Inside his own private room, the golden-armored Zi Hu who was sitting on his couch with a grumpy expression on his face narrowed his eyes as he turned his attention towards Zhuan Jie, before he snorted and said in a cold voice
''Zhuan Jie, even a coward like you dares to call me stupid? Fine then, why don't you try bidding for the earth flame now? I can promise you that as long as you manage to get your hands on it, I will immediately use this 'Soul-locking talisman' on you and seal your soul. I am sure that the talisman's effects will be even more powerful on a peak rank 3 Sovereign realm cultivator like you.''
The silver-haired woman from the 'White ice city' and the rest of the experts inside the private rooms were all startled when they heard this exchange between Zi Hu and Zhuan Jie, before loud discussions filled their rooms soon after
''Haha everyone knows that Zi Hu has a short temper and Zhuan Jie decided to mock him right after he was forced to pay a million high-grade spirit stones for that talisman. No wonder he is angry.''
''Zhuan Jie dug his own hole. With one less person to compete for the earth flame, the chances for the rest of us will be even higher!''
Zhuan Jie's expression instantly changed when he heard the mocking voices of the experts inside the private rooms around him, before he turned his attention towards Zi Hu's silhouette and shouted angrily
''Zi Hu, you dare? You know that I am the right-hand man of the valley lord of the 'Black mist valley'! Even if you are a general of the Northern Sovereign, you should know your limits! Are you saying that you are willing to waste your 'Soul-locking talisman' on me over such a trivial matter? You should know that even if you manage to kill me, the valley lord will definitely take revenge for me in the future!''
Zhuan Jie gritted his teeth as he said the last sentence. It was truly humiliating for a Sovereign realm expert like him to resort to threats, but he knew that with the 'Soul-locking talisman' in his hands, Zi Hu was the one who had the upper hand.
Forget about Zhuan Jie himself, even middle-stage Sovereign realm experts would think twice before offending Zi Hu right now.
Narrowing his eyes, Zi Hu waved his right hand, dispelling the obscuring formation from his private room and allowing Shun Long and the others to have a good look at him, before he turned his gaze towards Zi Hu and said mockingly
''You are right. You are not worthy of me wasting this 'Soul-locking talisman' on you, and I indeed had another reason why I purchased it today. However, the value of the earth flame itself is definitely no lower than this talisman, so, I don't mind exchanging it if I get to take your life and the earth flame in return. As for the valley lord of your 'Black mist valley'... hahaha, others may be afraid of him, but do you really think that I would be scared of an empty threat like that? Did you forget who is the person standing behind me?''
Zi Hu's uproarious laughter send chills to Zhuan Jie's spine who regretted offending this madman, while solemn looks appeared on the faces of the surrounding experts present in the auction venue.
Although Zi Hu was extremely overbearing, everyone understood that he was right. Behind him was the Northern Sovereign, the strongest expert in the northern part of the central region. Why would Zi Hu be afraid of the 'Black mist valley'.
In fact, would the valley lord of the 'Black mist valley' even dare to try and kill one of the generals under the Northern Sovereign?
Sensing the stifling atmosphere that had covered the entire fifth floor, the yellow-robed auctioneer, Jia Guiying took a deep breath to calm herself down, before she turned to look at the experts in the private rooms and clapped her hands once, attracting everyone's attention, before she said with a smile on her face
''Honorable guests, let us continue with the last item of our auction. It is indeed what everyone here today has been waiting for.
Our fifinal item of today's auction is an extremely rare item... a true earth flame!''
The moment that Jia Guiying finished speaking, Shun Long could sense the atmosphere inside the fifth floor of the 'White tiger chamber of commerce' abruptly heating up, before an old man in white robes whose body was completely drenched in sweat walked towards the main stage of the auction venue with slow steps.
The old man whose cultivation was at the early stages of the Dao Emperor realm had both of his hands stretched in front of him as he walked towards the main stage, while in between his hands, a purple-colored flame could be seen flickering there.
