Translator: Silavin & Tia
Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun
Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys
“Red Clouds Auction House?” Yang Kai gently nodded, “When will this auction take place?”
“Half a month at the earliest to one month at the latest.” Bai Qi winked at Yang Kai, “Rest assured, the Proprietress knows that you will be interested in something like this, so she will surely bring you along with her. But, it won’t be easy for you to find any High-Rank materials there. High-Rank materials generally do not appear even at an auction of this scale. As far as I can remember, High-Rank materials have only appeared in an auction twice over the last hundred years. Both times, people went crazy in an attempt to compete for those resources.”
Yang Kai said, “I am aware of that.”
Even if there were no High-Rank materials, it would be great if there were Sixth-Order materials. The Great Emperors were currently cultivating in retreat back in Void Land, so their consumption of Sixth-Order materials was great. Leaving aside the Great Emperors, even Yue He needed Sixth-Order materials for her cultivation now.
During his journey, Yang Kai passed through several Star Cities but only managed to purchase one Sixth-Order material. It would be best if he could obtain some in the auction. He currently had more than 1.5 billion Open Heaven Pills, so even for Sixth-Order materials, he had enough to purchase up to several dozen! Unfortunately, a competition of this level would surely be extremely fierce and it would cost him a lot of unnecessary money.
Returning to First Inn, Yang Kai went to the Proprietress to inquire about the auction before entering retreat in peace when he learned that it would not be held until half a month later.
At present, his cultivation was stuck in an awkward position. He was unable to proceed without suitable resources; however, it was not a problem for him to comprehend the various Powers in his body and consume Dragon Blood Pills to further enhance his Dragon Clan bloodline.
He consumed Dragon Blood Pill after Dragon Blood Pill, and though he could not sense any obvious changes in his body, he was certain that his Dragon Vein was continuously being purified. The Golden Divine Dragon’s Source was also subtly affected by these changes. What left him feeling speechless was that he had been comprehending the Wood, Earth, and Water Element Powers in his body for so long, but even so, he had failed to gain insight into another Divine Manifestation like the Golden Crow Casts the Sun.
The power of a Divine Manifestation was boundless and it had always been a power that only those in the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm possessed, but Yang Kai had comprehended a Divine Manifestation as an Emperor Realm cultivator. He did not dare to claim that there was no precedent before him or that there would not be similar occurrences in the future, but it was still an astonishing feat. It could already be considered a lucky coincidence for him to have comprehended the Golden Crow Casts the Sun; therefore, it was undoubtedly extremely difficult for him to repeat it.
Nevertheless, Yang Kai was not discouraged. He would immerse his mind in comprehension whenever he had the time. Even if there were no benefits, it could still be regarded as a kind of accumulation. He believed that these accumulated experiences would lead to qualitative changes eventually.
Time passed while Yang Kai was cultivating in retreat and in the blink of an eye, a month passed. Yue He knocked on the door and entered to inform Yang Kai that the auction was starting. Only then did he stop cultivating, adjusted his clothes, and strode out of the room.
The Proprietress was waiting for him in the hall and when she saw him, she nodded lightly and called out, “Let’s go.”
Then, she led the way ahead.
There were a total of four people on this trip. The Proprietress was the leader, followed by Yue He, Yang Kai, and Bai Qi. Although their numbers were few, except for Yang Kai who was in the Emperor Realm, the other three were in the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm and above. It could be said to be a very powerful line-up.
Along the way, they passed through numerous bustling streets and came to the entrance of a shop within an incense stick of time. There was a plaque above the entrance of the shop with the characters ‘Red Clouds Auction House’ written on it in shining gold.
Yang Kai looked up and saw that the characters seemed to contain a mysterious power, constantly twisting and changing in his eyes. It was very mysterious. A chill gripped his heart as he realised that this plaque must have been written by an extremely powerful Open Heaven Realm Master. These words most likely contained the Martial Truth of that Master. It was not harmful, but it gave off a profound feeling. There was no doubt that this was one of the ways for Red Clouds Auction House to demonstrate its strength and heritage.
Beneath the plaque, numerous cultivators of Red Clouds Auction House hurried back and forth to guide the people participating in the auction into the auction house with bright smiles on their faces.
Before the four of them could arrive at the door of Red Clouds Auction House, somebody greeted the Proprietress. Yang Kai glanced in that direction and discovered that the person was a Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master. As for what Order that person was in, he could not infer from the situation. The Proprietress seemed to be very friendly with the other party so she smiled and exchanged a few pleasantries.
Meanwhile, Yang Kai looked around and was secretly surprised. In such a short time, he saw many Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters entering the auction house with their followers or their Juniors. Some did not have obvious auras while others displayed wanton arrogance. There was no shortage of Masters in the Fifth-Order and Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm. This discovery both shocked and delighted him.
Yang Kai was shocked that the auction had attracted so many Masters to this place and these people were only the ones that he saw; there were probably more that he did not see. On the other hand, what delighted him was the presence of so many Masters. It could only mean that a lot of good things would be offered during the auction. Why else would these Masters travel for billions upon billions of kilometres from various Great Territories to come here?
