Wu Shattered Star River

There's an unwritten rule in stone gambling: always start with the cheaper stones and save the expensive ones for last.

Cheap stones rarely yield good treasures, so this way, there's always hope for something better later on.

Jiang Han's selection of cheap stones was mostly for quantity, so the first stones they cut open yielded nothing.

Soon, Jiang Han's side had cut open thirty stones, only finding one Yunshui Stone worth a mere hundred thousand Xuan Crystals. And that was just Jiang Lang's blind luck.

Nine out of ten gambles end in loss!

This saying holds true, especially in stone gambling.

Every gambling house has skilled stone appraisers who assign different prices based on the stone's quality.

Stones likely to contain valuable goods naturally have higher prices. Nine out of ten stones are worthless, and even if they do contain something, it's usually of low quality. Otherwise, how would the gambling house make money?

Gambling houses have professional stone appraisers who can price the raw stones.

The power lies in their hands. Even if some stones turn out to be profitable, they still make a profit overall.

Even if they lose money temporarily, it earns them a reputation and attracts more gamblers, allowing them to recoup the losses eventually.

Opening a gambling house is a surefire way to make money. Why are there more and more gambling houses after over a thousand years? How could a non-profitable industry survive for so long?

Han Shiqi's side cut open their thirteenth stone and struck gold again, finding two items worth over three hundred thousand Xuan Crystals.

So far, Han Shiqi has found 1.3 million Xuan Crystals worth of goods, but he's still operating at a loss.

Jiang Han and his team are losing even more miserably, having only found a bit over ten thousand from five million. If this continues, Jiang Han and his team will not only suffer a huge loss in stone gambling but also lose five million Xuan Crystals to Han Shiqi.

Keep cutting!

When they cut open the thirty-eighth stone, Jiang Han's side finally struck a good find—an Obsidian Stone worth eight hundred thousand Xuan Crystals.

This was also just Jiang Lang stumbling upon a lucky break, a complete fluke.

Of course…

It wasn't entirely due to Jiang Lang's luck; Qin Rong had arranged for a loophole. Otherwise, among the tens of thousands of stones in the gambling hall, how easy would it be to stumble upon such a find?

"Congratulations, Old Han! You've struck gold again!"

Han Shiqi's luck was surprisingly good. After cutting open seventeen stones, he found another Xuan Crystal worth four hundred thousand.

Han Shiqi has now recovered 1.7 million, far ahead of Jiang Han and Jiang Lang's side.

However, Han Shiqi's expression wasn't good!

He only had three stones left. If he couldn't find anything good, he would suffer a massive loss in this stone gambling venture. If Jiang Han's side found something good, he would be completely finished.

"Wait!"

Han Shiqi suddenly spoke, saying to the stone cutter, "Cut the Camel Stone first!"

Han Shiqi couldn't bear the torment any longer. He placed all his hopes on the Camel Stone.

Anyway, it all depended on this one stone. If he was going to die, he might as well die sooner.

"Alright!"

The stone cutter nodded. The surrounding thousands of people held their breath. The stone cutters on Jiang Han and Jiang Lang's side stopped cutting and turned their attention to the Camel Stone.

This stone was worth two million, with beautiful landscape patterns and two serpent-like veins. The quality was also good, vaguely resembling a rising momentum from a distance.

Even a novice at stone gambling could sense that this stone was extraordinary, but no one could determine what exactly it would yield.

The stone cutter slowly shaved off the stone skin at the edges. With one cut, they vaguely saw that the stone inside was actually blue, and countless people immediately exclaimed.

Blue stones are no ordinary matter. Either they contain nothing, or they are of supreme quality!

As a large piece of the stone skin was completely shaved off, revealing the deep blue stone inside, Han Shiqi's body trembled.

He immediately looked towards Elder Lu, who proudly raised his head.

It's a sure thing!

Han Shiqi almost burst into tears. Countless people nearby began congratulating Han Shiqi. Many eyes shone with jealousy and envy. This stone would definitely yield something of supreme quality.

