203: Chapter 203 The Bet

Zheng Lingfeng stood on the other side of the counter, and every word Sun Mingcheng had just spoken fell clearly into his ears.

His gaze first landed on Sun Mingcheng, then shifted to the Grey-robed Elder whom he was treating with such respect, and finally, recalling the cheers of "High Grade" from downstairs earlier, he immediately understood.

So that was it; this old man was the fellow who had such good luck and had guided a few people to open up High Grade spiritual materials.

Sun Mingcheng, that bookworm, was obsessed with stone gambling. Hearing about such a person, he had indeed come running eagerly to ask for advice.

Zheng Lingfeng let out a scoff. His voice wasn't loud, but it was just enough for everyone on the third floor to hear clearly: "Sun Mingcheng, oh Sun Mingcheng, I thought you had come to Bafang Pavilion in person for some major affair, but it turns out you're here to ask an old man for pointers."

He crossed his arms and leaned against the counter, his tone becoming increasingly flippant: "Just an old man who happened to be lucky enough to guess a few stones correctly—do you really take him for some extraordinary master capable of seeing through the contents of a stone?"

"Your Sun Family is in the Medicinal Pill business, after all. How is your judgment getting worse and worse?"

Sun Mingcheng straightened up and turned to look at Zheng Lingfeng, his expression calm, showing no signs of being provoked.

He simply withdrew his gaze calmly and looked back at the Grey-robed Elder, his tone remaining respectful: "Please excuse me, Elder, this Junior is genuinely seeking advice."

Seeing that Sun Mingcheng wouldn't take the bait, Zheng Lingfeng felt an inexplicable sense of stifled frustration. Just as he was about to make a few more mocking remarks, he suddenly felt an extremely subtle fluctuation of Divine Sense sweep past him.

He turned his head slightly and saw the guard at the Early Integration Stage behind him with his eyes lowered, his lips moving as he sent a telepathic message using a secret technique: "Third Young Master, my subordinate just probed with Divine Sense, and that old man only has the cultivation of the Initial Stage of Void Refinement."

"With such cultivation, his Divine Sense is not yet strong enough to penetrate the surface of a spiritual mineral. The talk of him being able to observe stones is pure nonsense; it is likely just luck."

After hearing this, the smile on Zheng Lingfeng's face deepened.

The Initial Stage of Void Refinement, while not at the bottom in Huaiyang City, certainly could not be considered an impressive powerhouse.

How could such a person see through a raw spiritual mineral?

One must know that even those Peak Body Integration Stage retainers of his Zheng Family would not dare claim they could determine the inner quality of a raw stone with absolute certainty.

With this assessment, Zheng Lingfeng felt even more confident.

He straightened his posture, no longer leaning lazily against the counter, and took two steps toward Sun Mingcheng, a smug smile hanging on his lips: "Sun Mingcheng, since you trust this old man's judgment so much, why don't we make a wager?"

Sun Mingcheng turned his head to look at him, a hint of wariness appearing in his eyes: "Wager on what?"

"Simple." Zheng Lingfeng raised his hand and pointed to the two rows of shelves displaying raw stones on either side of the counter.

"You and I will each choose a raw stone and cut it open on the spot. Whoever opens something of higher value wins. The loser—"

Before he finished speaking, he unfastened a crimson jade pendant from his waist and twirled it on his fingertip, "will give their Magic Treasure to the other party."

The jade pendant emitted a scorching aura as spiritual light flowed over it. The surface of the pendant was carved with the pattern of a Fire Phoenix with wings spread as if ready to take flight. The eyes of the Fire Phoenix were inlaid with some kind of deep red crystal, shimmering with a vivid luster in the light.

Even from several feet away, one could feel that intense and pure fluctuation of spiritual power.

Sun Mingcheng's gaze tightened; he recognized this jade pendant.

