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Chapter 990 Heaven’s Prank

Lin Xun sighed, “It seems like I really lost, but would Fellow Cultivator Nangong allow me to see what treasure is inside the meteorite you selected first.”

“Haha, he is too stubborn and refuses to give up,” the youngsters sneered. 

“I said that I will make you admit defeat this time!” Nangong Shui’s expression was a mix of disdain and confidence. 

As the stone cutter Jia Zheng started to move, the atmosphere also became silent and still, while all eyes gathered on the meteorite. 

Everyone was curious to know what kind of treasures would be inside the meteorite that Nangong Shui chose.

Lin Xun’s attention was also fully on the meteorite. 

However, no one was aware of the imperceptible strange look flashing in Lin Xun’s eyes when he looked at the meteorite. 

Jia Zheng’s expression was utmost serious as he cautiously moved his blade through the Star Debris Meteorite because he also sensed that the meteorite was very unusual.

Crack!

Stones sputtered outwards.

Before the meteorite was completely dissected, a cryptic but rhythmic sound echoed from it.

It resembled the sound of a beating heart, inaudible at first, but gradually growing louder and louder. 

The noise signified a powerful life force! Many cultivators gasped and their eyes lit up with amazement. 

Could there be a strange creature born within the meteorite?

Many people’s mouths gaped open. In the past, there had been incidents where cultivators discovered unique living creatures from Star Debris Meteorites. 

For example, more than two thousand years ago, a monk from the Western Desert once dissected a meteorite and discovered a Fire Dragon Fish, a bizarre creature regarded as a divine fish by ancient sages due to its auspiciousness.

For example, eight thousand years ago, a free-spirited young man called Ye Zhiqiu, cut out a sword spirit by chance. The spirit transformed into a young woman who had mastered supreme sword arts. The young man knelt upon seeing her and kowtowed nine times on the spot to acknowledge her as a master. 

Now, Ye Zhiqiu had long become an illustrious Sword Saint in the Ancient Wasteland Domain. He watched over the Great Snow Mountain in the East Victory World and was known as a Sword Saint by the world!

Many similar rumors circulated in the world. 

But now, Nangong Shui chose a Star Debris Meteorite that released astonishing rhythmic sounds of life. 

Even Nangong Shui’s eyes blazed, and his heart thumped. He knew that the meteorite was not simple, but he never imagined it to be so extraordinary!

More and more cultivators gathered around to watch with bated breaths. Their gazes were all fixed on the Star Debris Meteorite, their shiny eyes reflecting their anticipation and excitement. 

Many cultivators visibly tensed up. 

The stone cutter felt an unprecedented pressure, and his movements became more and more careful, lest he accidentally damaged the creature contained inside of the meteorite.

Only Lin Xun remained as calm as ever because he already knew the result.

Crack!

When the meteorite was cut open, a gush of black divine light rushed out and dyed the void an ethereal shade. 

“Heavens!”

“There really is a creature born inside of it!”

“It’s a cocoon!”

The exclamations broke the silence like a pot had exploded in the area. 

All the cultivators saw black light flowing within the cut meteorite and dao qi spiraling upwards around a thumb-sized black cocoon that was lying quietly inside.

The cocoon was the one producing the drum-like rhythmic waves of life force. 

Everyone felt entranced for a moment as if the creature inside the cocoon was a king from the depths of the devil’s abyss. 

Delighted, Nangong Shui almost cried out. 

He planned to aim a ruthless stab at Lin Xun and win the king-grade herb, but he never thought that he would, by a lucky chance, discover a cocoon that produced a mysterious life force!

It was an unbelievable harvest. 

The other cultivators’ faces twisted with complicated expressions, and jealousy was surging up within them. In terms of value, the cocoon was unquestionably invaluable!

Nangong Shui made a huge fortune!

At the same time, they looked at Lin Xun with deep pity. The monk has such bad luck...

“Monk, are you going to give up now? I...” Nangong Shui was so excited that his voice changed, quivering with a touch of excitement, smugness and joy.

However, his sentence abruptly stopped, and his expression dramatically changed.

The surging divine black light suddenly faded from the black cocoon, the dao qi disappeared, and the powerful drum-like sound also weakened before it died away completely.

Nangong Shui seemed to have lost his soul as if he was struck by lightning. He crazily darted forward and clutched the black cocoon with trembling hands, examining it carefully.

To his horror, the cocoon had turned cold, petrified, and without any fluctuation of lifeforce.

It was as if it had lost its life, and only its ice-cold lifeless body remained!

“That...” The other cultivators were just as dumbfounded by the scene. How could this happen?

The change happened so abruptly that it caught everyone off guard. 

It was supposed to be a huge opportunity, enough to be envied by everyone, but it was reversed in the blink of an eye.

A dead rare creature was still worth nothing!

