Chapter 850

Clouds churned and swirled; palaces stretched in clusters, a vast imperial palace towering like it had been built by ancient titans, immense and majestic, standing amid the clouds.

This was the famed Heaven Demon Treasure Palace, capable of accommodating a hundred thousand people, each with a seated spot.

The entire palace was extravagantly ornate, glowing entirely with purple light, forged from precious Purple Yang Stone, flowing with dreamlike hues.

When Fang Yu, Ye Fan, Pang Bo, and Tu Fei arrived, Yao Yuekong had already been waiting and led them into a VIP chamber.

The VIP chamber was on the upper floor, offering a clear view of everything in the auction hall.

VIP chambers existed in every world—this was true in the Perfect World, and so too in the Eternal Life Realm—a privilege reserved for those of status; otherwise, sitting below among other cultivators and bidding against them would seem beneath one's dignity.

The place was packed with people; the seats below were filled with cultivators.

"The Old Red Dragon Daoist has come too—that's Kong Quewang's elder brother."

Ye Fan whispered to Fang Yu, his gaze fixed on an unremarkable seat below, where an ordinary-looking old man sat among others in formal posture.

"I encountered this being a few days ago when I went out—his power was boundless and terrifying, yet I formed a connection with him at the Tianxuan Sacred Land's stone yard."

Ye Fan added.

In recent days, he had changed his appearance and gone out to cut stones, visiting many stone yards, and at the Tianxuan Sacred Land's stone yard, he met the Old Red Dragon Daoist and forged a significant connection.

"The Shengcheng truly has extraordinary people."

Fang Yu nodded; the Old Red Dragon Daoist was undoubtedly a formidable being, yet he sat below, not in a VIP chamber—this was strange indeed.

As his gaze shifted, he spotted several men wearing dragon crowns striding forward with dragon-like vigor.

"These must be major figures from the Eternal Imperial Dynasty of Zhongzhou; they've come here for the Zishan inheritance and happened to stop by the Shengcheng."

Several men wearing Long Guan immediately stood out as noble, not from the Daxia royal clan, but cultivators from other imperial dynasties of Zhongzhou, entering a VIP chamber.

A few old monks arrived as well, their skin a pale gold, faint halos glowing behind their heads—monks from the Western Desert.

Donghuang, Nanling, Zhongzhou, Ximo, Beiyuan.

The entire Western Desert was dominated by the Fomen.

"That's Xu Yuan's grandfather—he's here too!"

Tu Fei suddenly felt his heart leap, his eyes locking onto a man.

The man looked young, perhaps middle-aged, with fair skin, a tall slender frame, and a refined, gaunt face.

This man was Xu Tianxiong, the Third Greatest Bandit of the Northern Region, stronger than the Azure Dragon King, who had a degenerate grandson directly slain by Fang Yu.

Fang Yu's expression remained calm, indifferent.

Then came an Imperial Prince of Daxia and a young white-robed nun, following a middle-aged man wearing a golden dragon robe and a Long Guan.

The middle-aged man was awe-inspiring, surrounded by nine true dragon auras protecting him, and above his head floated a dragon's head formed from dragon qi—terrifying in its presence.

Dragon qi taking solid form, coalescing into a true dragon's head—this was the mark of having mastered the Tai Huang Scripture to an exalted level.

This middle-aged man was clearly a powerful figure of the Daxia Imperial Dynasty.

Many such figures had arrived, but Fang Yu recognized few; Tu Fei knew more than Fang Yu, while Ye Fan and Pang Bo knew none of them.

The Jin Bihuihuang auction hall was packed to capacity; every direction was filled with heads.

"Dong…"

The distant divine bell rang, and the Heaven Demon Treasure Palace fell silent—the auction was about to begin.

At the front stood a yellow diamond dais, shimmering with crystal light, radiant and exquisite.

An elderly man with white hair stepped onto the dragon dais and announced the auction's start.

Sixteen beautiful maidens stood beside him—all spirits, graceful and alluring—tasked with presenting the auction items.

