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!”
Yin Su Die didn’t want to bid so early, because she really wanted this Dragon Striker Whip. She had never owned an Origin Grade Mid-Rank artefact, and with the opening of the Flowing Flame Sand Field approaching, and knowing what dangers she would encounter inside, such an artefact would increase her own security significantly.
But this damn Qu Chang Feng had actually pulled her directly into this maelstrom, annoying Yin Su Die to no end. Even if she didn’t want to bid, she had to now.
Although Coloured Glass Sect wasn’t as powerful as Heaven Battling Union, it still had the financial ability to buy an Origin Grade Mid-Rank artefact. There was no need for Qu Chang Feng to put on such a pretentious act and ruin her and her Sect’s reputation.
When Yin Su Die made a bid, everyone understood what she was thinking. She clearly wasn’t willing to accept Qu Chang Feng’s affection. For a time, many people directed meaningful looks towards the private room of Heaven Battling Union, all of them taking pleasure in his misfortune.
Qu Chang Feng, however, wasn’t bothered by this and simply declared, “Since Junior Sister Yin wants to bid herself, this Qu will withdraw. More than anything else I hope Junior Sister Yin can win this treasure, so I ask everyone else to show some consideration. Junior Sister Yin rarely bids on anything, I don’t want her to be disappointed.”
Although he spoke in a light, almost half-hearted tone, his mix of eloquent and threatening words made many people unhappy. But no matter how unhappy they were, no one dared say anything; after all, the only forces comparable to Heaven Battling Union on Shadowed Star were Thunder Typhoon Sect and Star Emperor Sect.
Sure enough, after Qu Chang Feng finished speaking, the auction hall fell silent and the price failed to rise any further. Even Fang Tian Zhong, who would always oppose him didn’t say a word.
In the private room of Shadow Moon Hall, the beautiful young woman looked at Dragon Striker Whip with some clear yearning. Qian Tong glanced over at her and asked, “Xuan’er, do you want this artefact?”
The beautiful young woman called Xuan’er blinked before shaking her head and replying, “Xuan’er does not want it.”
“You really don’t want it?” Qian Tong asked once more, “If you want it, we’ll bid for it now!”
The young woman just smiled lightly, “It’s true, Master. If it was just an ordinary Origin Grade Mid-Rank whip, I would still want it, but the poison spike at its tip is too sinister. Xuan’er does not want it.”
The brave and heroic youth who had never spoken grinned and said proudly, “Junior Sister Xuan’er is kind-hearted. When she encounters small injured animals, she will insist on bringing them back to treat them. The poisonous spike on this whip does not conform to Junior Sister’s way. I most like this about Junior Sister Xuan’er!”
Listening to the young man so boldly speak such words in front of so many people, the pretty young woman couldn’t help blushing brightly.
Qian Tong sighed softly as he glanced over at the young woman with some slight guilt.
How could he not know his Disciple was just making an excuse? The poison spike at the tip of the whip was indeed somewhat malicious, but wouldn’t it be fine to simply not use it? His Disciple speaking so was simply because she didn’t want Shadow Moon Hall to offend Coloured Glass Sect and Heaven Battling Union.
After all, once Yin Su Die started bidding, it was clear Qu Chang Feng was trying to help her.
These two juniors playing this game wasn’t even placed in Qian Tong’s eyes. He believed that even if he bid for this long whip himself, it wouldn’t be considered an offence by Coloured Glass Sect and Heaven Battling Union, but… what if by spending Saint Crystals now, he wound up not having enough for the true final item?
It was precisely because Qian Tong knew of the preciousness of the last item that during this time’s Treasure Trove Pavilion auction, Shadow Moon Hall had never bid on anything, he was saving all his resources for the final fight.
His Disciple consideration made Qian Tong feel both warm and bitter. He was an Elder of Shadow Moon Hall, since when did he need to hesitate so much over buying an artefact for his Disciple?
Just as Qian Tong was struggling with himself, the brave and heroic young man suddenly shouted, “3.5 million!”
When this price was called, the silent auction hall filled with noise again.
“I told you it was impossible for an Origin Grade Mid-Rank artefact to sell for just 3.2 million. Someone finally increased the price.”
“Who has so much courage? Isn’t he afraid of being targeted by Qu Chang Feng?”
“That bid also came from one of the A Block private rooms. He must be from a great force that doesn’t need to worry about such things.”
“It came from the private room of Shadow Moon Hall. I remember Elder Qian Tong Elder’s voice coming inside a while ago. The one who made the bid was Shadow Moon Hall’s most talented disciple, Wei Gu Chang. His personal strength isn’t lower than Fang Tian Zhong or Qu Chang Feng’s.”
“It’s him! Then he must be bidding on it for Dong Xuan’er. I heard that those two grew up together and had long been secretly in love with one another. I wonder if that’s true!”
Inside Shadow Moon Hall’s private room, Dong Xuan’er looked over at Wei Gu Chang in surprise, as if she hadn’t expected him to suddenly make a bid.
Wei Gu Chang let out a confident laugh, “If you want it, we’ll compete for it, there’s no need to care about what others think!”
With that said, he turned to Qian Tong and asked, “Elder Qian, can I take responsibility for these Saint Crystals?”
Qian Tong smiled slightly and nodded, “Go ahead.”
His heart truly felt more comfortable hearing this. Dong Xuan’er was his disciple, and although Wei Gu Chang had no Master-Disciple status with him, for so many years ,Qian Tong had been teaching him to cultivate, so their relationship was no different from a true Master and Disciple. Both of these two youths had excellent aptitude and Qian Tong deeply felt that if they had not been born on Shadowed Star, but somewhere in the outside world, they would definitely have even greater achievements in the future.
What Qian Tong was most satisfied with Wei Gu Chang about though was that he always looked after Dong Xuan’er, like an older brother who wanted to protect and spoil her in every possible way. He was also able to push Dong Xuan’er forward as she was normally quite a shy and quiet girl, lacking all the usual shortcomings star disciples of other great forces possessed.
These two were without a doubt the best disciples in Shadow Moon Hall’s younger generation and were regarded by Qian Tong as the Sect’s greatest hope for the future.
Now that Wei Gu Chang was participating in the auction on Dong Xuan’er’s behalf, Qian Tong would naturally support him.
“4 million!” From the private room of Coloured Glass Sect, Yin Su Die’s voice called out again.
Although her tone was flat, Yin Su Die was secretly gritted her teeth. If Wei Gu Chang hadn’t made a bid, she might have been able to buy the Dragon Striker Whip for just 3.2 million, but with him suddenly jumping out and bidding, the price had instantly risen greatly.
This was tantamount to spending money unnecessarily.
Atop the high platform, Yan Pei stood calmly, like an unmoving mountain, the corner of his mouth curling into a faint sneer for just a moment before such an expression disappeared.
[An Origin Grade Mid-Rank artefact for just 3 or 4 million Saint Crystals? Pure nonsense! If this old master doesn’t pull at least 10 million today, he won’t be worthy of his name as chief auctioneer of Treasure Trove Pavilion!] Even if Wei Gu Chang hadn’t pushed the price higher, someone else would have, so Old Black Face Yan Pei wasn’t the slightest bit worried this Dragon Striker Whip would sell at a low price.
“4.2 million!” In the private room of Shadow Moon Hall, Wei Gu Chang raised the price again without hesitation.
“4.5 million!” Yin Su Die also bid, and although her voice was still soft and pleasant to the ear, she spoke with noticeably more force and speed.
Wei Gu Chang was just about to raise prices again when Qian Tong suddenly shook his head and said, “Don’t.”
Wei Gu Chang looked at Qian Tong and asked in confusion, “May I ask why? This Dragon Striker Whip isn’t something that can be bought for so few million Saint Crystals.”
“Indeed, but if we win it, we will lose the qualification to bid on the last item, and… Do you think that the Yan Pei is a vegetarian? He can bleed Coloured Glass Sect dry without our help.”
“There are more items to be auctioned?” Wei Gu Chang was startled, and Dong Xuan’er asked, “Didn’t Senior Yan just say that this was the auction’s finale?”
“Can’t there be two items in the finale?” Qian Tong grinned meaningfully before turning to Wei Gu Chang, “Xuan’er already understands your intentions, that is enough. There’s no need to bid again.”
“I understand,” Wei Gu Chang wasn’t like Qu Chang Feng, who carelessly chased after beauties. With Qian Tong saying so, he immediately understood and no longer tried to raise the price.
When Wei Gu Chang stopped bidding, everyone felt somewhat disappointed that he had withdrawn from the competition.
Old Black Face Yan Pei rolled his eyes as he glanced over at Shadow Moon Hall’s private room, grinning as he muttered under his breath, “Old fart, still as cunning as ever!”
He seemed to know that Qian Tong was like him, not someone easy to handle. One of them had leaked out news of special treasures appearing to maximize their benefits in the auction while the other had massively increased the fee to use Heavenly Fate City’s Space Array in order to collect more Saint Crystals in preparation for the upcoming fight. Both of them forced the various great forces into many grievances while simultaneously giving them nowhere to complain about them.
Glancing around the auction hall, there were only some scattered discussions with no one in the private rooms showing any intention to bid. Yan Pei was secretly annoyed and was preparing to signal one of the black hands he had arranged in the hall to raise the price of the Dragon Striker Whip when someone finally called out, “Pardon my offense, 4.6 million!”
This voice came from one of the B Block private rooms. No one knew who he was apologizing to, Yin Su Die or Qu Chang Feng, but by doing so his momentum was already quite depressed.
The person in this private room was probably very interested in bidding for the Dragon Striker Whip but was somewhat uneasy as well. Therefore, he first showed deference in the hopes that others wouldn’t look to settle accounts with him afterwards.
Sure enough, as soon as this bid was made, Qu Chang Feng’s cold snort from the private room of Heaven Battling Union echoed, the threatening tone extremely obvious for all to hear.
Although he was discontented with Wei Gu Chang suddenly participating in the auction just now, Qu Chang Feng didn’t raise any objections; after all, Shadow Moon Hall wasn’t weak and Wei Gu Chang was also bidding for Dong Xuan’er, so it was a reasonable competition, but now, someone from the B Block wanted to join in, an act akin to questioning his prestige, naturally annoying Qu Chang Feng to no end.
He had clearly said that Junior Sister Yin wanted this Dragon Striker Whip and politely asked others to show due respect for her feelings, yet now there were so many people without eyes who were stirring up trouble.
Just Qu Chang Feng wanted to say a few words to demonstrate his authority, Yin Su Die’s somewhat angry voice called out from Coloured Glass Sect’s room, “5 million!”
From this display, Yin Su Die was making it know she was determined to win this Dragon Striker Whip. She hadn’t bid for the other Origin Grade Low-Rank artifacts that appeared before, so it was impossible for her to back down now.
As soon as the price of five million was called, no more sound came from that B Block private room. It wasn’t known if this person had run out of Saint Crystals or had been frightened into submission by Qu Chang Feng’s threat.
However, it was more likely the latter.
The auction hall once again fell silent after the price of five million was called, no one trying to increase the price.
Inside private room C-13 though, Yang Kai frowned deeply, thinking it over for a moment as his expression flickered back and forth before he suddenly shouted out a shocking price, “6 million!”
Anyways, 13 Chapters this week!
The Dragon Striker Whip’s auction has been relatively calm so far, and although the price was indeed rising, everyone’s bid had been incremental and sensible.
But Yang Kai had actually sent out a bid of 6 million, a million more than Yin Su Die’s previous offer!
The audience went into an uproar again.
Atop the auction stage, the beautiful woman who had previously been hosting the auction shot a questioning glance towards Old Yan Pei. She thought that this was all arranged by this Old Black Face, but a reckless bid wasn’t very professional and would easily draw suspicion.
However, Yan Pei actually shook his head slightly, indicating that the bidder he had arranged was not in that private room, causing the beautiful woman a certain degree of surprise.
In room C-13, when Yang Kai shouted the sky high price of 6 million Saint Crystals, Wu Yi and Yang Yan both covered their mouths and stared at him in shock, wondering what he was trying to do.
That was six million Saint Crystals; if this bid were to win the Dragon Striker Whip, wouldn’t there be no place for them to cry?
Yang Kai simply showed a look of absolute confidence.
He firmly believed that the price of the Dragon Striker Whip would be higher than 6 million!
After participating in this auction, Yang Kai had gained a general understanding of the values of artefacts of different grades, and this estimation of his was very different from his initial expectations. Originally he had thought that an Origin Grade Low-Rank artefact could sell for between 2 and 3 hundred thousand, while a Mid-Rank artefact would sell for around one million. But the twin daggers refined by Yang Yan had actually sold for the shocking price of 2.1 million Saint Crystals.
The Dragon Striker Whip was a genuine Origin Grade Mid-Rank artefact, so how could it sell for just a few million Saint Crystals? 10 million was far more likely.
If it weren’t for Qu Chang Feng’s previous remarks, this Dragon Striker Whip would surely have countless people bidding for it and the price would have already soared the Heavens. But because of Qu Chang Feng’s veiled threats, very few people were willing to bid for fear of offending him and Yin Su Die of Coloured Glass Sect.
Yang Kai didn’t have the slightest good impression of Qu Chang Feng, and he has no friendship with Yin Su Die, so naturally he wouldn’t allow his items to be sold at such a low price. Since no one was willing to bid, he just had to raise the price himself. At worst he would rather buy back the Dragon Striker Whip than let others take advantage of it.
“Hmph, this friend seems to like showing off, but can you even take out 6 million Saint Crystals?” The cold voice of Qu Chang Feng called out from his private room, obviously thinking Yang Kai didn’t have that many Saint Crystals.
“What business of yours is it if he can take out that many Saint Crystals or not? If he can’t, Treasure Trove Pavilion will handle him. If you want to bid, just bid, quit spouting nonsense,” Fang Tian Zhong said.
“Brother Fang, what business of yours is this? Do you just want to run your mouth?” Qu Chang Feng’s voice became even colder. Normally he and Fang Tian Zhong would trade taunts back and forth, but at this time he was feeling like his face was being spit at, driving Qu Chang Feng to the limits of his patience.
“I just can’t get used to some people putting on airs.”
“Two Juniors, mind what you say. If you dare to show improper decorum again, you will be expelled from Treasure Trove Pavilion and never allowed to participate in our auctions again!” Yan Pei coldly snorted.
With Old Yan Pe’s word, they dared not go overboard again. Qu Chang Feng and Fang Tian Zhong both admitted their wrong and apologizing immediately.
Yan Pei nodded lightly before saying in a strong voice, “The guest from room C-13 bids 6 million Saint Crystals, is there any higher offer?”
“6.5 million!” Qu Chang Feng immediately increased the price.
Before Yang Kai could open his mouth, Fang Tian Zhong’s voice came out, “7 million!”
Not waiting for Qu Chang Feng to bid again, Yang Kai ruthlessly called, “8 million!”
“Hahaha! I can’t let you younglings take all the fame! This old master will bid 8.5 million!” Qian Tong laughed and shouted.
Yang Kai gawked, but after thinking about it for a moment, he smiled slightly, lifted his cup of tea, and sipped it gently before turning to Wu Yi and Yang Yan and saying, “It’s just about over, get ready to collect our money.”
Qian Tong had already bid 8.5 million, but that wasn’t because he was intending to win this item but rather because he wanted to direct the audience’s attention and ire towards himself, which was why he had immediately increased the price after Yang Kai.
Qian Tong’s thoughts were quite sharp, earning him Yang Kai’s appreciation.
In the private room of Shadow Moon Hall, Wei Gu Chang and Dong Xuan’er looked at Qian Tong in puzzlement, both of them wondering why their Elder had suddenly decided to participate in this auction again; however, neither of them asked anything, figuring Qian Tong had his reasons.
The Dragon Striker Whip’s auction had turned out quite dramatic. Almost from the start, this Origin Grade Mid-Rank artefact had very few willing to bid on it, the entire hall falling silent a number of times, but no one could have imagined that in the last possible moment the price had soared upwards. After Qian Tong’s bid of 8.5 million, Yin Su Die immediately followed up with a 9 million Saint Crystal bid which ended up being the final selling price.
Although the Dragon Striker Whip didn’t end up reaching 10 million, such a price was still enough to thrill and amaze most people.
9 million Saint Crystals, just how many great forces on all of Shadowed Star could take out such an amount?
In private room C-13, Wu Yi and Yang Yan both stared wide eyed with faces flushed red with excitement, their hands clasped tightly together as they directed looks of pure admiration towards Yang Kai.
If it weren’t for Yang Kai’s intervention a moment ago, the Dragon Striker Whip could likely have sold for just 5 million, yet now it sold for nearly twice as much.
Counting the profits from the Origin Condensing Pill and twin daggers earlier, this time, the three of them had reaped a huge harvest.
Obtaining more than ten million High-Rank Saint Crystals so easily was something they had never before imagined, and Wu Yi and Yang Yan even began to wonder if they were dreaming right now.
“You think that 10 million is a lot?” Yang Kai chuckled.
“Isn’t ten million a lot?” Wu Yi was stunned, “How much do you want?”
“Just watch, something more terrifying is about to appear,” Yang Kai took another sip of his tea as he stared at the platform slightly excitedly. He could already vaguely tell that the true last item would sell for more than the Dragon Striker Whip. Although he didn’t know what price it would fetch in the end, since Treasure Trove Pavilion decided to put it up for auction after the Dragon Striker Whip, Yang Kai didn’t doubt its value was higher.
Atop the platform, Yan Pei lightly coughed before announcing, “The last item of the auction will be present now…”
As he spoke, the beautiful female auctioneer personally held a jade plate and walked over to Yan Pei. Everyone could clearly see the tender body of this woman trembling as she held this item.
This scene made the masters in the private rooms curious. This beautiful woman was an auctioneer of Treasure Trove Pavilion so she wasn’t someone ignorant of the world. On the contrary, she should be used to handling rare and precious items, so just what kind of treasure could make her so excited that even the smile on her pretty face had become a bit tight.
“Please see for yourselves!” Yan Pei lifted the red cloth covering the jade plate and the last auction item immediately appeared in front of everyone’s eyes.
It was a transparent bottle, made from neither gold nor jade. It wasn’t clear what material this bottle was made from, but it was obviously quite valuable in and of itself; however, it was not the bottle which attracted everyone’s attention, but the pill which was quietly laying inside it!
This pill was perfectly round with a smooth surface filled with clearly visible lines which crisscrossed over each other, just like the human meridians.
“Pill Veins!”
“An Origin Condensing Pill that formed Pill Veins!”
Countless shouts rang out from all directions, and from many of the private rooms the sound of shattering chairs, overturned tables, and broken tea cups resounded…
At this moment, the representatives of Shadowed Star’s great forces could no longer retain their calm. Each of these figures was normally so calm and stalwart that even if a mountain collapsed in front of them, they wouldn’t bat an eye, but now they were all behaving like country bumpkins who had never seen the world, all of them displaying disgraceful and frantic performances.
The cultivators in the auction hall were all thrown into an uproar.
The Origin Condensing Pill that had been sold at the mid-point of the auction had been won by Jiang Huai An, one of the Temple Masters of Sea Temple, for a price of one million ten thousand Saint Crystals, so now that another Origin Condensing Pill had appeared, everyone could naturally recognize it.
However, this Origin Condensing Pill was obviously different from the previous one; it was an Origin Condensing Pill that formed Pill Veins!
The Origin Condensing Pill was a Saint King Grade High-Rank pill, but refining it was extremely difficult and generally required an Origin Grade Low-Rank Alchemist to act. But an Origin Condensing Pill with Pill Veins wasn’t necessarily even able to be refined by an Origin King Grade Alchemist.
Yet at this moment, such a pill had actually appeared on the auction stage!
*Shua Shua Shua…*
Suddenly, a group of people flew out, their auras surging as their eyes swept over the crowd fiercely. These people were all Origin Returning Realm masters of Treasure Trove Pavilion, and after they appeared, they formed a water-tight circle around the Origin Condensing Pill, the solemn expressions on their faces saying they would kill anyone who dared to approach. The thick murderous intent emanating from these masters caused all the clamouring in the auction hall to immediately cease.
