Chapter 2234: Sanjin Great Saint
Passing through the Star Sea Gate, the scene before them changed dramatically.
The blood-colored river below had become clear and translucent, its surface wider, stretching out like a lake or sea with no visible edge. In the sky, dozens of life-bearing planets floated, none large, with diameters not exceeding three thousand li.
On the planets stood various buildings. At every moment, sacred ships, barbarian beasts, and cultivators pierced the atmosphere, flying in and out, appearing extremely busy yet orderly.
Zhang Ruochen rose to his feet, gazing into the distance, and said, "The rules of heaven and earth here have become completely different, exerting immense suppression on cultivators."
Luo Sha smiled and said, "This is the headquarters of the Star Sea World. Of course they would alter the rules of heaven and earth to suppress cultivators' power. Otherwise, if some Great Saint suddenly went mad, wouldn't they be able to destroy this place?"
Zhang Ruochen nodded slightly. A Great Saint's destructive power was too strong; a single punch could probably destroy one of the life-bearing planets above.
But now, even with Zhang Ruochen's combat strength, a full-powered punch might not even destroy a mountain on those life-bearing planets.
The sacred ship left the water's surface and flew toward one of the planets in the sky.
Just as they passed through the atmosphere, a Great Saint from the Star Sea World came to greet them.
It was not the Great Saint's true body, but a mental thought avatar.
Of course, the fact that Luo Sha, at the Saint King realm, could alarm a Great Saint showed her extraordinary status in the Hell Realm.
"Princess Luo Sha, have you come this time to attend the auction, or to purchase items privately?" Sanjin Great Saint asked.
Since the other party was a Great Saint, Luo Sha's attitude was quite humble. "I wish to purchase treasures that assist in comprehending the Way of Space and condensing an Immortal Sacred Body. They must be top-grade. Mid-to-high-tier items are countless in the Tianluo Divine Kingdom's royal clan, so don't waste time bringing those out."
"Rest assured, any treasure sent to the Star Sea World headquarters is absolutely top-grade," Sanjin Great Saint said with a smile.
Luo Sha had long possessed the ability to impact the Great Saint realm, but with her ambition and talent, she naturally refused to become an ordinary Great Saint. At the Saint King realm, even if she couldn't cultivate to Great Perfection like Yan Wushen and Zhang Ruochen, she still wanted to become one of the strongest.
And she had the talent for it. Back in the Saint realm, even the genius ranked twelfth on the Heavenly Court's "Sacred Merit Ranking" had lost to her.
With her identity as a Space Controller, she had full confidence in becoming a supreme powerhouse at the Saint King realm.
After Luo Sha and Sanjin Great Saint reached an agreement, she looked at Zhang Ruochen and said, "Let me introduce you. This is the maternal grandson of the Great Clan Elder of the Blood Heaven Tribe of the Undying Blood Clan, Ruochen Great Saint. Ruochen Great Saint's mother is also a deity."
Sanjin Great Saint was visibly moved. He quickly stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said, "Although this Saint serves at the Star Sea World headquarters, how could I not know of Ruochen Great Saint's renowned reputation? I never imagined I would have the fortune today to meet the Great Saint's true body."
"There are too many matters at headquarters, forcing this Saint to split countless mental thoughts to handle them. Please forgive me, Ruochen Great Saint, for not being able to greet you in person with my true body."
Sanjin Great Saint's attitude toward Zhang Ruochen was even more cautious than toward Luo Sha.
No matter how noble Luo Sha's status was, she was ultimately only a Saint King. Zhang Ruochen was a Great Saint, and a combat-oriented Great Saint at that, who had already forged a fearsome reputation through battle.
Even if Sanjin Great Saint, who rarely engaged in life-and-death combat, had a higher cultivation realm than Zhang Ruochen, he would only end up dead.
"This is Sanjin Great Saint, one of the many merchant kings of the Star Sea World, serving at headquarters with great authority and power," Luo Sha introduced to Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen was not an arrogant person. With a calm demeanor, he said, "Greetings, Sanjin Great Saint. I have come to the Star Sea World to purchase some items as well."
