Chapter 70: Evil Energy And Dragon Qi, Picking Up A Bargain
“Daoist?” Fang Shu’s heart stirred sharply.
At this time, a horse-faced monster was wandering beside Fang Shu, chattering away and showing off its meager insights to others.
Fang Shu responded appropriately upon hearing this:
“May I ask this Horse Brother, why did that rumored Daoist seal the Ancient Treasure inside a Spirit Stone?”
The horse-faced monster glanced sideways at Fang Shu upon hearing this, blew on the tuft of mane on its forehead, and said:
“This human little brother, you’re ignorant, aren’t you? It wasn’t those Daoists who sealed the Ancient Treasure in the Spirit Stone themselves; it was our predecessors among the Immortal Cultivators who used Spirit Stones to seal their artifacts.
The other party continued smugly:
“There’s another theory: after those Daoist things went extinct, they caused endless harm. Even their so-called ‘Spiritual Treasures’ were a scourge, very evil.
The predecessors used medicinal liquid to seal these things and buried them in Earth Qi. Over time, the Spiritual Energy in the ‘Spiritual Treasure’ was drawn out, forming the Spirit Stone encasing it, which became the so-called ‘Ancient Treasure’.”
Fang Shu’s face lit up with realization upon hearing this.
He cupped his hands and said: “So that’s how it is. Horse Brother is truly knowledgeable.”
The horse-faced monster’s face showed even more pride upon hearing this; it shook its horse head smugly.
Fang Shu continued to exchange pleasantries with the other party.
He also asked about the specific rules of “Gambling Stones” in the Monster Market and found that aside from the high entry threshold, everything else was no different from the Marketplace.
Suddenly, Fang Shu muttered casually: “If someone really cuts out a Treasure, can they take it back?”
The horse-faced monster looked at Fang Shu with the face of someone eyeing a country bumpkin.
But though this fellow’s attitude was poor, it answered every question, declaring:
“Whose arena is this? This is the Mountain Lord’s arena!
What Treasure hasn’t our Mountain Lord seen? Disciples from the Immortal Sects on the Mountain often come to the Mountain Lord for treasure appraisal.”
The other party said indifferently: “If you cut out something good, no need to worry about the way back; the Mountain Lord will naturally invite you for a gathering and arrange your return journey. Don’t believe me? Look.”
Fang Shu looked in the direction of the other’s gaze.
He saw the Immortal Cultivator who had cut out excellent Precious Medicine from the waste pile; far from feeling exposed with his Goods on display, he calmly accepted everyone’s envy and walked toward the depths of the Monster Market surrounded by the crowd.
A waiter from the Monster Market beat a gong and called out:
“Mountain Lord summons! Honored guest arrives!”
The horse-faced monster pointed at the departing Immortal Cultivator: “If this brother doesn’t return to Gu Ling Town in one piece, you can cut off my old horse’s head and use it as a ball to kick.”
The surrounding Immortal Cultivators and monsters had overheard Fang Shu and the horse-faced monster’s conversation, casting mocking glances at Fang Shu.
Fang Shu showed a bit of timidity and quickly cupped his hands toward the horse-faced monster again.
But in his heart, he didn’t care at all, thinking to himself: “This Monster Market even has delivery service; no wonder the business is so booming with its long-standing reputation.”
He pondered that though the words of those around him couldn’t be fully trusted.
As long as the cut Treasure wasn’t too rare or precious, the Monster Market’s Owner wouldn’t covet it. Even if they did, they wouldn’t seize it by force; a bit of small money to redeem it would suffice.
With a stir in his heart, Fang Shu also walked into the Gambling Stones arena to join the excitement.
Because of the Precious Medicine that had just been cut.
Many customers of the Monster Market were attracted, delighting the casino monsters, who shouted enthusiastically:
“Grope freely, look freely—if you cut out a Treasure, it’s yours!”
Fang Shu groped a few and found that the Stone Blocks in the casino were all heavy in hand.
Each had varying shapes and weights; generally, the denser and thicker the surface Spiritual Energy, the higher the price of the Gambling Stone.
