<<Previous Chapter Index Next Chapter>>
Translator: Silavin & Tia
Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun
Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys
Not everybody became rich overnight like Yang Kai or had several billion Open Heaven Pills in their possession that could be spent without a care in the world at will.
In the 3,000 Worlds, any Low-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master who could gather several hundreds of thousands of Open Heaven Pills could already be considered wealthy. Only Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters had the qualifications to accumulate several million Open Heaven Pills. On the other hand, High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters were the only ones that could possess tens of millions of Open Heaven Pills.
Be that as it may, that was only relevant towards the financial resources possessed by individuals. How much money one would have when backed by a great force was a whole other matter altogether.
The stronger a person was, the more wealth they could accumulate. At the same time, their consumption was also greater. Take Yue He for example. If she were to cultivate without regard for anything else, she would consume at least tens of thousands of Open Heaven Pills a day. That was why it was extremely difficult for any Open Heaven Realm Master to accumulate wealth.
Money did not simply rain down from the Heavens; therefore, 23 million was truly a huge sum. Unless one was in urgent need of this Sixth-Order Scarlet Yin Sand, they would not stubbornly bid for it. A Sixth-Order material was very different from a Seventh-Order material. Although they were scarce, it was not as though they could not be found.
The two people who were still bidding among themselves were undoubtedly eager to purchase the Scarlet Yin Sand. It might be for their own use or it might be in preparation for their Juniors or disciples.
Yang Kai turned to look at the Proprietress, “Proprietress, are you not going to bid?”
The Proprietress was in the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm, so it was just right for her to refine this Sixth-Order Scarlet Yin Sand.
Yet the Proprietress lazily replied, “These things are useless to me for the time being.”
Yang Kai was taken aback by her words, but he immediately understood what she meant. She had most likely reached a bottleneck in her cultivation. She advanced into the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm a long time ago, so she was probably already at its peak. It stood to reason that she did not need the Scarlet Yin Sand to enhance the heritage of her Small Universe. If she went one step further, she would be in the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm!
It was just that… she once made a Heart Demon Oath to crush the Headquarters of several great forces. As long as she did not fulfil the requirements of this oath, she would never break through to the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm! She had flattened Yue He’s Small Orchid Palace, but Golden Rainbow Province and Boundless Altar were still thriving.
Golden Rainbow Province might have the word ‘Province’ in their name, but it was a genuine Second-Class great force. Needless to say, Boundless Altar was also a Second-Class great force. Moreover, Qin Ji and Ling Chun Qiu were both in the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm.
When Yang Kai led Yue He to attack Blood Swan Continent previously, it had taken him quite a bit of effort to succeed, and Blood Swan Continent was only a Third-Class great force.
With the Proprietress’ current strength, it was a hopeless wish to trample flat the Headquarters of a Second-Class great force alone. It wouldn’t work even with Yue He and Bai Qi’s cooperation. The Defensive Grand Array of a Second-Class great force could not be regarded in the same category as the Defensive Grand Array of a Third-Class great force. It was impossible unless one could find a chance to slowly kill off the Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters of these two great forces, one by one. This was a matter that needed further consideration.
Since the Proprietress had no need for the Sixth-Order Scarlet Yin Sand, Yang Kai could make his move without scruples.
The price of the Scarlet Yin Sand had been raised to 24 million Open Heaven Pills. It was just that the two Open Heaven Realm Masters fighting over this material had to consider their choices carefully before they made a new bid at this point. After all, the price increased by 500,000 every time they bid, which was not a small sum.
At this juncture, Yang Kai’s voice resounded throughout the audience, “25 million!”
On the auction stage, the old man with the stiff expression who looked like all the people in the world owed him money immediately looked over in this direction. His voice became a little excited, “The guest from Room A3 has bid 25 million Open Heaven Pills. Are there any higher bids?”
*Shua shua shua…*
Many people in the hall also turned to look at First Inn’s private room, hoping to catch a glimpse of the person who placed a bid at the last moment. Unfortunately, they were obstructed by the Array and could not look into the private room.
