"It would be wonderful if you would simply come in and have a look." The middle-aged man invited them warmly, his face piled high with sincere smiles.
Thunder Roar Ravine was naturally one who loved to join in the excitement. Hearing there was something lively to watch—and that the Pavilion Master of the Mysterious Yellow Pavilion was personally taking part—he was immediately intrigued and winked at the other two.
Yun Mengyao had originally wanted to refuse outright. She had never held much fondness for places like this, always feeling they were a mixed bag of dragons and fish where trouble easily arose. But seeing Thunder Roar Ravine's eager expression and Xuanyuan Che's interestedly raised brow, she could only nod in agreement.
They were only here to watch the excitement. It should not delay them for long.
"Very well. Since this shopkeeper has invited us so warmly, we shall go in and broaden our horizons." Yun Mengyao's tone was cool, but she still gave the middle-aged man some face.
At her words, the middle-aged man beamed with delight and hurriedly bowed to lead the way. "Three honored guests, please come inside! I guarantee that the three of you will not have made this trip in vain today!"
Xuanyuan Che and the other two followed the middle-aged man into the Mysterious Yellow Pavilion.
The moment they stepped through its doors, a bustling clamor rushed over them. Compared to the streets outside, this place was practically another world.
The hall was spacious and bright, decorated in splendor with gold and jade everywhere, every corner steeped in extravagance. The room teemed with people, a roaring tide of voices mingling together until it was deafening.
At the center of the hall stood dozens of enormous stone tables, each piled high with stones of varying sizes and strange shapes.
Yet these seemingly ordinary stones were precisely what drew countless cultivators like moths to a flame.
This was stone gambling.
Stone gambling meant purchasing rough stones that had not been windowed open, whose internal jade quality could not be directly seen, then relying on experience and luck to judge whether precious jade lay hidden within.
One cut brought poverty, one cut brought wealth, one cut left you wearing hemp cloth!
The thrill and danger of stone gambling went hand in hand, full of the unknown and endless twists. That was precisely why so many people became addicted to it and never tired of the game.
Nearly every stone table in the hall was surrounded by people.
There were especially many young faces today, all dressed in luxurious garments—handsome young men and beautiful women. Many of them were likely students from academies across the land. Some scrutinized the stones carefully, brows tightly furrowed as though conducting serious research, while others had already chosen their stones. Waves of astonished cries often came from afar.
"Wow! It's gone up, it's gone up! Something came out!"
"What a pity. It only went up a little. I'm afraid he won't even recover his costs."
"Ah, it collapsed again. Every last coin is gone!"
Things of that sort filled the air.
Xuanyuan Che surveyed everything before him with great interest. He found these novel little diversions quite fascinating. Back in the Immortal Domain, he had never had the chance to come into contact with stone gambling. It was not something a good child was supposed to do...
Yun Mengyao's delicate brows furrowed slightly. She was clearly somewhat unused to such a noisy environment. She tilted her head slightly and, quite naturally, walked at Xuanyuan Che's side.
Thunder Roar Ravine, on the other hand, watched with relish. Curious, he walked up to a stone table, picked up a fist-sized black stone, and examined it carefully beneath the mirror-light.
"This stone is black as pitch. Can there really be anything good inside?" Thunder Roar Ravine muttered, his face full of doubt.
Hearing this, the middle-aged man standing beside him quickly explained with a smile, "Young master, you cannot judge a stone merely by its appearance. The wonder of stone gambling lies in the word 'gamble.' A plain-looking stone may very well conceal peerless treasure jade within! Conversely, those stones that look glossy and magnificent may be nothing more than gold and jade on the outside, rotten cotton within."
"Really?" Thunder Roar Ravine was doubtful. He still felt that stones with bright colors and peculiar shapes looked more like treasures.
The middle-aged man smiled mysteriously and pointed toward a stone table not far away. "If you do not believe me, young master, you may go over there and take a look. That gentleman is a regular of our Mysterious Yellow Pavilion and also an expert at stone gambling. Of the stones he chooses, nine out of ten rise in value. He is truly formidable!"
