Tianjin, starting with unorthodox methods to achieve immortality

The moment our fingertips touched, a strange sensation came over us.

The stone skin is rough and extremely cold.

Some stones feel colder to the touch, while others feel relatively peaceful, but the essence of isolating the spirit and extinguishing thoughts remains unchanged.

Size, shape, and whether a surface is smooth or rough seem to have no absolute relation to its intrinsic nature.

His actions caught the attention of Li Jinrong, who was standing nearby.

The chubby young master had just finished paying and was feeling quite pleased with himself when he turned around and saw Chen Mo cautiously groping around. He couldn't help but proudly puff out his big belly.

That stingy attitude...

He was about to make a sarcastic remark, but then he realized that this was a ghost market. Remembering the old man's strange methods, he wisely shut his mouth.

Chen Mo noticed the other person's gaze but ignored it, his fingertip stopping on a nearly grayish-black stone about the size of two fists.

The stone's surface is covered with fine, spiderweb-like shallow cracks, and it feels particularly cold and heavy to the touch.

But just as his fingers touched it, the Moonlight Mirror, which had been dormant in his sea of ​​consciousness, suddenly trembled.

In stock?

What is that?

Chen Mo continued his search without making a sound, and only after a few minutes did he turn around and pick up the Yin Stone that had caused the commotion.

"How much is this one?"

"1200."

The one-eyed stall owner glanced at the stone with his remaining eye, then at Chen Mo, and quoted a price much lower than that of Li Jinrong's stone.

Chen Mo did not haggle and promptly paid for the stone and the stone-cutting fee.

This kind of dark stone is extremely hard, and the method of opening it is also very particular; otherwise, he really would have liked to open it himself in private.

"Haha, you actually bought it?"

Seeing this, Li Jinrong laughed and pointed at the cracked stone in Chen Mo's hand, "Even a dog wouldn't chew this thing if it were left on the roadside, and you're treating it like a treasure? Don't let it turn into a puddle of black water, or be completely empty!"

"Third Young Master."

Li Zhong whispered a reminder, signaling him to say less, but his gaze also fell on the stone Chen Mo had chosen, and his brows furrowed almost imperceptibly.

The stone doesn't look like it could yield anything of value. Too many cracks often indicate an unstable internal structure, suggesting that the object it contained may have already been damaged, or that it's more likely to leak out a dangerous aura.

The stone cutter is ready.

We still need to tackle the big hurdle of Li Jinrong first.

With a steady tap from a specially made tool, the outer layer of the large stone peeled away, eventually revealing a large piece of Yin Marrow Iron with dim spiritual energy.

Li Jinrong's smug expression froze instantly, turning ugly. "Damn it, what a waste of my three thousand silver dollars!"

"It's your turn." The stone cutter turned to Chen Mo expressionlessly and took the gray-black cracked stone.

The Yin Marrow Iron scraps that were extracted from the large rock elicited suppressed laughter and discussion from the onlookers. Now, seeing Chen Mo about to open another rock, many eyes turned back to him.

The stone cutter took the cracked stone from Chen Mo, his rough fingers rubbing the fine cracks, and his brows twitched slightly.

He didn't act immediately. Instead, he brought the stone close to his eyes, carefully examined the direction of several cracks, and then placed it to his ear, tapping different parts very lightly with the specially made small hammer, listening intently.

"Judging from this listening technique, this cracked stone is no ordinary piece."

Among the onlookers, a middle-aged man in a blue robe, who was not wearing a mask, whispered to his companion, "Ordinary stone cutters wouldn't be this cautious when cutting a rock. This crack is probably not caused by an accident, but by internal elements or pressure from the earth's veins when it was formed."

"Brother Wang is right. Look at the direction of those cracks. They seem chaotic at first glance, but if you look closely, you can vaguely see traces of ancient records describing 'yin patterns embracing pearls' or 'evil energy penetrating the stone'..."

Another elderly man with graying hair and beard squinted, stroking his beard in thought. "However, this sign is too subtle. It's also possible that the stone itself is flawed. For this young man to choose it, either he's just lucky or he really knows something about it."

"You all talk a good game, but when you drive your own cars, you only produce garbage," someone sneered.

The middle-aged man in the blue robe, Brother Wang, was provoked by the sneer and felt somewhat embarrassed.

Turning his head to look at the source of the voice, he saw a short, stocky man with his arms crossed and a disdainful expression.

"My friend, you are mistaken," Brother Wang puffed out his chest, trying to maintain his composure. "Observing the patterns on stones is a matter of experience, and mistakes are common. How can we throw the baby out with the bathwater and say that this knowledge is useless? Look at the cracks in this stone..."

"Experience? Knowledge?" the short, stocky man interrupted him, his voice rising several decibels, laced with scorn. "You bunch of pedants, always trying to be mysterious! All that talk about 'yin patterns embracing pearls' and 'evil aura penetrating stone,' you make it sound so real!"

"I've been in this ghost market for over a decade, and I've seen plenty of people like you who think you've got a secret manual just because you've got half a tattered book. And what's the result? Nine out of ten stones you open are junk! If you're so good, why don't you go gamble and make a fortune yourself instead of just talking big here?"

"You...you're so vulgar!" Brother Wang said, his face turning red with anger.

"Crude? I call this honest!" The short, stocky man spat. "Gambling on stones is three parts skill and seven parts luck! Why all the fuss? This piece, cracked like this, can possibly yield anything good?"

"I'm telling you this: if I can find something more valuable than that piece of useless Yin Marrow Iron, I'll eat the stone skin right here and now!"

His words drew laughter from those around him.

"Exactly! Zhuang-ge is right!"

"Instead of all that fancy stuff, just look at the price. Expensive doesn't necessarily mean good, but really cheap stuff is definitely no good!"

"This stone looks ominous, with so many cracks. It might have already leaked out and there's nothing inside!"

Li Jinrong was taken aback when he saw the group of people arguing heatedly with the idlers over a broken stone. He then found it quite amusing.

It was like watching a monkey show; the frustration from the failed stone-breaking attempt had dissipated somewhat, and she even felt a bit like joining in the mockery of that poor, penniless boy, but was stopped by Li Zhong's stern gaze.

The one-eyed stall owner remained leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, seemingly oblivious to the argument before him. However, when his one eye occasionally glanced at the cracked stone in Chen Mo's hand, a fleeting, almost imperceptible thought would flash through it.

The stone cutter seemed to be used to this scene. After the arguing subsided, he expressionlessly raised his specially made small hammer and short chisel and gently tapped a relatively intact area of ​​the gray-black cracked stone.

"Yes."

It was a muffled thud, not a crisp sound.

Everyone's attention was instantly drawn back, and the argument came to an abrupt halt.

A tiny piece of stone fell to the ground with a thud.

"Yes."

With a dull thud, stone chips fell in a flurry, revealing a darker gray-black stone beneath, but nothing unusual was found.

The stone cutter remained expressionless, changed his angle, and began chiseling again along the edge of a deeper crack.

"Tap...tap...tap..."

The knocking sound was particularly clear in the quiet air.

As the outer layer of stone continued to peel away, the gray-black stone gradually shrank.

The stone at the cracks seems particularly fragile; sometimes, the entire piece is peeled off, revealing a slightly lighter-colored interior.