the stone skin of Zhong Cai's rock, there was a small tree about two feet tall, with a lot of soil still attached to its roots.
No wonder this rock is so big.
On Wu Shaogan's side, it looked like a wooden plank, about a foot long.
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