Shrouded Sky

Chapter 334 - The World Trembles

Several old monks entered a VIP suite, their skin faintly golden, soft halos glowing behind their heads, and soon disappeared from sight.

“These old monks… could they have achieved the Golden Buddha Physique?” Ye Fan whispered. He had heard of the Golden Buddha Physique on Earth.

“Even the people from the Western Desert have come,” Blackwater sighed. “The inheritance of the Beginningless Emperor truly shakes the entire world, its influence is unimaginable!”

Suddenly, his expression tightened. Through divine sense transmission, he said, “Over there, someone even more terrifying than the Azure Flood Dragon Monarch has arrived!”

Following his gaze, Ye Fan saw a man in his forties. His skin was pale, his figure tall and lean, and his expression calm yet chilling.

“Who is he?”

“That man is Xue Tianxiong, the third Warlord of the Northern Region, the grandfather of Xue Yuan and Xue Heng,” Blackwater explained.

Ye Fan silently memorized his features. This man was an unimaginably dangerous figure, Ye Fan himself had killed his grandson, Xue Yuan. If his identity were revealed, disaster would be inevitable.

Before long, Ye Fan saw the Grand Xia prince and the little nun in white enter the hall, accompanying a middle-aged man who wore a golden dragon robe and a dragon crown upon his head.

That middle-aged man radiated godpower, faint outlines of nine true dragons coiled around his body, winding across the golden armor he wore. Atop his crown was a dragon’s head formed entirely from condensed dragon might, its presence awe-inspiring and oppressive.

“This must be an important figure of the Grand Xia royal family,” Blackwater said in shock. “For the dragon might to take form and manifest an actual dragon’s head, that’s a sign of having cultivated the Supreme Emperor Scripture to an extraordinary realm.”

Many formidable figures had arrived, most of them strangers to Ye Fan, and the splendid auction hall was packed to the brim, a sea of heads stretching as far as the eye could see.

At this point, Ye Fan and Blackwater no longer had any worries. Since all the holy lands were present, the damaged godly medicine would undoubtedly sell for an astronomical price.

“I’ve already asked around,” Blackwater said. “It seems the Sacred Lord of Radiant Light is gravely injured, his vital essence was damaged when the Peacock Monarch struck him with the Chaos Seal, and he nearly perished in Purple Mountain this time.”

Ye Fan’s gaze drifted toward a quiet corner of the crowd, where the Red Dragon Daoist sat calmly among the people, not sparing the holy lands a single glance.

He truly was fearless, Ye Fan remembered that this man had personally participated in the attempt to kill the Radiant Light Sacred Lord. And yet, here he was again, openly attending this auction.

Then again, perhaps it was understandable. The holy lands and the thirteen warlords had temporarily allied, using the ancient Heaven-Devouring Jar to assault Purple Mountain. In that case, the Red Dragon Daoist’s presence here was not so strange.

Dong…!

A deep, resonant bell sounded. The Godfiend Treasure Tower fell into silence, the auction was about to begin.

The flow of people in and out slowed; almost all the key figures and major powers had already arrived. There was no reason to wait any longer.

At the very front stood a resplendent platform carved entirely from yellow diamond. It gleamed with golden brilliance, magnificent beyond compare.

An elderly man with white hair stepped onto the dragon platform and announced the start of the auction.

Sixteen young maidens stood at both sides of the stage. They were all from the Godfiend Palace, naturally, each was as beautiful as an immortal, their figures graceful beneath thin veils of gauze. They would be responsible for presenting each item.

The first few items were minor trinkets. The highest bid so far was only two thousand catties of source, nothing exciting.

“The fourth auction item, a piece of Desolate Ancient Jade. The starting price is one thousand catties of source,” the white-haired elder announced.

A demon maiden swayed forward on delicate lotus steps, her hair dancing with each movement. She carried a purple sandalwood tray, upon which rested a piece of jade that shimmered with a warm luster and delicate patterns.

Ye Fan’s heart skipped a beat. The jade was too familiar, it was Imperial Jade!