Sanjin Great Saint let out a hearty laugh. "For someone of Ruochen Great Saint's status to seek out the Star Sea World, this Saint's luck is truly excellent. It seems a major transaction is at hand."
"This is not a good place for discussion. Please, follow me."
Under Sanjin Great Saint's guidance, Zhang Ruochen, Luo Sha, Hanying, and the two sacred maids arrived at a lakeshore shimmering with precious light and sat beside a jade table.
The other sacred maids took the sacred ship to dock at a port on the planet.
A servant immediately brought sacred spring beverages and emerald fruits of ten-thousand-year sacred medicine grade.
Zhang Ruochen's eyelids twitched slightly. He transmitted to Luo Sha, "The Star Sea World truly acts with extraordinary style. Even these casual snacks are rare treasures that Saint-level beings would covet but never obtain."
Luo Sha shot him a glare. "This lake is where the Star Sea World receives honored guests. At the very least, one must be a divine son, divine granddaughter, or a Great Saint to enter. If the snacks presented were unworthy, how could they satisfy such distinguished palates?"
Zhang Ruochen released his spiritual power to sense his surroundings and indeed detected many powerful auras around the lake.
Because this was a place for receiving honored guests, the space around the lake was inscribed with numerous divine patterns that prohibited spiritual power probing. Thus, Zhang Ruochen could not identify their identities or cultivation levels.
Luo Sha sensed Zhang Ruochen's spiritual power fluctuations and quickly stopped him. "The auction is still two or three hours away. Many honored guests are resting here. Not only are there outstanding talents participating in the Heaven Hunting Banquet, but there might even be Supreme Realm Great Saints, demigods, and deities. Using spiritual power to probe here is a disrespectful act and can easily invite unnecessary trouble."
Zhang Ruochen quickly withdrew his spiritual power and asked in surprise, "There really could be deities?"
"What's so strange about that? The Star Sea World holds an auction every month, and each time, a large number of rare treasures appear, some of which even deities find tempting."
Then, Luo Sha said mysteriously, "I heard that today's auction will feature the corpse of a deity who recently fell. There will certainly be many forces competing for it."
"Another deity has fallen?"
What concerned Zhang Ruochen was not the divine corpse, but the fact that a deity had fallen.
He knew that a deity could fall in only three ways:
First, dying under the Eon Calamity.
Second, dying in battle.
Third, sensing their end was near, choosing to sit in meditation and pass away, or entering eternal slumber and dying in sleep, thereby preserving the completeness of their divine body.
Among those who died under the Eon Calamity, more than half were utterly annihilated in both form and spirit, making it difficult to leave behind a complete divine body.
Many deities who died in battle were also ground into dust or dissipated into nothingness. Those who left behind divine corpses were not many.
The third case preserved relatively more divine corpses.
However, when deities chose to sit in meditation or enter slumber, they generally selected very secluded places or had descendants guarding them. After death, their bodies could hardly be taken out for sale.
Therefore, upon learning that a divine corpse would appear at the auction, Zhang Ruochen's first thought was that a deity from the Heavenly Court side had fallen.
Luo Sha said, "I don't yet know the source of the divine corpse. However, my imperial brother will represent the Tianluo Divine Kingdom in bidding for it, and he has mobilized a large amount of divine stones. If it were just the corpse of a false god or a half-crippled divine corpse, there wouldn't be such a large-scale operation."
Divine corpses were divided into three grades and nine classes, with vastly different values.
The corpse of a deity who had just been slain, if kept intact, could be worth as much as a divine treasury, holding immense strategic significance.
Just like back then, when Empress Chi Yao killed the Rakshasa deity Jue Shen. Using the divine blood, divine bones, divine soul, and other divine-level treasures from Jue Shen's corpse, the Kunlun Realm's strength skyrocketed in a short time.
It elevated an entire realm's comprehensive power.
