Chapter 1157 – Necklace of the Goddess
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"Lin Ming, could it be that you want to pawn the dragon bone relics?" Mo Eversnow asked from within Lin Ming's spiritual sea. Currently, the most valuable objects Lin Ming had that he was willing to pawn right now were the dragon bone relics.
The 1000 foot long supreme dragon bone was a treasure that could make a World King go mad with envy. If Lin Ming had this sort of thing, it was certainly impossible to take out.
However, compared to the original 1000 foot supreme dragon bone, pure dragon bone relics were much lower in value.
Dragon bone relics already had their dragon marrow pulled out. To an essence gathering system martial artist, dragon marrow was much more valuable. It could improve one's meridians and bloodlines, but the dragon bone itself could only be used to transform the organs and bones, something much more suited to a body transformation martial artist.
Moreover, Mo Riverbliss had refined the 1000 foot long supreme dragon bone into 108 dragon bone relics. Each dragon bone relic was equal to 1/108 of the original dragon bone's value. If he could hide his status and just pawn several dragon bone relics, there wouldn't be too much trouble in that.
"Lin Ming, the materials for the Esoteric Immortality Pill are already prepared. I will finish refining it before these three months are over. There are only 36 dragon bone relics left. Even if we consider the remaining dragon strength within your body, in order to process the Esoteric Immortality Pill, I will still need to use up at least 30 of them. You can pawn at most six!"
"Six…"
Lin Ming faintly frowned. Six dragon bone relics might not be enough!
"How much could a dragon bone relic be pawned for?"
"It's hard to say. That will depend on what the appraiser of Starbind Bank offers, and they often quote a price lower than market value. I estimate that it will be no more than 60 billion."
60 billion times six was 360 billion. In addition with River Feather's 100 billion, Lin Ming's total wealth was still lower than one trillion.
This amount of wealth was probably far from being enough to purchase the Boundless World Pill!
"Lin Ming, the Esoteric Immortality Pill must be refined. We have gone through much to obtain the violet sun stone embryo, and the other materials have already been gathered to refine it. I can guarantee that you will be able to open the Gate of Life before you participate in the First Martial Meeting! And, that Boundless World Pill is no less significant to your progress!"
"I understand."
Lin Ming worried. He could deeply feel just how profoundly poor he was! Extremely poor!
If he wanted to gather a great deal of wealth then the only way was to ask the Ancient Elysium Seal. But as he thought about it some more, the body of the Ancient Elysium Seal was arranged with a painstaking cost by Empyrean Divine Seal and it had also been tempered with energy for 3.6 billion years. If it were broken down into normal violet sun crystals then that would truly be a waste.
Fishy, besides those treasures buried 500 miles underground, do you see any other violet sun stones buried nearby?" Lin Ming suddenly asked with a bit of hope in his voice as he remembered Fishy's ability.
At this time, Fishy had just woken up. She rubbed her sleep-tired eyes and tilted her head for a bit before responding, "Big Brother Lin Ming wants to look for some buried treasure? There are some violet stones in some places outside the city and they are buried very deeply. Can those be considered buried treasure?"
"Buried deeply? How many are there?"
"Mm… it depends. Some are as big as a fat pig and some are as small as my fist…"
"I see…" Lin Ming shook his head. He hadn't held out much hope for this route to begin with. In Fishy's life, it seemed as if she hadn't left the range of Immemorial Imperial City. It was already a surprise that there would be such a great treasure hidden right underground, but it was impossible for there to be a second.
As Lin Ming was thinking about what to do, a flash of light suddenly popped up in his head as he recalled something.
"Miss Mo, I suddenly thought of something that could give us a pleasant surprise. I've forgotten about it all this time!"
"What is it?"
Lin Ming said, "It's a string necklace! In the past when I visited the ancient goddess' grave in the Eternal Demon Abyss, I obtained a string necklace as well as a jade pendant from her. That jade pendant seemed to be a keepsake of some sort, but as for that necklace, I have no idea what it is. Because I've never brought it out in these 10 plus years, I'd nearly forgotten about it."
