"In other words, in the worst-case scenario, you only lose 300 jin of Essence Stone. As for anything worse, with ten dead draws, the stone shop loses 400 jin of Essence Stone and still gives you an additional First-Rank raw stone, equating to a small gain of 1 jin of Essence Stone on top of breaking even!"

"Who does business like that? Aren’t they afraid of losing money?"

"Afraid of what! Obviously, this shop is newly opened and pulling tricks to make a name for itself at a loss!"

... 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

The appeal of the ’Original Stone Paving’ is quite simple. As long as the gold yield rate of this shop is high enough and the prices are reasonable, both new and seasoned market-goers will come to try their luck and share in the fortune.

Every time gold is found in the shop, and every time the stone cutting leads to profit, it becomes an invisible promotion, the best advertisement for the ’Original Stone Paving’.

And this newly opened ’Star Transformation Original Stone Shop’—

...

"Shopkeeper!"

"We’ve hit gold again! Second-Rank Balanced Attribute! It was bought on the spot for 3590 jin of Essence Stone! That guy made a fortune! They’re going crazy over there; all the Second-Rank raw stones are sold out. I didn’t have time to count, but at least a thousand pieces!"

Not far from the ’Star Transformation Original Stone Shop’, there is a similarly sized ’Colorful Machine Original Stone Store’. Usually, there would be at least twenty or thirty customers in the shop, with at least one or two raw stones being cut, but today it’s deserted, not a single one.

The customers were all drawn to the ’Star Transformation Original Stone Shop’.

"A thousand Second-Rank raw stones."

"Each piece at 40 jin of Essence Stone."

"The first day of business and already hitting 40,000 sales?!"

"What is this owner’s background? Where did they source their products from? Could it be that the Fu Family opened the new ’No. Nineteen Mine’ on Mang Guang Mountain? Or is it the Heavenly Seal Sect’s ’Old Pit No. Six’ at Black Demon Pool?"

The shopkeeper of ’Colorful Machine Original Stone Store’, Guan Hu, stood at the door, gazing at the bustling ’Star Transformation Original Stone Shop’ as if it were another world. He wasn’t worried about his own business; at the Bai Sha Rough Stone Market, stone shops rise and fall, and few survive in the end. ’Colorful Machine Original Stone Store’ is an older establishment, having operated for over ten years, but the seemingly thriving ’Star Transformation Original Stone Shop’ that opened today might not last long.

However, Guan Hu was still curious as to where the ’Star Transformation Original Stone Shop’ got its supply, with such a high gold yield rate.

The supply!

That’s the lifeline of ’Original Stone Paving’. Every shop guards it closely, and those who have managed to have a long-standing presence in Golden Talisman City all have their tricks, their own unique supply and sales channels, quietly making big money.

There are those in the Jianghu of the Golden Talisman City and the rough stone market who can roughly discern the source of the raw stones based on their appearance and details, pinpointing even the specific mines, and thereby intercept or sabotage, which is a unique business competition in the raw stone circle.

But the raw stones of ’Star Transformation Original Stone Shop’—

"All sorts of sources!"

"It gives me a headache!"

"From Fu Family’s Mang Guang Mountain, Chi Family’s Grass and Wood Ridge, Heavenly Seal Sect’s Black Demon Pool, Lishan Sect’s Yellow Spirit Valley, ..."

"Too many to count, when I went there this morning, I recognized immediately that they’d brought in scrap goods from small mines, counting my blessings if the gold yield rate reached 1%."

"Ha!"

"Ended up misjudging!"

"Their Second-Rank raw stones’ gold yield rate surprisingly touched nearly 15%, this is truly bizarre!"

Fu Qiong is a long-term collaborator with the ’Colorful Machine Original Stone Store’, often traversing major raw stone markets in search of good merchandise. Whenever there are new merchants or popular small vendors, Fu Qiong would investigate and sell his analysis to long-established shops like ’Colorful Machine Original Stone Store’, earning substantial rewards.

But this time—

"Old one!"

