Related to the Sovereigns? Even Long Chen was shocked. The Dongfang family truly had a terrifying foundation to even take out such a treasure.
The curtains were pulled open, revealing eight elders holding a giant sphere. The sphere was three meters wide and transparent, allowing them to see the strange energy fluctuating within it.
These eight elders were Netherpassage experts, but they were barely able to hold up this sphere. They were already sweating.
After placing the sphere onto the stage, the eight of them sighed with relief, seeming relieved of a great burden. They bowed to Dongfang Yuyang before leaving.
Everyone looked closely at this sphere. They could sense holy energy flowing within it. It was like a mountain or a sea, giving off endless pressure.
The energy inside the sphere was turbid, and it was impossible to see anything inside clearly. Long Chen’s pupils suddenly shrank. This aura was familiar. It was the aura of a Sovereign.
However, it wasn’t Sovereign Yun Shang’s aura. A memory suddenly appeared within Long Chen’s mind.
“It’s him!”
In his memory, he saw a white-robed man standing in the sky. His eyes blazed like the sun, and his hair was shoulder-length. He was like a god as he floated in the sky, so bright that others couldn’t even look at him, so sacred that looking at him was a blasphemy.
The white-robed man formed hand seals that caused heaven and earth to shake. The ground rose, forming a giant mountain, and divine pillars appeared, crashing down. It was the Sovereign seal on Devil Spirit Mountain.
Long Chen had once looked at him through spacetime, and this person had even sent him a message: the gamebreaker has finally arrived.
Even now, Long Chen didn’t understand what that meant, but he remembered his aura.
“Long Chen, you…” Nangong Zuiyue and Beitang Rushuang looked at Long Chen with disbelief.
“Yes, this is definitely his aura. But it’s very vague. How curious…” Long Chen’s gaze was still locked onto the sphere. It was like he was responding to the two of them, but also like he was talking to himself.
Nangong Zuiyue and Beitang Rushuang exchanged a glance, both seeing each other’s shock. Long Chen actually recognized the aura inside the sphere.
“Is it Sovereign Yun Shang’s aura?” asked Beitang Rushuang to confirm.
“No, it’s another Sovereign’s aura,” said Long Chen. He seemed to be lost in his memories.
On Devil Spirit Mountain, Long Chen had seen how the Sovereign had created the Sovereign seal. That Sovereign’s power was unimaginable. Even now, he still felt himself to be an ant in front of that power.
“This aura isn’t just indistinct, it feels like it’s not authentic somehow. It’s very strange.” Long Chen frowned.
Nangong Zuiyue and Beitang Rushuang couldn’t believe this. Legend had it that the aura of the Sovereigns could not be remembered by any living being, unless that person was related to the Sovereigns in some way. That was why the Sovereigns continued to remain mysterious. Even if a person was personally in front of a Sovereign seal, once they left, they would gradually forget that aura. No one had been able to change that reality.
That was why the two of them were particularly shocked to find that Long Chen recognized this aura, and that he had even seen two Sovereigns.
The middle-aged man continued, “Everyone, prepare yourself to bear witness to the power of a Sovereign!”
The middle-aged man suddenly patted the sphere, and it burst apart. A holy pressure filled the entire room.
The middle-aged man was instantly sent flying by that pressure. He smashed into the wall, coughing up a mouthful of blood.
All the experts felt that pressure crashing down upon them. It was like a star was crushing them. Many of their seats simply exploded. The formations around them were obliterated.
Even the room was unable to endure it. It exploded, and the roof became the blue sky. People were completely shocked. Just this little bit of aura was already so terrifying.
After the initial burst, the aura faded. It was no longer so terrifying. They saw a ball of primal chaos flowing and then just barely managed to make out an ancient beast hide.
There was a single word inscribed onto the beast hide: Seal. Although it was just one word, it contained the power to seal the heavens and lock the earth, a power that transcended time and space.
Each stroke contained a supreme Dao intent. Every stroke was like its own world. This word seemed to encompass the secrets of the cosmos and was an existence outside the laws of the world.
“A Sovereign seal!”
People stared in amazement at that beast hide. A fierce light shone in their eyes. A seal left behind by a Sovereign was priceless.
The stone stage was still present, but everything else was a mess. The middle-aged man in charge of the auction was helped up, and after eating a pill, he walked back onto the stage.
“My apologies. The auction was supposed to be held in the other room which had specialized divine runes to block a portion of the impact of the Sovereign seal. However, due to something unexpected, those divine runes were destroyed. We weren’t able to install them here in time, so please forgive me,” said the middle-aged man. “Let me introduce you to this treasure. It is a Sovereign seal, but it is a replica.”