That stone table was located in a corner of the hall. Relatively few people surrounded it, but the atmosphere there was particularly fervent.
Beside the table stood a young man dressed in brocade robes and holding a folding fan. He had handsome features and an extraordinary bearing. Every gesture carried confidence and pride. He was carefully studying a white stone as large as a millstone, his expression focused as though he were admiring a peerless treasure.
Several gorgeously dressed attendants stood beside him, holding trays upon which lay several stones that had already been cut open. Each emitted a lustrous glow and was clearly worth a great deal.
"Look, look! That young master's stone has risen again! This is already the fifth stone that has risen today, isn't it?"
"Yes, yes, he is truly amazing! As expected of the Mysterious Yellow Pavilion's Jade Young Master. His eye for stone gambling is truly extraordinary!"
"I heard the Jade Young Master has ties to the City Lord's Manor of Mysterious Yellow City. He is handsome, wealthy, and even so skilled at stone gambling. He is simply the perfect man!"
The eyes of several women shone like stars, their faces filled with admiration.
Hearing the surrounding discussions, Thunder Roar Ravine also looked at the Jade Young Master in a new light. He leaned close to Xuanyuan Che and said softly, "Little Junior Brother, look at that young master. He is so impressive!"
Xuanyuan Che smiled without committing himself. His gaze swept over the Jade Young Master, then shifted to the stones on the table, a trace of amusement flashing through his eyes.
Yun Mengyao merely glanced over once before moving her gaze away.
"Three honored guests, would you like to choose a few rough stones and try your luck as well? The rough stones at our Mysterious Yellow Pavilion are all carefully selected, with an extremely high rate of yielding jade. And there are discounts today too—such an opportunity is rare!" The middle-aged man once again began his enthusiastic sales pitch.
Thunder Roar Ravine had long been itching to give it a try. He rubbed his hands together and threw an arm around Xuanyuan Che. "Come on, Little Junior Brother, let's try it!"
Xuanyuan Che smiled faintly. "Since Third Senior Brother wishes to play, then let us give it a try. They are only some spirit stones, after all. Consider it buying a little amusement."
Yun Mengyao did not object, but she sent a voice transmission to remind them, "Playing around is fine, but do not become obsessed. Gambling, in the end, is not the righteous path."
Thunder Roar Ravine's ability to act was maxed out. Before long, he had selected a rough stone.
It was a round stone as large as a watermelon, entirely earth-yellow and extraordinarily rough on the surface. It looked utterly unremarkable.
"This one! I want the biggest one!" Thunder Roar Ravine hugged the stone and strutted over to Xuanyuan Che and Yun Mengyao, showing it off proudly.
Yun Mengyao glanced at the stone Thunder Roar Ravine had chosen and shook her head slightly without saying anything. She knew he was merely there for the excitement. He had picked the stone by feeling alone, with no method to it at all.
The middle-aged man took the stone and examined it carefully, already understanding the situation. Though this stone looked decent on the outside, from a professional perspective, the chances of it yielding jade were not high.
But the middle-aged man was, after all, a smooth and seasoned hand. He did not reveal his thoughts, merely nodded with a smile and said, "Young master has a good eye. This stone does indeed look quite good. May you cut open treasure jade!"
Meanwhile, Xuanyuan Che strolled casually past dozens of stone tables, his gaze casually sweeping over the many varieties of rough stones. He did not seem to be selecting seriously at all.
People nearby were drawn over by the looks and bearing of the three—or, more accurately, the two. They watched Xuanyuan Che curiously, wanting to know what kind of rough stone this seemingly unfathomable youth would choose.
Xuanyuan Che suddenly stopped, his gaze settling on an inconspicuous black stone in a corner.
The stone was only the size of an egg, pitch-black throughout. It looked like an ordinary piece of coal, utterly unremarkable and even somewhat ugly.
At that instant, a strange gleam flashed across the stone. It was extremely brief, but Xuanyuan Che still caught it.
