Chapter 2237: Divine Travel Pill
Not long after parting with Luo Sha, Zhang Ruochen saw from afar the figures of Xue Tu and the six great saints of the Moluo clan. The two sides seemed to be arguing.
Led by Moluo Zhandi, the six great saints had apparently taken some sacred medicine, as their bodies had recovered and were no longer withered. However, the aura emanating from them remained very weak.
"More than ninety percent of their sacred blood was drained, yet they recovered this quickly. Truly worthy of being great saints."
Zhang Ruochen's eyes flickered with uncertainty as he walked over.
Seeing Zhang Ruochen, Xue Tu was overjoyed, as if he had found a backer. He strode over quickly and said, "Senior brother, these great saints of the Moluo clan are unconvinced and want to cause trouble for me. Luckily you're here. Want to teach them another lesson?"
When enemies meet, their eyes burn with hatred.
The six great saints of the Moluo clan, their hair bristling with anger, released their sacred might and surrounded Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen stared at them calmly and said, "I advise you to restrain yourselves. Even at your peak, you were no match for me, let alone now. Sacred blood is not easy to cultivate back. If I drain you again, I doubt you'll recover your combat strength before the Hunting Heavenly Banquet."
Hearing this, the six great saints' bodies trembled slightly, and they stopped in unison.
Moluo Zhandi ground his teeth and stamped his foot in fury. "Zhang Ruochen, one day, I will devour you alive. Just wait and see."
After glaring at Zhang Ruochen for a long moment, he waved his hand and said, "Let's go."
"Senior brother really has deterrence. One sentence scared off six great saints." Xue Tu laughed.
Zhang Ruochen looked puzzled. "Why are you here at the auction? Do you have a large amount of sacred stones and divine stones on you?"
Xue Tu's face changed, and he quickly said, "No, I can't even produce a single divine stone now. I just came to see what price my fiefdom would fetch at auction."
"I see. Come with me."
Zhang Ruochen led Xue Tu to a VIP seat on the topmost level of the ring-shaped world.
The seat was built on the edge of a cliff, occupying an area about ten zhang wide.
Standing at the cliff's edge, one could see the auction platform suspended at the center of the ring-shaped world, more than ten li away.
The auction platform was square, like a white stone plaza, with a hall built on it and many attendants moving about.
"I bought a few things in the Star Sea World and plan to study them. Later, if any rare items appear at the auction, help me bid on them first."
Zhang Ruochen took out the Purple Gold Gourd and split off a mental will clone.
He placed the Purple Gold Gourd on the ground, and the mental will clone sat cross-legged beside it to guard it. His true body turned into a speck of light and flew into the gourd.
The Purple Gold Gourd looked ordinary, so Xue Tu didn't pay much attention to it.
Once inside the gourd, Zhang Ruochen took out the hundred-thousand-year-old Divine Illumination Lotus.
The twelve lotus petals, each a zhang in diameter, emitted a bright, dazzling light, containing powerful vitality. Particles of light enveloped the surrounding space.
Sitting cross-legged on the Divine Illumination Lotus, Zhang Ruochen once again attempted to condense his Fist Path Sacred Intent.
...
The auction officially began. On the floating auction platform, a ghost clan great saint dozens of zhang tall stepped forward.
"I am the seventh-ranked merchant of the Star Sea World, named Qiluo. Welcome all distinguished guests to the Star Sea World's monthly auction."
"The items at today's auction are all top-tier treasures, with a minimum value of one billion sacred stones, or one divine stone."
The ghost clan great saint named Qiluo briefly introduced the auction rules and then announced, "The auction officially begins. Please welcome today's first item: the dual-element monarch sacred artifact, the Qi Xin War Axe."
Xue Tu, sitting on the white bone sacred chair, had just taken a sip of blood-colored sacred spring when he spat it all out with a sputter.
"What's going on? How did the Qi Xin War Axe end up on the Star Sea World's auction platform?" Xue Tu was stunned, turning to look at Zhang Ruochen's mental will clone.
That's ruthless.
He wondered what Moluo Zhandi was feeling right now, seeing his own war weapon sent to the auction platform.
Xue Tu wore a gleeful expression as he searched for Moluo Zhandi's figure.
He didn't need to search.
Moluo Zhandi's roar echoed through the auction hall: "Zhang Ruochen, I will never rest until you're dead!"
Countless eyes turned toward the VIP seat where Moluo Zhandi sat. Some were puzzled, some sneered, some sympathized.
Amid the murmurs, those who didn't know the story learned what had happened on the life-and-death platform.
"Silence!"
Great Saint Qiluo released ghostly qi and shouted loudly.
The auction hall fell silent.
At the same time, two ghost kings at the saint king level, possessing immense strength, carried the Qi Xin War Axe to the center of the auction platform.
Great Saint Qiluo said, "The value of a dual-element monarch sacred artifact needs no introduction from me. It's worth noting that this Qi Xin War Axe was once used by the evil god Mo Yue and later passed down to his son, Moluo Zhanshen."
Hearing the name "Evil God Mo Yue," Moluo Zhandi was utterly enraged and nearly lost control, wanting to charge onto the auction platform.