The area remained silent and still; everyone was still stunned by the unexpected change.

Only Lin Xun’s long sigh could be heard, “Ahh, the cocoon is not yet ready to transform, and it should not be born yet. It’s heartbreaking that it died before it has seen the world.”

His words were very abrupt in the silent atmosphere, but to Nangong Shui, his words were not only abrupt but grating!

How malicious!

Nangong Shui quivered and almost choked on his rage when he saw Lin Xun putting on a compassionate look. 

Argh! How could this be?

Nangong Shui was going berserk. Spirals of smoke rose from the top of his head and his heart almost bled. What could be more upsetting than an enormous opportunity disappearing from our grasp?

Nothing!

Nangong Shui felt as though the heavens were playing a prank on him. 

“Fellow Cultivator Nangong, you appeared to have won this round, but now...I somehow won instead! What a twist of fate,” Lin Xun sighed again. 

Everyone’s expressions changed. Indeed, a dead cocoon is inferior to a Spirit Bottle Plant in terms of value.

This meant that, in this bet, Nangong Shui and the others had lost.

Not only did they lose a great opportunity, but they also had to pay forty thousand high-grade aeth essence each. The blow was too heavy!

Pu!

Nangong Shui was already trembling violently with fury, and the veins on his forehead were popping. The more he thought about it, the more annoyed he became, until he was coughing up mouthfuls of blood.

Meanwhile, the expressions of the young men and women around him were morphing indefinitely, changing from bewilderment, aggrievement, anger, and bitterness. They looked as if they were about to suffocate on their emotions.

The reversal was no doubt a huge blow. A great fortune was within their reach, so who would have imagined that it would slip away at the last minute?

“Fellow Cultivator Nangong, please take care of your health. From what I see, this is Heaven’s will. Everyone, don’t be too distressed. It’s just forty thousand top-grade aeth essence. You are all famous people in the city. I believe you can afford it,” Lin Xun comforted them with a serious expression. 

But everyone secretly scolded the monk for being so shameless. He made such a cynical remark after winning! Does he want Nangong Shui and the others to die from excess anger?

Nangong Shui gnashed his teeth as if he couldn’t bear the blow, glaring at Lin Xun with a cold knife-like gaze, as if he wanted to kill.

But he held back in the end because they were at the Rock Appraisal Event where there were countless cultivators. If he acted like a sore loser, then he would never be able to raise his head in the Ancient Blue Province again.

PA!

As if to vent, he hurled away the ice-cold cocoon and then took a deep breath. “Monk, don’t look so smug, it’s just forty thousand top-grade aeth essence. That is nothing to I, Nangong Shui!” As he was speaking, he tossed out a storage bag and stormed away. 

If he didn’t leave sooner, he was afraid that he would lose control of his rage and kill!

“The Buddha once said: Let go of aeth essence and it is never too late to repent. Fellow Cultivator Nangong is impressive to be able to accept defeat. You are indeed a role model for my generation. I will humbly accept these forty thousand top-grade aeth essence,” Lin Xun said with a smile.

In the distance, Nangong Shui staggered around, almost falling to the ground. He was obviously going crazy with anger.

Everyone secretly scolded the monk in their hearts. When did the Buddha ever say such disgusting words as letting go of aeth essence?

“Everyone, you are all famous figures in the city. Don’t tell me you want to leave without handing over your aeth essence. This is the Rock Appraisal Event. If you slip away like that, won’t it be very embarrassing?” Lin Xun suddenly said aloud. 

He noticed the young men and women sneaking away and stopped them right away.

The young men and women almost wept. They originally wanted to take part in slaughtering the lamb together, but who would have thought that the lamb would counterattack at the last moment?

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, they could not go back on their words. Otherwise, they would have swiftly run away already or resorted to killing.

In the end, they had to accept their loss.

Some people did not bring enough aeth essence and had to cover the amount with their belongings.

Some failed to make up forty thousand aeth essence even if they brought out all the valuables on them. They thought that the monk would not be so penny-pinching and would let them go.

But who would have thought that the monk would request them to sign a letter to acknowledge their debt? Moreover, if it was not paid within a period of three months, the debt would be doubled!

Were monks not supposed to be compassionate and charitable?

This monk was more like a bandit!

But they still had no choice but to sign such a shameless debt letter.

The onlookers couldn’t help sighing. This monk knows nothing about appraising stones and his luck constantly changes, but he made the right bet at the last moment! This is too unbelievable!

Is this really heaven’s will?

“Hey, where is that cocoon?” Someone suddenly noticed that the black cocoon had disappeared.

“Nangong Shui threw it away a long time ago. That thing has already lost its life force. It is useless now, why are you looking for it?” someone laughed.

At the same time, Lin Xun clenched his hand tightly. He had already put away the cocoon when no one was paying attention.

However, just as he was about to leave, someone blocked his path.