Seeing this scene, the representatives of the great forces in their private rooms gradually calmed down and slowly took their seats; however, their faces were still filled with shock and determination flashed across their eyes.
They finally understood why Yan Pei had leaked out a message for them to raise more Saint Crystals.
It turned out that the real finale was not the Dragon Striker Whip, but this Origin Condensing Pill with Pill Veins. This pill was absolutely worth them losing everything in order to win.
Yan Pei observed his surroundings silently, and after everyone had finally calmed down and the noisy auction hall fell silent, he proudly declared, “Have you all seen clearly now? Good, since that is the case, let’s not waste time. The starting price for this Origin Condensing Pill is 5 million, each new bid must increase the price by at least 5 hundred thousand!”
Yan Pei’s words had barely ended before numerous calls were made from all over, the intensity of the bidding far outstripping any previous auction.
Moreover, everyone who made a bid did so with great vigor.
The representatives of all the great forces were personally participating in this auction.
There were far too many bids all at once, as almost every private room was calling out, but Yan Pei didn’t pay this any mind, simply directing his attention towards the one who made the highest offer.
6 million, 8 million, 10 million, 15 million, 20 million…
After less than ten breaths of time, this Origin Condensing Pill’s price had risen to 30 million, and the bidding was not slowing down in the slightest; in fact, the competition was becoming even fiercer, with every successive bid adding millions more to the last.
Yan Pei didn’t even need to say anything, or deliberately try to heat up the atmosphere, he simply needed sweep his eyes around and others would automatically increase the price.
35 million, 40 million… the price soared upwards with unstoppably momentum, reaching 50 million, then 60 million…
Treasure Trove Pavilion held an auction every two or three years, but few auctions were ever as competitive as today.
Many of the cultivators who sat on the main floor had their jaws dropped and were unable to close them for a long time. The numbers called out from the private rooms made all of them unable to believe their ears.
Had they not happened to participate in this auction, they would never have known just how deep the heritage of these great forces really was.
After 60 million was called though, many sighs could be heard from the private rooms as the masters inside had to bow out of the competition.
This number was like a watershed. After which, 80 percent of the forces on Shadowed Star lost the qualification to participate.
In the private room of Coloured Glass Sect, Yin Su Die’s pretty face was filled with absolute shock. Coloured Glass Sect had already been forced to withdraw when the price exceeded 50 million, causing the middle-aged woman sitting next to Yin Su Die to sigh heavily and smile bitterly, “Let’s just watch the liveliness.”
“Second Aunt… has everyone gone insane? Even if an Origin Condensing Pill that formed Pill Veins is valuable, isn’t it impossible to be worth so much? Why is everyone competing so crazily for it?” Yin Su Die turned her head towards the middle-aged woman and asked.
Not just Yin Su Die was wondering about this though; most of the talents from the young generation who were sitting in the private rooms were asking the same question, none of them understanding why their Elders were willing to spend so much money to win this Origin Condensing Pill.
An Origin Condensing Pill could only increase the chance of a Third Order Saint King Realm cultivator breaking through to the Origin Returning Realm, it wasn’t an Origin Nirvana Pill. If it was an Origin Nirvana Pill, that could increase the chances a Third Order Origin Returning Realm master could break through to the Origin King Realm, was what was being auctioned, all of them could understand such a price being shouted, but this was clearly just an Origin Condensing Pill!
Fang Tian Zhong, Qu Chang Feng, Wei Gu Chang, and Dong Xuan’er, all stared curiously towards their respective Elders, hoping that they could dispel their doubts.
In Shadow Moon Hall’s private room, after Qian Tong bid 65 million, he solemnly said, “Do you think everyone is bidding for this Origin Condensing Pill? You’re wrong; this Origin Condensing Pill that has formed Pill Veins can guarantee a Third Order Saint King cultivator breaks through to Origin Returning Realm, but if that was its only value, it wouldn’t be worth such a price. Perhaps 2 or 3 million Saint Crystals would be enough. This pill’s true value is that it is rumoured to assist a cultivator to fully condense their own Shi. If you think about it carefully, if a cultivator who takes this Origin Condensing Pill is able to smoothly condense their Shi, perhaps when they reach the Third Order Origin Returning Realm, they will be able to break through Shadowed Star’s shackles and reach the Origin King Realm!”
Wei Gu Chang and Dong Xuan’er both trembling in shock, the former anxiously asking, “What Elder means is, they aren’t bidding for a pill that can allow the birth of an Origin Returning Realm, but they are bidding for an opportunity to break through to the Origin King Realm?”
“Exactly!” Qian Tong nodded, “You younger generations have yet to understand the real value of this pill, but that’s not your fault. On the other hand, we old masters, and the Seniors who came before us, have spent hundreds, if not thousands of years studying methods to reach the Origin King Realm. Taking an Origin Condensing Pill that has formed Pill Veins is one of the methods that was discovered. Whether this method can yield success is still unknown, but even if it is just a glimmer of hope, we must grab hold of it!”
There was no Origin King on Shadowed Star, but once one appeared, they would be able to dominate all of Shadowed Star! For such a possibility, what did a few tens of millions of Saint Crystals matter? As long as one could become the supreme leader of Shadowed Star, these Saint Crystals could be made back at any time.
“Disciple understands,” Wei Gu Chang nodded.
Qian Tong glanced over at him and smiled, “An Origin Condensing Pill can only be used by a Third Order Saint King, we old masters are now bidding for the young disciples of our Sects. In Shadow Moon Hall, you and Xuan’er are the most qualified to take it, but your aptitude is slightly better than Xuan’er, so if we can win it, this Origin Condensing Pill will be yours.”
Wei Gu Chang however just grinned, “Disciple was not concerned about this. If it can be won, it doesn’t matter whether Xuan’er or I take it.”
He spoke in a calm and carefree manner, without the slightest pretence, only exchanging a glance with Dong Xuan’er, both of them smiling lightly.
Qian Tong nodded with satisfaction. He was very satisfied with these two disciples. He believed that even if he won this Origin Condensing Pill, these two would only try to push the other to take it. It was impossible for this Senior Brother and Junior Sister pair to have a falling out over a pill.
[That being said… is it possible for us to even win it?] Qian Tong wasn’t confident.
There were only five Sects left in the bidding, Star Emperor Sect, Heaven Battling Union, Thunder Typhoon Sect, Sea Temple, and Shadow Moon Hall, all others had dropped out.
If Qian Tong had not collected so many road tolls just now, Shadow Moon Hall would have exited long ago, but even with these extra Saint Crystals, he wasn’t sure how long they could persist. The price of this Origin Condensing Pill had already reached 68 million, and Qian Tong only had 80 million available to him, so it wouldn’t be long before he too reached his limit.
Qian Tong frowned deeply, and as he glanced over at Luo Qing who was standing nearby, he felt a deep urge to beat this bastard again.
Feeling his Elder’s malevolent gaze, Luo Qing couldn’t help shrinking his neck. He didn’t know where he had offended Elder Qian, but it was like the latter found him particularly unpleasant to the eye today.
“70 million!” A loud voice from the private room of Heaven Battling Union called out. It belonged to one of the Sect Elders as, at this level of bidding, juniors like Qu Chang Feng weren’t eligible to participate.
“75 million!” Heaven Battling Union’s bid was immediately followed by one private room A-1, without the slightest of hesitation or unease.
In private room C-13, Yang Kai was completely stunned, even if he had mentally prepared himself for this somewhat, he was still shocked by the price.
Like Wei Gu Chang, Dong Xuan’er, and the other young talents in the hall, he didn’t understand why these people were bidding so frantically, almost to the point where he questioned their sanity. Since Treasure Trove Pavilion used this Origin Condensing Pill as the final auction item, Yang Kai was certain it would sell for a higher price than the Dragon Striker Whip, but this was far too high.
Yang Kai realized once again he had miscalculated the value of the items he had entered into this auction.
However, facing such an exaggerated situation, Yang Kai didn’t believe the problem lay with him, but rather that there was some hidden story behind this that he didn’t understand.
How could he have known that the cultivators on Shadowed Star had theorized that an Origin Condensing Pill that formed Pill Veins would help them pursue the Origin King Realm by fully condensing their Shi?
At this moment, Yang Kai was secretly rejoicing that he had not refined two Origin Condensing Pills with Pill Veins. At that time, for the purposes of this auction, he had deliberately refined an ordinary Origin Condensing Pill and one with Pill Veins.
His original intentions were to acquire a few Saint Crystals to allow Yang Yan to purchase enough materials to slightly enhance the Spirit Array around Dragon Cave Mountain, but now it had actually acquired a massive sum of money.
“Yang Kai, don’t tell me this Origin Condensing Pill was brought to auction by you…” Wu Yi bit her red lips and whispered to Yang Kai.
“Haha…” Yang Kai let out a hollow laugh and didn’t respond directly.
Wu Yi and Yang Yan covered their little mouths as their beautiful eyes filled with shock. Compared to the price of this Origin Condensing Pill, the ten million or so Saint Crystals they had previously obtained were truly not worth mentioning.
The price was still rising, causing Yan Pei’s face to show a rare ruddy complexion, standing atop the auction state with a big smile.
There were only five Sects still bidding, each of them unwilling to yield, but after reaching a price of 80 million, Sea Temple and Shadow Moon Hall had no choice but to withdraw, deep sighs coming from their respective private rooms.
Such a price had exceeded their bottom lines.
After these two great forces bowed out, only Shadowed Star’s top tree Sects, Star Emperor Sect, Heaven Battling Union, and Thunder Typhoon Sect remained, drawing the attention of everyone in the hall.
The amount these three Sects increased the price now was considerably smaller than before, with the representatives from Heaven Battling Union and Thunder Typhoon Sect often hesitating for a long period of time before making a new bid.
However, the A-1 private room which belonged to Star Emperor Sect always increased the price decisively, fully demonstrating their boldness and wealth.
Yang Kai has long ago taken note of this private room, as from beginning to end, its occupants had only bought some Origin Grade artefacts and pills.
After asking Wu Yi, he naturally learned that this private room belonged to Star Emperor Sect.
According to Wu Yi, although Star Emperor Sect was the greatest force on Shadowed Star, their people rarely showed up outside. It also seemed that there were very few people who belonged to Star Emperor Sect, and almost all of them remained on Star Emperor Mountain in secluded cultivation.
The founder of Star Emperor Sect apparently obtained some inheritance from the Starry Sky Great Emperor himself and claimed to be a disciple of the Star Emperor.
Under normal circumstances, Star Emperor Sect was aloof to any conflicts on Shadowed Star, maintaining a relatively peaceful appearance.
But no one dared to underestimate them, because it was rumored that there were many top level Third-Order Origin Returning Realm masters in this Sect.
After a stick of incense worth of time, the price of Origin Condensing Pill climbed to 90 million Saint Crystal, the price quoted by Thunder Typhoon Sect.
“100 million!” The voice from private room A-1 then directly raised the price by ten million, showing its great determination to win this pill.
Inside the private room of Thunder Typhoon Sect, the master who had quote the 90 million price grinned bitterly, knowing that even if he increased his bid again, Star Emperor Sect would still snatch this Origin Condensing Pill from them, so he simply declared, “Thunder Typhoon Sect withdraws from this competition!”
As soon as this master had made this announcement, Heaven Battling Union also declared it was giving up.
Spending a hundred million Saint Crystals on the uncertain possibility of being able to reach the Origin King Realm wasn’t something these two Sects could afford. On top of that, even if it were successful, it would be a hundred, or possibly several hundred years before any results could be seen. Who knows what could happen over the course of a few hundred years? Perhaps a more effective method would appear by then.
Considering all this, Thunder Typhoon Sect and Heaven Battling Union no longer tried to bid.
Yan Pei also knew that no one was wealthier than Star Emperor Sect, so he immediately started the three count and the auction soon ended with Star Emperor Sect winning the final victory.
From the other private rooms, congratulations were spoken aloud to Star Emperor Sect for winning the finale and soon after, the people from Treasure Trove Pavilion delivered the price to room A-1.
Yan Pei stood atop the stage and announced the end of the auction, once again thanking the great forces for their support, drawing loud cheers and applause from the audience.
The people sitting on the main floor of the auction hall rose and left one after another, with the masters from the private rooms also getting up and leaving.
Yang Kai however didn’t move. Qian Tong had asked to speak with him after the auction was over, so he wasn’t in a rush to leave. Yang Kai also happened to have something he wanted to discuss with Qian Tong, so naturally he remained.
In the private room of Shadow Moon Hall, Qian Tong remained motionless for a long time, a slight annoyance apparent between his brow. If he had known that even after collecting 30 million worth of road tolls, he still wouldn’t have been able to win that Origin Condensing Pill, he would have gone all out to buy that Dragon Striker Whip for his Disciple.
Now he had obtained nothing, so naturally, he was regretting it.
After waiting a stick of incense worth of time, Qian Tong turned to the Shadow Moon Hall disciples standing next to him and said, “You go back first. The Flowing Flame Sand Field will soon open, so cultivate diligently when you return to the Sect.”
The disciples all nodded before filing out of the room, leaving only Wei Gu Chang and Dong Xuan’er from the younger generation. Qian Tong then stood up and said, “You two come with me, I want to introduce you to someone.”
“Yes,” Wei Gu Chang and Dong Xuan’er followed him obediently.
Inside private room C-13, Wu Yi took some Saint Crystals out and gave them to the two Shadow Moon Hall female disciples who had been attending to them. After accepting their cheerful thanks, Wu Yi sent them away.
Yang Kai’s group of three then waited for Qian Tong to arrive.
Just as he was becoming somewhat bored, Yang Kai heard a knock at the door. Wu Yi immediately got up to open the door, and a moment later Qian Tong walked in accompanied by a young man and woman.
“Nephew Yang, I’ve kept you waiting,” Qian Tong cupped his fists and politely greeted.
“Senior is too polite, this Junior was not in any rush,” Yang Kai stood up to welcome him inside.
Hearing the change in how Yang Kai addressed him, Qian Tong’s eyes brightened, and his smile widened. Yang Kai had always called him Elder Qian, but now he had suddenly become ‘Senior’, which was obviously a bit more respectful. How could Qian Tong not understand that Yang Kai was expressing gratitude for his help during the auction?
Without drawing attention to this point, Qian Tong simply sat down at Yang Kai’s invitation.
Wei Gu Chang and Dong Xuan’er, who had been following Qian Tong, both had somewhat strange expressions on their faces. Originally, when Qian Tong said he was going to introduce them to someone, they had thought it would be a Senior from somewhere, but the one in front of them now was just a Junior like them. On top of that, this Junior’s cultivation wasn’t high, just First-Order Saint King.
What was so special about this young man that he warranted such polite treatment from their Elder? The two of them had been together with Qian Tong for a long time and could tell from his words and expressions that there wasn’t just politeness in his demeanour, but even a hint of caution.
However, this young man definitely didn’t belong to any of the top three Sects, so who exactly was he?
“These two are…” Yang Kai turned his eyes inquisitively towards Wei Gu Chang and Dong Xuan’er. Although he had already guessed the identities of this man and the woman, he still pretended not to know them.
Why would Qian Tong bring them with him? However, after a little thought, Yang Kai understood Qian Tong’s intentions.
Seemingly just remembering their presence, Qian Tong laughed and said, “Haha, I forgot to introduce them, Nephew.”
Waving his hand towards the brave and heroic man, Qian Tong said, “This the most talented disciple my Shadow Moon Hall has produced in the past several hundred years, Wei Gu Chang.” Next, he pointed to the woman, “And this is Dong Xuan’er, this old master’s best Disciple. You two, this is Yang Kai, hurry up and greet him.”
Wei Gu Chang and Dong Xuan’er heard Qian Tong’s introduction and were secretly startled. As members of the younger generation, they were accustomed to greeting Seniors on first meeting, but among their peers, they would only offer the first greeting when the other’s status or cultivation exceeded their own. This young man named Yang Kai, however, was a stranger, and his cultivation was much lower than their own, so why was their Elder pushing them to greet him politely?
With such thoughts in their hearts, both of them hesitated, not immediately following up on Qian Tong’s words.
Seeing this, how could Qian Tong not know what they were confused about? Although these two disciples had good hearts and personalities, without the common negative traits top-level disciples of great forces generally had, they had their own sense of pride. It could be said that even if Fang Tian Zhong or Qu Chang Feng were the ones standing here, they wouldn’t have the qualifications to make them offer polite greetings.
Qian Tong secretly became a bit anxious, worried the attitude of these two would make Yang Kai dissatisfied. If Yang Kai became displeased, all of Qian Tong’s previous efforts would be wasted. Qian Tong grumbled to himself that if he had just made things clear to these two before they came, things would not have become so embarrassing.
Yang Kai, however, didn’t mind such things and just laughed it off while cupping his fists, “So it is Brother Wei; Brother’s name truly resounds like thunder! I’ve heard so much about you.”
Yang Kai had first heard Wei Gu Chang’s name today, so this praise was wholly insincere, but selling Qian Tong some face wasn’t an issue.
Wei Gu Chang gently nodded, also cupping his fists but did not speak.
Yang Kai then turned to Dong Xuan’er and said, “Greetings, Sister Dong.”
Dong Xuan’er elegantly returned the greeting, but just like Wei Gu Chang, she did not say anything.
Qian Tong quickly laughed and said, “This Qian is old, but you are all around the same age, so you should become closer in the future.”
Yang Kai neither agreed nor disagree with this sentiment while Wei Gu Chang and Dong Xuan’er were equally aloof as neither of them felt any need to become closer with Yang Kai. Although their Elder seemed to fancy this person, only true masters and elite could win their respect. If this young man only had some kind of great status, no matter how high it was, it would not be enough for them to act humbly before him.
Qian Tong also realized he had somewhat mishandled this matter. He had originally brought Wei Gu Chang and Dong Xuan’er to meet Yang Kai because he felt they were all part of the same generation and would be able to get along with one another. As long as they managed to become friends with Yang Kai, there would be no need to worry about benefiting in the future, but Qian Tong had apparently underestimated the arrogance of his two disciples.
After determining no further good would come from having them remain, Qian Tong asked the two youths to wait outside.
Wei Gu Chang and Dong Xuan’er bowed politely before excusing themselves, for the most part, ignoring Yang Kai’s existence.
After they left, Qian Tong smiled bitterly, “I’ve shown Nephew Yang something embarrassing, this old master has apparently been lax in his education.”
Yang Kai just shook his head, “Today I was able to see many of the young talents from Shadowed Star, and honestly, the two of them left a far better impression than any of the others.”
Qu Chang Feng was the type of arrogant and prideful character Yang Kai hated the most. When Fang Tian Zhong confronted Qu Chang Feng in front of Treasure Trove Pavilion, he had not cared about anyone else in the vicinity, and if not for Yang Kai possessing far greater strength than an average First Order Saint King, he would have been forced into an ugly situation. This, of course, didn’t leave a good impression on Yang Kai. As for Yin Su Die, she came off as a somewhat manipulative woman; young, but already deceitful and conniving.
Wei Gu Chang and Dong Xuan’er at least did not possess such shortcoming, it was just that their characters were quite straightforward, otherwise they wouldn’t have caused Qian Tong so much embarrassment.
Of course, Yang Kai was only speaking such words to smooth over the situation. Despite Qian Tong’s words, he had no intentions to make friends with these two. They had their pride, but Yang Kai also had his.
No one was perfect.
Sure enough, though, Yang Kai’s words reassured Qian Tong and he instead began chatting with a smile.
After exchanging a few pleasantries, Yang Kai asked, “Senior, before the auction started, you indicated that there was something you wished to discuss with me, may I ask what that was?”
Hearing this, Qian Tong’s expression became serious as he asked back, “Has Nephew heard of the Flowing Flame Sand Field?”
Yang Kai stared at him in surprise, wondering if the two of them were actually wanted to discuss the same matter. Gently nodding, Yang Kai replied, “I’ve heard of it and know a little about its strange characteristics.”
“En, since you’ve heard of it, that will make things easier,” Qian Tong sipped his tea before continuing to ask, “Would Nephew Yang like to explore the Flowing Flame Sand Field?”
“What does Senior mean?” Although Yang Kai indeed wished for such an opportunity, he didn’t immediately reveal his own thoughts, wanting to know exactly what Qian Tong was here to discuss with him first.
