Old Deng Is This Capable!?

Thinking that was one thing, but Lin Heng's only worry was the variables that would arise after Ye Tian came to Swallow Cloud City.

If he wanted to seize opportunities, aside from the necessary financial expenditure, it would be best to have some "noble benefactors" supporting him.

These "noble benefactors" would naturally be people in Swallow Cloud City who could make their words count, excluding the Mu Family, of course.

Using them as a fallback would be steadier than facing Ye Tian head-on.

Lin Heng incorporated this point into his plans.

"Come on, everyone, take a look! Raw stones just transported from the mountains of the Western Wasteland, especially good quality..."

The shouts ahead gradually attracted many people.

Lin Heng stopped in his tracks and saw a black-clad man at the side crouch down, pick up a raw stone, and ask, "Transported from the mountains of the Western Wasteland? How much for one?"

"This pile on the left comes from the Yellow Flame Essence Mine. Each starts at one thousand Spirit Stones. Though these on the right are ordinary, they can likewise yield top-grade Spirit Sources. Each starts at three hundred Spirit Stones."

"Isn't the Yellow Flame Essence Mine a little too expensive? The trial-and-error cost for essence mines is so high these days. I can't afford to gamble."

"This brother is right. Raw stones unearthed from the Yellow Flame Essence Mine were still hot commodities a few years ago, but now... hehe, nine losses out of ten purchases."

Someone else in the crowd shook his head and said so.

Raw stones, as the name suggested, were finished products mined from mountain essence mines. The outside was wrapped in a layer resembling quicklime powder. Eyesight could not pierce through it, and slightly larger raw stones could not even let light shine directly out.

It was undeniable that special treasures and top-grade essence sources could often be mined out of raw stones.

For example, Fire Flame Marrow, Earth Wood Source, Blazing Flame Stone, Purple Sun Agate, and so on...

"Everyone, everyone, please listen to me." The merchant cleared his throat and promoted the stones in front of him. "Stone gambling, well, thirty percent depends on luck, seventy percent on skill. Look at the jade shop boss across the street. Didn't he get rich by opening raw stones?"

"Of course, not everyone can understand how to play with raw stones. Laymen can watch the excitement, while experts can dig out the tricks on their own."

Bang, bang!

"Move aside, all of you. Let this old man see exactly how this batch of goods is." A white-haired old man wearing a bamboo hat, with a wicker basket woven from vine rope on his back, squeezed to the front of the crowd and picked up a raw stone to examine it.

The aura on his body was very thick and powerful, forcing the people around him to take two steps back.

"Foundation Establishment Realm?"

Lin Heng became interested and silently stood to the side, sizing up the variously shaped stones on the ground.

The powder on the outermost layer of the raw stones should have the function of blocking Mind Sense. Wanting to peer through the inside with mental power was almost impossible.

He rather wanted to see what tricks this Old Deng could see.

Not long after, after a round of selection, the old man tossed an ordinary raw stone in his hand to the merchant. "This one. Open it directly!"

"Right away, customer."

Afterward, the merchant found cutting tools and slowly cut open the gray covering on the surface of the raw stone, revealing a crystal-clear green.

"Green Crystal!"

"It opened a Green Crystal! It's worth at least eight hundred Spirit Stones!"

A smile appeared on the old man's face, as if everything was within his grasp.

The raw stone cost three hundred, which meant he could make five hundred Spirit Stones from it.

Afterward, he used the opened Green Crystal as collateral and selected another raw stone from the pile from the Yellow Flame Essence Mine.

"Continue cutting. From the side, left to right."

The old man calmly directed the cutting master, appearing to have a card up his sleeve.

The cutting master moved skillfully, cutting the raw stone slice by slice. Very quickly, a palm-sized stone piece was uncovered.

"It really is a Crimson Blood Vein." The old man's eyes lit up, and he reached out to grab it. "This item is worth at least over one thousand Spirit Stones!"

"Crimson Blood Vein, this is an excellent artifact-refining material, one of the top-grade materials for refining flying swords. Old Deng is pretty capable!" Lin Heng secretly clicked his tongue.

Crimson Blood Vein formed in the Blood-Dyed Land and could only condense into a crystal with bloodstone after several hundred years of continuous evolution.

If it was fused into a weapon, it could further stimulate the weapon's power.

However, the difficulty of purifying Crimson Blood Vein was extremely high, and it still required a weapon forger to temper it.

Yet the old man still refused to stop. He bent down again, picked up an essence-mine raw stone, turned to look at everyone, and said, "This old man has spotted another decent raw stone. That Crimson Blood Vein just now, this old man does not plan to sell. Is anyone willing to contribute Spirit Stones with me to purchase this raw stone? If a treasure is opened, we can split it fifty-fifty!"

"Of course, stone gambling carries risks. This old man also cannot guarantee there is definitely something good inside!"

Hiss~

One thousand five hundred Spirit Stones!?