"The goddess' necklace and jade pendant?"
Mo Eversnow's thoughts stirred. When she had been deeply sleeping in the Magic Cube, she had only been able to faintly sense what Lin Ming experienced. As for the concrete details, she wasn't sure. For instance, she hadn't known that Lin Ming had obtained a replica of the Demon Bead in the Steppes Master's treasure chambers.
"Let's take a look."
Lin Ming and Mo Eversnow entered into the Extreme Violet Ring together. Lin Ming looked for a moment inside the ring before finding the goddess' jade pendant and necklace. The goddess' jade pendant was similar to the pendant that the young girl Jue of the Forsaken God Clan had been wearing. At the time, because of this jade pendant, Lin Ming had rescued Jue from her slavery at his wedding banquet, and this subsequently brought him together with the Forsaken God Clan. After that, Lin Ming, under their protection, had safely stepped into Life Destruction and escaped the chasing down of the Asura Divine Kingdom.
Because of this, Lin Ming guessed that the goddess' jade pendant was a keepsake from the Forsaken God Clan.
But the necklace was different. It was special, with strange energy waves around it. These fluctuations of ancient Laws showed just how unique it was.
The necklace of the goddess had links as thick as a pinky finger and there was a palm-sized metal piece at the end of the chain. This metal plate was less than an inch thick and had a square-shaped hole in the center. There might have been some gem inlaid in this hole in the past, but that gem had already disappeared.
This necklace wasn't soft or elegant. It lacked all grace that a young woman's necklace would normally possess. Instead, it was humble and heavy, with a solemn aura to it. Wearing this chain would have felt like wearing a lock.
As for the jade pendant, it was a deep azure color all around and icy cold to the touch. The center of the jade pendant was carved with totem images of birds, looking quite common.
Mo Eversnow looked at them for a moment. Then, she put away the jade pendant and focused her vision on the necklace.
"Miss Mo, what do you see?" Lin Ming asked from the side.
Mo Eversnow pressed her eyebrows together, not speaking for a long time. Underneath the control of her battle spirit and will, the necklace steadily floated in the air. This process continued for a full hour. Then, Mo Eversnow turned into a ray of light and directly sank into the necklace!
After the necklace lost the support of her battle spirit, it fell to the ground. Lin Ming subconsciously thrust out his hand to grab it.
"Miss Mo!" Lin Ming was immediately worried. He instantly contacted Mo Eversnow's mind and could sense that the state of her soul was very steady without any problems.
He was finally able to relax. Like this, another hour passed. Mo Eversnow finally emerged from the goddess' necklace. She said, "Lin Ming, if I'm not wrong, this should be a spirit treasure that Empyrean Primordius himself personally forged!"
Mo Eversnow's voice was filled with amazement. Lin Ming was also startled. Although this result wasn't too surprising, as he saw something that was truly crafted by an Empyrean, he was still shocked.
"Something that Empyrean Primordius made himself? Is this a transcendent spirit treasure!?"
"No…" Mo Eversnow shook her head. "A transcendent spirit treasure isn't easy to create. Even for an Empyrean, they could only craft a single transcendent spirit treasure in their lifetime. The value of one would be inestimable and not inferior to a transcendent divine might jade slip in value. As for other things created by an Empyrean, although they might not be a transcendent spirit treasure, they would still be extremely valuable! If I'm not wrong, this should be a defensive spirit treasure. But, unfortunately… the artifact spirit has already died."
"Mm?" Lin Ming asked, dazed, "The artifact spirit died?"
The goddess of the Eternal Demon Abyss should have withstood some sort of extremely powerful attack, causing this defensive spirit treasure to be mostly broken. As a result, the artifact spirit was destroyed and the value of this spirit treasure was also greatly diminished. It was probably impossible to restore the functions that it had in the past!
"This is…" Lin Ming glanced at the necklace. He never imagined that such a simple and plain necklace would be something that Empyrean Primordius created himself. But what a pity, even if it was something created by an Empyrean, it was still incomplete.
