Chapter 22: Stone Gambling?

"Mystery boxes? That sounds novel." Luo Mingyue had a lively personality. Seeing the massive crowd gathered ahead, she couldn’t help but pull Li Shuang along as they squeezed their way in.

At the entrance of the Spirit Treasure Pavilion sat a massive table covered with plain-looking stones. The stones were densely packed, taking up more than half the street. Judging by the sheer volume, there had to be tens of thousands of them.

Manager Mr. Qiu of the Spirit Treasure Pavilion glanced at Li Shuang, his eyes flickering slightly, before he immediately began his explanation.

He picked up a Concealing Breath Stone. "Listen up, everyone! The insides of these stones have been hollowed out. Some are empty, while others contain various rare treasures from our Spirit Treasure Pavilion. The value of these treasures varies. The most valuable one is worth a whopping one hundred top-grade spirit stones!

"Everyone only needs to pay five Mid Grade Spirit Stones to pick a stone at random! If you’re lucky, your five Mid Grade Spirit Stones could be exchanged for a treasure worth one hundred top-grade spirit stones!

"Furthermore, this event is purely a test of luck. That is why our Spirit Treasure Pavilion has set up a small Array in this area to block Spiritual Sense. Those selecting stones will not be able to use their Spiritual Sense to probe the insides. Even I don’t know what is hidden within them.

"This is a customer appreciation event hosted by our Spirit Treasure Pavilion, held at irregular intervals. If you miss this chance, who knows when the next one will be!"

After Manager Qiu finished his introduction, many people in the crowd were tempted, though no one stepped forward right away.

At that moment, a man stepped out of the crowd. He paid five Mid Grade Spirit Stones and, under the watchful eyes of everyone present, picked a stone at random.

Manager Qiu personally cracked the stone open, his voice suddenly rising in pitch. "This Cultivator has won a super Attack Talisman worth ten top-grade spirit stones!"

The male Cultivator looked pleasantly surprised. Grabbing the talisman, he hurried away.

Five Mid Grade Spirit Stones had just bought something worth ten top-grade spirit stones!

The atmosphere instantly grew heated. Many people eagerly stepped forward to pay, wanting to test their luck.

On the second floor.

Ye Zhaozhao looked down at the ground floor with a mocking expression.

"Did you see that?" she thought. "So what if they are Cultivators? They are still dancing in the palm of my hand. All it took was a little modern marketing trick and a shill to hype up the atmosphere, and these people fell for it hook, line, and sinker. I, Ye Zhaozhao, am no piece of trash!"

Ye Zhaozhao fixed her gaze intensely on Li Shuang. What about Li Shuang? She had to be tempted by now!

"Little Frost, should we play a round too?" Luo Mingyue rubbed her hands together eagerly.

Li Shuang shook her head. "Go ahead, Ming Yue. I think I’ll pass."

"You’re not playing?" Luo Mingyue felt a bit disappointed, but she still said, "Then let’s go check out somewhere else."

Although this game was a novelty, she was here today to accompany Li Shuang, so naturally, she had to prioritize Li Shuang’s wishes.

Manager Qiu had been keeping an eye on Li Shuang’s reaction. Seeing that she was actually about to leave, he began to feel slightly anxious.

Miss Ye had explicitly instructed him to make Li Shuang play until she lost every last penny! If Li Shuang simply walked away now, he wouldn’t be able to explain himself.

Manager Qiu took the initiative to approach them. "Are you two Immortals not going to play a round? It’s only five Mid Grade Spirit Stones per try. You might just win the grand prize—a treasure worth one hundred top-grade spirit stones!"

Li Shuang raised an eyebrow. "No need."

How could Manager Qiu just let her walk away? "How about this? I will treat you to your first attempt. I’ll cover the five Mid Grade Spirit Stones for you, and you can pick whichever stone you like. What do you say?"

Li Shuang gave Manager Qiu a peculiar look. Why did this manager think she wasn’t playing?

