Ch. 329 - Nine-Aperture Stone Man

The bamboo forest was lush and green, spirit springs flowed, and the air was tranquil and serene.

Ye Fan stood atop it, turning the stone man slowly under the sunlight, his expression focused, every motion careful and precise.

Suddenly, his eyes flickered, when sunlight passed over the stone man’s right eye, it seemed as though a faint golden glint flashed and vanished. Was it an illusion? He couldn’t be sure. Perhaps he’d stared at the sun too long and dazzled his own vision.

Ye Fan remained motionless, holding the Nine-Aperture Stone Man against the light, focusing all his attention, studying it with utmost care.

By this point, everyone could tell, this refined youth was no ordinary stone appraiser but a master of source arts. His techniques were exquisite, unlike anything they had seen before.

“Could he be from one of the source art clans? His methods are completely different.”

“A true source master relies half on skill, half on luck, this youth must have quite a background.”

“Last time a few members of a great source clan examined this Nine-Aperture Stone Man, their techniques weren’t like his at all. He’s clearly from another lineage.”

The old onlookers murmured, eyes burning with curiosity. If this boy was truly a genius of source arts, he was someone worth befriending.

Outside the Heavenly-Rank Stone Workshop, the crowd grew, but silence reigned. From the moment Ye Fan began examining the Nine-Aperture Stone Man, not a soul dared to speak.

Jiang Yifei, robed in spotless white, stood nearby, his refined bearing otherworldly. Even his boots were white as snow, pure, elegant, untouchable.

An Miaoyi stood not far away, her black hair flowing, her presence radiant. Her bright eyes shimmered with light, her flawless skin like snow piled on blossoms, breathtakingly beautiful.

Ye Fan stood still for half a quarter-hour but saw nothing more. The right eye of the stone man was dry and lifeless, showing no hint of vitality.

Then Ye Fan moved. His right hand began to glow with multicolored light, radiant, dazzling, almost dreamlike. It wasn’t a cultivator’s technique but a mysterious source art. He gathered the essence of wood, drew in the brilliance of the sun, and merged heaven and earth’s primal energy into one.

Ye Fan’s hand glided over the stone, channeling the five-colored glow into the nine apertures. His eyes flickered with faint starlight as he stared unblinkingly at the stone man.

“Amazing, a true source art master! Such mysterious technique, I’ve never seen its like!”

“Can that method reveal what’s hidden inside the stone?”

The old observers were astonished, eager to see what would happen next. Ye Fan’s technique stirred no godpower, it was pure source art, subtle and profound. He had never treated a stone with such solemnity before; this Nine-Aperture Stone Man was simply too extraordinary.

After a long while, the colorful light faded. Nothing had changed. The stone remained as ancient and plain as ever.

Ye Fan frowned slightly and leapt down from the stone platform, abandoning his sunlight observation, those methods were useless.

Blackwater sent a voice transmission, “Can’t see through it? Forget it. I heard people say this stone has been sitting here for years. Even those who thought it promising gave up in the end.”

Yao Yuekong, the violet-robed young lord, also spoke, “Brother, if you’re not certain, don’t move it. Many source masters examined it before, all left in the end.”

Ye Fan calmly replied, “I’ll take another look.”

He placed the Nine-Aperture Stone Man on the grass, measured its body carefully, and then began to move, his fingers striking down in rapid succession. One after another, streaks of golden light about an inch long sank into special points, like droplets of molten gold falling into the stone.

“Pointing Gold Hand!” an old source master cried out in shock, his white hair trembling with excitement.

“What? The legendary ‘Pointing Gold Hand’? Even the great source clans rarely produce someone who can perform it!”

“Incredible, this boy truly is a genius of source arts!”

The elderly cultivators were wide-eyed. They had heard of this mystical technique but had almost never seen it used.

Outside the Heavenly-Rank Stone Workshop, Wu Ziming and Li Zhongtian exchanged glances, looking as if they’d just swallowed something bitter. The Grand Xia Prince was stunned but intrigued, stepping forward eagerly to observe every motion.

Ye Fan drove exactly one hundred and eight golden beams into the stone. It wasn’t godpower, so the stone was in no danger of breaking.

The old source master exclaimed, “He completed the entire sequence, a full Pointing Gold Hand technique!”

Ye Fan stayed utterly focused, unshaken by the crowd. He began tapping the stone rhythmically, listening closely to every sound. Only after a long while did he stop.