"If its value was reduced so greatly, how much could it be pawned for?" Lin Ming asked, unsure.
Mo Eversnow saw Lin Ming's worried expression and chuckled. "That is something that you do not need to worry about. What kind of character is an Empyrean? Even a Holy Lord is nothing but an ant in front of an Empyrean. This First Martial Meeting may be held by Empyreans but the truth is that only the disciples of the Empyreans are managing affairs. How could an Empyrean possibly bother themselves with such things? Even the rewards for the top 10 are with the direction of Empyrean Vast Universe's chief disciple. Even if one managed to achieve first place in this First Martial Meeting, they still wouldn't have the chance to meet an Empyrean. Let alone an incomplete spirit artifact, even if there was only a tiny fragment left over, there would still be a massive number of martial artists chasing after it like a flock of ducks. Even if that fragment had no more function, there would always be people wishing to collect it. Moreover, this necklace also has fluctuations of Laws carved within it. They contain the principles of the refiner and can be used as a reference by World King level refining masters. It is extremely valuable!"
As Mo Eversnow spoke, Lin Ming nodded in agreement. To an Empyrean that lived for tens or even hundreds of millions of years, it would be hard to arouse their interest with this Divine Realm First Martial Meeting that occurred every several thousand years. They had simply seen far too many First Martial Meetings!
"How much can this necklace be pawned for?"
"I cannot say." Mo Eversnow shook her head. "Even with Empyreans, there are divisions of high and low. For instance, there is Empyrean Primordius, and also Empyrean Divine Dream who is conducting this First Martial Meeting, both of them are outstanding existences even among Empyreans. I do not understand the world of Empyreans, but whatever Empyrean Primordius made should be much higher in value than a normal Empyrean's treasure. Moreover, there seems to be a seal in this necklace. However, I fear that no one besides Empyrean Primordius is capable of unraveling this seal. I have no idea just what could be inside…"
Lin Ming thought for a moment and asked, "Could this necklace tempt World King level powerhouses?"
"It shouldn't. There are some Great World King life weapons that can compare favorably to an Empyrean spirit treasure. Moreover, this necklace only has an incomplete artifact spirit. Starbind Bank has done business for millions of years. They shouldn't do something that would destroy their hard-earned reputation by coveting this necklace, or even a transcendent divine might jade slip."
"Okay, then we'll pawn this. I wonder just how much wealth we can get for it!" Lin Ming put away the goddess' necklace and flew out from the Extreme Violet Ring. Really, where hills bent and the streams and roads seemed to end, there existed flowers that bloomed past the dark willows. This was the sudden glimpse of hope that he needed at this moment. He never imagined that the necklace he obtained from the ancient goddess' grave in the past would play such an important role now.
Chapter 1158 – Sky High Pawn Price
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Starbind Bank's interior had different dimensional worlds located within it. And, its pawn store was in the shape of a six floored pagoda that floated high in the sky.
Many masters arrived at the pagoda and turned into a beam of lightning, flying directly within.
Lin Ming rubbed his chin. He bid farewell to River Feather and flew in alone.
At this time, a light blue hazy mist covered his body, and one was barely able to make out the contours of his features. One couldn't clearly see his appearance nor clearly make out his age. This was a protection that Starbind Bank arranged for those people that weren't willing to disclose their identity. Of course, if one really wished to look through this concealment it would be easy. But in this aspect, Starbind Bank's credibility had stood up to the most rigorous tests of time. It had operated for so many years and yet there had never been a single time when they tried to steal the belongings of their guests, nor had they ever secretly investigated the appearance of their guests or violated their privacy.
After Lin Ming entered the pagoda, he went to the first level. The space here was a thousand miles long and wide, with a large crowd of talkative guests that were here to pawn treasures.
Lin Ming moved straight to the second floor. According to what River Feather told him, expensive treasures had to be pawned on the second floor.
