Shrouding the Heavens: Starting by joining the Holy Land of Yao Guang

Chapter 37 Murderous Intent

Fifteen people participated in the betting, each contributing 100 jin of source material. The ancient insect source material that Li Yao cut out was also worth 1,000 jin of source material. All of this added up to 2,500 jin of source material.

Adding to the previous fiery source, in just this short time, he had collected nearly ten thousand catties of source, earning back the cost of deducing the Heavenly Book.

"This is truly a risk-free business!" Even Li Yao was amazed in his heart.

Li Yao did not linger in the third courtyard, but continued walking towards the fourth courtyard.

He came here to see how good his Origin Technique was. Li Yao could see almost everything about the Origin Stones in the third courtyard, so there was little point in staying here any longer.

"Let's go and take a look."

The people from the third courtyard followed, wanting to see what was going on.

The large influx of people into the fourth courtyard surprised everyone there, but as others recounted their experiences, they all began to curiously examine Li Yao.

Such a young master of Origin Arts?
When did Source Techniques become so easy to cultivate?!
Li Yao looks to be only thirteen or fourteen years old, and his life force is incredibly youthful; he's not some old monster.

To possess such remarkable Origin Arts at such a young age was quite a shock to many present.

But in fact, the most shocked people at this moment were those from the Yao Guang Holy Land.

Others may not know when Li Yao began his cultivation, but they know it perfectly well.

Having only embarked on cultivation for half a year, he not only reached the Divine Bridge Realm but also learned a remarkable Origin Technique.

At this moment, they couldn't help but wonder if Li Yao's six months and their six months were not the same thing at all.

They reached the Divine Bridge Realm within half a year, possessing formidable combat power that overwhelmed two peak Divine Bridge Realm experts, while their cultivation, even if it improved somewhat within the same period, remained extremely limited.

Amidst scrutinizing gazes, Li Yao focused intently on selecting Origin Stones. He used Origin Techniques to deduce and pushed the interaction between Heaven and Man to its limit, carefully examining each Origin Stone.

The fourth courtyard contained far fewer Origin Stones than the third courtyard, but these Origin Stones were all more extraordinary, each emanating a powerful aura.

Under the influence of the interaction between heaven and man, these source stones seemed to possess their own aura, ancient and vast.

In the end, Li Yao selected four source stones that he was most confident in. These source stones could all be cut into something, but he didn't know their value and had no certainty.

The source stones in the fourth courtyard are even more expensive, even exceeding the source stones themselves; one pound of source stone requires two pounds of source stones.

The four source stones that Li Yao selected weighed a thousand jin in total and were worth more than two thousand jin of source stones.

"What a huge profit!" he thought to himself, before readily handing over two thousand catties of the source.

……

Li Yao frowned. He had already cut open three source stones and found treasures in them, but he hadn't made a profit and could only barely break even.

The first source stone yielded a fiery red source stone the size of an infant, worth about 500 catties of source stone, barely breaking even.

The second source stone yielded a very precious item: amethyst source that could enhance a cultivator's soul. Its value was comparable to that of the ancient insect source. It was the size of a corn kernel and worth a thousand catties of source.

The third source stone was just an ordinary source stone. It was very large, about the size of a human head, but only weighed thirty jin, a loss of four hundred and seventy jin of source stone.

Finally, he looked at the fourth source stone, which he felt had the best chance of yielding something good.

The first three source stones were basically enough to break even, and whether the fourth courtyard would be profitable or not depended on this one. However, Li Yao was still very confident about this source stone, so he raised his head and looked at the crowd.

"Fellow Daoists, is anyone here gambling on stones?"

After he finished speaking, no one stepped forward, and Li Yao was somewhat disappointed.

Wait, aren't all the cultivators in Shrouding the Heavens supposed to be incredibly stubborn? What's going on here? Why isn't anyone stepping forward to gamble with him?

Undeterred, Li Yao continued, "Gentlemen, aren't you going to gamble? This is a one-time opportunity!"

This time, some people in the arena were tempted, but some were also hesitant. Whether it was learning about Li Yao's achievements in the third courtyard from others, or the three source stones he obtained in the fourth courtyard, it all proved that Li Yao knew source techniques.

Gambling on stones with someone who knows the secrets of jade crafting has a very high probability of resulting in a loss.

Seeing that no one stepped forward, Li Yao was somewhat disappointed. He had great confidence in this source stone. If there were a dozen or so people gambling like in the third courtyard, he could definitely make a fortune.

Seeing that no one was gambling, Li Yao didn't ask any more questions and started cutting the stone directly.

This is a millstone-sized Originium, entirely reddish-gold in color. On its surface are many naturally formed patterns, resembling the traces of the Dao.

Li Yao cut stones very quickly, unlike a stone-cutting master who cuts slowly. Instead, he uses bold, decisive strokes, aiming at a spot and cutting off more than half of it in one go.

In the blink of an eye, the Originium, which was originally the size of a millstone, was reduced to the size of a fist.

The onlookers were terrified. In their eyes, cutting the stone like that was incredibly daring. They knew that many things inside the source stone were very fragile, and if it was damaged by carelessness, its value would be greatly reduced.

Soon, the source stone reached the size of a fist. Even Li Yao slowed down, and he no longer dared to cut it with his hands. Instead, he picked up a silver knife.

The contents of the source stones are strange and unusual, and no one can be sure what's inside. Li Yao used his hands at first because he was sure there was nothing dangerous in those source stones.

But this time was different. When the blade was cut down to the size of a fist, Li Yao, with his divine sense, felt an unparalleled sharpness emanating from it.

If he still dares to cut with his hands at this point, what might shatter isn't the Originium, but his own flesh and blood.

Seeing Li Yao's serious demeanor, the onlookers also became curious.

They had already concluded that Li Yao's mastery of Origin Arts was likely quite remarkable, and their seriousness suggested that he might have actually discovered something extraordinary.

"Crack!"

When he cut down to a piece no bigger than a goose egg, Li Yao stopped. His heart was pounding, and the hairs on his body stood on end. His perception was amplified by his connection with the divine, and at that moment, the source stone, no bigger than a goose egg, exuded an incomparably dangerous aura.

He didn't continue, and even took two steps back, leaving the source stone that was only the size of a goose egg.

The onlookers were puzzled, not understanding what had happened. Unlike Li Yao, they did not have a connection with the heavens and could not sense the murderous intent.

Li Yao calmed his fear, then beckoned to Liu Shi. When Liu Shi came over, he asked, "Who is the Supreme Elder currently guarding the Yaoguang Stone Gambling House?"

The sudden question startled Liu Shi, but he quickly realized why Li Yao had asked it.

However, Liu Shi felt that Li Yao was being too cautious. Although there were many factions within the Yao Guang Holy Land and their relationships were not very good, even if the person guarding the gambling stone market was the Supreme Elder of Dragon Head Peak, they would still have to abide by the rules in such a public setting and would not be allowed to act recklessly.

(End of this chapter)