Chapter 39: Cutting the Stone

Within a few days, Zhao Erdong had spent the majority of the three hundred gold coins she had previously earned. Various stones of all shapes and sizes now cluttered half of her bedchamber.

"Miss, if you keep buying like this, we'll be penniless!" Lily, who was filling the bathtub with hot water, could not help but grumble.

Zhao Erdong merely offered a faint smile, offering no reply.

Lily felt helpless. Her mistress had changed, becoming vastly different from before. In the past, the young lady had no opinions of her own and would always listen to her, but now, she was incredibly decisive and did everything on her own terms, never consulting her anymore.

"Miss, the water is ready. Let me help you undress," Lily stepped forward, rolling up her sleeves in preparation to assist Zhao Erdong.

Zhao Erdong waved her hand. "No need. I am not the one bathing; they are." She gestured with her slender finger toward the pile of rocks she had purchased from the spirit stone shop.

Lily had heard of people, cats, and dogs bathing, but never of someone bathing stones.

Without explanation, Zhao Erdong picked up a stone and dropped it into the bucket, the clear water just enough to submerge it. She took out a stone-cutting blade and, mimicking the masters at the spirit stone shop, began to shave away the outer rind layer by layer.

So, the mistress was stone-cutting. But why do it underwater? Lily shrugged; the mistress was becoming increasingly eccentric, always doing such strange things.

After about five minutes, the outer layers were stripped away. The stone, once the size of a human head, was now only the size of an adult’s fist. Zhao Erdong made one final cut, the rind fell away, and a beam of crimson, ethereal light appeared at the bottom of the bucket, shimmering faintly.

Lily’s cherry lips parted wide, unable to believe her eyes. "M-miss, you cut it out, you actually cut it out!" She gripped Zhao Erdong’s arm tightly, terrified that a careless stroke might damage the precious origin spirit crystal.

"I know I cut it out. Why are you so nervous?" Zhao Erdong shot Lily a sidelong glance. This girl, did she really have so little faith in her? Was she so excited because she thought all those stones had been bought at random?

Lily rushed to the window, shutting it tight and drawing the curtains. If people outside knew they had cut open an origin spirit crystal in an inn, there was no telling what kind of chaos would ensue.

"Don't be nervous. Because I cut it underwater, the light from the crystal cannot penetrate the surface; no one outside can see it." Zhao Erdong deftly removed the crimson crystal and placed it into a thick black cloth bag she had prepared in advance, ensuring not a sliver of spirit light could escape.

Lily was overwhelmed with excitement, thinking that they no longer had to worry about running out of money. She helped Zhao Erdong clear away the stone debris from the bucket and brought over another stone.

Zhao Erdong did not hesitate, picking up the stone knife and starting to cut. After the practice with the first stone, her speed increased significantly. Before long, most of the stone had been cut away, and a dim, amber-colored glow began to emanate from within.

"Orange, it’s actually orange," Lily whispered, trying to keep her voice down, yet unable to conceal her agitation.

How could she not be excited? In the time they had spent lingering around the spirit stone workshops, the thing they heard most often was that the yield rate of origin spirit crystals had become extremely low; they were truly priceless and rare.

In the hours that followed, Lily’s mouth remained agape, her eyes dazzled by the array of origin spirit crystals.

They harvested quite a few crimson, orange, yellow, green, and cyan crystals. They even cut out a blue origin spirit crystal the size of an infant's fist. Blue crystals were rare not only in the Great Moon Kingdom but across the entire Eastern Continent.

If a sixth-rank Martial King were to obtain a blue origin spirit crystal, using it to assist in cultivation upon reaching the peak of the sixth rank would greatly increase the success rate of breaking through the bottleneck. Provided no accidents occurred, it would surely help the cultivator advance to the seventh rank, becoming a true powerhouse capable of traversing the entire continent at will.