“Please don’t misunderstand, Nephew Yang,” Qian Tong smiled, “Originally, this old master didn’t intend to recommend you visit the Flowing Flame Sand Field; after all, it is an extremely dangerous place. Every time it opens, heavy losses occur among those who enter; if 60 percent are able to return alive, it is already quite good. However, I heard that Nephew Yang once killed a cultivator at the Third Order Saint King Realm in single combat, is that true? “
“Yeah.”
Although Qian Tong had heard such a story from Luo Qing before, hearing Yang Kai openly acknowledge it still surprised him. From this alone, Qian Tong immediately understood that Yang Kai’s personal combat strength was exceptional, otherwise it would not have been possible for him to kill an enemy two minor realms above his own.
“In that case, Nephew Yang is qualified to go! I just don’t know if Nephew is interested or not. If you want to, this old master can arrange for it.”
Yang Kai knit his brow and asked, “Are there any restrictions on entering that place?”
He had originally thought that once the Flowing Flame Sand Field opened, he could enter it at will, so he wanted to check with Qian Tong about its location and opening time.
“Naturally there are restrictions,” Qian Tong looked at him in surprise, “Did Nephew Yang think that anyone is allowed to enter it?”
“All I know is that it can only be entered at special times.”
Qian Tong grinned, “It seems Nephew Yang doesn’t know much about Flowing Flame Sand Field.”
“Please enlighten me, Senior,” Yang Kai immediately asked.
“The Flowing Flame Sand Field is truly only accessible at a certain time, but even then, not everyone can enter it. Firstly, those in the Origin Returning Realm cannot enter, if they do, they will die without doubt!” Qian Tong declared seriously.
“Why?” Yang Kai asked in surprise.
“Because of their Shi! Shi is a power unique to Origin Returning Realm cultivators, but the Flowing Flame Sand Field does not allow Shi to exist within its borders. Once an Origin Returning Realm enters, whether they push their Shi or not, they will immediately be burned to death!”
Yang Kai’s face paled slightly and couldn’t help secretly rejoicing that he had failed to comprehend anything about Shi during his retreat some time ago. If he had, he would have missed this opportunity. It seems there were gains and losses to every situation.
Wu Yi and Yang Yan were also stunned, apparently never having heard this information before either.
“This discovery was made at the cost of many of Shadowed Star’s Seniors,” Qian Tong sighed slightly. “Also, those whose strength is too low cannot enter the Flowing Flame Sand Field. When it opens, the great blazing heat indeed weakens significantly, but it is still not something a Saint Realm cultivator can withstand. As such, those who enter the Flowing Flame Sand Field are all Saint Kings. Nephew Yang is only a First Order Saint King, and if this old master didn’t know you had the strength to fight well above your own realm, I would not dare mention this to you. However, since Nephew Yang has such ability, I will leave it to you to decide for yourself whether to go or not.”
“Naturally I’ll go. Not taking advantage of such a rare opportunity would simply be a waste, would it not?” Yang Kai grinned. The Flowing Flame Sand field was the perfect place for him to refine the Profound Yin Sunflower Water.
Qian Tong looked at him approvingly, “I knew it. Nephew Yang would not be content to live the life of a mediocre person. Since you have decided to go, this old master will reserve one of Shadow Moon Hall’s spots for you. In any case, my Shadow Moon Hall does not lack such spots.”
“Quota?” Yang Kai frowned, looking at Qian Tong and asked, “Is there a limit to the number of people who can enter the Flowing Flame Sand Field?”
“En, that is something this old man intended to tell you,” Qian Tong nodded. “In fact, when the Flowing Flame Sand Field first opened, there was no limit on the number of people who could enter, but Nephew must also know that cultivation resources on Shadowed Star are extremely scarce, especially the higher-grade ones. As one of the Three Great Forbidden Zones, the Flowing Flame Sand Field naturally has many good things inside it, enough to make all the great forces covet it, which was the root of the problem. A long time ago, when the Flowing Flame Sand Field opened, all Saint Kings were eligible to enter, and indeed a great many would, but with such a large number of people searching for treasures, everyone was only able to harvest a small amount while still plucking the Flowing Flame Sand Field clean, leaving next to nothing for those who entered the following time.”
“Excessive harvesting leads to damaging the environment!” Yang Kai nodded.
“It is exactly as Nephew says. As such, the great forces on Shadowed Star came together and set some restrictions on the Flowing Flame Sand Field. Each Sect from that point on was only allowed a certain number to answer. The Three biggest sects, Star Emperor Sect, Heaven Battling Union, and Thunder Typhoon Sect, were each given sixty quotas, while first-class Sects like my Shadow Moon Hall were granted fifty. As the size and power of one’s force decreased, the number of quotas they were given also decreased. Small families and Sects are only granted two or three quotas each. By establishing a system like this, it not only reduced the loss of Shadowed Star’s Saint King Realm cultivators, but also allowed the Flowing Flame Sand Field to maintain a certain concentration of precious treasures. After thousands of years of following this tradition, all the forces on Shadowed Star had adapted to this quota system and each time the Flowing Flame Sand Field opens, they all select the appropriate number of disciples to send.”
Yang Kai nodded slightly, indicating he understood.
Qian Tong added, “Even so, after each opening of the Flowing Flame Sand Field, there are no less than ten thousand people who enter it! However, the Flowing Flame Sand Field is very, very large, so even if ten thousand people enter, it does not matter.”
Having listened to Qian Tong’s explanation up till here, Yang Kai immediately understood the meaning of his previous words.
If he wanted to go in, he really had to acquire a quota from Shadow Moon Hall, but since Shadow Moon Hall could send fifty people, a single quota wouldn’t be a big deal to them.
“Additionally, it is not possible to enter the Flowing Flame Sand Field from any random place on its perimeter, it can only be entered through some special locations. The Flowing Flame Sand Field is truly quite strange, and many great Seniors suspected that it is actually a massive Spirit Array that had been arranged by some great ancient expert. However, we have no way to break this Spirit Array. Only when the blazing heat weakens will some access points appear around its edge. Those who want to enter must pass through these access points.”
Hearing this information, Yang Kai realized his thoughts on this matter had been too simple.
One needed a quota to enter the Flowing Flame Sand Field, and one could only enter it through specific points and specific times. It wasn’t like he had thought that once the Flowing Flame Sand Field opened, anyone could enter at will.
Realizing all this, Yang Kai quickly said, “Senior, this Junior really wishes to enter the Flowing Flame Sand Field, so I’m afraid I will have to trouble Senior with this matter.”
Qian Tong laughed, “Nephew is too polite, if this old master thought of you as a mere outsider, he would not have spoken so much today. Since Nephew wishes to enter, you can leave everything up to this Old man. I will make sure you’re satisfied.”
Qian Tong was actually worried Yang Kai wouldn’t ask him for help with this matter. Although he felt that Qian Tong felt he had displayed enough sincerity in wanting to befriend Yang Kai, he was still concerned that as a young man Yang Kai would act aloof and supercilious, disdaining to interact with an old man like him.
Now that Yang Kai had upfront asked for his assistance, Qian Tong was naturally happy.
Steering the conversation in a different direction, Qian Tong said, “Nephew Yang must prepare appropriately for this excursion though.”
“What do I need to prepare?” Yang Kai humbly asked.
“A few artefacts that can withstand the extreme heat are a must. If Nephew does not have appropriate artefacts, I can provide you with some Ice Attribute materials from Monster Beasts. Artefacts refined from such materials are the most suitable for resisting the Flowing Flame Sand Field’s intense temperatures. I have prepared many such materials for use here.”
Yang Kai was about to refuse, when suddenly something dawned on him and he thoughtfully asked, “Brother Wei and Sister Dong are also going to enter the Flowing Flame Sand Field, aren’t they?”
Qian Tong nodded and acknowledged, “Naturally they will be going. Although that place is dangerous, those two are the best disciples in Shadow Moon Hall’s younger generation, how can they mature if they don’t experience a few great storms?”
“The artefacts for those two…”
Qian Tong smiled awkwardly, “Some have been purchased, but most are just Saint King Grade High-Rank, so how much effect they can display is questionable. En, my Shadow Moon Hall’s Origin Grade Artefact Refiner is growing old and is no longer capable of strenuous Artefact Refining.”
Yang Kai raised his brow and offered, “If Senior is willing to, you can leave the Ice Attribute Monster Beast materials with me and I will have two Origin Grade artefacts refined for Brother Wei and Sister Dong to protect themselves!”
Qian Tong had already determined that there was an Origin Grade Artefact Refiner behind him, so Yang Kai didn’t need to hide this anymore. On top of that, Qian Tong had just said he had many materials on him. Obviously, he was hoping to ask the imaginary Artefact Refiner behind him for this matter. Qian Tong had helped Yang Kai out a great deal recently and was even providing him with a quota to enter the Flowing Flame Sand Field as well as a great deal of information. Yang Kai didn’t mind returning the favour.
Those who respect me one point, I respect ten.
Sure enough, after seeing Yang Kai offer this all on his own, Qian Tong was overjoyed and nodded repeatedly, “Willing, naturally I am willing. En, this Old man couldn’t feel more relieved with anyone else, hahaha. Then I shall have to trouble Nephew Yang with this.”
Qian Tong had still been thinking about what to do if Yang Kai couldn’t understand the subtle message he was trying to convey. If that were the case, for the future of Shadow Moon Hall, he could only resign himself to losing face and ask frankly, but he hadn’t expected that after only some slight roundabout hints, Yang Kai had actually understood his meaning.
Having reached an understanding, Qian Tong directly took out a Space Ring and handed it to Yang Kai.
He had prepared these materials long ago and was just waiting for an opportunity to present itself. Qian Tong had also brought Wei Gu Chang and Dong Xuan’er here before on the one hand to let them meet Yang Kai while on the other to try to find a way to ask Yang Kai to help refine artifacts for them.
Unfortunately, his two Juniors had eyes but failed to see, wasting Qian Tong’s hard work.
Yang Kai accepted the ring and casually checked its contents, quickly discovering a large amount of Monster Beast materials exuding ice-cold auras. From the strength of these auras, it was obvious these materials came from Ninth-Order Monster Beasts. There were even a number of highly valuable Monster Cores inside.
There was no shortage of raw materials for Alchemy and Artefact Refining on Shadowed Star, what was lacking was high-grade Alchemist and Artefact Refiners to process them.
With so many materials, refining four or five artefacts wouldn’t be an issue.
“Nephew Yang, for this favour, this old man is very grateful.”
“Senior has helped me a lot recently, there’s no need to be so polite. If Senior has any other needs in the future, feel free to let me know.”
Qian Tong nodded repeatedly. Although he knew Yang Kai was simply speaking politely here, it was still pleasant to his hear.
“Right, when will the Flowing Flame Sand Field open exactly?” Yang Kai returned to the main topic.
Qian Tong paused for a moment before saying, “That can’t be determined precisely. It may be as soon as a month from now, or as long as four months from now, it all depends on when the blazing heat weakens. But Nephew can rest assured, all the great forces are monitoring the Flowing Flame Sand Field day and night, so once it opens, we will immediately receive the news. It won’t be too late to start off then. Nephew Yang can take advantage of this period of time to make preparations. Once this old man hears anything, I will inform you.”
Saying so, Qian Tong handed Yang Kai a communication artefact.
Yang Kai took it and stored it into his Space Ring.
At this time, there was a knock at the door again and Wu Yi walked over to open it. Luo Qing walked inside a moment later with a solemn look upon his face.
Qian Tong laughed, “It must be that old dog Yan Pei who sent Luo Qing to deliver Nephew’s Saint Crystals.”
Yang Kai’s spirit shook as Wu Yi and Yang Yan’s beautiful eyes lit up.
During the auction, the four items they had brought had all sold for extraordinary prices, and it was only now that the Saint Crystals they had earned were sent over. Yang Kai waiting here was for two reasons: One, to speak with Qian Tong, and two, to accept these Saint Crystals.
Thinking about the over one hundred million Saint Crystals he was about to receive, even Yang Kai couldn’t hold back his excitement.
Luo Qing stepped forward and respectfully placed a Space Ring on the table before quickly saying, “Manager Yan said the total amount of Young Master Yang’s earnings are one hundred and six million, five hundred thousand and forty-five Saint Crystals, but because of the huge auction amount, it has been rounded up to one hundred and seven million Saint Crystal. Please inspect it at your leisure, Young Master Yang.”
“One hundred and seven million…” Yang Kai frowned; this number was slightly off from his expectations.
Qian Tong saw his reaction and explained with a smile, “Treasure Trove Pavilion charges a fee for every item which is auctioned. Generally speaking, they take ten percent of the auction proceeds, so for a hundred million Saint Crystals, they would normally take ten million.”
“So greedy!” Wu Yi and Yang Yan shouted indignantly. Losing ten million Saint Crystals hurt their hearts greatly.
Qian Tong added, “But Yan Pei seems to have only collected five percent this time. Seems he still has a bit of a conscience left. He also probably wants to keep cooperating with you in the future, which was why he was willing to lower his usual fee.”
Yang Kai smiled and shook his head, “There won’t be such good things in the future, those Origin Condensing Pills were something my Master acquired accidentally a long time ago, there are no more. On that note, Senior, why was there such intense competition for that Origin Condensing Pill which formed Pill Veins?”
Seeing Yang Kai’s confused look, Qian Tong couldn’t help chuckling, “Gu Chang and Xuan’er also asked this old master about this point before.”
After hearing the explanation from Qian Tong, Yang Kai realized that it was not that these people had gone insane, but rather that there were too obsessed with pursuing the Origin King Realm, to the point where they didn’t care how many Saint Crystals they had to pay in order to obtain even a chance of reaching it.
After knowing this, Yang Kai relaxed.
An Origin Condensing Pill which forms Pill Veins could be refined at any time by him with his current achievements in Alchemy, but he was lacking the primary materials for refining Origin Condensing Pills.
Inside his Black Book space, there were countless precious treasures, thousands of Origin Grade herbs, and even two or three hundred Origin King Grade herbs, but there had only been two stalks of Emerald Silk Grass which was the main ingredient in Origin Condensing Pills. Now that these two stalks had been used up, Yang Kai could not refine any more Origin Condensing Pills, so naturally, there was no way he could cooperate with Treasure Trove Pavilion again.
What’s more, he currently had over a hundred million Saint Crystals, so there was no need for him to do anything like that in the near future. One hundred million Saint Crystals was more than even Shadow Moon Hall could take out immediately.
Having obtained Saint Crystals, it was naturally time to start shopping. Yang Yan quickly made a long list of materials she wanted to order from Shadow Moon Hall.
Qian Tong took this list and glanced over it, his expression changing dramatically in the next instant.
Each of these materials was extremely precious, and the quantity asked for was massive. If all these materials were purchased, it would cost at least forty or fifty million Saint Crystals. Qian Tong wasn’t worried about being paid; after all, Yang Kai had just collected more than a hundred million Saint Crystals, Qian Tong was simply wondering why Yang Kai wanted to buy so many raw materials.
Although he didn’t understand, he didn’t ask either, simply nodding and saying, “My Shadow Moon Hall does not have all of these materials on hand, but Nephew Yang can rest assured, within one month we will be able to collect everything you have requested.”
“Then I shall trouble Senior with this,” Yang Kai cupped his fists.
With everything that should be said having been said, Qian Tong asked Yang Kai to return to Dragon Cave Mountain and await word of the Flowing Flame Sand Field opening.
Qian Tong personally saw Yang Kai off from Treasure Trove Pavilion before handing the list of materials to Luo Qing, “Quickly collect all of these materials. If there isn’t enough in our inventory, contact the forces in the surrounding region and acquire them. Make sure the price you pay is as favourable as possible within the time limit.”
“Yes!” Luo Qing left immediately.
Only after all this was finished did Wei Gu Chang and Dong Xuan’er come over to see a somewhat excited looking Qian Tong. Seeing her Master in such a good mood, Dong Xuan’er couldn’t help asking curiously, “Master, is that person really so amazing? Why are you so interested in him?”
“He truly is amazing!” Qian Tong nodded heavily before glancing over at the two youths and letting out a sigh, “Don’t underestimate him, he may be a First Order Saint King, but he can kill cultivators in the Third-Order Saint King Realm.”
Wei Gu Chang’s eyes flashed and a look of surprise appeared on his face, but he soon calmed down.
Because he too was capable of killing an ordinary Third-Order Saint King when he was in the First Order Saint King realm, so he didn’t think this was anything too amazing.
“If that’s the case, he really does have some ability,” Dong Xuan’er said thoughtfully, but she soon smiled and said, “Even so, that’s not enough for Master to want to be on friendly terms with him. Is Master intending to recruit him into Shadow Moon Hall? “
“Recruit him into Shadow Moon Hall?” Qian Tong laughed wryly and mused, “I’m afraid he wouldn’t even consider joining Shadow Moon Hall.”
“What? My Shadow Moon Hall may not compare to Star Emperor Sect and the other top forces on Shadowed Star, but we’re certainly not weak,” Dong Xuan’er exclaimed.
“Do you know who is behind him? What his origins are?” Qian Tong slowly shook his head, “If you knew, you wouldn’t look down on him.”
“Can Elder explain clearly? Hearing you speak this way has suddenly made me interested in him,” Wei Gu Chang grinned. Anyone who could be regarded so highly by Elder Qian must not be a simple character.
“I’ll explain on our way back,” Qian Tong waved to the two; this was still Treasure Trove Pavilion, after all. Blocking their entrance wasn’t appropriate.
As the three walked towards the largest palace in Heavenly Fate City, Qian Tong said, “Can you guess who brought that Dragon Striker Whip and those Origin Condensing Pills for today’s auction?”
Dong Xuan’er was slightly startled and asked, “Does master mean…”
“En, he was the one who brought them to auction,” Qian Tong nodded slightly. “The Origin Condensing Pill need not be thought about too much, it is an incredibly rare and precious treasure, perhaps one of a kind, and should have been obtained through some kind of fortuitous encounter, but the Dragon Striker Whip was actually refined by his master.”
“What?” Wei Gu Chang was also shocked, “Elder means the master of that young man is an Origin Grade Mid-Rank Artefact Refiner? When did such a powerful master appear on Shadowed Star?”
“This is the greatest reason I wish to be on good terms with him. Shadowed Star truly does not have such a profound Artefact Refining Grandmaster, but he actually came from the outside.”
“The outside…” Wei Gu Chang and Dong Xuan’er both exchanged a startled glance, the look of longing obvious in their eyes.
“En, he comes from the outside. Our Shadowed Star is almost completely isolated from the outside world, even the nearest Cultivation Star is far, far from here. The level of Artefact Refiners on Shadowed Star is not high enough for us to refine powerful enough Starships that can connect us with the greater Star Field, so we can only imagine what kind of wonders exist out there. We only know that there are Origin King Realm masters, Origin King Grade Alchemists and Origin King Grade Artefact Refiners, but such heights are forever out of our reach.”
“We can’t reach the outside world, so how did he reach here?” Dong Xuan’er asked suspiciously.
“Chance coincidence,” Qian Tong smiled, “When I first met him, this old master didn’t dare inquire about his background for fear of offending him, but some time ago, I made Luo Qing investigate this matter and learned that he was found out in the Starry Sky by a Starship belonging to the Hai Ke Family. When he was brought aboard by them at the time, he admitted he came from a place called Rainfall Star. This old master has read some information about this Rainfall Star in the ancient records so there is no doubt it really exists.”
“Since only he was brought here, why is Master so certain he has an Origin Grade Mid-Rank Artefact Refiner behind him?”
“I don’t know what the intentions of the master behind him are, but I speculate he is simply protecting him in secret. When the Hai Ke Family’s Starship was about to return to Shadowed Star, they were attacked by a large pack of Black Rock Beasts. At that time, the Hai Ke Family Starship was in dire straits and about to be destroyed when suddenly, a golden spear appeared and swept away the entire Black Rock Beast pack, rescuing their lives. Afterwards, the Hai Ke Family disciples couldn’t find the master who rescued them as that person refused to show themselves,” Qian Tong explained, “This information was obtained directly by Luo Qing, and many of the Hai Ke Family’s disciples saw it with their own eyes, so this old master is certain someone was there protecting Yang Kai from the shadows, quite likely his master.”