Just as Lin Ming arrived at the second floor, a beautiful young woman dressed in white with a late Divine Sea cultivation stopped Lin Ming, saying with a smile, "Young Sir, please hold on. Do you have a VIP card?" Although she was technically refusing him entry, her tone and expression were actually quite comfortable.
"No."
My apologies. If you do not have a VIP card, you will have to have the appraiser on the first level appraise your treasure first. If the value is high enough, you may enter the second floor." As the young woman spoke to here, her voice caught in her throat. She felt a deep pressure suddenly enveloping her.
Under this pressure, even her soul began to tremble.
"Peak Holy Lord master? No… half-step World King!?"
The white-clothed woman's eyes flashed with a startled light as she took a step backwards. With her late Divine Sea cultivation, she could judge Lin Ming's relative strength according to the pressure he released. This was not a level of perception that an ordinary Divine Sea master could possess. It was clear that many great masters often came to Starbind Bank's second floor.
Even so, peak Holy Lord and even half-step World King powerhouses were very rare. These were distinguished guests. The only level above them was World Kings, and it had to be known that one of Starbind Bank's secret owners was the True Martial Great World King.
The white-clothed woman's voice immediately attracted everyone's eyes. They all glanced at Lin Ming, "Half-step World King? Is it some super master from a Holy Land level influence? To think that they would personally come here… I wonder just what they are pawning!"
"This is a half-step World King powerhouse… that's the first time I've ever seen one, just incredible… even a half-step World King has come out. The grand auction three days from now will surely be worth watching."
"Senior may certainly enter a higher level. Please." The white-clothed woman motioned with her hand, inviting Lin Ming upstairs.
Like this, Lin Ming stepped onto the stairs leading to the second floor underneath the envious gaze of others. But, he didn't stop at the second floor and went straight to the fourth.
As he entered the fourth floor, a middle-aged scholar welcomed him. Together with the woman, they guided Lin Ming to an inner room.
At this time, Lin Ming had already restrained his aura. Soul pressure itself was a kind of force field, and to use it required soul force. Since Mo Eversnow's soul was still damaged, she wasn't able to release this soul pressure for too long a time.
He had disguised himself as a half-step World King master in order to increase his number of chips and ensure that this transaction would be absolutely safe.
"Senior, are you here to pawn treasures for the auction three days from now? May I ask what Senior would like to pawn?" The middle-aged scholar said with anticipation. If the treasures pawned were valuable enough, the yearly interest would be quite considerable.
"Correct. Take a look at these and tell me what their value is." Lin Ming raised a hand and tossed out six dragon bone relics.
30 dragon bone relics were enough to refine the Esoteric Immortality Pill. These six remaining dragon bone relics were to be pawned to ensure that his chances in the auction would be better.
"This is…"
As the middle-aged scholar saw these six black crystal beads, his eyes shined. "God beast bones?"
The middle-aged scholar was able to instantly discern the value of these dragon bone relics at first sight. Lin Ming praised this man inwardly. This middle-aged scholar was indeed a professional, able to tell whether something was a common treasure or a top treasure with just a single glance.
The middle-aged scholar revealed a solemn look. He clapped his hands and the curtains outside moved. A robust and vibrant old man with a long beard walked in. This person only had an early Divine Lord realm cultivation, but his eyes shined exceptionally bright. It was clear that he was an appraisal master.
The old man appraised the dragon bone relics for a moment. Then, with a slight movement of his lips, he sent a true essence sound transmission to the middle-aged scholar containing his appraisal results. The middle-aged scholar praised, "These are dragon bone relics refined from the bone of an Azure Dragon, they are truly wonderful items! But what a pity, the dragon marrow has already been taken out and there is only the pure skeleton left behind. Because of this, the value is reduced by 70-80%. Even so, these dragon bone relics are much more precious than a drop of dragon horn blood! For these six dragon bone relics, I am willing to pawn 350 billion violet sun stones for Senior! What does Senior think about this?"
