"Green!"

"Thanks, Brother Jiang Tian! Take this!"

He said, handing over a bag of Stone Coins, the currency used by the Stone Race.

"No need!"

Chen Xuan did not take it, "Consider it a gift for your wife!"

Though the Stone Race doesn't differentiate by gender physically, emotionally they're different from the Human Race, generally practicing monogamy.

"Thank you then!"

He accepted without hesitation, as was the nature of the Stone Race.

There's no pretense.

Dealing with such people is rather more comfortable.

After Chen Xuan left.

"Boss, even those with low surnames aren't too bad, not as terrible as imagined."

A young Stone Race member came over and whispered.

"What low surname, soon it won't be anymore, and by then he won't be inferior to us!"

Caught by Shi Lin's favor, if a top-tier Crystal Stone was birthed, it would be a great merit, and he would surely be rewarded, definitely on the rise, perhaps even higher.

Though the hope is slim.

"Exactly!"

"How did the Human Race say this... Oh, right, leap like the carp, mountain chicken becomes Phoenix overnight!"

At least it is one of the third-tier surnames, and has read quite a few books.

"Show-off with your reading knowledge!"

...

Chen Xuan was in no rush, strolling aimlessly like a slacker.

Meanwhile, he carefully sensed his surroundings, making sure no one was following him.

Initially, he noticed someone constantly trailing him from behind.

But not in these latest instances.

Probably decided to give up after noting his lack of action.

But meeting the old man this time, it's best to be cautious.

After leisurely wandering for more than an hour, Chen Xuan finally saw the Spirit Stone Shop.

A small three-story wooden building.

Above it a simple wooden sign with the characters "Spirit Stone."

Chen Xuan immediately went in.

The interior design was almost the same as Human Race shops, with a counter and a middle-aged man sitting behind it.

Chen Xuan could tell at a glance that he was a modified Human Race.

The footsteps made the middle-aged man look up slightly, and upon seeing Chen Xuan, his expression changed, but immediately smiled, "Distinguished guest here to buy Spirit Stones?"

"We have every color, you'll surely be satisfied!"

"I'll have a look first!"

Chen Xuan chuckled; though this person had been modified, he was essentially still Human Race, following the same patterns.

"Sure, please come to the second floor!"

He promptly stepped out from behind the counter and led Chen Xuan to the second floor.

On the walls were numerous small wooden cubicles each the size of a fist, housing colorful Spirit Stones.

Calling them Spirit Stones was misleading; they were merely ordinary Crystal Stones, albeit beautifully colored. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

"Take a look, dear guest, whichever catches your eye, I'll take it down for you to see," he said.

But Chen Xuan glanced briefly before speaking, "Too small, is there anything larger?"

"You'll have to go to the third floor, dear guest, continue up the stairs and someone there will assist you,"

The man said respectfully.

"Good!"

Chen Xuan smiled lightly and then proceeded up the wooden stairs to the third floor.

Upon reaching the third floor, he saw another middle-aged man, but... judged from his aura, Chen Xuan was sure it was the old man in disguise.

"Sit!"

He gestured to the seat opposite him.

"Thank you!"

Chen Xuan nodded slightly, not standing on ceremony, and sat down.

He did not speak immediately.

He wanted to know what the old man was up to.

Why did he recognize his identity and yet not expose him?

"Hehe!"

"Just in case, so I changed my face, you probably noticed."

Then he picked up the tea pot from the table, poured a cup, and with a wave of his hand, the cup arrived steadily in front of Chen Xuan. "Try it, it's tea I've cultivated myself in the Stone Race area, not as good as the best from the Eastern Continent, but not bad!"

But... Chen Xuan didn't move.

Seeing this, the old man laughed again, "Looks like unless I drink, you won't either!"

He then poured himself a cup and drank it all.

But Chen Xuan was still hesitant; facing such an old fox, caution is everlasting vigilance.

His eyes flashed blue as he examined the tea cup in front of him.

After a moment, he picked it up and took just a sip before putting it down.

Nodding slightly, "It's not bad!"

"Seems like your status among the Human Race isn't low."

The old man's words surprised Chen Xuan, prompting him to ask, "How do you know?"

"This tea is top-grade even in the Eastern Continent, and you call it okay, indicating you've drank better, so I speculated!"

"Of course, you might call it old man's rambling!"

Chen Xuan's wariness towards the old man heightened, his intuition... could easily lead one astray.

He was originally vigilant about the tea, but the real probe was through it instead.

"Tough old guy!"

"Hehe!"

The old man laughed again.

But his laugh made Chen Xuan very uneasy, feeling somewhat exposed.

"No need to fret, I merely guessed!"

"But I am indeed curious about your identity, care to share?"

"My identity is average, not very high, but also not low!"

Chen Xuan said ambiguously.

"That means it's not low!"

"So why did you come to the Stone Cave?"

The sudden direct question nearly caught Chen Xuan off guard; he expected more back-and-forth.

The old man seemed to see through his thoughts and sighed, "Neither of us have it easy, I as a Stone Race priest appear high, but ultimately I'm Human Race, always under watch."

"So better not waste time, can we be direct?"

But Chen Xuan remained silent.

To directly reveal his purpose, if the old man's tactic was to confuse him and fish out his intentions for coming to the Stone Race, then what?