The Divine Nine-Dragon Cauldron

“Master Gao, don’t keep us in suspense! What is this object?” someone in the audience shouted.

In fact, the entire audience’s interest was aroused. After all, since a valuable Fire Jade Box was used just to store it, they couldn’t imagine how precious the blood-red crystal inside the jade box was!

“Hehe, when I first received this object, I didn’t manage to recognize it because my experience and knowledge is limited. I assumed that it was just an ordinary crystal, and so I almost missed it! It was only after I flipped through the Glittering Jewel Secret Record that I learned of its origin,” Master Gao explained, while chuckling.

The crowd’s curiosity was aroused even more by hearing him speak. Even the knowledgeable Master Gao didn’t manage to recognize it at first glance! Hence, it was surely an extremely rare object!

“This object has a special name in the Glittering Jewel Secret Record… Saint Blood!” Master Gao then announced.

Saint Blood? The crowd was at a loss, as they had never once heard about this Saint Blood before.

“Sirs, you may all be new to this term, but if I inform you of its other name, you may probably already know about this object.” Master Gao’s eyes flickered as he said the other name slowly, “It’s also known as a Divine Crystal!”

The whole audience became instantly silent, and only the echo of those two words, “Divine Crystal,” reverberated along the walls of the room. It was only after several moments that the sound of people taking a few cold breaths could be heard. Then, many ardent gazes looked at the crystal, their eyes remaining glued to it thereafter, unable to look away.

“Wow!” Gongsun Wuxie squinted her bright eyes. “I didn’t expect that such a peerless treasure, which usually would only appear in Jiuzhou’s most prosperous auction houses, would appear in this small auction house! Moreover, this is an object that hails only from the Glittering Jewel Wonderland!”

Su Yu was the only one who didn’t know much about the Glittering Jewel Wonderland, which explained why he wasn’t surprised or startled at the moment.

“That’s right! It’s a Divine Crystal!” As Master Gao stared at the crystal, his excitement was apparent in his tone. “When the Glittering Jewel Immortal died in meditation, her indestructible body was buried in the deepest part of the Glittering Jewel Wonderland. At this same time, her indestructible soul turned into countless pieces of Divine Crystal, which were sprinkled into all corners of the Wonderland.”

He then added, “The Divine Crystals were Glittering Jewel Immortal’s Divine Soul’s parts, and it’s rumored that her past memory, as well as all martial techniques that she learned and her comprehension of the world were inside the crystals. If one can get a Divine Crystal, it will be tantamount to getting a part of the Glittering Jewel Immortal’s inheritance! As for its price, I don’t need to say more about it, as you should all be aware of it, aren’t you?”

The gazes of the audience became flushed, and their eyes all became green with envy. The Glittering Jewel Immortal was a Jiuzhou Emperor, who had suppressed all kings with her power in the past, thus ruling all Nine Prefectures as an empress. Her fighting prowess had already surpassed all other kings to reach an unfathomable realm!

There were even people who stated that she had already become an immortal, and her lifespan had surpassed ten thousand years, almost rivaling heaven’s lifespan! Her eyes had witnessed the continent’s turmoil, the fall and rise of many kings in Jiuzhou, and the rise and decline of the Human Clan over the years. As such, it could be said that she was like Jiuzhou’s Protector God.

Such an outstanding empress died during meditation several hundred years ago, and her divine soul had dissipated at that time. As for her body, it was buried in the deepest part of the Glittering Jewel Wonderland.

The Glittering Jewel Wonderland became Jiuzhou’s Human Clan martial techniques saint ground because the Glittering Jewel Immortal’s inheritance had been left there. All of the people wanted to go there, hoping to run into a fortuitous encounter that would change their lives and turn them from carps into divine dragons.

A hundred years ago, the new queen, the Lifeless Sword Prefecture’s queen, got a part of the inheritance in the Glittering Jewel Wonderland. It was only due to this that she managed to cultivate into the Transformation Realm and claim her place on the throne firmly.

A hundred years had almost passed since then, and the Glittering Jewel Wonderland’s gate would soon open once again. As such, it attracted the gazes of all of Jiuzhou’s living beings.

Now, a crystal that probably hid a part of the Glittering Jewel Wonderland’s inheritance had suddenly appeared before their eyes! Such a shock was tantamount to suffering the brunt of a great earthquake!

“The Red Blood Palace’s Auction House has such an object?” The pupils of Hu Wangui, who was in the VIP Lounge, contracted.

His gaze became sharp, and didn’t wait for the official start of the bidding for this object before he shouted loudly, “My Hall of Celestial Spirits wants this Divine Crystal!”

The crowd couldn’t help but furrow their brows upon hearing this, and they all thought… The Hall of Celestial Spirits is really overbearing! Master Gao still hasn’t even announced the starting price for bidding!