"This shop is peculiar; I couldn’t gather much intel. Consider this intel a gift, no charge."

Fu Qiong tossed a piece of paper to Guan Hu and strode away gracefully.

On the side.

The servant who returned to report, seeing Fu Qiong leave, then told the shopkeeper, "Fu Qiong bought twenty pieces of Second-Rank raw stones from there. Nine of them yielded gold. Among them, six were mixed, one was four attributes, one was dual attributes, one was single attribute, earning 1800 jin of Essence Stone!"

"How much?!" Guan Hu stared in disbelief, looking at Fu Qiong’s arrogant steps, turning green with jealousy, gritting his teeth, "That scoundrel!"

...

"Owner!"

"It’s incredibly popular!"

"Since opening, in just four hours, all Second-Rank raw stones are sold out, 780 pieces of First-Rank raw stones sold, 13 pieces of Third-Rank raw stones."

The shopkeeper of ’Star Transformation Original Stone Shop’, ’Liao Ya’, benevolent and kind-faced, reported the sales status to Yan Chuan with a broad smile.

The first day of business, driven by the high gold yield rate of the Second-Rank raw stones, the shop experienced an exceptional boom. In just four hours, the Second-Rank raw stones were all sold out. Inside the shop, two masters, eight experienced hands, and twenty-six stone cutting masters worked tirelessly, and even now, a large crowd lined up, looking likely they’ll be working overnight.

Liao Ya was also tired.

But he was both tired and happy. He was hired by Yan Chuan to manage the ’Star Transformation Original Stone Shop’. Although his wages weren’t linked to the shop’s turnover or profit, he was given full charge of the ’Golden Talisman Stone Buyback’ business.

The more Golden Talisman Stones customers cut out at the ’Star Transformation Original Stone Shop’, the more Golden Talisman Stones Liao Ya could buy, and through his two sons’ channels, sell them, earning as much if not more than Yan Chuan, who painstakingly sold raw stones.

Liao Ya was excited.

Little did he know, Yan Chuan was also pleased—

"My supply channels aren’t good. Out of a thousand Second-Rank raw stones, getting ten with gold is already a blessing from the heavens, at most a 1% gold yield rate. That’s why the average price of this batch is as low as 9.2 jin of Essence Stone per piece."

"But I’ve picked 106 pieces from those predetermined gold-yielding Second-Rank raw stones matched through my ’Second-Rank·Sky Collapse Earth Sinking Purple Gold Hammer’ a few days ago, among which—"

"80 were Five Elements Mixed."

"12 were Four Attributes."

"7 were Three Attributes."

"4 were Dual Attributes."

"1 was Single Attribute."

"1 was Mutant Attribute."

"1 was Five Elements Balance."

If Yan Chuan cut and sold these 106 guaranteed gold-yielding Second-Rank raw stones himself, calculating at the highest price, he could collect about 21,500 jin of Essence Stone, subtracting the cost of purchasing these 106 pieces, approximately 2650 jin of Essence Stone, leaving a total profit of 18,850 jin of Essence Stone.

However, putting these raw stones among the thousand ordinary Second-Rank raw stones at the ’Star Transformation Original Stone Shop’ for sale, each priced at 40 jin of Essence Stone, (1000+106)*40=44,240.

Then subtract the cost of 106 pieces, 2650, and the cost of 1000 pieces, 9200, leaving a staggering total profit of 32,390 jin of Essence Stone!

Almost double compared to painstakingly cutting and anxiously selling stones himself!

Yan Chuan was reaping a bountiful harvest!

The original stone shop, a money-washing haven, a great success!

...

...

"With a flip of the hand, forming clouds; with the roll of the palm, making rain." Wang Zhengyi marveled, "The Gathering Treasure Basin, the money tree, can’t compare to your pair of sharp eyes!"

Wang Zhengyi’s Monkey King Avatar wasn’t always awake, but from time to time it awoke, and Yan Chuan wasn’t secretive about it, allowing Wang Zhengyi to witness Yan Chuan making massive Essence Stone gains.

