Chapter 2238: Driving the Rhythm Skyward
"Two thousand divine stones, deal."
Great Saint Loki was all smiles. The first cauldron of Divine Travel Pills had sold for a price far exceeding his expectations. As the number of pills dwindled, even higher prices might yet appear.
Next came the auction for the second cauldron of Divine Travel Pills.
Just as the bidding began, Source Demon Divine Son directly called out: "Fifteen hundred divine stones."
Instantly, the entire hall fell silent.
What was he doing?
With a starting bid of one hundred divine stones, his first call had already shot to the heavens, leaving no room for anyone else to bid.
Source Demon Divine Son's face wore a cold, sharp expression. "This batch of Divine Travel Pills, this Divine Son is determined to win. I hope everyone will grant me this face. Otherwise, even if the price climbs above two thousand divine stones, this Divine Son will fight to the end."
Fifteen hundred divine stones exceeded the psychological bottom line of most cultivators present.
Source Demon Divine Son was trying to curry favor with Bore, so he spared no expense, even at a sky-high price, to buy a cauldron of Divine Travel Pills. By calling out such a price in one go, the number of cultivators who dared to raise it further could be counted on one hand.
"Source Demon Divine Son buying this cauldron will drain his financial resources."
"The Source Heaven Divine Temple probably gave him a budget of at most a thousand divine stones. The remaining five hundred must come from his own pocket. His gains from the Kunlun Realm Merit Battlefield are likely to be emptied."
"Is he foolish or just lovesick? For Bore, he's willing to pay any price."
...
The main bidders from the Middle Three Clans and Lower Three Clans all backed off, unwilling to clash head-on with Source Demon Divine Son. If the price really went above two thousand divine stones, the loss would outweigh the gain.
Seeing no one else raise the bid, Source Demon Divine Son breathed a slight sigh of relief.
If some fool had actually butted in and driven the price above two thousand divine stones, even if Source Demon Divine Son won the pills, he would be saddled with a massive debt. Repaying it would take decades, even centuries.
From then on, his cultivation speed in the Immortal Realm would certainly slow considerably.
At the Great Saint level, fast cultivation required massive divine stone support.
"Two thousand divine stones."
Another domineering voice rang through the auction hall.
Source Demon Divine Son's eyes turned bloodshot, his hair standing on end as if he wanted to devour someone. He glared at Blood Butcher. "You dare to bid again? Can you even produce two thousand divine stones?"
Blood Butcher sat calmly in his chair, glancing at him lightly. "Since this Saint dares to bid, naturally I'm not afraid of not having the divine stones. Source Demon, didn't you just say you'd fight to the end? Keep bidding, this Saint will match you."
"You..."
Source Demon Divine Son pointed at Blood Butcher, his teeth nearly grinding to dust.
"Are you going to fight or not? You're a Divine Son, one of the top talents of our generation. Can two thousand divine stones scare you off?" Blood Butcher said.
In the Saint King realm, Blood Butcher was also a top figure, but compared to Source Demon Divine Son, he was slightly inferior.
Being looked down upon by someone who was once weaker than him, Source Demon Divine Son was furious beyond measure, feeling deeply humiliated.
Blood Butcher frowned and urged him in an encouraging tone: "Add a little more, just try adding a little. Maybe you'll win this cauldron. Add something, anything."
Source Demon Divine Son's mind was in fierce turmoil. He glanced at Bore, then finally mustered his courage. Forget it, fight it out. No matter what, he had to win this cauldron.
"Two thousand and ten divine stones." As Source Demon Divine Son called out this number, his fists clenched and his whole body trembled.
To buy this cauldron, he was taking on a massive debt.
But if it could win a smile from Bore, it would all be worth it.
"Two thousand five hundred divine stones." Blood Butcher called out leisurely.
Source Demon Divine Son felt as if struck by lightning, nearly spitting out a mouthful of Saint blood. He roared: "Are you playing with me?"
Blood Butcher looked puzzled. "What do you mean? This Divine Son just told you to add a little. I never said I'd let you have this cauldron. If you're not satisfied, how about... adding a little more?"
Source Demon Divine Son's hatred had reached an unbearable peak. He felt Blood Butcher was deliberately toying with him, making him lose face in front of everyone.
"Fine, fine, fine. This Divine Son will remember this. Good for you. Just don't fall into my hands." Source Demon Divine Son said.
After a long silence, Great Saint Loki announced: "The second cauldron of Divine Travel Pills, sold at two thousand five hundred divine stones."
Having bought two cauldrons at sky-high prices, Blood Butcher's name and background quickly spread through the auction hall, sparking discussion.
"Blood Butcher must represent the Blood Heaven Tribe."
"It seems the Blood Heaven Tribe has gone all out to win the Heaven Hunting Banquet."
