It was no surprise that Yang Kai couldn't recognize it. Despite all his years of wandering the land and the vast breadth of his knowledge, there was no way he could identify every single material in existence.
However, given that Yang Yan had interrupted him at such a sensitive time and produced this particular ore, its value was surely extraordinary—and very likely of tremendous benefit to him personally.
Otherwise, Yang Yan would never have done so.
His divine sense swept over the stone and found nothing unusual whatsoever. The ore in front of him seemed like nothing more than an ordinary rock.
"Try pouring Sacred Energy into it!" Yang Yan prompted from the side.
Yang Kai didn't hesitate. He placed his hand over the ore, and Sacred Energy surged forth in a torrent. The next instant, his expression changed abruptly, and he yanked his hand back in alarm. "It devours Sacred Energy?"
It wasn't that Yang Kai was overreacting—this ore was simply far too bizarre. For a cultivator of his strength and realm to pour Sacred Energy into it and have it vanish without a trace, as if the ore were a bottomless pit capable of swallowing any amount of energy no matter how vast… He had truly never encountered anything like this before.
This ore really was something remarkable!
"What is this?" Yang Kai asked, eyes alight with keen interest, as he looked up at Yang Yan.
"Grand Evolution Divine Stone!"
"Grand Evolution Divine Stone?" Yang Kai furrowed his brow. He had genuinely never heard of such a thing. Even Ye Xiyun, standing behind Yang Yan, knit her delicate brows—clearly this was the first time she had heard the name as well.
"What does it do?"
"Didn't you just find that out for yourself?" Yang Yan said with a light laugh. "Energy absorption—that is the primary characteristic of the Grand Evolution Divine Stone. It is itself a Void King Grade forging material. Now imagine, if it were refined into an Artifact—what do you think would happen when you used it in battle against someone?"
At her words, Yang Kai's eyes lit up. If that were truly the case, then an Artifact forged from the Grand Evolution Divine Stone could counter any martial art, since martial techniques were nothing more than Sacred Energy released by a cultivator, and this stone could devour it all. Before an enemy's technique even came close, the Artifact would have consumed it entirely.
"Not bad at all—it really is a fine thing," Yang Kai nodded repeatedly. Moreover, since it was a Void King Grade forging material, the Artifact refined from it would almost certainly be Void King Grade as well. Artifacts of that caliber were exceedingly rare on the Dark Star.
The Bone-Corroding Flame Lamp in Ye Xiyun's possession was a Void King Grade Artifact, and its reputation was formidable.
After praising it at length, Yang Kai's expression turned peculiar once more. "But what does this have to do with me?"
He didn't believe for a second that Yang Yan had dragged him out of seclusion just to show off a Void King Grade forging material. Yang Yan wasn't anywhere near that idle. There had to be something deeper at play.
"The Grand Evolution Divine Stone itself has nothing to do with you—but what's inside it does," Yang Yan replied with an enigmatic smile.
"There's something inside it?" Yang Kai's face showed surprise.
"Indeed. The Grand Evolution Divine Stone is a very special type of mineral. It can absorb energy—even the spiritual energy between heaven and earth. This particular stone was sent to us by a mid-tier clan. According to their patriarch, the clan acquired it thousands of years ago from an ancient ruin. Based on that, you can imagine just how old this ore truly is."
"Why would a mid-tier clan send us something like this?" Yang Kai was even more bewildered.
"Isn't it because of what you said—about putting several premium plots of land up for sale? Right now, the various powers outside are fighting tooth and nail to get their hands on those plots that allow early entry into the Imperial Garden. We've even gotten an Imperial Jade out of it, to say nothing of other things. This Grand Evolution Divine Stone is the bargaining chip that clan put forward!"
"So that's how it is. Looks like their people don't really know what they have." Yang Kai grinned, clearly relishing the thought. Void King Grade materials were far too precious on the Dark Star. He naturally assumed that if the other party had truly recognized its value, they would never have been willing to hand it over as a mere bargaining chip.
"You're wrong," Yang Yan said, slowly shaking her head. "Although that clan has fallen on hard times and isn't particularly powerful now, they did produce many experts thousands of years ago. They may not have been able to identify the Grand Evolution Divine Stone specifically, but they knew it was a Void King Grade material."
Yang Kai's brow furrowed. "Then why…?"
"Precisely because they knew it was Void King Grade, they were willing to part with it in order to move us. Do you think something of low value could compete against the countless powers on the Dark Star for those few limited plots belonging to our Lingxiao Sect?" Yang Yan smiled. "That clan was lucky—they obtained an Imperial Jade. But their strongest expert is only at the second level of the Return Void Realm. If they want to find anything worthwhile in the Imperial Garden, their only option is to ask for our help and secure early entry."
Yang Kai nodded gently, his expression clearing with understanding.
A Void King Grade material was indeed a hefty price. But no matter how precious, it still paled in comparison to the allure of early access to the Imperial Garden—because on the entire Dark Star, no one was capable of refining Void King Grade materials. In the hands of that clan, the Grand Evolution Divine Stone was nothing more than a chicken rib: too precious to discard, yet utterly useless.
Better to use it as leverage to compete for those premium plots.
Their luck really had been something, stumbling upon Yang Yan—the one person who could recognize the Grand Evolution Divine Stone's true, immense value. Had it been anyone else, whether the deal would have succeeded was anyone's guess.