However, only a few people would talk back to him because the Hall of Celestial Spirits had already become Tianya City’s number one elixir store. So, no one would dare to offend him rashly.

“The Hall of Celestial Spirits? I don’t know it… But our Purple Cloud Palace wants it!” A woman’s sweet voice was heard.

The crowd was startled and wondered in disbelief… Even the Purple Cloud Palace’s people came here?

However, as they mulled it over, it seemed like although the Central Prefecture had aggressively targeted the Red Blood Palace alone, it would still end up affecting the Purple Cloud Palace’s industries in Tianya City. So, they certainly couldn’t ignore this!

As for who they sent here, that was still unknown.They could only discern that it was a pretty woman with a graceful body. As for her face, it was covered by a white veil, which concealed her identity.

“I also want this Divine Crystal, so can you please show me proper respect and leave it to me?” A soft voice then reached everyone’s ears. It was sweet and pleasant-sounding.

The crowd turned their heads and looked over to see a pretty middle-aged woman with a calm and serene temperament. But, it seemed like she possessed great prestige as well, revealing that she must have a high status.

“Fairy Ling!” someone among the crowd exclaimed in surprise. This woman was none other than the Tianya Auction House’s Owner, Fairy Ling!

“Even the Tianya Auction House’s people came here personally? Isn’t the sensation caused by this auction a bit too great?” Someone felt that something was amiss about this whole affair.

After all, Fairy Ling was a rarely seen and highly influential figure, so everyone had to wonder why she had come to watch the fight between the industries of the Red Blood Palace and the Central Prefecture. Everyone was starting to sense that there had to be another reason behind the purpose for holding this auction.

Fairy Ling’s pretty eyes flickered, and she swept all nine VIP Lounges on the second floor with her gaze, while wearing an enigmatic smile. The bidding for the object still hadn’t officially started, but three factions with powerful backers had already started fighting over it!

The guests, who wanted to compete over this object, couldn’t help but reveal bitter looks. Even if they managed by pure luck to buy this object, they still might not dare to take even half a step out of the auction house with it! After all, the Divine Crystal was far more precious than even the previous Yellow Spring Tree Root!

Master Gao revealed a faint smile as he calmly said, “Sirs, please don’t get this anxious. This is just a piece of crystal that is the size of a grain of sand. As such, it probably contains just a fleeting memory of the Glittering Jewel Immortal. Plus, she lived for more than ten thousand years and passed most of her life in serene mediation, without any thoughts in her head. Hence, this piece of crystal is probably empty! I wouldn’t place so much of your hope upon it.”

Everyone understood this, and they knew that the possibility that such a small piece of crystal might contain next to nothing in regards to her essence and powers. However, even though this was the case, it was still a risk they were willing to take. Thus, they still considered this item worth fighting over.

“I won’t say more than this at the moment. So, now… I will auction off this object. Its starting price is a hundred thousand crystals!” Master Gao announced loudly.

Hu Wangui’s gaze became sharp as he immediately upped the bid, “Two hundred thousand crystals!”

After he instantly increased the price by a hundred thousand crystals, most of the other people who wanted to try their luck for it could only shut their mouths indignantly. It was already out of their reach.

“Three hundred thousand!” the Purple Cloud Palace’s mysterious woman uttered her bid softly.

Fairy Ling swept over those two people with her gaze, then said calmly, “You shouldn’t even bother competing over it. Regardless of what your highest bidding price reaches, I will simply add a hundred thousand crystals to it.”

Upon hearing her bold and strong words, the crowd couldn’t help but admire her. As was to be expected of the Tianya Auction House’s Owner, she was clearly very confident! Regardless of how high they raised the price of the Divine Crystal, such a sum would be just a drop in the bucket for the mysterious Tianya Auction House’s Owner.

The Purple Cloud Palace’s mysterious woman got quiet for a moment before she replied softly, “Just continue fighting for it without me then. I will step down now.”

As Hu Wangui stared at Fairy Ling, he couldn’t help but narrow his eyes. “Why did she bow out?”

After he mulled it over for a moment, Hu Wangui spoke obstinately, “Four hundred thousand crystals! If you bid more than that, I will also bow out of this bidding war.”

“Five hundred thousand crystals! So… Who is left? Anyone?” Fairy Ling asked as she calmly swept the surroundings with her gaze.

Everyone in the crowd could only smile bitterly, as no one could compete against the wealthy owner of the Tianya Auction House.

Upon seeing this, Master Gao nodded, revealed a faint smile, then struck the deal. It was sold for five hundred thousand crystals! This was much higher than what they had expected… By about a hundred thousand crystals!

As Su Yu watched everything closely, he couldn’t help but click his tongue in wonder. He thought… So, the Saint Blood Soul Nourishing had other names, like “Saint Blood” and “Divine Crystal!”‘ Moreover, it unexpectedly contains Jiuzhou’s most powerful empress’ inheritance!