It was one thing for him to be humiliated, but dragging his father god's name into it meant the evil god Mo Yue would also be disgraced.
Bore, Wujiang, Da Senluo Huang, Yuan Mo Shenzi, and a large group of cultivators gathered in the same VIP seat. Many of them had smiles on their faces.
Wujiang said, "I suddenly feel that being an enemy of the world like Zhang Ruochen isn't necessarily a bad thing. At least, there are always opponents willingly offering treasures. Zhang Ruochen is so wealthy—it's the result of fighting to sustain himself."
"Being an enemy of the world makes it easy to die tragically. It's a miracle Zhang Ruochen has survived this long." Da Senluo Huang said.
Yuan Mo Shenzi said, "Zhang Ruochen's move is too foolish. For a small gain, he has completely offended the Moluo clan."
Bore listened quietly to their comments. After a long while, she said, "The gods need a cultivator like Zhang Ruochen to temper the great saints of the hell realm. Isn't this exactly what the gods envisioned?"
Wujiang said, "Whether Zhang Ruochen is qualified to be the gods' blade depends on whether he can survive until after the Hunting Heavenly Banquet. Right now, he doesn't even count as a blade."
On the auction platform.
Great Saint Qiluo said, "The Qi Xin War Axe, starting bid: eighty divine stones. Each bid must increase by at least one divine stone."
"Bidding begins."
"Eighty divine stones." Moluo Zhandi was the first to bid.
"Eighty-five divine stones."
...
"Ninety divine stones."
"One hundred divine stones."
...
In an instant, the price of the Qi Xin War Axe soared past one hundred divine stones.
Clearly, not all cultivators present respected the Moluo clan. Many great saints still wanted to buy a dual-element monarch sacred artifact to boost their combat power.
Xue Tu was enjoying himself, occasionally shouting to drive up the price of the Qi Xin War Axe.
In the end, the Qi Xin War Axe was bought back by Moluo Zhandi for one hundred and sixty-two divine stones.
"Stealing weapons is this profitable? One Qi Xin War Axe is worth more than all my fiefdoms combined." Xue Tu thought to himself.
Next, the other seven monarch sacred artifacts of the Moluo clan were also put on the auction platform one by one. They were all single-element monarch sacred artifacts, and the seven together sold for only two hundred and forty divine stones.
Great Saint Qiluo walked to the center of the auction platform again, followed by ten white-robed attendants, each holding a bronze tripod.
"Next up for auction: ten tripods of Divine Travel Pills, each tripod containing one hundred pills."
"The Divine Travel Pill is a semi-king-grade pill. Its function is to help great saints in the Hundred Shackles Realm break the shackles within their bodies. Swallowing one pill can at least help a great saint break one shackle."
"Boom!"
The auction hall erupted.
With the Hunting Heavenly Banquet approaching, all participating cultivators were doing their utmost to improve their cultivation.
Among them, great saints in the Hundred Shackles Realm were the main force at the Hunting Heavenly Banquet, playing a decisive role. The stronger they were, the greater the advantage they could secure.
The function and significance of the Divine Travel Pill were extraordinary.
Dao Yu Huang said, "No matter what, I, representing the Qitian Tribe, must secure one tripod. Then, the overall strength of the Qitian Tribe will increase significantly."
"With just over a month until the Hunting Heavenly Banquet, if we can get one tripod of Divine Travel Pills for the Hundred Shackles Realm great saints of the Huangtian Tribe to take, their strength will surely grow." Feng Hou thought to herself.
After all, the Huangtian Tribe was her foundation.
On the other side, cultivators from the Upper Three Clans were also discussing.
Bore said, "The Divine Travel Pill will play a decisive role in the upcoming Hunting Heavenly Banquet. That's exactly why the Star Sea World chose this time to auction it."
"Even though it's only a semi-king-grade sacred pill, it will end up being bid up to a price far exceeding king-grade sacred pills due to competition from all sides."
"The Lower Three Clans and Middle Three Clans will also fight fiercely for it. Feng Hou and Pink Skeleton will be the main forces. We need to buy at least four tripods of Divine Travel Pills to gain an advantage."
Yuan Mo Shenzi said confidently, "Bore, rest assured. No matter how high the price, I will secure one tripod."
Wujiang crossed his arms, smiled lightly, and said calmly, "My senior brother recently gifted me a divine stone mine. It produces at least ten divine stones every year. Divine stones are just a number to me. If possible, I'd like to take half the Divine Travel Pills and give them to Bore—no, to the goddess."
The cultivators of the Upper Three Clans all laughed, each brimming with confidence.
With money, one could be willful.
Wujiang's status was noble. His master was the oldest god of the Darkness Temple, and his several senior brothers were all gods. Any gift from those senior brothers would be enough to make top-tier great saints envious.
The major forces of the Ten Clans of Hell were all rubbing their hands together, determined to secure the Divine Travel Pills.
Zhang Ruochen's mental will clone opened his eyes and said to Xue Tu, "Bid on the Divine Travel Pills."