The old man from Red Clouds Auction House gave two more consecutive calls. Then, one of the people who made a bid previously quickly shouted out, “25.5 million!”
Without waiting for the other person to finish speaking, Yang Kai immediately followed up, “26 million!”
His tone was brisk but not stressed, revealing his confidence in his wealth and his determination to win. Sure enough, nobody else made a bid after that. The old man banged the gavel three times to sound the final offer and Yang Kai won the bid for the Scarlet Yin Sand.
The first auction item had gotten things off to a good start. It was sold for an astoundingly high price that was nearly 20% higher than market value. Thus, the lively atmosphere in the auction hall instantly became burning with anticipation.
The second auction item was only a Fourth-Order material, but it still sold for a price that exceeded market value by 10%.
Fourth-Order materials were easy to find and could be found in any Star City; however, it had to be said that each material had its own characteristics. A cultivator might be able to realise various Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques by refining these materials. For that reason, the price and level of competition for materials might differ slightly even though the materials were of the same Element or in the same Order.
Take the Scarlet Yin Sand for example. If a cultivator beneath the Open Heaven Realm refined and absorbed this material, they might be able to realise a Divine Ability like the Scarlet Yin Sandstorm. Another example would be the Yuan Magnetic Divine Stone. The Yuan Magnetic Divine Stone could allow cultivators to comprehend the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light Divine Ability.
Take the various Water Element treasures as another type of example. Despite being classified as Water Element treasures, one might be the crystallization of the drizzling rain that snuck in with the spring wind during the night to moisten the Earth in silence, another might be a drop of water so heavy that it weighed ten thousand kilograms. There might even be a liquid poison that corrodes everything it touches.
If a certain material in the same Order and the same Element could allow a cultivator to realise a more powerful and effective Divine Ability, then its price would naturally be higher than average. That was why cultivators would usually put great thought into choosing the materials they condensed for their Yin, Yang, and Five Elements, unless they had no choice. Given a choice, they would combine the unique characteristics of their physique and consider the various differences of each Divine Ability to select the most appropriate option.
Yang Kai had never encountered this problem before. That was because he never had a choice. High-Rank materials were already extremely hard to find and it was already a great fortune just to come across any one of them. How could he afford to be picky about his choices under those circumstances? But then again, the four powers that he had condensed so far were all extremely impressive existences even among High-Rank materials; therefore, there was nothing for him to regret.
All the auction items chosen by Red Clouds Auction House today were the rarest and most precious materials in their respective Orders. They could allow a cultivator to realise various extraordinary Divine Abilities and Secret Techniques, so they naturally attracted many people to compete for them.
A lot of items were presented and none of them went unsold. Moreover, every auction item was sold for a high price. Yang Kai himself placed many bids and bought a considerable number of Fourth-Order materials of the Yin and Yang Elements, filling the gaps in his shopping spree from before.
As for the Fifth-Order materials, he still showed no intention of buying them at all. There would be a steady stream of Fifth-Order materials with the gourd vine living in Void Land, so there was no need to purchase them from external sources. Moreover, the gourd vine in itself was a whole entity that could produce all seven types of Powers. Yang Kai was curious to see if a cultivator would experience any special changes if they completely refined all their Yin, Yang, and Five Element Powers from the gourd vine.
Cultivation materials of various Orders were not the only things sold at the auction. There were also many pills, herbs, Secret Arts, Secret Techniques, and artifacts. Seeing these items really opened Yang Kai’s eyes to the world.
Four hours later, the auction was halfway through. Another maidservant walked onto the auction stage with a tray in hand. The old man from Red Clouds Auction House lifted the red cloth and everybody looked in that direction only to see a jade bottle. There was a jade slip placed next to the jade bottle; thus, everybody immediately understood that this auction item was most likely some sort of Spirit Pill. It was just that nobody understood the reason for the jade slip.
