Translator: Silavin & Tia
Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun
Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys
Senior Brother Guo stopped talking and simply sat there in inexplicable silence. The Proprietress also fell silent. Thus, the atmosphere sunk into an awkward silence.
Although Senior Brother Guo and the Proprietress had not said much to each other, they had, intentionally or unintentionally, revealed a lot of information.
The first piece of information was that Yang Kai’s identity had been completely exposed. It was most likely that many of the Cave-Heavens and Paradises were monitoring him. While it would not pose a problem in the short-term, nobody could say for sure what kind of attitude they would take against him after observing him in the long run. They might decide to suppress him or try to win him over. The only thing that could be certain was that nobody would want him to advance directly into the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm.
Another piece of information was that the Proprietress truly intended to take down Golden Rainbow Province and Boundless Altar. It was just that these two Second Class great forces were not pushovers. She would definitely fail with her current strength if she really were to make a move against them.
Yang Kai would not simply sit back and watch if it came to that. But, what help could he provide with his current strength? Even if he brought all the Open Heaven Realm Masters in Void Land over to support her, his efforts would not play a decisive role. Not unless Zhu Jiu Yin was willing to help.
Unfortunately, this woman was not dependable. She might have agreed to become his Protector for 1,000 years, but it was only under the premise that his life was in real danger. She was not a fool, so how could she willingly follow him into such muddy waters?
Therefore, he couldn’t help feeling a sense of urgency and crisis. [Time is not going to wait for me!]
Just as his thoughts were swirling around in his head, he heard a familiar voice entering his ears, “Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedules to participate in Red Clouds Auction House’s exchange meeting. Many of you are old acquaintances, but some of you are new faces. Nevertheless, this Old Master won’t go into details regarding the rules. I’m sure everybody has participated in similar exchange meetings before, so let’s not waste time. The exchange meeting will begin now.”
Many of the Open Heaven Realm Masters chuckled at those words.
Yang Kai looked up and the old man who presided over the auction earlier was standing on the round platform in the centre and bowing in all directions. Knowing that the exchange meeting had officially started, Yang Kai put aside all other thoughts and focused on the present.
Everybody here was in the Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm, so those in the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm and the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm were everywhere. They would surely have some good stuff in their possession. It was possible that they had the High-Rank materials he needed; however, how he was going to obtain those High-Rank materials from them would depend completely on his own abilities.
He secretly said a prayer in his heart and rolled up his sleeves eagerly.
“Then, this Old Master will start things off.” After the old man on the round platform finished speaking, he took out an item. It was a forearm length piece of bamboo. The bamboo might have been harvested, but it was still brimming with vitality. The bamboo leaves on the stems were dense. More surprisingly, the bamboo was enveloped in slivers of electricity that constantly flashed between the branches and leaves while making a crackling sound.
“A Sixth-Order Echoing Thunder Purple Bamboo. It is a Wood Element treasure, but it also carries a Thunder Attribute. If one can refine this, they will have the power to produce such thunder with impressive destructive power,” the old man said slowly.
Yang Kai’s eyes lit up! [Amazing! This certainly is deserving of being a high-end exchange meeting.]
It was a complete night and day difference from the auction earlier. Sixth-Order materials like this one would have been auctioned as finale items during the regular auction. On the contrary, it was the first item to appear in this exchange meeting. Although this was also a means for Red Clouds Auction House to elevate the level of this exchange meeting, taking out a Sixth-Order material right from the start was enough to set the atmosphere.
“This Old Master has no special requirements. This item can be exchanged as long as the value is reasonable. Even Open Heaven Pills are accepted.” After the old man finished speaking, he did not say anything else. He simply stood quietly on the round platform and waited.
Yang Kai looked around and saw that many Masters around the platform were hurriedly taking out Space Rings and fiddling with them. Even Senior Brother Guo next to him was doing so.
The Proprietress sent a voice transmission to him to explain, “Place the item or items you want to exchange in a Space Ring and hand it over to the other party. The other party will check the item and filter out the choices. If he thinks that your price is suitable, he will exchange the item with you. If he thinks that the price is not suitable or does not satisfy his requirements, he will return it to you.”
Yang Kai immediately understood. Without any hesitation, he immediately took out a Space Ring and placed 20 million Open Heaven Pills inside. He had the goal of acquiring all kinds of cultivation resources, so it was impossible for him to use his own materials to trade for another. On the contrary, he had an abundance of Open Heaven Pills. Besides, the other party had also mentioned that Open Heaven Pills were also accepted as an exchange. 20 million Open Heaven Pills should be satisfactory.
Yang Kai handed the ring over and waited silently.
A short while later, all the cultivators who were interested in trading with the old man were ready. There were as many as more than 50 Space Rings in the old man’s hands. His requirements were not high, so everybody was willing to give it a try. There was no loss even if they were not selected after all.
The old man checked the rings one by one. After a while, he chose one of the rings and said, “Brother Xu of Divine Fire Union has offered the highest bid. This Old Master will exchange this Echoing Thunder Purple Bamboo with him.”
After saying that, he flung his hand out. Each Space Ring returned to their respective owners, leaving only the Space Ring belonging to that cultivator surnamed Xu from Divine Fire Union in his hand. The Echoing Thunder Purple Bamboo also flew to the other party’s side under the guidance of a gentle force.
The cultivator surnamed Xu received the Echoing Thunder Purple Bamboo with a look of joy. He cupped his fists and thanked the old man.