Precisely because of this dense Spiritual Energy as a barrier, even Spiritual Sense could hardly penetrate inside to discern the details.
Fang Shu was currently just an Essence Refining Immortal; he didn’t even have Spiritual Sense, and being new here, he was completely at a loss.
After casually looking around a few times, he planned to stop and browse elsewhere.
But at that moment, cries of “Rise, rise, rise!” rang out.
Followed by regretful “Oh no” sounds from inside the Gambling Stones arena, attracting the attention of many people and monsters.
Fang Shu squeezed over to join the fun and immediately saw a pale-faced Leopard-headed Monster staring wide-eyed at a Gambling Stone that had been cut open on one large side.
That Gambling Stone was shaped like a Pillow Stone; both in form and appearance, it very much resembled a Spirit Stone sealing an Ancient Treasure.
Fang Shu overheard that the surrounding Immortal Cultivators and monsters were saying this Pillow Stone was a notable little stone king in the casino.
The Leopard-headed Monster, stimulated by someone cutting out Precious Medicine, had spared no expense to have this Pillow Stone cut.
And indeed, the Leopard-headed Monster had cut something out; there really was an “Ancient Treasure” inside!
But unfortunately, as soon as an opening was made, Evil Energy seeped out from within.
This indicated that the Evil Energy of the Ancient Treasure inside had not yet been dissipated by the natural forces of heaven and earth.
For such Ancient Treasures with undissipated Evil Energy, even if obtained, one still needed to invite experts from the Dignity and Blessing to perform rituals to exorcise the evil, nurture it for years or even decades to fully eliminate the Evil Energy.
Such processing naturally cost no small amount of Money, and success wasn’t guaranteed.
Moreover, Gambling Stones that leaked Evil Energy had more than half the chance of containing worthless waste inside, already damaged or rotted to fragments during the long seal.
Surrounding Immortal Cultivators and monsters occasionally tsked:
“Chicken ribs, chicken ribs.”
“What a pity, what a pity.”
At this time, the Gambling House master who had cut the stone asked the Leopard-headed Monster: “Customer, where to cut next?”
The Leopard-headed Monster trembled upon hearing this, pointing here and there indecisively.
Finally, unable to decide, it wailed with a cat-like cry, drawing even more discussion from the surrounding Immortal Cultivators and monsters.
Seeing this, the Gambling House monster master reluctantly stood up, handed the mostly cut Pillow Stone to other monsters on site, and shouted:
“Any brothers want to take it over? Maybe one lucky one picks up a huge bargain!”
“Who knows, maybe this stone only has Evil Energy on the outer layer, hardly any inside.”
Hearing this, many Immortal Cultivators and monsters were tempted and passed the Pillow Stone around, rubbing it fiercely with claws or faces.
Some monsters even licked it with their tongues, all trying to gauge the extent of Evil Energy in the stone to see if it was worth taking over.
Fang Shu, being close by, naturally received the stone after it made a round.
He took it casually, just to gain experience and see what this so-called Evil Energy was.
But as soon as he took the stone, his body stiffened, his pupils contracting slightly.
Fortunately, he kept his composure; though there was something off, to others it just looked like a sudden reaction to the Evil Energy.
Only Fang Shu himself knew.
At this moment, the Dao Talisman in his mind was buzzing and trembling, with text emerging:
【Contact with Dragon Qi established, connection possible……Dragon Qi contaminated, connection impossible……Analysis in progress……Object identified as “Rootless Dragon Qi”, already eroded……】
【Extract Talisman Master’s Qi and Blood to cleanse Dragon Qi and refine into Talisman?】
Fang Shu’s heart surged with shockwaves.
The “Evil Energy” in the eyes of Immortal Cultivators was actually the “Dragon Qi” his Dao Talisman referred to?!
And the “Daoists” involved in the Dao Talisman he obtained were truly the beings that had gone extinct a hundred thousand years ago as mentioned by others?
Intense astonishment immediately filled his heart, making him itch to buy this Gambling Stone right away and study the so-called “Dragon Qi”.
Whether it contained an Ancient Treasure was secondary; crucially, this “Dragon Qi” might have enormous use for his Dao Talisman!
