The streets of Gilded Fate City were wide and paved with smooth white stone. Tall buildings lined the avenues and projected glowing characters into the mist. It was a loud and vibrant place. rchants shouted their wares from open storefronts and cultivators in expensive silk robes walked with an air of superiority.
Li Yu followed his new guide through the dense crowds of the city. i moved with practiced ease and looked comfortable in such a place. She ducked under awnings and weaved between transport beasts. She constantly looked over her shoulder to make sure Li Yu was still behind her.
"The main entertainnt district is just ahead." i announced. She pointed toward a massive plaza filled with towering pavilions. "They have everything here. Dice halls, combat arenas and auction houses. What exactly are you looking to do first."
"I am not entirely sure." Li Yu replied honestly. He had rarely engaged in such activities before but seeing a whole city dedicate itself to it made him curious. He looked around at the dazzling lights and sounds. "I just want to try sothing fun. I have so ti to kill."
i tapped her chin thoughtfully. "If you want pure excitent without needing to understand complicated rules, you should try the Stone Pavilion. It is very popular with newcors and veterans alike. It relies entirely on luck and a good eye."
"The Stone Pavilion." Li Yu repeated. He understood what it was as he had seen it in other cities before but on a much smaller scale. The core idea was to gamble on items hidden away in rocks but not just any rocks. They were special rocks that blocked spiritual sense. "Lead the way."
i smiled brightly and navigated them toward a massive open air structure. The pavilion was surrounded by high walls but lacked a roof. Thousands of rough grey stones were spread out across the courtyard. They were placed on wooden tables, velvet pillows or simply piled on the ground.
Hundreds of cultivators wandered through the pavilion and were all very concentrated. They were touching the stones and whispering to each other.
"These are origin stones." i explained as they walked through the entrance. "They are excavated from deep underground or recovered from ancient battlefields. Over the years, the ambient energy forms a dense crust around the stone. It completely blocks spiritual sense so no one can see what is inside until it is cut open. There are so who claim to be able to do it and are known as masters but I have seen them failing many tis as well."
Li Yu extended a thin thread of his spiritual sense toward a nearby stone. The energy hit the grey surface and bounced off harmlessly. It was exactly as she described. His spiritual sense could not penetrate the outer shell.
"So stones are completely empty." i continued. "Others contain raw spirit crystals or ancient weapons or preserved herbs. The pavilion owners buy them in bulk and sell them as they are. You pay the asking price for the stone and whatever is inside belongs to you."
Li Yu nodded in understanding. It was a massive gamble using one’s own luck. A person could spend a vast fortune on a large stone and find absolutely nothing. Or they could buy a cheap rock and uncover a priceless treasure. Because it was so volatile, it was extrely enticing.
He walked deeper into the courtyard and he noticed a crowd gathered around a specific table. A group of older n wearing luxurious robes were examining a large and jagged stone. They were using strange tools. One man held a silver monocle up to his eye. Another tapped the stone with a small wooden hamr and listened closely to the echoing sound.
"Those are the stone masters." i whispered reverently. "They have studied origin stones for decades. They look for specific grain patterns and weigh the stones to guess what might be inside. The wealthy clans pay them heavy fees for their advice."
"Fascinating." Li Yu said. He watched the n work with intense seriousness.
High above the pavilion, the five invisible shadows hovered in the sky. They were staring down at the courtyard with growing panic.
"He is going to gamble on origin stones." Autumn reported. Her voice carried a trace of real concern. "This is a problem."
"Why is this a problem?" Winter asked sternly. "Our orders are to ensure his success. We simply rig the stones."
"We cannot rig them." Solstice explained in frustration. "The crust is a natural shell. It deflects spiritual probing. Even with my void techniques, I cannot see through the shell without breaking the stone open. If I break it open, everyone will notice."
"Can we swap a good stone into his hands." Sumr suggested.
"We do not know which stones are good." Spring pointed out as she crossed her arms. "They are completely random. The pavilion owners just dump them in the courtyard. We have no way of knowing what is inside any of them to ensure he wins."
Winter frowned deeply. This was a severe oversight. They were prepared to manipulate dice and cards. They were entirely unequipped to deal with naturally sealed rocks like this. The reason this was a form of gambling was because it couldn’t be tampered with. Either the owners or the people buying could tamper with it so there was a trust. If it could be tampered with, the activity would be much less popular.
"We must find a way." Winter commanded. "If he buys a stone and it is empty, we have failed the Ancestor. Spread out and try to find a stone with a weak crust. If we can verify a treasure we will compel him to buy it."
The five shadows scattered across the sky above the pavilion. They frantically pushed their senses against the thousands of stones below. They tried to find a single crack in the natural defenses or sothing to help them.
Down in the courtyard, Li Yu did not wait for any divine inspiration. He simply walked up to a table filled with mid tier stones. The prices here were reasonable but not cheap. A good starting place for his entry into the stone gambling world. He wasn’t expecting any great result, he simply wanted to try it out. Since he was at such a renowned place for gambling, he had to gamble a bit to say that he did.
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"This one has a terrible grain." A stone master sneered. He stood next to Li Yu and pointed at a round grey rock. The master stroked his long beard. "The echo is hollow. The surface is too smooth. I guarantee it is completely filled with useless dust. Anyone who buys this is throwing their wealth away."
"I think it looks nice." Li Yu said cheerfully. He picked up the smooth round stone. It felt heavy in his hands. "It is perfectly spherical. I will take it."
The stone master scoffed loudly at the fool who didn’t take his advice. He had been kind and generous to even help just now. He shook his head at the ignorance of youth.
Li Yu ignored him and moved down the line. He did not use any techniques or examine the grain patterns. He just grabbed stones that caught his eye due to their shape or color. He picked up a jagged piece because it looked like a small mountain. He picked up another one because a green beetle happened to land on it right as he walked by.