“Well?” Blackwater asked tensely. With so many people watching and such a costly stone at stake, anyone would be nervous.

“I can’t be sure,” Ye Fan said, “but I’ll buy it.”

The instant those words left his lips, the Stone Workshop erupted into noise. Everyone began to talk at once. The Nine-Aperture Stone Man had sat there for years, a sky-priced stone no one dared to touch, practically a treasure of the Absolute Dao Stone Workshop itself. Now, someone was finally going to cut it open.

“Today won’t be in vain! We’ll finally see what’s inside!” an old man exclaimed.

“Young heroes truly have courage! Many have studied this stone, even source clans, but none dared to buy it.”

Excitement spread like wildfire.

Wu Ziming sneered, “He’s doomed. So many masters have studied it and all gave up, and he dares to buy it? Hah!”

Li Zhongtian added mockingly, “Let’s see him fall flat on his face. He’ll learn the hard way what arrogance costs.”

Blackwater frowned. “You can’t see through it, why buy it?”

Ye Fan smiled faintly. “What’s gambling on stone if not risk? When even source art can’t decide, sometimes you just have to take the leap.”

Though his mastery wasn’t yet complete, the Celestial Source Tome had taught him much. He couldn’t see through the stone, but he faintly sensed something unusual. He didn’t want to miss the chance, especially knowing source clan cultivators had recently come by.

“Good, good!” the old source master’s hands trembled. He had tended this garden for decades, not a cultivator himself, all he wanted in life was to see someone finally cut the stone.

Even the usually serene old Daoist nun showed a flicker of emotion. The young Daoist girl from Absolute Dao Sacred Ground also approached, clearly interested.

As Ye Fan raised the knife, all sound vanished. The entire garden fell silent, every gaze locked onto him.

Crack!

The first sound of cutting rang out, signaling that the Absolute Dao Stone Workshop’s most prized stone was finally being opened.

Stone dust flew. Ye Fan worked with skill and speed, cutting carefully. Before long, he had separated the stone man’s arm, and found nothing but pale rock dust. Not even a fragment of source material appeared.

Inside was ordinary white stone, lifeless, plain.

“Not good,” Blackwater muttered.

“No wonder the others gave up,” sighed an old man. “The stone looked special, but inside it’s just white rock. No source essence at all.”

Disappointment rippled through the crowd. They had waited years to see this stone opened, and now it seemed utterly mundane. Some even suspected Absolute Dao Sacred Ground had planted it here as a trap for arrogant source adepts.

“Good thing I resisted the urge to buy it back then,” one muttered.

Ye Fan ignored the noise and kept cutting. He opened the legs, still white.

“Ah, what a pity,” sighed another elder. “All these years, I couldn’t let this stone go. But so it is, nothing inside.”

“If it held a true treasure, there would have been some celestial omen, light or resonance. It’s dead stone.”

Blackwater was sweating. If the stone yielded nothing, even their profit from the godly medicine would be lost.

Ye Fan said nothing, methodically cutting the torso, then the head. Still white. Finally, only the chest area remained. The entire garden was buzzing now, no one believed the Nine-Aperture Stone Man held anything extraordinary.

“Haha!” Wu Ziming burst out laughing. “Overconfident fool! Every cultivator gave up on this stone, and he thought he knew better?!”

Li Zhongtian jeered: “Some people think they can rewrite heaven itself, and end up face-first in the mud!”

The onlookers either mocked or pitied him; laughter and chatter filled the air. No one was silent anymore, faith in the stone had completely vanished.

“Humph…” A deep, meaningful chuckle echoed nearby, the Supreme Elder of the Illusion-Destruction Palace, Ji Yishui, had arrived.

Even Yao Yuekong and the Grand Xia Prince fell quiet, doubtful now whether they had misjudged Ye Fan. Far off, Jiang Yifei frowned slightly and lost interest. An Miaoyi, too, shook her head softly, her perfect face calm and unreadable.

The old men beside Ye Fan said nothing more. The ethereal Daoist maiden from Absolute Dao stood silently, serene as ever.

“Damn it, this is infuriating,” Blackwater muttered, glaring at Wu Ziming and the others.

Only the little white-clad nun still crouched by the stone, chin in hand, eyes wide with innocent curiosity. “Why’d you stop cutting?” she asked.

Ye Fan remained calm. He stood up, looked around at the crowd, and said clearly, “Does anyone want to bet with me?”

Comments