Chapter 251: Gambling Stone Shop

Chapter 251 Gambling Stone Shop

Yisen nodded with a knowing expression, his explanation growing more professional:

"Much like how the ocean has tides, the mana activity within the Abyss undergoes cyclical transformations. Right now, the Abyss mana is in a relatively stable period, making exploration risks lower. That’s why explorers from all over time their journeys to this window."

Luo En’s interest piqued:

"How long is the Abyssal Tides’ cycle? And what exactly does it manifest as?"

"The major cycle lasts roughly a year, but there are multiple smaller cycles within it—some as short as a few days, others stretching up to a quarter of a year."

Yisen’s voice carried the confidence of experience:

"During peak periods, the mana density in the Abyss surges dramatically, destabilizing the environment. Spatial distortions intensify, and pathways often collapse or shift direction without warning."

He gestured casually toward a stall displaying various glowing crystal stones:

"The most obvious indicator is the vitality transformation of Abyss Substances. Take these blood crystals—those harvested during trough periods appear dull and lifeless, with ordinary mana purity. But those from peak periods burn like fresh blood, their mana flow visibly coursing within. Their value easily quintuples."

After a pause, he added:

"Naturally, the risks skyrocket too. Abyssal Creatures become extremely savage during peak periods, and even ancient, dormant entities awaken. Fatality rates among explorers double whenever these peaks occur."

Luo En nodded in understanding.

These so-called "Abyssal Tides" seemed eerily similar to the Mana Waves caused by the Stellar Ring Convergence he’d encountered earlier.

Combined with the Starwhispering phenomenon’s restraining effect on Abyssal Creatures, there likely existed a deeper connection he hadn’t yet unraveled.

"That explains why the city streets and markets are so bustling now", Luo En remarked, connecting the dots:

"Although peak periods yield greater rewards, most explorers still prefer operating during troughs."

"Precisely, as you’ve surmised", Yisen agreed.

"For most, surviving the expedition matters more than acquiring rare materials. Only the exceptionally powerful—or dangerously reckless—choose to venture deep during peak periods."

He pointed toward a heavily equipped expedition team in the distance:

"See that group? They’re seasoned veterans, each with at least a decade of experience. Even they stick to trough periods, keeping risks within manageable limits."

"Now, let’s focus on the market itself. We’ll start from the outskirts."

Luo En gave a simple directive: "I need to assess the local market trends and material quality."

Yisen immediately led the way, guiding Luo En through the bustling crowd to a quieter corner of the market.

This area specialized in foundational Abyss materials—mana crystals, tissue samples of mutated creatures, and raw Abyss ore.

The stalls overflowed with an astonishing variety: from plain black stones to faintly glowing crystals, from preserved plant specimens to vials of multicolored liquids. The vendors were mostly weathered explorers or local residents, some bearing visible Abyss mutations—extra eyes, grotesquely deformed limbs.

One particular shop caught Luo En’s attention.

A battered wooden sign above the door read: Fortune Stone Shop.

Crowds gathered outside—some leaving dejected, others jubilant with their finds.

The shopkeeper was a diminutive elderly guardian. His left eye had mutated into a sinister purple crystal, pulsing faintly with each breath. His right hand had only three fingers; the remaining two stumps bore twisted scars, as though torn away by some monstrous force.

"What kind of place is this?" Luo En asked Yisen, already suspecting the answer.

"A Gambling Stone Shop—one of the most popular forms of wagering here."

Yisen’s voice dipped with unease:

"The owner, Colin, was once an Abyss explorer himself. He lost two fingers and an eye in the Fourth Abyss Layer. They say he gained some special ability in the Abyss, allowing him to pinpoint raw stones containing rare substances."

There was another unspoken secret—many precious Abyss Substances were actually extracted from the corpses of fallen explorers. Naturally, Colin no longer risked his life mining stones personally. How exactly he located these mysterious gambling stones remained a mystery...

Luo En’s eyes gleamed with interest as he stepped inside.

The shop held hundreds of irregular black stones, each appearing mundane—rough and unremarkable like common coal chunks.

Yet Luo En’s perception detected intense mana concentrations within.

Though externally similar, these stones originated from different Abyss layers, each containing distinct substances.

"Welcome, magelord."

Colin noticed Luo En’s silver insignia, promptly dropping his tools to bow: "Care to test your luck today?"

Luo En’s gaze swept the price list:

"Common Gambling Stone: 20 Mana Shard Fragments"
"Premium Gambling Stone: 80 Mana Shard Fragments"
"Treasure Gambling Stone: 200 Mana Shard Fragments"

Colin explained promptly:

"Common stones come from the Abyss’ periphery—70% success rate, but mostly low-grade materials. Premiums hail from the first two layers—50% success, occasionally yielding rare finds. Treasures originate from below the Fourth Layer—less than 30% success, but any discovery would be priceless."