Xuanyuan Che stepped forward, picked up the black stone, and weighed it in his hand.
"This one, then." Xuanyuan Che handed the stone to the middle-aged man.
The middle-aged man froze upon hearing this. He had not expected the youth to choose such a stone. Of all the rough stones he had put out today, this one had among the poorest appearances and was relatively cheap. Almost no one would even notice it.
He could not help taking another careful look at Xuanyuan Che, his heart filled with doubt.
Could this youth be a stone-gambling expert who hid his abilities deeply, or merely the newest of novices who knew absolutely nothing?
With how casually he had chosen, it was most likely the latter.
But no matter what, since the customer had chosen it, he naturally would not say anything more. He merely nodded with a smile. "Though this stone looks ordinary, perhaps it conceals a surprise inside. May your stone cutting be most auspicious, young master!"
Xuanyuan Che smiled.
The stone-cutting area was located in a corner of the hall. Several professional stone-cutting machines stood there, with a few stone-cutting masters busily at work, slicing open rough stones one after another.
Thunder Roar Ravine's stone was the first to go onto a machine.
The stone-cutting master was an experienced old man. He skillfully secured the stone onto the machine, started it up, and began cutting.
As the stone-cutting machine roared to life, stone chips flew everywhere. Everyone's eyes were fixed tightly on the stone, breaths held as the atmosphere became tense with anticipation.
With the first cut, a gash opened in the stone, revealing the sight within.
"It collapsed! It collapsed! There's nothing inside!"
"Ah, it really was strong on the outside but hollow within. It looked like such a large stone, but it was empty inside."
"I told you, this kind of stone was no good at a glance..."
Thunder Roar Ravine had been full of excitement, but when he saw the cut-open stone was completely empty inside, his face immediately fell.
"How could this happen? It clearly looked like such a big stone..."
"Third Senior Brother, that is not how you cut a stone. Just wait and watch mine." Xuanyuan Che winked at Thunder Roar Ravine.
The stone-cutting master took Xuanyuan Che's stone from the middle-aged man, and a trace of confusion inevitably flashed through his eyes.
This stone was simply too small and too ordinary. He truly could not understand why the youth had chosen it.
But he was a professional in his work, after all, and did not ask any questions. He simply skillfully secured the stone onto the cutting machine and began cutting.
As the machine started up and stone chips flew, everyone's gazes gathered once again. This time, their eyes held more curiosity and doubt than anything else.
They all wanted to see whether this seemingly unfathomable youth could truly cut some sort of surprise from this inconspicuous black stone.
With one cut, however, the stone did not split open at once.
The stone-cutting master was somewhat moved, but his hands did not stop.
After several more cuts,
Crack!
A thin fissure appeared in the small stone.
At that instant, the entire stone-cutting area fell silent. Everyone's eyes widened as they stared at the scene before them in utter disbelief.
A speck of violet light flashed, followed by an eruption of dazzling divine radiance!
The violet glow was rich and dazzling, like the finest violet jadeite, radiating a light that intoxicated the heart and instantly drawing every eye.
"V-Violet! Heavens! It is actually violet jadeite!"
"And this violet light... it is so rich! So pure! This is absolutely top-grade violet jadeite!"
"My heavens! Such a tiny stone actually yielded top-grade violet jadeite! This... this is simply a miracle!"
After the silence, the stone-cutting area instantly erupted into chaos, and everyone cried out in shock.
Thunder Roar Ravine had still been unconvinced, grumbling and cursing under his breath. But when he saw the stone Xuanyuan Che had cut open, he immediately stared at Xuanyuan Che as though looking at a monster and cried out, "Holy shit! Little Junior Brother! You... you actually cut out treasure jade! And it is top-grade violet jadeite! My heavens! How... how did you do it?"
"Want to learn? I'll teach you later." Xuanyuan Che waved at Thunder Roar Ravine and was about to pat his backside and carry off his spoils.
"Hehe, good luck? I don't think so."
Before you continue