The eyes of every single expert inside the fifth floor instantly lit up the moment that they saw this purple-colored flame, while many of them even forgot about Zi Hu's and Zhuan Jie's 'fight', as Jia Guiying's voice entered everyone's ears soon after
''Esteemed guests, as you have all guessed, our final item is this purple-colored earth flame. This earth flame was found by a Nascent Soul stage cultivator in the depths of the 'Elderwood mountain' right outside our Murong city.
As many of you already know, each earth flame is unique and has its own properties, as well as an element of its own. The moment that a cultivator absorbs an earth flame, they will not only be able to use the earth flame itself during alchemy or when they inscribe formations, or even during a fight, but they will also be able to gain insights into the element of the earth flame.
As for this earth flame in front of me, our 'White tiger chamber of commerce' has already verified, that the moment that an expert absorbs it, that person will be able to gain insights into the Dao of Fire.
The starting price for this earth flame will be 500..000 high-grade spirit stones, while each subsequent increase must be a minimum of 5000 high-grade spirit stones higher than the last bid.''
''Sigh, I was hoping that it would be an earth flame with the element of ice. That way, I could increase the level of my Dao of Ice even further after I absorb it.
...Although it's slightly unfortunate, it doesn't matter that much in the end, since any earth flame will increase my strength by quite a bit. Even if the Dao of Fire is useless to me, having an earth flame is no different from having an extra trump card when I'm in trouble.''
The beautiful silver-haired woman from the White ice city who was in the room right next to Shun Long's mumbled to herself as she stared at the purple-colored ball of flame on the main stage, and after taking a deep breath, she then called out in a loud voice
''600.000 high-grade spirit stones.''
The silver-haired woman then turned her attention towards Shun Long's private room before she turned to look at the 2 other rooms in front of her.
The beautiful silver-haired woman knew, that her main opponents for today's auction would most likely be the mysterious black-robed person in the room next to hers whose cultivation she had failed to discern previously, as well as those who were inside the other 2 private rooms!
As for Zhuan Jie from the 'Black mist valley', she didn't even bother throwing a single glance at him. Since Zi Hu had already claimed that he would use his 'Soul-locking talisman' the moment that Zhuan Jie managed to get his hands on the earth flame, it was virtually certain that Zhuan Jie would have to give up on bidding this time, whether he liked it or not.
Indeed, Zhuan Jie had a fervent look in his eyes as he stared at the earth flame, but under Zi Hu's cold gaze, he didn't dare to call out his bid. Although Zhuan Jie knew that Zi Hu needed the 'Soul-locking talisman' for his own matters and would most likely not dare to 'waste' it on him, Zhuan Jie didn't dare to truly take this risk in the end.
In his heart, Zhuan Jie was now feeling boundless anger but he didn't have any way to vent it out.
Meanwhile, from one of the 2 private rooms that the silver-haired woman was staring at, a deep voice came from the depths of the room, resounding throughout the auction venue a moment later, as the person inside the room said calmly
''700.000 high-grade spirit stones!''
''Haha, it seems that experts from all the top powers have come for the earth flame today. It's too bad that none of you will be able to obtain it.
If I'm not mistaken, you must be senior Xiao from Lord Zhu's garden. I suppose it's time for me to join in as well.
800.000 high-grade spirit stones!''
A composed voice came from another private room after a few moments of silence, as the person inside the room stared at the expert who had just called out the bid of 700.000 high-grade spirit stones and spoke in a relaxed tone.
'Senior Xiao' narrowed his eyes as he stared at this person sitting in the room right next to his own before he said in a pondering manner
''A peak rank 9 Dao Emperor... It doesn't look like I have met you before, but you seem to recognize me quite easily. Brat, which power did you come from?''
Hearing 'senior Xiao's words, that person suddenly smiled and waved his hand, dispelling the obscuring formation around his private room and revealing his face to everyone present, before he cupped his hands and said
''Naturally, I recognize you. Lord Zhu's garden isn't that far away from my Murong city in the first place, so how could I, as the patriarch of Murong family not be familiar with the experts from Lord Zhu's garden?''