Lin Ming nodded. This was about the price he expected. The price for pawning something was only 50-60% of the selling price. This was the only way that the pawn store could make a profit once the original master decided they didn't want the item anymore.
"Haha, Senior truly is great. Does Senior have any more items that you wish to pawn?" The middle-aged scholar personally poured a cup of tea for Lin Ming. "This is nine fog tea formed from 10,000 year camellia flowers. They are infused with high quality spirit spring water. Senior, please have a taste."
Lin Ming received the teacup and took a sip. Really, this tea was quite fragrant. There was even a light feeling of having his soul revitalized. Compared to the chaotic crowd downstairs, the treatment on the fourth floor was worlds apart. This was the difference power and wealth brought.
Lin Ming drank the tea and then took out the goddess' necklace from his spatial ring, placing it in front of the middle-aged scholar.
"This is…" A doubtful expression crossed the middle-aged scholar's face. As he looked at this necklace, he didn't notice anything special about it.
The middle-aged scholar picked up the necklace. It was quite heavy and ice cold to the touch. Moreover, there were some faint Law fluctuations exuding from it.
"This is a spirit artifact… however, it seems to lack an artifact spirit… no, that's not right. This is…"
The long-bearded old man was the first to respond, startled. He looked at Lin Ming with incredulity in his eyes and then began to rapidly whisper to the middle-aged scholar.
After the middle-aged scholar listened to him, he suddenly shot up from his chair. "Are you serious!?"
The old man nodded. The middle-aged scholar was completely floored. He investigated the necklace again, but was more or less assured in the old man's opinion.
Although the old man didn't have a high cultivation, he was actually the chief appraisal master of this pawn store. If there was something that caught his interest like this, he certainly wouldn't make a mistake, especially if it was so valuable. If he didn't have absolute assurance in his guess, he wouldn't have said anything.
"This is… a spirit treasure created by an Empyrean!? Senior actually has such a treasure…" The middle-aged scholar sucked in a deep breath and looked at Lin Ming with awe in his eyes!
An Empyrean spirit treasure was something that normally only Great World King level powerhouses possessed. For instance, when direct disciples of Empyreans grew up they were on the same level as Great World Kings. The weapons they used would often be Empyrean spirit treasures.
Of course, this spirit treasure that Lin Ming presented was broken and could no longer be used. Even so, the value was tremendous! If the inherent refining techniques and Law fluctuations within this necklace were obtained by someone, the comprehensions they could gain would be a truly serendipitous lucky chance!
As the middle-aged scholar saw this necklace, he found it hard to remain calm even though he had come across many treasures. For someone who worked in a pawn store, the most exciting matter was to come across extremely rare heavenly treasures like this.
"Senior, do you plan on selling this necklace? We will pay you a full and satisfying price!" The middle-aged scholar politely said as he rubbed his hands together. If it weren't for a special time like right now, normally others wouldn't bring out such a treasure to sell. They would only trade it for something equally precious.
But Lin Ming firmly shook his head and said, "I am not selling, only pawning. I will return to redeem it within five years."
Lin Ming certainly couldn't sell something that Empyrean Primordius had left behind. Even if it had no value to him, he would still redeem it. This was his respect to Empyrean Primordius. After all, Empyrean Primordius had been his teacher.
"What a pity." The middle-aged scholar secretly shook his head. If this was sold, he could even present it to the True Martial Great World King. Although the True Martial Great World King already had a complete Empyrean spirit treasure, just the Laws within this necklace would be enough to tempt him.
As the middle-aged scholar and Lin Ming spoke, the curtains around them lifted once more and two additional appraisal masters walked in. One was a white-haired old woman and another was a skinny man. These two didn't even speak to the long-bearded old man. Instead, all three of them were completely engrossed in appraising this Empyrean spirit treasure, their eyes shining with obvious excitement.
They constantly moved around, changing their perspective and speaking with true essence sound transmissions. It was only after an hour that they finished appraising the goddess' necklace. The long-bearded old man told the middle-aged scholar the appraisal result. Even in the end, the three appraisal masters weren't able to discern which Empyrean had crafted this necklace.