Qian Tong’s inference was quite reasonable. Whoever obtained such information, combined with the fact that Yang Kai had sold various high-grade artefacts, would reach a similar conclusion.
However, he had underestimated Yang Kai’s true strength as well as the level of Yang Yan’s extraordinary abilities, causing him to imagine the existence of some kind of profoundly hidden master behind them.
“No wonder, if he really comes from the outside, he might really have an Origin Grade Mid-Rank Artefact Refiner behind him!” Wei Gu Chang gently nodded.
“You two know the weight of such matters. What I’m telling you today is not to chastise you, but to let you recognize that others have their own strengths, so you must not immediately judge or underestimate anyone. You should also know that what I have told you is not to be repeated to anyone else.”
“Disciple understands,” Both the two youths nodded firmly.
“This old master even suspects that the master behind Yang Kai is more than just an Origin Grade Mid-Rank Artefact Refiner, but regardless of the truth, what is important is that we not find ourselves on bad terms with them. He has also agreed to help refine two Origin Grade defensive type artefacts for you two. He will be entering the Flowing Flame Sand Field together with you two this time, so you will have a chance to become familiar with one another. Don’t be negligent!”
“Disciple will remember,” Both Wei Gu Chang and Dong Xuan’er nodded in unison, feeling a bit regretful on the inside. When Elder Qian had brought them to that private room, they really shouldn’t have put on such an arrogant display. The two of them thus decided secretly that after the Flowing Flame Sand Field opened, they would make an effort to befriend Yang Kai.
In front of the entrance to Dragon Cave Mountain, Yang Kai leapt off his Star Shuttle and landed.
Wu Yi and Yang Yan were both observing him with a strange look. On their way back, these two had been shooting him bewildered looks quite frequently.
“What do you want to ask?” Yang Kai frowned.
“Do you actually have a master?” Wu Yi couldn’t help but ask.
“Why do you say that?”
“You asked me what kind of pill was the most valuable before. I said Origin Condensing Pills and Origin Nirvana Pills. Then you took out two Origin Condensing Pills. Did your Master give them to you?”
Yang Kai chuckled, “What do you think?”
“I don’t know,” Wu Yi shook her head honestly.
“If I had a Master, don’t you think you’d have seen him by now?”
“What about that Origin Condensing Pill …”
“If I said I refined it myself, would you believe me?”
The two women unhesitantly shook their heads.
Seeing them not believe him at all, Yang Kai finally understood what Yang Yan must have felt like when she was proclaiming that she was an Origin Grade Artefact Refiner everywhere, but no one believed her.
Instead of dwelling on the issue though, Yang Kai tossed the Space Ring given to him by Qian Tong over to Yang Yan, “Refine two defensive artefacts for them but don’t make them too strong, Origin Grade Low-Rank will do.”
“Got it,” Yang Yan nodded. Two Origin Grade Low-Rank defensive artefacts wouldn’t be difficult for her to refine. Now that she had the Stone Puppet’s help, she could refine artefacts many times faster than before.
The most time-consuming process of Artefact Refining was quenching the raw materials. Ordinarily, the quenching process needed to be carried out several times to remove impurities. This not only used up a lot of time, but also consumed a great deal of strength, but the Stone Puppet could complete this process in a very short time and to an exceptionally high standard. No wonder Yang Yan had said that Stone Puppets were the best assistants for Artefact Refiners, they truly were.
Yang Yan used to take one or two months to refine an Origin Grade artefact, but now she could do so in just three or four days. The reduction in time spent was nothing less than extraordinary.
“I’m going to enter secluded cultivation to prepare to enter the Flowing Flame Sand Field. I’m leaving you in charge of the cave’s matters,” Yang Kai said before entering his own stone room, closing the stone door and entering retreat.
The opening time of the Flowing Flame Sand Field was uncertain, but he should have at least a month or two before then.
Yang Kai needed to improve his combat power during this time.
In terms of artefacts, he needed to finish establishing a connection with the purple shield and Hundred Mountains Picture as soon as possible. He had finished refining both artefacts and now all that was needed was to warm and nourish them with his Saint Qi so he could flexibly use them in battle.
In terms of pills, Yang Kai planned to refine a couple of bottles of Snow and Ice Pills.
The Snow and Ice Pills that appeared at the auction were Origin Grade Low-Rank, so he would have no trouble refining some with his current Alchemy proficiency. There was also no shortage of materials in his Black Book Space.
As for things like healing pills, Yang Kai already had many on him, so there was no need to refine more. On top of that, he had great confidence in the restorative abilities of his body. If worst came to worst, Yang Kai could directly burst a drop of Golden Blood. As long as his foundation wasn’t hurt, with the massive amount of vitality contained within a drop of Golden Blood, restoring himself should be a simple task.
The only other matter of importance to Yang Kai was to increase the power of his Space Blade as soon as possible.
Space Blade was a visual manifestation of Space Force. It was an attack method that could only be used by Yang Kai and was virtually impossible to defend against. Once he perfected this method, it would add a life-saving card to his arsenal.
Yang Kai obviously hadn’t been to the Flowing Flame Sand Field and as a result, didn’t know much about it, but from the brief introduction Qian Tong gave him, he knew it was an extremely dangerous place. Yang Kai didn’t dare to act carelessly and was intent on making comprehensive preparations.
Sitting down cross-legged, Yang Kai first took out the Profound Insect Stone he obtained at the auction.
Yang Yan had said that this stone contained very strange energy that wasn’t usable for cultivation or Artefact Refining but could be used to raise Exotic Insects. Soul Devouring Insects were one such Exotic Insect.
At the auction, it was only because of the abnormal response of the Soul Devouring Insects that Yang Kai had bought this Profound Insect Stone, otherwise, he would surely have ignored it.
As soon as he took out the Profound Insect Stone, Yang Kai felt the swarm of Soul Devouring Insects resting on the six coloured island in his Knowledge Sea begin to stir, as if they were anxious to fly out and migrate to this Profound Insect Stone.
However, without Yang Kai’s consent, they were unable to separate themselves from the six coloured island, so they simply became more and more anxious.
Yang Kai didn’t restrain them for long, lowering his Knowledge Sea’s defences and allowing the countless Soul Devouring Insects to fly out towards the Profound Insect Stone.
As soon as the Soul Devouring Insects entered the Profound Insect Stone, they immediately became irritable, their blood seemingly boiling as they gave off a dangerous aura.
Yang Kai listened carefully and soon heard rustling, crunching sounds.
Under his Divine Sense’s probing, Yang Kai found that the Soul Devouring Insects had actually started to devour one another as a great struggle for supremacy seemed to have broken out on the Profound Insect Stone.
The weak Soul Devouring Insects were unable to survive long as they were swiftly devoured by their more powerful peers. After cleaning up their weak companions, the more powerful Soul Devouring Insects began brutally fighting amongst themselves, rapidly reducing their total population.
Yang Kai was overjoyed!
It had been a long time since his Soul Devouring Insects devoured one another, but after that incident, their power had noticeably increased. Seeing this process repeat itself, Yang Kai was confident that once they settled down, their power would soar once again!
He was greatly looking forward to this!
If his Soul Devouring Insects could evolve to the point where they could threaten Origin Returning Realm masters, Yang Kai could be invincible on Shadowed Star. At that time, there would be no need for Yang Yan to continue arranging a powerful Spirit Array as no one would dare to offend them anymore out of fear of his Soul Devouring Insects.
After observing for a while, Yang Kai noticed that the Soul Devouring Insects would take quite a long time to finish their little civil war, so he no longer paid any attention to them. Placing the Profound Insect Stone in a corner of his room, Yang Kai simply allowed them to evolve independently.
Taking out some spirit grasses and spirit medicines, as well as his pill furnace, Yang Kai began refining Snow And Ice Pills.
Yang Kai didn’t have much difficulty refining Origin Grade Low-Rank pills, so in just over a day, he had two bottles with ten Snow And Ice Pills each, eight of which had formed Pill Veins.
After completing this, Yang Kai began nourishing his artefacts while cultivating his own Space Force.
In a flash, three months passed.
Inside the stone room, Yang Kai closed his eyes while holding a Space Spirit Crystal in his left hand, constantly using his own Space Force to absorb the energy inside it. Simultaneously, he was waving his right hand in an almost unconscious manner. Each time he waved his hand, a thin tear in space would form and fly out.
The entire stone room was a mess, with his Space Blades cutting through and destroying almost everything inside.
After three months of retreat, Yang Kai’s Space Blade had undoubtedly become much more powerful than when he first conceptualized it. Whether it was in terms of speed or stability, it was simply incomparable to his early attempts.
Speed and stability were the key factors in the lethality of Yang Kai’s Space Blade, especially the latter. This was not like other attack methods where the more Saint Qi used to condense it, the greater its power. In fact, the amount of Saint Qi Yang Kai used was nearly irrelevant as what mattered the most was the blades ability to swallow objects it came into contact with!
As such, as long as the blade was stable enough, it would be capable of devouring everything it passed through, sending it into The Void. Even other people’s attacks could be swallowed up. If others’ attacks or artefacts could be swallowed up by his Space Blade, Yang Kai would no longer need to come up with defensive measures as offense would be his best defence.
However, the stability of Yang Kai’s Space Blade could be affected by the attacks of other cultivators, and once this interference reached a certain critical point, the Space Blade would collapse and become useless.
So during this retreat, Yang Kai had primarily been focusing on maintaining his Space Blade’s stability, resulting in its speed not having improved much.
By consuming a lot of Space Spirit Crystals, a truly money-burning cultivation method, Yang Kai gradually gained some competency in the use of his Space Blade.
When in cultivation, one could not feel the passage of time, so it was not until Yang Kai felt a Divine Sense fluctuation coming from the communication artefact he had set aside nearby that he finally awoke.
Qian Tong had sent him a message.
After quickly picking up the communication artefact and pouring his Divine Sense into it, Yang Kai stood up and walked out of his stone room.
This three-month retreat was still too short to allow him to thoroughly complete his Space Blade, and at this stage, it could not be used in combat, but the Flowing Flame Sand Field had already begun to open, so Yang Kai had to set it aside for the time being.
Fortunately, after three months of being nourished by his Saint Qi, both the purple shield and the Hundred Mountains Picture had become usable.
The two bottles of Snow and Ice Pills Yang Kai had refined should be sufficient for his use.
As soon as he left the cave, Yang Kai froze for a moment as he discovered that Dragon Cave Mountain had undergone many changes. Not only was the World Energy Aura here now extremely rich, with a lingering mist shrouding each and every peak, there were now also many exquisite houses and other unidentifiable objects that had been built in the surroundings.
The several dozen cultivators who had followed Wu Yi were bustling about while Wu Yi and Yang Yan were both intently studying something, both of them looking very excited.
Seeing Yang Kai go out, the two women gawked for a moment but soon understood, putting down what they were working on and greeting him.
“Leaving?” Wu Yi asked.
“En,” Yang Kai nodded before warning them, “After I leave, don’t let anyone enter my stone room, and especially do not go near the Profound Insect Stone inside. There are some very dangerous creatures inhabiting it right now.”
“Understood,” Wu Yi responded quickly.
“Have the two Origin Grade artefacts Elder Qian asked for already been delivered?” Yang Kai turned to Yang Yan next.
“They were delivered long ago, about ten days after you entered retreat. Elder Qian personally delivered a lot of the materials we purchased when I handed him the two artefacts.”
“That’s good.”
“You can go, but Xiao Xiao has to stay. Without him, it’s far too much exhausting to refine things,” Yang Yan added.
Xiao Xiao was the Stone Puppet; Yang Yan had given him this name without asking for permission, but Yang Kai didn’t mind. In any case, for the expedition into the Flowing Flame Sand Field, he probably wouldn’t have any need for the Stone Puppet, so Yang Kai readily agreed to Yang Yan’s request. After leaving behind a few instructions, Yang Kai hurried off to Heavenly Fate City.
Only halfway there, Yang Kai spotted a blue light flying in his direction from the horizon. As it came closer, Yang Kai discovered that it was actually Luo Qing.
“Young Master Yang!” Luo Qing halted his Star Shuttle, stood up, and cupped his fists to Yang Kai, “Elder Qian instructed me to bring you to the city’s Space Array as quickly as possible. Everyone else is waiting there, only you are left.”
“Then I’ll trouble you to do so,” Yang Kai returned the greeting before following Luo Qing towards Heavenly Fate City.
On the way, Yang Kai asked Luo Qing about the Flowing Flame Sand Field. Unfortunately, Luo Qing didn’t know much, only that this Forbidden Zone was about to open and that all the great forces on Shadowed Star were rushing to the different entrances so that the moment it opened fully they could immediately enter.
Passing over Heavenly Fate City, the pair flew directly to the large palace which they subsequently entered. Upon arrival, Yang Kai realized that there were almost two hundred people gathered, and among them over ninety percent were Saint Kings with the majority of them in the Second or Third Order. There were some First Order Saint Kings, but not many. The Flowing Flame Sand Field was extremely dangerous so First Order Saint Kings wouldn’t be of much use inside.
Yang Kai frowned. Hadn’t Qian Tong said that Shadow Moon Hall only had fifty entry spots? Why were there so many people here then?
Moreover, from the looks of the people here, it was obvious they were all going to the Flowing Flame Sand Field through the Space Array.
As soon as Yang Kai walked inside, countless eyes landed on him, with Qian Tong even letting out a great laugh and extremely enthusiastically welcoming him, “Nephew Yang has arrived just in time. We’ve just finished gathering everyone and the Space Array is just about ready to open. All of you follow this Old Master.”
Last time they met, Yang Kai had promised to help Qian Tong refine two Origin Grade artefacts, and only ten days later he had delivered. Although the two artefacts were just Origin Grade Low-Rank, both were infinitely close to reaching Origin Grade Mid-Rank standard. Today, those two defensive artefacts were in Wei Gu Chang and Dong Xuan’er’s hands.
If these two items had been put up for auction, they would be worth at least four million Saint Crystals, and with both of them being Ice Attribute, perfect for resisting the heat of the Flowing Flame Sand Field, their prices might have been even higher.
All of Qian Tong’s investments in showing Yang Kai goodwill early on had already been repaid many times over with just this.
As such, Qian Tong was natural very polite to Yang Kai. Even this time, he had ordered everyone else to gather first before sending a message to Yang Kai so the latter would not have to stand around waiting.
Seeing Qian Tong personally greet this newcomer, many cultivators in the hall turned their eyes to examine Yang Kai and were secretly surprised, wondering what was so special about this First-Order Saint King to warrant such polite treatment from their Elder.
“Senior Brother Wei, who is that guy? We’ve been waiting here for so long, could it be it was actually for him?” A pretty-looking young woman took the opportunity to come up to Wei Gu Chang and ask softly.
“En, he doesn’t look like someone with a great background, and his strength is so low, just a First-Order Saint King,” Someone immediately agreed.
Wei Gu Chang shot them a flat look before distancing himself from the woman and saying bluntly, “You don’t need to worry about who he is, just make sure you don’t annoy him.”
After receiving a cold shoulder from Wei Gu Chang, the young woman smiled awkwardly and also stepped back, her heart full of bitterness.
Wei Gu Chang was the most talented disciple of Shadow Moon Hall. On top of that, he was handsome and straightforward, so naturally, there were many female disciples in Shadow Moon Hall who secretly admired him. Unfortunately for them, he seemed to only have eyes for Dong Xuan’er.
Inside the palace, there were nearly fifty people wearing the disciple uniforms of Shadow Moon Hall, each of them looking neat and dignified. The other hundred were wearing other assorted dress.
Seemingly understanding Yang Kai’s doubts, Qian Tong took the initiative to explain, “My Shadow Moon Hall has a total of fifty quotas to use as we see fit, but the other families and Sects attached to Shadow Moon Hall also have their own quotas as well, although not nearly as many per force. On top of that, there are some forces and families here who have no relationship with Shadow Moon Hall but because they are located near Heavenly Fate City, they will be travelling together with us.”
Yang Kai suddenly realized that this was the reason why so many people had gathered inside this hall.
The great forces on Shadowed Star had apparently managed this situation quite fairly, not even trying to swallow all the benefits by themselves. They had allocated some entry quotas to the smaller Sects and families, but whether they could obtain anything would be up to their own effort and means.
It was no wonder last time Qian Tong had said that each time the Flowing Flame Sand Field opened, the number of people who entered was no less than ten thousand.
Shadowed Star was simply too big, and even if each force wasn’t granted many quotas, after adding them all together, reaching ten thousand wouldn’t be a problem.
As Qian Tong walked inside, Yang Kai suddenly turned his head and looked in a certain direction as he felt a sharp, hate-filled glare being directed towards him.
Yang Kai was very sensitive to this kind of gaze and could easily notice it.
When the two people’s eyes met, the opposite party’s face twitched slightly before quickly turning away.
Xie Hong Wen!
[He’s going too?] Last time, when Xie Hong Wen went to Dragon Cave Mountain to find trouble with Yang Kai, if it wasn’t for Qian Tong’s prompt arrival, Xie Hong Wen would have died. This delinquent Young Master was nothing but a mud wall unable to hold water. Although he had a First Order Saint King cultivation, he clearly had very poor combat strength, so how could he dare go on this dangerous expedition?
What surprised Yang Kai even more though was that Xie Hong Wen wasn’t wearing a Shadow Moon Hall uniform. Behind him were two Third-Order Saint Kings who were similarly dressed and seemed to be responsible for protecting him.
“Senior, can people be killed inside the Flowing Flame Sand Field?” Yang Kai suddenly asked lightly.
Seeing Yang Kai staring towards Xie Hong Wen, Qian Tong was naturally clear about his intentions and nodded with a sneer, “Yes, so Nephew Yang should be careful not to contract any enmity with others. However, if someone dares to bully you, there’s no need to act leniently. Whatever the consequences, this old master will handle it for you.”
“Then I will thank Senior in advance,” Yang Kai also sneered, if Xie Hong Wen restrained himself in the Flowing Flame Sand Field, ignoring him wouldn’t be a problem, but if he dared seek vengeance, Yang Kai would not show mercy a second time, not killing him last time was simply out of consideration for Qian Tong’s face.
Qian Tong also seemed a little annoyed. After all, he had spent quite a lot of effort last time to save Xie Hong Wen’s life, yet this idiot not only did not appreciate it but instead had bore a grudge.
If he insisted on bringing destruction down upon himself, Qian Tong was disinclined to care about him.
“That fool isn’t eligible to enter Flowing Flame Sand Field, my Shadow Moon Hall wouldn’t give a quota to such a waste.” For some unknown reason, Qian Tong continued whispering to Yang Kai, “But his father spent a high price to purchase three quotas from a small family affiliated with Shadow Moon Hall, to allow him to enter. Those two Third Order Saint Kings are just disciples of their Xie Family, they have no relationship with my Shadow Moon Hall.”
Naturally, Qian Tong meant there was no issue with killing them.
What surprised Yang Kai, however, was that the quotas to enter the Flowing Flame Sand Field could be bought and sold, something he immediately asked about.
Qian Tong simply laughed, “Naturally they are transferable, the allocation of quotas is determined in advance by all the great forces, and they are then distributed to the qualified forces, but how they handle them is their business.”
“Doesn’t that mean that as long as there is a force with enough courage and means, they can send in a far larger number of people than their assigned quota?” Yang Kai immediately thought of something.
“Indeed, but that being said, the Flowing Flame Sand Field is too dangerous, so how could those smaller forces dare to send in too many of their elites? Once their losses reach a certain point, their very foundation will become damaged which will be extremely detrimental to their development. But Nephew Yang thinking is correct, in addition to the fifty quotas my Shadow Moon Hall is assigned, we also purchased twenty more from smaller families. In other words, there are a total of seventy disciples from my Shadow Moon Hall participating this time.”
“I see,” Yang Kai nodded lightly.
“There are many things to pay attention to in the Flowing Flame Sand Field. Last time Nephew Yang was in a hurry so this old man did not have time to explain all of them to you, so I suggest you travel together with Gu Chang and Xuan’er so they can pass this information along to you. If there is anything Nephew Yang is uncertain about, don’t hesitate to ask them,” Qian Tong exhorted.