Xue Tu asked, "The Divine Travel Pill is the main treasure everyone is fighting over. It will surely fetch a sky-high price. Can we outbid them?"
"Divine stones are not an issue. Bid whatever price you want." Zhang Ruochen said.
Xue Tu's expression turned strange, and he said warily, "Senior brother, you're not trying to set me up, are you? I can't afford even one Divine Travel Pill, let alone a whole tripod. If I win the bid and you don't pay, what if the Star Sea World locks me up?"
Zhang Ruochen was a bit speechless. "Don't worry, I won't set you up. This amount of divine stones means nothing to me."
"Wait, I need to record what you said as evidence."
Xue Tu took out a scroll and said to Zhang Ruochen, "Senior brother, I have to take this seriously. Please say it again to the scroll: the purchase of the Divine Travel Pills has nothing to do with Xue Tu; it's Zhang Ruochen who wants to buy them."
Zhang Ruochen's focus was almost entirely on condensing his sacred intent, so he couldn't be bothered to argue and casually agreed.
Then, Xue Tu asked, "Senior brother, how many tripods do you want to buy?"
"The more, the better." Zhang Ruochen said.
Xue Tu carefully rolled up the scroll and stored it close to his body. Then, he secretly glanced at Zhang Ruochen and saw that his mental will clone had closed its eyes again.
"Zhang Ruochen told me to bid whatever I want and the more the better. Since that's the case, I won't hold back."
Xue Tu was in high spirits, rolling up his sleeves, ready to go all out.
After all, he didn't have to pay the divine stones. Bidding whatever he wanted came with no pressure. Best of all, he would buy all ten tripods of Divine Travel Pills at high prices, dump them on Zhang Ruochen, and really screw him over.
Thinking of this, Xue Tu almost laughed out loud.
"The first tripod of Divine Travel Pills, one hundred pills in total. Starting bid: one hundred divine stones."
"Each bid must increase by at least ten divine stones."
"Bidding begins."
...
"Three hundred divine stones."
Dao Yu Huang was the first to bid, tripling the price. He wanted to seal the deal quickly and also show all bidders his determination.
Many bidders were indeed intimidated.
Bidders from the Lower Three Clans automatically gave way to him.
But the cultivators from the Middle Three Clans and Upper Three Clans weren't buying it.
Yuan Mo Shenzi said, "Three hundred and fifty divine stones."
"Four hundred divine stones."
"Four hundred and twenty divine stones."
...
The price of the first tripod of Divine Travel Pills soared past five hundred divine stones amid fierce competition. The price per pill was comparable to ordinary king-grade divine pills.
"Six hundred divine stones."
"Six hundred and thirty divine stones."
"Seven hundred divine stones."
...
These bidders weren't representing themselves but the forces behind them, so the price shot up straight.
It wasn't until the price exceeded one thousand divine stones that the bidding began to slow down.
After all, one thousand divine stones per tripod had already made the Divine Travel Pill twice as expensive as ordinary king-grade sacred pills. Even the major forces, no matter how wealthy, didn't want to be taken advantage of by the Star Sea World.
The Divine Travel Pill was just the most suitable pill for Hundred Shackles Realm great saints to improve their cultivation, not the only one.
Bore clasped her hands behind her back, a deep look in her eyes. "The price of the Divine Travel Pill will at most reach three times that of a king-grade sacred pill before scaring off the bidders."
Hearing this, Yuan Mo Shenzi immediately shouted, "I bid one thousand five hundred divine stones."
The entire auction hall fell silent.
All the cultivators' eyes turned to Yuan Mo Shenzi.
"One thousand five hundred divine stones for one tripod of Divine Travel Pills? The Yuanshen Divine Palace is really throwing money around."
"One thousand five hundred divine stones is too high. The Divine Travel Pill isn't worth that much. The Yuanshen Divine Palace will have to make up the loss by diverting wealth from elsewhere."
Dao Yu Huang's brow was tightly furrowed. The price Yuan Mo Shenzi had shouted was far above his psychological limit.
Feng Hou shook her head at him. "It's just the first tripod. There's no need to keep fighting. One thousand five hundred divine stones is enough to bankrupt a Hundred Shackles Realm great saint. They'll have a hard time outbidding us next."
Just as Dao Yu Huang was hesitating, a high-pitched voice rang out.
"I bid two thousand divine stones."
Bore, Yuan Mo Shenzi, and the other Upper Three Clans cultivators thought they had it in the bag, but who would have thought a spoiler would appear out of nowhere?
Seeing all the cultivators' eyes turn to him, Xue Tu laughed loudly. "Two thousand divine stones. Any higher bids? Everyone, hurry up and bid. Divine Travel Pills, semi-king-grade sacred pills, the fastest way for Hundred Shackles Realm great saints to break through. Hurry, hurry up and raise the price."
Yuan Mo Shenzi was so angry his face turned red. He gritted his teeth, wanting to slap Xue Tu flying.
You've already raised it to two thousand divine stones, and you're still telling others to bid? Are you a shill arranged by the Star Sea World, or are you here to mess with people?
...
Recommend a female author's ancient novel to the readers: "The Minister is Easy to Bend" by "Bapi."