787
'Senior Xiao's' eyes widened when he heard this, before he asked in a somewhat intrigued voice a moment later
''Brat, you are the new patriarch of Murong family, Murong Tian?''
At this moment, it wasn't just 'senior Xiao' or the silver-haired woman from the White ice city who had turned their attention towards Murong Tian, but every single person present on the fifth floor, including the 7th general from the Northern Sovereign's army, Zi Hu, as well as Zhuan Jie from the 'Black Mist valley'.
Although most people didn't know what Murong Tian looked like since he had only appeared in Murong city twice in the last 3000 years, his name was known by every single person inside the city.
After all, Murong Tian was an extremely influential figure in Murong city and he was even rumored to be just a step away from the Sovereign realm.
Even some Sovereign realm experts were paying attention to someone who could potentially threaten them in the future.
Even though the current Murong Tian wasn't as strong as Sovereign realm experts since he had yet to breakthrough to that level, inside Murong city at least, the patriarch of the Murong family was just as influential as most Sovereign realm experts, if not even more.
In fact, if Murong Tian managed to breakthrough to the Sovereign realm, the Murong family would have 3 Sovereign realm experts, and they would then be ranked right below the strongest powers of the northern part of the central region.
At that moment, inside his own private room, Shun Long had been staring at the purple-colored earth flame with a profound look in his eyes, before he suddenly turned his attention towards the private room next to Zhuan Jie's and looked at the figure of the handsome middle-aged man with long black hair who had just showed his face.
Jiang Tianfang didn't seem to have noticed Shun Long's sudden change in expression as he too stared at Murong Tian at the same time, and after a moment of silence he said
''Nephew Shun, you probably don't know this, but the patriarch of the Murong family is extremely powerful.. Other than the Grand Elder of your Holy sect and a few other peak Dao Emperors at the same level as him, there is practically no one else at the Dao Emperor realm who can be his match.''
''Haha, master, this situation has become quite interesting.'' Little Black said with a look of amusement in his deep blue eyes as he also stared at the silhouette of Murong Tian from the foggy space inside the 'Stone of Time'.
Nodding his head, Shun Long observed Murong Tian seriously without saying a word.
Indeed, this was something extremely unexpected.
At the same time, although the experts inside the other private rooms were slightly surprised when they found out that the patriarch of the Murong family had come to bid for the earth flame as well, they merely threw a few more glances at him before they continued to call out their bids.
After all, even though Murong Tian may have been famous within Murong city, in the eyes of those experts who came from the strongest powers of the northern part of the central region he was only a slightly stronger Dao Emperor. Only experts at the Sovereign realm or higher were enough to warrant Zi Hu's and the others' attention.
''850.000 high-grade spirit stones!''
''900.000!''
''1.000.000 high-grade spirit stones.''
In less than a minute, the price of the earth flame had already gone past the 1 million high-grade spirit stones mark, and yet there were still no signs of it slowing down.
''1 million 200 thousand high-grade spirit stones!'' An old man in luxurious yellow robes suddenly called out from the ordinary seats down below, immediately attracting everyone's attention.
Even experts like Zhuan Jie and the silver-haired woman from 'White ice city' had turned their attention towards this person, staring at him with some surprise in their eyes.
After all, the people who could afford to call a bid of a million high-grade spirit stones were almost all, renowned Sovereign realm experts.
As for this old man, they could clearly sense that he was just an early rank 9 Dao Emperor, the same level as Jiang Tianfang.
''Who is this person? He actually dares to bid for the earth flame against the Sovereign realm seniors? Isn't he afraid that he won't be able to keep the earth flame even if he wins the bid?''
''Wait! I have seen this person before! He is the current clan head of the Xi clan!'' A person in the audience seats quickly recognized the yellow-robed old man, as he exclaimed in a loud voice a moment later.
''The Xi clan? What kind of clan is that?''