After seeing the price quoted by the merchant, many people sucked in a breath. One thousand five hundred Spirit Stones was already no small sum for many of them.

If they wanted to split the account fifty-fifty, it meant they had to take out seven hundred and fifty Spirit Stones to cooperate with the old man.

But thinking of how the old man had effortlessly selected two raw stones with color just now, it was clear the other party had some ability.

Maybe this raw stone could likewise yield treasure.

"Fine, I'll contribute Spirit Stones with you!"

A green-robed man with a sharp mouth and monkey cheeks spoke up.

"Good. As long as you trust this old man, I can guarantee you'll make a sure profit without loss!" the old man said with a chuckle.

As the third raw stone was cut open, a purplish-red light was the first thing to enter their eyes.

Lin Heng's pupils shrank. "Purple Sun Agate? Old Deng is this capable!?"

"It's actually Purple Sun Agate!"

Everyone shouted in unison, filled with incomparable surprise!

Purple Sun Agate was a treasure containing dense yang-attribute power and had miraculous effects when used for cultivators' cultivation.

Under ordinary circumstances, it would only exist within scorching magma, and its formation conditions were harsh.

"Fellow Daoist, I'm willing to offer two thousand Spirit Stones for this item. Could you resell it to me?"

"Two thousand is still somewhat too little. This piece of Purple Sun Agate is lustrous, translucent, and without the slightest impurity. At the very least, it should be three thousand six hundred." The old man refused.

The person thought for a moment, and seeing that the old man seemed intent on withdrawing the offer, he hurriedly agreed.

In the end, the Purple Sun Agate was bought by the man for a price of three thousand six hundred Spirit Stones.

After watching the excitement for so long, even Lin Heng felt somewhat tempted. The rarer a spiritual object or essence source was in nature, the harder its value was to estimate.

He had sold one piece of Seventh-Order Armor for only seven thousand Spirit Stones, yet such a small piece of agate sold for over three thousand.

Lin Heng's first reaction was that he had sold the armor for too low a price.

Sure enough, next, the old man acted as if he simply had to buy this place out, sending invitations to the others to jointly purchase stones. In the end, it was still a fifty-fifty split.

After the earlier groundwork, even Lin Heng could not help but follow along and call bids.

There was still something off. The price of these essence objects should not be this high. Could it be a honey trap?

Just as he was secretly pondering, slightly suspicious,

suddenly, he heard a cold snort from beside him.

"Everyone had best polish your eyes bright. There aren't that many pies falling from the sky."

The old man raised his head toward the source of the voice, stared at the Black-Clad Youth, and slightly furrowed his brows. "Little friend, what do you mean by that? This old man merely cannot take out too many Spirit Stones, so I am finding people to cooperate. Whether we profit or lose has its own fate."

"Of course, buying raw stones with you naturally has its own fate. Everything has been calculated, hasn't it?"

"Impudent! You dare question this old man's ability?" The old man was somewhat angered, then said, "Kid, I don't care who you are. This is Swallow Cloud City. You'd best understand the principle that many words lead to many mistakes."

He turned his head again and looked around. "If everyone cannot trust this old man, you may simply take back your own money."

"I trust this fellow Daoist's eye. I'll follow with this Spirit Stone!"

"Hmph! Where did this brat come from? This old gentleman produced color from three stones in a row. His ability is right here; no need for you to remind us. I'll follow with two thousand Spirit Stones!"

"I'll come too!"

Many people spoke up one after another to rebuke the youth for his rude words, and they took out their money pouches, following the old man to jointly purchase raw stones.

"Bro, then which raw stone do you think can produce color?"

Lin Heng suddenly spoke.

The youth froze for a moment, pointed at himself with his finger, and asked, "Are you asking me?"

"Yes." Lin Heng nodded.

Seeing that someone believed him, the youth instead laughed. Then he pointed at the pile from the Yellow Flame Essence Mine. "Third row, third from the left. Only that one has something. The rest are all scrap."

As soon as these words came out, the merchant's expression clearly changed.

Lin Heng caught this detail and immediately waved his hand, taking that raw stone into his hand. "Come on, I want this one!"

Seeing this, the merchant hurriedly said, "Customer, this row of raw stones is large in size, so the asking price is naturally higher. The one in your hand sells for two thousand Spirit Stones!"

"Two thousand Spirit Stones?"

"Yes. Why don't you look at the others? If this goes wrong, the loss won't be just a tiny bit."

Only when the merchant heard Lin Heng voice his doubt did his heart settle.

He was thinking that with such a high price, Lin Heng absolutely would not dare bite it off.

Little did he know, Lin Heng had been watching his reactions the whole time.

"No matter. It's just stone gambling. Two thousand Spirit Stones are neither here nor there to me. Open it directly!"

After saying that, he tossed a Storage Pouch filled with Spirit Stones to the merchant.

The merchant was dumbfounded.

The old man was also dumbfounded along with him.

Even after things had been said to this extent.

He did not even consider two thousand?

Could he guarantee a sure profit without loss?