The stone was pitch black, smooth and glossy, about the size of a fist, with a faint flow of spiritual energy swirling within it.
“This is a Heaven-Unity Stone. I’m sure many of you have heard of it,” the red-robed elder said with a smile.
“Legend has it that the Grand Empyrean Heaven-Unity wasn’t human, he was a type of stone spirit.
He was a naturally formed stone essence that eventually cultivated into a Grand Empyrean.
In the inheritance he left behind, he created thirty-six Heaven-Unity Stones. Among them, one true stone contains the legacy of his entire life.
We haven’t inspected this particular Heaven-Unity Stone ourselves, so we can’t confirm whether it’s the genuine one.
It’s a gamble. If it’s real, you gain the Grand Empyrean’s inheritance. If it’s not, you walk away with nothing.
The starting bid for the Heaven-Unity Stone is 1,000 divine crystals. Each raise cannot exceed 100 divine or demon crystals.”
“2,000 demon crystals. Our World Sovereign Empyrean Sect wants this,” called out Red King Huangfu Xuan loudly.
“3,000 demon crystals,” someone in another upstairs room said quietly.
The crowd turned toward the voice, anyone able to offer such a price was undoubtedly a major figure.
But the windows of that room were tightly shut. The voice sounded like an old man, but nothing else could be discerned.
“4,000 demon crystals,” Huangfu Xuan continued shouting.
“5,000 demon crystals.”
“6,000 demon crystals.”
……
When the bidding hit 10,000 demon crystals, the person in that room seemed impatient and directly said, “20,000 demon crystals.”
“20,100,” the World Sovereign Empyrean Sect’s people frowned slightly but still refused to back down.
Inside their room, Red King Huangfu Xuan furrowed his brows and asked the sect elder beside him, “Do we know who’s bidding against us?”
“Not yet,” the elder shook his head.
“This is ridiculous. We don’t even know who we’re competing with, and our max budget is only 50,000 demon crystals,” said Huangfu Xianyue from the side.
“In my opinion, the odds that this stone contains a legacy are pretty low. There are thirty-six of them, after all. And if it really did contain the legacy, why would the Wan Clan put it up for auction?” the elder reminded them.
“A Grand Empyrean’s intentions are beyond our understanding, especially someone like the Grand Empyrean Heaven-Unity, who ranked among the top,” Huangfu Xuan shook his head slightly.
Then he shouted out his bid: “30,000 demon crystals.”
“50,000,” came a reply from the opposing room, an immediate jump of 20,000 without hesitation.
The spectators all raised their brows. No one knew who this mysterious figure was, but casually offering that many demon crystals was a massive flex, even for an empyrean sect.
“51,000 demon crystals,” Huangfu Xuan raised the bid again.
“60,000,” came the counterbid. The other party was clearly determined and throwing around tens of thousands as if it were nothing.
“We couldn’t win this even if we tried now,” Huangfu Xuan said with a helpless shake of his head to those around him.
“60,000 demon crystals! Any more bids?” the red-robed elder looked around. Seeing no one respond, he brought down the gavel and announced:
“Then this Heaven-Unity Stone goes to the guest in Room 111.”
After finishing, the red-robed elder scanned the room once more and smiled.
“Now, for the final item in our auction: The Nine Heavens Body-Refining Pill.”
“This pill was refined by our founder, wasn’t it?” Jiang Changsheng asked from the side.
“Yes,” Ye Kai nodded. “There aren’t many of his pills left. Ever since the ancestor of Cinnabar Heaven Mountain learned the art of alchemy, the founder rarely refined pills himself.”
“As everyone knows, the Nine Heavens Sage was a true genius. His self-created Nine Heavens Dao is renowned across the land and considered one of the most versatile paths.”
The red-robed elder explained with a smile, “When he created the Cinnabar Heaven Dao, he refined three peerless divine pills. This Nine Heavens Body-Refining Pill is one of them. As the name suggests, 'body-refining' doesn’t need much explanation. Everyone knows that in cultivation, talent cannot be ignored. Good talent gives you a head start. This Nine Heavens Body-Refining Pill is a pill that can turn a useless cultivator into a prodigy.”
“Just tell us what it actually does,” someone in the audience shouted out of curiosity.
“To refine the body means reshaping your physical form with the power of the Nine Heavens Dao, and even remodeling your soul. Whether it's opening up your meridians or improving your comprehension and learning abilities, everything improves dramatically. For someone struggling in cultivation, it’s a blessing,” the red-robed elder explained.
“Because this pill was consigned to us, it will not be auctioned for divine crystals. It will be traded item for item instead.”
“How exactly does that work?” someone asked with interest.
“The person who consigned it wants to trade the Nine Heavens Body-Refining Pill for a small bottle of Celestial River Holy Water.”
“Celestial River Holy Water? What’s that?” someone asked in confusion, they had never even heard of it.
“It’s from a very ancient legend,” someone nearby thought for a moment and explained.
“There used to be a river in the Ancient Divine Court, called the Celestial River. It flowed through the most spiritually abundant lands, absorbing the essence of the heavens and earth, sun and moon. Every hundred years, a single drop of holy water would condense.”
“Then a small bottle must’ve taken at least ten thousand years to fill!” someone exclaimed.
“Ten thousand years? That stuff is now practically impossible to obtain,” another person shook their head in awe.
“After the Divine Court was destroyed in the great war with the Demon Realm, the Celestial River vanished completely. Where would you even find Celestial River Holy Water now, let alone a small bottle?”
Hearing the red-robed elder’s offer, the room fell into murmurs, then gradually went silent.
“We’re willing to trade, but we don’t have a full bottle. We only have twenty drops,” someone from the far right room on the second floor said.
“Who is that?” people looked toward the room, curious.
“Even Celestial River Holy Water, something nearly lost to time, they have.”
The red-robed elder thought for a moment, then said, “Please wait. We need to consult the seller.”
He stepped down from the auction platform and walked toward the third floor of the Ancient Tower.
Lin Feng looked at the room that had offered the Celestial River Holy Water and smiled in recognition.
“So it’s them. Looks like they came prepared.”
“When the auction ends, should we go say hello?” Ye Kai asked the others.
“You know the people in that room?” Xu Zimo asked curiously.
“That room was prepared for our main sect,” Ye Kai explained.
“The Nine Heavens Empyrean Sect?” Xu Zimo asked.
“Yes. They’re the main sect representatives here to observe the Nine Heavens Grand Gathering. In the end, it’s up to them to decide who can enter the main sect,” Ye Kai nodded.
……
The red-robed elder returned from the third floor not long after.