Emperor of the Source

Chapter 289: Before the Auction Storm

Adrian walked through the towering interior of the Crimson Spire, navigating toward one of the upper administrative chambers. Earlier, he had contacted Hestia and requested a discussion. The ring artifact was already completed, and he had also thoroughly researched the procedures required to register an artifact for auction. He did not need Hestia's help for that process. The reason he had requested this meeting was much simpler. He merely wanted to give her a heads-up.

Once he registered the ring in the auction, such an artifact would undoubtedly create waves across the entire Andromeda Galaxy. Many sects would begin aggressively preparing funds to compete against one another for it. The four most influential upper minor sects within Andromeda would almost certainly become the fiercest competitors for the item. However, that did not mean they would be the only contenders. Travelers from other galaxies might also appear, possibly even individuals from major sects passing through the region. There was also the possibility that some seemingly ordinary sect within the galaxy might suddenly reveal hidden strength, just as the Radiant Spiral Sect had done during the Aurora Crystal Belt conflict.

In short, the coming days could become extremely active within the Andromeda Galaxy. Because of that, Adrian felt it was appropriate to inform Hestia beforehand.

Soon, he reached the conference hall they had used previously. As he approached the entrance, he saw Elder Caelum stepping out of the chamber.

Caelum immediately noticed Adrian and stopped, his expression brightening. "Elder Adrian! I was actually searching for you!"

He continued with obvious enthusiasm, "I truly needed to thank you again. With the imprint spell you provided, teaching the arcane concepts and divine spells has become much easier. It has saved us from repeating the same lessons over and over again for every group of disciples."

Adrian felt slightly surprised when he heard that. It had only been about a week since he had distributed the imprint concept to everyone. Although imprint was not a particularly complex arcane concept, Caelum had already comprehended it and begun using the spell in practical teaching situations. Adrian could not determine exactly how deeply Caelum had comprehended the concept, but accomplishing this within such a short time clearly demonstrated that this elder was far from ordinary.

"The disciples have been progressing faster than I've seen before," Caelum added, "Several outer disciples have already formed their essence seeds for Vitality."

Adrian smiled faintly and replied, "There is no need to thank me, Elder Caelum. We belong to the same sect, so helping each other is only natural."

"Perhaps," Caelum said, though his tone suggested he disagreed with Adrian's modesty. "But not every elder would share such valuable knowledge so freely."

Caelum then added, his expression becoming more thoughtful, "I also heard that you helped the disciples from the inscription department when they were working on formations inside the relic world. Ever since that day, many disciples have been asking whether you plan to oversee the inscription department. That department currently has no elder managing it. If you have free time, would you consider taking responsibility for it?"

Adrian shook his head slightly. "I am quite busy with several matters right now. But you do not need to worry about the inscription department. Some of the people I brought with me will soon join that department and help manage it."

Caelum's eyebrows rose slightly at that statement. "Oh? That is excellent news. The department has been struggling since Elder Veran fell during the war. We lost many skilled inscribers in those battles as well."

However, a different thought passed quietly through his mind. Everyone Adrian had brought with him were mortals. How could they possibly possess the level of inscription knowledge required to manage the entire inscription department? After thinking about it for a moment, Caelum concluded that Adrian was most likely not interested in taking responsibility for the department himself. Of course, an elder could oversee entire divisions of the sect if they possessed the necessary expertise, but no one could force such a responsibility upon them. Adrian had already contributed an extraordinary amount to the sect. Caelum himself felt that the sect could not continue expecting more from him.

"Well," Caelum said finally, "I should not keep you from your meeting with the Sect Leader."

After a few polite words, Caelum departed to handle his own responsibilities.

Adrian then entered the conference hall.

Hestia was seated at the far end of the long conference table. A translucent holographic interface floated above the table surface before her, displaying layers of financial reports and infrastructure projections. The displays scrolled slowly through the air as she reviewed the sect's recent developments, occasionally adjusting the information with subtle movements of her fingers.