“A replica? How is that possible?!” Startled cries rang out. How could a replica possess that terrifying aura?
“It truly is just a replica. This Sovereign seal was not created by a Sovereign. Instead, a supreme existence managed to create this replica from Devil Spirit Mountain’s seal. That’s why it possesses the Sovereign’s aura, but none of the Sovereign’s will,” said the middle-aged man.
Now everyone understood. So this terrifying aura didn’t have the true will to transmit it. Otherwise, none of them would still be standing.
A simple replica was actually so terrifying? The true Sovereign seal and the actual Sovereigns were unimaginably powerful.
Beitang Rushuang and Nangong Zuiyue looked at Long Chen. Now they understood why Long Chen had said that the Sovereign aura was indistinct and seemed off. Now they believed him.
“I’m sure everyone knows that Devil Spirit Mountain’s Sovereign Blood Seal was set in place by the second generation Sovereign, Sovereign Qing Xu. The Sovereigns have always been mysterious. They saved the world, suppressing the disasters that struck the continent. However, afterward, they all silently vanished. All they left behind was their names. This Sovereign seal does not have the Sovereign’s blood and only has the shape. It can only be called a replica, calling it a true Sovereign seal would be a blasphemy toward the Sovereigns,” said the middle-aged man reverently. “Although it’s a replica, to be able to replicate the Sovereign Blood Seal shows that the expert who created this had to have reached an unimaginable height. So even this replica is a priceless treasure. To tell the truth, it is the priceless treasure of my Dongfang family. But in order to express our sincerity, we have taken it out as the final, most precious auction item. All right, that’s enough talking. A replica of the Sovereign seal, starting price of one thousand underworld spirit beads. Every bid must be one hundred underworld spirit beads greater than the last. The bidding starts now!”
“One thousand five hundred!”
“Two thousand!”
“Two thousand five hundred!”
Even though it was a replica, it still drove people mad. Anything related to the Sovereigns was a priceless treasure. If these supreme geniuses could obtain it and comprehend some of the Sovereign’s will from it, they would benefit for a lifetime.
Beitang Rushuang and Nangong Zuiyue were also moved by this treasure, but before they could bid, Long Chen stopped them, sending them a message.
“Don’t be fooled. That Sovereign seal isn’t a replica.”
“Not a replica? Then what is it?” asked Nangong Zuiyue.
“It’s a replica of a replica. Something like that isn’t worth any money.” Seeing their lost expressions, Long Chen continued, “This thing was made by replicating the original replica. The Sovereign aura inside is a mess and has clearly been modified by someone. If you bought this, rather than attaining any enlightenment, you might be led astray. And furthermore, what would you want it for? Who cares about a replicated Sovereign seal? Every person has their own unique path to walk. Just because someone else was able to walk one path to its peak doesn’t mean that we would be able to. Of the myriad Daos, what matters is what suits us best. What’s the point of blindly following someone else’s footsteps? What’s the point of wasting that money? I’m telling you that thing is useless, so it’d be better to invest your money in me. Truly, it’s a small investment, but you’ll get a quick profit,” said Long Chen sincerely.
Originally the two of them were listening raptly to Long Chen. He was correct. The Sovereigns had walked their own paths, and if others tried to follow, there was no way they could reach the same height as the Sovereigns. It was better to follow their own paths. But toward the end, Nangong Zuiyue smiled. After a bit of serious talk, Long Chen once more returned to his normal state. Beitang Rushuang rolled her eyes at him.
While the two of them didn’t join in on the bidding, that didn’t mean that others weren’t. The Sovereigns had walked their own paths, corroborating their own Daos. This was a rare chance for others to gain a greater understanding of how they had done that.
The price rose rapidly. Even though it was a replica, people were going crazy for it.
Even Kung Pengzi had joined in. Everyone was going all-out, but when Kun Pengzi bid eight thousand, the replica ended up in his pocket.
Kun Pengzi didn’t reveal any joy after obtaining it. It was because of his steady and calm expression that so many of the people ended up giving up. They all felt him to be a very terrifying existence. They couldn’t read him, so they couldn’t tell what his price limit was.
The current world had declined. Hence, resources were growing tighter. The underworld spirit beads were extremely precious, and each one that was used was one that they could never get back. Eight thousand underworld spirit beads wasn’t a price that these geniuses could afford.
“Congratulations brother Kun on obtaining this priceless treasure. The auction is now concluded. Tomorrow will be the true gathering of past and present heroes. I’d like to ask everyone to gather in front of the Heavenly Music Stone tomorrow at noon. Let us gather all the heroes of the continent for a discussion.”
Following Dongfang Yuyang’s words, the curtain was drawn on the auction. Everyone left.
