The Sacred Leaves Family's Wishes for Peace

Because of the Azure Thunder Roc, Fang Luo's group had once again come into conflict with Xiang Zhantian. At the time, one of Xiang's lackeys had boasted that he'd make Fang Luo and the others kneel before Xiang Zhantian within a day.

"Well, it's been a full day now—where the hell are they?!"

Xiang Zhantian glared furiously at the follower before him. If that underling hadn't proven himself useful, Xiang would have slapped him dead on the spot.

The lackey wore a bitter expression.

"Brother Tian, it's not my fault. I didn't expect them to actually be that capable. They'd only just arrived in Seven Kings City and already made their way to the inner city to fight for a Blessed Grotto-Heaven—and they even won. Now they're holed up in Yellow Maple Valley, and we haven't had a single opportunity."

He had assumed Fang Luo and the others were just weak nobodies without backing—easy to toy with.

Who could have guessed that they had real strength, grasped the city's dynamics upon arrival, and beat him to the punch by securing a grotto-heaven before he could act?

Because of the grotto-heaven challenge rules, he couldn't even send anyone to force Fang Luo's group out right now.

At the moment, unless one of the Seven Kings personally stepped in, nobody in the city could touch Fang Luo's team.

Xiang Zhantian's face darkened, just as he was about to erupt, but the lackey quickly added:

"But don't worry, Brother Tian! They killed Yellow Maple Valley's former owner, Li Han. His friend Tie Zhen is planning to challenge them next month. Tie Zhen has already broken through to Ninth Stage Great Saint—he's bound to win. Once they get kicked out, we'll have plenty of ways to deal with them."

Each of the 120 grotto-heavens in the inner city belonged to a noteworthy figure in Seven Kings City.

If one wanted to quietly and discreetly dispose of someone living inside a grotto-heaven, it was extremely difficult.

But once they were living elsewhere, Xiang Zhantian's influence could easily deal with them.

Hearing this, Xiang Zhantian's expression finally eased a little.

Luckily, he still didn't know that Fang Luo was the one who had snatched the Ocean-Suppressing Flood Serpent from under his nose. Otherwise, his hatred would have reached a boiling point, and he would have already moved against them without hesitation.

After settling into Yellow Maple Valley, most of Fang Luo's group focused entirely on cultivation. Only Fang Chen would occasionally leave the valley.

Whenever he did, he took extreme precautions, just like the cautious Fang Chu—circling around three times and changing appearances four times before doing anything.

Unless he ran into someone far stronger than himself, he could easily shake off any tail.

The Xie brothers—sent by Tie Zhen—and Xiang Zhantian's men had been lurking near Yellow Maple Valley's entrance, but every time, they ended up getting thrown off by Fang Chen's maneuvers.

Fang Chen had two main reasons for leaving the valley: one was to gather information, and the other was to go treasure hunting—something he did instinctively in any new place.

After a few excursions, he finally gained something of value.

Upon returning this time, Fang Chen went straight to the largest courtyard in the valley, where Fang Luo and Fang Qiufeng typically lived and cultivated.

At the moment, the two of them were sitting in the pavilion sipping tea. Seeing Fang Chen return, Fang Luo poured him a cup.

Fang Chen walked over, downed the tea in one gulp, then sat down and spoke calmly.

"One of the Seven Kings living in the East City, Cang Lu, has two sworn brothers—both are Emperor Realm powerhouses. One of them is named Xiang Qian. Xiang Zhantian is his grandson."

Fang Luo and Fang Qiufeng exchanged looks of realization.

No wonder when they'd run into him in Youzhou, Xiang Zhantian had been surrounded by a pack of Saint-level flunkies—and had even used rare ancient formation treasures.

When they first arrived in Seven Kings City, Xiang had come to buy their Azure Thunder Roc, yet acted so arrogant.

Turns out he had such powerful backing—a grandfather at the Emperor Realm, plus two granduncles who were also Emperors.

In any other place, he could act like he owned the world.

By Seven Kings City standards, he was already behaving somewhat restrained. After all, Cang Lu was only one of the Seven Kings, and Xiang Qian didn't have just one grandson.

Compared to that big headache named Cang Lu, Tie Zhen and the Xie brothers seemed like minor problems.

After that conversation, Fang Chen suddenly took out a fist-sized stone.

"Look what I found in the city."

Fang Qiufeng tapped on it and examined it. "Looks like an ordinary rock at first glance, but divine sense can't penetrate it. What's the deal?"

"It's a Suppression Stone," Fang Luo said.

Fang Chen nodded.

"As expected of Brother Luo—your knowledge never fails to impress."

Fang Qiufeng's curiosity was piqued. "Come on, tell me—what's so special about it?"

Fang Chen explained, "Suppression Stones have two main functions: first, they block divine sense from probing; second, they're used to seal and preserve spiritual herbs and pills."

"They're ideal for crafting prisons or cultivation chambers, but because they're rare, they're mainly used to preserve herbs and medicinal pills."

"Even the best jade bottles and embroidered boxes can't completely prevent potency loss over time. But a Suppression Stone seal can preserve the effects for thousands—or even tens of thousands—of years."

"Whenever ruins from the Ancient or Desolate Eras are discovered, you can often find Suppression Stones inside. The value of what's preserved within them varies greatly."

"So, the Sky Vault Merchant Guild came up with a money-making scheme. They collect all sizes of Suppression Stones from across the Tianyuan Realm at high prices, and then sell them off during special events."

"Simply put, it's stone gambling."

"The Sky Vault Merchant Guild holds a stone gambling convention every thirty years, choosing a different continent each time. This year it's East Continent's turn—so the event will be held right here in Seven Kings City."

The Sky Vault Merchant Guild was one of the twenty top-tier powers in the Tianyuan Realm. As long as something related to cultivators was being traded, they were involved. Their branches spanned every continent.

After finishing his explanation, Fang Chen took another sip of tea.

Fang Qiufeng rubbed his chin. "So that's how it is. When the convention starts, we should definitely check it out and try our luck."

Fang Luo nodded in agreement. In his past life, after becoming a Saint and traveling to various continents, he had only learned about Suppression Stones by chance.

Since they blocked divine sense, no one could tell what was inside.

You might spend a fortune on one and cut it open to find nothing—or some ordinary pill.

But you might also pick one up casually and discover a supreme-grade elixir inside, earning a massive windfall.

That's why it was called "stone gambling."

Other people relied solely on luck and experience—but Fang Chen, with his aura-vision technique, was on a different level. His odds of profit were sky-high.

So for him, attending this gambling event was a must.

At that moment, Fang Chen thought of someone else with incredible luck—Fang Ying.

Back when they went to choose spirit eggs together, Fang Ying had picked one at random and hatched a Celestial Mystic Turtle.

Fang Chen, after much careful effort, had chosen two and only got an Azure Thunder Roc—far less valuable.

So if Fang Ying were here for the stone gambling convention too, there was no doubt they'd both make a fortune.