“Okay,” Yang Kai smiled slightly, knowing that this was done intentionally by Qian Tong to create an opportunity for Wei Gu Chang and Dong Xuan’er to establish a good relationship with him, so naturally he wouldn’t refuse.
As the two were talking, they arrived in front of the Space Array where Qian Tong beckoned to Wei Gu Chang and Dong Xuan’er.
“You two head out first with Yang Kai. You don’t have to wait for the rest of us in Calm River City, just proceed to the Flowing Flame Sand Field. Your Martial Uncle Wang and Martial Uncle Yan are already waiting there for you. When you arrive, they will give you further instructions. This old master will lead the rest of our group to meet up with you later.”
“Yes,” Wei Gu Chang nodded respectfully before smiling towards Yang Kai, “Greeting, Brother Yang.”
His attitude this time was many times better than previously; obviously he had been carefully advised by Qian Tong. Dong Xuan’er also gave an elegant greeting.
Yang Kai returned the greeting in kind before the three of them stepped onto the Space Array.
The Space Array had already been prepared and was simply waiting for its passengers to board before activating.
The Shadow Moon Hall disciple who was managing the Space Array saw the three youths stand ready and quickly activated the Spirit Array. A white light flashed and the three disappeared. Qian Tong then began arranging for the others to use the Space Array.
This Space Array could only transmit up to five people at once, so transmitting nearly two hundred people would take an hour or two.
On the other side, Yang Kai only felt a slight bit of vertigo before he recovered, finding himself in another hall.
There was also a Space Array in this hall. Yang Kai couldn’t identify which force the disciple guarding this Space Array was from, but after seeing the three of them appearing, this disciple quickly asked, “Are you from Shadow Moon Hall?”
Wei Gu Chang nodded and took out a token from his sleeve, handing it over to the man. The man briefly examined this token before nodding and returning it.
Outside the hall, Wei Gu Chang said, “Brother Yang, please follow us. This is Calm River City is about a million kilometres away from Heavenly Fate City, but we’ll still need to fly for a day or two to reach the Flowing. Edge of Flame Sand Field.”
“Please lead the way, Brother Wei,” Yang Kai nodded, he wasn’t familiar with the geography of Shadowed Star, so he naturally allowed Wei Gu Chang to take the lead.
Wei Gu Chang nodded before quickly summoning his Star Shuttle, hopping aboard, then stretching out his hand towards Dong Xuan’er.
Dong Xuan’er’s face flushed slightly, shooting him a slightly angry look, as if blaming him for acting so boldly in front of others.
Wei Gu Chang simply laughed though, “Brother Yang is not an outsider, what is there to be shy about?”
Dong Xuan’er knew she couldn’t dissuade him, so stretched out her hand and allowed Wei Gu Chang to pull her up onto the Star Shuttle.
Yang Kai couldn’t help feeling a bit impressed. This kind of scene made him feel a little warm and his perception of Wei Gu Chang and Dong Xuan’er changed quite a bit. Immediately after, he too summoned his Star Shuttle.
Two blue lights flashed and the trio flew off, quickly leaving Calm River City.
Like Yang Kai, Wei Gu Chang’s Star Shuttle was Saint King Grade High-Rank, so even if it was carrying an additional person, its speed didn’t drop much.
Wei Gu Chang had only just left Calm River City when he began to speak, “Elder Qian said that Brother Yang doesn’t know much about Flowing Flame Sand Field. If Brother Yang has anything he wishes to ask, this Wei will be happy to answer.”
Yang Kai truly had some things to ask, and since Wei Gu Chang had offered, he would certainly not hold back, “I only know that we need to pass through some special places to enter the Flowing Flame Sand Field, as for what the situation inside is like, and what needs to be paid attention to, I’m afraid I know nothing, so I must ask Brother Wei for advice.”
Seeing how polite Yang Kai was acting, Wei Gu Chang also smiled, “I don’t dare offer advice, but this Wei has indeed been given some information from his Elders so I know slightly more than Brother Yang. It’s not much, but if Brother Yang asks, I can provide at least some answers.”
He had learned from Qian Tong that Yang Kai came from the outside world, so thinking that Yang Kai probably knew nothing about the Flowing Flame Sand Field, he patiently began explaining what he knew.
Dong Xuan’er chimed in every now and then to supplement any information Wei Gu Chang missed.
Together, the Senior Brother and Junior Sister duo quickly gave Yang Kai a comprehensive briefing on the Flowing Flame Sand Field.
The Flowing Flame Sand Field was shrouded in blistering heat all year round, Origin Returning Realm masters couldn’t enter it at all and it was only at specific times that Saint Kings were able to enter.
However, the Flowing Flame Sand Field wasn’t completely covered in heat. It was actually a set of large circular rings divided into several layers.
The outermost ring was a Flame Area that was constantly shrouded in blistering heat, and the deeper one went, the hotter and more dangerous it became.
In this Flame Area, there were some precious treasures, but what was more common was precious ores. These ores had been baked by heat for many years and were extremely pure, some of them even directly useable for Artifact Refining. The quality of these ores was also extremely high, several times better than those mined outside.
The greatest danger inside the Flame Area wasn’t the unbearable heat though, but the Fire Spirit Beasts and Flowing Flame Flying Fires; these were the real threats.
Fire Spirit Beasts were a type of Fire Attribute Energy amalgamation. Once the ambient aura reached a certain concentration, it would take on a physical form that normally mirrored the appearance of Monster Beasts. Their bodies seemed both real and illusory all at once. The more solid the body was, the more powerful it would be, but regardless of the height of their strength, all of them lacked sentience. Physical and Divine Sense attacks were basically ineffective against these creatures and only Saint Qi-based attacks could destroy them.
It was best to use Ice Attribute attacks or artefacts against them. Almost everyone who entered the Flowing Flame Sand Field would prepare such artefacts.
Within the body of a Fire Spirit Beast was a valuable treasure called a Fire Crystal Stone. Fire Crystal Stones were used to refine some special pills and artefacts and when used could greatly improve the quality of the refined pill or artefact.
The Alchemy and Artifact Refining levels on Shadowed Star were stuck at Origin Grade Low-Rank, so if one wanted to refine an Origin Grade Mid-Rank pill and artefact, Fire Crystal Stones were essential.
Because of the preciousness of Fire Crystal Stones, many of the disciples sent into the Flowing Flame Sand Field by the various great forces would specifically hut Fire Spirit Beasts. Some other cultivators from small families and small forces also entered with similar thoughts, planning to reap great profits from selling Fire Crystal Stones. This kind of treasure was only available inside the Flowing Flame Sand Field and was greatly sought after by Alchemists and Artifact Refiners alike.
“If Brother Yang comes across a fully manifested Fire Spirit Beast, don’t fight against it. A completely solid Fire Spirit Beast is almost equivalent to a Ninth-Order Monster Beast, not something easy to handle,” Wei Gu Chang warned seriously.
Ninth-Order Monster Beasts were equivalent to human race Origin Returning Realm masters, Saint King naturally wouldn’t be their opponent and one accident may result in being killed.
After saying so though, Wei Gu Chang grinned and said, “But that kind of Fire Spirit Beast is incredibly rare, basically impossible to encounter.”
Yang Kai gently nodded and asked, “I understand about Fire Spirit Beasts now, but what was that Flowing Flame Flying Fire you mentioned?”
Wei Gu Chang’s expression immediately became serious again as he solemnly said, “Flowing Flame Flying Fires are far more dangerous than Fire Spirit Beasts. Fortunately, there are very few of them compared to the number of Fire Spirit Beast. Flowing Flame Flying Fires are extremely rare, and most people who enter the Flowing Flame Sand Field will never even encounter one and those who do, normally just catch a glimpse of one from a distance. But Brother Yang should not underestimate Flowing Flame Flying Fires. This strange thing is extremely fast, even faster than the speed one can spread their Divine Sense, making it extremely difficult to detect. It’s even possible for one to fly past you and you do not even notice it.”
Yang Kai couldn’t help wearing a stern expression upon hear this. Something that could move faster than one could spread their Divine Sense was worthy of attention.
“The danger isn’t just related to its incredible speed though, but rather the damage it can do! If one isn’t prepared or their strength is insufficient, once they are hit by a Flowing Flame Flying Fire their Soul will be immediately incinerated. Elder Qian told me that every time the Flowing Flame Sand Field opens, some unlucky fellows are killed by Flowing Flame Flying Fires.”
“Isn’t that simply an unavoidable disaster?” Yang Kai asked in surprise.
Wei Gu Chang laughed, “Brother Yang is right, it’s truly a misfortune impossible to guard against, but those who dare to enter the Flowing Flame Sand Field all must be psychologically prepared to bear a certain amount of risk, so if one is hit by a Flowing Flame Flying Fire and dies, they can only blame themselves.”
Suddenly, Dong Xuan’er pursed her lips and laughed, “Senior Brother, you’ve only been talking about the dangers of the Flowing Flame Flying Fire, but you’ve yet to tell Senior Brother Yang about its benefits.”
Yang Kai glanced at her in surprise, wondering what kind of benefits this Flowing Flame Flying Fire could possibly have.
Wei Gu Chang laughed and nodded, “I was just about to explain that part. Flowing Flame Flying Fires are truly frightening existences, but they are also extremely precious treasures. Brother Yang should know that some people possess Spiritual Energy with different attributes, yes?”
“Brother Wei means, cultivators with Mutated Knowledge Seas?” Yang Kai expression changed.
“Precisely. Some cultivators possess special Knowledge Seas that are filled with peculiar properties, such as the Conflagrated Knowledge Sea, the Toxic Knowledge Sea, and Frost Knowledge Sea. These Mutated Knowledge Seas differ greatly from the Knowledge Seas of ordinary cultivators and every one of them grants its possessor extraordinary powers. Needless to say, the Conflagrated Knowledge Sea is the most sought after Mutated Knowledge Sea for Alchemist and Artifact Refiners while Frost and Toxic Knowledge Seas are able to unleash incredibly potent Divine Sense attacks. Of course, Mutated Knowledge Seas are extremely rare. Some people innately posses them while others are able to acquire them by cultivating specific Secret Arts. Such Secret Arts are incredibly rare though, even my Shadow Moon Hall does not possess such a Secret Art. There are also some who are able to obtain a Mutated Knowledge Sea through some kind of fortuitous encounter.”
Yang Kai understood this point well as his own Conflagrated Knowledge Sea was obtained by accident. At that time, he had simply wanted to refine the Jade True Spirit which had been born inside a large piece of Yang Crystal Jade to enhance his strength, but through a series of coincidences he wound up with a Mutated Knowledge Sea.
Yang Kai was more aware of the wonders of a Conflagrated Knowledge Sea than anyone.
“The Flowing Flame Flying Fire is considered a precious treasure because by refining it there is a chance one can obtain a Mutated Knowledge Sea, specifically a Conflagrated Knowledge Sea,” Wei Gu Chang eyes lit up, “Brother Yang, you should know that all Alchemists and Artifact Refiners dream about obtaining a Conflagrated Knowledge Sea, so if you can capture a Flowing Flame Flying Fire, those Artifact Refiners and Alchemists would be willing to pay any price to obtain it,” Saying so, Wei Gu Chang observed Yang Kai stealthily.
Because of Qian Tong, Wei Gu Chang believed there was an Origin Grade Artifact Refiner behind Yang Kai. Since his master was a Grandmaster Artifact Refiner, there was no reason for him to not desire a Flowing Flame Flying Fire and as a disciple, Yang Kai should naturally be thinking about obtaining one to present to his master.
To his disappointment though, Yang Kai’s expression remained unchanged, as if he didn’t care about this in the slightest.
Wei Gu Chang quickly added, “Of course, trying to obtain a Mutated Knowledge Sea is not without risks. It is very likely that before one’s Knowledge Sea can mutate it will instead be burnt to ash by the Flowing Flame Flying Fire. In any case, Brother Yang should simply keep this information in the back of his head, it’s essentially impossible to encounter a Flowing Flame Flying Fire in the first place, but if you do, avoiding it should be your first priority.”
Yang Kai nodded, his face showing nothing but calm, but actually thinking to himself that if he encountered one of these things, he should try to snatch it.
A Flowing Flame Flying Fire could allow an ordinary cultivator’s Knowledge Sea to mutate into a Conflagrated Knowledge Sea but might also incinerate their Soul; however, since he already had a Conflagrated Knowledge Sea, Yang Kai probably didn’t need to worry about such negative possibilities.
“That about covers the essential information about the Flame Area. In addition to resisting the heat, one only needs to pay attention to the Fire Spirit Beasts and Flowing Flame Flying Fires. Also, the heat at the very perimeter of the Flame Area is not the same as the deeper regions. As one walks further, the heat grows more intense and more difficult to resist. However, if one can pass through the outermost Flame Area and enter the second layer, they’ll arrive at a true paradise.”
“Why do you say that?” Yang Kai suddenly became interested.
“Because the second layer is a Treasure Area, devoid of the blistering heat of the Flame Area and instead filled with precious treasures and Monster Beasts. After entering second layer, as long as one can protecting themselves from other cultivators and the few powerful Monster Beasts, they will be able to obtain a rich harvest!”
Yang Kai’s eyes lit up, “There’s also such an area?”
“Of course, otherwise the Flowing Flame Sand Field would not have such great appeal. Although there are some types of treasures which can only be found in high-temperature regions, there aren’t many of them. Without the Treasure Area, the appeal of the Flowing Flame Sand Field would be reduced by at least half,” Wei Gu Chang looked at Yang Kai with a smile, very satisfied with Yang Kai’s excited expression.
“We Senior Brother and Junior Sister pair are aiming for the Treasure Area this time, there are others from the Sect who are tasked with hunting Fire Spirit Beasts this time so there’s no need for us to spend time on that.”
Wei Gu Chang and Dong Xuan’er had extremely high status in Shadow Moon Hall, so they naturally would not be assigned these mundane hunting and killing tasks. While their Junior Brothers and Junior Sisters took care of that, the two of them were responsible for obtaining as much as possible from the Treasure Area.
This was the case not only in Shadow Moon Hall, but also among the other great forces. Disciples from these Sects would split up with more than half assigned to hunt Fire Spirit Beasts in the Flame Area for Flame Crystal Stones while the elites would head for the Treasure Area to look for precious treasures and search for their own opportunities.
“So the Flowing Flame Sand Field is divided into two layers?” Yang Kai was surprised by this news.
“More than two actually,” Wei Gu Chang shook his head, “If one continued deeper into the Treasure Area, they will come across a second Flame Area. The second Flame Area is far more dangerous than the outermost Flame Area though and Elder Qian has strictly prohibited us from entering it.”
“Since there is a second Flame Area, is there a second Treasure Area?” Yang Kai expression changed.
“That’s not clear as no one from my Shadow Moon Hall has ever made it through the second Flame Area, many elite disciple have tried but all of them died; even other great forces like Heaven Battling Union, Thunder Typhoon Sect, and Star Emperor Sect probably don’t know what the situation inside is like.”
“So that means everyone is concentrated in the two outermost layers?”
“You could say that, but Brother Yang does not need to worry, that damned place is enormous and without using some special communication methods, it’s even possible to not encounter anyone the half a year period.”
“Why half a year?”
“Right, I forgot to tell Brother Yang that each time the Flowing Flame Sand Field will only open for half a year. Once the half-year deadline is reached, everyone will be sent out, no one can stay inside any longer. In addition, it’s impossible to use Star Shuttles or even fly inside. If we want to move around, we have to depend on our respective movement skills to increase our speed, this is actually the most frustrating point,” Wei Gu Chang shook his head and said, looking slightly dissatisfied.
If it weren’t for the inexplicable power which made it impossible to fly, those who entered the Flowing Flame Sand Field would be able to reap many more times the benefits.
Hearing this though, Yang Kai was secretly pleased.
He didn’t know about what methods others had to boost their speed, but he actually had his Wind and Thunder Wings. Although the Wind and Thunder Wings were mainly used for flying, they would dramatically increase his speed even if he was simply running.
The only question now was whether he would be able to use his Wind and Thunder Wings inside. It wasn’t a flight type artefact so its use shouldn’t be restricted, but Yang Kai would have to wait until he entered to test them out.
“Also, Brother Yang should know that although we will enter the Flowing Flame Sand Field from the same entrance, the place we will be sent to is somewhat random, which is why each of us must bring a special communication artefact if we wish to find one another inside.”
When Wei Gu Chang said these words, Dong Xuan’er immediately took out a communication artefact from her Space Ring and handed it to Yang Kai.
Communication artefacts were refined in sets and generally speaking, there would only be seven or eight such artefacts in a set. Of course, there was no upper limit, but why would any Artifact Refiner go through the trouble of making so many copies?
Each communication artefact could only pass messages to another communication artefact of the same set, so there was no need to worry about an outsider secretly eavesdropping on one’s communications.
Qian Tong had given Yang Kai a communication artefact last time, but that was only useful for sending messages between the two of them. The one Dong Xuan’er had just handed him was different. Yang Kai also had a communication artefact he could use to contact Wu Yi and Yang Yan. There were several such artefacts in Yang Kai’s Space Ring.
Although Yang Kai had no intention to act together with Wei Gu Chang and the others, he still accepted the communication artefact and stuffed it into his Space Ring.
“Junior Sister, did I miss anything?” Wei Gu Chang asked Dong Xuan’er, worried he might have overlooked something that would cause Yang Kai to run into danger inside.
“I don’t believe so,” Dong Xuan’er shook her head lightly.
“Then that’s that for now. If Brother Yang thinks up anything else to ask, don’t hesitate to,” Wei Gu Chang smiled.
“Of course.”
Wei Gu Chang was actually quite a talkative person and after gradually getting acquainted with Yang Kai, the topics he brought up also increased. From the distribution of the great forces on Shadowed Star to the well-known talents of the younger generation, Wei Gu Chang clearly and eloquently described them all, allowing Yang Kai to benefit a lot.
He also intentionally or unintentionally tried to bring up the topic of the outside world, but whenever he did, Yang Kai would subtly steer the conversation away from it.
After failing two or three times in this approach, Wei Gu Chang no longer mentioned it.
He thought Yang Kai didn’t want to discuss the greater wonders of the outside world, but the truth was that Yang Kai simply didn’t know much about it in the first place. Since entering the Star Field, he had only ever been to Water Moon Star and Rainfall Star, both of which belonged to Heng Luo Chamber of Commerce, so he had no knowledge of the Star Field’s other locations or great forces.
Dong Xuan’er, on the other hand, had a quiet demeanour. Most of the time she was quietly meditating, occasionally revealing the look of a happy young woman, as if being embraced by Wei Gu Chang like this was all that mattered to her.
One day later, Yang Kai clearly felt that the temperature in the air rise and the landscape down below also became more barren, the forests giving way to a reddish-brown dessert that became hotter and more desolate the further they flew.
The Flowing Flame Sand Field had existed on Shadowed Star for innumerable years and the scorching temperatures it gave off had already affected the surrounding environment.
At a certain moment, Yang Kai lifted his eyes and stared off into the distance to see a glowing red region on the horizon that was giving off such intense heat that the air around it had become distorted.
“That’s the edge of the Flowing Flame Sand Field,” Wei Gu Chang pointed to the dark red energy curtain up ahead and said in a dignified tone, “From the looks of it, it should be a few more days until the Flowing Flame Sand Field officially opens.”
“Is there any way to tell?” Yang Kai asked.
“The changing colour of the energy curtain is the most obvious way. When it turns into a light shade of red, we can enter through the entrances. But now, anyone who tries to enter will die!” Wei Gu Chang breathed in lightly as a look of dread flashed across his face.
After flying for a while longer, the trio finally arrived roughly fifty kilometer outside the Flowing Flame Sand Field. At this time, there were already around five hundred people gathered. These people were divided up into groups of different sizes and were occupying good spots to sit in meditation and save up their strength. It seemed that they had all arrived here early to wait for the Flowing Flame Sand Field to open. When these people noticed Yang Kai and his group arriving, many of them couldn’t help turning to check them out.
The people here were mostly Saint Kings, with a few Origin Returning Realm masters scattered amongst them, likely Elders here leading their respective forces’ teams.