However, Fang Shu restrained himself, merely subconsciously gripping the Gambling Stone tighter with his fingers.
After thoroughly groping it, he secretly tested and found the Dao Talisman could extract the “Evil Energy” from the Gambling Stone remotely.
But this discovery made him even more cautious; he didn’t do it on the spot.
Instead, he sighed as if disappointed and passed the windowed Gambling Stone to the next viewer.
Ultimately, after a full round, no Immortal Cultivator or monster dared to take it.
The Leopard-headed Monster was on the verge of tears.
The Gambling House monster kept persuading: “No one dares take it, brother. Just cut once more and be done with it.”
But the Leopard-headed Monster couldn’t decide; it just wanted to sell the Gambling Stone and redeem some Spirit Stones. After all, if fully opened and only dregs remained inside, it would be utterly worthless.
The fellow looked pleadingly at the surrounding viewers, voice trembling:
“Eight taels, just eight taels of Spirit Stones!”
This drew laughter from the viewers: “Eight taels? Even five taels is too much.”
“Given this stone’s weight and thin Spiritual Energy, if it cuts an Ancient Treasure fit for a Collection, that’d be the best case.”
The crowd discussed.
Fang Shu overheard and learned that most so-called “Ancient Treasures” were used by modern Immortal Cultivators as Collection pieces or refining materials.
Only a few Ancient Treasures were re-sacrificed and refined into “Magic Tools” or objects called “Magic Treasures”.
Fang Shu didn’t delve deeper; he stayed calm and continued observing the Arena.
When the Leopard-headed Monster finally called out “five taels of Spirit Stones,” he made his move:
“Alright, I’ll take it.”
This drew surprised looks from the surrounding Immortal Cultivators and monsters, gazes snapping to Fang Shu.
The Leopard-headed Monster looked at Fang Shu with relief, hurriedly handing over the stone while saying “no take-backs,” then took five taels of Spirit Stones from Fang Shu’s hand.
“Brother, cut it open!”
Seeing someone actually take it, the surrounding Immortal Cultivators and monsters got even more excited and started jeering.
But Fang Shu had no intention of showing off; he found the onlookers’ stares annoying, furrowing his brow slightly.
At this time, a Gambling House waiter smilingly stepped forward and pointed to a nearby shed, offering a good option.
It turned out that in the Monster Market’s Gambling Stones, besides cutting in public, one could also cut in a shed.
This avoided hot eyes from others and unnecessary trouble.
Especially for someone like Fang Shu taking over halfway, private cutting in the shed was most suitable, and he could do it himself without relying on others.
With a stir in his heart, Fang Shu readily carried the Pillow Stone alone into the shed.
Once inside, the outside clamor was cut off, and the shed provided free Smoke for obscuring vision; just pour a ladle of medicinal liquid, and thick green Smoke filled the shed, preventing peeking from inside or out.
After familiarizing himself with the environment, Fang Shu immediately poured several large ladles of obscuring Smoke liquid, filling the shed with dense green Smoke so thick he couldn’t see his own hand.
Holding the Gambling Stone, he didn’t use cutting knife or saw but directly picked up an iron hammer and smashed down hard.
Bang!
The instant the hammer fell, he quickly activated the Dao Talisman, swiftly absorbing most of the Dragon Qi from the Gambling Stone into the Talisman, leaving only a small portion.
This small portion of Evil Energy rose as cover, dissipating into the air.
Buzz buzz buzz!
The Dao Talisman in Fang Shu’s mind trembled intensely, his Qi and Blood being drawn and consumed as lines of text emerged:
【Contaminated Dragon Qi absorbed, cleansing in progress……Dragon Qi obtained, Talisman updating……】
Intense joy appeared in Fang Shu’s heart.
Excellent! This Dragon Qi truly was of great use to the Dao Talisman.
Its effect was just like Cheng Guanzi’s Precious Blood, capable of triggering the Dao Talisman’s self-update!
In his joy.
Fang Shu suddenly realized.
He looked oddly at something he groped for and picked up from the fragments.
With that one hammer blow, he seemed to have truly cut out a proper Ancient Treasure from the Gambling Stone, not worthless fragments.
