It was especially so each time the World of Nine Yin was opened up and a large amount of Shamans surged in, which would cause the city to bustle with activity, and there were numerous shops which would still be visited even at night.
It was a bit past noon. In a two story inn located in the west of the city were Wu Duo and Su Ming, who were sitting at a table while looking at a river running through the entire Shaman City. Sounds of running water echoed in their ears, adding another sort of taste to the wine they drank.
"The person who fought against the Latter Shaman from Eastern Goosefoot Tribe yesterday must have been you then, brother Mo. When I saw you walking out from the place of the Spirits of Nine Yin with Nan Gong Hen by your side, I could already guess." Wu Duo smiled, and there were all sorts of emotions in his eyes as he looked at Su Ming.
"I didn’t expect that in a few years since the last time we met, your level of cultivation would have went up by leaps and bounds. It’s indeed impressive!"
Su Ming shook his head and said slowly, "Being able to fight against senior Tie Mu was just pure luck on my part."
"Oh? Brother Mo, you don’t have to be humble. I might not have seen it, but when I heard about it from others, I could tell that you definitely did not manage to survive by pure luck." Wu Duo smiled and took a sip of wine.
When he heard Wu Duo phrasing it as such, Su Ming smiled faintly and no longer spoke about that. Instead, he looked at Wu Duo and said calmly,"Brother Zhong, what are the details of the treasure gambling event you mentioned? I don’t know much about it, so I hope you would be able to tell me."
"Brother Mo, you must obtain a sufficient amount of Shaman Crystals before the treasure gambling event. Only then will it be possible to reap any sort of rewards from the event. Of course, if you’re only going there to take a look and not to join it, then you won’t need to do this."
Wu Duo took a sip of wine, cast Su Ming a look, then said with a smile. "This treasure gambling event is actually a unique thing that only appears in the World of Nine Yin. It is divided into two parts. All people who have more than one hundred thousand Shaman Crystals can join the first part of the event.
"Only those who have become Latter Shamans can gain from the second part. Most people whose level of cultivation is not high enough would not choose to enter the second part, unless they have great luck. If not, most of them would end up really badly." Wu Duo spoke in great detail. He knew that Su Ming might have gained some knowledge about the event, but since he was not a Shaman, there must still be some details that he was not entirely clear about.
"Oh? Please, I would like to hear it." Su Ming brought the wine cup to his lips and took a sip.
Wu Duo gathered his thoughts for a while, then looked around before he asked in a whisper, "Brother Mo, do you know why this place is called the World of Nine Yin and do you know how this name came to be?" .
Su Ming looked at Wu Duo. He did not speak. He knew that Wu Duo did not require any answer from him.
"Besides the Yin Spirit Tribe telling the name to the Shamans’ ancestors in the past, it originated from a stone monument that was once erected at a spot somewhere in this place.
"There were only four words on the stone monument, and they were ‘World of Nine Yin’. As for the Yin Spirit Tribe, it’s this…" Wu Duo said, then lifted his left hand to reveal the glowing mark on the back of his hand.
"In the past, when the Shamans’ ancestors arrived in the World of Nine Yin, they somehow got into contact with Yin Spirit Tribe, allowing them to be able to get their help to occupy an area of one million lis in this place in one go, though it was over a period of many years. They also managed to get their help to build Shaman City.
"The treasure gambling event is actually largely connected to the spot where Shaman City is built." Wu Duo’s voice was soft. It did not spread too far, and only Su Ming could hear it clearly.
"They chose to build Shaman City on the ground right underneath our feet because there is a gigantic secret in this area. It was very difficult for outsiders to learn about this secret, and it was not until many years later, when an End Shaman who participated in building the city told his descendants of this secret before he died that more Shamans learned about this through a series of complicated events.
"Heh heh, brother Mo, it’s definitely difficult for you to guess this. Before we built Shaman City over this land, this place was a giant pit! There were many crimson colored stones stored in it. There was nothing strange about those stones, but we could not send our senses and perceptions into them. When we cracked them open gently, we found some strange herbs inside!
"The famous Nine Abyss Flower is one of them! In fact, there are still plenty of herbs that are not recorded by the Shamans, and even those from Nine Li Tribe cannot recognize them. They should be treasures of immeasurable worth that were rare even during ancient times, and have long since become extinct!
"However…" A brilliant flash passed through Wu Duo’s eyes.
"Most of the Crimson Stones have nothing inside. Well, actually, they might have had something inside before, but because they had been around for too long, those things gradually dissipated.
"Only few among the Crimson Stones contain herbs, and even so, most of them have already turned into fossils. There are no longer any sort of medicinal properties within them. And even if some herbs still contain medicinal properties, there won’t be much of it left anyway.
"However, there is no absolute in this world. Some of these Crimson Stones that have been cracked open before were found to contain herbs that still contain seven tens of their medicinal properties! In fact… from what I know, there were nine times over the years where complete, undamaged herbs that still retained all of their medicinal properties were found in these Crimson Stones!