This was also within reason. The world of Empyreans was incomparably mysterious. Even with the long-bearded old man's experience, he still wasn't able to touch upon such a high realm. He was only able to determine that this was an Empyrean spirit treasure, a vague estimation of its quality, and an approximate price. For someone to be able to do this was already extremely rare.
The middle-aged scholar hesitated for a moment and then waved his hand, tossing out a sound transmitting talisman. A moment later, he received a sound transmitting talisman in reply. After several exchanges, he made a final decision. Only after this was finalized again did he stretch out his two hands and stick out six fingers. He calmly and clearly enunciated, "6 trillion!"
Lin Ming's eyebrows jumped up. Silently, he began to rapidly converse with Mo Eversnow in his spiritual sea. "Okay, it's a deal at 6 trillion!"
The following matters were much simpler. Lin Ming left behind a password array formation symbol. Then, he took away a total of 63,600 violet sun stone crystal cards from Starbind Bank and left. When this was added to his original wealth as well as the thousand some crystal cards that River Feather had given him, he had a total of 60,000 crystal cards. This was a total of 7 trillion!
And at this time, the auction for the Boundless World Pill had finally begun!
Chapter 1159 – The Grand Auction
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True Martial World was originally one of the liveliest and most prosperous trading hubs of the Divine Realm. Immemorial Imperial City was the largest city on True Martial World, with the most citizens living within. And now, borrowing the great wind of the Divine Realm First Martial Meeting to boost everyone's spirit, the grand auction that was being held could be said to be the grandest event for the last several thousands of years!
Before this grand Imperial City Auction was held, Immemorial Imperial City had already held many smaller auctions. But compared to the precious items at the Imperial City Auction, everything else was simply left in the dust.
This auction would continue for three days and would include thousands of treasures. In addition, there were also 100,000 pieces that would only be bid on in private.
Although these weren't items that would be put up for public auction, the truth was that they were very precious. For instance, items such as peak top grade saint artifacts would be privately sold. In the past, even most direct disciples of Phoenix Cry Palace wouldn't have such a treasure, but here they wouldn't even see the light of day.
"Two sirs, here are your seat numbers."
Lin Ming and River Feather each took a jade slip. They looked through them and saw that their numbers were over 200,000. This was proof that just at this moment there were already over 200,000 guests at the auction site. And these 200,000 people all had to have shown proof of certain financial prowess or they wouldn't have been able to take a single step inside.
One could only say that the Divine Realm was far too great!
The two moved towards their seats. Lin Ming hadn't chosen to alter his appearance. He retained his original appearance as well as his original name.
It was easy to hide his appearance in Starbind Bank because Starbind Bank protected the privacy of their customers. Even if there were powerhouses in the bank, they still wouldn't do something so rude as investigate Lin Ming's true appearance in front of everyone.
But at this auction, many visitors were Holy Lords, peak Holy Lords, or even half-step World Kings. It was impossible for Lin Ming to use his appearance changing technique in front of them with any hope of success. Instead, if he remained secretive yet possessed a massive amount of wealth, that would only attract more eyes to him, and Lin Ming wouldn't be able to do anything against this type of probing.
So, he might as well use his true appearance and enter the stage. It didn't matter if anyone noticed him. He had already rented out the best cultivation area he could at Immemorial Imperial City. As soon as this auction was finished, he could train in there for three months in absolute safety.
After he joined the First Martial Meeting, he would be even more secure.
This auction site was similar to the arena of the Sacred Martial Grand Tournament. However, it was a bit smaller. The venue was only a five mile wide square, and the seating areas were much taller at up to 10 miles. Like this, they could accommodate more guests.
At first glance, the countless seats were just like little grains of sand in the desert.
At the center of the auction venue there was also a battle array disc floating in the sky. It would project an image of the auction goods so that everyone could clearly see them.
Lin Ming followed River Feather into the auction venue until they reached the area that the River Family had been assigned. Here, they couldn't help but meet River Feather's older brother – River Wind.