The Proprietress was very well-connected and she immediately greeted several Masters in a very short time. They lingered around the entrance for a full incense stick before the Proprietress led their group inside. Under the guidance of a young maid working in the auction house, they stepped into a private room.
The private room was not that big, but it was more than enough to accommodate four people. Under Yang Kai’s perception, he found that many barriers had been placed inside the room to prevent outsiders from spying into it. The private room faced one side of the auction hall, with a transparent crystal partition to block out prying eyes and noise from the outside. Everything in the hall could be seen through the transparent crystal partition; however, nothing inside the room could be seen if a person were to glance at the room from inside the hall.
The Proprietress was the shopkeeper of First Inn; moreover, her cultivation was in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm. It was only natural that she was qualified to enter a room like this. Yang Kai glanced around his surroundings and discovered that there were dozens of similar rooms. In other words, at least several dozen Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters were participating in this auction. Such a large-scale auction could only be described as a grand occasion. It was much grander than the auction he participated in back at Wind and Cloud Auction House.
After the four of them took their seats, the maidservant immediately served several platters of fruit. The spirit fruits on the platters were crystal-clear and very fragrant. Yang Kai randomly grabbed one and tasted it, only to have his mouth filled with sweetness in an instant. Thus, he quickly grabbed another and tossed it to Yue He. Yue He caught the fruit with a small smile and began to eat in dainty bites.
Yang Kai had only eaten two when he saw Bai Qi storing these spirit fruits into his Space Ring. His actions made the maidservant in the room snicker softly while the Proprietress glared at him fiercely. However, Bai Qi was very thick-skinned and did not seem to care. He even winked conspiratorially at Yang Kai.
The hall was soon bursting at the seams with people and a short while later, the sound of gongs and instruments played. The lights in the auction hall dimmed, leaving only a single beam of light that shone in the centre of the stage. The light was emitted from a strange stone on the roof. At that moment, be it in the hall or the various private rooms, everybody’s eyes were drawn to the stage.
A thin and stiff-faced old man had appeared in the middle of that beam of light at some point. He bowed in a circle and said, “Many thanks to all our Honoured Guests for taking the time out of busy schedules to participate in the auction held by Red Clouds Auction House. Many of you have worked tirelessly to travel here from great distances. If nothing else, this Old Master guarantees that this auction will not disappoint you! Without further ado, let the auction officially begin!”
The old man was probably from Red Clouds Auction House and was in the Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm at least. When he finished speaking, the light in the hall brightened considerably. A tall maidservant walked out from backstage, carrying a tray with a sweet smile on her face.
The maidservant walked over to the old man’s side where he raised his hand and removed the red cloth covering the tray, “The first item on auction is a Sixth-Order Scarlet Yin Sand. There are a total of 999 grains of sand. If those beneath the Open Heaven Realm were to refine and absorb them, they will have a chance to obtain the Scarlet Yin Sandstorm Divine Ability. The effects of this Divine Ability are extremely powerful and cover an extensive area. It is capable of taking a person’s life without any trace. The reserve price for this item is 10 million Open Heaven Pills and each subsequent bid cannot be less than 500,000. Those who are interested may place their bids now!”
The hall flew into an uproar while the sound of many people inhaling sharply came from the various private rooms.
A cultivator required seven Elements to advance into the Open Heaven Realm. They were Yin, Yang, Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth. Among these seven, the Yin and Yang Elements were much rarer. As such, compared to the other Five Elements, they were also more expensive.
Yang Kai himself had a lot of experience in this matter. Regardless of whether it was the wealth he obtained from the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary or the purchases he made at all the Star Cities he passed through along his journey, Yin and Yang Element treasures were far more difficult to find than those of the Five Elements. As a consequence, the price for them became much more exorbitant despite being in the same Order.
Red Clouds Auction House was definitely worthy of its reputation as a direct industry of a Cave-Heaven. Their first item was already a material of the Yin Element. Moreover, it was a Sixth-Order material!
It was understandable that Red Clouds Auction House wanted to use the first auction item to create enthusiasm; in doing so, they would draw out the excitement and anticipation of the people participating in the auction. Most auctions would carry out similar practices. It was just that bringing out a Sixth-Order Yin Element material right from the start was beyond most people’s expectations. Sixth-Order materials were hard to find after all. Even the Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters participating in this auction would not have the chance to obtain such materials under normal circumstances.
As soon as the remarks of the old man handling the auction rang out, the atmosphere felt like a handful of salt was thrown into a pot of boiling oil and the sounds of bidding rang out incessantly.
In the span of ten breaths, the base price of 10 million rose to 15 million. Not to mention, the price was not final yet.
16 million, 17 million, 18 million…
The price soon passed through the 20 million mark! 21 million, 22 million…
It was not until the price reached 23 million that the bidding gradually died down until there were only two parties fighting over the material left.
This price had far exceeded the value of a typical Sixth-Order material. Even if it was a Yin Element material, the actual value should not be over 20 million. It had to be said that Yang Kai only spent 17 million to purchase a Sixth-Order material in one of the Star Cities on his way here. The price of this Yin Element treasure was much higher. Not to mention, the price was also driven up by the bidding. Nevertheless, 23 million had far exceeded the limits of what most people could accept.