However, at the forward-most position there was a distinct group of Origin Realm masters standing at the edge of the Flowing Flame Sand Field, seemingly observing the changes in the energy curtain diligently.
This group of masters were representatives from Shadowed Star’s most powerful Sects and many of them were in the Third Order Origin Realm. Many of them had been here for months or even half a year so they could pass information about the Flowing Flame Sand Field back to their respective Sects as quickly as possible, allowing their forces to prepare early.
Shadow Moon Hall was located quite far from here, so naturally, it had come later than others. After the trio landed, they simply found an empty place to occupy.
Wei Gu Chang glanced around for a moment before saying, “Brother Yang, you wait here, Junior Sister and I need to go greet the Martial Uncles from our Sect, lest they complain about us being ill-mannered.”
“Brother Wei doesn’t need to concern himself with me,” Yang Kai nodded lightly.
Wei Gu Chang and Dong Xuan’er summoned their Star Shuttles again before flying off in a certain direction, disappearing a moment later.
Yang Kai didn’t pay them any mind and instead began looking around at his surroundings. The cultivators who had come here were all in groups, the smallest of which only had twenty members while others were similar to Shadow Moon Hall and had around fifty gathered in one place.
Many of the people here were also looking at Yang Kai with curiosity, but the majority of these people’s faces were filled with disdain.
Yang Kai’s cultivation was too low, and he had arrived here with only Wei Gu Chang and Dong Xuan’er, so it was easy for others to mistakenly think they were from a small family force only capable of sending out three people, similar to the small forces attached to Shadow Moon Hall.
Yang Kai had only just sat down when a pair of people leisurely walked over and stood in front of him, looking down at him condescendingly.
Yang Kai saw that these two had come from a group that had around thirty people in it. Being able to have thirty entry quotas for the Flowing Flame Sand Field meant that, while incomparable to Shadow Moon Hall, the force these two came from was not small.
And it wasn’t just these two, many people from other groups had also stood up and were clearly planning to approach him, but these two young men just happened to be the fastest, so the others could only temporarily stand where they were and observe.
[Why are they looking for me?] Yang Kai was puzzled.
The two men in front of him were both young, probably in their thirties or forties, with one of them having reached the Third Order Saint King Realm while the other was just a First Order Saint King. Neither of them seemed to be particularly wicked, but the Third Order Saint King had a number of scars on his face, giving him a somewhat fierce impression.
“Friend,” The man with scars on his face bluntly called out, “Are you also planning to enter the Flowing Flame Sand Field?”
Although there was nothing wrong with what this young man asked, Yang Kai could clearly hear the snide disdain in his tone.
The other man behind the one who spoke was staring at Yang Kai fixedly, as if Yang Kai had something he very much wanted.
Yang Kai didn’t want to talk to these two, but this time he had come here together with Shadow Moon Hall, so if any kind of conflict started, it might make things difficult for Qian Tong, so after thinking about it for a moment, he patiently nodded and replied, “Yes.”
The man grinned, “You’re not very strong, entering will be quite dangerous.”
“That’s for me to worry about,” Yang Kai vaguely guessed what these two wanted; after all, Qian Tong had said that quotas to enter the Flowing Flame Sand Field could be transferred.
The others who had stood up just now probably had similar intentions, but this scarred man had managed to act faster than any of them could.
Sure enough, the man with the scars shook his head and said, “I’m telling you this for your own good. I saw there was only three of you, and that man and the woman seem to be a couple, so after going inside they probably won’t care about you and there’s a good chance you’ll die a miserable death.”
He was speaking in hyperbole and wore an exaggerated look of concern on his face, as if he was truly worried about Yang Kai’s safety; however, when he saw Yang Kai’s expression remain completely indifferent and unafraid, the scarred man couldn’t help annoyed and got straight to the point, “I have a business proposition for you, are you interested?”
“No,” Yang Kai refused decisively. Now that he knew what they wanted to do, Yang Kai was too lazy to talk to them anymore.
“Don’t be in a hurry to refuse,” The scarred man grinned as he squatted down and whispering, “Friend, you see, just entering the Flowing Flame Sand Field will put your life at risk. In the end, you want to go in to obtains some benefits right? I have a proposition that will let you obtain some benefits without worry about your life.”
Saying so, he retrieved an artefact from his Space Ring and handed it to Yang Kai, “This is a Saint King Grade Low-Rank artefact, its quality is quite good. I’ll give it to you, I believe that after friend refines it, your strength will definitely rise a lot. En, of course, I’m not giving it away for free, I want your entry pass in exchange.”
“What’s an entry pass?” Yang Kai asked in confusion.
“It’s the pass that lets you enter the Flowing Flame Sand Field, don’t try to act dumb!” The First Order Saint King who had been staring at Yang Kai with scorching eyes suddenly shouted.
“There’s such a thing?” Yang Kai frowned. He really hadn’t heard anything about this from Wei Gu Chang and Qian Tong hadn’t mentioned it either.
Seeing Yang Kai’s dazed look, the scarred man thought he was feigning ignorance and couldn’t help sneering, “Friend should not reject this face-saving offer. My Junior Brother just wants to join our Flowing Flame Sand Field expedition, unfortunately, my Blue Sparrow Sect doesn’t have enough quotas. Your quota, however, can solve this problem for us. Besides, it’s not like I’m trying to take your entry pass for nothing, haven’t I already given you a precious artefact?”
“You want to buy my entry pass for a mere Saint King Grade Low-Rank artefact?” Yang Kai sneered, “Forget about whether I have this entry pass thing you’re talking about or not, even if I did, I wouldn’t sell it to you.”
“Does friend intend to refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit? Can you show me your Space Ring?” The scar-faced man also gloomily.
“You want to see my Space Ring? Do you have the ability?” Yang Kai expression went cold.
Each cultivator’s Space Ring was their most private of possessions. In general, it would be impossible for others to make such a rude request. The words of this scarred man-made Yang Kai enraged, it was no different from having directly slapped his face.
“Senior Brother, don’t talk nonsense with him, just snatch it, he wouldn’t dare try to fight back,” The First Order Saint King cultivator seemed incredibly keen on entering the Flowing Flame Sand Field and couldn’t help urging the scarred man on.
Seeing the scarred man still looking a little hesitant, this First Order Saint King actually stepped forward and grabbed towards Yang Kai’s Space Ring.
Yang Kai’s patience had already reached its limit. These two men had been saying whatever they wanted in front of him while trying to rob him under the guise of doing business, it was truly repugnant. So, seeing the First Order Saint King try to grab him, Yang Kai didn’t evade and instead seized the other party’s outstretched hand.
How could a trivial First Order Saint King avoid Yang Kai’s attack? Caught completely off guard, this man soon found his hand inexplicably grasped by the opponent he had been looking down on a moment ago.
Before this man could even figure out what was happening, a startling cracking sound rang out. Looking down, this man saw that his arm had been twisted into an impossible angle by the other party. Severe pain suddenly hit him and he let out a terrible scream as great beads of sweat began dripping from his forehead.
“You dare!” The scarred man didn’t react until he heard this scream, but seeing his Junior Brother suffer such a big loss, he immediately pushed his Saint Qi and punched towards Yang Kai’s face.
This fist was filled with vigorous strength and from the spot he was targeting, it was obvious he wanted to kill Yang Kai.
Before this punch could reach him though, Yang Kai directly dragged the scarred man’s Junior Brother into its path.
The scarred man saw this, panicked, and tried to withdraw his strength but was only able to take back about half of it.
With a muffled thud, that Junior Brother was knocked to the ground twitching, his body curled up and his face paled.
Before the scarred man could recover his stance, Yang Kai sent a punch straight into his face.
With another muffled thud, the scarred man was sent flying through the air, tumbling a few times before cratering heavily, throwing up a cloud of dust.
This man was a Third Order Saint King, so if not for his Junior Brother being injured just now, disrupting his focus greatly, he would not have so easily been beaten by Yang Kai, at the very least he would have been able to exchange a few moves.
However, his negligence allowed Yang Kai’s plan to succeed.
This incident happened far too rapidly, with less than a breath of time passing between when the First Order Saint King cultivator was caught by Yang Kai to the time the scarred man hit the ground.
This made the other cultivators who had been secretly paying attention to the movement here gasp as they stared with dumbstruck looks.
Had this First Order Saint King defeated a Third Order Saint King in a single move? Even if the latter had been somewhat careless, wasn’t something like this still impossible?
“Which family does that boy come from? How is he so fierce?”
“Fortunately, I wasn’t the one to jump out just now, otherwise I’m afraid I’d be the one lying there instead of Yin Jian.”
“It’s over for this kid though. Although his strength clearly isn’t normal, he must be brain dead to hit Yin Jian in front of so many Blue Sparrow Sect disciples. Even his family won’t survive this!”
Whispers spread amongst the surrounding crowd instantly.
The nearly thirty disciples from Blue Sparrow Sect all wore cold expressions as they stood up together and glared towards Yang Kai, rapidly moving to surround him.
From the Blue Sparrow Sect group, only an old man at the Second-Order Origin Returning Realm remained in place as he glanced over grimly towards this scene. Although he would not lower his own status to deal with this matter personally, he also didn’t stop his disciples from seeking vengeance.
Obviously, he intended to let his disciples teach Yang Kai a lesson.
In the blink of an eye, Yang Kai had been surrounded by thirty people. These people all stared at him menacingly, many of them laughing lowly, their voices sounding quite gloomy.
The scarred man named Yin Jian climbed up from the ground with difficulty, his expression still filled with a look of shock. He hadn’t imagined he would suffer such a big loss at Yang Kai’s hand, so after getting to his feet, his face couldn’t help going from blue to white.
The other First Order Saint King whose arm had been broken by Yang Kai was in a far worse condition though, still howling in pain as he kneeled nearby.
“Stop!” Yin Jian shouted angrily, stopping his fellow disciples from attacking Yang Kai, his eyes blurring with aggressive light as murderous intent pulsed from his body.
Naturally he had to wash this shame away himself in order to recover his face.
“Boy, you really have guts! Father here only wanted to do some honest business with you, but rather than discussing things like a honest man you actually dared to launch a sneak attack,” Yin Jian cracked his neck and shouted, treating his loss just now as a result of his own carelessness and Yang Kai’s deviousness rather than him being weaker than his opponent.
Sure enough, after he said these words, many people who were watching showed looks of comprehension, thinking that Yin Jian had suffered a loss just now only because he had been sneak attacked.
“Business?” Yang Kai sneered, his expression growing cold as he shouted loudly, “Buying and selling by compulsion is your idea of ‘honest business’?”
An unnatural expression flashed on Yin Jian’s face and he decided to no longer continue arguing over this issue, instead just coldly snorting and declaring, “Don’t talk nonsense boy! You dared to hurt me and my Junior Brother, so today I will surely cripple you!”
Saying so, Yin Jian pushed his Saint Qi fully and summoned out a broadsword artifact.
Having taken Yang Kai’s fist just now, Yin Jian understood that there was something off about this First Order Saint King, so he had immediately summoned his artefact, hoping to end this battle as quickly as possible to avoid suffering another embarrassment at Yang Kai’s hands. If he were to suffer another loss, no amount of words would be enough to cover his incompetence.
This kid was a trivial disciple from some unknown small family, without any Elders present to lead or protect him, so even if Yin Jian killed him here, at most Blue Sparrow Sect would have to pay some Saint Crystals to settle the matter. It might even be possible to brush this matter off entirely if this kid’s background was small enough.
Yin Jian had not placed the force behind Yang Kai in his eyes at all.
But before Yin Jian could launch his attack, a burst of laughter came from afar, “Interesting, this Wei had only left for a moment, yet someone actually came over and is now trying to ride atop my Shadow Moon Hall’s head?”
“Shadow Moon Hall?” Yin Jian was startled and quickly swept Yang Kai up and down, a flurried look appearing on his face.
The thirty or so disciples of Blue Sparrow Sects surrounding Yang Kai also went pale.
Not far away, Wei Gu Chang, who was surrounded by a dark mist, strode forward, a pitch-black ball of energy casually being tossed about with his hand like some kind of toy. This black ball of energy clearly contained a fearful amount of power though.
A suffocating amount of pressure emanated from him, causing the faces of the disciples from Blue Sparrow Sect to all turn incomparably ugly.
Dong Xuan’er followed closely behind him and also seemed to have a kind of inexplicable energy flowing about her, a faint wind caressing her tender body adding a hint of radiance to her beautiful appearance.
“Are you from Shadow Moon Hall?” Yin Jian no longer dared to underestimate Yang Kai as he asked quickly.
“Although it has nothing to do with you, I’ll still tell you. I’m not from Shadow Moon Hall,” Yang Kai stared at him mockingly, “If you want to fight, just fight, you don’t need to worry about Shadow Moon Hall retaliating.”
A moment ago, Yin Jian was behaving extremely domineeringly, but as soon as Wei Gu Chang said the words ‘Shadow Moon Hall’, he immediately became like a mouse who saw a cat.
Listening to the ridicule in Yang Kai’s words, Yin Jian’s complexion became ugly. Although he was incredibly angry on the inside, he didn’t dare to openly display hostility towards Yang Kai anymore.
Wei Gu Chang brought Dong Xuan’er together with him and the Blue Sparrow Sect disciple in front of him involuntarily parted, allowing him to easily walk over to Yang Kai.
“Brother Yang, are you okay?” Wei Gu Chang looked at Yang Kai and found him unharmed, allowing him to feel relieved.
Although Qian Tong had said Yang Kai had killed a cultivator at the Third Order Saint King, that was nothing but hearsay, seeing was believing. Wei Gu Chang didn’t know the true extent of Yang Kai’s strength, but seeing him here surrounding by thirty people yet not showing the slightest sign of anxiety, Wei Gu Chang was secretly surprised.
Without real ability, it would be impossible to remain so indifferent; was Yang Kai confident he could escape from the siege of thirty Saint Kings?
“Brother Wei arrived a little early,” Yang Kai slowly shook his head.
Wei Gu Chang was surprised once more, suddenly discovering that Yang Kai was not the peaceful type. In fact, he still seemed eager to fight it out with these disciples from Blue Sparrow Sect.
“Wei Gu Chang, he’s Wei Gu Chang!” Among the Blue Sparrow Sect disciples in the surrounding, someone who recognized Wei Gu Chang couldn’t help shouting.
Although none of these Blue Sparrow Sect disciples had ever met him, Wei Gu Chang had openly declared he was from Shadow Moon Hall while announcing his surname as Wei. Coupled with his Saint King Realm cultivation and incredible imposing manner, he could only be Wei Gu Chang.
On top of that, it was well known that Wei Gu Chang from Shadow Moon Hall was always together with a woman named Dong Xuan’er, so seeing the beautiful yet equally powerful woman beside him, if the people from Blue Sparrow Sect couldn’t guess Wei Gu Chang’s identity, then they’d really be blind.
Among Shadowed Star’s young generation, Fang Tian Zhong, Qu Chang Feng, Yin Su Die, Wei Gu Chang, Dong Xuan’er, and a few other outstanding talents had world-shaking reputations. However, Wei Gu Chang wasn’t like Qu Chang Feng who liked to show off and was usually very low-key, so many even among Shadow Moon Hall’s disciples had only heard his name but never met him.
This did nothing to hinder the deterrence his name carried though.
After knowing that this person was Wei Gu Chang, Yin Jian’s expression fluctuated wildly as his mouth filled with bitterness.
If he had known this information earlier, how could he have brought his Junior Brother over to Yang Kai to try to buy his entry pass? He would have avoided him at mere sight. How could he deliver himself up to be humiliated?
Unlike the annoyance and bitterness Yin Jian was feeling, the other cultivators who had previously been thinking of trying to buy Yang Kai’s entry pass were currently rejoicing. All of them were grateful Yin Jian had acted so swiftly; otherwise the ones suffering this embarrassment would not be Blue Sparrow Sect but themselves.
“Brother Yang, what happened?” Wei Gu Chang asked curiously. He really had just left with Dong Xuan’er a moment ago to greet their Martial Uncles Wang and Yan, but the moment they returned they saw Yang Kai surrounded.
Yang Kai didn’t seem like the type to look for trouble, so how did this situation come to be?
“It’s nothing much, this guy just brought his Junior Brother over to buy my entry pass for the Flowing Flame Sand Field. Brother Wei, what is this entry pass thing, why didn’t you mention it before?” Yang Kai looked at Wei Gu Chang curiously.
“Ah… Sorry, I forgot about that,” Wei Gu Chang scratched his head and apologized, “But you can’t blame me, I hadn’t gotten the entry passes yet, they’re being kept by Elder Qian right now. When he comes here, he will distribute them to everyone. When the Flowing Flame Sand Field opens, anyone who wants to enter through the entrances will need to present an entry pass otherwise the Seniors on guard won’t allow them though. These entry passes were specially manufactured by masters from the various great forces so they’re impossible to counterfeit or copy. Right, in addition to the entry pass that Elder Qian will later distribute, he will also give each of us something called a Yuan Magnetic Compass. After entering the Flowing Flame Sand Field, we’ll need to depend on that thing to determine our direction.”
“I see,” Yang Kai nodded lightly.
Something Wei Gu Chang wasn’t responsible for wasn’t something Yang Kai would expect him to tell him about. Additionally, it didn’t seem to be something important in the short term, so he didn’t think much of this. After Qian Tong arrived Yang Kai would have naturally understood.
As the two of them were chatting, the disciples of Blue Sparrow Sect felt incredibly uncomfortable.
These few obviously didn’t put them in their eyes, otherwise, how could they casually be discussing entry passes and Yuan Magnetic Compasses while ignoring them?
Waiting for Wei Gu Chang and Yang Kai to finish talking, Yin Jian struggled to cup his fists and politely said, “Originally, it was Brother Gu Chang from Shadow Moon Hall…”
“Did I allow you to call me Brother Gu Chang?” Wei Gu Chang interrupted him immediately, displaying an overbearing arrogance that caused Yin Jian’s face to twitch and flush red, but even so, the latter didn’t dare to complain.
Although both of them were Third Order Saint Kings, Yin Jian knew that if he really fought Wei Gu Chang, he would only last a few moves before being defeated. All of these famous young talents possessed such extraordinary ability.
So, Yin Jian also had some self-knowledge.
Yin Jian was the top disciple among Blue Sparrow Sect’s younger generation, and although his reputation wasn’t as prominent as that of Wei Gu Chang, he was indeed qualified to call him Brother Gu Chang. Every time he had dealt with geniuses from other great forces he had addressed them as such, and no one had raised a fuss.
However, Wei Gu Chang didn’t give him the slightest bit of face this time, causing Yin Jian to feel quite embarrassed. Gritting his teeth he tried again, “Brother Wei…”
“Were you the one who just said you would surely cripple Brother Yang?” Wei Gu Chang stared at Yin Jian coldly, the accusatory tone in his voice clear to any who heard it.
Qian Tong had made him travel ahead with Yang Kai in order to give him a chance to form a good relationship, but Wei Gu Chang had never expected that the moment he let Yang Kai out of his sight, trouble would find him, annoying him greatly. Naturally, Wei Gu Chang had no intention of simply letting this matter drop, if he couldn’t even handle such a minor incident, he wouldn’t be eligible to associate with Yang Kai.
“It was just a misunderstanding. If I had known this friend was from Shadow Moon Hall…”
“I said I’m not from Shadow Moon Hall,” Yang Kai interrupted him again.
Yin Jian’s face turned red, really not knowing what to say. In front of thirty of his Junior Brothers and Junior Sisters, humbling himself in front of Wei Gu Chang was already a massive loss of face, but how could he have anticipated that these people would actually be so relentless? Yin Jian quickly understood that if he couldn’t show enough sincerity here, he wouldn’t be able to resolve this situation peacefully.
Choking down his anger and depression, Yin Jian declared, “This time, it was this Yin’s mistake. This Yin had eyes but failed to see, I ask Brother Wei and this friend to not haggle over this matter!”
Saying so, he cupped his fists quickly before turning around and trying to lead his Sect Brothers and Sisters far away from this troublesome place.
“You think you can just swagger over then waltz off as you please?” Wei Gu Chang coldly snorted, he most despised this kind of man who could bully the weak but feared the strong. If Yin Jian had dared to fight against him, perhaps he would have been willing to let him off, but this fellow who only knew how to bluff and bluster could only elicit disdain from Wei Gu Chang.