A fragment left behind by the Beginningless Emperor. He had never expected to see it here, being sold for a mere thousand catties of source. It was laughable.

If people knew its true origin, not even a hundred thousand catties would be enough to stop the frenzy.

“What’s so special about this piece of jade?” someone in the audience asked.

“This jade contains traces of Dao Resonance,” the white-haired elder explained. “It is said to have belonged to a great figure of ancient times.”

The crowd examined it carefully but eventually shook their heads, no one placed a bid.

Faint markings were visible on the jade’s surface, part of one of the nine dragon veins, but only a small segment, not the full dragon body.

“The fracture of this jade is perfect,” Ye Fan thought, heart pounding. “It only shows a corner of the mountain ridge. Even those who’ve seen Purple Mountain and the nine dragon veins won’t recognize it.”

The timing was perfect. With the Beginningless Emperor’s inheritance shocking the world, if this jade’s true identity were discovered, chaos would erupt instantly.

Ye Fan’s pulse raced. His excitement surpassed even the thrill of cutting out an ultimate treasure.

“One thousand catties of source,” he bid.

“Two thousand catties,” came another voice from a VIP suite, directly challenging him.

Ye Fan recognized the voice, it belonged to the richly dressed young man who had come with Wu Ziming. His brow furrowed.

“Three thousand catties.”

“Four thousand catties,” the noble youth countered.

Blackwater frowned. “It’s just a broken piece of jade. Why buy it?”

Ye Fan couldn’t explain, the truth would bring disaster. He had no choice but to reply casually, “It’s a piece of ancient jade from tens of thousands of years ago. I just want it as a keepsake. If they’re willing to fight for it, fine, five thousand catties. If they want to pay more, it’s theirs.”

The other bidder began to call out “Six...” but stopped midway.

In the end, Ye Fan bought the jade for five thousand catties of source, a few thousand more than necessary, but absolutely worth it.

To enter Purple Mountain, one needed that jade. It was the key left behind by the Beginningless Emperor himself. If its secret were exposed, it would lead to rivers of blood and mountains of corpses.

That fragment could open the Beginningless Emperor’s inheritance, and Ye Fan was determined to obtain the Beginningless Scripture.

Most of the powerful figures in the Godfiend Tower paid no attention to these early, minor lots. They were all waiting for the godly medicine, unaware that they had just missed a heaven-defying treasure.

Fortunately, that ignorance spared the world from a blood-soaked battle.

“Wu Ziming and his group were clearly bidding just to spite us,” Blackwater grumbled.

Ye Fan, in good spirits, didn’t mind. “Let’s settle accounts with them at the holy land’s stone workshops later.”

At last came the highlight of the auction. A demon maiden carefully carried a silk scroll onto the golden stage.

“The next item,” the white-haired elder announced, “is the personal notes of a powerful cultivator who has already passed away. The starting bid is thirty thousand catties of source.”

Boom!

The auction hall erupted in uproar. Many were visibly excited; even the grand elders of major sects began to bid fervently.

“Forty thousand catties!”

“Fifty thousand!”

“I’ll pay seventy thousand!”

“Eighty thousand catties of source!”

The atmosphere was electric. A group of elderly powerhouses shouted over one another, driving the price higher and higher, while the younger cultivators could only watch with envy.

“These old fogeys look like they’ve taken Viagra, their eyes are red!” Blackwater whispered.

“Chill out. Don’t talk nonsense,” Ye Fan cautioned. “Someone here could be eavesdropping on divine transmissions.”

Eventually, the late cultivator’s notes sold for an astounding one hundred and twenty thousand catties of source, shocking everyone present.

The white-haired elder raised his voice once more, “Next, we will present an ancient rarity.”

Instantly, the hall fell silent. You could hear a pin drop.

The sixteen demon maidens, each one a Dao Palace Realm cultivator, were drenched in sweat, trembling as they struggled to lift a massive, broken bell more than a meter tall.

Gasps spread through the audience. For maidens of such strength to strain so visibly, the bell must have been unimaginably heavy.

