Pursuit of the Truth 446 Shadow

After Nan Gong Hen, the other people started cutting away at their Crimson Stones with the Enchanted light rings. Occasionally, that unusual light would appear, and each time it happened, it would attract the crowd’s attention.
However, every single time they cut the stones open, every single person would bring out a storage bag and place it on the Enchanted light ring. Only then would they be able to let this Enchanted Vessel operate properly.
Once Su Ming observed several people opening the stones, he averted his gaze to Nan Gong Hen, who came back dejected.
"Brother Mo, my luck is a little too rotten this time in the World of Nine Yin, isn’t it..? When I went to rent my Spirit of Nine Yin, I was conned by that old man, and the Crimson Stone I fancied did indeed have something in it, but I broke it…"
Nan Gong Hen laughed bitterly as he watched the Shamans cutting through the Crimson Stones in the sky and listened to the commotion and discussions from the people around them, then sighed.
Su Ming originally wanted to comfort him, but when he was about to open his mouth, he found himself not knowing how to console him. In fact, he even had a feeling that Nan Gong Hen… did indeed have rotten luck.
"Uncle Nan Gong, it’s alright. It’s just a broken stone. You can buy more afterwards, you’ll definitely be able to get a treasure." Lan Lan blinked, then started consoling him.
"It’s 500,000! 500,000!" Nan Gong Hen lifted his head and looked at the floating Crimson Stones in the sky. A refusal to admit defeat rose in his eyes.
"Ahem, I think if we aren’t too confident, then it’s better not to continue with this sort of gamble. Just now, I truly experienced what the people said by being overcome by extreme ecstasy for an instant and falling into despair in an instant."
Su Ming cast Nan Gong Hen a glance, and when he saw that refusal in his eyes, he knew that all forms of persuasion and words of comfort were useless. He sighed and no longer spoke.
He still could not understand just why these people could be so passionate about this treasure gambling, especially when they were clearly relying on their luck.
As he was immersed in his thoughts, an intense uproar suddenly broke out among the people around them.
"A dual-colored light! It’s… It’s a dual-colored light!"
"There’s no wrong about that. A dual-colored light actually appeared? Damn it, I remember that Crimson Stone no. 87. I… I knew that stone was promising since the start!"
"He sure got himself a good deal. That person spent less than 200,000, and now that the unusual light appeared, the stone’s price will instantly increase by several fold. Now that the rare dual-colored light appeared, the value of the stone will reach 1,000,000!"
As cries of surprise rose in the large area, Su Ming lifted his head and looked over. With just one glance, he saw one Crimson Stone among the many Enchanted light rings shining red and blue. These two rays of light criss-crossed and illuminated an entire area of one hundred something feet.
There was an old man standing beside the Enchanted light ring. That old man was now filled with excitement and ecstasy and started laughing heartily on the spot. His eyes shone brilliantly, and with his right hand, he pointed at the Enchanted Vessel through the air. Immediately, the spinning Enchanted light ring started slowing down, and when it finally stopped, the dual-colored light shone incredibly distinctly before the crowd.
"Continue cutting! By the looks of it, you just need to pierce a hole in there and perhaps a shadow will appear. The moment the shadow appears, the price of the stone will become even higher!"
"I don’t think so. The dual-colored light is already rare enough. The chances of a shadow appearing are not high…"
As the old man stopped cutting the stone, the people around started discussing among themselves once again, and some of them even tried cajoling him at the top of their voices. Jealousy, envy, and all sorts of complicated emotions were shown clearly in their words.
"Owner of Crimson Stone No.87, you don’t need to continue cutting. We of Deity Ensnaring Tribe will buy that stone for 1,000,000 Shaman Crystals!" a calm voice said from one of the eight halls in the sky.
"You want to buy a dual-colored light stone with just 1,000,000? That stone has two colors, which means that there is definitely something in there. Owner of Crimson Stone No.87, I am Tie Mu from Eastern Goosefoot Tribe, I’ll give you 1,300,000 Shaman Crystals, sell it to me!" A voice Su Ming was familiar with spoke from another hall. That voice naturally belonged to the Latter Shaman, Tie Mu.
A hesitant look appeared on the face of the Crimson Stone’s owner. He looked at the Crimson Stone, then looked at the two halls the voices had come from. Clearly, the lesson Nan Gong Hen had just received was now clearly making him unable to make up his mind.
"Cut it! Continue cutting into it! Damn it, why are you tempted with just these words? I tossed in 500,000 for mine, and I still finished cutting through the entire stone!" Nan Gong Hen gritted his teeth and glared at the sky while standing beside Su Ming. More blood capillaries showed up in his eyes.
"Brother Nan Gong, what is the deal with this dual light?" Su Ming might have considerable knowledge about the treasure gambling event, but compared to the people who came to this event every single time, there were still certain things he did not know of. When he saw those red and blue lights, he asked Nan Gong Hen.
Nan Gong Hen sighed and started explaining to Su Ming.
"Brother Mo, you might not know about this, but before we cut into these Crimson Stones, there is no way for us of knowing what is inside no matter what sort of method we use, but when we cut them open, there are patterns for it.
"That unusual light is one of the patterns. If there is a ray of light, then it means that the stone is not empty. Perhaps there is a treasure inside, but it could also be a fossilized item, which makes it useless.
"However, if two rays of light appear, then it means that even if it is a fossilized item, it can still be used somewhat… We based this on past experiences. In the history of the treasure gambling event, the highest amount of lights that shone in one go was seven in total, and a rare treasure was found!
