Yan Pei grabbed the twin daggers out of the jade box and pushed his Saint Qi through them to examine them, raising his brow in the next moment as he liberally praised, “Excellent… Excellent! this artefact has almost reached the Origin Grade Mid-Rank! The Grandmaster who refined it was incredibly attentive and the craftsmanship is simply exquisite. What’s more, these daggers are perfectly suited for women, hahaha, this time, those Young Lords will bleed profusely!”
Yan Pei’s eyes were simply aglow. How could he not see the great value of these twin daggers? Without even mentioning their grade, their beautiful appearance meant specifically for women was enough to make all the Young Masters present break their heads while bidding to gift them to their favourite woman.
Qian Tong opened his mouth, wishing he could take back this artefact, but he knew that since it was already in Yan Pei’s hands, that was impossible, so he simply let out a long sigh and resigned himself, wondering if he should try to win back these twin daggers in the auction. Shadow Moon Hall had a number of female disciples with extremely good aptitude, so giving them this artefact would definitely increase their strength.
Just as this sigh of helplessness finished though, another of the appraisal masters suddenly shouted, this time sounding even more excited than before.
“This, this… this is…”
“What?” Yan Pei flew over and pushed his way through the crowd gathered around the other jade box, and upon seeing what lay inside it, his eyes narrowed, immediately reaching out and picking up a long red whip before pushing his Saint Qi through it, calling out in alarm, “An Origin Grade Mid-Rank artefact?”
“Ah?” Qian Tong was thoroughly shocked, his old face distorting noticeably.
“Hahaha! Excellent! This auction finally has something good for the finale! This old master was originally a little worried about this, after all this auction was put together in a bit of a hurry so Treasure Trove Pavilion wasn’t able to collect too many good treasures. This long whip will more than make up for that though. Hahaha, it’s really the blessings of Heaven!” Yan Pei laughed and happily while turning to Qian Tong and saying, “Brother Qian, this time you’ve helped me greatly! Brother will not forget this favour!”
Qian Tong’s mouth was filled with bitterness as he somehow forced out a smile and said, “Brother Yan Pei is too polite, you and I have known each other for many years and worked together on many occasions, helping out is only natural, haha …”
Even while saying so, Qian Tong was cursing out Luo Qing in his heart. A single Origin Grade Low-Rank artefact alone had nearly caused him to spit blood, but now an Origin Grade Mid-Rank artefact had actually appeared. Why hadn’t that damned Luo Qing explained everything carefully to him? If Qian Tong had known that Yang Kai was going to auction off two Origin Grade artefacts, he wouldn’t have brought these items anywhere near Yan Pei. No matter how much it would cost, Qian Tong would have bought these two artefacts for Shadow Moon Hall’s disciples.
But now, it was far too late to say anything. If Qian Tong wanted to obtain these precious treasures, he could only participate in the auction. How many Saint Crystals would he have to spend? He was worried he wouldn’t have enough.
Poor Luo Qing didn’t know that he was being blamed for all this by Elder Qian. How was he supposed to know Yang Kai would suddenly bring out two Origin Grade artefacts, one of them even Mid-Rank?
The twin daggers were one thing; after all, with the level of the Artifact Refiners on Shadowed Star, such artefacts could still be forged, but the grade of the long red whip had already surpassed the level of Shadowed Star’s Artifact Refiners. Artefacts of this grade could only be obtained through special means.
This reality had led to the price of high-grade pills and artefacts reaching sky-high prices on Shadowed Star.
“Hahaha! Excellent!” Yan Pei’s black face blossomed like a field of spring flowers, without the slightest trace of its former sullenness. Once again, praise flowed out from his lips, “It’s another artefact very suitable for women. This time the auction will be very exciting. This old master can’t wait to see the scenes of those people scrambling to bid for these treasures!”
“Ah… ah… Elder Yan…” A trembling voice suddenly called out, “Please look at this…”
The man said haltingly while handing a jade bottle to Yan Pei.
Yan Pei accepted and opened the bottle, glancing inside only to have his eyes bulge, his hands also shaking, nearly causing him to drop the jade bottle while shouting, “Origin Condensing Pill!”
These three words were like a sledgehammer hitting the heart of Qian Tong, and without even thinking he rushed forward and grabbed towards the jade bottle.
Yan Pei’s response was equally swift, sending out a palm strike to intercept the incoming hand, the resulting clash forcing both Yan Pei and Qian Tong back a few steps.
“What’s the meaning of this?!” Yan Pei shouted furiously as he glared towards Qian Tong menacingly.
Qian Tong’s expression was incredibly solemn as he quickly said, “Brother Yan Pei, I’ve thought about it carefully and decided I won’t be participating in this auction. Please return my items to me.”
If he hadn’t seen the Origin Condensing Pill inside the jade bottle, Qian Tong would have opened one eye while closing the other, but from the quick glance he got, he immediately understood that this Origin Condensing Pill was far more valuable than a simple Origin Grade Mid-Rank artefact.
“You want to back out now? Too late!” Yan Pei coldly snorted, “Do you want me to spit out the foods I’ve already eaten? Brother Qian, this isn’t the first time you’ve met this Yan, is it?”
“Nonsense Brother Yan, didn’t you just say that no matter how valuable the items were, if they broke the rules, you wouldn’t enter them into the auction?” Qian Tong spat this line without any consideration for his own face; for those two Origin Grade artefacts and that Origin Condensing Pill, what did face matter?
“This Yan clearly said that if I don’t see the items within half an incense stick of time I wouldn’t allow them to be sold, are you deaf?” Yan Pei humphed, seeing Qian Tong still wearing a shamelessly determined look, just waiting for an opening to pounce, Yang Pei quickly backed away while stuffing the two jade boxes and jade bottle into his Space Ring before waving his hand, “All of you stare at Elder Qian. If he dares take one step forward, beat him ruthlessly!”
“Yes!” Five Origin Returning Realm masters all shouted as they began eying Qian Tong, meticulously following Yan Pei’s order. Once Qian Tong moved, they would surely launch an all-out attack.
“Damn it…” Qian Tong couldn’t help cursing. Since hard methods had failed, he could only try soft ones now, “Old Yan, out of consideration for our many years of friendship, can’t you return my items to me? Can’t you just pretend you didn’t see these things? This grace will be remembered by this Qian Tong for the rest of his life…”
“The rest of your life? Your neck is already half-buried in the ground! You’ve got a few good years left at best, there’s no need for you to remember my affection,” Yan Pei smiled and waved.
“Can you not speak with such a poisonous tongue!? This old master is hale and hearty, living a few hundred more years won’t be a problem!” Qian Tong rolled his eyes.
Yan Pei snorted, “If I were you, I’d send someone out immediately to begin collecting Saint Crystals, but instead you actually choose to stay here and grumble with this old master, impressive indeed! Only you and I know such treasures have appeared now, so you still have the advantage.”
As soon as Qian Tong heard this, his eyes lit up and he quickly cupped his fists to Yan Pei before turning around and rushing off. Qian Tong knew better than anyone that no matter what kind of extravagant and colourful words he spoke, it was impossible to get those things back.
“Old Qian, who brought these things to auction?” Yan Pei shouted out, but naturally received no response. Of course, Yan Pei knew his old friend was holding a grudge but he didn’t care one bit and just grinned happily, “Whoever it is has shockingly good luck. Not only did they manage to find two Origin Grade artefacts but also two Origin Condensing Pills.”
Qian Tong came out from the underground secret room and Luo Qing quickly went up to greet him, but before Luo Qing could say a word, Qian Tong slapped him across the face twice.
Although he hadn’t used any Saint Qi, Qian Tong’s two slaps weren’t weak by any means, causing Luo Qing to grimace in pain.
Qian Tong’s expression was gloomy, like a volcano that was ready to erupt, causing Luo Qing to exclaim, “Elder, what mistake did disciple make?”
“You scoundrel, why did you move so quickly? Couldn’t you have been just half an incense stick later?!” Qian Tong reprimanded.
“Yes… no… ah?” Luo Qing was dumbfounded.
Obviously, it had been the Elder’s own orders to immediately bring the items Yang Kai brought to auction to him, and that was exactly what Luo Qing had done, so why was Elder Qian suddenly blaming him for doing just that? Elder Qian Tong was normally kind and treated others temperately, never giving out such contradictory orders and never beating a disciple for no reason. It was because of his personality and demeanour that Elder Qian commanded high prestige and admiration from Shadow Moon hall’s disciples.
Although there was doubt in his heart, Luo Qing did not dare to speak. Even a blind man could see that Elder Qian was in a terrible mood, so at this time silence was Luo Qing’s best option, lest he make another mistake without realizing it.
“I’ll let you make up for your crimes through good work,” Qian Tong stared at him coldly.
“Disciple will obey Elder’s commands!” Luo Qing hurriedly wore a sincere expression and shouted loudly.
“Within one hour, go to all the stores in Heavenly Fate City under our control and raise twenty million… No, no, raise fifty million Saint Crystals!”
“Fifty… fifty million?” Luo Qing was startled.
“Yes!”
“Understood!” Luo Qing responded quickly, disappearing like lightning. Collecting fifty million Saint Crystals in an hour would be no easy task.
Seeing Luo Qing’s figure disappeared, Qian Tong secretly exhaled. Fortunately, this time the auction was being held in Heavenly Fate City. Heavenly Fate City basically belonged to Shadow Moon Hall, so he could still freely raise Saint Crystals.
If this auction was being held at one of the other great force’s sites, Qian Tong would only be able to helplessly watch from the sidelines.
At the same time, in the basement of Treasure Trove Pavilion, Yan Pei sat in his chair for a moment to think, a strange grin soon creeping onto his face. Beckoning to one of the Origin Realm masters who was involved in the appraisal just now, he whispered a few instructions.
This man quickly nodded and left.
A short time later, a number of people left the A-Block Private Rooms, their expression dignified. These people quickly left Treasure Trove Pavilion and headed straight to the hall where the Space Array of Heavenly Fate City was located.
Soon after, people from the B-Block Private Rooms also began leaving.
The reason why Treasure Trove Pavilion chose to hold this auction in Heavenly Fate City this time was because its Space Array was connected to many other cities on Shadowed Star, helping to facilitate the attendance of the various great forces.
Space Arrays were extremely precious and not open to ordinary people, but these people all belonged to great forces, so the Shadow Moon Hall disciples who were responsible for guarding the Space Array didn’t dare to stop them, simply collecting the required fee before allowing them to pass.
For a time, the space around Heavenly Fate City fluctuated as the Space Array was used at a frequency higher than at any point in history.
When the first spatial fluctuations appeared, Qian Tong didn’t pay it much mind, only thinking about seeing Yang Kai to say a few words about not bringing such precious treasures out to auction again in the future. No matter what they were, Qian Tong was fully capable of buying them all.
However, after another three or four consecutive spatial fluctuations propagated through the air, Qian Tong’s expression slowly solidified, and a certain thought came to him. His face changing greatly, Qian Tong quickly disappeared from Treasure Trove Pavilion and rushed to the palace where the Space Array was housed.
Inside the palace, the Shadow Moon Hall disciples who were responsible for guarding the Space Array all wore looks of shock. They didn’t understand why so many people all of a sudden needed to use the Space Array. Wasn’t it just about time for the auction to start? What were these people doing returning to their Sects instead of participating?
On top of that, those here were all from great forces like Thunder Typhoon Sect, Heaven Battling Union, Coloured Glass Sect, Twin Heart Valley, Grand Fire Temple… Each of these Sects was no less powerful than Shadow Moon Hall, some of them even exceeding them in strength.
Moreover, these people all seemed to be on guard against one another, their eyes darting about vigilantly, resulting in a very tense atmosphere inside the palace.
The few Shadow Moon Hall disciples here were afraid a fight would all of a sudden, break out here so none of them dared to ask any question, just quickly collecting the appropriate fee before sending people on their way.
Even though this was the case, everyone here was still urging these poor disciples to hurry things along.
In total, there were several dozen individuals representing several dozen powerful forces, so even if the Shadow Moon Hall disciples acted with all haste, it was still taking some time. Opening the Space Array, supplying enough Saint Crystals, and setting the appropriate destination wasn’t a process that could be completed in just a breath or two.
Just as the several Shadow Moon Hall disciples were about to shed tears from this sudden intense workload, another powerful aura rushed in from outside, causing the several dozen masters inside to frown. After seeing who this newcomer was though, all of them greeted him with cupped fists, “Elder Qian!”
Qian Tong’s face was filled with gloom as he strode inside quickly. Originally, he had just been suspicious and rushed over to investigate the situation, but after seeing so many people waiting to use the Space Array, how could he not know what happened?
“Old dog Yan, this old master will remember this! This Qian must sever his friendship with you!” Qian Tong snarled.
Just now, Yan Pei had told Qian Tong that he held the absolute advantage right now because he was the only one knew about the rare treasures which had appeared, but in a flash, that advantage had disappeared. If Yan Pei hadn’t intentionally leaked the news, how could these people have gathered here?
Everyone heard Qian Tong’s words and wanted to laugh, but none of them dared show any signs of doing so on their faces. Elder Qian was clearly unhappy right now, so no one was eager to find trouble with him.
“Elder Qian!” The busy Shadow Moon Hall disciples finally breathed a sigh of relief when their Elder suddenly appeared.
