His momentum of inevitability was decisively exposed. This sort of careless and indifferent attitude left many people feeling unsure of just how far he would go.
Whatever. There was still a second high-grade stone bead. They shouldn’t pay such a deep price for just one.
On the high platform the old man loudly said, “5 billion. If no other fellow daoist wishes to increase the bid, this high-grade stone bead will belong to this guest.”
For the next several breaths of time, the hall was silent. The old man clapped his hands together and said, “Auction completed. Congratulations to this guest.”
Cultivators from the Sealed Stone Sect immediately brought the stone bead over. Qin Yu took out a spirit stone card and completed the transaction, quickly dispelling the last glimmer of hope in the hearts of the other bidders.
The auction continued.
The old man said, “The auction for the second high-grade stone bead will now begin. Everyone, please grab onto this opportunity. There might not be another chance at a high-grade stone bead for a long time.”
The cultivator who had bid first after Qin Yu before hurriedly said, “One billion!”
It was clear that he wanted to use a similar method to inform the remaining bidders that he would obtain the stone bead no matter what.
But it was clear that no one wanted to give up. After several bids the price rose to 2 billion, at a pace even more astonishing than the first.
Jiang Zhoudao had a pale face. He turned his head to speak to the person beside him. After several muttering whispers, the man beside him nodded hesitantly.
“4 billion!”
Everyone could give up on struggling with him!
As he thought, his competitors fell silent. A little smile appeared on the corners of Jiang Zhoudao’s lips. But before his smile fully formed, a calm voice rose up.
“6 billion!”
Hu –
Jiang Zhoudao turned and glared at Qin Yu. This bastard!
This person had already obtained a high-grade stone bead before this and yet he still wanted to meddle.
“7 billion!”
Qin Yu furrowed his eyebrows. He directly stated, “10 billion.”
These two high-grade stone beads just happened to match him and You Qi. He wouldn’t give up on either of them.
As for spirit stones?
He was the Demonic Path’s Holy Sovereign, a supreme being of this world. For him, pure wealth had lost all meaning.
Hu –
Jiang Zhoudao rose from his seat. If looks could kill, Qin Yu would have been torn into pieces.
He was well aware that no matter how precious his status was, his sect would absolutely not pay 10 billion spirit stones for a high-grade stone bead.
In other words, it was impossible for him to continue bidding.
How hateful!
With a high-grade stone bead, his life could be saved twice in the Sealed Stone World. If he missed out on it today there would be no chance for him to wait for another auction.
Moreover, even if he waited until the next auction, that didn’t necessarily mean a second high-grade stone bead would appear.
Taking a deep breath, Jiang Zhoudao turned and walked away, rapidly leaving the hall.
Atop the platform, the old man revealed a look of surprise. He lifted his hand and said, “10 billion spirit stones. Congratulations to this fellow daoist for winning another high-grade stone bead!”
The payment was completed and Qin Yu received the second stone bead. Without pausing, Qin Yu brought You Qi and left the hall.
Shualala –
Within the hall, most of the competing cultivators had left.
These two high-grade stone beads had a combined cost of 15 billion spirit stones. It was enough to tempt the hearts of the people.
In any case, they were now in the Deer Chasing region, a chaotic land without any law or order. As soon as those two left the auction house there were sure to be some people ambushing them. While these people might not have the qualifications to join in on the hunt, there was no loss in watching the fun.
If their luck was good…who knew what would happen in the end?
But what surprised everyone was that after leaving the auction house, Qin Yu and You Qi were like ghosts, vanishing from everyone’s eyes.
No matter how much they looked, they couldn’t find a single trace of these two people. In the end they could only disperse helplessly.
Within a duplicated space, Qin Yu had a calm expression. He and You Qi stood not too far away from the entrance of the auction house and watched with their own eyes as the excitement on these peoples’ faces slowly turned to disappointment.
“Let’s go.” Qin Yu took You Qi’s hand and walked away. The duplicated space rapidly flowed forward with them, like a surge of liquid mercury.
The function of the Space-time Lock was not only to suppress and imprison people. Since it could produce a duplicate space that overlapped with the real world, this duplicate space could also serve as a temporary shelter.
