novelraw Chapter 680 - 278: Sacred Gemstone
Chapter 680 - 278: Sacred Gemstone
Li Xiu hadn’t finished his cup of tea when he saw the mysterious old man push the door open and walk in.
"Commander?" Li Xiu recognized the old man, but was somewhat surprised to find out that he was the owner of the Treasure Light Pavilion.
He remembered Sha Chu mentioning that the Treasure Light Pavilion was supposed to belong to the Mo Family, so how did it end up being associated with the Immortal Group?
"Please, Commander Li, have a seat." The old man invited Li Xiu to sit down with a smile and then placed two wooden boxes in front of him. Sensing Li Xiu’s confusion, he explained, "The Treasure Light Pavilion also has a bit of my shares, so you could call me a co-owner."
"I see." Li Xiu nodded, not saying much more.
The old man was one of the few commanders not from the four great families, and he had been a commander for many years. Some said he was the longest-lived commander, which alone showed he was certainly not simple.
Without the backing of the four families, being the longest-serving commander must mean he had some unique qualities.
There weren’t many people in this world with the surname "Old," and Li Xiu wasn’t sure if that was really the old man’s surname, but everyone called him that.
"Commander Li, if you want a Super Spirit Sapphire, does it have to be pure blue, or could other colors work as well? I don’t actually have a pure Super Spirit Sapphire here, so if that’s what you want, I’m afraid you’ll have come for nothing," the old man said.
"So there are other colors of Super Spirit Sapphires?" Li Xiu wasn’t insistent on a blue sapphire.
Within the sapphire family, there are also pink sapphires, purple sapphires, yellow sapphires, green sapphires, and a range of others.
So, a sapphire doesn’t necessarily have to be blue.
Of course, generally speaking, with the same quality, blue sapphires are the most expensive.
"There are indeed two pieces, but I’m not sure if they might catch your eye," the old man said, opening one of the boxes. A purple glow immediately shot out from the box, bathing the entire room in a mysterious purple light.
Purple sapphires are a symbol of mystery and luxury. This Super Spirit Purple Sapphire was about the size of a goose egg, with purple light clusters shimmering and flashing inside, imparting an indescribable aura of mystery and eeriness.
The old man introduced, "This purple sapphire comes from the former Gem Kingdom Sri Lanka, a place rich in all sorts of gemstones. Although Red Sand City claims to have the best gemstones in the world, the quality of Sri Lanka’s gemstones is no less, perhaps even surpassing them. However, since the gemstone yield in Sri Lanka is greater and the colors vary slightly, people generally consider the gemstones there inferior to those from Red Sand City. In reality, the difference isn’t that great."
"This purple sapphire comes from a small mine in Sri Lanka. To be honest, that mine isn’t particularly large, so the Super Spirit limit of this Super Spirit Purple Sapphire might not be too high. I’m not sure if you’ll find it suitable, Commander Li."
"May I handle it?" Li Xiu asked.
"Please, Commander Li." The old man handed over a pair of white gloves to Li Xiu.
Li Xiu put on the gloves and then carefully picked up the Super Spirit Purple Sapphire, examined it for a moment, and then slowly placed it back into the box.
"What’s the situation with the other Super Spirit Sapphire?" Li Xiu asked, looking at the old man.
This time, the old man didn’t open the box directly: "Commander Li, being so knowledgeable, you must have heard of the Padparadscha Sapphire, right?"
"You’re joking, old commander. Who hasn’t heard of such a famous gemstone as Padparadscha?" Li Xiu replied, "Padparadscha is a compound word in ancient Sinhala that means lotus color. The Padparadscha in the sapphire family refers to a sapphire with a blend of pink and orange tones, which is exceedingly rare. A true Padparadscha is valued on par with any top-grade gemstone."
"Indeed, Sri Lanka was once a Buddhist country, where the lotus flower symbolized purity. The Padparadscha was also known as the purest gemstone. In the past, only those with an exact blend of five parts pink and five parts orange could be called Padparadscha, and this color was the most beautiful and rare," the old man said with a smile. "But because an exact five-five blend of pink and orange is so rare, merchants broadened the concept of Padparadscha to include any bicolor sapphire with pink and orange tones."
"Later, they even came up with sunset and sunrise Padparadscha, which refers to the proportions of pink and orange. Although the sunset and sunrise Padparadscha are also synonymous with beauty, truly Padparadscha must be five-five to be considered so. Without that, you can’t really capture the lotus’s color, so how could it be called a Lotus Gemstone?"
"The old commander isn’t about to tell me you have a Padparadscha Super Spirit Sapphire here, are you?" Li Xiu said, glancing at the other box.
The old man didn’t speak; instead, he opened the box directly, and a strange light began to emanate from it.
The color is hard to describe, not as fiercely red as you’d expect, yet it feels warm, not as intensely orange, yet it feels pure.
It’s a color like that of a newly bloomed lotus, snow-tipped pink, as if untouched by a speck of dust.
In that fist-sized Super Spirit Gemstone, a lotus-like light continuously blossomed, as if petals were blooming and withering, again and again, endlessly.
"Is there really a Padparadscha Super Spirit Sapphire?" Li Xiu was somewhat surprised; such a color that is so rare in nature is incredibly precious. The odds are so low, and the chance of a Super Spirit Gemstone forming with this color is even lower.