Madly making Essence Stones!

It’s outrageous!

"Raw stones are pretty much like the lottery. The gold-yield rate is akin to the winning rate. As long as there’s a probability, people will naturally try more, and seeing others win, they’ll be tempted to join in." Yan Chuan laughed.

He had the ’Treasure Rock’, enabling him to accurately choose raw stones containing Golden Talisman Stones, meticulously picking ones from outside, bringing them to his own original stone shop to increase the gold yield rate. He could freely control the gold yield rate. This was essentially a form of the Golden Touch, a baffling technique that allowed Yan Chuan to not have to cut stones himself but to package his raw stone scraps into premium mining material with a gold yield rate close to 15%.

A buying price of 9.2 could sell for a sky-high 40!

Yet there were still buyers!

Some even went crazy over it!

In such circumstances, who else but Yan Chuan would make a profit?

"But wealth is just worldly possession. I have some opportunities, yet with all the hard work, the Essence Stones, Primordial Pills I earned might not even match the starting line of the direct lineage of the Four Families, the true lineages of the Three Sects."

"Martial Arts Cultivation—"

"Essence Stones!"

"Primordial Pills!"

"These are important, but we also have ways to obtain and match them. Their absorption and refinement have limitations. But more resources, such as the ’Divine General’s Courtyard’, just glimpsing into it, one can imagine what kind of cultivation treasure lands and environments big forces like the Four Families and Three Sects have!"

Yan Chuan mused.

He thought of when he was in Guangling City. He initially believed that after awakening the ’Purple Mist Palace’, his progress would be rapid and not inferior to the disciples of Martial Arts Academy, but who knew the Martial Arts Academy had the ’Star Gate Domain’ to assist in gravity cultivation and the Mountain and Sea Realm behind the ’Star Gate’ to temper martial skills and provide vast resources.

If it weren’t for the opportune acquisition of a ’Star Stone’, Yan Chuan’s path to rise would have been even more challenging.

"In the past, the Martial Arts Academy was to the Old School as the Four Families and Three Sects are to us loose cultivator Inborn." Wang Zhengyi also sighed, "We didn’t reach the level of the Four Families and Three Sects, having no idea what kind of cultivation treasure lands and secret techniques they possessed."

This made sense.

Yan Chuan suddenly thought of the ’three Hao hairs’ behind his head. This was bestowed by the Moth Vine, which was suspected to be a War God Level life form. Having such abilities not only made Yan Chuan nearly invincible among peers, but it also accelerated cultivation and healed injuries, almost rendering him immortal.

If the Moth Vine had such capabilities, how about the War God of the Four Families and Three Sects?

The Moth Vine could produce ’Fire Bud Crystal’, could the Four Families and Three Sects have similar treasures?

Uncertain.

Not sure.

But Yan Chuan guessed there’s a high probability they do; otherwise, how could they consistently nurture generations of Divine Generals and produce High Rank Divine Generals?

"What a pity you couldn’t join the Lishan Sect." Wang Zhengyi felt sorry for Yan Chuan.

"It’s fine; perhaps Golden Talisman City suits me better." Yan Chuan chuckled. Had he gone straight for the Lishan Sect, he might have missed out on the golden opportunities in Golden Talisman City.

Fortune and misfortune are intertwined.

Uncertain and unpredictable.

Yan Chuan chatted with Wang Zhengyi—

He spoke of what he saw and heard in Golden Talisman City.

Wang Zhengyi mostly spoke of the situation in Tan Valley Royal City: "Perhaps seeing our number of Innates growing and the 30,000-strong Tan Valley Army becoming more elite, the Three Cities couldn’t sit still. Four days ago, the ’Three Divine Generals’—Pang Yi, Jiayun, Wan Jiu under the City Lord of Guangming City joined forces to attack, luckily Brother Chen with his ’Three Heads and Six Arms’ combat power reached third-Rank, fighting one against three, repelled the ’Three Divine Generals’, otherwise the consequences would have been unthinkable."

...