Fusang Sword Heart Diagram

Chapter 45 Gambling on Stones
At the end of each era, all living beings perished. The remains of spirit beasts, plant remains, fragments of powerful magical artifacts, and jade slips containing cultivation techniques from these eras were deposited and formed into rocks.

The so-called "stone gambling" is gambling on whether there is anything inside these rocks.

Uncut rough stones have no idea what's inside, making the transaction extremely risky. However, people's love for gambling on rough stones has never diminished since ancient times.

Jade gambling is extremely popular in Zhongmiao Xingzhou, but rare in Yulingzhou. The appearance of jade gambling in such an ordinary small town market instantly attracted many independent cultivators to watch.

Wu Gui bought two rough stones, but neither yielded anything. Driven by his gambler's mentality, he decided to pick another stone, telling himself that if this one also yielded nothing, he would give up.

Seeing that he had already put in thirty spirit stones, Jie Feng couldn't help but advise, "Senior Brother Wu, why don't we stop gambling? We've been out long enough."

Wu Gui wouldn't listen to any of this. He wasn't a novice anymore. He used to gamble occasionally when he went out of the sect to do missions. He knew how to choose stones.

His gaze swept over the rough stones on the stall, then he turned his head and said, "Don't worry, Junior Brother Jie, I know what I'm doing. I'll open another rough stone, and regardless of whether there's anything inside, I won't gamble anymore."

He quickly chose his target and said to the stall owner, "Let me see that piece in the corner."

The man who ran the jade gambling business was a skinny, wandering cultivator. He had finally encountered a big customer, and his smile deepened. He quickly picked out the stone that Wu Gui had pointed out and gave it to him, fearing that if he was even a moment too slow, the other party's mind would change.

Jie Feng didn't say anything more, and his gaze fell on the rough stone in Wu Gui's hand. He had never gambled on stones before and was a complete novice.

Wu Gui carefully examined the stone, then held it in his hand and rubbed it, feeling the texture and weight of the stone's surface.

"This one's the best. How many spirit stones?"

The stall owner rubbed his hands together and said obsequiously, "As you know, the price of raw stones is related to their size. This stone is much larger than the previous two. I'll do you a favor and only charge you thirty spirit stones."

Wu Gui looked slightly embarrassed, forgetting his lack of money; he only had twenty spirit stones left.

Upon seeing his expression, the stall owner's heart skipped a beat. Just as he was about to speak, Wu Gui spotted the Hua Qian and Hua Yue sisters in the crowd and called out, "Hua Yue, lend me some spirit stones. I'll pay you back when we return to the sect."

The girl in pink squeezed through the crowd, rolled her eyes, and said, "Haven't you heard the principle of not lending money for gambling?"

"Since we don't have enough spirit stones, we shouldn't buy any more. We should stop now to avoid losing everything."

The stall owner's eyes twitched, fearing that Wu Gui had been persuaded by Hua Yue. He quickly said, "When choosing a stone, it is also very important to find one that catches your eye. Fellow Daoist chose this stone at first glance, which is fate. Fellow Daoist should trust your first instinct."

"She's just a young girl, she doesn't know anything about gambling on stones. Don't let her affect your emotions and shake your resolve."

Some casual cultivators watching the spectacle shared their experiences: "Yes, the worst thing you can do when gambling on stones is to be indecisive. The first stone you like is often the one that's most likely to yield something good. Never change stones while you're hesitating, because usually the stones you change will only get worse."

"Fellow Daoist, you just opened two stones. The second one was a stone within a stone. Your luck is already quite good. The third stone will definitely yield something."

"Don't listen to that girl. During the gambling on stones with her fellow Daoists, she uttered the words 'I'll lose everything,' showing absolutely no restraint."

"She knows absolutely nothing about jade gambling, fellow Daoist, please don't listen to her advice."

Those gamblers who called themselves "veterans" spoke with undisguised contempt, making Hua Yuefei furious.

She shouted angrily, "Wu Gui, are you leaving or not?!"

Wu Gui hesitated for a moment, but Hua Yue noticed this hesitation. She laughed in exasperation, pushed through the crowd, and stormed off. Hua Qian glanced at Wu Gui, a hint of disappointment in her eyes, before chasing after her younger sister, Hua Yue.

The Hua sisters, Hua Qian and Hua Yue, joined the sect at the same time as Wu Gui and had been classmates for five years. Therefore, their relationship with Wu Gui was quite different from that with other fellow disciples in the sect.

Hua Yue's angry departure and Hua Qian's disappointed look made Wu Gui feel annoyed for a moment, and the stone in his hand suddenly felt extremely hot.

He thought that he could apologize to Huayue later, and she would forgive him, right? After so many years of friendship, it shouldn't be broken by a stone. If that were the case, then Huayue would be too petty.

Wu Gui composed himself and said to Jie Feng, "Junior Brother Jie, lend me ten spirit stones. I will return them to you as soon as I return to the sect."

Jie Feng took out ten spirit stones from his storage bag and handed them to Wu Gui. Wu Gui turned around and handed the spirit stones to the stall owner.

“I will take the stone back and cut it myself, but I will not cut this raw stone on site.”

As soon as Wu Gui finished speaking, a chorus of disappointed voices rose from the surrounding area.

"I thought I could see if I could find anything inside this stone, but I didn't expect that my fellow Daoist wasn't here to cut the stone. How boring."

"The first two are solid stones. I think it's really unlikely that we'll find anything on this third one!"

"On the contrary, I think it's wise not to cut the stone on the spot. If this stone is also solid, once I leave the stall, even if I'm unwilling, I won't continue gambling and can cut my losses in time."

"Looks like the market isn't doing too well today. I'll have to keep an eye on it," someone sighed.

"You've been watching for over an hour and still haven't made a move. Get lost, you coward."

Wu Gui took the raw stone and left Xiaofeng Town with Xie Feng.

Sitting on the threshold of the Temple of Immortals, Yang Ruo watched as Hua Yue strode across the threshold with a brisk pace, her eyes fixed straight ahead, her face full of anger. He looked utterly bewildered and muttered, "Why is Junior Sister Hua Yue acting like she's swallowed a bomb?"

Hua Qian and Yang Ni nodded slightly to him as a greeting, and then entered the Temple of Immortals.

Yang Ruo glanced back inside, thought for a moment, and decided not to ask any more questions.

Not long after, Wu Gui and Xie Feng returned.

Yang Ruo looked at the stone in Wu Gui's hand with an innocent expression and asked, "Junior Brother Wu, why did you pick up a stone?"

Jie Feng explained for Wu Gui, "This wasn't picked up; it's a raw stone that Senior Brother Wu bought in the market of Xiaofeng Town."

This was Yang Ruo's first time going down the mountain since joining the sect, and he had never been involved in jade gambling before. After hearing Jie Feng's words, he became even more confused.

"Do you still want to buy stones?"

"Senior Brother Yang Ruo, this is called gambling on stones, and many people like it. I will explain it to you slowly later."

Wu Gui simply sat down next to Yang Ruo, gathered spiritual energy wind blades in his palm, and slowly began to dissect the stone.

(End of this chapter)