When Adrian entered the room, her gaze immediately lifted toward him. With a small gesture, she dismissed the holographic panels.

"Elder Adrian," she said calmly. "Please, sit."

Adrian nodded and took one of the seats across from her. The chair's surface adjusted slightly beneath him, conforming to his posture.

Hestia leaned back slightly in her chair and folded her hands upon the table. "What did you wish to discuss?" she asked.

Adrian did not respond immediately. Instead, he raised his hand and retrieved a small ring from his spatial ring. The artifact floated gently across the table, guided by Adrian's controlled essence, before stopping in front of Hestia.

Hestia reached forward and caught the ring between her fingers. She examined it briefly. It was clearly an artifact, but its function was not immediately obvious. The inscriptions covering its surface were dense and intricate, arranged in patterns she could not decipher. However, she knew Adrian well enough by now to understand that anything he presented was unlikely to be simple.

"This is… an artifact," she said.

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Adrian nodded.

"What does it do?" she asked, turning the ring slightly to examine the runes from different angles.

"Wear it and try it," Adrian replied calmly. "It will be easier to experience it directly than to listen to my explanation."

Hestia did not hesitate. Ring-type artifacts rarely contained dangerous effects, and she trusted Adrian enough to test it. If he had brought the artifact personally, there was certainly a reason behind it. She slipped the ring onto her finger and allowed a thin thread of mana to flow into it.

The reaction occurred instantly. The runes engraved on the ring ignited with a soft golden glow. A stream of golden essence emerged from the artifact and flowed into her body. The energy moved smoothly through her bloodstream before rising upward toward her brain. Within seconds, the essence settled in her brain and began rotating gently in a controlled pattern.

Hestia's eyes narrowed slightly. She could feel the effect immediately. The small amount of willforce she had spent earlier while reviewing administrative matters was recovering noticeably faster than usual. The usual fog that accompanied mental exhaustion lifted, replaced by clarity.

For several moments, she remained silent. She had experienced this sensation before. Years ago, she had once consumed a pill refined from the Crimson Will Lotus. That pill had produced almost exactly the same effect, accelerating willforce recovery and restoring mental clarity far more quickly than natural recovery. Now that same effect was occurring again, but this time through a ring artifact.

The existence of such an artifact did not surprise her. She was aware that willforce recovery artifacts existed within the universe. Some major sects possessed such items, and there were many stories claiming that great sects possessed technologies far beyond what ordinary cultivators could imagine. Some even believed that treasures considered priceless by even major sects were treated as common tools inside the great sects.

Considering Adrian's mysterious background, the existence of such an artifact did not contradict the theories she had already formed about him. If anything, it reinforced them.

Her gaze slowly lifted toward Adrian.

"This is a willforce recovery artifact," she said calmly.

Adrian nodded once. "Yes."

Hestia slowly removed the ring from her finger and placed it on the table between them. This time when she looked at it, her gaze carried far greater focus.

"Artifacts like this are extremely rare," she said. "Even among major sects, they are not widely distributed."

Adrian replied calmly, "That may be true. But this one can be mass produced."

For the first time since the conversation began, Hestia's expression changed slightly. Her hands, which had been resting calmly on the table, tensed. "Mass produced?" she repeated.

Adrian nodded again. "My plan is to auction one ring first. The funds from that auction will be used to establish the infrastructure required for larger-scale production."

Hestia leaned forward slightly. Her mind was already racing through the implications. Even major sects rarely produced such artifacts in large numbers because the divine concepts required to manage them were extremely rare. Only a few cultivators in an entire sect might comprehend such concepts, making large-scale production nearly impossible.

And Adrian was only one person. So how exactly did he intend to achieve this?

"How?" she asked directly. "Do you plan to teach the arcane concepts and divine concept required for this artifact to many disciples?"

Adrian shook his head. "No, not for now. But I have other methods to produce them in large numbers. I cannot reveal everything at the moment, but I have my own way."

