Ch. 342 - The Divine Pit

“I refuse to believe it, there’s no way you can turn the tables now!” Wu Ziming sneered, his face full of scorn.

Not only he, but everyone present shared the same disbelief.

What was Godsource? It was the most precious of all sources, the purest essence of heaven and earth condensed into solid form. Even the great Sacred Lands coveted it with unending desire.

The Celestial City had not seen a piece of it in years. Now, a lump the size of a human head had appeared, priceless beyond imagination. Who could possibly overturn such a situation? What could be more precious than that? It seemed utterly impossible.

“Today, even if I have to sell everything I own, I’ll wager against you!” Wu Ziming’s grin turned cold.

Not long ago, he had lost tens of thousands of jin of source to Ye Fan, and his humiliation had yet to fade. Now that vengeance was within reach, he saw it as heaven’s gift. He and Li Chongtian immediately began borrowing source from all sides.

Their connections were extensive. More importantly, their sects, the Five Elements Mountain and the Illusion-Destruction Palace, were major northern powers with influential elders. With their backing, the two managed to raise a large amount of source.

And not just them, many others grew restless as well.

After all, Ye Fan had declared he would accept any challengers to gamble with him.

With a piece of Godsource already revealed, few believed Ye Fan could reverse his fate. Such a miracle seemed impossible, this was an item the world might not see once in centuries.

“We’ll wager against you too!”

More than twenty cultivators stepped forward together, piling fifteen thousand jin of source onto the ground with a loud clang.

At the same time, Wu Ziming and Li Chongtian finished gathering their own funds. With the aid of their elders, they had amassed thirty thousand jin of source.

“I’ve been waiting for this day a long time,” Wu Ziming said through gritted teeth. His last defeat had cost him dearly, not just in source, but in dignity. He’d been mocked across the city.

Now, vengeance gleamed before him.

“Anyone else?” Ye Fan’s tone remained calm as he stepped away from the great stone, surveying the crowd.

“He’s too calm,” someone whispered. “Does he not understand the value of Godsource? Unless he can cut out a complete ancient godly medicine, he can’t possibly compete.”

Many were tempted to join the wager, yet Ye Fan’s tranquility made them hesitate.

They couldn’t help but remember the last time, when the Nine-Aperture Stone Man had been nearly cut apart and everyone thought it empty, Ye Fan had turned it into a trap and made them all jump right in.

Now, though most had faith in the Godsource, they feared being duped again.

“No one else?” Ye Fan asked once more, his tone almost teasing. “That’s Godsource you’re trusting in, have you no confidence in Tuoba Chang?”

He walked away slowly under a rain of blossoms, petals drifting down to his shoulders as the fragrance filled the air.

Then suddenly, two figures moved.

They strode straight into the field and stopped before the very stone Ye Fan had just examined, the one he’d tapped and nearly chosen.

“Our hands are itching. Let’s pick a stone too,” said one of them.

The two old men placed twelve thousand jin of source before that stone.

They were none other than Li Yishui, Grand Elder of the Illusion-Destruction Palace, the same man who had funded Li Chongtian’s previous wager, and another powerful elder, Yang Kun of the Five Elements Mountain.

This time, they hadn’t rushed. They had been watching all along, waiting for the perfect moment, and now, they struck.

“You two…” Blackwater’s face darkened instantly. He had full faith in Ye Fan and believed that stone contained something extraordinary. Never had he expected Li Yishui to make such a despicable move, intercepting their choice mid-way.

It was pure, shameless theft, seizing another’s find under the guise of legality.

“Do you have an objection?” Li Yishui said lazily, his smile faint and mocking.

“Do you even have any shame left?” Blackwater shouted, trembling with rage.

Li Yishui’s eyes grew cold. “Mind your tongue, boy. Don’t force me to discipline you on your elders’ behalf.”

“You motherfu-!” Blackwater nearly exploded, wanting to curse him three ways to hell.

Ye Fan quickly caught his arm, holding him back. He turned to the two old men, his face hard. “Seniors, this is far too much.”

“Too much?” Li Yishui smiled thinly. “We simply bought a stone you didn’t. You hadn’t made your choice. We did.”

“You old scoundrels! You saw Ye Fan studying that stone! He’d clearly chosen it already!” Blackwater roared.

“He hadn’t said it aloud,” Li Yishui said, smirking. “He walked away, didn’t he?”

The Stone Workshop erupted in noise.

“Those two old foxes are too cunning.”

“Shameless, absolutely shameless.”

“People do grow more treacherous with age.”

“Why didn’t I think of that myself?”

“That young genius was too naive, he left them a loophole to crawl through.”

The crowd buzzed with outrage and gossip. Most sided with Ye Fan, they had seen his confidence earlier and believed the stone he had chosen surely contained an extraordinary treasure.

Even if it couldn’t rival the Godsource, it would likely be of great value.

“Don’t hold me back,” Blackwater fumed. “I’ll bash their ugly faces in!”

“Such insolence. Did your elders never teach you to respect your seniors?” Li Yishui sneered, a flicker of killing intent flashing in his eyes.