In comparison, Yang Kai who was able to calmly stand his ground even when surrounded by thirty people was worthy of his admiration.
Yin Jian froze in place, his fists clenched tightly as blue veins popped up on his forehead, gritting his teeth as he squeezed out his voice, “What more does Brother Wei want? My Junior Brother’s arm was already broken by this friend here and I took a punch to my face while your friend hasn’t suffered any loss, no?”
“Hasn’t suffered any loss? I doubt that; after all, you were all surrounding him by the time I arrived. Even if Brother Yang didn’t suffer any physical harm, what about the psychological trauma and fear he must have suffered?”
Yang Kai maintained an indifferent face as he nodded slightly.
The several dozen disciples from Blue Sparrow Sect all gawked when they heard this.
This person was frightened? Clearly he was completely fearless, the type to not even blink if a blade was resting on his neck, so how could he now claim to have been afraid? Obviously, Wei Gu Chang was shamelessly speaking nonsense.
However, even if they knew Wei Gu Chang and Yang Kai were acting out a bad play, no one dared question them. Knowing these two were deliberately looking for trouble, who would be stupid enough to jump into the fiery pit they opened?
“Brother Yang, it must have been terrifying,” Wei Gu Chang turned to Yang Kai with a serious look and said in a forlorn tone.
“Brother Wei, just name a price, this Yin will not decline,” Yin Jian sighed helplessly, his left eye completely bloodshot, possibly from rage or possibly because of Yang Kai’s punch just now.
“One million Saint Crystals!” Wei Gu Chang didn’t beat around the bush any further and immediately sent out a number.
“Brother Wei, don’t go too far!” Yin Jian grimaced and gritted his teeth, “Do you really expected me to just be able to take out a million Saint Crystals?”
Blue Sparrow Sect was indeed a powerful force, but it was impossible for Yin Jian to be carrying so many Saint Crystals on him all the time.
“You don’t even have a trivial million Saint Crystals, yet you wanted to buy Brother Yang’s entry pass? Is the space between your ears filled with nothing but hot air?”
Yang Kai shot a glance over at Wei Gu Chang in surprise, suddenly discovering that this guy wasn’t as calm and straightforward as his appearance portrayed. In fact, he was quite ruthless and sinister, with a tricky, forked tongue. It reminded Yang Kai to not rush to judge a person by their face.
Yang Kai began wondering what Wei Gu Chang was like when he was alone with Dong Xuan’er. From how quiet and temperate she seemed; Yang Kai estimated Dong Xuan’er had eaten quite a few losses at his hands.
Yin Jian felt like flames are about to spout from his nostrils and from his exasperated expression it was clear he wanted to simply fight it out with Wei Gu Chang.
Some of the other Blue Sparrow Sect disciples turned their attention towards a different direction, seeking help from the Second Order Origin Returning Realm Elder who had escorted them here. However, this old man remained where he was with an ugly look on his face; although he noticed his Sect’s disciples silently begging for rescue, he didn’t show any intention of meddling.
Blue Sparrow Sect was truly in the wrong here, but fortunately, it had simply been a conflict between the younger generation up until now; however, if an old man like him was to step in, that would go against the unwritten customs of such situations. Blue Sparrow Sect had Origin Returning Realm masters here, but Shadow Moon Hall also had some.
If he really dared to step forward, it would only make the situation worse.
Therefore, even if he felt deep anger in his heart, he could only stand there and watch from a distance. This was not a matter he could easily intervene in.
“Then how many Saint Crystals do you have?” Wei Gu Chang hurried the conversation along.
Yin Jian glanced around at his Junior Brothers and Sisters, quickly exchanging a few words with them before dejectedly saying, “Five hundred thousand!”
Wei Gu Chang glanced over at Yang Kai, with the latter indifferently saying, “Fine then, half a million, it should barely be enough to make up for the wounds on my heart.”
Naturally, Yang Kai wouldn’t care about a trivial five hundred thousand Saint Crystals, but since these people from Blue Sparrow Sect dared to provoke him, they had to pay a certain price. Him not immediately slaughtering these people was already the best result possible, as for these people’s loss of face, since Wei Gu Chang didn’t pay it any mind, neither would Yang Kai.
When Yin Jian brought his Junior Brother to buy his entry pass by compulsion, did he give a single thought to Yang Kai’s face? Fortunately, his skill could not be judged by common sense; had Yang Kai been an ordinary cultivator from a small family, Yin Jian would have robbed him of his pass already.
“Half a million then, hurry up!” Wei Gu Chang shouted, snorting with discontent, “You’d best be thankful for Brother Yang’s magnanimity, letting you off for a trivial half-million Saint Crystals. If it were me, if I didn’t leave here with all your underpants, I would no longer be called Wei Gu Chang!”
Immediately after he spoke these words, Wei Gu Chang’s face cramped up noticeably.
Before anyone had noticed, Dong Xuan’er had appeared by his side and ruthlessly pinched the soft meat around his waist, her face blushing bright red as she scolded, “Can you not speak more properly? There are many female disciples among them.”
Not only was Dong Xuan’er blushing, the dozen or so female disciples from Blue Sparrow Sect were also blushing, many of them shooting glares filled with resentment towards Wei Gu Chang.
Blue Sparrow Sect’s thirty disciples took quite a while to collect the required five hundred thousand Saint Crystals; after all, all of them had come here to explore the Flowing Flame Sand Field which was filled with danger and crisis, naturally, they wouldn’t be carrying too many Saint Crystals on them. The Saint Crystals they were carrying were only meant to for restoring themselves inside the Flowing Flame Sand Field.
After delivering the half-million Saint Crystals to Yang Kai, Yin Jian and the others hurriedly left.
“A pack of gutless rats!” Wei Gu Chang looked at the backs of this group of people and shook his head dismissively.
“Hmm… well, this matter is settled, there’s no need to bother with them anymore,” Dong Xuan’er said softly, deftly changing the topic, “Didn’t you bring your favourite Fine Jade Wine to entertain Senior Brother Yang this time? Since we’ve arrived here so early, you might as well take it out.”
“Right, if Junior Sister hadn’t mentioned it, I might have completely forgotten,” Wei Gu Chang laughed while patting his head once, the ring of his hand flashing in the next instant as he took out a table and some chairs before inviting Yang Kai to sit down. “Martial Uncle Wang and Martial Uncle Yan just now told us that it should be three days before the Flowing Flame Sand Field officially opens. Elder Qian will also not arrive for a while, so while we wait, we might as well drink.”
“Sounds great,” Yang Kai smiled and nodded, naturally having no reason to refuse.
The so-called Fine Jade Wine was taken out by Wei Gu Chang, and as soon as the two small bottles were delicately unpacked, a rich fragrance immediately filled the air, stimulating Yang Kai’s nostrils greatly.
Dong Xuan’er took out two plates of glistening spirit fruits from her Space Ring. Just from looking, it was clear these fruits weren’t common treasures.
Yang Kai wasn’t versed in the ways of wine, so after Wei Gu Chang handed the bottle to him, he unceremoniously took a sip. After drinking this Fine Jade Wine though, Yang Kai discovered that it was actually a Spirit Wine that could provide some benefits to a cultivator’s physique and cultivation, similar to his Fei Yu Martial Aunt’s Thousand Safflower Wine.
However, this Fine Jade Wine was clearly far higher grade than his Martial Aunt’s Thousand Safflower Wine; after all, this was the Star Field, and the materials that were available were also higher end.
With just a sip of wine, Yang Kai immediately felt that his Saint Qi was circulating a little faster. This liquor seemed to swiftly penetrate into every part of his body, hiding in his physique, seemingly waiting to burst out at any moment.
Wei Gu Chang drank a big mouthful before wearing a pleasant expression on his face, explaining to Yang Kai, “This Fine Jade Wine is something I brewed myself after collecting the ingredients on many different adventures. It can be said that no one other than I can brew it on Shadowed Star. Yang Kai, don’t underestimate this spirit wine, although it’s not particularly potent, it actually has a long-term restorative effect. Drinking this bottle alone will help Brother Yang more rapidly restore his Saint Qi for the next half a month.”
After listening to these words, Yang Kai immediately understood that what he had sensed just now was accurate. This liquor had really seeped into his body and was simply waiting to display its effects. Thinking so, he quickly said, “I don’t understand much about wine, so me drinking such a good thing seems a bit like wasting Heaven’s precious gifts.”
Wei Gu Chang however just let out a big laugh, “No matter how good it is, if there is no one to share it with, it still just tastes mediocre. Xuan’er does not like to drink, and this Wei has no like-minded friends in Shadow Moon Hall, so meeting Brother Yang now is really a pleasant surprise. Brother Yang shouldn’t try to act modest, saying such words is the same as not giving me any face.”
Yang Kai didn’t know if these words were truly heartfelt or the result of Qian Tong’s orders, but regardless of the case, Wei Gu Chang seemed intent on getting along with him.
“Then I won’t be polite,” Yang Kai laughed, learning from Wei Gu Chang’s example and taking a big swig of the wine after which, he offered liberal praise.
Dong Xuan’er sat quietly to the side, a happy smile adorning her face as she glanced between Wei Gu Chang and Yang Kai, her quiet demeanour making her seem all the more beautiful.
Whether it was the atmosphere or the alcohol, Yang Kai couldn’t help being moved by the scenery around him and recalling some fond memories. If Su Yan or Xia Ning Chang were here at the moment, would they be the same as Dong Xuan’er? Sitting peacefully beside him.
For these women, as long as they could be with the man they loved, even if the Heavens collapsed, they wouldn’t show the slightest frown.
After about half a day, Qian Tong led a group of two hundred people to the vicinity of the Flowing Flame Sand Field. He hurriedly said a few words to his Sect’s disciples and the cultivators who had followed him here, then went to discuss something with the other two Origin Returning Realm masters from Shadow Moon Hall.
As if they had reached some kind of agreement beforehand, a large number of cultivators began appearing after Shadow Moon Hall made an appearance, all of them scattering about, searching for open spaces to sit down and wait.
Many groups of three to five arrived one after another, each of them from small families and Sects, quickly filling up the periphery of the Flowing Flame Sand Field.
In less than a day, the number of cultivators gathered has reached more than two thousand, and it was clear that some were still on their way. After all, the numbers right now were too small to hail it as a legendary event.
Wei Gu Chang and Dong Xuan’er were also surrounded by a crowd of around seventy disciples from Shadow Moon Hall. He was urging his fellow disciples about what they ought to do inside and these Saint King Realm men and women just bobbed their head.
Yang Kai didn’t see any disciples from Thunder Typhoon Sect, Heaven Battling Union, or Coloured Glass Sect here. Apparently, they would be entering from a different entrance. The Flowing Flame Sand Field didn’t have just one access point; according to Wei Gu Chang, there were actually four entrances, one for each cardinal direction, and the various great forces would naturally select the one closest to them to enter, so there was no one place where everyone would be gathering.
Compared with the excitement of the others, Yang Kai sat cross-legged alone in a remote location, seemingly content to remain by himself. However, no one came to find trouble with him anymore. Many here knew he had a close relationship with Wei Gu Chang so none dared to come over and disturb him.
On the other hand, the cultivators from the small family forces were constantly surrounded by disciples from more powerful Sects, their purpose was self-evident. These people all wanted to buy the entry passes from these small family cultivators.
However, as more and more people arrived, the disciples from these big Sects no longer tried to use strong-arm tactics like Yin Jian and instead were going all out to persuade and bargain. Their efforts weren’t in vain as some small family cultivators really were willing to sell their entry passes to the Flowing Flame Sand Field.
There were also some who were absolutely determined to enter the Flowing Flame Sand Field to seek out opportunities, making these big Sect disciples waste a great deal of breath and saliva trying to convince them, frustrating them greatly.
When Yang Kai’s eyes swept over a certain location, he couldn’t help raising his brow, standing up, and slowly walking over.
In that direction, there were two elderly men, both of whom were wearing bitter smiles as they stood in place. There were several other people, apparently also from small family forces, who were standing around trying to persuade these two to sell their entry passes.
“A hundred and fifty thousand Saint Crystals, not a crystal more, such a price is fair! A hundred and fifty thousand Saint Crystals isn’t a small amount, what do two Seniors think? If you agree, we can close the deal immediately,” A middle-aged man did his best to convince them. Although his cultivation realm was the same as these two-elderly men, all of them Third Order Saint Kings, but it was clear that these two were far older so it wasn’t inappropriate for this middle-aged man to address them as Seniors.
One of the two elderly men cupped his fists and with a forced smile said, “Several friends, it is not that we don’t want to give you face, it’s just that we do not have entry passes on us. Our entry passes are currently being held onto by Shadow Moon Hall’s Elder Qian.”
“It doesn’t matter,” The middle-aged man smiled heartily, “Even if you don’t have them right now, you will shortly. You can just hand over your passes after you receive them; I can even give you the Saint Crystals in advance!”
The middle-aged man spoke with full sincerity and immediately reached for his Space ring, as if he planned on bringing out the Saint Crystals right now.
The two elderly men looked at each other helplessly. A hundred and fifty thousand Saint Crystals was indeed a huge sum for them, but they were still more interested in entering the Flowing Flame Sand Field.
Although they may die if they entered, there was also a chance they could gain massive benefits, even find an opportunity to break through to the Origin Returning Realm!
Both of them were old and had no descendants or family, so their greatest wish in this life was to break through to the Origin Returning Realm before they died. What did it matter if they were to die while striving to achieve this wish?
The two of them really did not want to sell their entry passes. Obtaining an opportunity to enter the Flowing Flame Sand Field was rare, and the two of them had only obtained this chance through a series of coincidences. If they couldn’t hold onto it, even if they delayed their time of death, they wouldn’t be satisfied.
But with the middle-aged man in front of them already counting Saint Crystals, if they were to refuse now, it would only irritate the other party. Although the two of them had come here with Shadow Moon Hall, they had no friendship with the Sect. On the contrary, Elder Qian clearly felt they weren’t pleasing to the eye so there was no way he would step forward to assist them. It was already extremely gracious of Elder Qian to even grant them two entry passes to the Flowing Flame Sand Field, so how could they possibly hope for more?
Just as the anxiety in their hearts was reaching a breaking point, a familiar voice suddenly sounded in their ears, “What’s this? Is someone also trying to buy and sell by compulsion again?”
This voice contained a hint of ridicule, causing the middle-aged man counting Saint Crystals to suddenly wear a cold expression and turn towards its source. However, after seeing who was speaking, this man immediately cupped his fists with a smile and cautiously spoke, “Friend, I’m not like those arrogant disciples of Blue Sparrow Sect and am certainly not trying to buy and sell by compulsion. While it’s true I want to buy these two Seniors’ entry passes, I’ve offered them a hundred and fifty thousand Saint Crystals as a price. If you ask around you’ll understand that this is a fair price.”
Although this man was smiling as he explained, he was feeling incredibly bitter in his heart, wondering why this guy had suddenly run over and interfered in his business. Did he have some kind of connection with these two old men?
One day ago, this man had witnessed the entire scene of Yang Kai and Wei Gu Chang dealing with Yin Jian. This First Order Saint King wasn’t someone he could afford to offend, if he were to inadvertently anger him, forget about a hundred and fifty thousand Saint Crystals, it would be at least half a million to simply appease him!
Half a million Saint Crystals… just thinking about it frightened him.
“Yang Kai?” After seeing this familiar youth, the two old men couldn’t help calling out in surprise, a hint of embarrassment on their faces.
“Foreign Elder Chang, Foreign Elder Hao!” Yang Kai cupped his fists and greeted them.
Yang Kai naturally knew these two, otherwise, he wouldn’t have bothered coming over to talk to them. One of them was Chang Qi while the other was Hao An, and both of them were Foreign Elders of Hai Ke Family. Yang Kai had spent several months with the former one out in the Starry Sky while the later was often spoken highly of by Wu Yi. In the Hai Ke Family, these two Foreign Elders were the ones who treated her the best. Besides them, only one of the female Foreign Elders named Huang Juan had a good relationship with Wu Yi.
Time had proven Wu Yi right. When the Hai Ke Family’s Patriarch Yi En went to the City Lord’s Mansion to invite masters to deal with Yang Kai, all three of these Foreign Elders had sent messages to Wu Yi in different ways to let her leave Dragon Cave Mountain as early as possible to avoid suffering calamity.
Although it was ultimately the Hai Ke Family which suffered a calamity, Wu Yi was still deeply grateful to these three. These days, Wu Yi would occasionally mention these three. Unfortunately, since leaving the Hai Ke Family, Huang Juan had disappeared without telling anyone where she was going. Chang Qi and Hao An had remained with the Hai Ke Family and occasionally had some contact with Wu Yi.
Their current embarrassed expressions were obviously due to their identities.
Yang Kai and the Hai Ke Family were quite at odds with each other, and they were still Hai Ke Family Foreign Elders in name, so they were worried Yang Kai was here to find trouble with them.
Therefore, when they saw Yang Kai back at Heavenly Fate City’s Space Array hall, they didn’t dare to come up and say hello, half due to fear, half due to shame.
But now that Yang Kai actually took the initiative to politely greet them, the two of them realized they had actually been overly suspicious and pessimistic. Obviously, Yang Kai had not borne a grudge against them.
Naturally Yang Kai had no hatred towards them, the entire Hai Ke Family incident was due to its Patriarch, Yi En, having eyes but failing to see. On the contrary, Yang Kai’s impression of Chang Qi and Hao An was quite good, and considering Wu Yi’s worries, he felt it might be worth him looking after these two.
“He wants to buy your entry passes?” Yang Kai asked.
“Yes,” Chang Qi nodded naturally.
“And he offered you a hundred and fifty thousand Saint Crystals?” Yang Kai asked again.
They nodded again.
The middle-aged man laughed wryly, “Friend, as you can see, I didn’t lie. On top of that, a hundred and fifty thousand Saint Crystals is not a low offer.”
“What do you want to do?” Yang Kai ignored the middle-aged man and looked straight at Chang Qi and Hao An. If the two of them intended to sell their entry passes, Yang Kai wouldn’t intervene; after all, it was truly quite dangerous to enter the Flowing Flame Sand field, but if they weren’t willing to sell, then Yang Kai would make sure this middle-aged man didn’t pressure them any further.
Yang Kai actually thought it might be better for these two to sell their passes. Although a hundred and fifty thousand Saint Crystals were nothing to him, it would be a great deal of wealth to Chang Qi and Hao An. There was no need for them to risk their lives and they could obtain a large amount of Saint Crystal, so why not sell?
To his surprise though, Chang Qi and Hao An only exchanged a brief glance before resolutely shaking their heads and declaring, “We don’t want to sell, we want to enter the Flowing Flame Sand Field!”
Yang Kai was slightly taken aback, but soon recovered and said to the middle-aged man, “Friend, I believe you heard them, my two Seniors don’t want to sell their entry passes.”
“I heard, I heard,” The middle-aged man nodded quickly, wearing a big forced smile before nodding, “Then I won’t bother you any further, goodbye!”
Saying so, he left with his colleagues.
After they left, Chang Qi and Hao An let out a sigh of relief and looked at Yang Kai with astonishment.
They had arrived too late to witness the Blue Sparrow Sect incident, so naturally, they didn’t know why this middle-aged man was so afraid of Yang Kai, actually backing off with just like that.
“Two Foreign Elders, this place is a bit too crowded here for us to talk,” Yang Kai beckoned to them as he walked over to the place he had been sitting before.
Chang Qi and Hao An both had complicated feelings at the moment, grateful yet also awkward; however, they still followed after Yang Kai.
A short time later, the trio left the noisy crowds behind and arrived at a relatively quiet place.
There was nothing particularly special about this place, but it was at least empty, so all of them quickly sat down cross-legged.
Chang Qi had spent far more time together with Yang Kai, so he was the first to adapt to this new situation, smiling as he asked, “You must have some questions, right?”
“En,” Yang Kai nodded, “Why did the Hai Ke Family send the two of you?”
It was also because he was curious about the situation that Yang Kai had brought these two over to chat.