Luo En nodded impassively, while mentally activating his Transcendent Perception.

Within his perception, the stones’ energy patterns emerged vividly—some flickering weakly like candles, others blazing intensely, their fluctuation patterns uniquely complex.

[Transcendent Perception (Proficient) Experience +1]

However, soon he noticed the ability’s limitations:

While he could gauge mana intensity and basic attributes, identifying the exact substance remained impossible—like seeing a shadowy silhouette without recognizing the face.

This limitation, combined with gambling stones’ inherent high stakes, explained why shops like Colin’s thrived.

In the Transcendent World, countless perception abilities existed. If raw stones could be easily analyzed, such gambling would’ve long lost its purpose.

His eyes settled on three stones—two Premiums and one Treasure.

In his perception, these radiated the strongest, most intricate energy. The Treasure stone even exhibited abnormal spatial distortions, as if its internal space existed in a different dimension.

"Two Premium Gambling Stones and one Treasure Gambling Stone. How many Mana Shard Fragments?"

Luo En asked flatly, showing no particular interest.

Colin’s crystalline eye glinted:

"Three stones—360 Mana Shard Fragments total."

Luo En remained expressionless as he produced several Complete Mana Stones, rolling them between his fingers:

"Three stones. Three Complete Mana Stones."

Colin hesitated, his crystal eye flickering with calculation.

While a Complete Mana Stone’s value—considering its purity and portability—exceeded a hundred Mana Shard Fragments, the difference shouldn’t be this drastic.

If he truly agreed to the price of three Mana Stones, the deal would leave Ke Lin with a slim profit margin.

After all, using his unique cultivation techniques to produce such a gambling stone carried a significant cost.

However, the other party's status as a Full Mage was someone he absolutely dared not offend.

He could clearly sense the faint pressure emanating from Luo En's presence—this wasn't an intentional display of intimidation but rather the natural aura of a powerful mage.

"Of course... agreed." Ke Lin felt Luo En's faintly oppressive gaze and could only grit his teeth in reluctant approval.

Luo En suddenly turned to Yisen beside him and asked, "You've gambled on stones before, right?"

"Sir, your insight is as sharp as ever. I've tried a few times", Yisen hesitated, then scratched his head with a bitter smile, honestly admitting,

"I lost quite a few Mana Shard Fragments and eventually quit the habit."

Luo En nodded without further comment and accepted the stone-cutting knife from Ke Lin, feeling the special mana infused into the blade.

This knife, meticulously treated with potions, could precisely follow the mana patterns of the stone to ensure maximum protection of its internal contents.

A crowd had already gathered around, holding their breath in anticipation to witness the young mage's gambling results.

In Abyss Edge, every action of a mage inevitably drew curiosity from ordinary people.

Luo En placed the first stone on the cutting platform, closed his eyes, and slowly infused his spiritual energy into the stone, perceiving the flow of mana directions.

This ability stemmed from his Alchemist profession, giving him a sensitivity to materials far beyond ordinary people.

After locating the optimal entry point, he sliced the stone in one clean motion, with no unnecessary movements.

The stone split apart, a crack spreading from the center outward.

A wisp of pale green light seeped from the fracture, and as the stone fully opened, a thumb-sized emerald crystal was revealed.

The crystal's surface was covered with countless tiny barbs, and at its center swirled a dark green mist, radiating an unsettling aura.

"Phantom Heart Stone!"

Ke Lin exclaimed in shock, his purple crystal-like eyes flashing violently.

This was a relatively precious gem, capable of serving as a mana storage medium, devouring emotional mana and raw mana, worth at least five complete Mana Stones.

With just this one Phantom Heart Stone, Luo En had already made a substantial profit.

After a quick glance to confirm its details, he expressionlessly extracted the Phantom Heart Stone, carefully observing its mana flow pattern.

Ideas began forming in his mind for its usage:

Using it as a spellcasting medium in conjunction with the "Sound Wave Oscillation" spell might create a completely new attack method—first absorbing the target's negative emotions, then amplifying them tenfold or even a hundredfold through resonance before reflecting them back.

The first stone had already yielded a reward, but he knew the real treasures were yet to come.

The second stone was far harder in texture than the first.

Luo En could sense a surge of raging mana constantly colliding inside, as if it might erupt at any moment.

He adjusted his breathing, condensed his spiritual energy into the blade, and gently slid it along an almost invisible seam.

A crisp crack echoed as the stone split open.