River Wind looked at River Feather and Lin Ming with a smile on his face. He directly ignored Lin Ming and only looked to River Feather, "Dear little brother, I never imagined that you would manage to scrounge up enough money to come and bid on the trashiest items here. Did you borrow it from your pack of loser friends? Are you counting on buying a few top grade saint artifacts here and giving the First Martial Meeting a shot? Do you want to gain some experience or something?"
River Wind's words were clearly mocking. He had suppressed River Feather's ability to borrow violet sun stones from his family and had expected that River Feather wouldn't have any money to come here. Being able to buy a few top grade saint artifacts was already better than what he had expected. As for River Feather making any sort of progress in the First Martial Meeting, that was simply a joke. Let alone River Feather, that was impossible even for Yue Ironrock.
River Feather sneered. He said, "The reason I came to this auction is to accompany my friend to participate. As for the First Martial Meeting three months from now, Big Brother doesn't need to waste energy and worry about me."
"Friend?" River Wind shot Lin Ming a glance and then heartily laughed, not even bothering to toss out any cruel words. After all, he didn't have any hatred or conflict with Lin Ming, and he wasn't stupid enough to randomly create a new enemy. Moreover, Lin Ming only had a ninth stage Life Destruction cultivation; River Wind simply didn't place him in his heart.
Lin Ming didn't look at River Wind. This sort of lowly and trivial character didn't even enter his eyes. At this time, his only competition was the heroic young elites of the World King level Holy Lands!
And these people were all seated at the uppermost, reserved seats.
"No one from the True Martial Holy Lands has come… it does make sense though. The True Martial Holy Lands' Holy Lord is the True Martial Great World King. This person has managed True Martial Great World and Starbind Bank for so many years that he must have accumulated an incalculable amount of wealth and resources. These resources should be more than enough to supply the disciples of his Holy Land with everything they need. In just this aspect alone, an ordinary World King level Holy Land like the Sacred Martial Mansion simply cannot compare…"
As Lin Ming was thinking, he looked over the young elites sitting in the reserved section. Not only were there people from Sacred Martial Mansion, but there were also disciples of other super influences. These disciples had come from outside of Immemorial Imperial City. If they could sit in the highest levels, the level of the influences they came from must be no worse than the Ancient Dragon Clan!
All around Lin Ming, 90% of the martial artists present were heroic young elites. They had all come for this auction and also the First Martial Meeting three months from now. They were constantly discussing all of the exciting events that were recently occurring.
Lin Ming sat with his eyes closed in meditation, ignoring all the conversation around him. This auction would be similar to a battlefield. If he couldn't win here then it would be difficult for him to rapidly increase his str
strength in these next three months. It would greatly affect his performance in the Divine Realm First Martial Meeting! If he wanted to advance into the top 10 then, it would be far too difficult!
"Esteemed guests, you have waited for a long time! The Imperial City Auction will begin now!"
At this time, at the very center of the auction site, a charming and flirtatious voice echoed out, easily spreading over a dozen miles.
Lin Ming opened his eyes. He could see that at the center of the auction site, there was a red-clothed woman standing there. She was delicate and naively beautiful, with icy white skin and a body that seemed molded from water. She had a playful look with eyes that promised 10,000 different dreams. Overall, she was incredibly beautiful. Moreover, what was strange was that she had a long, winter-white fox tail.
"That is the Wintry Fox Clan's Princess Honeylush. I didn't think that this auction would be managed by her." River Feather commented from the side. Lin Ming was from one of the four God Beast Clans, but even though they were called God Beast Clans, they only had the bloodline of a God Beast transplanted into their bodies. As for the Wintry Fox Clan, they clearly had a true wintry fox ancestor. They were descendants of a human and a wintry fox that had lived long enough to manifest a human form. They were considered half-monsters, thus they had certain characteristics like a fox tail! As for the four God Beast Clan juniors, although they could use some secret skills to take on the shape or characteristics of God Beasts, they weren't true body parts.