They really couldn’t handle this situation.
“How many already went through?” Qian Tong took a deep breath, calming his anger while trying to ask in a calm tone.
“Six have left so far,” A Shadow Moon Hall disciple replied quickly.
“En,” Qian Tong nodded. Since only six departed already he hadn’t come too late. Turning around, Qian Tong saw between sixty to seventy people in the hall. Snorting loudly, he asked, “Do all of you want to return to your respective Sects to gather Saint Crystals? Did you receive news from that old dog Yan?”
The sixty or seventy people in the hall wore embarrassed looks, some of them scratching their ears while others scratched their cheeks, some looked up at the dome of the hall silently while some looked down and whispered under their breath …
No one answered Qian Tong’s question though.
“Good, if you want to go back to raise Saint Crystals, this old master won’t try to stop you, but such frequent use of Heavenly Fate City’s Space Array will put a huge load on it, resulting in great damage, possibly even its complete destruction! As such, this old master must raise the usage fee.”
The sixty or seventy masters in the hall immediately shot incredulous looks towards Qian Tong. Everyone here knew he was spouting nonsense. Each Space Array was an ancient relic that had been used for many years without any issue. Even if it was used far more frequently than normal, it wouldn’t be in any danger of being destroyed. This was all just an excuse for Qian Tong to raise prices.
Everyone understood this truth in their heart, but no one dared to question Qian Tong. After all, this was Heavenly Fate City, a city under Shadow Moon Hall’s jurisdiction. The Space Array here also belonged to Shadow Moon Hall, so unless they didn’t want to use it, they would not offend Qian Tong. All of them had been entrusted with an important mission so none wanted to return empty-handed.
Qian Tong grinned meaningfully before saying, “It’s just a small additional charge, five hundred thousand High-Rank Saint Crystals a person!”
“Elder Qian, please be reasonable!” Someone immediately shouted, “The price to use a Space Array is usually just ten thousand High-Rank Saint Crystals, how could you suddenly raise the price fifty times, isn’t that excessive?”
“Yes yes, five hundred thousand High-Rank Saint Crystals is too much, isn’t it?”
“Elder Qian, how can you collect such black-hearted money?”
…
The large group of people began shouting and clamouring. If a single use of a Space Array cost five hundred thousand High-Rank Saint Crystals, who would ever use it?
When the few Shadow Moon Hall disciples saw the situation spiralling out of control, they couldn’t help feeling terrified. This was nothing less than provoking public anger, how could Elder Qian say such a thing? All of them thought their Elder had made some kind of mistake.
“You don’t have to use it, this old master won’t force you either way,” Qian Tong said, unperturbed, “But this old master must remind you that the auction will start soon. If you fail to raise enough Saint Crystals and return before those few items appear, heh…”
“I’ll use it, this is half a million Saint Crystals!” Before Qian Tong even finished his words, a burly man walked up and tossed over a Space Ring to a Shadow Moon Hall disciple guarding the Space Array.
The disciple caught the Space Ring, swept it with his Divine Sense, confirmed the amount was correct, then nodded to Qian Tong.
“Open the array!” Qian Tong waved his hand and a white light flashed, causing the burly man’s figure to quickly disappear.
Even now, the several disciples of Shadow Moon Hall were still completely baffled about what was happening. None of them could figure out why they had suddenly obtained five hundred thousand Saint Crystals so easily.
The maintenance and use of a Space Array were simply to facilitate the communication between the major cities and Sects on Shadowed Star. No one had ever used it as a tool to make money, but today, it seemed Elder Qian Tong was about to set a new precedent.
A single use of the Space Array for half a million Saint Crystals, sixty or seventy people waiting to use the Space Array, other people still rushing over…
How many Saint Crystals were they going to earn? The Shadow Moon Hall disciples soon began trembling with excitement. If this worked, in the future Shadow Moon Hall wouldn’t need to operate any shops or stores, the fee collected for using the Space Array along would be enough to make Shadow Moon Hall the wealthiest Sect on Shadowed Star.
Everything was easier once someone went first. After the burly man left, everyone who had been hesitating immediately charged forward, handed over the five hundred thousand Saint Crystals, then quickly departed via the Space Array.
The disciples from Shadow Moon Hall smiled from ear to ear, assigning one person specifically to take inventory of the Saint Crystals. Each time they received the appropriate fee, the other disciples would open the Space Array and send the one who had paid to their intended destination before continuing to collect the next fee.
“Elder Qian, if you ever come to my Vast City, my Floating Mist Palace will be sure to entertain you appropriately!” A middle-aged man who was clearly angered by Qian Tong charging so many Saint Crystals stared at him and declared. Clearly, he meant that if Qian Tong wanted to use the Space Array in Vast city, it would cost him five hundred thousand Saint Crystals.
Qian Tong simply grinned happily and retorted, “This old master intends to die of old age in Heavenly Fate City and won’t be going anywhere.”
Hearing those words, the middle-aged man was so mad he nearly couldn’t contain himself, the Space Array flashing in the next instant, delivering him to Vast City.
The scene inside the hall was very lively. Watching one person after another pay Saint Crystals then being transported away, the bitterness in Qian Tong’s heart finally dissipated.
Yan Pei had just eaten meat so he could not blame him for drinking some soup! In any case, since things had gotten to this point, Qian Tong could only make money first and think about everything else after.
Never before had there been an auction like this one, where all the great Sects scrambled to raise as many Saint Crystals as possible just moments before it began. There was a surge of activity in Heavenly Fate City.
No auction had ever brought such a huge gain to its host site either.
This time, though simply tolls on the Space Array, Shadow Moon Hall was able to raise over thirty million High-Rank Saint Crystals. There were other forces present that didn’t have sufficient financial resources or simply felt they had no chance of winning and gave up using the Space Array. Otherwise, Shadow Moon Hall would definitely have gained even more wealth.
Even though the Space Array was constantly being opened, Treasure Trove Pavilion’s auction started on time.
Yan Pei was quite sinister and deliberately let some people spread rumours that the bidding for the finale items would be far more intense than normal. In fact, he did it, but this did not prevent the auction from being held, nor did he deliberately postpone its start time.
The most valuable items would naturally be sold at the end of the auction, which was at least seven hours away. With that much time, it wouldn’t be hard for those great forces to collect a large number of Saint Crystals.
Yan Pei was looking forward to the progress of this auction more than ever, sipping tea in his A-Block private room, calmly waiting for the finale to arrive.
Wind instruments played as drums were beaten, causing the noisy auction hall to suddenly quiet down. Atop the platform, more than a dozen young girls floated down from above, scattering flower petals from the baskets they were carrying as the bright lights further illuminated the centre stage, drawing everyone’s attention.
The fragrance of the flowers filled the auction hall as the dozen young girls smiled dazzlingly, like graceful goddesses descending from the heavens.
The girls waved their long sleeves in an enchanting dance, each of them displaying different yet equally intoxicating expressions that fascinated the hearts of all who were watching before gently landing and drawing back.
A beautiful woman with a voluptuous figure then walked up onto the high platform, her skin was as white as snow and her tight-fitting dress accentuating her astonishing curves while leaving her two jade arms bare. The low cut around her neck revealed a deep, seemingly bottomless valley that sucked in the eyes of the audience members.
Her hair was pulled up into an exquisite bun that exposed delicate nape of her neck, adding a touch of nobility and grace to her appearance.
When this beautiful woman appeared, she immediately drew in more attention than the young girls who came before her with her rich, mature charm, exuding an exotic flavour that enticed the appetites of everyone around.
The beautiful woman stood on the high platform and bowed elegantly, her glossy red lips curled into the most attractive of smiles as a pleasant voice leaked from them, “Honoured Guests from far away, thank you all for participating in my Treasure Trove Pavilion’s auction. I would also like to say a special thank you to Shadow Moon Hall’s Elder Qian Tong for his strong support. This auction was only able to proceed so smoothly thanks to Elder Qian’s contributions.”
As soon as these words were said, several dozen people in the A Block and B private rooms immediately muttered curses. They had all received messages from their disciples just now and knew that Qian Tong had extorted five hundred thousand Saint Crystals from each of them in exchange for a single use of Heavenly Fate City’s Space Array. Knowing this, who would thank him at this time? Not shouting profanities at him right now was already giving Qian Tong a huge amount of face, but thanking him? In his dreams!
Yang Kai, in room C-13, observed this beautiful woman with interest. Although he had never participated in such an auction before, that didn’t mean he knew nothing about them.
The auctioneer played an important part in any auction. A good auctioneer could control the atmosphere of the room, heating it up to the point where prices also rose.
With this woman’s beauty alone, even if she didn’t say a word, she could increase the various bidders’ enthusiasm by several grades. Treasure Trove Pavilion was really sinister.
The beautiful woman on the stage reported her name, then humbly spoke about the hospitality offered by Treasure Trove Pavilion, apologizing for any shortcomings the guests may have experienced. Her words were smooth and sincere, so no one could find fault with her. She kept a fresh, spring-like smile on her face, causing everyone to feel warm and comfortable, as if they were relaxing in their own home. Her elegant eyes also moved about lightly but deliberately, making everyone mistakenly think that she was looking at them, hoping to see them display their valour, and wealth of course.
After speaking for a while, the beautiful woman let out a silver bell-like laughter before saying, “But enough idle talk, let the auction begin! The first item we are auctioning today is a Saint King Grade High-Rank Artefact Armour!”
While the auctioneer spoke, a woman donning an elegant dress slowly walked up on stage holding a large jade plate in her hands. Atop this jade plate was a five coloured Saint King Grade High-Rank Artifact Armour, one that was radiating powerful energy fluctuations and was exquisitely designed, it was no doubt a high-quality defensive artefact.
The beautiful woman paused for a moment, and after everyone had a chance to admire this Artifact Armour, she continued, “This five coloured Artifact Armour is a recent work of my Treasure Trove Pavilion’s Grandmaster Artifact Refiner, Grandmaster Gong. Grandmaster Gong’s reputation precedes himself so I will not elaborate on his skills. This Artifact Armour not only possesses excellent defensive strength, but it can also change size at will so it can be easily used by a man or a woman. The starting price is set at thirty thousand High-Rank Saint Crystals, each new bid must raise the price no less than two thousand Saint Crystals. Everyone, please!”
When this beautiful woman reported the starting price, Yang Kai frowned slightly before glancing over at Yang Yan.
If he remembered correctly, among the first batch of artefacts Yang Yan had refined for him, there was a single Saint King Grade High-Rank auxiliary artefact. That artefact was refined from the wings of an Illusionary Cloud Butterfly and according to Yang Yan was worth about thirty thousand Saint Crystals.
Although they were both Saint King Grade High-Rank artefacts, Yang Kai felt that Yang Yan’s wings were far better than this five coloured armour. Not only was it rarer and more beautiful, it also had better functionality.
If those wings were only worth thirty thousand Saint Crystals, could this Artifact Armour also be worth just as much? And this was just the starting price!
While he was thinking so though, someone had already started bidding, the price they offered causing Yang Kai’s eyes to twitch.
“Fifty thousand!”
The person who bid actually raised the price by twenty thousand Saint Crystals right off the bat.
The beautiful woman on the stage smiled and said, “This friend in seat one six nine is indeed a man who knows the quality of goods, he bids fifty thousand for this Artifact Armour, is there any…”
Before she could finish what she was saying though, someone shouted, “Fifty-two thousand!”
“Fifty-five thousand!”
“Fifty-eight thousand!”
The beautiful woman no longer spoke and simply stood atop the high stage while flashing the same enchanting smile she had worn since she appeared. She knew that she didn’t need to say anything more as those who wanted this Artifact Armour would definitely raise the price all on their own.
As the price rose, the cultivators sitting on the auction’s main floor scrambled to bid, none of them willing to show weakness, but the guests in the private rooms remained silent, none of them showing any intention to participate.
Those who could sit in the private rooms belonged to famous great forces on Shadowed Star. Although this Artifact Armour was good, it wasn’t worthy of them lowering themselves to compete with the people in the hall.
In Room C-13, Wu Yi stared at the five coloured armour with envy, her beautiful eyes filled with excitement, but the starting price already being thirty thousand, she could only sigh.
Yang Yan coldly snorted and spat disdainfully, “This kind of thing can also be sold for such a high price? There are too many blind people here.”
Yang Kai also felt the same. The cultivation resources on Shadowed Star were relatively scarce, especially Saint Crystals, so the value of a single piece of Saint Crystal here was much higher than in the outside world. Seeing this kind of defensive artefact still rising in price really made Yang Kai wonder what these people were thinking.
One of the Shadow Moon Hall female disciples who had been waiting by the side chuckled lightly and explained, “They are competing over this artefact due to Grandmaster Gong’s fame. If this Artifact Armour had been refined by an unknown person, it would be impossible for it to have such a high price.”
Yang Kai nodded gently, understanding that fame had an effect no matter where one went. Gong Tai Hong was apparently an Origin Grade Artifact Refiner, so even if the product he produced wasn’t the highest of quality, others would still compete to own it. As such, it was only natural for his artefacts to sell for more than other Artifact Refiners’.
However, after the price of the five coloured armour reached eighty thousand, the rate of new bids slowed down noticeably. It seemed those who were interested in this Artifact Armour were running out of Saint Crystals.
