With another wave of Zhou Yan's hand, the Origin Stone was finally opened, revealing a purple light that split from within, blinding those around.
A flurry of exclamations arose, and more and more people noticed the situation, rushing over.
They looked at the Origin Stone and cried out in surprise, "Heavens! This is actually a Thunder Stone!"
"It's truly a Thunder Stone! These are extremely rare. I never thought I'd see one like this!"
"This Thunder Stone is worth a fortune."
"At least ten million spirit coins."
"Ten million spirit coins? You can't possibly buy it for that. You don't know how precious Thunder Stones are; they go for tens of millions at the very least."
Hearing the surrounding conversations, the shop owner's face grew darker and darker.
The customer had bought over a hundred Origin Stones for only ten million spirit coins.
Yet, this single Origin Stone had multiplied his earnings several times over.
His heart ached with regret.
If he hadn't seen what was inside the Origin Stone, he wouldn't have felt so bad. The problem was that he had allowed the customer to open it himself, meaning the regret was self-inflicted.
He just wanted to be left alone now.
"Our Thunder Clan offers thirty million spirit coins. Young sir, would you consider selling?"
A member of a peculiar-looking race addressed Zhou Yan.
Zhou Yan shook his head and replied, "I need this Thunder Stone for myself, so I won't be selling it."
The other party didn't seem angry and left directly.
There was no shouting or arrogant parting threats.
After all, those who tried to force a sale were in the minority. With so many Origin Stones available, it was unlikely this was the only Thunder Stone.
Zhou Yan moved on to the next stall. The owner of this stall, having found a Thunder Stone, had attracted many customers and sold some more Origin Stones, which somewhat improved his mood.
Zhou Yan went from stall to stall, buying large quantities of Origin Stones each time, but he didn't open any of them.
Currently, only small stalls were open for business; the stalls of major forces were not yet present and had not started trading.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have wasted time at these small stalls.
While small stalls might have good items, their prices were generally not too high.
However, the major forces had many large Origin Stones, and their prices were set accordingly. But if opened, the treasures inside could be equally valuable.
He had already gained a significant amount of treasure from the Ji family.
With his current wealth, he might not be far behind the ancient aristocratic families.
Because he was spending lavishly and buying a large number of Origin Stones, many people became interested in him. Some even urged him to open the stones on the spot, but he ignored them.
Whether he opened them or not was none of their business.
After visiting over a hundred stalls, he finally heard an announcement from the Jiang family that the Origin Stone trading convention had officially begun.
Therefore, he stopped lingering at the small stalls and headed towards the areas where the major forces were located.
The first place he arrived at was a section where the Merfolk race was selling Origin Stones.
Moreover, the Origin Stones they sold had subtle differences from those elsewhere.
"They look a bit different," he said, approaching curiously.
A Merfolk maiden stepped forward and explained, "These Origin Stones were mined from the sea, so they naturally differ from those on land. After all, they have been soaked in seawater for countless years, so their colors and patterns will naturally vary."
Zhou Yan understood immediately upon hearing this.
He touched the Origin Stones. Their surfaces were indeed dry, but upon closer inspection, he could still discern some water stains.
He began to scan one of the Origin Stones, but unfortunately, it was empty.
He scanned another, and on the third one, he felt a sense of surprise.
This Origin Stone was enormous, five meters tall and three meters wide.
He sensed signs of life within this Origin Stone.
"Could it be some kind of sea beast?" he thought. If so, the beast within would surely be a great tonic.
He looked at the price of this Origin Stone: one point eight billion spirit coins.
This amount of money was trivial to him, so he said, "I'll take this Origin Stone."
"Very well," the Merfolk maiden replied, beaming.
The Origin Stones from major forces were unlike those from smaller ones. They did not negotiate prices; the marked price was the selling price.
Origin Stones worth over a billion spirit coins were not uncommon at this convention; some even reached tens or hundreds of billions.
He had heard from Ji Mingyue that the convention would last for three days, and each evening, ten Origin Stones would be auctioned off to the highest bidder.
Those ten Origin Stones would be displayed at the very front of the convention area from early morning, attracting a large crowd.
It was still early, and there was plenty of time. He decided to purchase Origin Stones from other areas first.
He stored this Origin Stone away, not intending to open it immediately.
Afterward, he continued to examine other Origin Stones.
These Origin Stones were significantly different from the ones he had seen before, in terms of color and other aspects.
The Origin Stones from the sea indeed had considerable differences from those on land.
However, these differences were only superficial, and his scanning abilities could still be used.
After selling one Origin Stone, the Merfolk maiden specifically addressed Zhou Yan, saying, "There are many types of Origin Stones. It seems you don't have a very deep understanding of this trade..."
Zhou Yan listened as the Merfolk maiden introduced several types of Origin Stones, and he learned that there were indeed quite a few varieties.
The color of Origin Stones could vary depending on the region.
Some, due to extreme age, could undergo significant color changes.
After gaining this understanding, Zhou Yan purchased several dozen more Origin Stones, with a combined value of over five billion, which made the Merfolk maiden extremely happy.
Zhou Yan then moved on to the next Origin Stone merchant.
He found another stall selling Origin Stones from an alien race, which were again different from those elsewhere. This shop was also quite crowded, and they had many Origin Stones for sale.
He entered and overheard many pieces of information.
"The Ancient Race resides in an ancient secret realm, a very old place. The Origin Stones produced there are exceptionally good."
"Look at their Origin Stones; each one has an ancient luster. It must have taken at least ten million years to condense such a color."
"The quality of the Origin Stones is good, but unfortunately, they are also very expensive. The cheapest Origin Stones cost over a million spirit coins, while the most expensive ones reach hundreds of billions. It's truly exorbitant."
"It's already impressive that they are participating in this convention; they weren't seen in previous years."
"Precisely because of that, we mustn't miss their stall. Who knows if they will participate again next time?"