Unless there was a person whose cultivation had reached the realm of surpassing life and death like Solitary Westgate, it would be hard for them to find a trace of this Space-time Lock.
After entering the Sealed Stone World, dangers could erupt at any time. The Space-time Lock was Qin Yu’s safety measure for resting and also resisting the backlash of the devil mark.
Three days after the auction ended, in a cave within the wilderness, Qin Yu and You Qi stood shoulder to shoulder. The stone beads they held in their hands started to shine.
Hum –
Fluctuations erupted. Ripples spread outwards like the disturbed surface of a still lake, soon swallowing their figures.
…
Within the void, countless stones of varying sizes were calmly suspended in space. They revolved at a fixed speed, looking like an endless nebula in the skies.
Suddenly, space twisted and two figures ran out. The woman bent over and violently coughed. The man held onto her and gently patted her back. After some time she composed herself and nodded her head to express that she was fine.
These two people were Qin Yu and You Qi, who had just been transmitted into the Sealed Stone World through the stone beads.
The transmission here could be described as dizzyingly chaotic, so turbulent that the heavens and earth seemed to swap places. Even with Qin Yu’s cultivation he still felt a stuffiness in his chest. As for You Qi, if it weren’t for him protecting her he feared she would have been thoroughly crushed by the strength of the transmission and reduced to dust by now.
“This is the Sealed Stone World?” You Qi mumbled out loud. She looked ahead at the ‘stone kingdom’ in front of her.
Qin Yu nodded, a dignified expression on his face. In his eyes, he could see that every stone contained a formidable aura.
It was as if even though countless years had passed and thousands of catastrophes had occurred, they weren’t able to be destroyed even a little bit…this was a sort of will that would last through eternity!
A feeling of awe gushed out from deep within him and waves of shock stirred in his heart. He couldn’t imagine what level of existence could leave behind marks on these stones.
“Qin Yu, what is it?” You Qi asked, worry on her face.
Qin Yu took a deep breath. “I’m fine. I just suddenly feel very small.”
There is a sky beyond the skies, and there is always someone that stands higher…
At this moment, Qin Yu suddenly felt an extremely profound sense of understanding. He didn’t know what the origin of this Sealed Stone World was, but it must have borne witness to a period of unimaginable glory. This was a level which Qin Yu couldn’t even hope to contact with his current level. This was a distance as far apart as the heavens and earth.
You Qi had a thoughtful expression. “These stones…are they that great?”
Qin Yu nodded, “Yes. Very, very great.” He lifted a single finger. “If I can achieve just a tenth of the residual will left behind in these stones, I can easily solve the problem of the devil mark’s backlash.”
“Ah!” You Qi cried out in alarm. She finally understood why he revealed such an extraordinary look. She ecstatically said, “So these stones are extremely helpful for you?”
Qin Yu said, “I don’t know yet. I am preparing to test it.”
He looked behind him at the endless void. He didn’t know what was hiding in that nothingness, but his intuition told him that it was best if he didn’t try to satisfy his curiosity.
Taking a step forward, Qin Yu approached the nearest stone. Once he approached within 100 feet, his complexion suddenly changed. A boundless pressure suddenly arrived, pressing down upon his chest like a mountain. He needed to gather the entirety of his mind to resist it.
Qin Yu closed his eyes, sensing for a long time. The corners of his lips slowly curved up in a smile. Yes, this was the place he needed.
“You Qi, I need to immediately start cultivating. You can first –”
Before he finished speaking, his eyebrows furrowed together. He looked into the distant void.
In the ‘nebula’ of stones, several distressed figures marched forward. Several of them were deathly pale and already wounded.
“Stay behind me!” Qin Yu grabbed hold of You Qi and welcomed the several people flying over.
A cultivator screamed out loud, “Hurry and run! There are people in the Sealed Stone World trying to steal our stone beads!”
Before his voice fell the cultivator’s eyes flew open and he screamed out loud. His chest blew open.
A black shadow flowed out, stretching into the figure of a cultivator. His hands held onto a still-beating heart and he was smiling cheerfully. “I don’t like killing people. But little kids, why can’t you just be obedient and listen?”
Shua –
Shua –
Several black-clothed cultivators arrived, surrounding the group.