A short time later, this Artifact Armour was purchased for eighty-four thousand Saint Crystals by a young man in the hall.
The Treasure Trove Pavilion female disciple holding the Artifact Armour stepped off the high platform and delivered it to the young man while accepting his payment.
The young man who received the Artifact Armour immediately handed it to the beautiful woman nestled next to him, winning him a kiss his cheek. The young man laughed heartily as if he were the biggest winner in the world.
The second item auctioned was a set of ten King Transformation Pills with a starting price of ten thousand Saint Crystals. These pills eventually sold for twenty-seven thousand Saint Crystals and were similarly purchased by someone on the main floor. From the winner’s appearance, they were obviously here to represent some small family and had purchased them to bring back home with them.
The next items were a variety of pills, artefacts, Secret Arts, Martial Skills, etc. There were even some precious raw materials with high and low starting prices.
The atmosphere in the auction house gradually became hot and as one precious item after another was brought out, countless people rushed to bid. The most expensive item selling for two hundred thousand Saint Crystals, shocking Yang Kai speechless.
He felt that he had greatly underestimated the capital of Shadowed Star’s forces. Most of his understanding of Shadowed Star came from Wu Yi, but Wu Yi came from a relatively small background and didn’t understand the true strength of those great forces or what kind of wealth they possessed.
Apparently there was no lack of rich people on Shadowed Star.
Soon, Yang Kai was infected by the atmosphere of the room and even had the urge to shout out a bid for some items, even knowing they weren’t useful to him.
Fortunately, he was completely broke and had no ability to participate in this auction; however, even if he could participate, he had enough self-control to not do so.
Secretly though, Yang Kai marvelled at these things called auctions. An item worth only ten thousand Saint Crystal could be sold for several times more once it was put up in a good auction, it seemed auctions were definitely a great way to gather money.
Yang Kai was a bit calmer and sensible, but Yang Yan and Wu Yi were completely different. They had become completely caught up in the heat of the auction and even though neither of them were qualified to bid, that didn’t prevent them from standing up, pointing at others, and cheering them on, celebrating when the ones they were rooting for won and sighing forlornly when they failed.
Where had their poised ladylike looks disappear to?
With a slightly blushing face, Yang Kai grabbed two spirit fruits and shoved them into Wu Yi and Yang Yan’s mouths, finally settling them down a bit.
The two female Shadow Moon Hall disciples stood behind them pursing their lips as their shoulders trembled, doing their best to not laugh.
The auction was in full swing, and as time passed, the value of the items Treasure Trove Pavilion brought out was getting higher and higher. For the first hour or two, the auctioned items were basically for the cultivators sitting on the ground floor. Those in the private rooms up above had barely participated up to this point, but after the two-hour mark, voices from the private rooms began calling out with much higher frequency.
The beautiful woman on the stage has been standing there for so long yet the pretty smile on her face never wavered and she didn’t seem the least bit fatigued, her words still ringing out crisp and sweet. At the most appropriate times, she would raise the enthusiasm of those people who were bidding so that every item was sold for a high price.
“The next item to be auctioned is a very special one…” The beautiful woman opened her lips again, her charming voice seemingly drawing Saint Crystals out of the crowd’s pockets, “The reason why this thing is special is that its value may be high or may be low.”
While saying so, the elegantly dressed woman responsible for displaying the auction items stepped out onto the high platform holding a jade plate in her hands. Almost everyone’s eyes were fixed on that jade plate, wanting to know what was being sold as the beautiful woman’s description had been so ambiguous.
Atop the high platform, the woman set down the jade plate and picked up its contents, pinching its corners with her hands and slowly rotating around so that everyone could get a good look at it. Countless Divine Senses swept the stage immediately, and after waiting for everyone to see this item, it was placed back down on the jade plate.
The beautiful female auctioneer giggled and proceeded, “Everyone should have seen it clearly. This is an ancient map! The origin of this ancient map is very special. When one of my Treasure Trove Pavilion’s disciples was out collecting items to be auctioned, he coincidentally saved someone’s life, and in return for his actions, he was given this ancient map. The saved individual said that this was an ancestral relic of his family and according to the research of many experts in my Treasure Trove Pavilion, this ancient map is only a fragment of a much larger map. We don’t know the specific fraction this map is of the complete map, but it is at least several thousand years old. The location pointed to by this ancient map isn’t clear and no one knows what treasures it is hiding. Perhaps there is nothing special at its end, but perhaps… there is amazing wealth, profound inheritance, or high-grade artefacts and Secret Arts just waiting to be discovered!”
As the beautiful woman’s voice rang out, and the map’s description left her lips, the atmosphere inside the auction heated up even more.
Shocking wealth, profound Secret Arts, mysterious inheritances, these words drew the attention of everyone in the private rooms and on the floor.
Of course, everyone knew that despite this woman’s extravagant and coloured description, her words were very unreliable. This was just a fragment of a map, who knew it would be of any use or if what it led to was of any worth?
Moreover, if this ancient map had great value, it would not have been put up for auction. Treasure Trove Pavilion was an incredibly powerful force in its own right and would naturally send its own people out to dig up this treasure if they felt it was worth doing so.
The beautiful woman, however, could see that excitement in the room had risen so she knew she had achieved her objective, no longer wasting any time and simply saying, “The starting price for this ancient map is ten thousand Saint Crystals!”
She didn’t even mention any restrictions on increasing the bid, obviously intending for people to act freely.
“Ten thousand!” Although it was just a fragment of a map, that didn’t lower the value of obtaining it. The fact that no other map fragment had been found so far didn’t mean one wouldn’t be found in the future. For a mere ten thousand Saint Crystals, one may be able to purchase a priceless opportunity, so when the beautiful woman’s voice fell, countless people shouted bid the minimum price.
The beautiful woman smiled lightly as she looked at one of the people on the main floor, “This friend in seat eighty-seven was the first to bid, if other friends wish to win this treasure, please raise your bids!”
“Twelve thousand!”
“Fifteen thousand!”
The bids from the main floor rose rapidly and even those from the private rooms entered the fray, but each time someone made a new bid, they would at most raise the price by two or three thousand Saint Crystals.
Soon, the ancient map fragment with a base price of ten thousand climbed to fifty thousand, then seventy thousand, then eighty thousand…
After reaching eighty thousand, the atmosphere at the scene suddenly solidified and no one continued to bid.
Eighty thousand Saint Crystals for this ancient map fragment was quite a high price and no one was willing to increase it further; after all, its current value wasn’t even that high.
Yang Kai shook his head and was about to say a few words to Wu Yi about an unrelated matter when he suddenly discovered that Yang Yan’s expression was a little weird, prompting him to ask, “What’s wrong?”
Yang Yan glanced back at him and replied in a whisper, “I have a similar map fragment!”
“What?” Yang Kai was startled, asking again to confirm, “Are you sure?”
Yang Yan nodded sincerely.
“Eighty-two thousand!” Yang Kai didn’t even think about it and directly entered a bid, but in the next moment, his face cramped as he remembered he didn’t actually have that many Saint Crystals on him, making him feel incredibly awkward.
But since he had already sent out a bid, it was naturally impossible for Yang Kai to take it back. If he were to try, he would definitely be thrown out by Treasure Trove Pavilion’s people, resulting in a great disgrace.
The atmosphere that had cooled down suddenly became hot again with Yang Kai’s offer, and the beautiful auctioneer smiled brilliantly towards the private room and said in a loud voice, “This friend from room C-13 has bid for eighty-two thousand, is there any higher bid?”
Just when Yang Kai was about to panic about what to do, a new voice called out from down on the main floor, solving this embarrassing problem for him.
“One hundred thousand!”
Yang Kai clearly felt that after this person called out this price, countless Divine Senses gathered on him. There were only two possibilities for this man to make such a determined effort to acquire this ancient map fragment, either he didn’t care about spending a hundred thousand Saint Crystals for this uncertain opportunity, or he had another fragment of this map.
The man who called out this last bid also seemed to detect that something was wrong and immediately lowered his head, but his appearance has long been remembered by the interested parties, hiding now was useless.
Yang Kai also took note of this person’s appearance. He was a middle-aged man with low strength, only a First Order Saint King. He was wearing ordinary clothes and didn’t seem to be very well off.
Did this person also have a map fragment? Yang Kai thought secretly.
Yang Kai was fairly certain this was the case, and not only was he, but several others in the hall were also convinced as well. Once this man left Treasure Trove Pavilion, he would likely be stared at by countless people. Buying this ancient map fragment had brought disaster down upon him.
Thinking so, Yang Kai was secretly startled and felt fortunate that this person had solved this danger for him, otherwise, he would be the one everyone would be paying attention to.
However, Yang Yan possessing another fragment of this map was something completely unexpected for Yang Kai. If these two map fragments were pieced together, perhaps he would be able to find some clue about what it led to. Yang Kai was secretly debating what to do about this second map fragment. If he wanted to take it, he would need to choose an appropriate method and act quickly before others could.
What if what the beautiful woman said was true and this ancient map fragment led to some kind of amazing treasure….
On the high stage, the voice of the beautiful female auctioneer sounded again, “One hundred thousand, is there any higher bid? One hundred thousand once… one hundred thousand twice…”
After a slow three count during which no other bids were made, the ancient map fragment was won by the middle-aged man for one hundred thousand Saint Crystal. The Treasure Trove Pavilion disciple holding the map fragment then delivered it to the man and accepted his hundred thousand Saint Crystal payment, completing the transaction.
As soon as he got hold of this map fragment though, the middle-aged man felt like he was sitting on pins and needles. He definitely wanted to get up right away and leave, but he didn’t dare to act so rashly, forcing himself to sit in his chair and wait.
His performance only made everyone else more certain he had another piece of this ancient map.
The auction proceeded, but suddenly, one of the two Shadow Moon Hall female disciples took out her communication artefact and after reviewing the message sent to her, smiled widely, “Young Master Yang, Elder Qian has come to see you.”
“Please have him come in,” Yang Kai happened to be looking for Qian Tong, but he hadn’t expected him to come over on his own accord.
The female disciple nodded and immediately went to open the private room’s door only to see Qian Tong waited outside with a big smile.
Anyone who had suddenly obtained thirty million Saint Crystals without any effort would also be laughing stupidly like Qian Tong. As for Yan Pei leaking out news causing Qian Tong to lose this rare opportunity, Qian Tong no longer cared.
With an additional thirty million Saint Crystals, if Shadow Moon Hall couldn’t outbid the competition, Qian Tong would have nothing to say.
“Nephew Yang, this Qian had some matters to attend to and was unable to get away until now, please forgive me!” Qian Tong cupped his hand and said politely.
“Elder Qian is too serious, we wouldn’t be eligible to sit here without Elder Qian’s help,” Yang Kai chuckled while inviting Qian Tong in to sit down.
Qian Tong however just waved his hand and said, “This Qian must represent Shadow Moon Hall in this auction so I cannot remain here for long. I merely came here to thank Nephew Yang.”
“Thank me?” Yang Kai was confused, not knowing what he was talking about.
“Indeed, I must thank Nephew Yang for bringing such huge benefits to my Shadow Moon Hall. En, this is just a small token of appreciation from my Shadow Moon Hall, I hope Nephew Yang won’t refuse,” Qian Tong said as he passed over a Space Ring.
Yang Kai didn’t respond for a moment, simply staring back at Qian Tong for a while before asking, “Elder Qian, can you explain the situation clearly? I really don’t know what I have done to warrant such a gift from Shadow Moon Hall.”
Qian Tong’s words were quite meaningful. He had said that this was a show of appreciation from Shadow Moon Hall, not himself. Accepting a gift from such a powerful force for no apparent reason made Yang Kai quite uncomfortable.
This couldn’t be related to the few items he had brought to the auction either, as the ultimate beneficiary of those items was Treasure Trove Pavilion, they brought no advantage at all to Shadow Moon Hall.
Seemingly understanding that Yang Kai didn’t want to owe others any favours, like when he had tried to give him that Wild Rose Pill, Qian Tong knew that if he didn’t make the situation clear this time, Yang Kai would certainly not accept this Space Ring.
Thinking about it briefly, Qian Tong explained, “It’s like this: The several items Nephew Yang delivered just now to be auctioned were valued extremely highly, catching the great forces that came to participate in this auction unprepared. As such, all of them needed to use by Heavenly Fate City’s Space Array to return to their respective Sects to collect additional Saint Crystals. Seeing this, this old master decided to charge them a small additional toll to make use of it. Ahem, en, so the large part of this toll is Nephew’s credit, but after all, those assets belong to Shadow Moon Hall so this Elder doesn’t dare give you too much of it. This is just a small gift; Nephew Yang has no reason to refuse.”
Yang Kai was stunned, not having expect Qian Tong to do this kind of business, admiring his boldness as he thought about just how many people Qian Tong must have offended. No wonder he had seen so many people leaving the private rooms in A Block and B Block just before the auction started, it was all to raise more Saint Crystals.
Yang Kai knew very well what the value of the treasures he had brought to auction were, and with Qian Tong’s explanation just now, he immediately understand that this really was his own credit.
No longer seeing a reason to refuse, Yang Kai happily accepted the Space Ring and laughed, “Since that’s the case, this Junior won’t be polite. I originally wanted to find Elder Qian to borrow a few Saint Crystals in the interim, but now that seems unnecessary.”