Entering the Flowing Flame Sand Field was a rare opportunity that had not appeared for over four hundred years. The Hai Ke Family was a small family force so it should have been granted at most three quotas, so it would only make sense for such an opportunity to land in the hands of the family’s Elders or possibly even the Patriarch himself. Yet now, Chang Qi and Hao An, two Foreign Elders, had actually appeared here.
Chang Qi let out a sigh and said, “No one wanted to come! Otherwise, how could two old fogeys like us have picked up such a bargain.”
“How come no one wanted to come?” Yang Kai was stunned.
Hao An grinned and explained, “After the previous incident, the Hai Ke Family has become something of an eyesore to Shadow Moon Hall. Everyone, from the Patriarch to the common disciples is constantly on edge while all of the other Foreign Elders have fled, leaving just the two of us. Now, all of those direct family Elders are in secluded cultivation, not daring to go out easily and meet people.”
“Are they afraid of me?” Yang Kai suddenly understood.
“Essentially,” Chang Qi nodded, “Naturally they are afraid you’re just biding your time while plotting your revenge. Many of the Hai Ke Family’s industries have already been abandoned and Yi En is still working hard to shrink and consolidate the family’s strength. All disciples have been ordered to enter retreat. In addition, Shadow Moon Hall now finds us quite repugnant so life has only been getting harder for the family. Now, beside myself and Brother Hao, no one from the Hai Ke Family dares show their face in public.”
Yang Kai couldn’t help letting out a laugh.
He hadn’t expected Patriarch Yi En to act so timidly.
Even if Yi En had provoked him several times in the past, out of consideration for Wu Yi’s face, Yang Kai had dropped the matter entirely. Yang Kai had no plans to seek revenge on the Hai Ke Family, but it seems the opposite party still felt it was walking on thin ice and had decided to curl up and hide.
Ultimately, they were just getting what they deserved, so although Yang Kai wasn’t going to haggle over them, he also didn’t sympathize with them.
“Elder Qian was still kind enough to give two quotas to the Hai Ke Family to enter the Flowing Flame Sand Field, so Brother Hao and I rushed over,” Chang Qi continued, “If Brother Hao and I don’t break through this time, both of us will only have a few years left to live. The two of us are hoping to find some kind of opportunity in the Flowing Flame Sand Field to break through while at the same time complete the agreement we made with the Patriarch.”
“Agreement?” Yang Kai frowned.
“En, the Patriarch has decided to seclude the entire family, and there is no need for us Foreign Elders to remain, so as long as we can turn over half the benefits we obtain in the Flowing Flame Sand Field, he’ll allow us to leave the Hai Ke Family.”
Yang Kai’s expression immediately became cold, “He’s still trying to take bully you two?”
When all the other Foreign Elders had left, Yi En had not said a word, but when it was Chang Qi and Hao An’s turn, he actually demanded they hand over half their harvest from the Flowing Flame Sand Field. Yi En was really a crafty old miser.
Without having to risk any of his own people, he could potentially obtain many good supplies and precious treasures, a perfect example of taking advantage of honest men.
Yang Kai opinion of Yi En fell even further.
Chang Qi and Hao An were also somewhat strange. The other Foreign Elders had already left, so why had they stuck around? On top of that, they had actually agreed to Yi En’s unreasonable request.
Seemingly aware of Yang Kai’s doubts, Chang Qi explained with a hint of weariness, “Brother Hao and I have been Foreign Elders of the Hai Ke Family for many years, after all. We’ve received many benefits during that time so just abandoning the family now made us feel uneasy, that’s why both of us agreed to the Patriarch’s request.”
Yang Kai slowly shook his head. Although he didn’t agree with how they thought, the loyalty these two showed was worthy of admiration. If not for their sense of honour and duty, they would never have agreed to such conditions.
Considering all this, Yang Kai asked, “If the two of you can safely return from the Flowing Flame Sand Field this time, what do you plan to do?”
Chang Qi and Hao An glanced at each for a moment before slowly shaking their heads, “We’ve spent most of our lives in the Hai Ke Family, so after leaving it we really don’t know where to go. A Third Order Saint King cultivation isn’t too low, but the problem is that both of us are quite old, so it’s unlikely anywhere will be willing to accept us.”
Neither of them had children or relatives, so naturally, they had no place to turn for help.
Yang Kai smiled, “If the two of you don’t mind, how about coming to Dragon Cave Mountain to settle down? Wu Yi and Yu Feng often mention you and the disciples there all originally belonged to the Hai Ke Family. If the two of you were present to manage them, I’m sure those brats would settle down.”
Chang Qi and Hao An’s eyes brightened, the former calling out in disbelief, “Can we really?”
“Of course, it’s not like Dragon Cave Mountain is some Forbidden Zone. This Junior would be more than happy to welcome you,” Yang Kai laughed.
Both Foreign Elders’ faces flushed as their beards trembled, Chang Qi replying incoherently, “How… how would that be acceptable?”
From the looks of it, these two very much wanted to go to Dragon Cave Mountain. Today’s Dragon Cave Mountain was no longer what it used to be, its peaks were shrouded in mist and the World Energy aura rich enough to establish a small school or Sect. Best of all, as time went on, that aura would only become denser.
“There’s no need to feel embarrassed, none of us here are outsiders. I’d feel relieved if you two would come and help guide those young disciples in their cultivation.”
The two Foreign Elders exchanged a knowing look before simultaneously getting up and bowing deeply, “If that is the case, the two of us will not stand on ceremony.”
Chang Qi added, “If we can return safely this time, what’s left of our short lives will be entrusted to little brother.”
“Senior is too serious, the two of you staying alive is what’s most important,” Yang Kai quickly asked them to sit down before continuing, “Are two Seniors fully prepared to enter the Flowing Flame Sand Field?”
“We’ve made some preparations, but whether they’ll be enough is questionable,” Hao An sighed. “Brother Chang and I spent our entire life’s savings to purchase two Saint King Grade High-Rank Ice Attribute defensive artefacts along with some healing pills, but that was all we could afford in the end.”
This was the difference between people. A Saint King Grade High-Rank artifact ordinarily cost between thirty and forty thousand Saint Crystals, but because of the current situation, Ice Attribute defensive type artefacts had risen sharply in price, costing around fifty or sixty thousand now.
For these two Foreign Elders, that represented their entire fortune.
But to Yang Kai, such a small amount of Saint Crystals weren’t even worth mentioning!
After thinking about it for a moment, Yang Kai pulled out eight jade bottles from his Space Ring and handed them over, dividing them up evenly as he explained, “One bottle has healing pills while two have pills for restoring Saint Qi. The last one is to drive out the heat. Take them.”
The pills that could resist heat were the same Snow And Ice Pills he had refined, so after Yang Kai gave Chang Qi and Hao An these two bottles he had none left for himself.
The two of them were about to refuse when Yang Kai added, “I have a lot of these things, so don’t hold back.”
Chang Qi and Hao An glanced at each other before gratefully accepting the pill bottles, tears were even threatening to form at the corners of their old eyes.
At this moment, they couldn’t help feeling a little emotional. Both of them had served the Hai Ke Family for most of their lives and contributed much during that time, yet now, Yi En was intent on driving them away while at the same time forcing them to offer up compensation. In contrast, they had only just agreed to join Yang Kai yet the latter had handed them eight bottles of pills without even blinking.
The gap in treatment was as far apart as Heaven and Earth.
Chang Qi and Hao An suddenly felt that leaving the Hai Ke Family and following Yang Kai might not be a bad thing, the sadness and loneliness they had been feeling these days fading away greatly.
“Also, take these Saint Crystals, I heard that no one can circulate their Secret Art in the Flame Area to absorb World Energy as the heat itself is like poison; if one absorbs it, it will cause great harm. In order to restore one’s strength they can only rely on Saint Crystals and pills,” Yang Kai took out another Space Ring and tossed it over.
This time they didn’t try to refuse, but when Chang Qi accepted this ring and swept the contents with his Divine Sense, he immediately called out in alarm, “This is too much.”
The Space Ring that Yang Kai gave them was the one that was handed to him by Yin Jian a day ago, the one that had half a million Saint Crystals inside!
Chang Qi had never even seen so many Saint Crystals in his life and was so frightened he nearly dropped the ring.
Yang Kai however just waved his hand, “I still have more Saint Crystals. Hold onto those for now, consider whatever you don’t use up inside the Flowing Flame Sand Field as your hiring fee for agreeing to join Dragon Cave Mountain.”
An idea had suddenly emerged in Yang Kai’s heart a moment ago. Now with Qian Tong on his side, and Yang Yan arranging a grand Spirit Array, Dragon Cave Mountain could be considered extremely safe, but in terms of available combat strength, it was actually quite lacking.
Among all the people living there, besides Yang Kai himself who had abnormal combat ability, the others weren’t worth mentioning. Although Wu Yi and Yu Feng’s were both First Order Saint Kings, and their aptitudes weren’t bad, it would still take a long time for them to fully mature.
Chang Qi and Hao An, on the other hand, were both Third-Order Saint Kings, and if they could break through to the Origin Returning Realm, Dragon Cave Mountain would be able to add another strong layer of protection.
Any Origin Returning Realm cultivator was capable of using Shi, a power that could give even Yang Kai trouble.
Asking these two to join Dragon Cave Mountain, on the one hand, was because Wu Yi had a good relationship with them, as well as their upright and loyal characters; but that was not all. He also wanted to add some powerful cultivators under him.
These two Foreign Elders had remained in the Third Order Saint King for many years but had not been able to break through due to insufficient aptitude and resources. If Yang Kai provided them with an Origin Condensing Pill though, breaking through shouldn’t be an issue.
However, the Emerald Silk Grass required to refine Origin Condensing Pills was quite rare and Yang Kai had already used up his only two stalks.
It seemed that this time, Yang Kai would have to visit the Treasure Area of the Flowing Flame Sand Field to see if he could find some Emerald Silk Grass. If there was some, that would be best, but if there weren’t any, he could always just buy them. In any case, Yang Kai wasn’t lacking Saint Crystals.
After arguing back and forth for a while, Yang Kai finally convinced Chang Qi and Hao An to accept the Space Ring.
Yang Kai then began to explain to them everything he had heard about the Flowing Flame Sand Field from Wei Gu Chang.
Although Chang Qi and Hao An had also obtained some information beforehand, it was not as complete as what Yang Kai knew, so both of them listened attentively, not daring to miss a word.
Since there are a ton of people who are new, I wish to clarify that the number of chapter have been consistent with the goals set on Patreon. That’s why it fluctuates.
Yang Kai was now thinking about whether Chang Qi and Hao An could follow the Shadow Moon Hall disciples and act together with them; after all, if they all moved together, their safety factor would improve significantly.
Making two old fogeys follow a crowd of young men and women might seem a little awkward, but age was also synonymous with wisdom and experience. Chang Qi and Hao An weren’t weak and it wasn’t impossible for them to provide assistance to Shadow Moon Hall’s disciples.
However, when he mentioned this idea, both Chang Qi and Hao An shook their heads and refused.
This wasn’t because they were concerned about their ages being too far apart from those of Shadow Moon Hall’s disciples, but rather because their whole purpose in entering the Flowing Flame Sand Field was to seek out their own opportunities. Acting together with others wouldn’t be ideal as if they did, any benefits they obtained would have to be shared with the others in their group. The two of them didn’t even plan on travelling together, having already decided to split up after entering the Flowing Flame Sand Field.
Yang Kai thought about it and figured their plans had merit, so he didn’t insist.
Two days later, Qian Tong gathered everyone around and distributed entry passes and the small Yuan Magnetic Compass artefacts.
The Flowing Flame Sand Field was too large, and the sun, moon, and stars weren’t visible from the inside. Once someone entered, it was almost impossible to maintain one’s sense of direction. This Yuan Magnetic Compass was used to solve this problem.
Wei Gu Chang had mentioned this to Yang Kai before, and after receiving it and fiddling around with it for a bit, he immediately understood how it worked.
This compass was exquisitely refined so that no matter which way it or its owner turned, it would always point towards a specific location. With the help of such a guide, there was no need to worry about getting lost in the Flowing Flame Sand Field.
Yang Kai carefully stored the Yuan Magnetic Compass in his Space ring before sitting down cross-legged with Chang Qi and Hao An to meditate.
Over time, the dark red energy curtain covering the Flowing Flame Sand Field became less opaque while a number of unstable energy fluctuations burst out from inside its boundaries.
Sensing this, everyone stood up as they understood that this Forbidden Zone was about to open. Full of enthusiasm and eagerness, many people turned to stare at the Flowing Flame Sand Field with anticipation, wondering to themselves just what benefits hid inside.
Only the Origin Returning Realm masters who had led their disciples here showed worried looks.
Because they knew the dangers of the Flowing Flame Sand Field better than anyone! Most of these Origin Realm masters had entered this place four hundred years ago, and only after overcoming many dangers, did they manage to return alive. Those Origin Realm masters who had not entered this place though had at least seen records about it in the records of their respective Sects.
Although they were worried, none of these Origin Realm masters revealed much more than a slight frown.
They knew that if one wanted to obtain benefits, they had to pay a certain price, so even if it cost thousands of human lives, as long as the Core Disciples from their forces survived, they wouldn’t care.
Origin Returning Realm masters constantly flew over the heads of the crowd, shouting loudly to the Saint Kings who were about to enter the Flowing Flame Sand Field. Aside from encouragement, these masters were also warning them to remain cautious and to avoid conflict with others once inside.
How many people would actually listen to these warnings was unknown as, where there were benefits, there would be conflicts. Each time the Flowing Flame Sand Field opened, twenty to thirty percent of those who entered died as a direct result of competing for treasures with others.
Half a day later, the unstable energy fluctuations from the Flowing Flame Sand Field suddenly subsided and the energy curtain went from dark to pale red, also becoming somewhat stable.
There was also a section of the energy curtain that took the shape of a gate that was clearly lighter in colour than the rest.
The Flowing Flame Sand Field had officially opened!
The Elders from the various Sects swiftly brought their disciples towards the entrance and within moments, nearly three thousand people had crammed together, pushing shoulders as they tried to be first the enter.
More than a dozen Third Order Origin Returning Realm masters who were standing at the entrance saw these Saint Kings rush up and immediately released their Shi.
The whole world seemed to freeze over, with all the jostling Saint Kings going stiff, some of those with weaker strength even going pale as their clothes filled with sweat.
The sensation of being suppressed by the layers of Shi was quite uncomfortable, it was akin to feeling like one was no longer in control of their own life or death.
“What are you all so anxious about?” A ruddy-faced old man flew up into the sky and swept his eyes over the crowd in a majestic manner, shouting loudly in the next instant, “Line up for this old master! You’ll all enter one by one, anyone who dares try to rush ahead will immediately have the entry rights taken away!”
After listening to these words, all the Saint Kings started to line up honestly. Fortunately, the entrance was not small and could accommodate five lines with ease. Following the instructions of the old master, everyone who entered the Flowing Flame Sand Field displayed their entry pass so the many Origin Realm masters could inspect them. Anyone who did not have a pass was denied entry.
“Brother Yang, Brother Yang!”
As soon as Yang Kai brought Chang Qi and Hao An to the end of a line, he heard Wei Gu Chang call out to him.
Looking over, Yang Kai saw Wei Gu Chang and Dong Xuan’er standing in a separate line nearby, all the disciples of Shadow Moon Hall lined up behind them.
“Brother Wei,” Yang Kai smiled at him.
“Brother Yang, I’ll be sending out a general message through the communication artefact once everyone has entered. If you receive my message, it would be best if we could gather together. I also have a few Junior Brothers and Junior Sisters who will be accompanying me on this exploration. If we work together we should be able to break through the Flame Area in short order,” Wei Gu Chang said while pointing to a few people around him.
The young men and women he pointed to were clearly also Core Disciples of Shadow Moon Hall, and even if they weren’t as good as Wei Gu Chang and Dong Xuan’er, they shouldn’t have lagged too far behind. After hearing Wei Gu Chang’s words though, many of these people wore puzzled and uncertain looks.
Obviously they thought that if Yang Kai, a mere First-Order Saint King, was really to act together with them, he would be nothing but a burden. They were all the elites of Shadow Moon Hall, naturally, they didn’t want to bring a stranger like Yang Kai along for free.
Yang Kai simply nodded and replied, “Sure!”
Wei Gu Chang could tell he was just being perfunctory, but he didn’t raise any fuss. He had noticed when chatting with Yang Kai the other day that the latter seemed intent on acting alone.
The speed at which people entered was quite fast; after all, there were more than a dozen Third Order Origin Returning Realm masters standing around checking entry passes. After a Divine Sense swept their credentials, a cultivator could proceed to the entrance, and so the three thousand Saint Kings were reducing at a rapid rate.
Soon, it was Yang Kai’s turn.
Holding his entry pass, Yang Kai allowed the surrounding Origin Returning Realm master to inspect it with their Divine Senses, after which he heard Qian Tong’s voice, “Nephew Yang, please be careful inside, no matter what, you must return safely!”
Yang Kai nodded slightly towards Qian Tong before walking straight through the entrance.
A slight sense of dizziness then came over him and by the time Yang Kai recovered, he found himself submerged in a stiflingly hot environment.
All around him, waves of heat washed back and forth. The ground beneath his feet was also a kind of reddish-brown dirt that as a result of being baked at high temperatures for years on end had developed in a cracked crust. Spider-web like cracks spread out in all dictions; some were as small as shallow gullies while others were as large as canyons. As far as the eye could see, there were no signs of vegetation, only chaotic stone hills and piles of earth hindered one’s line of sight.
[Is this the Flame Area?]
Not using his Saint Qi to shield his body, Yang Kai felt a slight tingling sensation on his skin.
Even with his incredibly tough physique, he could still feel some pain just from standing here, so other Saint Kings who entered this place would likely have to use their Saint Qi to protect themselves from the omnipresent heat.
The World Energy here contained a strange type of fire attribute energy that was akin to poison if one tried to absorb it. As such, cultivators could only use Saint Crystals or pills to restore themselves. If one couldn’t at least restore themselves as fast as they expended energy here, they would soon become exhausted and fall into danger.
However, this slight tingling sensation didn’t hinder Yang Kai at all. He could weather Void Storms with his bare skin so this little bit of heat was not an issue.
This was only the outer periphery though, so Yang Kai believed if he travelled deeper into the Flowing Flame Sand field it would become progressively hotter.
There was no way to find one’s bearings in this place, and none of the cultivators who had walked through the entrance before him were anywhere to be seen. Obviously they had been sent to different locations than Yang Kai.
While others may not have been able to tell, Yang Kai noticed that the space in his surrounding was a bit unstable. It was likely because of this instability that cultivators who passed through the same entrance appeared in different locations inside the Flowing Flame Sand Field.
In front of him, a pale red flame-like aura was drifting about slowly. Yang Kai glanced around and found that there were actually many of these auras floating nearby, almost like tiny spirits flying through the air, providing a somewhat interesting scenery.
While observing his surroundings, Yang Kai felt a slight spatial fluctuation nearby and two figures soon appeared.
Clearly, they were cultivators who had passed through the entrance after him.
Both of these two were men and before they had time to take in the sights around them, their faces changed dramatically as they felt the blistering heat.
One of these two immediately pushed his Saint Qi to protect his body while the other, whose strength seemed higher, had not done so right away. However, the latter man quickly began sweating as a result.
Yang Kai’s brow furrowed slightly when he noticed that the cultivator who was using Saint Qi to shield himself was actually wearing a Shadow Moon Hall disciple uniform.
After these two managed to stabilize themselves, they began looking around. Discovering that there were actually two others here, the look on the face of the disciple from Shadow Moon Hall changed slightly, especially when he saw Yang Kai, a strange light flashing across his eyes.
This man didn’t even try to greet Yang Kai though and simply identified a direction and ran off.
On the other hand, the other man looked at Yang Kai thoughtfully, grinned, and called out sincerely, “Friend, are you interested moving together with me?”
“No. I’m not interested!” Yang Kai said indifferently.
He didn’t even want to move together with Wei Gu Chang, much less this man of unknown origin.
The man didn’t seem to think that Yang Kai would refuse him so flatly, rubbed his nose awkwardly but didn’t push the issue, cupping his fists before also walking off.