After leaving, Will whispered, "That old man is probably a figure of immense power, with a status even higher than Dan Chen's. He invited us to drink together earlier—why did you refuse? It might have been a great opportunity."
Ye Chen smiled meaningfully. "There will be more opportunities in the future."
The Tianyi Market was vast, and naturally, the two of them didn't abandon their stroll just because of the earlier incident. Soon, they arrived before another stall.
Though called a stall, this one was quite special and occupied an area many times larger than the others. Unlike other stalls that displayed Heaven and Earth Treasures, ancient burial artifacts, or Divine Refining Materials, the ground here was covered with many strange and peculiar stones. Over half of them appeared extraordinary, displaying myriad wondrous phenomena.
Some resembled flying immortals, some took the shape of True Dragons, others looked like immortal phoenixes, and there were even ones like immortal kings sitting in meditation... everything imaginable was present, attracting the attention of many onlookers.
Even Ye Chen and Will stopped in their tracks. Not only were these stones peculiar, but more importantly, each was enveloped in wisps of special chaotic energy that obscured others' perception, making it impossible to see what lay within.
Yet this was precisely what made them so intriguing. Rumors said these were Chaos Origin Stones obtained from the Chaos Sea, possibly containing heaven-defying opportunities or Divine Refining Materials.
Historically, some had been opened to reveal priceless Chaos Immortal Gold, peerless medicinal spirits over a hundred thousand years old, longevity medicines, ancient Emperor scriptures, Chaos Dao essences, and the like—filled with legends.
But more often than not, they were just worthless stones, empty inside.
After all, not every Chaos Origin Stone contained peerless treasures; only a few truly held treasures.
"These are Chaos Origin Stones. Their true origin is from the Chaos Sea. They might contain treasures born from the creation of heaven and earth—Chaos Immortal Gold, Chaos Supreme Treasures, young forms of Supreme living beings—but they could also harbor the most fearsome malevolent entities." Will, clearly knowledgeable, explained to Ye Chen.
Chaos Origin Stones were mostly nurtured by the Chaos Sea, but some involved ancient battlefields from the era of destruction within the Chaos Sea, filled with mystery and possibly the most terrifying malevolent forces.
Ancient records even mentioned that in the most ancient times, an Ancient Universe obtained a Chaos Origin Stone shaped like ninety-nine dragons soaring from the Chaos Sea. Initially thought to contain the most precious Chaos Supreme Treasure, it instead nurtured a Chaos Supreme living being—immensely powerful and brutally savage. It brought calamity to that Ancient Universe, causing the deaths of countless living beings. Only when a Great Emperor was alerted and, after a great battle, personally suppressed and killed it, was disaster averted.
Thus, all this indicated that Chaos Origin Stones were far from simple.
Yet, there truly existed some priceless treasures among them. Someone had once obtained a half-fang-sized piece of Azure Sky Gold from one, of immeasurable value.
At this stall, many powerful figures had gathered, including Heavenly Kings and even several ancient Great Sages, continuously observing.
Ye Chen also opened his Eyes of the Heavens. However, the stall was engraved with a special Formation Array; one Great Dao Rune after another interwove and shone brilliantly, enveloping these Chaos Origin Stones, making them dazzling and impossible to see through.
But Ye Chen, as a Chaos Saint Body, was extraordinary. His Eyes of the Heavens had undergone a mutation; his pupils seemed to contain a Chaos Sea, barely piercing through the Formation Array. He could vaguely see that some of the Chaos Stones contained something, glowing faintly, but he couldn't truly discern what.
Still, the stall owner's Formation Array mastery was quite advanced; even Ye Chen couldn't maintain prolonged penetration. He could only see a few Chaos Origin Stones.
Although Ye Chen's Formation Array skill was also high, and he was confident he could decipher it given time, this was the Tianyi Market, where breaking trading rules was not allowed.
"Qian Yue, you're a formation master and a Chaos Saint Body. Can you tell which of these Chaos Origin Stones are the best?" Will asked.
"Those few!"
Ye Chen pointed out the few Chaos Stones he had discovered. The chaotic energy within them was the most dense, continuously swirling inside. Even he found it difficult to penetrate, leaving him somewhat indecisive.
And coincidentally, those few Chaos Stones were the most expensive, each requiring hundreds of millions of jin of divine spiritual source to purchase, making it a difficult choice for many.
These Chaos Stones might indeed contain heaven-defying opportunities, but they could also turn out to be empty, leaving one with only worthless stones after spending a fortune—a hard decision.
"How confident are you?" Will said.
"Not very, but I can confirm these few Chaos Origin Stones contain something. Whether they're Supreme Treasures, I dare not guarantee." Ye Chen frowned.
Naturally, it wasn't just them; others were also looking at the few central, prominent Chaos Origin Stones, each about one zhang in size and with quite special shapes.
One Chaos Origin Stone was shaped like a True Dragon, its sinuous body coiled, head held high, mouth open as if roaring, exuding an awe-inspiring aura through the ages.
It was so special that even individual dragon scales were nearly clearly visible, and it was definitely natural, not artificially formed.
This was precisely why it attracted frequent attention. Many believed it might hide a pure-blood True Dragon egg, nurtured within the Chaos Origin Stone, absorbing Chaos essence, born of heaven and earth.
But it could also be empty. Even without the stall owner's advanced Formation Array, powerful figures generally found it hard to see through, as Chaos Origin Stones contained primordial Chaos Qi that could block everything.
The second Chaos Origin Stone nearby resembled a flying immortal, lifelike. The entire stone possessed a special flying-immortal aura, with wisps of flying-immortal light faintly visible, which even the stall owner's Formation Array couldn't completely block.
All the most expensive Chaos Origin Stones marked in the center displayed various extraordinary phenomena, causing hesitation.
Even the observing ancient Great Sages seemed tempted, clearly wanting to buy and open them, but they remained indecisive, worried it might all be for nothing.
"Little Moon, what do you think? Do you want to buy?" Will said.
"Let me study them a bit more." Ye Chen still didn't dare guarantee. His Eyes of the Heavens contained Chaos within, with primordial Qi surging like an endless Chaos Sea. Countless Great Dao Runes interwove, and two beams of chaotic light shot forth, penetrating several Chaos Origin Stones.
Boom—
In that instant, all the Chaos Origin Stones trembled. Each one shone brilliantly, with threads of primordial Chaos Qi swirling within.