"As for the shadow they mentioned, it is also one of the patterns we found. However, the chances of a shadow appearing are less than of those unusual lights. The principle is that the item contained within the Crimson Stone was originally sealed off from the world, and the instant it comes in contact with the world outside, a strange shadow appears for an instant!
"If those unusual lights appear, then it means that there are items contained in the stone, if a shadow appears, then it proves that the item inside is definitely not an ordinary object! However, not all cases are like this, or else I wouldn’t have needed to hesitate when I found an unusual light when I was cracking open my stone.
"In the past, there have been stones that looked promising during the treasure gambling event. They shone with those unusual lights, and some of them even had shadows, but when they were eventually cracked open, they were all empty…
"That is why these so called patterns in the treasure gambling event are all what has been figured out by the goers after groping about for some sort of pattern while observing these stones. They can be said to be true, but they can also be considered false as well…"
As the both of them spoke to each other, the old man who bought Crimson Stone No.87 seemed to have made his decision. Just as he lifted his right hand with the intention to do something, suddenly, a woman’s voice came from one of the eight halls.
"If you cut it down, then perhaps a shadow will appear, but that is if you cut open the entire stone, or else you will still only find a dual-colored light. The stone’s price will not increase. In fact, there is a possibility that its price will drop. There is even the possibility of you spoiling whatever is inside.
"If I were you, I would sell it now. No matter what, you would still earn a profit. We of Autumn Sea Tribe are willing to buy that stone for 1,500,000."
The instant that voice spoke, a barely noticeable glint appeared in Su Ming’s eyes, though his expression remained unchanged. He could tell that the voice belonged to the Sacred Lady of Autumn Sea Tribe - Wan Qiu.
An expression of struggle appeared on the owner of Crimson Stone No.87 as he stood in the sky. After a long while, he sighed and wrapped his fist in his palm to bow towards the hall from had come the voice of Autumn Sea Tribe’s Sacred Lady.
"If the Great Tribe of Autumn Sea likes this stone, then I am willing to sell it."
Once the old man said those words, a long arc immediately flew out from the great hall. There was an old man in the long arc. His hair was grey and he wore a blue robe. When he walked out, the ripples showing his power appeared faintly. He was a powerful Latter Shaman.
He walked towards the old man slowly and threw a storage bag by his feet. Without sparing the old man even a glance, he stared at the Crimson Stone in the light ring, and after a long while, he frowned.
"Why aren’t you leaving?"
The old man quickly retreated, and as he moved back reluctantly, he kept on turning his head to look at the Crimson Stone.
However, before he even returned to the ground, the Enchanted light ring was immediately activated. Buzzing sounds reverberated in the air, and the Crimson Stone instantly shrank. The Latter Shaman from Autumn Sea Tribe controlled that light ring several times to continue cutting away. He then took a step forward, and with a growl, lifted his right hand and slammed his hand on the stone.
With that one slap, the Crimson Stone that had shrank down immensely and had large amounts of small holes instantly cracked, and the crack connected all the small holes that had pierced through the stone together. With a bang, the stone fell into pieces, and a transparent mountain rock about the size of a head floated into the old man’s palm.
The mountain rock was crystal clear, and within it was an iron piece. That iron piece was covered in rust and looked incredibly normal, but there was a faint murderous aura that was spreading out from inside it.
"It’s an Enchanted treasure! It’s definitely an Enchanted treasure!"
"It’s an Enchanted treasure from the World of Nine Yin, one that has came from ages ago!"
"Autumn Sea Tribe really got themselves a good haul this time. They managed to buy an Enchanted treasure with 1,500,000 Shaman Crystals and without a single risk taken. Heh heh, it’s hard to determine the value of that item."
Su Ming stared at the transparent mountain rock in the old Latter Shaman’s hand and a glint appeared in his eyes. By his side, Nan Gong Hen looked incredibly dejected, and it was clear that he was plagued by what had happened to him.
The old man who sold the stone for 1,500,000 Shaman Crystals was momentarily stunned, then a variety of emotions flitted through his face. The complicated feeling in his heart would not lose to Nan Gong Hen’s. He had sold that stone away because he could not bear the thought of 1,500,000 Shaman Crystals disappearing from his hands within an instant.
The old Latter Shaman from Autumn Sea Tribe smiled as he stood in the sky, then with a flip of his right hand, the mountain rock immediately disappeared. He turned around and walked towards Autumn Sea Tribe’s hall. The Grand Elder of the God of Shamans Temple who was sitting and meditating at the roof of another temple remained expressionless, but if anyone took a closer look, they would find that his pupils had shrank the moment he saw the mountain rock being excavated.
"We will now continue with the auction of Crimson Stones No.101 to No.200!"
When the first one hundred Crimson Stones were all cracked open, the atmosphere in the area had reached its peak, and the crowd became even more enthusiastic in buying the second batch of stones.
"200,000!"
"300,000!"
"350,000!"
"500,000!"
"600,000!"
As the Crimson Stones were auctioned off, the bids continued without stop. Before long, all the stones were bought by the people in a manner as if they were fighting against each other for them.
Nan Gong Hen had wanted to place a bid several times but forced down his urge. As for Su Ming, he simply continued watching and did not join in the bid. He was waiting, waiting for Crimson Stones No.697, 901, and 949.
Su Ming was absolutely certain about these three stones, and as for the others, he would not gamble for them.
Time trickled away, and the second batch of Crimson Stones was cut down. Two of them had shone with that unusual light, but in the end, when they were both cut open, one of them was empty inside, and several hundreds of thousands of Shaman Crystals were gone down the drain just like that.
While there was an item in the other stone, when it was cracked open, the item contained within was already completely fossilized. It crumbled into dust from the slightest touch, disappearing into the air.