Unlike auction methods in the Eternal Life Realm, the first item offered was not especially valuable, but ordinary, with a highest bid of merely two thousand jin of source.

Outside, it might be considered quite valuable, but here it meant nothing.

"Next auction item: a fragment of ancient jade, starting bid one thousand jin of source."

As soon as the auctioneer finished speaking, a spirit girl carried forward a purple sandalwood tray, upon which rested a piece of ancient jade, its luster soft and warm, its patterns delicate.

Ye Fan's heart leapt violently; Fang Yu's spirit stirred.

This jade had great origins—it was a shard left behind by the Wu Shi Great Emperor, now being auctioned, with a starting bid of only a thousand jin of source.

This was a joke—if anyone knew its origin, not even a million jin of source would be enough to secure it.

"What's special about this jade?"

Someone in the auction hall asked.

"This jade carries a trace of Dao—likely the pendant of some ancient great figure," the white-haired elder explained.

But such an explanation held little appeal; the powerful cultivators saw at a glance that this ancient jade was merely a fragment—perhaps one-eighth or one-ninth of the whole—its complete imprint lost; even if it had belonged to a great figure, its value was negligible.

However, such an introduction was hardly enticing. Those great powers could tell at a single glance that this ancient jade was merely a fragment of a complete piece—perhaps one-eighth or one-ninth of the whole—and having lost its complete imprint, even if it had once been some important figure's jade pendant, it was no longer worth much.

Fang Yu signaled to bid; he did not speak himself.

"Three thousand jin of source? Who is this? Why raise it by two thousand jin at once? Could there really be something special?"

Someone was curious but unwilling to bid higher; paying more for this jade held no value—it was better to save the source for one's own cultivation.

For a moment, no one bid; Fang Yu secured the Wu Shi Great Emperor's jade pendant for three thousand jin of source.

This was indeed a great gain.

Entering Zishan was no longer easy, but now that Fang Yu possessed this ancient jade, it served as a token—granting him entry into Zishan, and even the chance to obtain the Wu Shi Scripture.

This was a tremendous opportunity, one many great figures had missed—if they knew, they would regret it endlessly.

These great figures waited for the next major item—and soon, it arrived.

It was the personal notes of a great cultivator who had perished, starting bid thirty thousand jin of source.

The auction hall erupted; many grew excited, bidding fiercely; acquiring the cultivation insights of a great cultivator offered immense benefit, and senior elders from major sects all joined the bidding.

The price surged rapidly—from thirty thousand jin of source to forty, fifty, eighty, one hundred thousand, finally selling for one hundred twenty thousand jin of source.

The price climbed rapidly, rising from thirty thousand jin of source stones to forty thousand, then fifty thousand, eighty thousand, one hundred thousand, finally selling at one hundred and twenty thousand jin of source stones.

Fang Yu did not place a bid. He had no interest in this kind of personal notes; apart from the Dao and techniques of ancient Great Emperors and Ancient Sovereigns, he paid little attention to the notes of ordinary great powers. To him, the various heaven and earth rare treasures were far more attractive.

For instance, Chaos Stone, Primordial Yellow Mother Qi Root, and Dragon-Patterned Black Gold.

He liked things like these.

"Next, there will be an auction of an ancient rare treasure."

It was also at this moment that the old man spoke.

Everyone in the auction hall fell silent, watching sixteen demon girls carry up a broken, massive bell in the center of the hall. The bell was ancient and unadorned, impossible to tell anything about it, like the common bells found among the common folk.

The sixteen demon girls were all cultivators who had reached the Dao Palace Realm, yet carrying this bell was extremely strenuous for them, clearly indicating that the bell was exceedingly heavy.

However, once the bell was set down, the crowd at the auction erupted in an uproar, because the other side of the great bell was entirely missing—strictly speaking, this was half a bell.

"It's actually a defective item."

"What's the point of bringing out a broken bell?"

Someone was puzzled and asked loudly.

"Everyone must not underestimate this. This divine bell has existed for an extremely long time—at least fifty thousand years of history. It is a magic treasure refined by an ancient figure who had one foot about to step into the realm of ancient sages."