That was Zheng Lingfeng's protective Magic Treasure, the Fire Phoenix Pendant, an Earth Rank Intermediate item. It had been personally refined by a Grand Elder of the Zheng Family. It could not only automatically activate a protective spiritual light to withstand attacks below the Body Integration Stage but could also summon a phantom of the Fire Phoenix to counterattack the enemy at a critical moment.

Zheng Lingfeng regarded it as the apple of his eye; normally, he wouldn't even let others touch it.

"What, scared?" Zheng Lingfeng shook the Fire Phoenix Pendant in his hand, his smile full of provocation.

Sun Mingcheng was silent for a moment, then slowly retrieved an item from his sleeve.

It was a fist-sized Pill Furnace, pale cyan in color, with the body of the furnace covered in fine, dense pill patterns. A faint scent of medicine drifted from the lid of the furnace.

Although the Pill Furnace was small, it emitted a heavy and ancient aura; it was clearly not an ordinary item.

"The Qingyuan Furnace." Sun Mingcheng cradled the Pill Furnace in his palm, his tone calm, "Earth Rank Medium Grade. In terms of value, it is no worse than your Fire Phoenix Pendant."

Zheng Lingfeng narrowed his eyes to examine the Pill Furnace. After confirming its grade, he nodded and placed the Fire Phoenix Pendant on a corner of the counter: "Very well, the Fire Phoenix Pendant is here."

Sun Mingcheng also gently placed the Qingyuan Furnace beside the Fire Phoenix Pendant: "The Qingyuan Furnace is here."

Afterwards, Sun Mingcheng turned around and bowed to the Grey-robed Elder once more, his tone even more solemn than before: "Elder, this Junior has been obsessed with stone gambling since childhood, and today, I am even less willing to lose an ancestral heirloom in front of Zheng Lingfeng."

"I humbly ask you, Elder, to show mercy and select a raw stone for this Junior."

The Grey-robed Elder finally reacted this time. He did not look at Sun Mingcheng, nor did he look at Zheng Lingfeng. He simply placed the grey, dusty stone in his hand back onto the shelf, then raised his eyes, his gaze landing on Sun Mingcheng.

In that instant, Sun Mingcheng felt an indescribable sense of tranquility.

The old man's gaze was not sharp, nor was it profound; it was simply calm and plain, yet it seemed to gently smooth away the tension and urgency in his heart, as if by an invisible hand.

The Grey-robed Elder looked at him for a moment, shifted his gaze, and raised his hand to point at a palm-sized stone in the corner of the bottom shelf of the counter.

That stone was pitch-black and unremarkable, with some soil still clinging to its surface, looking as if it had just been dug out of a mine and hadn't been cleaned yet.

Sun Mingcheng followed the old man's finger and looked, pausing in surprise. That stone was one he had glanced at earlier and passed over directly.

Because it was too ordinary—so ordinary that no one would give it a second look when placed among a pile of raw stones.

But he did not hesitate. He reached out and picked up the stone. It felt slightly cool to the touch, heavy, and its surface was rough, with no signs of any spiritual power fluctuation.

Zheng Lingfeng saw everything clearly from the side. When Sun Mingcheng picked up that pitch-black stone, he almost laughed out loud.

This? Just this one? He turned his head to look at his guard: "Are you sure that old man is only at the Initial Stage of Void Refinement?"

The guard nodded, his voice lowered so only the two of them could hear: "My subordinate has probed repeatedly using the Family's secret technique; there can be no mistake."

Zheng Lingfeng completely set his mind at ease. He walked to the counter, his gaze sweeping back and forth over the displayed raw stones, and finally selected the most conspicuous one on the shelf.

It was a raw stone about the size of a human head, dark cyan in color, with faint golden patterns flowing on its surface. Even through the stone skin, one could feel a vague, surging spiritual power inside.

He placed the raw stone on the counter and beckoned to the Bafang Pavilion attendant: "Come, cut mine first."

The attendant responded and stepped forward, carefully carrying the dark cyan raw stone to the stone-cutting platform.