On the other hand, Yang Kai was a little stunned as he gripped his Space Ring in his hands. He had spent 26 million to buy a Sixth-Order Scarlet Yin Sand, but that was because it was a Yin Element material. Yin Element materials were much rarer, so their prices tended to be on the higher side.
Most Sixth-Order resources were worth around 17 or 18 million. Thus, he originally believed that he had a promising chance of obtaining the Echoing Thunder Purple Bamboo. Who could have known that the old man of Red Clouds Auction House would not choose him? It would seem that it was not a pricing issue. Rather, the Divine Fire Union probably offered something that the old man was more interested in.
The first transaction had gone smoothly and the old man stepped down from the platform after a few polite words.
A figure immediately flew up and stood on the platform. It was a petite woman. She bowed with a bright smile and lightly parted her red lips to speak, “The value of what this Mistress wants to exchange is not that great. Please excuse me, Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters.”
While saying so, she took out her item. Yang Kai looked up and his eyes immediately brightened. What she had taken out was a bug-like thing with a fiery-red body that was slightly more than a palm length long and as thick as an arm. When his Divine Sense swept over this item, Yang Kai could even sense the vitality coming from it. This worm was a living creature.
“A 10,000 Year Fire Silkworm. If fed properly, it will produce a 10,000 Year Fire Silkworm Chrysalis every 10 years. The Order of the Fire Silkworm Chrysalis is uncertain. It might be Third-Order, Fourth-Order, or Fifth-Order. There is even a possibility it will be Sixth-Order. It all depends on your luck.”
The woman looked down with a smile. She was smiling so brightly that her eyes were crescent-shaped, “This Mistress would like to exchange this item for a few Fifth-Order resources. The attributes are not limited and the number is… Naturally, the more the better.” She stuck her tongue out playfully.
The people below immediately showed interest in this item. The 10,000 Year Fire Silkworm was extremely rare. If one could get their hands on it, then they could harvest an Open Heaven material every ten years in the future. Although the Order was uncertain and completely based on luck, the winning factor lay in the fact that it was continuous. There would always come a time when it would produce Fifth-Order and Sixth-Order materials.
In the short term, this would definitely be a huge loss. But, in the long run, it would be a money-making business. It was just that this kind of item was not suitable for individuals; after all, the investment was bound to be big and the break-even cycle was very long. On the other hand, it was very suitable to become part of the heritage of a great force.
Yang Kai was also rather interested in this item. Void Land might have a Divine Medicine like the gourd vine that could continuously produce Fifth-Order materials, but there was no means of producing Third-Order, Fourth-Order, or Sixth-Order resources. If he could bring this 10,000 Year Fire Silkworm back with him, then it would help offset this deficiency.
“Junior Sister, what does the Fire Silkworm eat?” Someone asked.
She turned to look in that direction and smiled, “Naturally, it eats items of the Fire Attribute. It eats anything in the Fire Attribute and is not a picky eater.”
“Does it mean that the more valuable the food we feed it, the higher the Order of the Silkworm Chrysalis produced?”
“Theoretically, that should be the case, but it also produced a Fifth-Order Silkworm Chrysalis when I previously fed it with some broken Fire Crystals and Fire Jades. On the other hand, it only produced a Third-Order Silkworm Chrysalis when I occasionally fed it with some First-Order or Second-Order Fire Element materials. This Fire Silkworm is very naughty.”
“Many thanks, Junior Sister, for clearing up the confusion.” The speaker cupped his fists.
A few other people also asked some questions and she answered all of them, one by one. There were some questions that she herself had never encountered before, so she could not provide any answers.
A short while later, everybody made their bids. Yang Kai also handed over the Space Ring that contained the twenty million Open Heaven Pills from the previous round of bidding after consulting the Proprietress’ opinion.
Quite a few people were interested in this Fire Silkworm so the woman received more than a dozen Space Rings in total. After checking through the rings, she kept only one of them and returned the rest.
What left Yang Kai feeling speechless was that he had not been chosen either this time around. The price of 20 million Open Heaven Pills was definitely not a low price. Since the other party did not select his Space Ring, then it could only mean that she was more interested in the other bids.
Judging from this situation, it would seem that Open Heaven Pills were not omnipotent. It was true that Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters also needed Open Heaven Pills, but in comparison, they seemed to value various cultivation resources even more.
This discovery left Yang Kai feeling speechless. He originally hoped to throw a huge sum of Open Heaven Pills to bid for the High-Rank materials he needed if they appeared here. Who could have expected this situation? It stood to reason that he would definitely succeed if he was willing to harden his heart and throw out 100 million Open Heaven Pills in the transaction; however, he was not a fool. How could he possibly make such a money-losing move?
He secretly felt that this method of transaction was hugely advantageous for the person standing on the platform. That was because the bidders had no idea what the bottom line was like for the others. There was no way to tell what kind of item the others were offering in exchange, so there was no way for the bidders to up their offer. On the contrary, it would maximise the interests of the person standing on the round platform. Even if the bids offered were unsatisfactory, that person could simply choose not to trade with the others. There would be no loss for either party.
The woman’s 10,000 Year Fire Silkworm was successfully traded. After she stepped off the platform, many others consecutively stepped onto the platform. They would first display the items that they wanted to trade, then put forward their own requirements before waiting for the others to bid for their item. Most of them managed to trade their items for other items that they wanted. There were also some whose requirements were too high or too niche, which naturally led to the failure of their request.
