Three Yin City hosted a big auction once every three months, which was less than a day away right then.
For the time being, the city was packed with people. All sorts of big shots had arrived in the city, including experts of the external sects.
Astral Reaching experts were rampant like dogs, and Sea of Soul realm experts could be seen walking everywhere!
"Daoist Ironwood, Old Man Sky Eagle, Spiritualist Big Rock, Spiritualist Three Veins, Daoist Black Snake, Spiritualist Yuan Metal... So many Sea of Soul realm experts! They are at least forty of them!" Inside the inns, shops, on the streets, everybody was discussing.
"We better not miss this one. The number of Sea of Soul realm experts in the city has to be in the fifties. There might even be a few master grade among them."
"It"s really amazing. This is my first time coming to the Extreme Yin Region and Three Yin City. In the world outside, even running into one Sea of Soul realm expert is fortunate."
"Of course, you won"t see them that easily, neither our level is sufficient to make contact with them. Once we reach their realm, we might even be able to see Life and Death Kings."
"You"re right. Your eyes and communication would be bound to your own level indeed."
The following morning, the silent night of Three Yin City erupted with an astonis.h.i.+ng vigor. A flood of people flocked towards the auction in the western district of the city. The numerous experts flying in the city seemed like layers of clouds floating in the sky.
When Ye Chen and Murong Qingcheng arrived at the grand entrance of the auction, they couldn"t help but sigh in amazement. Merely the entrance was several hundred meters wide, and more than a hundred meters high. Before the entrance were two stone lions that were much taller than a ten-storied building. The auction building was dome-shaped and its summit was at least at a height of thousand meters. The two had never witnessed such a scene before. The auctions they had witnessed before were like huts compared to this grand sight.
"Let"s go in!"
Dressed in purple and with her face covered, Murong Qingcheng was bound to attract gazes wherever she went. Although Ye Chen"s appearance couldn"t be regarded as peerlessly handsome, he looked sharp and distinct. When paired with his exceptional sword artist bearing, he attracted his fair share of eyes as well.
After a momentary pause, the two entered the building together.
The auction had both ordinary seats and VIP rooms. The ordinary seats didn"t require any fee while the latter required three thousand mid grade spirit stones. Usually, an Astral Reaching expert wouldn"t choose VIP room. After all an Astral Reaching expert usually had a total wealth of a couple dozen thousand mid grade spirit stones. Three thousand mid grade spirit stones was not a small burden for them. They couldn"t be this extravagant with spending.
Ye Chen naturally didn"t care about such an amount and chose a VIP room.
The auction had five floors altogether. The first three were ordinary seats, while the fourth and fifth were VIP rooms. The auction stage was placed quite high, in between second and third floor, a little distant from spectators and appearing quite s.p.a.cious. Even more spectacular was the transparent gla.s.s before the stage. This gla.s.s could magnify things by about ten folds, ensuring everybody could see inside clearly. After all, if everyone were to release their spirit power simultaneously, the representative wouldn"t be able to make out anything, and it would be hard to avoid accidents.
The fifth floor was usually the seating area of Sea of Soul realm experts. To not stand out, Ye Chen picked a VIP room in a corner of the fourth floor.
Entering the VIP room"s crystal gla.s.s, Ye Chen involuntarily took a look. In the end, his gaze paused at a corner.
In his line sight, Duan Lingyun and an old man headed towards the VIP section of the fifth floor.
"He should be a Sea of Soul realm expert of the Soul Sunder Sect!"
At this point, Ye Chen had no choice but to prepare himself for a battle against Sea of Soul realm experts. With his current battle power, he could contend with a Sea of Soul realm expert who hadn"t cultivated a peak earth grade martial skill. In comparison to the ones who had cultivated one but hadn"t perfected it, he was somewhat lacking. As for those who had comprehended the profound, Ye Chen had no hope. They were existences that could easily kill him.
Murong Qingcheng had also noticed Duan Lingyun and the old man. She said, "On his robe is a ghost swallowing moon. If my guess is right, he should be Soul Sunder Sect"s supreme elder, Spiritualist Ghost Moon Elder."
The t.i.tles of Sea of Soul realm experts were chosen quite carefully. Those who hadn"t comprehended the profound were collectively denoted as Spiritualist, while those who had comprehended were Daoists, or had some other forms of address. One step higher were the Masters. In other words, there were three big divisions in Sea of Soul realm in accordance with battle power, and each division had a specific t.i.tle.
Of course, there were strong and weak among each division as well, and the strong easily finis.h.i.+ng off the weak was also entirely possible.
Spiritualist Ghost Moon was the lowest level Sea of Soul realm expert. However, as a supreme elder of Soul Sunder Sect, it was impossible for him to not have cultivated a peak earth grade martial skill. As for whether he had reached perfection or not, it was impossible for an ordinary person to tell.
Duan Lingyun"s eyes had completely recovered, but his expression was exceptionally gloomy. His cold eyes swept around, as if looking for someone.
Ye Chen didn"t have to think to tell who he was looking for.