“You steal our stone and then threaten us?” Blackwater growled, raising his Black Iron Token, ready to hurl it at them.

Ye Fan held him fast.

Blackwater took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm. Turning toward the Ji Clan hosts, he demanded, “We already paid twelve thousand jin of source! Are you just going to let them snatch our stone?”

The Ji Clan’s source masters looked uneasy. “You did pay,” one admitted, “but only for the privilege of choosing among the garden’s treasures. You hadn’t formally selected a stone yet.”

Ji Biyue, dressed in green silk, her figure elegant and her jade feet bare upon the grass, stepped forward gracefully and smiled. “Two young sirs, we’re sorry, but the rules are clear. You should have decided earlier.”

Her words sealed it. There was no changing things now.

Blackwater clenched his fists in fury.

Yao Yuekong stepped up quietly and said, “Forget it. Let it go.”

The Crown Prince of Grand Xia shook his head slightly and sent a private message.

You were too careless.

Many present found Li Yishui’s behavior distasteful, yet none could intervene. This was the Ji Clan’s Heavenly-Rank Stone Workshop, its rules were absolute.

Even several elders sighed helplessly but said nothing.

Meanwhile, the entire island shimmered beneath the holy radiance of the floating Godsource. The beams spilling from its thin layer of stone lit the ancient trees and drifting petals in sacred brilliance.

Li Yishui looked at Ye Fan and Blackwater calmly. “Young men, the world can be fair or unfair depending on who you are. Consider this a lesson.”

“Enjoy your ill-gotten gains,” Blackwater spat.

Li Yishui ignored him, relaxed and composed. “My friend Yang Kun and I have borrowed some source as well. Beyond purchasing this fine stone, we’d like to wager against you.”

“Indeed,” said Yang Kun, nodding. He placed sixty thousand jin of source beside him.

The crowd gasped.

Robbing their stone wasn’t enough, now they wanted to crush Ye Fan completely. Ruthless didn’t even begin to describe it.

“You’re going too far,” Ye Fan said coldly.

“Your own words invited any challengers,” Li Yishui replied with a smirk.

Most spectators shook their heads. The two elders clearly bore grudges and were taking this chance to settle them. The two youths had been outmaneuvered, there was little they could do.

Blackwater was livid. “Old scoundrels, think you can bully us?”

“Oh?” Yang Kun smiled. “And what will you do about it?”

Li Yishui’s tone remained casual. “I find your Dragon-Rune Black-Gold Spirit Sword rather appealing. It should be worth ten thousand jin of source, yes? Perhaps I’ll borrow a bit more and wager that much. If you lose, you can repay me with that sword.”

Many gasped, that was robbery in daylight.

Cultivators like Yao Yuekong and An Miaoyi had previously valued the sword at thirty-five thousand jin of source. Li Yishui was obviously scheming to seize it for a fraction of its worth.

“Dream on, old thief!” Blackwater barked.

“Let him,” Ye Fan whispered quietly, stopping him again.

Blackwater turned, startled, and then, realizing something, forced himself to steady his breath.

Li Yishui returned moments later with another twenty thousand jin borrowed from “old friends,” bringing his total to eighty thousand jin of source. He smiled faintly. “I do so adore that sword of yours.”

“Fine. I accept. You cut first,” Ye Fan said evenly. Then, raising his voice, he called, “Anyone else want to join?”

Yao Yuekong sent a private message: Brother, you really mean to gamble again? Just let this one go.

The Crown Prince also advised, Don’t act on impulse.

All eyes turned to Ye Fan.

Jiang Yifei, elegant and calm in white, observed quietly. An Miaoyi’s luminous eyes sparkled like misty stars. Jin Chixiao stood solemn and silent.

Even the elders fell quiet, waiting to see what would happen.

“Then we’ll join as well,” several more cultivators said.

A group of a dozen or so came forward, pooling eighteen thousand jin of source, their pile glittering like a small mountain.

Many others were tempted, but restrained themselves, some thought it too dishonorable to kick a man when he was down, others simply distrusted Ye Fan’s eerie calm.

“Good,” Ye Fan said with a faint smile. “Then it’s settled, only those present may wager.”

The totals stood thus.

The first group: 15,000 jin.

Wu Ziming and Li Chongtian: 30,000 jin.

Li Yishui and Yang Kun: 80,000 jin.

The last group: 18,000 jin.

Together, 143,000 jin of source glittered in the sunlight.

At that moment, Li Yishui’s smile froze.

Ye Fan was smiling at him, a bright, harmless, almost innocent smile. But that expression made Li Yishui’s scalp prickle.

His heart thundered in his chest. No… no, it can’t be…

This little devil is setting me up again!

“Elder Li,” Ye Fan said pleasantly, “why don’t you start cutting? We’d all love to see what wonders you find.”

The crowd fell silent. Every gaze turned to the old man, to Ye Fan, and to the heaven-priced stone before them.

Blackwater finally relaxed, almost bursting out laughing. He muttered under his breath, “Heh… Ye Fan, you devil, turning a trap into an art form. Even scamming is an art when you do it.”

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