"Could it yield Blue Xuan Crystals?" Qin Rong asked Elder Xu via sound transmission.

Elder Xu frowned and pondered for a moment before replying via sound transmission, "Eighty to ninety percent chance. It just depends on how big it is."

A faint smile appeared on Qin Rong's face. It seemed Elder Xu's judgment was correct. Han Shiqi had struck gold, more than enough to recover his costs. It just depended on how much profit he could make.

This gambling game had attracted so much attention. Naturally, he hoped that both Han Shiqi and Jiang Lang's team would strike gold.

When the news spread, the Qilin Gambling House would attract countless gamblers, earning tens of billions in the future.

Jiang Lang looked at Jiang Han, his eyes filled with worry. From the surrounding discussions, he judged that the Camel Stone was very likely to yield Blue Xuan Crystals.

Blue Xuan Crystals were quite valuable. If they were large, they could be worth tens or even hundreds of millions.

Jiang Han also became nervous. If Han Shiqi found goods worth several hundred million, they would lose.

Not only would they fail to trick Han Shiqi, but he would also make a fortune.

That would be a bit unpleasant…

The stone cutter continued to work, shaving off the entire outer skin of the stone, leaving behind a deep blue stone the size of a person's body.

This stone was entirely deep blue, without a trace of impurities. Even a fool would know that there were valuable goods inside.

Han Shiqi was so excited that he was about to cry, his eyes fixed on the stone cutter's knife.

"Rise, rise, rise!"

"Blue Xuan Crystals, Blue Xuan Crystals!"

Someone in the periphery shouted softly, and Han Shiqi shouted along in his heart.

The stone cutter's knife continued to shave off layers of stone, and when the stone was shaved down to the size of a human head, suddenly a dazzling blue light burst out from within, blinding countless people.

"Wow, Blue Xuan Crystals!"

"He's struck it rich, such a big Blue Xuan Crystal!"

"This, this… at least worth five hundred million, right?"

"Let us once again congratulate Old Han!"

The entire Qilin Gambling House was in an uproar. Although it hadn't been completely cut open, the dazzling blue light couldn't deceive anyone.

The stone was still the size of a human head, and it was already emitting blue light. This meant that the Blue Xuan Crystal was at least half the size of a human head, worth at least five hundred million.

"Thump!"

Han Shiqi's legs went weak, and he sat down on the ground with a thud, his whole body trembling non-stop.

Elder Lu raised his head even higher, but deep in his eyes was regret—why hadn't he bought it himself just now?

Elder Xu's eyes were filled with some shame and unease, while Qin Rong wore a smile, without the slightest hint of heartache.

The Qilin Gambling House could afford to lose five hundred million. The more it gained now, the more the Qilin Gambling House would earn in the future.

"That old dog has such good luck?"

Jiang Lang and Jiang Han exchanged a glance, their hearts sinking. Even if they lost the gambling game, they could still earn one or two hundred million, but they felt uncomfortable.

"That's not right—"

Suddenly, the stone cutter let out a surprised sound, quickly quieting the noisy square.

The stone cutter suddenly picked up the blue stone, but black liquid was overflowing from the bottom. He said in surprise, "There's black water inside this stone? Could it be… the Blue Xuan Crystal has been hollowed out by Gold-Eating Bugs?"

"What?"

The entire venue was silent, and countless people looked at each other in dismay, staring at the black water dripping from the bottom of the stone.

Han Shiqi suddenly got up from the ground, took a few steps forward, and shook his head continuously, saying, "Impossible! Impossible! Cut it open for me!"

Under the gaze of countless eyes, the stone cutter quickly made two cuts, and a huge blue Xuan Crystal, about half the size of a head, appeared in front of everyone.

But!

That huge Blue Xuan Crystal had a large hole, and it was actually hollow inside, leaving only a thin layer of blue skin, filled with black, turbid liquid.

"Thump!"

Han Shiqi took a closer look, his legs went weak, and his eyes rolled back. He actually fainted directly, his head hitting the ground with a loud thud.