Although her Heaven and Earth Melting Furnace had not yet been activated, whenever she got close to something containing Spiritual Energy, the Melting Furnace’s progress bar would react. For example, when the Black Abyss Sword first appeared, the progress bar of the Heaven and Earth Melting Furnace instantly blurred all the way to one hundred percent. The progress bar would show varying changes whenever she approached other items containing Spiritual Power.

To her, these stones were completely transparent. She had no intention of taking advantage of the game using this method, which was why she wanted to leave.

But right now, the Supreme Forget Emotion Technique was circulating silently within her. This Cultivation Technique was extremely sensitive to the goodwill and malice of others. The moment Manager Qiu stepped in front of her, she sensed an intense malice radiating from him! Manager Qiu was intentionally targeting her.

On the second floor.

Ye Zhaozhao looked down nervously. She was terrified that Li Shuang wouldn’t take the bait!

Suddenly sensing something, Li Shuang snapped her head up and looked toward the window.

Startled, Ye Zhaozhao hurriedly ducked back inside.

"What do you think?" Manager Qiu continued asking.

Li Shuang withdrew her gaze and suddenly smiled. She looked at Manager Qiu meaningfully. "Manager Qiu, are you sure you want me to play?"

Manager Qiu chuckled. "If you are willing to play, our Spirit Treasure Pavilion will be deeply honored."

"Alright," Li Shuang said calmly, taking out five Mid Grade Spirit Stones. "There’s no need for you to treat me. I will pay for a round myself."

It was safer to pay these five Mid Grade Spirit Stones out of her own pocket. Otherwise, if she won the grand prize, there would likely be disputes.

Manager Qiu’s eyes flickered slightly as he accepted the spirit stones with a chuckle. "Please go ahead."

"Ming Yue, wait for me for a moment. This will be quick," Li Shuang said to Luo Mingyue.

Luo Mingyue nodded. "No problem. Take your time, Little Frost."

Li Shuang smiled faintly and walked over.

Manager Qiu followed her with a beaming smile.

Half of these stones were completely empty inside, while the other half contained items. Among the stones that actually held something, the vast majority contained items worth less than five Mid Grade Spirit Stones. He had done the math. With this business model, their Spirit Treasure Pavilion was guaranteed to turn a profit.

Li Shuang slowly picked up a stone. The progress bar of the Heaven and Earth Melting Furnace didn’t move an inch.

She put the stone down and touched another one. There was still no reaction.

She wasn’t in a hurry, simply continuing to touch the stones one by one.

"You can’t tell anything from the surface of these stones. Why not just pick one at random?" Manager Qiu couldn’t help but pick one up himself. "How about this one?"

Li Shuang smiled faintly and ignored him.

Out of the tens of thousands of stones, Li Shuang tirelessly touched them one by one.

"Ugh! How is it empty again?! I’ll buy another one! I refuse to believe my luck is this bad!"

"I won! I won! I got a treasure worth a full three hundred Mid Grade Spirit Stones!"

Various shouts and cheers were already ringing out across the scene.

But Li Shuang remained completely unhurried, continuing to pick up the stones one by one.

On the second floor.

Ye Zhaozhao poked her head out again. Watching Li Shuang’s bizarre behavior, a hint of gloom flashed through her eyes.

What on earth was Li Shuang doing?!

To target Li Shuang, she had specifically arranged a series of measures to lure her into a gambling addiction. In the original plan, during the first selection, Manager Qiu was supposed to let Li Shuang win a stone worth ten Mid Grade Spirit Stones to give her a small taste of victory. Then, the people planted around Li Shuang would hype up the atmosphere, praising her good luck and urging her to keep picking. With this entire scheme in place, it was guaranteed that Li Shuang would completely lose her head and spend all her Spirit Stones!

But now! Why wasn’t Li Shuang taking the bait at all?! No matter what Manager Qiu said, and no matter how the people around her hyped up the atmosphere, she remained completely unmoved!