Yang Kai truly wanted to see Qian Tong to borrow some Saint Crystals just now. Originally, he had no intention of participating in this auction; however, the appearance of the ancient map fragment had made Yang Kai realize that perhaps something he truly needed would appear. If such an item appeared but he didn’t have any Saint Crystals to bid with, how sad would it be? Moreover, seeing Wu Yi and Yang Yan cheer so enthusiastically for others, how could Yang Kai not realize they too wanted to join in the fun?
Unexpectedly, as if he had predicted such the future, Qian Tong came over and gifted him some Saint Crystals.
This delighted Yang Kai.
Qian Tong also laughed, “As long as Nephew Yang doesn’t bid on something too expensive, these Saint Crystals should be enough.”
He didn’t say how many Saint Crystals he had given and Yang Kai didn’t ask. Such things weren’t meant to be discussed openly by civilized gentlemen. Qian tong had also said that this was just a small show of appreciation from Shadow Moon Hall and couldn’t be used to make Yang Kai owe him a favour personally.
Just then, the beautiful woman on the auction floor said loudly, “I believe everyone will be very interested in the next item, so please prepare your bids!”
With this remark, Yang Kai clearly felt that the atmosphere in each of the private rooms sudden become tense. Obviously they had gotten some small advanced warning about what this item might be and while the cultivators on the main floor were in the dark, that didn’t hinder their expectations from rising as well.
The woman in charge of presenting the auction items walked out onto the stage with a beautiful jade bottle placed atop a fine jade plate. The beautiful female auctioneer picked up the jade bottle and opened the cap while excitedly saying, “What will be auctioned next is an Origin Condensing Pill!”
Sure enough, as soon as the beautiful woman’s words fell, the audience burst into a ruckus, causing her to smile even more brightly, satisfied with everyone’s response.
After the beautiful female auctioneer’s remarks, everyone in the auction hall began clamouring. In room C-13, Qian Tong hurriedly cupped his fists to Yang Kai and said, “Nephew Yang, if you have time after this auction, this old master would still like to have a word with you, but right now this old master must snatch this Origin Condensing Pill, so please excuse me.”
Yang Kai did not try to detain him and simply nodded, “Elder Qian, please carry on.”
Qian Tong left in a hurry. The beautiful woman waiting a moment before lifting her hand and quieting the audience; after the noise subsided, she continued, “Everyone knows the effects of this Origin Condensing Pill. It can improve the chances a Third Order Saint King cultivator can break through to the Origin Returning Realm. Shadowed Star is severely lacking in resources so there are no Origin King Realm masters, the Origin Returning Realm are the greatest powerhouses of our respective forces, but each year the number of cultivators who reach the Origin Returning Realm is very small, the biggest reason for this because we do not have many Alchemists capable of refining Origin Condensing Pills. Although this pill is just a Saint King Grade High-Rank pill, the difficulty in refining it is no less than a common Origin Grade Low-Rank pill with a success rate of less than thirty percent. It took great effort and resources to even acquire this single pill. The base price is one hundred thousand Saint Crystals, each bid must increase the price no less than two thousand Saint Crystals, please!”
When the words of this beautiful woman reached his ears, Yang Kai was startled.
This Origin Condensing Pill was obviously brought to the auction by him, and it wasn’t just one but two, so what was all this about Treasure Trove Pavilion expending great effort to collect it? This woman really knew how to spin out a tale, but in the auction hall, except for a few people who knew the truth, everyone else was obviously oblivious to the origins of this Origin Condensing Pill. The beautiful woman was doing all this just to raise the Origin Condensing Pill’s price.
Buying an Origin Condensing Pill was almost equivalent to buying an Origin Returning Realm master, any great force would desperately want to acquire it.
However, Yang Kai had clearly brought two Origin Condensing Pills, but Treasure Trove Pavilion was now only auctioning off one. Apparently, they wanted to raise a big fuss over this Origin Condensing Pill as a warm-up, but even if someone snatched it up, the competition probably wouldn’t be too intense.
Most cultivators didn’t want to rely on such pills to break through as they were just supplementary means.
Yang Kai’s guess was soon proved right. The competition over this Origin Condensing Pill was truly hot, but none of the honoured guests in the private rooms joined in. Instead, it was the cultivators sitting on the main floor who were posting all the bids, raising the price in a short time from one hundred thousand to two hundred and eighty thousand.
The forces behind these cultivators weren’t nearly as powerful as the ones behind those sitting in the private rooms, so the number of Origin Returning Realm masters they possessed was quite small. A single Origin Condensing Pill wouldn’t bring too many benefits to a great force, after all, it could only be used by one cultivator, but for these small forces, a single Origin Returning Realm master could increase their strength and status significantly.
If a force like the Hai Ke Family or Xu Family, that had a number of Third Order Saint Kings but no Origin Returning Realm master, could acquire this Origin Condensing Pill, they would be able to soar upwards and enter the inner circle of Shadow Moon Hall, enjoying completely different treatment that what they were currently receiving.
That was why these smaller forces went all out to win this Origin Condensing Pill.
After the price reached two hundred and eighty thousand, the bidding gradually weakened. Two hundred and eighty thousand High-Rank Saint Crystals were the bottom line for most of these people, so no matter how much they wanted to increase the bid, they were not unable to.
“The guest in seat three two one has bid two hundred and eighty thousand, is there any higher bid?” The beautiful female auctioneer called out repeatedly, her smile as elegant as before.
The man who called the price of two hundred and eighty thousand stood up in excitement, looking around with equal parts nervousness and eagerness on his face, lest someone now outbid him, so anxious he couldn’t bear to wait for the beautiful woman to make her customary appeals, “Hurry up, no one is going to increase the price, hurry up.”
The beautiful woman also seemed to have reached such a conclusion and smiled slightly upon hearing these words, calling out loudly, “Two hundred and eighty thousand going…”
“Three hundred thousand!” A low voice suddenly echoed from one of the private rooms, interrupting the beautiful woman’s words.
The beautiful auctioneer froze as her dazzling eyes went towards the private room where the voice originated from.
The cultivator who was just about to win heard the three hundred thousand come from one of the A Block private rooms and immediately sat down dejectedly.
Forget about the other party making a higher bid than him, the simple fact that this person was sitting in the A Block private rooms meant he was not someone who could be provoked. This person not bidding before was obviously because they disdained to participate in a shouting match with the cats and dogs on the main floor and was only intended to speak the final word.
It could be said that this person’s methods were commendable. He had allowed the lower level cultivators in the hall to heat up the atmosphere before jumping in at the last moment and showing off his wealth.
His approach was quite successful as no one on the main floor made another bid.
The beautiful woman’s lips curled upwards slightly as she prepared to start the countdown again. Although an Origin Condensing Pill was quite rare and precious, three hundred thousand High-Rank Saint Crystals fell within her expected sale price.
But before she could speak, someone made a new bid, and an outrageous one at that.
“Four hundred thousand!” After quoting this price, the person behind the bid let out a great laugh and quipped, “An Origin Condensing Pill is such a valuable treasure, it deserves better bids than this. It’s insulting to simply raise the price a few thousand Saint Crystals at a time.”
These words were no doubt mocking the A Block private room guest who had just bid three hundred thousand, but no one thought there was a problem with that, because the one who made this new bid was also sitting in the A Block private rooms. Clearly, this person’s status was not lower than the previous bidder.
On Shadowed Star, the great forces didn’t share a harmonious relationship. There were many open fights between them, and some were even blood enemies. The smarter individuals in the hall had already guessed that there was some kind of grudge between these two people, or the forces behind them; otherwise, why would they be picking such an obvious fight?
“Elder Qian…” Wu Yi whispered in private room C-13. The voice that just called out the four hundred thousand bid was actually Qian Tong’s. This old fogey left only a moment ago yet in the blink of an eye he had thrown out so much money. It really made her wonder where he had gotten so many Saint Crystals.
Yang Kai also frowned, wondering what game Qian Tong was playing. He clearly knew that this Origin Condensing Pill was brought here by him, so why was he raising the price so high? If Qian Tong really won it, wouldn’t he just be losing money? Or did he really want this pill for some reason?
Perhaps he was deliberately raising the price in order to buy it back at a high price and sell Yang Kai a favour, but But Qian Tong no doubt knew there was a better Origin Condensing Pill to come in this auction so there was no need to go all out here. If Qian Tong really wanted to sell Yang Kai a favour, it would be better to raise the price of the other Origin Condensing Pill instead.
Yang Kai could only assume that Qian Tong had some kind of grudge with the person who made the previous bid.
“Hmph, four hundred and ten thousand!” The previous bidder outright ignored the ridicule behind Qian Tong’s words and with a cold snort raise the price by a mere ten thousand again.
“Five hundred thousand!” In contrast, Qian Tong put on the air of a filthy rich man and immediately bid a price that drew shock and admiration from many cultivators in the hall.
“Five hundred and ten thousand!”
“Six hundred thousand!”
…..
The situation devolved into a fight between these two people with on Qian Tong and the other man now shouting out successive bids in the hall. The price of this Origin Condensing Pill soared, making Yang Kai feel like he was dreaming, hardly able to believe the pill he had casually refined would sell for such a high price.
He had asked Wu Yi what pill was the most expensive on Shadowed Star. Wu Yi had named the Origin Condensing Pill and Origin Nirvana Pill. Yang Kai wasn’t able to refine the Origin Nirvana Pill so he instead refined two Origin Condensing Pills. He was originally afraid that Yang Yan ‘s two Origin Grade artefacts wouldn’t be able to see for a high enough price so he wanted to contribute something, but he had never thought that the price of an Origin Condensing Pill would reach such heights.
With six hundred thousand High-Rank Saint Crystals, Yang Kai could purchase a large number of precious materials, enough for Yang Yan to expand and enhance the Spirit Array around Dragon Cave Mountain significantly.
What’s more, the bidding war between Qian Tong and the other man was still ongoing, causing the price to soar to seven hundred thousand in a flash!
Countless gasps and sighs rang out from the private rooms, all of them feeling like these two had gone crazy, actually raising the price of an Origin Condensing Pill to such a height. Even if there was a deep hatred between these two, that alone shouldn’t have been enough to create such a debacle. What if this set a precedent for future Origin Condensing Pills that appeared for auction? Would they all need to be bought at such an outrageous price? If that was the case, only fools would buy them.
“So many Saint Crystals, these rich people are really too terrifying,” Wu Yi smiled bitterly, thinking about how the Hai Ke Family would struggle desperately just to earn a few tens of thousands of Saint Crystals while here in Treasure Trove Pavilion’s auction, this kind of money could be freely squandered.
“Just wait a bit and those Saint Crystal will be ours,” Yang Kai scratched his cheek lightly.
“Why?” Wu Yi stared at him blankly.
“That Origin Condensing Pill being auctioned is mine.”
“What?” Wu Yi and Yang Yan both stared at Yang Kai in disbelief, and even the two female disciples from Shadow Moon Hall covered their mouths in shock, neither of them having imagined that the young man they had been assigned to serve was actually so wealthy. With just these seven hundred thousand Saint Crystals, his status in their minds had immediately soared.
“Eight hundred thousand!” Qian Tong called out, his voice still unhurriedly, as if eight hundred thousand Saint Crystals weren’t even worth him worrying about.
“Nine hundred thousand!” The man competing with Qian Tong had also been driven to the limits of forbearance and abandoned his previous stance of only increasing his bid by ten thousand, directly adding a hundred thousand Saint Crystals before angrily shouting, “Qian Tong old dog, if you want to fight, this old master will accompany you! A trivial hundred thousand Saint Crystal is nothing for my Sea Temple!”
“Hahaha!” Qian Tong laughed wantonly, “Jiang Huai An, what do you mean? Is this your first-time participating Treasure Trove Pavilion’s auction? No matter the treasure, whoever bids the highest price wins it, do you not even understand such a simple truth? This old master has a liking for this Origin Condensing Pill, so naturally he will bid freely. If you can’t afford to compete with this old master, then accept defeat graciously. En, this old master recently picked up a few tens of millions of Saint Crystals but has no idea what to do with them. If I don’t even buy something I want, what am I supposed to do with them? Bury them with me?”
As soon as these words came out, angry grumbling leaked from many private rooms while the master from Sea Temple called Jiang Huai An was so mad he nearly coughed up blood.
The Saint Crystals Qian Tong had ‘picked up’ were from nearly everyone in the auction hall’s private rooms. Naturally, Sea Temple had also made a generous contribution. Using others’ Saint Crystals to snatch a treasure that person wanted, Qian Tong’s approach was simply too wicked.
Although everyone was spurning Qian Tong in their hearts, in truth they were all quite envious. Why did such a great opportunity to collect money land in Qian Tong’s lap? The Treasure Trove Pavilion auction was held every two or three years and at cities controlled by various different great forces, but being able to turn this into an opportunity to reap a huge profit required both cunning and ingenuity.
No one spoke up to support Jiang Huai An. Forget about Qian Tong’s words really being how auctions worked, all of them were more than happy to see the atmosphere become livelier. On top of that, it was known that there were some grudges between Shadow Moon Hall and the Sea Temple, so Qian Tong targeting Jiang Huai An in this way was actually a veiled conflict between these two great forces. No one wanted to meddle in this matter.
