Chapter 1527: The Stone King
The Ji Family Stone Workshop occupied a vast area, truly a city within a city. Ancient trees towered to the sky, giant vines coiled and climbed, and source stones piled up like small mountains everywhere.
Ye Fan passed through over a dozen courtyards, taking a rough look around, then went straight into the Heaven-ranked Divine Garden, arriving at the most central area.
This place was filled with exotic trees, their branches covered in crystalline blossoms. A gentle breeze blew, sending a shower of petals falling, their fragrance assailing the nostrils.
At this moment, flower petals danced in the air, each one translucent, presenting a scene of ethereal beauty. Over a hundred and forty years had passed, and the stone workshop's guardians from the old days had long since been replaced by a new generation, none of whom he recognized.
"The Origin Heavenly Master has arrived! Everyone, make way quickly and let the Grandmaster offer his guidance and bestow his blessings!" someone shouted.
The Divine Garden at the deepest part was usually very peaceful. Even when people came, they would quietly select stones. But today, it was packed with people. Half the city's population had heard the news and rushed over.
Outside, it was already jam-packed. The gates of the Ji Family Stone Workshop were nearly crushed by the crowd. Even with dedicated personnel guarding them, it was difficult to hold back the flood of people.
"Daoist Ye, what is the meaning of this..." An elder of the Ji Family asked with a suspicious look.
Now, Ye Fan's relationship with the Ji Family was very close. He shouldn't be coming to cause them trouble. But why had he come here, and it looked like he really intended to cut stones.
This was no longer the same era. Even Divine Source was of little use to Ye Fan now, unless it was Divine Source Liquid. So what was he here for?
Mortals didn't understand, and cultivators were also greatly puzzled. Now that Ye Fan's name shook the world, unless it was the legendary Immortal Source appearing in the mortal world, what in a stone workshop could possibly catch his eye?
"I'm just passing by and thought I'd cut a stone," Ye Fan replied.
As soon as he said this, it caused an uproar. What kind of status did he have now? Anything he deemed worthy of his attention was bound to be extraordinary.
"Could it be that an Immortal Elixir has appeared here?" Many people's hearts skipped a beat, and their blood began to boil.
A few cultivators, thinking themselves clever, directly picked up some seemingly unusual stone materials. What if they got lucky? They believed that wherever Ye Fan showed up, there must be something good.
That day, the Ji Family Stone Workshop did booming business. Once someone started it, others naturally followed suit, frantically grabbing stone materials, even bidding on entire piles of stones.
Ye Fan shook his head, finding it both ridiculous and amusing. He never expected to have such an effect. But he wasn't worried at all that someone might snatch the Stone King before him.
The Ji Family Stone Workshop was in chaos. People scrambled to select stones, and the transaction volume in that short time nearly matched the total for an entire year in the past.
Unfortunately, those who harbored such thoughts ended up with nothing. Almost no one cut out anything decent. They all grimaced, feeling they had been tricked.
Ye Fan walked around the Heaven-ranked Stone Workshop, frowning slightly. He sensed nothing at all and didn't see any remarkable stones. There was no Stone King here.
He walked out and headed towards one slightly inferior garden after another, almost circling the entire stone workshop, but still had no special feeling.
"In recent years, have there been any supernatural events in the Divine City, or has anything special been cut out?" Ye Fan asked the Ji Family members.
"No," the old man shook his head.
"Only a hundred years ago, someone cut out dozens of pairs of Divine Insects. They said they could be used as a medicinal catalyst, with each pair extending life by a year or two. That caused quite a stir," another elder added.
That definitely wasn't the Stone King, nothing special. Ye Fan stroked his chin, opened his Heavenly Eye, and scanned the surroundings, observing carefully.
Seeing this, the crowd's murmuring grew louder. They believed that the Ji Family Stone Workshop must contain something incredible. Ye Fan's behavior said it all.
Many people made their moves again. Wherever Ye Fan looked, they bought the stones there. But in the end, they emptied their pockets and got nothing.
"Is he putting on an act, deliberately tricking us?" someone muttered, but then felt it was unlikely. With Ye Fan's current status, why would he stoop to such things?
The Ji Family members all knew that their family's Divine Body and their precious pearl had a very close relationship with Ye Fan. He would never harm them. If he needed something, they should do their best to help. So they didn't mind accompanying him and answering all his questions.
"In recent years, has there been any large-scale use of the stone materials here?" Ye Fan asked.
"Yes, a garden was built later, and some waste materials were moved there to be used as foundation stones," an elder replied.
"Take me to see it," Ye Fan said.
It was a newly built garden. Of course, "new" meant over a decade old, but compared to the old gardens, it was still new. Quite a few stone materials were scattered here.
A group of people couldn't restrain themselves again. Although they were afraid of offending Ye Fan and didn't dare to be too obvious, they still secretly bought some stones.
"Some of the old waste stones were used as the foundation, laid underneath," an elder said.
Ye Fan was speechless. If the Stone King had really been used as a foundation, that would be a huge joke. He walked around the magnificent building, his Heavenly Eye emitting brilliant beams.