Within ten minutes, he had gathered five different origin stones. He carried them over to the cutting station at the center of the pavilion.
"He bought them already!" Autumn reported in a panic. "I thought he would take so ti to pick but the damn fool just picked wantonly."
"Neither did I." Solstice groaned. "We are completely blind here."
"Prepare to intervene." Winter ordered but he sounded grim. "If he opens them and finds nothing, we will have to cause a distraction. We can shatter the pavilion arrays and pretend it was an attack. At least that way he forgets about his failure and moves on to sothing else. It is the most we can do."
Li Yu placed his five stones on the heavy iron table. The cutting master was an old man with muscular arms. He held a thin blade forged from dark tal and he looked at Li Yu.
"You wish to cut these now young master?" The cutter asked respectfully.
"Yes, please." Li Yu nodded. He paid the purchase price to the attendant standing nearby. He handed over a heavy pouch of spirit stones.
A small crowd gathered around the table. This always happens when soone is cutting stones as everyone is curious. The stone masters walked over to watch the foolish young man lose his money. i stood closely behind Li Yu and she wrung her hands nervously. She wanted her client to win but she knew the odds were terrible.
The cutter picked up the first stone. It was the jagged piece that looked like a mountain. He activated his Qi and the thin blade glowed with a sharp white light. He carefully shaved off the outer layer of the crust. Stone dust quickly filled the air as the cutter worked thodically. He peeled away the grey shell inch by inch.
A dull thud echoed as the last piece of crust fell away. There was no bright light. There was no overwhelming spiritual pressure. Sitting on the table was a chunk of dark tal. It was covered in rust and dirt.
"A piece of refined deep iron." The cutter announced. He wiped it with a cloth. "It is a lesser material. Useful for basic forging but it does not cover the cost of the stone."
The stone masters chuckled.
"As expected." The bearded master said loudly. "Blind luck rarely rewards the ignorant."
Li Yu just smiled and shrugged at his loss. Not a good start but better than empty. He tossed the iron chunk into his storage ring.
"Next one." Li Yu pointed.
The cutter picked up the smooth round stone. This was the one the master had explicitly called worthless. He began to shave the edges. The blade humd as it cut through the dense exterior.
Suddenly, a burst of cold energy erupted from the table. The cutter stopped imdiately. He switched to a smaller and more delicate tool. He carefully brushed away the remaining dust and the crowd gasped collectively.
Sitting in the center of the iron table was a perfectly preserved plant. It was trapped inside a sphere of clear amber. The plant had pale silver leaves and radiated a chilling frost Qi even from inside the amber.
"By the heavens." An older rchant yelled from the crowd. "That is a Moonlit Frost Root. It is incredibly rare. It only grows in absolute darkness and must mature right when there is a full moon."
The bearded stone master turned completely pale when he saw it coming out of the rock that he had disdained. His jaw dropped open. He stared at the smooth stone he had just declared empty.
"Impossible." The master whispered. "The grain was completely wrong."
"It seems the hollow echo was just the amber." Li Yu said politely. He picked up the glowing root and admired it. It was a beautiful and valuable herb. He had made back the cost of all his stones ten tis over with this single find.
High above the pavilion the shadows were stunned.
"Did one of you do that?" Winter demanded.
"No." Spring answered quickly. "I did not even touch the energy in that area."
"His luck is absurd." Solstice muttered in disbelief. "He just picked up a rock because it was round."
Li Yu placed the rare herb away. He gestured for the cutter to continue. The third stone was a complete dud. It contained nothing but calcified ash. The crowd sighed in disappointnt but their excitent remained high from the previous one.
The cutter moved to the fourth stone. It was the one the beetle had landed on. He shaved the crust away quickly. A small pulse of energy was released.
"A raw spirit crystal." The cutter announced. He held up a jagged piece of glowing blue crystal. "It is a lesser item but still quite valuable. A solid find."
Li Yu accepted the crystal and he was having a wonderful ti. Each stone that ca up made his heart pound and he couldn’t wait to see what was inside. He looked at the final stone remaining on the table. It was slightly larger than the others and had a very rough texture.
"Last one." Li Yu smiled.
The cutter took a deep breath. He brought the glowing blade down and began to peel the thick crust. This stone was much harder than the others. Sparks flew as the blade scraped against the shell.
He worked for several minutes and the crowd leaned in closer and closer as ti went on.
A sudden and intense wave of pure water Qi blasted outward. The pressure was so strong it knocked the dust entirely off the table. A deep blue light illuminated the faces of the watching cultivators.
The cutter dropped his tools and he stepped back with wide eyes.
Sitting on the iron table was a perfectly round pearl and it was the size of a fist. It possessed a deep sapphire color and swirled with internal currents. It felt like standing next to a crashing ocean.
"An ancient beast core." A powerful cultivator in the crowd shouted. "An aquatic beast core of incredible purity. It must have belonged to a creature at the peak of the Paragon realm before it died."
The entire pavilion erupted into chaos. Cultivators shouted in amazent.
"This is madness." The bearded master groaned. He grabbed his own hair in frustration when rembering the casualness of Li Yu while he chose his stones.
Li Yu picked up the deep blue pearl and he could feel the rich aquatic energy flowing into his palm. He was thrilled. He had obtained two rare items and a few lesser ones based on nothing but blind luck.
He placed the pearl into his storage ring and handed the cutter a tip for his hard work.
"You are incredibly fortunate young master." i said to him. Her voice shook with excitent that was hard to control. She had never seen anyone win so much in the Stone Pavilion in such a short amount of ti. "We should probably leave before people get too jealous."
"Good idea." Li Yu agreed.
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