A dense purple-black mist surged outward, immediately filling the air with a pungent sulfurous odor.

The onlookers recoiled in alarm, some covering their mouths and noses, their faces filled with fear.

As the mist dissipated, a fist-sized purplish-black crystal lay quietly at the stone's center.

Crackling with electric currents across its surface, its interior seemed to contain an eternal flame burning fiercely.

"Congratulations, sir! This should be an Abyss Crystal, a specialty of the third layer 'Black Sand Wasteland.' It contains high-concentration Abyss mana, which can add Abyss traits to weapons when infused."

This time Yisen also identified the crystal, clearly having encountered this mana crystal before:

"I once saw a crystal like this in an exploration team. While its value isn't as high as the Phantom Heart Stone—worth about two Mana Stones—it's still a significant profit."

A murmur of astonishment rippled through the crowd, some whispering about Luo En's luck and discerning eye.

Drawing two high-value items in a row was rare even in the gambling stone world.

Luo En maintained his calm expression, but inwardly he felt satisfied with his haul.

He turned his attention to the final stone—the mysterious one that had displayed spatial distortion traits in his Transcendent Perception.

From the outside, this stone appeared no different from the other two.

Yet upon touching it, he felt an unusual chill, as if it could absorb the warmth from his fingers.

Taking a deep breath, Luo En focused all his spiritual energy on the stone, searching for the deeply hidden mana circuit.

This time, instead of cutting directly, he used the knife tip to trace a complex rune on the stone's surface before lightly piercing its center.

"Ka—"

A sharp cracking sound rang out as the stone began splitting from the center, the fracture expanding along an unusual spiral pattern before completely separating.

A dazzling blue light erupted from within, illuminating the entire shop, forcing everyone to close their eyes to shield against the blinding brilliance.

As the light dimmed, all eyes settled on the treasure at the stone's core.

It was a deep-blue gem the size of a pigeon's egg, its interior seemingly containing infinite cosmic profundity.

Star specks shimmered, spiral arms rotated, and ripples of tiny spatial distortions constantly spread across its surface, as if devouring the surrounding air.

The entire shop fell into stunned silence, everyone rendered speechless by the gem's breathtaking presence.

This clearly transcended ordinary gambling stones, entering the realm of extraordinary treasures.

"Void Gem."

Ke Lin's voice was barely a whisper.

Such gems were typically found only in the sixth layer of the Abyss, the "Labyrinth Domain."

A Void Gem could influence local spatial structures, aiding in the production of large-capacity spatial equipment. As a spellcasting medium, it could even enable short-distance teleportation.

Swallowing hard, Yisen's eyes gleamed with complex emotions:

"Mage Sir, this Void Gem's value... is at least equivalent to four thousand Mana Shard Fragments, perhaps even more."

A suppressed gasp of shock burst from the crowd, some unconsciously stepping back, as if fearing the gem might trigger a spatial collapse at any moment.

Objects affecting space were among the most precious and dangerous in the Transcendent World.

Luo En's expression remained unchanged as he cautiously placed the Void Gem into a specially prepared crystal box.

Such a treasure required proper preservation to prevent its mana from causing unpredictable environmental effects.

"It seems I had good luck today."

His tone remained calm, as if he'd merely picked up a coin rather than an priceless treasure.

Yisen stood beside him, his mouth gaping wide enough to fit an egg, his eyes bulging as if he'd forgotten the basic necessity of breathing.

When he finally regained his senses, he looked at Ke Lin, noticing the shop owner's face twisted in extreme dismay, and a surge of satisfaction welled within him.

He himself had suffered multiple consecutive losses at this gambling stone shop before, each time infuriated by Ke Lin's smiling face hiding a knife.

Now witnessing him fall to Luo En, losing three exceptionally valuable gems in one go, it felt nothing short of exhilarating.

"G-G-Greetings, Mage Sir! Your luck continues to shine."

Ke Lin swallowed his extreme regret, forcing a smile that looked more painful than crying:

"These three treasures far exceed the payment you made. Truly, it's a heavenly blessing of fortune."

Luo En slightly nodded:

"Gambling on stones relies on discernment, but I also appreciate the opportunity you provided."

"Truly a Full Mage, selecting stones with such vision."

A bystander sighed in admiration.

Clearly, everyone present now assumed Luo En possessed some form of insight ability, attributing his massive haul entirely to his own skill.

This was the benefit of possessing sufficient strength.

If he were still an apprentice, countless people would covet his treasures, and Ke Lin himself would likely be the first to strike.

As for now... Luo En placed the three treasures into his Storage Bag and nodded politely to Ke Lin.

The shop owner had to bow in return, thanking him for bringing today's turnover.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end