“So that’s how it is,” Wu Yi whispered suddenly.
“What did you figure out?” Yang Kai looked at her and asked.
“I know why that Jiang Huai An is so determined to buy that Origin Condensing Pill,” Wu Yi smiled, “He is one of the three Temple Masters of Sea Temple. I heard that his favourite son, Jiang Zhi Ren, was born with only average aptitude. Jiang Huai An has used countless precious treasures to promote his son’s cultivation to the Third Order Saint King Realm, but unfortunately, Third Order Saint King is Jiang Zhi Ren’s natural limit. If there is no Origin Condensing Pill, he will forever be unable to break through to the Origin Returning Realm. I heard that Jiang Huai An has travelled widely to buy an Origin Condensing Pill and has also collected several batches of materials to refine an Origin Condensing Pill but has so far been unsuccessful in both respects.”
“So he is willing to go all out to buy this Origin Condensing Pill?” Yang Kai’s eyes lit up, finally understand why Qian Tong would raise the price so brazenly. He was taking advantage of Jiang Huai An’s weakness and knew that the latter would buy it no matter what.
“It should be so. This Sea Temple Temple Master being willing to pay such a high price is definitely because he wants to bring it back for Jiang Zhi Ren.”
“But there is a limit to everything, this Jiang Huai An may be hot-headed but he’s not a fool. I suspect that if Elder Qian raises the price again, that Origin Condensing Pill will land in his hands,” Yang Kai was slightly worried. Qian Tong was quite good to him so Yang Kai naturally didn’t want Qian Tong to suffer a loss at his own hands.
Wu Yi however just smiled, “What’s there to worry about? Didn’t you just hear what Elder Qian said? He said he just picked up tens of millions of Saint Crystals. Although that’s surely an exaggeration, Elder Qian is no doubt a wealthy man. En, that’s right, how many Saint Crystals did he give you just now?”
“I don’t know,” Yang Kai suddenly remembered that he still had a Space Ring in his hand. Just now, Qian Tong had handed him this ring and then hurriedly left. The auction for the Origin Condensing Pill had started immediately, drawing Yang Kai attention, and in the rush of the bidding, he had forgotten to check just how many Saint Crystals he had been gifted.
Sweeping the Space Ring with his Divine Sense, Yang Kai’s expression instantly froze up.
“How many?” Wu Yi saw Yang Kai’s face cramp and asked nervously, not knowing why her heart was suddenly pounding slightly. Even Yang Yan craned her neck slightly while eagerly waiting for Yang Kai’s reply.
Yang Kai took a deep breath before to calm himself before handing the Space Ring to them, “See for yourself.”
Wu Yi accepted it doubtfully, but after using her Divine Sense to check the amount of Saint Crystals inside the Space Ring, she couldn’t help yelping as she covered her mouth, her eyes filled with shock.
Seeing this, Yang Yan seized the Space Ring and also examined it, her reaction not differing much from Wu Yi’s a moment later.
Three million High-Rank Saint Crystals were in the Space Ring sent by Qian Tong. There were actually three million High-Rank Saint Crystals inside this Space Ring! Let alone Wu Yi and Yang Yan, even Yang Kai was dumbstruck by this shocking and unexpected amount.
Yang Kai had thought that Qian Tong was simply sending him a ‘small gift’ of perhaps two or three hundred thousand High-Rank Saint Crystals, how was he supposed to know it would actually be ten times that amount? No wonder Qian Tong said that as long as he didn’t try to buy anything too expensive, these Saint Crystals should be enough for him to spend.
With three million Saint Crystals, how many things could he buy?
“Looks like, Elder Qian wasn’t exaggerating at all. He really did pick up tens of millions of Saint Crystals.” Yang Kai wore a strange expression. He knew that these Saint Crystals were all road tolls collected by Qian Tong, but he hadn’t expected Qian Tong to be so black-hearted. Tens of millions worth of road tolls meant that these three million were less than a tenth of the total amount.
Wu Yi shot a wary glance over to the two female Shadow Moon Hall disciples before whispering to Yang Kai, “We need to act cautiously here…”
Yang Kai however just snorted, “Why should I act cautiously? Those road tolls were mostly my credit. Without me, Elder Qian wouldn’t have been able to charge those forces so many Saint Crystals. We can accept these three million Saint Crystals boldly.”
“Alright…” Wu Yi nodded, still a little worried.
While Yang Kai’s trio were talking amongst themselves, Qian Tong and Jiang Huai An had been trading insults back and forth. Inside his A Block private room, Yan Pei, who had been sipping his tea calmly, had gradually grown annoyed, coldly snorted, and said, “Cease your bickering, everyone here is waiting to continue the auction. If you two really find the other not pleasing to the eye, go outside and fight it out, what point is there in simply exchanging words? Don’t delay my Treasure Trove Pavilion’s business!”
With Treasure Trove Pavilion’s chief steward’s intervention, Qian Tong and Jiang Huai An finally settled down. Even if they didn’t give each other any face, they had to give face to Treasure Trove Pavilion; otherwise, if they were banned from participate in the auction in the future, the ones who would lose would be them. Many of the most precious and valuable treasures on Shadowed Star were auctioned through Treasure Trove Pavilion.
Qian Tong grinned meaningfully and said, “This old master just can’t get used to the stinginess of some people. Forget it, there’s no point in arguing over something so trivial. Whoever wins this wins it. En, girl, what was the last bid for this Origin Condensing Pill?”
The beautiful female auctioneer smiled and replied, “Elder Qian, Temple Master Jiang just bid nine hundred thousand.”
“Nine hundred thousand, such a high price, heh. That’s enough to buy three Origin Condensing Pills.”
As soon as Qian Tong’s words came out, the sound of a chair being crushed could clearly be heard from the private room of Jiang Huai An. This Sea Temple Temple Master obviously wished he could skin Qian Tong alive right now. The price had been raised by Qian Tong himself, yet he now had the audacity to make sarcastic remarks about it. It was like he had vowed not to rest until he annoyed Jiang Huai An to death.
Qian Tong soon shouted again, “One million!”
The audience gasped once more. The auction had been going on for three hours now, and finally a million crystal item had appeared. Although everyone knew that this price was drastically higher than the market price, this was an auction after all, pricing being higher than normal was only natural.
The sound of something being crushed rang out again from the private room occupied by Sea Temple.
Qian Tong however just laughed, “Jiang Huai An, don’t say this old master doesn’t know how to be considerate. You and I have known each other for many years after all. En, it’s a bit inappropriate for us to make a scene here and have others laugh at us for a mere Origin Condensing Pill. If you can outbid this old master once more, this old master will let you have this Origin Condensing Pill, what do you say?”
“One million ten thousand!” Even if he knew perfectly well that Qian Tong was ridiculing him still, Jiang Huai An had to increase the price.
After coming this far, this competition was no longer about this Origin Condensing Pill, but rather about reputation. In addition, these past few years, Jiang Huai An had expended great pains to acquire an Origin Condensing Pill, the herbs he had collected alone costing him over a million Saint Crystals, yet every time he sought an Alchemist, these herbs had ended up being destroyed. Now that there was a ready-made pill in front of him, there was no way he wouldn’t grab hold of it.
What made Jiang Huai An truly want to cough up blood though was that clearly he was the one who bought this Origin Condensing Pill, but for those who were uninformed, it looked like Qian Tong had sold him a favour by allowing him to win it. If it wasn’t for this being Treasure Trove Pavilion’s auction house inside Heavenly Fate City, Jiang Huai An would definitely attack Qian Tong here and now.
He had simply gone too far!
After the one million ten thousand Saint Crystal price was called, no one else spoke, not even Qian Tong. The beautiful female auctioneer quickly stepped forward and called the count, delivering the Origin Condensing Pill to Jiang Huai An. Yet, a moment later.
With the three million Saint Crystals Qian Tong had delivered him, and this additional one million crystals, Yang Kai was very happy, but after receiving the first three million Saint Crystals, acquiring one million more didn’t affect the trio as strongly. After obtaining a certain amount of money, everything just became mere numbers.
However, this didn’t prevent the trio from looking forward to their other items being auctioned. Even Yang Kai wanted to know what kind of price his other Origin Condensing Pill would sell for, as well as how valuable Yang Yan’s Origin Grade Mid-Rank artefact would be.
The auction now entered its second half.
With the appearance of the Origin Condensing Pill serving as a transition point, the following items Treasure Trove Pavilion brought out were truly of a different grade. Whether it was in terms of rarity or quality, all of the items in the second half of the auction were much higher than before, and so too were their prices.
By this point, the cultivators sitting on the main floor had basically lost the qualifications to participate in the auction. Now, the bidders were all people in the private rooms with the rest of the audience just watching the fun.
The winning bid for almost every auctioned item now was not less than two hundred thousand Saint Crystals, with a few items breaking through the one million Saint Crystal mark. This display made Yang Kai once again realize that there were many rich people on Shadowed Star, it was just that ordinary people were not as aware of them. The auction of Treasure Trove Pavilion was what brought these rich people together.
With three million Saint Crystals in hand, and one million waiting to be collected, Yang Yan and Wu Yi also wanted to participate in the auction. Yang Yan was an Origin Grade Artefact Refiner, so naturally they wouldn’t bid on any artefacts, and when the pair wanted to buy some pills, they were stopped by Yang Kai.
Yang Kai was an Alchemist, so how could he let them waste money unnecessarily?
In the end, Yang Yan only bought some precious raw materials for arranging Spirit Arrays and Artifact Refining.
A piece of Star Iron the size of a melon for two hundred and fifty thousand Saint Crystals, ten pieces of high-quality Azure Spirit Wood worth three hundred and seventy thousand Saint Crystals, and some Ninth-Order Monster Beast parts plus its Monster Core for around one million crystals. The three million Saint Crystals in their hands rapidly shrank.
Yang Kai never called a bid because he didn’t see anything he wanted.
It wasn’t until a strange, unidentified stone about the size of a washbasin appeared that Yang Kai bought it for its starting price of one hundred and fifty thousand.
According to the beautiful female auctioneer, this strange stone could not be identified even by Treasure Trove Pavilion’s appraisal Grandmasters and even their Artifact Refiners had failed to melt it down.
Numerous masters in the auction hall also investigated this stone with their Divine Senses, but none were able to discover anything about it and it became the first item to be sold at the base price.
Because no one knew what it was, and Artifact Refiners were unable to melt it, it was clearly not ordinary, so the base price set by Treasure Trove Pavilion wasn’t too low.
It was only at the last moment that Yang Kai lazily quoted the reserved price and easily purchased it.
Others only thought Yang Kai was eager to burn his money and had decided to buy this strange item to add to his collection, but Wu Yi and Yang Yan knew Yang Kai had not acted for such a shallow reason, because while waiting for the Treasure Trove Pavilion disciple to send the stone over, Yang Kai’s expression was clearly quite excited but also somewhat uncertain.
After a moment, a woman from Treasure Trove Pavilion brought the strange stone to private room C-13 and Yang Kai handed over the hundred and fifty thousand Saint Crystals. Happily playing with the strange stone for a while, Yang Kai soon threw it into his Space Ring.
Yang Yan walked over and asked softly, “Do you know what that thing is?”
“I don’t,” Yang Kai shook his head.
“You don’t know what it is but you still bought it?” Yang Yan was struck speechless and rolled her eyes.
“I don’t know what it is, but I know it’s useful to me,” Yang Kai said defiantly. If he didn’t know it would be useful to him, how could he have spent a hundred and fifty thousand High-Rank Saint Crystals to buy it? Even if that much money wasn’t much compared to his current worth, it wasn’t an amount he would simply waste either.
“It’s useful to you?” Yang Yan frowned, leaning in further as she whispered, “Do you have some kind of Exotic Insects?”
“Exotic Insects?” Yang Kai looked at her in confusion, his brow slowly rising as he asked, “Do you know what this stone is for?”
Yang Yan nodded.
This time it was Yang Kai’s turn to be amazed. Even the Grandmaster appraisers of Treasure Trove Pavilion didn’t know what this strange stone was, nor did any of the powerful masters in the auction hall, yet the seemingly incredibly young Yang Yan actually knew what it was.
On top of that, she was also an Origin Grade Artifact Refiner and a powerful Array Master. This little girl was one big mystery.
Yang Kai had long suspected that Yang Yan had an incredible story behind her, but now it seemed it really was so.
“What is that stone?” Yang Kai whispered while Wu Yi also leaned in to hear.
“A Profound Insect Stone!” Yang Yan said confidently, “It has no effect on human cultivators and can only be used to cultivate some Exotic Insects. It’s quite rare and contains a strange type of energy that is useless for Artefact Refining and cannot be absorbed by cultivators, but once Exotic Insects settle on it, they can grow rapidly, that’s why I asked if you have Exotic Insects.”
Hearing this explanation, Yang Kai suddenly understood why then Soul Devouring Insects that were living on the six coloured island floating in his Knowledge Sea suddenly became excited when this stone appeared.
The Soul Devouring Insects were Exotic Ancient Insects, which were naturally a type of Exotic Insects. These Soul Devouring Insects were originally obtained by Yang Kai on Tong Xuan Realm and had been living on his Six Coloured Soul Warming Lotus ever since.
When he first acquired them, they weren’t very strong, only effective on cultivators below the Saint Realm, but if a cultivator at or below the Transcendent Realm had their Knowledge Sea infested with them, they would instantly die.