If the divine corpse auctioned by the Star Sea World this time reached the level of Jue Shen's corpse back then, then all the major forces of the Ten Clans of Hell would spare no expense to compete for it.
Sanjin Great Saint's true body arrived in person and asked Zhang Ruochen what items he needed to purchase.
After careful thought, Zhang Ruochen asked first, "Does the Star Sea World have star cores?"
Sanjin Great Saint countered, "What grade of star core does Ruochen Great Saint want?"
Zhang Ruochen's knowledge of star cores was limited, so he asked, "What grades do star cores come in?"
"In the Hell Realm, planets are divided into nine grades, from one to nine. Naturally, star cores are also divided into nine classes."
"First-grade star cores are the cheapest, costing tens of millions of sacred stones. At the Star Sea World headquarters, the highest-grade ones currently in stock are three sixth-grade star cores, all at astronomical prices," Sanjin Great Saint said.
Zhang Ruochen planned to refine star cores into the Purple Gold Gourd to increase its devouring and absorbing power.
However, how many star cores the Purple Gold Gourd could withstand, and what grade it could handle, was still unknown.
"Are you buying star cores for refining artifacts?" Luo Sha asked curiously.
Zhang Ruochen nodded, then said to Sanjin Great Saint, "How many sacred stones for a sixth-grade star core?"
"Truly a major transaction."
This thought flashed through Sanjin Great Saint's mind as a smile appeared on his face. "Sixth-grade star cores are not traded with sacred stones. They must be purchased with divine stones, roughly costing between fifty and two hundred divine stones. The price varies greatly depending on the star core's weight and attributes."
Even with Luo Sha's status and experience, she was taken aback. "Star cores are too expensive! Even a first-rank Monarch Sacred Artifact doesn't sell for that price."
Sanjin Great Saint said, "A sixth-grade star core requires at least a Thousand Questions Realm Great Saint to extract from a sixth-grade planet, consuming a great deal of time. Naturally, the price is high."
Zhang Ruochen said, "I will definitely buy star cores, but I don't have that many divine stones for now. How about this: I'll consign a batch of Monarch Sacred Artifacts to the Star Sea World for auction. Is it still in time for the auction?"
"Of course it is, but..."
Sanjin Great Saint was greatly shaken and could hardly believe his ears. He asked, "Does Ruochen Great Saint really have a batch of Monarch Sacred Artifacts?"
He knew that many Immortal Realm Great Saints only had one Monarch Sacred Artifact each.
For Zhang Ruochen to casually produce a batch, how could Sanjin Great Saint not be shocked?
"This batch of Monarch Sacred Artifacts was just obtained. I'm selling them to solve an urgent need."
As he spoke, Zhang Ruochen took out eight Monarch Sacred Artifacts, including the Qixin War Axe, all seized from the six Great Saints of the Moro Clan.
Seeing this, the two sacred maids and Hanying behind Luo Sha were dumbfounded.
If the six Great Saints of the Moro Clan knew that Zhang Ruochen was reselling their strongest weapons, they would surely be furious. These Monarch Sacred Artifacts were far more valuable than their Great Saint blood.
After all, their Great Saint blood had only been sold once.
"Second-rank Monarch War Artifact, the Qixin War Axe—isn't this the weapon of Moro War Emperor?" Sanjin Great Saint exclaimed in shock.
Clearly, he was still unaware of what had happened on the Life-and-Death Platform.
Zhang Ruochen nodded. "Rest assured, Sanjin Great Saint. This batch of Monarch Sacred Artifacts was fairly and squarely won from the six Great Saints of the Moro Clan in a fair place, witnessed by countless cultivators. Every single one is clean."
On the Life-and-Death Platform, Zhang Ruochen had the right to kill the six Moro Great Saints, and naturally, the right to dispose of their weapons.
Even Luo Sha rolled her eyes at Zhang Ruochen's words.
Once this batch of Monarch Sacred Artifacts went up for auction, the humiliation of the six Moro Great Saints would spread even further. It would be strange if they didn't come seeking Zhang Ruochen's life.
