Eternal Emerald Dragon

Chapter 1492 - 1491 - Auction Begins

The once massive open arena sands were transformed in under a month. There was now a massive auditorium with many seats on level with the auction house floor.

The VIP suites now had far more security than before and the hallways were full of Harmonic Dragons acting as guards.

Lind was in a large chair that allowed him to relax as he might want to bid on some things, but mostly, he wanted to be with his family. They had been in the healing hall for too long.

The change of venue and the energy of the event infected them. It was a mixture of expectation, desperation, and greed, but it was also fun.

The boisterous atmosphere deed much more in a few moments than all the mourning together combined in a month.

Life moved on and cultivators could not wallow. Cyntilla would be incensed with them if they did so.

Thus, with the auction house energy infusing them, Lind and his family looked on at the first items made by the Heaven Realm contestants and some grade 6 treasures started the event off.

It was treated as a simple sampling of what was to come. The Heaven Realm masters had worked hard so it was definitely worth some interest.

The few Immortal Grade items certainly garnered intense betting among the mid to lower level powers.

Lind actually picked up an artifact that was able to analyze the ambient elements of an area. Many did not see the point but he found it could be incredibly useful in locating treasures or unstable areas.

The seats filled and the true auction was about to begin.

[All please take your seats. If you have exhausted your resources, know that we are aware.] Lind smiled as a familiar voice spoke up.

Fey appeared on stage back in full health and she was now at the peak of the Sovereign Tier. Facing life and death had deepened her Daos and her foundation. Once she recovered, she had to master her strength for months so it was technically still in the healing hall, just an isolated set of chambers.

Now, her hair seemed to half absorb all light on the raised stage while the other half was mesmerizing to see move with her head. The bright green shine was not inhibited at all by the abyssal side.

Her eyes now drew the target in to the point she now wore special artifacts to hinder their power. Lind was unaffected for reasons unknown but even Shoti, who had definitely faced almost True Death long ago, had been disturbed by a single glance.

The artifacts were essentially a band across her eyes but he had stylized it so it would complement her narrow face and fair skin. The coloring blended with her black and green coloring for her hair as well.

Her robes were no longer the battle aligned but a pure white robe. It shimmered but not enough to draw attention away from her lovely features. The reason she was running the auction was 2 fold.

The first, she was an expert on artifact, pills, etc in her own right. She was a Maester Pill maker as well so with all the authentication background, she was perfect to answer any questions on the fly for the newer items.

The second, was just that anyone would be insane to challenge her to try and swipe the items. Security was good, better than good to most experts, but Lind knew people could go mad for greed or need.

Pills and elixirs were not as much of an issue but resources, artifacts, and weapons could drive people to desperate moves. Weaving and formation plates required understanding of the more complex or profound creations, thus stealing them was not as helpful if they could not use them.

[The rules for each singular item will be explained after they are displayed. Batches for pills, resources, and so forth must have an increase of at least 5 Qi stones or equivalent resource based on the consensus of the supreme merchant guilds and sects.]

That last part had been a huge pain in the neck. Qi stones were the currency of cultivators but they were also used for cultivation, refining, and pretty much any aspect of life. They were an excellent source of pure elemental Qi.

Despite all being stone, only Immortal Earth Qi Stones had Earth Qi. Thus it was possible to have an equivalent amount of crystals, ore, and so forth but quality varied wildly for those.

Thus, so long ago no one can remember why it happened, a set of standards had been set to trade stones for resources.

When Lind put that as an option for payment, he thought it would be a given but he had opened the floodgates as apparently the nature of the 4th layer meant there were curveballs depending on where something was extracted from or found.

Thrones, of course, were treated as quality standards per normal, but the vast majority of the rest of the layer had been under the effects of a suppression formation for so long the quality far from the Sovereign Lands were treated as inferior regardless of quality.

It took years to get them to agree in the end.

Just remember it made a vein throb on his forehead.

[Finally, all bids that are the sole burden of the bidder. Any cajoling, threats, or other methods to influence them are forbidden. We do not care where you come from or who is behind you. People will have an equal chance to bid in this auction.]

Lind smiled as Fey let loose her aura. Those that likely were about to object had to swallow it as her aura was nearly on par with his when using his Dao. It told him she was very near her own ascension.

Unlike him, she was guided by the Inheritances' knowledge and now was going to leave him behind.

He almost pitied the Fiends.

[We shall now start with–] He tuned her out as the first few batches were grade 7 pills and similar starter creations. Valuable to many but to him, they were easy to get ahold of.

The bidding was a bit muted at first but when the first batch of Golden Fire Pills appeared it started a furious bidding war. The pills would invigorate natural Qi like a storm in the dantian.

Slivers to crystals would also become more profound as Laws were incorporated into them. The golden part came from the glow that came over the cultivator as the aura exuded from them.

Lind watched as the bids quickly surpassed 1000 peak Immortal Qi stones. For peak grade 7 pills, that was a stunning amount. There were only 10 pills but that was 10 times in a life to safely experience explosive progress.

Any Immortal would grasp at that chance but only to a point. The trade off was what always came with relying on pills. The effort was taken by the pill to invigorate the cultivator rather than personal growth.

It could take a cultivator far but if they relied on that external help, the tribulations would likely kill them. Heaven and Earth were fair and while slow and steady were frustrating, it showed the full grasp of the foundation and the will to face the harsh path of tribulation.

Still, some just wanted to reach the peak and live longer. Those pills would easily allow that, if nothing else, and it was something many would understand.

Once they were sold for 1500 peak Immortal Qi stones, the true auction would finally begin.

Fey stepped back up and some dragons brought out a set of armor. It was unlike anything seen in the tournament. It had some cracks but the aura was felt clearly even through the display screens.

Lind leaned forward until a stern glare had him relax back. His Mother had made Qing swear to keep him from so much as exerting himself a little bit. She was not messing around.

[We are starting with a set of armor found in a Ruin. It was inside a fortress full of golems and other artificial constructs that could take on Radiant Tiers with ease.] Lind suddenly knew what was up.

It was the armor set found over a billion years ago. It was cracked already when it was found but no one could put a scratch in it! It was seen in a few auctions after the owner exhausted attempts to use it.

Everyone agreed it was phenomenal, but no one could get the damned thing to work beyond being tough.

"No." It was Kora that spoke but she was joined by the others and quickly affirmed the denial of his clear desire.

"But–" All of them suddenly slammed their aura against him.

"Beloved, you would quickly try to exert your full abilities to analyze it and over extend yourself after you just recovered. Swear you won't and we will let you bid on it." Annabelle's sapphire and gold eyes bored into him.

He could not do it. They had him dead to rights. He wilted under them and they all turned back to the auction.

The armor was called the Hidden Puzzle and collectors were always happy to see it. The bidding started at 5000 high grade Immortal Qi stones.

It quickly sailed into 5 figures and closed in on 6 before it was sold. Now the real bidding wars would begin!