“That Evil God almost deceived me!” Excitement appeared in Su Yu’s eyes as he muttered this in surprise. He was rejoicing inwardly for paying attention to it and not letting the Evil God cheat him out of such a big chunk of Divine Crystal!

After all, just a small piece of crystal that was the size of a grain of sand was worth five hundred thousand crystals! This meant that a piece the size of a fist should be worth a sky-high price!

He then wondered… Could its price even surpass a hundred million crystals?

As he thought about this, Su Yu couldn’t help but lick his lips excitedly. Division Vice-Master Qi was really lucky, since he managed to get such a big chunk of Divine Crystal from an ignorant inner sanctum’s disciple!

Fairy Ling handed over the crystals to them on the spot and received the Divine Crystal. She then immediately start imbuing her Vital Energy into the crystal. As she did so, Su Yu instantly felt a boundless Vital Energy surge into the crystal.

“A middle-stage Divine Master!” Su Yu exclaimed as his pupils contracted.

This woman was really abnormally powerful! Moreover, what astounded Su Yu the most was that even though it seemed like she had just simply imbued her Vital Energy into the Divine Crystal, she still ended up consuming half of her body’s Vital Energy!

It was only after that moment that the crystal had emitted a reaction, turning into a white ray of light, which immediately disappeared into Fairy Ling’s forehead. After a short while, Fairy Ling opened her eyes.

Then, with her gaze still calm, she said, “Sure enough! It’s just a blank memory.”

As she was still so calm and composed at this moment, people couldn’t help but admire her. After all, she had just spent a whopping five hundred thousand crystals! Such a sum was tantamount to half of a Level One Divine Master’s entire life savings!

Su Yu understood many matters from this. It wasn’t like he had never tried to use his Vital Energy to activate the Divine Crystal, but it didn’t emit any reaction at the time.

Now, he finally understood why. It was because his Vital Energy was too weak and wasn’t capable of activating the Divine Crystal and causing it to emit any reaction. After all, there was a great disparity between the Vital Energy of a Level Three Fairy and that of a middle-stage Divine Master.

So… I didn’t end up making a trip here in vain… Su Yu comforted himself inwardly. Since he had found a way to use the Divine Crystal, it had made this trip worthwhile.

After the matter with the Divine Crystal came to an end, the crowd’s expressions became solemn, as the most important section of the entire auction was coming up.

Hu Wangui wore a mocking smile at the corners of his mouth as he said, “Now, it begins! Our Central Prefecture has prepared well in order to thoroughly defeat all of your three great industries!”

Master Gao wore a calm expression as usual as he announced, “The rules will be altered for this next section of the auction. I will no longer announce a starting bid, and I will also take out a pair of products, introduce their traits and selling points, then let you all compete for them.”

Upon hearing this, excitement appeared in the eyes of the crowd. They were excited to witness the contest between both sides, as it was sure to be fierce and eventful!

Two pretty maids went up to the stage and stood on each side of Master Gao. Master Gao then lifted uncovered the tray that was in the hands of the maid on his left side.

A golden claw, which seemed like it was made of the purest gold, was on the tray. The claw was extremely sharp and emitted an ice-cold metallic glint, which gave everyone a restless feeling. It was wholly gold and seemed to be quite special.

“Sirs, you are probably all aware what this object is?” Master Gao asked, while scanning the crowd.

The crowd started whispering amongst each other. Even though this wasn’t a commonly seen object, there were still people who recognized it.

Someone suddenly guessed, “Is it the claw of the far west region’s Golden Wind Divine Sparrow?”

The same audience member then added, “Such parts of that Divine Sparrow is rarely seen, as it lives in a nasty environment in the far west region of the continent, and catching it is extremely difficult! In fact, it’s rarely seen in any of the prefectures! However, because its body parts are excellent materials in making magical treasures, their price is extremely high, though rarely present on the market!”

He then shook his head and said, “And… The price of this auction’s claw has surpassed the past ones that I have heard about by a great deal.”

Master Gao revealed a faint smile. “Since you all already seem to know about it, I won’t waste time further introducing it. This object is from the Red Blood Palace’s Ten Thousand Demons Pavilion, and the Pavilion Master wants to use this opportunity to announce a good piece of news to you all… The Ten Thousand Demons Pavilion has already managed to successfully reach an agreement with the Far West Region’s most famous hunting caravan, the Heavenly Eagle Group.”

He then said, “All of the Golden Wind Divine Sparrows that are captured by the Heavenly Eagle Group will first be sold in Tianya City’s Ten Thousand Demons Pavilion. As such, there will surely be a large supply of other goods drifting to the Ten Thousand Demons Pavilion, and he welcomes you all to honor it with your presence.”