After a number of mutations and many years living on the Six Coloured Soul Warming Lotus though, Yang Kai’s Soul Devouring Insects had become much stronger, but they were still only able to cause harm to Saint Realm cultivators. Saint Kings would easily be able to destroy them and with the growth of Yang Kai’s strength, these Soul Devouring Insects had gradually lost their usefulness.
Yang Kai, however, didn’t abandon them and simply allowed them to multiply and develop by themselves.
If it weren’t for the appearance of this Profound Insect Stone today, and the Soul Devouring Insects’ vivid response to it, Yang Kai might have even forgotten about their existence entirely.
It was because of the excitement of the Soul Devouring Insects that Yang Kai had not hesitated to buy this Profound Insect Stone.
Now listening to Yang Yan’s explanation, Yang Kai immediately knew that he had bought a real treasure. Those hundred and fifty thousand Saint Crystals had not been spent in vain. If this Profound Insect Stone could allow his Soul Devouring Insects to evolve to the point where they could cause harm to Saint Kings or even Origin Realm masters, it would be a huge boost to his strength.
“What Exotic Insects do you have?” Yang Yan asked curiously.
“I’ll tell you after we return home,” Yang Kai smiled mysteriously.
Yang Yan looked at him strangely but didn’t press the issue.
“Look at that pair of twin daggers are up for auction!” Wu Yi suddenly called out in excitement. She knew that she couldn’t reveal that these daggers were refined by Yang Yan, so she could only speak in a roundabout manner.
Yang Kai and Yang Yan both turned to look at the auction platform where they saw the twin daggers being brought out alongside a number of other Origin Grade artifacts.
A process of twelve women dressed in fine robes each holding a jade plate walked out onto the high stage. Atop each jade plate was an Origin Grade Low-Rank artefact, all of them emitting a brilliant halo and rich aura that attracted everyone’s attention.
The beautiful female auctioneer smiled and said, “Everyone should know what is going to be auctioned this round. Yes, these are exactly twelve Original Grade Low-Rank artefacts. I think everyone here also knows that it won’t be long until the Flowing Flame Sand Field, one of Shadowed Star’s Three Great Forbidden Zones, opens. This is a great opportunity that can only be encountered once ever few hundred years. To enter the Flowing Flame Sand Field, one must have sufficient strength, but also excellent equipment. These twelve Original Grade Low-Rank artefacts were specially prepared by my Treasure Trove Pavilion for the upcoming opening of the Flowing Flame Sand Field and can add some life-saving strength to those who will be treasure hunting. There are not many Origin Grade artefacts on Shadowed Star, so my Treasure Trove Pavilion had to exert great effort to collect these twelve artefacts, even suffering many casualties and injuries amongst our disciples…”
While the beautiful woman continued her high spirited introduction, Yang Kai frowned and turned to ask Wu Yi, “What are these Three Great Forbidden Zones?”
Wu Yi smiled, “You haven’t been on Shadowed Star for long, so it’s only natural to not have heard of them. The Three Great Forbidden Zones are famous ominous places on Shadowed Star, everyone’s face will pale when thinking about them. The first of these zones is as she said, the Flowing Flame Sand Field. No one knows how vast it truly is, but it is a place that is perennially covered in blazing heat. Even the outermost region’s heat cannot be resisted by us cultivators. Once, an Origin Returning Realm master, relying on his great strength, tried to dive into the Flowing Flame Sand Field to treasure hunt, but even though his cultivation was truly high and he had made ample preparations, the moment he entered the Flowing Flame Sand Field, his body was incinerated and even his artefacts were melted away.”
“Seriously?” Yang Kai was startled.
“Yes, and that was just the heat in the outermost outskirts. It is said that if one penetrates further inside, even an Origin King master wouldn’t be able to resist the blazing heat. However, that’s just the rumour, there are no Origin Kings on Shadowed Star so no one knows it’s true or not,” Wu Yi smiled sweetly.
“Then why did that woman say the Flowing Flame Sand Field is about to open?” Yang Kai frowned. If the Flowing Flame Sand Field really was a place that no one could enter without dying, who would be stupid enough to rush into it? No one disliked their life being long.
“Because there is a period of time when the heat of the Flowing Flame Sand Field greatly reduces. This time isn’t fixed and may occur after several dozen years or several hundred years. Once the heat weakens, cultivators can enter it. From what I saw in the family records, the last time the Flowing Flame Sand Field opened was four hundred years ago; since then, no one has entered it.”
Yang Kai’s eyes brightened. If no one had entered that place for four hundred years, how many good things would have appeared? No wonder the beautiful auctioneer had said it was a huge opportunity.
Yang Kai knew there were many precious treasures that only grew in extremely hot environments, and the hotter it got, the stronger these treasures would grow. There may be many such treasures just waiting to be found in the Flowing Flame Sand Field.
However, it wasn’t the precious treasures which most attracted Yang Kai at the moment, but the high temperature itself. This would be a perfect chance for him to refine the Profound Yin Sunflower Water.
Back on Rainfall Star, Zong Ao once said that if he wanted to refine the Profound Yin Sunflower Water, he first needed to find a place with extremely high heat.
Yang Kai had more than twenty drops of Profound Yin Sunflower Water on him and had collected all the required materials for refining it, so now all he needed was to find a suitable place to do so. The Flowing Flame Sand Field undoubtedly met his requirements.
As long as he could refine even one drop, Yang Kai’s strength will definitely improve again.
Wu Yi continued, “The second Forbidden Zone is the Emperor Garden, which is said to have been the back garden of the Starry Sky Great Emperor.”
Yang Kai was startled, “The Starry Sky Great Emperor?”
“En, that legendary Senior! It is said that many, many years ago, the entire Heng Luo Star Field was controlled by the Starry Sky Great Emperor. Unfortunately, for some unknown reason, the Star Emperor one day disappeared and no one knows where he went.”
Yang Kai heart pounded. He had heard rumors about the Star Emperor going back as far as the floating continent. At that time, he hadn’t cared too much though as he thought this so-called Star Emperor was just a myth. But now, it seemed that this person may really have existed at one point, because even on a remote, isolated Cultivation Star like Shadowed Star, he was still a legendary figure. Such a widely known character couldn’t be just an empty rumour.”
The Star Emperor that ruled the entire Star Field, just how powerful would he have had to be?
Both forget about the Star Emperor, Yang Kai had yet to even meet a true Star Master. All Yang Kai knew was that in order to become a Star Master, one had to at least reach the Origin King Realm, after which they needed to take a great risk to refine a Star Source. If they failed though, that Origin King Realm master would die.
“The Flowing Flame Sand Field has always existed, but no one can enter it at will. The Emperor Garden, on the other hand, is nowhere to be found. No one knows where it is, and only occasionally, for a fleeting moment, can some people enter it, but no one can return alive. Only at certain special times will the Emperor Garden stabilize and become a massive opportunity!”
Yang Kai heard this with some excitement. The back garden of the Star Emperor, anyone who heard of such a place would be able to imagine just how many priceless treasures it held.
“The third Forbidden Zone is Shadowed Soul Island, which is out at sea and also extremely dangerous. If the Flowing Flame Sand Field has always existed, and the Emperor Garden has occasional appears, then Shadowed Soul Island is really nowhere to be found. All those who have found it died before they could tell anyone of it,” Wu Yi said in a chilly voice, causing Yang Yan nearby to tremble in fright. Though, this trembling did not mean much because this little girls courage had always been a little too small.
“Since no one as seen it and lived to tell the tale, why is everyone sure this Shadowed Soul Island even exists?” Yang Kai frowned, of the Three Great Forbidden Zones, he felt this last one was a little unrealistic.
Wu Yi smiled slightly, “It’s reasonable to say it exists. Since everyone knows about Shadowed Soul Island, it must exist.”
Yang Kai didn’t try to dwell on the issue. On the other hand, with the Flowing Flame Sand Field about to open, he was actually quite excited. There was definitely no better place for him to refine the Profound Yin Sunflower Water.
Zong Ao had said that when refining the Profound Yin Sunflower Water, as long as it was within one’s own tolerance range, the higher the temperature of the environment, the better, as the great heat would further stimulate the power of the Profound Yin Sunflower Water.
[I wonder how I can go in when the time is right?] Yang Kai thought to himself.
As Yang Kai’s expectations soared upwards, atop the auction stage, the beautiful female auctioneer began the bidding for the first Origin Grade Low-Rank artefact.
Because the Flowing Flame Sand Field was about to open, and due to the scarcity of Origin Grade artefacts, even if Treasure Trove Pavilion had brought out twelve artefacts for this auction, the enthusiasm of the masters in the private rooms did not fade; if anything, it was even higher than normal.
There was no doubt all twelve of these Origin Grade Low-Rank artefacts would be sold at high prices.
Yang Kai heard Thunder Typhoon Sect’s Fang Tian Zhong call out a high bid, soon followed by Heaven Battling Union’s Qu Chang Feng. He also heard the silver bell-like voice of Coloured Glass Sect’s Yin Su Die. All these young geniuses seemed to be scrambling to acquire these Origin Grade Low-Rank artefacts to enhance their strength in preparation to enter the Flowing Flame Sand Field.
The starting price of one hundred thousand Saint Crystal’s for the first Origin Grade Low-Rank artefact quickly rose to six hundred thousand and showed no signs of slowing down.
Yang Kai realized as he listened that he had still been underestimating the purchasing power of these great forces as well as the preciousness of Origin Grade artefact on Shadowed Star. He had thought that since Saint King Grade High-Rank artefact sold for between thirty and fifty thousand Saint Crystals, an Origin Grade Low-Rank should sell for around two or three hundred thousand.
But this was not the case at all.
Although Origin Grade Low-Rank and Saint King Grade High-Rank were only separated by a single rank, their prices of each differed immensely.
But after thinking about it, Yang Kai soon understood. These great forces did not lack wealthy as years of accumulation had given them huge reserves of Saint Crystals. What they lacked was the opportunities to purchase good treasures, so once such items did appear, they wouldn’t hesitate to spend more Saint Crystals to acquire them.
Origin Grade Low-Rank artefact were such treasures. On Shadowed Star, the highest level of artefact Refiner was Origin Grade Low-Rank, but not all of them could successfully refine every artefact they attempted to make like Yang Yan.
Like in Alchemy, Artefact Refining also carried with it a great chance failure, and once an artefact was damaged during the refinement process, not only could it not be completed, even the raw materials would be lost.
The probability of destroying the raw materials was quite high, naturally causing the prices of Origin Grade artefacts to rise dramatically.
The first Origin Grade Low-Rank artefact quickly broke through the million Saint Crystal mark and although the number of bidders had gradually decreased, many people were still continuing to increase the price.
Yang Kai very much wanted to see how much this artefact would sell for, but suddenly, his expression changed and he whispered to Yang Yan and Wu Yi, “I’m going out for a bit, I’ll be back soon.”
The two women gave him a stunned glance but didn’t ask any questions, simply nodding while seeing him off.
Yang Kai quickly left private room C-13 and walked straight out of Treasure Trove Pavilion. He lingered around the Treasure Trove Pavilion for a while before diving into the crowd and disappearing.
Although he had been paying attention to the progress of the auction, Yang Kai had not relaxed his observation of the cultivator who had bought the ancient map fragment earlier. The appearance of the twelve Original Grade artefacts had raised the tension in the auction hall greatly, and when everyone’s attention had been drawn to the twelve Origin Grade artefacts, the First Order Saint King cultivator who bought the map fragment actually tried to sneak out.
Obviously he thought it was a good opportunity to escape unnoticed!
Before, when this man had unhesitantly spent a hundred thousand Saint Crystals to snatch up this ancient map fragment, he had attracted many people’s attention, so he was now trying to get away while most people were distracted.
However, it was now too late for any of that. A cultivator like him should never have tried to win this map fragment.
Yang Kai’s Divine Sense was comparable to that of an Origin Returning Realm master, so it was naturally quite easy for him to monitor this man. Moreover, Yang Kai had found that many others had the same plan as him as, after he left Treasure Trove Pavilion, a number of others also quietly exited, all of them trailing behind the new owner of the map fragment.
Yang Kai was struck speechless for a while. He had thought that not many people would be paying such close attention to this cultivator besides him, but now it appeared the exact opposite was true.
The great forces behind these people obviously thought that this First-Order Saint King had more than one piece of this ancient map, and once they were able to acquire them, they might be able to uncover some useful clues.
Yang Kai’s face went black. Although he no longer had any good way to grab this map fragment, it was impossible for him to simply give up just like that; after all, Yang Yan definitely had another piece of this ancient map, so for the time being, he decided to take one step at a time, staring by tailing this man out of Heavenly Fate City.
Although the owner of the map fragment deliberately concealed his aura and tried his best to be mindful of his surroundings, how was a mere First Order Saint King supposed to escape the eyes of so many experts?
After less than an incense stick worth of time, this man left Heavenly Fate City with a series of silhouettes following close behind.
Yang Kai was the furthest back of this group, and although many people’s Divine Senses had already found him, including some belonging to Origin Returning Realm masters, no one paid a minor character like Yang Kai any mind.
Fifty kilometres west of Heavenly Fate City.