"I really sense it!" Ye Fan muttered to himself, very surprised. He used his Source Art to explore and detected a strange aura, but it immediately retreated.
Ye Fan had a feeling that this was most likely the Stone King. Things were going much more smoothly than he had expected. After so many years, the Stone King was still here. That was quite good news.
Many people widened their eyes, staring at that building. If they had the strength, they would have looted it, because the divine object might be under that ground. But facing the current Human Sacred Body, they wouldn't dare even if they had the guts.
Contrary to everyone's expectations, Ye Fan stood silently in this place for a long time without walking towards that building. Ripples spread from under his feet, extending in all directions.
Clearly visible, many patterns appeared on the ground, like bolts of lightning, brilliant and dazzling, interweaving into a network, but not harming anyone.
This was an extension of Ye Fan's divine sense, reaching every corner, tracking the Stone King's trail, trying to find it.
"Eh, these stones are all glowing! Heavens, treasures!"
Everyone exclaimed, instantly falling into chaos. In this stone garden, hundreds or even thousands of stone materials were glowing and flying into the sky, trying to escape.
Some powerful cultivators quickly acted, grabbing these stones, bidding on them at any cost, causing chaos and uproar.
It was a strange sight. All kinds of glowing stones flew about, and many people were excited beyond measure. It seemed like a vein of spiritual treasures had been disturbed by Ye Fan.
"It's not just one divine material, but a pile!" Everyone's eyes turned green.
Unfortunately, when someone impatiently cut open the stones, they found them empty inside. There was nothing.
These were all illusions. Even though all the flying stones were glowing, when caught, they were just ordinary stones, nothing special.
Ye Fan stomped his foot, and Source patterns densely covered the void. The light on all the stones faded, and they fell to the ground with a rustling sound.
He was very surprised. This Stone King was extraordinary. It must be a living creature. How else could it have such means? And it seemed very powerful, forcing him to be cautious.
The crowd was dumbfounded, their joy turning to disappointment. Now, they all wore bitter smiles. Trying to be clever in front of an Origin Heavenly Master was like lifting a rock to drop on one's own foot.
Ye Fan observed silently for a moment, then locked onto a direction and walked forward, straight to a lake in the courtyard.
Here, the grass and trees were fresh, and the lake water was clear, like a gem embedded in the ground. Ye Fan reached out towards the lake, his golden palm covering the sky and earth, covering the entire lake surface.
"Boom!"
Waves shot into the sky. No one expected the originally calm lake to boil at this moment. Many waste stones flew up, colliding violently, and there was even a Sage's pressure!
"Heavens, what is that? Could there be a Sage hidden here?"
"Could it be an unsealed Ancient Clan member? So the Sacred Body came for him. I really thought there was an Immortal Elixir."
People were shocked. No one expected a mysterious existence to be lurking in the stone workshop. What was it?
Splash!
The sound of water came. A huge stone emerged from the water and was placed on the ground by Ye Fan. He couldn't help but sigh. In the past, he really wouldn't have been able to deal with a Stone King, as it was comparable to a Sage.
These stones all emitted auspicious colors, ten thousand divine rays of light, all trembling, trying to soar into the sky.
Ye Fan chuckled, "Still using illusions at this point? It's useless against me."
He used a translocation technique, moving all the other stones away, leaving only a one-meter-tall, broken stone. He had locked onto this target.
This stone was earth-gray, completely inconspicuous. It had many cracks, looking like it was about to fall apart. There were even holes that went straight through it. Anyone would consider it waste stone, impossible to contain any immortal treasure.
Otherwise, the Ji Family wouldn't have placed it in the lake as a river stone.
"Everyone, step back a bit," Ye Fan said.
Hearing this, everyone retreated. This Stone King was definitely not simple and would be hard to deal with. Remember, when the Holy Prince was cut out back then, he was only at the Great Power level. As for the Celestial Prince, he was just an egg taken away by the Ancient Clan. But what they saw now was at least a Sage.
Chaos mist swirled. The stone material stopped moving but revealed a primal aura. Strands of Chaos diffused, making this place look mysterious and unfathomable.
Everyone was shocked. From the past to the present, they had never heard of someone encountering Chaos Qi when cutting stones. Could this be something from before the creation of the world?
Everyone showed strange expressions. This one-meter-square gray stone suddenly became extraordinary, making people feel like they had arrived at the beginning of all things.
Ye Fan's heart also stirred. A strange feeling came over him, making him feel that this was unusual. His Heavenly Eye was already open, but he couldn't see through it.
This had never happened before. He was an Origin Heavenly Master, and now his Heavenly Eye had reached great accomplishment. In the art of Source, he was absolutely authoritative. This Heavenly Eye should be able to see through any stone material.
However, this time it defied common sense. Inside the stone, it was like a mass of immortal energy wrapped around something. No matter how brilliant his gaze, he couldn't penetrate it or see clearly.
"There's no other way. I have to use the knife. Cut it open and see what's inside," Ye Fan said, stepping forward to prepare to cut the stone.