''They are a powerful clan that is no weaker than the Murong family! I have heard that the previous clan leader of the Xi clan and the old ancestor of the Murong family have been rivals for many years. No wonder the current clan head of the Xi clan would come here to fight for the earth flame!'' Another person answered seriously a moment later, as his eyes stared at the clan leader of the Xi clan who was sitting just a few meters away from him.
''1 million 400 hundred thousand high-grade spirit stones!'' The Sovereign realm expert from Lord Zhu's garden, 'senior Xiao' snorted before he said in a cold voice, increasing the price of the earth flame even further.
At the same time however, the beautiful silver-haired woman from the 'White ice city' didn't choose to remain silent either, as she called out a moment later
''1 million 500 thousand!''
In just a few moments, the price of the earth flame had reached a staggering 2 million high-grade spirit stones, and it was only then that it finally started to slow down.
At that moment, Jia Guiying took a deep breath and smiled brightly as she looked at the silhouettes of the Sovereign realm experts inside the private rooms, before she said in a clear voice
''Esteemed guests, I suggest that you don't miss the chance to obtain this earth flame. Even our 'White tiger chamber of commerce' doesn't get the chance to auction an earth flame very often. Who knows when you will get another chance if you miss this one?''
It was unknown if it was intentional or not, but Jia Guiying's gaze ended up landing on the Sovereign realm expert from the 'Black mist valley' as she said the last sentence.
And yet, Zhuan Jie merely snorted but he didn't choose to bid for the earth flame even after Jia Guiying's attempt to entice him.
After all, the moment that he managed to get his hands on the earth flame, Zhuan Jie knew that Zi Hu would use his 'Soul-locking talisman' to deal with him.
Although an earth flame was valuable, he wasn't going to risk his life for it.
Of course, if there was a chance to get revenge on Zi Hu in the future, there was no way that Zhuan Jie would let it go!
...
10 minutes later, the bids finally stopped, as the experts present all stared at a certain private room with mixed emotions.
Inside his own private room, Murong Tian laughed without restraint as he looked at the purple-colored earth flame on the main stage with a fervent look in his eyes.
After spending 3.4 million high-grade spirit stones, he had finally forced everyone else to concede.
''Tsk, I didn't think that even with more than 3 million high-grade spirit stones I wouldn't be able to secure a single earth flame.'' 'Senior Xiao' clicked his tongue and said in a dissatisfied tone as he stared at Murong Tian.
Clearly, it wasn't that Murong Tian was richer than 'senior Xiao', but that 'senior Xiao' himself wasn't prepared for Murong Tian's involvement.
Naturally, as the patriarch of the Murong family, Murong Tian could take out a much larger amount of spirit stones than 'senior Xiao' could, which was why even though 'senior Xiao' had prepared more than 3 million high-grade spirit stones for the earth flame, it still wasn't enough.
At the same time, inside the private room right next to Shun Long's, one of the 3 white-robed women asked the silver-haired woman who was sitting on the couch
''Master, you really don't want to continue bidding? Even the Murong family wouldn't be able to compete with you in terms of wealth, unless their old ancestor personally comes out of his seclusion!''
The beautiful silver-haired woman from the 'White ice city' looked at the purple-colored earth flame on the main stage and shook her head, before she answered in a calm tone
''If it was an earth flame with the element of ice I would definitely go all-out to obtain it, but an earth flame with the element of fire isn't worth me spending more than 3 million high-grade spirit stones for it. Since the patriarch of the Murong family wants it, I will let him have it. Instead, there is something else that I don't understand...''
As she finished speaking, the beautiful silver-haired woman turned her gaze towards the room that was right next to hers with a perplexed look on her face.
She had been certain that the person in the room next to hers had come here for the earth flame as well, but from the moment that the auction of the earth flame begun until it ended, that person didn't even call out a single bid for it.
Meanwhile, inside his private room, after he stared at Murong Tian with a deep look in his eyes, Shun Long turned his attention towards Jiang Tianfang who was sitting right next to him and said calmly
''Uncle Jiang, let's part ways for now.. If you have time, you should go visit Jiang Chen and the others in the Northern Sovereign's