The white-haired elder stepped forward personally, receiving the ancient bell with both hands. It was dull and dark, half-destroyed, an ordinary-looking bell at first glance.

“It’s broken, completely ruined!” someone exclaimed.

Murmurs spread. Indeed, one side of the bell was entirely missing, it was, strictly speaking, only half a bell.

“What’s the point of auctioning a broken bell?” someone called out.

“Do not underestimate it,” the white-haired elder said solemnly. “This is no ordinary artifact.”

“What exactly is it, then?” an old cultivator asked.

“It was unearthed in an abandoned ancient mine,” the elder replied. “It has existed for at least fifty thousand years.”

“Ancient relics are common enough. Age alone doesn’t make it valuable. Does it have any origin?”

“This bell,” the elder said gravely, “once belonged to an ancient powerhouse, a being whose cultivation had nearly stepped into the realm of ancient sages.”

The crowd erupted again. Countless old masters became animated, shouting out bids.

“Seventy thousand catties!”

“Eighty thousand!”

“One hundred thousand catties of source!”

Even the holy lands joined the competition.

Though broken beyond repair, the bell still contained faint traces of law, more than enough for great powers to study.

The bidding grew fierce; elderly figures shouted prices in rapid succession, all from top-tier forces.

“These old fogeys have gone mad again!” Blackwater muttered.

Ye Fan chuckled. “Look, your grandfather’s one of them.”

Blackwater fell silent.

In the end, the shattered bell sold for one hundred and eighty thousand catties of source, an astonishing price. One could only imagine its worth had it been intact.

“Now,” the white-haired elder declared solemnly, “we come to the final item, a treasure so unique that a second one will never exist.”

He personally descended from the golden platform, returning with a flawless white jade cauldron. The cauldron was only a foot tall, tightly sealed with a matching lid.

“I believe most of you already know what this is,” he said. “Indeed, it is a godly medicine from the Primordial Era, cut out from stone by a young cultivator!”

The hall exploded into noise. The godly medicine was the centerpiece of the auction, the reason everyone had come.

Of course, most were here only to witness the event. They knew they could never afford it. The price would soar to heaven itself and inevitably end up in the hands of the holy lands.

The elder opened the jade cauldron, revealing the godly medicine sealed within icy source. Even through the frost, a faint fragrance wafted out, calming the heart and clearing the mind.

Its root was pale blue, shining with crystalline light, while its milk-white base resembled a tiny human foot, only much smaller.

“So much time has passed,” the elder said, “that even its name has been forgotten. In all the vast wilderness, there may not be another godly medicine like this one. The starting bid is fifteen thousand catties of source.”

“Wow!”

The audience collectively drew in cold breaths. Though the godly medicine was incomplete, its base price alone was staggering, and the final bid would surely defy reason.

After a brief silence, the bids began.

“Sixteen thousand catties!”

“Eighteen thousand!”

“Twenty thousand catties of source!”

Even the third great bandit, Xue Tianxiong, stood up and shouted a sky-high price.

The elders who had been bidding earlier sat back down. This was no longer their level, this was a contest among Supreme Giants, Warlords, Immortal Dynasties and Sacred Lords.

Indeed, the holy lands themselves began to bid. Some of their Sacred Lords were personally seated within the VIP suites.

“Even those bald old monks are joining in,” Blackwater whispered in excitement, as the monks with glowing halos behind their heads pushed the price to twenty-five thousand catties of source.

Then the mysterious figures from the Middle Continent, the ones wearing dragon crowns, raised it by another fifty thousand!

“Hiss…” Ye Fan drew in a sharp breath. “These people really do intend to enter Purple Mountain. They’re preparing in advance, buying life-saving godly medicine.”

Blackwater grinned. “In that case, we should hurry up and sell that fruit the black dog bit into, while all these big shots are here!”

Ye Fan nodded. “Good idea. As soon as the godly medicine is sold, we’ll have the Godfiend Tower auction off the fruit with the dog’s tooth mark.”

“Hahaha… I can’t wait to see which Sacred Lord buys it, and what kind of face he makes when he realizes what it is.”