A desolate clearing with some small rocky outcroppings standing at the edge of a chaotic, messy stone forest. It was definitely a good place to rob and kill someone.
Ge Xiong had long ago noticed that some people were following him, but even if he knew this, he had no way to get rid of them as he clearly knew why they had him in their sights.
His legs were shaking and his face was pale, wishing he could slap himself a few times.
For the Treasure Trove Pavilion auction in Heavenly Fate City this time, he had managed to buy an admission ticket from his friend and brought along all the Saint Crystal he had accumulated over the years, hoping to buy something good to improve his strength.
But instead of buying something that could immediately bring him benefits, in a fit of what must have been insanity, he had actually bought this map fragment for an absurd hundred thousand Saint Crystals.
That wasn’t just all of his savings, but also the savings of several generations of his family.
If he was given another chance, Ge Xiong swore he would never have waded into these muddy waters. Whoever wanted this ancient map fragment could buy it, as long as it wasn’t him.
Unfortunately for him, it was too late to regret it now, and as he continued flying forward, Ge Xiong could feel the countless cold stares piercing his back.
He didn’t even dare to summon his Star Shuttle for he was certain the moment he did that, he would be greeted by a storm of attacks.
Looking at the messy stone forest roughly ten kilometres in front of him, Ge Xiong came to a halt, not daring to go any further, for if he did, he would definitely die!
A cold wind blew past him, causing Ge Xiong’s shirt which was filled with sweat to flap wildly. Unable to bear the stress any longer, Ge Xiong collapsed to the ground, knelt down and shouted loudly, “Seniors, please spare this Junior’s life! This Junior should never have bought this map fragment! I just broke through to the Saint King Realm, I don’t want to die!”
The wind’s howled slightly, carrying the sound of Ge Xiong’s wailing, causing this deserted place to seem even eerier.
There was no movement from anywhere, but Ge Xiong knew that these people weren’t afraid of him, but rather each other!
Truly unable to withstand his own anxiety any longer, Ge Xiong took out the map fragment from his Space Ring, held it up high, and along with the wind continued to shout, “The map fragment is here, if several Seniors want it, please take it, just spare this insignificant Junior’s life!
Although no one appeared, Ge Xiong noticed an invisible pressure well up from all directions, as if a dozen great hands stretched out towards this map fragment but in the next moment drew back.
Ge Xiong continued crying and begging for mercy, a short time later shouting once more, “Seniors, I’ll leave the map fragment here, whoever wants to take it may do so freely. May this Junior withdraw now?”
Still, no one answered.
Ge Xiong shouted the same request three times before speaking as if trying to deceive himself, “Since Seniors have no objection, this Junior will take his leave.”
Saying so, he set the ancient map fragment down on the ground, placing a stone on top of it to ensure it didn’t blow away, then slowly stood up.
As soon as this man turned around though, he saw a young man standing behind him, scaring Ge Xiong so greatly he collapsed to his knees again. This young man wore a powerful artefact Armour and at first glance was clearly not an ordinary person. What surprised Ge Xiong the most wasn’t this youth though, but the two masters who wore grim expressions standing behind him. From the aura these two revealed, it was easy to infer that they were both Origin Realm Masters.
”Do you think this place is the same as an auction? You shout three times and everything is settled?” The young man sneered.
Ge Xiong quickly waved his hand, “I dare not! I’ve shown this Young Master something disgraceful, but no matter how long I shouted here, no one here bothers with me. Young Master, I’ve left the map fragment here, if you want it, please take it, I only ask you not to kill me!”
“You’re not qualified to bargain with me!” The young man remained unmoved, motioning to the master behind him to pick up the map fragment.
He didn’t want to come out so early, because there were at least thirty people here waiting to pounce, but seeing this timid Saint King Realm cultivator try to leave, this Young Master couldn’t restrain himself any longer and stepped forward.
One of the Origin Returning Realm masters behind this young man lifted his hand and drew the map fragment over towards him, opening it and inspecting it for a moment before nodding, “It is the one that appeared at the auction.”
Saying so, he handed the map fragment to the young man.
The young man took it and tossed it into his Space Ring before turning to stare at Ge Xiong and demanding, “Show me your Space Ring!”
“Ah?” Ge Xiong hesitated for a moment. Apparently this was his first time being robbed, but even though he was unwilling, he didn’t dare to resist, obediently removing his Space Ring and handing it to the young man.
The young man used his Divine Sense to sweep the inside of the Space Ring, his face immediately becoming gloomy afterwards as he questioned angrily, “You don’t have any other map fragments?”
“I never said I did…” Ge Xiong replied weakly.
“Bastard!” The young man was furious and viciously kicked Ge Xiong’s stomach, grinding his teeth as he shouted, “If you didn’t have any other fragments of this map, why did you bid on it?”
“Didn’t that beautiful woman say this map fragment led to amazing wealth, powerful Secret Arts and high-grade artefacts?” Ge Xiong asked in an aggrieved voice. It was only because he had listed to the beautiful female auctioneer’s words that he had gotten all riled up and spent a hundred thousand Saint Crystals to win this map fragment.
“Since she said it, you believed it?” The young man’s face sank even further as he shouted, “Did you think you’d be able to find any clues with just this tiny piece of a map?”
Ge Xiong nodded awkwardly, as though it was a given he would.
The young man was speechless, and the murderous intent in his eyes flared up. He wished he could immediately kill this idiot Ge Xiong, because he increased the price foolishly, riled everyone up, but in the end didn’t even have another piece of the map. This young man felt as if he had been played for a fool and the murderous intent coming from his body grew stronger with every breath. Slowly raising his hand, the young man condensed his Saint Qi into the shape of a sword.
Ge Xiong shed bitter tears as he kowtowed repeatedly, begging for mercy.
Before the young man could kill him though, one of the Origin Realm masters behind him suddenly whispered, “Young Master, you cannot kill him.”
The young man froze up and asked coldly, “Why not?”
“If you kill him, without everyone else first checking his Space Ring, they will all think we obtained two map fragments. Having one is not an issue, but acquiring two will cause us many problems!”
When the young man heard this, he couldn’t help thinking it over, and after a short time, he realized he had no choice right now, kicking and cursing Ge Xiong a few more times before tossing the Space Ring back at his face and flying off.
Surprisingly, no one tried to stop him.
Soon after the young man and the two Origin Realm masters left, another person came out from hiding and walked over to Ge Xiong, knitting his brow as he asked a few questions.
Ge Xiong answered truthfully.
The man then picked up the Space Ring on the ground and examined it before slowly shaking his head with a look of disappointment, dropping it to the ground, and also departing.
A third person came out and did exactly the same thing as the second person, followed by a fourth, then a fifth…
After experiencing the gap between life to death several times, Ge Xiong’s emotions seemed to have calmed down significantly, but being continuously asked the same set of questions by masters with much higher strength and status than his own, he still remained a bit apprehensive. However, each of them just asked a few questions, checked his Space Ring, then let him go, none of them trying to take his life or rob him of his possession.
After half an hour, it was finally the last person, Yang Kai’s turn.
By now, Ge Xiong was familiar with this process and before Yang Kai could even open his mouth, Ge Xiong quickly said, “I don’t have a second map fragment. I just listened to that beautiful woman and thought that if I obtained this map fragment I would be able to find amazing wealth, exquisite Martial Skills, or other treasures. My Space Ring is on the ground, if you’d like to inspect it, please feel free to, just don’t kill me!”
Yang Kai let out a long sigh and didn’t even bother to check the Space Ring.
With so many people already having inspected it, if there really had been a second map fragment inside, it was impossible for it to still be there.
“Next time, be careful what you buy,” Yang Kai said in exasperation.
Of the dozens of individuals who had tailed Ge Xiong, none of them had any kind of deep-seated grudge against him, they were all simply fooled by him. That wasn’t to say that Ge Xiong had prodigious acting talent, it was just that none of them thought he would be so easily conned by the words of that beautiful female auctioneer.
Ge Xiong nodded incessantly, “I’ll never buy anything at auction again.”
“Just leave!” Yang Kai waved at him, “No one killing you this time was pure luck, there’s no guarantee you’ll be so fortunate next time.”
“Yes, yes, yes!” Ge Xiong kowtowed gratefully before grabbing his Space Ring and running off. He was so scared he didn’t even realize that Yang Kai had the same cultivation as him; otherwise, he wouldn’t have been so polite to him.
After running a ways away, Ge Xiong summoned his Star Shuttle and flew off. Vaguely, Yang Kai seemed to hear tearful sobs coming from his direction.
The map fragment that appeared at the auction had been taken away by the first youth who appeared, causing Yang Kai some frustration. His strength was too low right now, so it was impossible for him to snatch that map fragment.
The reason others didn’t try to rob that young man of that map fragment was that they knew doing so was pointless. If that wasn’t the case, they would have already tried to win it back at the auction. How could they have anticipated that someone like Ge Xiong would snatch it up? Moreover, the first young man who had come out seemed to have a powerful background, so none of the people here were willing to offend the force behind him for a useless map fragment.
It seemed like the map fragment would really have been better off staying in Ge Xiong’s hands. Now that it had been taken away by that Young Master, Yang Kai had no way to retrieve it in the short term. Fortunately, he had already memorized the young man’s face so he could try to ‘acquire’ the map fragment sometime in the future.
After grumbling for a moment, Yang Kai returned to Heavenly Fate City and walked straight back to Treasure Trove Pavilion.
Arriving at room C-13, Yang Kai pushed open the door, walked inside, and sat down on his chair, taking a sip of spirit tea as he saw Wu Yi and Yang Yan both immersed in the excitement. Curious, he asked, “What artefact is up for auction now?”
“You’re back?” Wu Yi and Yang Yan only seemed to realize Yang Kai was back after he spoke, with Wu Yi smiling broadly as she explained, “The prices here are all so unexpected, all of the artefacts sold for over a million crystals so far. They’re auctioning off the last artefact now, the twin daggers!”
“Oh?” Yang Kai looked out and sure enough, he saw the twin daggers being displayed by the beautiful female auctioneer. To his surprise though, no one was bidding.
“What’s the price so far?” Yang Kai thought that it was impossible for such an artefact to sell for a low price.
“2.1 million!” Wu Yi replied joyfully, not even waiting for Yang Kai to ask anything before taking the initiative to explain, “The grade of the twin daggers is close to Origin Grade Mid-Rank, much better than the previous eleven. Therefore, its price is naturally higher. It seems many people here have good eyes.”
At that moment, the beautiful female auctioneer shouted, “2.1 million going once, 2.1 million going twice, 2.1 million going three times… sold! Congratulations to the honoured guest in private room B-3. This mistress wishes this friend good fortune in the Flowing Flame Sand Field and a triumphant return with a rich harvest!”
The beautiful woman uttered a few words with a smile before directing the female Treasure Trove Pavilion disciple to carry the exquisite twin daggers to private room B-3.
“Em? Room B-3? Not Coloured Glass Sect?” Yang Kai was somewhat surprised. He had thought these twin daggers would surely be snatched up by Yin Su Die of Coloured Glass Sect. After all, it was an artefact suitable for women, but he quickly recalled that Coloured Glass Sect’s delegation would be sitting somewhere in the A Block private rooms.
“Coloured Glass Sect?” Wu Yi asked back in confusion.
“Never mind,” Yang Kai smiled slightly.
While Yang Kai had been out, the twelve Origin Grade Low-Rank artefacts had all been auctioned off, and the next items to be sold were actually pills, Origin Grade Low-Rank pills!
Treasure Trove Pavilion had fully prepared for this auction, and knowing that the Flowing Flame Sand Field was about to open, they knew that the various great forces would not be stingy with their Saint Crystals. As long as there were good things, they would sell at high prices, so after the Origin Grade Low-Rank artefacts, Origin Grade Low-Rank pills were immediately brought out on stage, once again heating up the atmosphere in the auction hall.
Yang Kai soon witnessed just how expensive Origin Grade pills on Shadowed Star could be. Pills that could quickly supplement Saint Qi were sold for as high as six hundred thousand Saint Crystals a bottle; that was sixty thousand Saint Crystals a pill!
Wild Rose Pills, which were excellent healing pills, also sold in sets of ten, but for an even higher price, averaging 703 thousand Saint Crystals a bottle.
A bottle of five pills capable of repairing meridians was sold for 800 thousand.
The most expensive, though, was a bottle of ten Snow And Ice Pills that could scatter heat from a cultivator’s body, going for an astonishing 1.1 million!
The Flowing Flame Sand Field was a zone filled with intense heat, so Snow And Ice Pills would be extremely useful there as they greatly restrained the outside heat from entering a cultivator’s body. As such, when these five bottles of these pills appeared, the great forces went all out to purchase them.
Pills were different from artefacts. As long as an artefact wasn’t critically damaged, it could be repaired and used countless times, but once one swallowed a pill, it was gone forever. It could be said that these great forces were sparing no expense in preparation for the Flowing Flame Sand Field. In normal times, although Origin Grade pills would be precious, they would never have sold for such high prices.
However, understanding the demands of the market, Treasure Trove Pavilion was able to sell these pills for three to four times higher than usual.
The beautiful female auctioneer stood on the stage and smiled widely, a light blush even appearing on her face.
It took more than an hour for all the Origin Grade Low-Rank pills to be sold off, with each great force occupying the private rooms having some gains, satisfying them all.
