Chapter Thirty-Three: The False Prime Crystal

Chapter 33: Pseudo-Origin Crystals

When Yang Qi returned to the villa, Zhao Yixin was asleep. With no one to disturb him, Yang Qi immediately began his meditative practice. After several days of cultivation, the Origin Force within his body had grown significantly, leaving him only a single step away from the seven-star Martial Disciple realm.

"The Origin Qi in this piece of jade is running low; I should take this opportunity to break through to the seven-star Martial Disciple realm in one go!" Yang Qi thought to himself, sensing the waning energy within the stone.

He channeled the Haotian Technique, rapidly absorbing and refining the jade's energy. The Origin Qi in his Dantian began to grow steadily. By evening, the energy within him had finally reached its saturation point.

"Break!" Yang Qi let out a low shout. The Origin Force surged within his body, smashing through the bottleneck of the seven-star Martial Disciple level. The next moment, he felt his Dantian tremble, and the surrounding Heaven and Earth Origin Qi began to converge upon him frantically.

"Finally, I've broken through to the seven-star Martial Disciple level." A smile appeared on his face. Having consumed the energy of one piece of jade, his cultivation had finally advanced.

As he circulated the energy within, he could feel its newfound power.

"Huh? The jade is still here?" Yang Qi was slightly stunned as he looked at the stone in his hand. "Is this a pseudo-origin crystal?"

Origin crystals are categorized into real and fake. True origin crystals are formed by the convergence of Heaven and Earth Origin Qi under the immense pressure of origin veins; once the energy inside is absorbed, the crystal crumbles into powder. Pseudo-origin crystals, however, contain less energy and more impurities, meaning the carrier remains intact even after the energy is extracted.

Simply put, a true origin crystal is pure Heaven and Earth Origin Qi, while a pseudo-origin crystal is merely an object that happens to contain it.

"In the Tianwu Continent, pseudo-origin crystals are nothing special, but on Earth, even these are quite precious. As for true origin crystals..." Yang Qi sighed. Because he had never seen a real one and relied only on the records left by the Great Emperor Haoyang, he hadn't immediately recognized that the jade was just a pseudo-origin crystal.

"But this actually isn't a bad thing." Looking at the jade, Yang Qi couldn't help but smile.

Although the energy in a pseudo-origin crystal is less pure, it is still countless times denser than the ambient energy in the world. Most importantly, since the jade remains after the energy is absorbed, its intrinsic value is preserved.

"I was worried about the high cost of jade for my future cultivation, but now I don't have to worry about that anymore." Yang Qi smiled. Since the jade remains intact, he only extracts the energy and doesn't destroy the stone itself. He would no longer have to worry about the consumption of jade for his training.

*Gurgle~*

Suddenly, Yang Qi’s stomach let out a protest. After a full day of cultivation, he was famished.

By now, it was dark. Yang Qi grabbed a quick meal at the snack street behind the university. As he was preparing to head back, his phone rang.

"Qi-er, I’ve sent over your living expenses for this month. Check if you’ve received them and give me a call," his mother’s familiar voice came through the phone.

"Mom, you don't need to send me money anymore. I found a job at a jewelry company. It pays eight thousand a month," Yang Qi quickly said.

"What jewelry company? That’s a high salary—it isn't a scam, is it?" his mother asked, her voice filled with anxiety.

"How could it be? It’s the largest jewelry company in Qingchuan Province. It’s legitimate. Besides, I went with their manager to negotiate a business deal, and since the deal was successful, they decided to hire me," Yang Qi explained.

"Oh, I see." His mother let out a sigh of relief. "Well, I won't send you any more money next month. Don't be too frugal at school; spend what you need. Now that you’ve found a job, it's time to start looking for a girlfriend."

"I know, Mom. Take it easy, no rush," Yang Qi replied.

He hadn't told his parents about his relationship with Luo Rong, as they had been strictly against him dating while he was still studying. It was only in the last six months, nearing graduation, that they had started urging him to find someone. He had originally planned to stabilize his situation with Luo Rong after graduation and bring her home for the New Year, but he hadn't expected her to dump him before he even graduated.

After chatting for a while longer, Yang Qi ended the call. He had millions in his hands, and he had considered sending some money home to make his parents' lives easier. But he knew that if he did, they would be incredibly worried. Imagine his simple, hardworking parents suddenly receiving tens of thousands of yuan—what would they think?

They would probably drop everything and rush to Qingzhou. That was why he didn't send the money immediately. He planned to use his "job" at the jewelry company as a cover, gradually increasing the amount he claimed to earn, and then eventually attribute his wealth to stone gambling. That way, his parents would find it easier to accept and wouldn't let their imaginations run wild. A mother’s concern for a child living far away is a timeless truth, one that is even more evident in modern times once a child leaves for university.

Two days passed in the blink of an eye, and the time to depart for Guangdong with Shen Yuxuan arrived.

Yang Qi sold the glutinous rice-type jade to Shen Yuxuan. This piece of jade, which should have been "consumed" and vanished, brought Yang Qi four hundred thousand yuan in income. While not a massive fortune, it was certainly a tidy sum.

Because Ah Biao was dead and Ah Long was severely injured, Shen Yuxuan brought two other bodyguards, Chen Meng and Zhou Hai, for the trip to Guangdong. Their skills were on par with those of Ah Long and Ah Biao. Her assistant, Xu Jiajia, also tagged along. Although the primary purpose of the trip was to have Yang Qi join her, Shen Yuxuan also intended to purchase some jade. While the Liu family was deeply rooted in Qingchuan Province, they lacked that same influence in Guangdong. Large suppliers might respect the Liu family, but smaller ones operating only within Guangdong cared little for the interests of a distant province; to them, money was the only thing that mattered.

"We are heading to Guangdong to meet the Li family. We have always had a partnership with them. I heard they have recently acquired a large amount of raw jade material, and their shop will be our main focus," Shen Yuxuan said on the plane.

"Does this Li family also deal in the jade business?" Yang Qi asked in a deep voice.

"Not exactly. The Li family employs a master of stone gambling who has connections in Myanmar. They primarily trade in raw materials. After all, raw material trading is almost always profitable. The finished jade business is different; if you rely only on selling polished jade, there's barely any profit. High-end jade relies on master gamblers, but since it involves gambling, there are always wins and losses," Shen Yuxuan sighed, continuing, "Over the years, I've seen countless jewelry companies, both large and small, rise and fall."

Stone gambling is, at the end of the day, a gamble. Even the most brilliant master cannot guarantee a win. A single bad bet could lead to total financial ruin.