"This is… wow, I heard that Princess Honeylush's talent is extremely high, not inferior to the three prodigies of Sacred Martial Mansion. There are countless suitors chasing after her. With her presiding over this auction, those countless young elites will crazily kick up the price in their feverish desire to please her!"
Lin Ming thought little of it. "It doesn't matter. Princess Honeylush will at most be able to affect the prices of some ordinary goods. As for those true final closing treasures that involve a massive amount of money, no one will carelessly increase the price just for a smile from a random beauty."
Lin Ming sat down, keeping his heart and mind calm and clear. At this time, the first auction item was placed on stage.
For every auction, the best items would naturally be placed at the end. But, the very first item would be of high quality too, with value no lower than those that would come at the end. This was to rouse the good mood of the guests and to bring a grand opening to the event.
Princess Honeylush patted the box near her and sweetly smiled. She said in a clear and coy tone, "Thank you distinguished guests for your support. In this Imperial City Auction, there are over 300,000 guests present. This is the first auction item for this grand and momentous event! What could it possibly be? Not even I know!"
Princess Honeylush's voice was just as sweet as honey, causing those who heard her to feel their hearts twitch. She was skilled at galvanizing the mood of heroic young elites. Many people shouted, asking her to immediately open the box and start the auction.
"The first item up for auction is…" As Princess Honeylush spoke to here, she slowly opened the box, revealing a piece of flawless crystal. This crystal was in the shape of a baby, only half a foot high. Through the projection of a battle array disc, one could clearly make out every single inch and texture of the crystal. What was strange was that this 'baby' had nine holes in its body. Coincidently, these nine holes all corresponded to vital acupoints on a human body. They were naturally formed and not carved, a miracle of nature.
And beside this crystal was a card. Princess Honeylush picked up the card and looked over it. She laughed and said, "The first item for auction is a nine aperture spirit crystal! Hehe, so it was this sort of thing! I think that many guests present will be joining the Divine Realm First Martial Meeting in three months. If you lose to an opponent in strength, then there is nothing left to say. However, if you lose to an opponent not because of your strength but because of a weapon, then that would truly be regretful!
"This nine orifice spirit crystal can be used to nourish a spirit artifact's artifact spirit! I think that there is no need for me to mention just how useful an artifact spirit is to a spirit artifact and what benefits a stronger artifact spirit would bring. In order to perform well, the necessary tools are required. With a superior weapon, the battle is already half won! This nine orifice spirit crystal has a base price of 4 billion violet sun stones, and the minimum bid increase each time is 500 million violet sun stones. And now, it is time to begin the auction!"
Nine orifice spirit crystal!
Many of the young elites present gulped. The first auction item was actually aimed at a spirit artifact! One couldn't forget that this auction was aimed at Divine Sea martial artists. A Divine Sea martial artist using a spirit artifact? Just what kind of luxury was that! This sort of spirit artifact required a top supreme elder to expend a great deal of time and energy so that a young elite could be attuned to it. Besides juniors of super influences, no other Divine Sea martial artists could possibly be so extravagant.
From this alone, one could see just how magnificent and lofty this auction was! Some poorer young elites felt their hearts ache. They had collected the lowest amount possible to hopefully join this auction as a foil, but they couldn't even afford a fifth of the starting bidding price!
Nine orifice spirit crystal, not bad!"
Lin Ming thought to himself. The first auction item was something that would actually be extremely useful to him. This was a very good sign but also well within reason. Everything in this auction was aimed at top Divine Sea geniuses!
"5 billion!" In the audience, a youth called out, suddenly attracting the envy and admiration of many others. This proved that this youth had a spirit artifact as a weapon. His background could be imagined!
This youth faintly smiled as if this wasn't something worth mentioning. But in the next breath of time, another person raised the price.
"5.5 billion!"
"6 billion!"
The price climbed higher and higher but Lin Ming remained unmoved for now. He knew that the starting price was only a tentative exploration. The true buyers still hadn't yet shown themselves!