He naturally could not reveal anything about Origin Ink, and he also did not possess the arcane concepts necessary to claim he would teach the process openly.

Hestia studied him carefully for several seconds. Eventually, she nodded and decided not to press further. Instead, she said, "The sect is in a much stronger financial position now. If you simply need funds, there is no need to go through an auction. The sect can arrange the capital for you."

Adrian felt genuine gratitude hearing those words, but he shook his head.

"I know the sect is doing well, but it also has many expenses. The reconstruction of the space lanes, the infrastructure around the relic world, the expansion of the sect's centers and facilities… all of that requires enormous resources. I do not want to burden the sect further."

He paused briefly before continuing. "There is also another reason. If the Crimson Vital Sect becomes publicly connected to this artifact, it will attract unnecessary attention. Once this ring appears in the auction, many sects will investigate its origin. Our sect is still growing. Drawing that kind of attention right now would not be wise."

Hestia nodded slowly. She understood his reasoning completely. The Crimson Vital Sect had only recently begun rebuilding its reputation. Although its influence was rising quickly, it still lacked the strength necessary to withstand intense scrutiny from the most powerful sects within the galaxy. Keeping distance from the artifact was indeed the safer choice.

After thinking for a moment, she asked, "I understand your reasoning, but what happens after the auction? If you plan to sell these artifacts in large quantities later, how will you distribute them? Individuals cannot operate commercial centers within UNI-Hubs. Eventually, you would need storefronts or official distribution networks, and that would reveal your identity."

Adrian nodded. "I am aware of that, but I do not intend to open storefronts for now. Instead, I plan to establish supply contracts with sects directly."

Hestia raised an eyebrow slightly. "So you came here to negotiate a contract with the Crimson Vital Sect?"

If Adrian was not here for capital, then this entire business could even be said to be Adrian's private business. At most, the sect could expect some discounts; other than that, if the sect could not be a sponsor for now, then it could not do much about it.

Adrian shook his head. "No. I only came to give you advance notice. And the Crimson Vital Sect does not need to sign any contract with me."

Hestia frowned slightly, "What do you mean?"

Adrian answered calmly, "I consider this sect my home as well. I would not charge money from my own people. Once production becomes stable and I establish contracts with other sects, I will distribute these artifacts here. I could do it immediately, but if the Crimson Vital Sect obtains them first, it may attract attention. So I will wait until later."

For several seconds, Hestia did not respond. Throughout her life, she had encountered countless cultivators driven by ambition, pride, greed, and personal gain. Such motivations were normal in the cultivation world.

But Adrian was different. From the moment he arrived, he had repeatedly given the sect things without expecting anything much in return. The knowledge spheres he had shared, the divine concept he had provided, the help he had given to the disciples inside the relic world…

And now this. He was offering an artifact that could easily become one of the most valuable items within the entire galaxy.

Yet he asked for nothing. For the first time in a long while, Hestia felt genuinely moved.

She looked at Adrian and spoke slowly, "Elder Adrian… thank you."

Her voice carried a sincerity rarely heard from a sect leader.

"Not only for this artifact, but for everything you have done for the Crimson Vital Sect. You have helped this sect far more than anyone could reasonably expect, and I will not forget that."

Adrian opened his mouth to respond, but before he could speak, both of them sensed a spatial distortion flicker inside the conference hall.

Hestia's gaze turned towards the area where she felt the distortion. Any kind of teleportation within the Crimson Spire was completely blocked by many formations. Only those who were extremely strong could bypass the formations and teleport within, or those who had permission to do so.

Other than the elders and herself, no one had permission. Most importantly, the elders other than Adrian, she knew, did not have the comprehension of space to teleport like this. So was this an attack? Assassination, maybe?

Her divine domain erupted instantly. Crimson essence flooded the chamber, condensing into sharp defensive barriers between herself and the spatial distortion. Her mana moved toward the spatial ring on her finger, ready to summon her weapon.