Just as everybody was whispering among themselves, the old man picked up the jade bottle and gave an explanation, “Ladies and gentlemen, the next auction item is this bottle of Spirit Pills in this Old Master’s hand. I will be honest with you, there is only one Spirit Pill in this bottle. This item is useless to those in the Open Heaven Realm and above; however, it will be of great benefit to those beneath the Open Heaven Realm, especially for those who are about to advance into the Open Heaven Realm.”
After hearing those words, many of the Open Heaven Realm Masters in the private rooms instantly lost interest in the item. On the other hand, many of the cultivators in the hall immediately paid closer attention. The cultivators in the hall were generally weaker and most of them were below the Open Heaven Realm. Since this Spirit Pill was useful for those below the Open Heaven Realm, it stood to reason that this item would catch their interest.
“A Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill, which also comes with the pill recipe for this Spirit Pill. The starting price is 2 million Open Heaven Pills! Honoured Guests, please place your bids!”
Unlike the previous chorus of voices calling out their respective bids, the entire auction hall fell silent after the old man finished speaking. Thousands of cultivators in the hall stared at the stage blankly, seemingly having trouble believing their ears. Just moments ago, the old man had announced that the Spirit Pill was only useful for those beneath the Open Heaven Realm after all. That was why they mistakenly believed that the price would not be too high. Who could have known that the reserve price would be 2 million Open Heaven Pills!
For a moment, they thought that they had heard wrongly. On second thought, how could the person presiding over this grand auction make such a mistake? But, if it was not a mistake, then which person below the Open Heaven Realm could afford the price of 2 million Open Heaven Pills? More importantly, just what was this so-called Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill?
Just as everybody in the hall was mired in confusion, a somewhat uncertain voice came from one of the private rooms in B Block, “Is this Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill some kind of Spirit Pill that can increase the success rate of a cultivator advancing into the Open Heaven Realm?”
The old man on the stage nodded, “Indeed!”
After a brief silence, an uproar broke out in the hall. Countless cultivators stared at the jade bottle with a burning look in their eyes, almost as though the jade bottle contained some sort of substance that drew their eyes to the bottle like a magnet.
Not everybody could succeed when advancing into the Open Heaven Realm. Despite going through all sorts of hardships in addition to spending a great deal of time, energy, and resources to condense their Yin, Yang, and Five Elements, there was still a huge risk when trying to actually break through to the Open Heaven Realm.
If one could not withstand the Yin, Yang, and Five Elements or the impact of Heaven and Earth splitting apart in one’s body, then it would undoubtedly end with one’s Soul being extinguished. There was no other possibility. That was why cultivators, no matter who they might be, would only choose to do what they could within the limits of the strength that they could withstand. If a person’s limit was the Third Order, their life might not be endangered if they were to forcibly condense Fourth-Order Elements; however, they would surely face a disaster when advancing into the Open Heaven Realm.
Many Bearers who left the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary would eventually face this problem. They had been forced by the Divine Spirits to condense Powers that exceeded their limits, so their advancement into the Open Heaven Realm would become a life-or-death catastrophe.
Take Ding Yi for example. His inherent aptitude was not bad, but it was not enough for him to withstand a Seventh-Order Power. Unfortunately, he was forced by Bi Fang to condense a Seventh-Order Fire Element. It placed a huge burden on his body every time he exerted this Power, so the dangers surrounding his advancement would be even greater.
Be that as it may, even a cultivator who had chosen to work within their limits faced the risk of failing during their advancement into the Open Heaven Realm. Splitting Heaven and Earth in one’s own body required one to harmonize Yin, Yang, and the Five Elements to mutually enhance and suppress each other. Furthermore, the process of forming a Small Universe in itself was an extremely difficult task. This aspect had nothing to do with the Order of the Open Heaven Realm that one was trying to achieve.
thank you for the update 👑
Yo
So Ding Yi’s 7th order element will be a problem even when he tries to reach e.g. 5th order Open Heaven?