"These herbs are all incredibly old, and each of them could be called a priceless treasure! But it all depends on luck. If you’re lucky, perhaps the herb’s original value itself is already high to begin with. If you’re not lucky, then it would be an ordinary leaf. Even if it was still fresh, it would still be…" Wu Duo sighed deeply with feeling.
As Su Ming listened to Wu Duo’s words, his eyes began sparkling.
"We calculate the value of the herbs based on two things. One of them is the quality of the herb itself, and the other is the medicinal properties the herb contains compared to other herbs with the same effects.
"Herbs are not the only things contained in Crimson Stones either. There are also ancient Enchanted Vessels and some skill manuals. All of these are things you might find in there. It just depends on whether you can find them and whether the item you get can still be used…
"Due to its mysteriousness and because even End Shamans will have difficulties in finding any sort of clue from these stones, this luck-based cracking of Crimson Stones has gradually turned into the treasure gambling event!
"This sort of heart pounding excitement is something many people cannot resist… The Crimson Stones that can only be bought with a large amount of Shaman Crystals can be said to be able to make a person rise to great heights in an instant… and it can also make a person lose everything in an instant as well." Wu Duo licked his lips. Clearly, he was very passionate about this treasure gambling event.
"These Crimson Stones are valuable. Even if it is incredibly rare for herbs and treasures to appear within them, with the God of Shamans Temple’s power and influence, there’s absolutely no need for them to hold this treasure gambling event. They could just crack open all the stones on their own. By doing so, they wouldn’t have to lose anything!" Su Ming frowned.
"Brother Mo, you might not know about this, but that’s what the God of Shamans Temple did in the beginning, but as time passed by and the secret of this place spread through the entire Shaman Tribe… Heh heh, the God of Shamans Temple’s influence might be great, but the big tribes in the land of the Shamans would absolutely not let it monopolize the chance of obtaining priceless treasures.
"Even those middle-sized tribes have set their sights on this event. It’s only under the pressure of all the tribes in the land of the Shamans that the God of Shamans Temple brings out a portion of the Crimson Stones every single time they open up this place and host this treasure gambling event!" Wu Duo explained.
Su Ming pondered over this for a moment before he voiced his thoughts. "Even so, the big tribes must have also joined the team of people who developed this place. It’s impossible that they didn’t know about this. If that’s the case, what you’re saying is a little far-fetched.
"Besides, how could there still be Crimson Stones in this place after such a long time? And by the looks of it, they still have quite a lot of these things left. This is something I don’t understand as well."
Wu Duo hesitated for a while before he said with a lack of confidence, "Perhaps there are some reasons that I don’t know of regarding the former matter you speak of, but no matter what they may be, the God of Shamans Temple has been hosting this treasure gambling event involving all Shaman Tribes for many years…
"There is in no way you can fake this, and there have been people who have indeed been able to find valuable herbs in these stones. The nine times I spoke of are examples.
"As for the second, well, brother Mo, you still don’t really understand this World of Nine Yin. The amount of Crimson Stones in this world is incredibly large, but we can’t extract too many of them in one go. We can only get them out slowly. That is how the God of Shamans Temple is able to bring out these Crimson Stones every single time they open up the place.
"Legend has it that there are several huge tunnels underneath Shaman City. These tunnels were all dug out through the years, during the process of mining for these Crimson Stones.
"But it’s true that the number of Crimson Stones that are brought out is smaller with each treasure gambling event. I didn’t come here when this place was open to public the last time, but I heard later that they only brought out about ten thousand of these stones. It’s a little fewer than the previous times."
Su Ming thought about it quietly for a while. There might be some things he still did not understand about this, but Wu Duo did not seem to know everything either, which could only mean that these thing were not privy to a Medial Shaman.
"Brother Zhong, is the second part of the treasure gambling event you speak of a small scale event that is limited to only certain people who have certain levels of cultivation, and is held in another place that is like a trading zone, in a manner almost like an auction?"
"Wrong guess. There is indeed small scale auctions like these during the treasure gambling event, but those are held in private. They are not considered as the second part of the event. The second part of the event is incredibly bloody, and people frequently die in this part! Its name is also known as Stone Looting Event!
"The End Shaman who is protecting Shaman City will definitely not take action. This is a contest between Latter Shamans, and the location is in one of the three small Crimson Stone veins that are usually closed off to public. They are all located within these one million lis.
"Some Crimson Stones will gush out of these small Crimson Stone veins once in a while. After some preparations, the God of Shamans Temple will be able to make these veins gush out a large amount of Crimson Stones for a short period of time. It depends on the person’s abilities on how many they are able to loot.
"When the time comes, a Relocation Rune will be activated. The original rule states that everyone with any sort of level of cultivation can enter it, but few Medial Shamans go. But since there’s that Catastrophe of the Eastern Wastelands, the pressure of the threat of death from this disaster will drive those who want to survive through it mad. The number of those who will risk their lives in this event will be a lot higher compared to previous times.
"What I want to discuss with you is the second part… If you’re willing to help me, then I will give you some of the Crimson Stones I’ll obtain. I can promise you, if everything goes smoothly, then we will get a large amount of Crimson Stones!" Wu Duo looked at Su Ming with an expectant look.