Chapter 139: The Source

"Very well."

The master stonecutter wasted no words. Grabbing a gleaming blade, he began to slowly carve into Yang Hong's raw stone. As the master worked, fragments of the weathered exterior fell away one after another. A moment later, a brilliant radiance shimmered from within.

"Is that..."

The light began to emanate from the stone almost as soon as the cutting commenced; there was undoubtedly a treasure of immense value hidden inside.

"What on earth is that treasure?"
"As expected of the Gambling Saint of the stone-betting world. With just a casual selection, he has found a raw stone of priceless worth."

While the crowd stood in shock, Yang Ling, standing to the side, sneered at Li Jiansan. "Haha, kid, do you see my brother's prowess now? If you kneel and beg me, I might just—"

"When you lost to me earlier, I don't recall you being so smug," Li Jiansan said coldly.

Li Jiansan's words nearly twisted Yang Ling’s face in fury. "You just wait..."

Soon, the crowd erupted into fresh exclamations. The treasure inside the stone was now fully exposed: it was a suit of purple-hued precious armor!

The master stonecutter examined it closely, his pupils constricting involuntarily. "This... this is actually a top-grade spirit artifact!"

Weapon grades are divided into five tiers: Mortal, Spirit, Saint, Emperor, and Divine. In the Great Jiang Empire, spirit artifacts were the highest tier of weaponry one could encounter. As for Saint artifacts, they only existed in the sacred lands outside the empire. A top-grade spirit artifact, even if not a weapon of offense, was the most sophisticated form of armor in the empire. Such armor could withstand the onslaught of a Profound Origin practitioner and could even deflect a terrifying strike from a Golden Core cultivator. It was, in essence, an extra trump card for survival against a Golden Core adversary.

After the master stonecutter’s announcement, the onlookers stood trembling and dumbstruck, as if turned to stone. Many stared blankly, nearly driven mad, unable to recover their senses for a long time.

"How... how is this possible?"
"As expected of the ninth courtyard's raw stones. This treasure is worth it!"
"Young Master Yang Hong is truly remarkable; a casual move and he produces something of this magnitude."

Yang Hong looked at Li Jiansan and smiled. "Heh, I have you to thank for all of this."

Li Jiansan said indifferently, "Why thank me? In the end, these things will all be mine anyway."

"They will all be yours? Have you lost your mind?" Yang Ling said grimly. "Are you planning to cause trouble here at the Origin Heaven Pavilion?"

"Why would I need to rob you? They were mine to begin with."

Yang Hong's expression shifted. "What do you mean by that?"

"Was it not you who insisted on betting against me? What, looking to go back on your word now?" Li Jiansan replied.

Upon hearing this, Yang Hong grasped Li Jiansan's meaning, but he sneered, "Do you honestly think you can beat me?"

"Of course."

"How ridiculous. I truly don't know where you get your confidence. This precious armor of mine is an incredibly rare object; a single bid for it would fetch a heavenly price! Do you really think the treasure you extract from your stone will be more impressive than mine?"

Before Li Jiansan could speak, Yang Ling began to mock him. "Big brother, you are completely wrong. That piece of scrap he picked—let alone producing a better treasure than yours, it remains to be seen if it will produce anything at all! Haha..."

Li Jiansan, no longer wishing to entertain them, turned to the master stonecutter. "Master, you may begin."

"Clack, clack..."

The master stonecutter, also believing it to be a piece of waste stone, felt no need for caution. His movements were swift and fluid, the blade moving as rapidly as a dragon coiling through the air. In an instant, the stone’s exterior shell fell away, and in the blink of an eye, the stone was carved down to the size of a fist.

The onlookers all believed Li Jiansan’s stone was a dud.

"It’s impossible for this to yield any source; it's a complete waste of time. He might as well have just split it in one go."
"If this thing has anything inside, I’ll swear off brothels forever."
"If not for that crack, there might have been a chance for a treasure, but with such a large fissure, it’s impossible for anything of value to remain."

Just then, the crowd that had been jeering stared fixedly at Li Jiansan’s stone. As the master stonecutter made his next move, a beam of light suddenly shot out from the core of the stone. A rich, dense spiritual energy erupted in all directions like a volcanic explosion, refreshing everyone who caught a whiff of it.

The strange phenomenon stunned everyone; it was clear that an extraordinary treasure had been unearthed.

Embedded in the stone was a crimson-red gemstone. Though only the size of a thumb, it flowed with brilliant colors, appearing to contain immense power.

"This is... Source!" The master stonecutter stammered.

"Indeed, it is so small, just a tiny bit," the person who had exclaimed earlier murmured, regaining his wits.

"Heavens, is this the 'Source' the master was talking about?"
"It's my first time seeing Source."
"Can this thing really change one's destiny?"

Hearing the chatter, the master stonecutter spoke slowly, "Of course. You must understand that this is a supreme treasure, formed by the condensation of the purest spiritual energy of heaven and earth over a million years. It is said that a great power from our Jiang Kingdom once obtained a piece of Source, which allowed him to achieve enlightenment in the martial path and ascend to the Great Dao..."

Li Jiansan walked toward Yang Hong with a smile and held out his hand. "My apologies, I’ve won. Hand over your treasures."

Yang Hong had gambled on stones for years and held treasures of immense value; this was a staggering sum, and even he felt a pang of agony. However, with so many people watching, he could not bring himself to renege. Gritting his teeth, he tossed a storage ring over.

After receiving the ring, Li Jiansan transferred the contents into his own, then said with a look of disdain, "This storage ring only has ten cubic meters of space. It’s far too small. I have no use for it; take it back." With that, he tossed the ring back at Yang Hong.

Yang Hong’s expression turned deathly pale. "You..."

"By the way, these raw stones... it seems you were supposed to pay for them as well. But seeing as you’ve lost so miserably, I assume you have no money left?" Li Jiansan teased.

Having lost all face, Yang Hong wished he could disappear into a crack in the ground. He had no choice but to bite the bullet, write an IOU to the Origin Heaven Pavilion, and flee in disgrace without looking back, drawing a wave of laughter from the crowd.

Li Jiansan picked up the piece of Source and smiled faintly. "Who was it earlier that said if my stone yielded a treasure, they would swallow the stone skin off the floor?"