"There shouldn't be many Hundred Shackles Realm Great Saints from the Blood Heaven Tribe participating in the Heaven Hunting Banquet. One cauldron would be more than enough. Why buy two?"
"Maybe Blood Butcher struck it rich on the Kunlun Realm Merit Battlefield and plans to keep one for when he reaches the Hundred Shackles Realm."
...
Various guesses circulated through the hall.
The six Great Saints of the Moro Clan had seen Zhang Ruochen and Blood Butcher leave together earlier, so they guessed the buyer of the Divine Travel Pills was likely Zhang Ruochen.
Moro War Emperor said: "Zhang Ruochen swept through the Kunlun Realm Merit Battlefield, gaining a huge haul of treasures and wealth. He must be the one buying the pills."
"I knew it. Blood Butcher suddenly got so cocky because he's not spending his own divine stones."
Moro Tiansu frowned. "Have you noticed something off? Blood Butcher seems to want everyone to raise the price. In that last situation, if he hadn't provoked Source Demon, he could have taken the second cauldron for two thousand divine stones. Source Demon added ten, and Blood Butcher jumped to two thousand five hundred. Even if he has plenty of divine stones, that's wasteful."
Moro War Emperor thought he had figured it out, a smile curling at the corner of his mouth. "If the buyer is indeed Zhang Ruochen, why isn't he bidding himself?"
"War Emperor means Zhang Ruochen isn't in the auction hall?" a Great Saint guessed.
Moro War Emperor said: "That's the only explanation. Zhang Ruochen had other business and left the auction, entrusting the bidding entirely to Blood Butcher."
"But as far as I know, Blood Butcher and Zhang Ruochen have a huge grudge."
A Moro Clan Great Saint lightly tapped the table. "I get it! Blood Butcher is using the bidding to screw Zhang Ruochen over, getting his revenge."
Moro War Emperor nodded with a smile, his gaze fixed on Blood Butcher's VIP seat. "If that's the case, we'll know by watching."
The third cauldron of Divine Travel Pills went up for auction.
This time, Blood Butcher seemed to lose patience, calling out first: "Two thousand divine stones."
Hearing this price, many cultivators felt like cursing.
Was he that greedy? Did he want to buy all the pills?
Even the auctioneer, Great Saint Loki, suspected Blood Butcher was just causing trouble. A Great Saint who had just entered the Immortal Realm—could he really have thousands of divine stones?
Even cultivators who had been Great Saints for a thousand years might not have accumulated thousands of divine stones.
It wasn't until Great Saint Sanjin sent him a telepathic message that Great Saint Loki relaxed.
The third cauldron was eventually bought by Blood Butcher for two thousand divine stones.
When the fourth cauldron was auctioned, Blood Butcher again called out the sky-high price of two thousand divine stones. This time, Wujiang tentatively raised the bid twice. In the end, Blood Butcher paid two thousand five hundred divine stones.
For the fifth cauldron, Wujiang bid again, even pushing the price to two thousand seven hundred divine stones.
But Blood Butcher took it for three thousand divine stones.
Wujiang wasn't discouraged; instead, he laughed. "Just as I thought. The one bidding for the Divine Travel Pills isn't Blood Butcher, but someone else."
Source Demon Divine Son said: "What do you mean? It's not Blood Butcher?"
"Even if Blood Butcher were stupid, he wouldn't bid like this," Wujiang said.
Source Demon Divine Son agreed on that point. "There's definitely something off. But even if he's bidding for someone else, he shouldn't be so reckless."
"Just now, anyone could see you were deliberately driving up the price to screw him. But he didn't seem to care at all, jumping straight to three thousand divine stones."
Great Senluo Emperor said: "Why bother with all that? Since Blood Butcher is so arrogant, let's just keep pushing the price up and see how many divine stones he can waste."
The auction had reached a point where the Upper Three Clans' cultivators were furious, holding a bellyful of anger.
Since Blood Butcher treated divine stones like nothing, they'd make him spend even more.
On the other side, Moro War Emperor laughed heartily: "Just as I thought, Blood Butcher is trying to screw Zhang Ruochen. In that case, how can this Emperor not play along?"
The other five Moro Clan Great Saints all wore sly smiles.
The sixth cauldron of Divine Travel Pills went up for auction.
"Two thousand divine stones," Blood Butcher called first.
Wujiang bid: "Two thousand five hundred divine stones."
"Three thousand divine stones," Moro War Emperor said.
Blood Butcher was a bit surprised. Why was everyone suddenly bidding so generously?
Compared to their earlier cautious tone, this was completely different.
But this played right into his hands. He thought to himself: "You should have done this sooner. The higher the price, the more it'll hurt Zhang Ruochen."
"Three thousand five hundred divine stones," Blood Butcher called out cheerfully.
"Four thousand divine stones," Wujiang said.