Just when many people thought that this auction would come to an end, the beautiful female auctioneer once smiled coquettishly and said, “Ladies and gentlemen, the next item to be auctioned is something my Treasure Trove Pavilion specially prepared as a finale…”
As soon as these words came out, the entire auction hall fell silent, with only the sound of heavy breathing lingering in the air. Countless eyes focused on the beautiful female auctioneer and a few keener cultivators even noticed that her voice was trembling lightly, making them realize that this finale was something truly extraordinary.
“Because of its importance, this auction’s finale will be presided over by my Treasure Trove Pavilion’s Chief Manager Yan Pei. Manager Yan, please!” After the beautiful woman finished, she stood to the side with a smile and looked in a certain direction.
Yan Pei, with a solemn and serious face, strode out from that direction.
“Yan Pei is actually going to be auctioning this item personally!” Not only were many on the ground floor chattering at this development, but even the private rooms were abuzz with whispers.
Old Black Face Yang Pei was a sly old fox known as Treasure Trove Pavilion’s most ruthless, black-hearted auctioneer. Every time he presided over an auction, he wouldn’t rest until he shaved several kilos of meat from the bidders. Thankfully, as the years went by and Yan Pei’s status rose, he rarely showed up on the auction stage.
Many were shocked that Yan Pei, who hadn’t hosted an auction for many years, had actually stepped forward at this time.
Everyone also knew that since he had appeared, the following auction would become a blood bath. For a time, the masters sitting in the private rooms all wore bitter looks as they unconsciously rubbed their Space Rings, sighing to themselves as they worried for the Saint Crystals they had stored inside.
“That thing actually became the auction’s final item!” In Room C-13, Wu Yi and Yang Yan both looked at each other with such excitement they wanted to jump up and down.
Without even mentioning the grade of the artefact, just the word ‘finale’ was enough to cause its price to soar. The two women could already see themselves becoming rich women after this auction ended.
Yang Yan was already figuring out how many precious materials she should buy.
In private room A-5, in the private room which belonged to Shadow Moon Hall, Qian Tong was sitting together with six youths, each of them a rising star of Shadow Moon Hall.
However, there was only one man and one woman who were qualified to sit beside Qian Tong. The young man was a Third-Order Saint King with a brave and heroic look about him and deep, piercing eyes. The young woman was delicate and beautiful, with a sweet air around her. Although she too was a Third-Order Saint King, her aura was not as restrained as the young man’s so it was apparent she had only recently broken through.
This young man and young woman’s status in Shadow Moon Hall was obviously not low. Otherwise, it would be impossible for them to sit beside Qian Tong.
The other young disciples standing nearby all shot vaguely envious looks towards these two.
“Elder Qian, you have a good relationship with Manager Yan. Do you know what this finale is?” One of the female disciples standing nearby asked curiously.
Qian Tong kept a serious look upon his face, seemingly not even hearing the words of this female disciple. Seeing his appearance, everyone couldn’t help holding their breath, more and more feeling that this final item was extraordinary. Their Elder must have some inside information, otherwise, he would not be showing such a solemn look.
“Luo Qing!” Qian Tong suddenly shouted.
“Disciple is here,” Luo Qing, who had always been standing to the side, hurried forward.
“How many Saint Crystals were you able to collect?”
Luo Qing quickly and respectfully replied, “Disciple did not fail Elder’s orders and managed to collect fifty million Saint Crystals, but the larger part of this was transferred directly from the Sect.”
“Fifty million…” Qian Tong narrowed his eyes, “I have nearly thirty million here as well, so altogether we have almost eighty million Saint Crystals…”
Inside the private room, everyone was shocked. Even if they came from Shadow Moon Hall and knew their Sect wasn’t poor, a figure like eighty million Saint Crystals was still terrifying to them.
However, what stunned them even more was Qian Tong muttering to himself, “I don’t know if it’s enough!”
The beautiful young woman sitting next to Qian Tong couldn’t help but ask, “Master, what is this finale? Can we not even win it with eighty million Saint Crystals?”
Not only was she curious, even the brave and heroic-looking young man who also turned an inquisitive gaze towards Qian Tong, hoping he could explain.
Since the auction began until now, the most expensive item to be sold was the exquisite twin daggers from just a moment ago, but that had only gone for 2.1 million Saint Crystals. Could this final item be an Origin King Grade artefact?
If it truly was an Origin King Grade artefact, eighty million really might not be enough, but how would Treasure Trove Pavilion have collected such a treasure?
“You don’t understand!” Qian Tong smiled bitterly, “Eighty million may look like a lot, but others may have more. I can say with confidence that Shadow Moon Hall is a great force on Shadowed Star, but there is still some disparity between us and the top three: Thunder Typhoon Sect, Star Emperor Sect, and Heaven Battling Union. Even Coloured Glass Sect, Grand Fire Temple, Twin Heart Valley, and Floating Mist Palace have a somewhat stronger influence than us. I’m afraid they have all raised more Saint Crystals than us.”
“Master, what exactly is being auctioned?” The delicate female asked again.
“See for yourself,” Qian Tong said, not showing any intention to answer because even if he did, these juniors may not be able to realize the value of that thing. When the time came and a blood struggle ensued, they would naturally understand.
All the private rooms fell silent as their occupants stared towards the auction stage.
Old Black Face Yan Pei stood on the stage, his pair of piercing eyes sweeping the crowd as he said loudly, “This Yan Pei thanks all of you for participating in my Treasure Trove Pavilion’s auction today. The progress of the auction until this point has been satisfactory for this old master, but if there is one thing that I must say is not to my liking, it is that all of you are still holding your wallets too tightly. This old master has come forward in hopes of seeing all your great forces put forward some true spirit! You don’t have to give others face, or even give my Treasure Trove Pavilion face, all you must do is bid for the items you fancy. So, what if it costs you your house and home? So long as you win what you’re after, what else matters?”
The frank words of Yan Pei pulled a sharp breath from the various masters’ seat in their private rooms.
This Old Black Face’s ill intentions were obvious to all of them, he was quite literally asking them to lose the very shirts of their backs in the upcoming bidding. He was simply too vicious and many even felt like getting up and leaving immediately would be the best course of action. If they remained here, they might really everything they had.
But of course, Yan Pei didn’t give them a chance to escape and quickly continued, “Enough said. Let me introduce to you the finale of this auction!”
With a big wave of his hand, a woman in an exquisite dress immediately walked out onto the stage holding the jade plate. This jade plate was covered with a red cloth, obstructing everyone’s view, and only further enticing them to see what lay beneath it.
The woman walked up and stood in front of Yan Pei, the latter soon exclaiming, “Open your eyes wide and see…”
Saying so, the red cloth was lifted, and a red whip appeared atop the jade plate. The whip was sectioned yet smooth in shape, just like a scorpion tail, each piece seamlessly connected to the next, and at its tip, was a sharp spike that was flashing green light. At a glance, everyone could tell this spike contained a potent poison.
“The Dragon Striker Whip!” Yan Pei shouted.
In room C-13, Yang Kai, who had just taken a sip of tea, heard Yan Pei call out this name, and nearly spat out what was in his mouth.
The last twin daggers had been sold off as is by Treasure Trove Pavilion without any extra fancy descriptions, treating it just like any other item that had been auctioned.
But this long red whip had now actually been given the name ‘Dragon Striker Whip’ by Yan Pei. It was domineering enough, but what was more impressive was how thick Old Black Face’s skin was, even daring to make up such a name on the spot.
From all directions, burning hot looks could be felt as countless Divine Senses swept this red whip, the sound of discussion in the private rooms and the main hall instantly erupting.
Yan Pei continued, “This is a genuine Origin Grade Mid-Rank artifact. According to my Treasure Trove Pavilion’s Grandmaster appraisers, the primary material of this whip is the tail of the Ninth-Order Monster Beast Scarlet Tailed Purple Armoured Scorpion, which has been supplemented with many Origin Grade ores. What an Origin Grade Mid-Rank artifact represent need not be said by this old master as everyone understands this well. This is already a work beyond my Shadowed Star’s Artifact Refining level, no Grandmaster on Shadowed Star can refine such an artifact. This whip is five meters in length, but as long as one fills it with Saint Qi, its length can be transformed at will. What is most rare though is that the Grandmaster who refined this Dragon Striker Whip was able to perfectly incorporate the Scarlet Tailed Purple Armoured Scorpion’s poisonous stinger into its tip! Although this is somewhat sinister and ruthless, it no doubt greatly increases the power of the Dragon Striker Whip.”
As Yan Pei spoke, he picked up the Dragon Striker Whip from the jade plate before striking the air above the high platform with it, allowing everyone to feel the power of this Origin Grade Mid-Rank artifact!
Sure enough, countless people’s breaths became heavy when they saw the might of the Dragon Striker Whip.
After a short demonstration, Yan Pei placed the Dragon Striker Whip back onto the jade plate.
At this time, a person’s voice suddenly called out from a private room in the A Block, “Manager Yan, is this the item you said would make us homeless? Although an Origin Grade Mid-Rank artifact is rare, it’s not nearly enough for us to lose everything over. Hmph, I thought Treasure Trove Pavilion had collected an Origin King Grade artifact this time.”
“That’s right, raising our expectations so much for just a mere Origin Grade Mid-Rank artefact.”
Yan Pei just stood in place though, as if he hadn’t heard this commentary, a sneer upon his face.
Everyone in the private rooms had gotten some advanced warning that an unbelievable item would appear, causing all of them to send out representatives to raise Saint Crystals, but what Treasure Trove Pavilion was going to auction was not disclosed to them. Yan Pei wasn’t going to spread word about this after all and he believed with Qian Tong’s astuteness it was equally impossible for the latter to let slip what this finale was.
Each of the great forces present had collected a large amount of Saint Crystals, but now what was presented to them was just an Origin Grade Mid-Rank artefact, so naturally, they felt disappointed, thinking a big deal had been made out of nothing.
Of course, they all still intended to snatch up this artefact. For an Origin Grade Mid-Rank artefact, even if they couldn’t win it themselves, pushing the price up to make others suffer was still a necessity.
For a moment, everyone began secret plotting to harm their competition while protecting themselves.
Yan Pei however soon put out words that made many men in the auction hall cough up blood, “This artefact is most suitable for women, so even if you don’t have any use for it yourselves, buying it for your favourite woman is a splendid idea. This old master can guarantee that any man who delivers such a gift to their woman will surely bring her home tonight!”
“This old dog!” Yin Su Die ground her teeth in the private room of Coloured Glass Sect.
The reason she hadn’t tried to buy the twin daggers from before was because she had anticipated something better to appear after it. Sure enough, this Dragon Striker Whip had appeared, and she had secretly decided to snatch it up at any cost. She also believed that with her fame and popularity, once she made a bid for it, many people here would simply give way and not try to rob it from her, but with Yan Pei making such a comment, wasn’t that no different from drawing out many more competitors for her?
A middle-aged woman next to Yin Su Die patted her hand gently and comforted, “Rest assured, we’ll win it.”
“Thank you, Second Aunt!” Yin Su Die smiled sweetly.
“For the Dragon Striker Whip, the starting price is one million Saint Crystals. Each new offer may not add less than one hundred thousand. Everyone, please bid!” Yan Pei had said everything he that should be said and as everyone’s enthusiasm reached an apex, he declared the start of the auction prepared to watch the fight.
This was the scene he liked to see the most. Every time he saw people competing for these rare treasures, Yan Pei felt as if he had become many years younger.
As soon as his words fell, bids began flying from the private rooms.
“1.1 million!”
“1.3 million!”
“1.5 million!”
“2 million!”
…..
The masters who had just now been disdaining the appearance of the Dragon Striker Whip all seemed to have forgotten their previous words and rushed to enter their bids. Not only did the Seniors from the great forces call out, even some of the younger generation’s rising stars joined the fray.
“I’ll bid 2.1 million!” Qu Chang Feng of Heaven Battling Union said in a confident tone, as if a powerful Young Master from a top tier Sect should not bid any less than this.
“Hmph! 2.3 million!” The one forever in opposition to Qu Chang Feng, Fang Tian Zhong of Thunder Typhoon Sect, called out next. The strength of their two sects were essentially equal, and their individual reputations and strength were also similar, so neither would fear the other nor be willing to back down.
“Brother Fang, why are you trying to buy this Dragon Striker Whip? It’s completely unsuited to you, so wouldn’t it just be a waste of money for you?” Qu Chang Feng grinned meaningfully, calmly continuing to increase the price, “2.5 million!”
“I can’t use it? Can you? 2.8 million!” Fang Tian Zhong didn’t withdraw.
“Naturally, I’m buying it as a gift. I heard that Junior Sister Yin of the Coloured Glass Sect currently lacks a good artefact, so this Qu wants to offer her some beautiful flowers. 3 million!”
This was a blatant declaration of love, and it was made in front of all the great forces of Shadowed Star, drawing a number of sharp breaths from the audience.
In the private room of Coloured Glass Sect, the lead middle-aged woman’s face went cold while Yin Su Die’s expression also became gloomy. She didn’t want to be caught up in any uncouth rumors because of today’s event, so she softly declared, “Senior Brother Qu’s kindness, this Su Die must politely decline. If I want this Dragon Striker Whip, naturally I will bid for it myself! 3.2 million!”