But then again, this bastard Zhang Ruochen was ruthless enough to have nearly drained the six Moro Great Saints of their sacred blood. It would be difficult for them to recover to their peak combat strength anytime soon.
Even if their organs exploded from rage, they could only endure it.
Zhang Ruochen had seized over a hundred Monarch Sacred Artifacts. Selling a batch stirred no emotion in him; instead, he was calculating whether the divine stones from the sale would be enough.
After all, he not only needed to buy star cores but also treasures for cultivating Sacred Intent, treasures to help the Abyssal Ancient Sword's sword spirit cultivate, and even a batch of top-grade talismans and formations.
With so many enemies, if he couldn't win, at least he could crush them with talismans and formations.
Sometimes, money really could kill people.
He just didn't know if the Heaven Hunting Banquet allowed large-scale use of talismans and formations.
If it did, then this battle would be about money—whoever had deeper pockets would win.
Whatever the case, preparing more divine stones couldn't hurt. If possible, Zhang Ruochen even wanted to buy the divine corpse to feed the Devouring Spirit Insects, raising them into an unstoppable Devouring Spirit Army.
After these thoughts flashed through his mind, Zhang Ruochen took out a trump card treasure.
"This seventh-rank Monarch Sacred Artifact-level Divine Relic Ancient Artifact, I'll auction it too."
Zhang Ruochen took out the Sun-Moon Divine Wheel and handed it to Sanjin Great Saint.
"Seventh-rank Monarch Sacred Artifact?"
Sanjin Great Saint was startled. His hands trembled, and he nearly dropped the Sun-Moon Divine Wheel to the ground.
This was too absurd. Who would sell a seventh-rank Monarch Sacred Artifact?
And it was a Divine Relic Ancient Artifact at that.
He knew that more than half of the Supreme Realm Great Saints did not wield weapons reaching the seventh-rank level. Even for an ancient clan like the Blood Absolute Family, a seventh-rank Monarch Sacred Artifact could be considered a clan-protecting treasure that could not be allowed to leave.
Did Xue Jue War God know that his maternal grandson was this wasteful?
Luo Sha stood up abruptly, grabbing one corner of the Sun-Moon Divine Wheel. "Zhang Ruochen, our friendship runs so deep. Why not sell it to this princess? I'll offer one hundred thousand divine stones."
Sanjin Great Saint, true to his role as a merchant king of the Star Sea World, gripped the Sun-Moon Divine Wheel tightly to prevent Luo Sha from snatching it. "This Saint has already made a preliminary examination. This seventh-rank Monarch Sacred Artifact was once the war artifact used by the Underworld Clan deity Lingyang Mingjun. It is only one step away from being a Supreme Sacred Artifact. Its value far exceeds one hundred thousand divine stones."
"Two hundred thousand divine stones, deal!"
Luo Sha stared at Zhang Ruochen and secretly transmitted, "Better to benefit this princess than an outsider."
Sanjin Great Saint shook his head. "If the Sun-Moon Divine Wheel is placed in the Star Sea World's auction, it will surely trigger a bidding war among the top Great Saints of the Underworld Clan. The price will far exceed that."
Zhang Ruochen found it hard to understand. Wasn't it just a Sun-Moon Divine Wheel? A princess of a divine kingdom and a merchant king—both people of status—why were they arguing like this?
The Sun-Moon Divine Wheel was practically useless in Zhang Ruochen's hands, inferior even to the quasi-Supreme Sacred Artifact-level White Bone Whip.
But Sanjin Great Saint had a different thought: "No wonder all the major forces in the Hell Realm want to kill Zhang Ruochen. This guy has plundered how many treasures from the Hell Realm? Killing him would be more profitable than killing a deity."
This time, Sanjin Great Saint was wronging Zhang Ruochen.
The Sun-Moon Divine Wheel had been seized from Mo Sheng of the Black Demon Realm, not taken from a Hell Realm cultivator.