Moro War Emperor said: "Four thousand five hundred divine stones."
"Five thousand divine stones," Blood Butcher said.
The cultivators in the auction hall were all stunned.
Was this really a bid for a cauldron of Divine Travel Pills?
Was this really a half-king-grade Saint Pill?
"Six thousand."
"Seven thousand."
"Eight thousand."
...
The bidding price shot up like a straight line.
Blood Butcher, Wujiang, and Moro War Emperor seemed to have forgotten the unit was "divine stones," just calling out numbers, having a grand old time.
"Ten thousand."
The moment he called out this price, Blood Butcher suddenly snapped awake, his body shaking violently.
What had he just done?
Ten thousand what? Divine stones?
Blood Butcher inwardly cried out in alarm. Whether it was two thousand or three thousand divine stones per cauldron, he could still explain it to Zhang Ruochen.
Ten thousand divine stones far exceeded the value of the Divine Travel Pills. How could Zhang Ruochen not know he was deliberately screwing him?
Thinking of Zhang Ruochen's terrifying methods, Blood Butcher's earlier satisfaction vanished. He became anxious and fearful, deeply regretting his recklessness. He should have stopped while he was ahead.
Just as Blood Butcher was in agony, on the verge of despair, Moro War Emperor's voice rang out: "Eleven thousand."
This sound was like heavenly music, incredibly sweet to his ears.
Blood Butcher's eyes lit up, and he shot to his feet like lightning. "This cauldron of Divine Travel Pills is yours. This Saint gives up. Congratulations, congratulations. The Moro Clan is truly an ancient clan, full of heroic spirit. Admirable."
At that moment, Moro War Emperor snapped awake and asked the Moro Clan Great Saints beside him: "What did this Emperor just call out?"
The Moro Clan Great Saints were all dazed, their bodies numb, unable to speak.
Moro Tiansu's stiff face twitched slightly. "Eleven thousand divine stones."
Moro War Emperor felt as if his soul had fled. He stared at Wujiang like a drowning man grasping at a last straw. "You... you add a little more. Just try adding a little, even ten. This Emperor will let you have this cauldron."
Wujiang said nothing, just gave him a look that said, "Do you think I'm an idiot?"
In truth, Wujiang had also been swept up by Blood Butcher and Moro War Emperor's rhythm. He had almost blurted out "twelve thousand," but Blood Butcher had spoken first, declaring he wouldn't bid further, snapping him awake.
Although he owned a divine stone mine, it would take a thousand years to produce ten thousand divine stones.
Source Demon Divine Son's forehead was covered in cold sweat. "Blood Butcher was definitely screwing people. He was misleading us from the start, trying to pull off a big scam."
"Do you think it's possible Blood Butcher is a shill arranged by Star Sea World? The price for this sixth cauldron is already worth ten cauldrons," someone speculated.
"Very possible."
"Good thing this Saint didn't fall for it. If I'd been scammed out of ten thousand divine stones, I'd be in debt for a thousand years."
"Eleven thousand divine stones is equivalent to eleven trillion Saint stones. How many Saints could the Moro Clan have trained with that? This is a fatal mistake."
"Moro War Emperor is too pitiful. Spending eleven thousand divine stones on a cauldron of Divine Travel Pills will make him a laughingstock across the entire Hell Realm."
"With such a huge mistake, Moro War Emperor's future prospects are grim. The Moro Clan will definitely stop grooming him as a key figure. They might even revoke his 'Moro' title."
Moro War Emperor clearly realized the severity of the consequences. He looked pleadingly at Great Saint Loki on the auction stage.
But Great Saint Loki shook his head. Once a price was called at an auction, there was no going back. Was Star Sea World a place to mess around?
Moro War Emperor's gaze shifted to Blood Butcher. "You were determined to win the Divine Travel Pills, weren't you? Add a little more, and I'll let you have them."
Blood Butcher shrugged. "When did this Saint ever say I was determined to win? Since I can't outbid you, I'll let you have them."
Moro War Emperor couldn't contain his rage. A surge of evil energy erupted from his body as he charged at Blood Butcher: "You want to destroy this Emperor? I'll take you down with me!"
Seeing this, the cultivators in the auction hall felt a sense of schadenfreude.
Everyone cheered Moro War Emperor on, hoping he would kill Blood Butcher, preferably torture him to death. That bastard was utterly hateful, definitely a shill from Star Sea World.
Unfortunately, before Moro War Emperor could reach Blood Butcher, he was seized by Star Sea World's order enforcers.
Blood Butcher let out a long sigh of relief, straightening his Saint robe. He secretly glanced at the cultivators in the auction hall and noticed the atmosphere was very tense. Why did so many suddenly want him dead? And they looked like they hated him to the bone.
It was just an auction. Was it that serious?
Was it jealousy of wealth?
He'd have to keep a low profile from now on.