Upon hearing this, the crowd nodded, while a few among the crowd whispered among themselves…

“If it’s the Heavenly Eagle Group, there won’t be any issue with it, as that demonic beasts hunting group has a great influence, and if they agreed to sign an agreement with him, they will surely supply him with proper goods.”

“Hehe, it seems like the Red Blood Palace’s demonic beasts industry made a smart move and is choosing to hide behind such a trump card. It will be hard for that guy from the Central Prefecture to take this, and he will probably just end up making a fool of himself!”

…

In the VIP Lounge, a complacent smile appeared at the corners of Lin Ming’s mouth. He had already started planning and preparing this matter a year ago by negotiating with the Heavenly Eagle Group. In the end, he managed to succeed in striking a deal with them before the start of the auction.

Lin Ming had done all of this while keeping a low-profile, so even the Deputy General Manager wasn’t aware of it, let alone the Central Prefecture’s industries. They probably wouldn’t have imagined, even in their wildest dreams, that he could have hidden such a trump card!

After Master Gao finished introducing the Red Blood Palace’s product, he started introducing the Central Prefecture’s product. Hu Wangui, who was in a VIP Lounge, wasn’t worried, nor was he surprised or startled.

Instead, he curled up the corner of his mouth and revealed a mocking smile as he commented, “He finally took the bait, didn’t he?”

Whoosh!

After Master Gao uncovered the product, the audience saw that it also a golden claw. More specifically, it was a Golden Wind Divine Sparrow’s claw!

Upon seeing this, Lin Ming’s smile disappeared and his eyes flickered. “What’s going on? Why is the Central Prefecture auctioning off a Golden Wind Divine Sparrow’s claw as well? Is it just a coincidence, or is it some hidden plot against us?”

A helpless look flickered in Master Gao’s eyes for a moment. As an auction house isn’t allowed to inform anyone of the products being auctioned off before the official start of the auction, he understood why Lin Ming was upset. This came as a total surprise that the products were the same!

“That is right… It’s also a Golden Wind Divine Sparrow’s claw. It’s from the Demonic Treasure Pavilion,” Master Gao announced as he saw the audience’s surprise.

At this moment, a soft whirring sound echoed out from a VIP Lounge on the second floor. It was the giant glass window of the room where Hu Wangui and his two companions were situated as it started opening up, revealing the three people to the crowd.

Hu Wangui wore a faint smile. “Sirs, I also want to announce a piece of good news to you all. My Demonic Treasure Pavilion has already subdued the Far West Region’s Heavenly Eagle Group, and from now on, they will join my Demonic Treasure Pavilion as employees or cohorts of sort. Now, all of the Golden Wind Divine Sparrows that they capture will belong to our Demonic Treasure Pavilion alone!”

Upon hearing this, the audience went into an uproar…

“Did the Heavenly Eagle Group really become a subordinate of the Demonic Treasure Pavilion? How did they achieve that?”

“So… If we want parts of Golden Wind Divine Sparrows, we’ll have to go to visit the Demonic Treasure Pavilion?”

In a VIP Lounge, horror appeared on the face of Lin Ming, who had still worn a confident expression just a brief moment ago. “That’s impossible! I already started negotiating with the Heavenly Eagle Group a year ago, so how did you manage to subdue them this quickly? Wait… Did you all set me up?”

Lin Ming finally understood that this was just a plot set up by Hu Wangui, and that Hu Wangui had already subdued the Heavenly Eagle Group a year ago, but had hidden it on purpose! He had apparently ordered them in secret to fake a collaboration with the Ten Thousand Demons Pavilion!

Just when Lin Ming had become so pleased with himself because of this affair, Hu Wangui had suddenly announced this matter to create trouble for him! He was livid!

The thought that the Heavenly Eagle Group, which was seen as a trump card that was capable of remedying the situation by the Ten Thousand Demons Pavilion, had already been subdued by Hu Wangui long ago really seemed like a joke! The great disparity between them caused the Ten Thousand Demons Pavilion to become a laughing stock, thus helping the Demonic Treasure Pavilion accomplish its underhanded aims!

“You are really ruthless!” After Lin Ming returned to his senses, he almost fainted from anger.

Hu Wangui sneered. “Shopkeeper Lin, how can you say this? The Heavenly Eagle Group members are my subordinates, and I am the one who accepted signing an agreement with you. So, if you want parts of Golden Wind Divine Sparrows in the future, you can just take them from my Demonic Treasure Pavilion with a ten percent discount.”

It appeared that the Demonic Treasure Pavilion had ended up becoming a store that was a grade lower than the Ten Thousand Demons Pavilion. Master Gao let out a soft sigh. It seemed that the Central Prefecture’s faction had still prevailed in the end.

The Demonic Treasure Pavilion had stepped on the Ten Thousand Demons Pavilion in order to elevate itself even further. It would be difficult for it to not become well-known in the future now, even if they didn’t desire great fame.