"Hope something useful appears in the auction." Ye Chen acknowledged that he wasn"t too likely an opponent for Ghost Moon, but that was only the case for the time being. He still had a lot of potential. His cultivation base was at late Astral Reaching realm, and he was yet to make a breakthrough in Green Lotus Sword Arts. His sword soul embryo was also waiting to be condensed. All of these three aspects were still developing. As long as any one of the three progressed, Ye Chen"s battle power would continue to increase.
Ding!
In almost an hour, the auction building which was capable of holding a hundred thousand people was almost packed. At this moment, a ruddy-faced old man walked in from backstage, and struck a little hammer on the platform.
"Rest easy ladies and gentlemen, the current session will shortly commence."
The clamor in the building rapidly decreased.
Nodding in satisfaction, the old man revealed a faint smile," My humble name is Gao Hua, and I will be your host for this session. For all those who have graced us with their presence at this moment, Gao Hua will make sure your trip is worthwhile."
The old man cleared his throat and continued, "Alright! Without wasting any words, the auction now formally begins. Bring up the first item."
Two beauties with alluring figures walked up to the stage"s front, jointly carrying a wooden dish.
As the beautiful silk cloth over the dish was removed, a simple-looking armor was revealed. The armor was deep cyan in color, and was sparkling magnificently. On its chest section, a wolf"s head was carved out, looking extremely domineering. An astonis.h.i.+ng pressure spread out.
"The first item is mid grade defensive artifact- Cyan Wolf Armor. Gone through the auction"s appraisal, this mid-grade is a top-notch among mid grade artifacts, and can amplify defense by thirty five percent. The starting price is twenty five thousand mid grade spirit stones, and every raise should be at least a thousand mid grade spirit stones. Let the bidding begin."
"The very first item is a mid grade defensive artifact. As expected of the Three Yin City"s great auction." Although Ye Chen didn"t care much about the armor, it didn"t mean that this armor was not good. It was because his possessions were far superior to the majority of Astral Reaching experts. Just his upper grade Gold Armor could tempt Sea of Soul realm experts, not to mention the numerous mid grade artifacts he possessed.
His disregard didn"t mean others also didn"t care. There was no shortage of Astral Reaching experts in deep waters and scorching fire. Some didn"t even have an offensive mid grade artifact, not to mention that defensive artifacts were already more expensive than offensive ones. If one had protection of a defensive artefact, a sudden amplification of defense could turn out to be a life saving card in a crucial battle.
"Twenty seven thousand."
"Twenty eight thousand!"
"Thirty five thousand!"
"Forty thousand!"
In a few moments, the armor"s price had increased from twenty-five thousand mid grade spirit stones to forty thousand spirit stones, and it was still increasing.
In the end, an ample-bodied Astral Reaching expert claimed the armor for forty-eight thousand mid grade spirit stones.
"Murong, what are you looking for?" The early stages of the auction weren"t worth paying attention to. Ye Chen turned his head and asked Murong Qingcheng.
She said, "You will also need what I"m looking for in order to refine will."
Ye Chen faintly nodded. He certainly needed things that could refine will. His sword soul embryo carried the immortal intent. To condense martial soul, the amount of will he required was far more than ordinary experts. It seemed like Murong Qingcheng was on the verge of condensing a martial soul embryo. Back then, she should have had some gains on the Blood Demon Battlefield.
"Condensing martial soul embryo is easy, but condensing martial soul requires sufficient realm and comprehension. If you have sufficient items for refining will, that would be perfect."
Ye Chen only thought about advancing the sword soul embryo to the limit. For the time being, he didn"t need the items that could refine will too urgently. After all, one couldn"t just condense sword soul because they wished so.
As the time pa.s.sed by, the treasures appearing on the stage became progressively rarer. Even some seemingly ordinary treasures led to fierce bidding wars, which made the auction extremely lively and bustling. Many enjoyed the pleasure of reckless spending without a care in the world.
"Twenty seventh item is three chunks of Demonic Evil Stone. They are crystallized ore extracted from the depths of the Extreme Yin Region. They have a will refining effect. Friends who are yet to condense martial soul should pay careful attention. This kind of a thing doesn"t appear frequently in the auction. Let the bidding begin… Starting price, fifty thousand mid-grade spirit stones."
Hearing these words, Ye Chen and Murong Qingcheng"s eyes brightened. Perhaps Demonic Evil Stone"s effect would be lower than the blood evil stone, but a lesser meat was still meat.
"Fifty five thousand."
"Sixty thousand!"
"Sixty three thousand!"
Peak Astral Reaching experts and Extreme Astral Reaching experts who had been deathly quiet from the beginning fiercely threw out bids after bids. As for the ordinary Astral Reaching experts, they didn"t have such qualifications. Moreover, they were quite far off from condensing martial soul. They didn"t need to waste their entire fortune on something they couldn"t use in their present condition.
"Seventy thousand!"
On the fifth floor, Duan Lingyun entered the bidding war as well.
Ye Chen smiled, having no intentions of joining for the time being.
"Seventy five thousand!"
Murong Qingcheng beside him raised her hand.
"It"s Qingcheng! Forget it... Once I claim it, I"ll give her one or two chunks." Duan Lingyun"s brows creased before he continued his bidding, "Eighty thousand."