The Academy couldn’t expel students for such a reason, right?
The mission that Shui Yanyu accepted wasn’t too difficult. Although it required them to exterminate pirates, it didn’t require them to exterminate the entire pirate fleet. They only needed to kill a certain number of pirates. Moreover, this mission could be completed over and over again. As a result, the power of the pirates would be gradually weakened until they were eventually completely destroyed.
However, these pirates were based quite far from the Imperial Capital, and even for cultivators at the Mountain River Tier, it would take around 10 days to get there on foot.
Theoretically speaking, Ling Han would be in grave danger if he left the Imperial Capital—or even the Academy, for that matter. After all, he had offended many people, and was more so a thorn in the sides of the two other Majestic Empires. It was truly a bad idea for him to travel so far away.
However, Shui Yanyi knew that he possessed a Spatial God Tool, meaning he would be able to easily escape even if others tried to assassinate him. Ling Han couldn’t refuse to eat for fear of choking and hide in the Imperial Capital forever, right? If he did, he would truly become a wasted talent. If he hid in the Imperial Capital, reaching the consummate level of the Mountain River Tier would be his absolute limit. He wouldn’t be able to reach the Sun Moon Tier, much less the Heavenly Body Tier.
Ling Han fully agreed with Shui Yanyu’s suggestion. He agreed to complete the mission with her after participating in the auction that was to be held three days from now.
“Oh, that’s right. You also bet on me to win, am I correct?” Ling Han asked.
A smile blossomed across Shui Yanyu’s face as she nodded.
“How much did you bet?”
“10,000 True Origin Stones.”
Ling Han smiled in surprise, and said, “So it became 1,000,000! Haha, you won quite a large sum.”
Even the Left Minister would frown in thought if he had to spend 1,000,000, much less a fifth-rate force like the Shui Clan.
“It was all thanks to you,” Shui Yanyu said as she smiled beautifully.
***
Not only was Zhao Lun defeated, but he also had his face slapped in public—with a shoe, no less. This was naturally huge news that quickly spread throughout the entire Imperial Capital. Everyone was discussing this matter and speculating how Great General Zhao would react.
To the surprise of everyone, however, Great General Zhao released a statement and harshly scolded Zhao Lun. He strongly condemned his son’s behavior, and nowhere in his statement did he even mention Ling Han.
This astonished everyone in the Imperial Capital. Great General Zhao was known for being domineering, and Zhao Lun was more so his only child. He was actually willing to swallow such a great shame?
However, a wary expression appeared on Ling Han’s face when he learned of this.
Great General Zhao’s harsh scolding of Zhao Lun looked to be extremely righteous, yet he didn’t mention Ling Han’s name even once. This was clearly a kind of statement—my son acted out of line, so I scolded him. However, was my son someone who could be humiliated by anyone?
By refusing to mention Ling Han, was he insinuating that Ling Han was bound to become a dead person?
Ling Han mulled over this in his mind. ‘If Hu Feiyun hadn’t interfered in the matter, would Great General Zhao still have issued this statement?
‘I’ll counter soldiers with arms, and water with an earth weir!’
He had initially wanted to stay low-key and only display his abilities when his cultivation level reached a suitable height. However, who told him to have a halo of trouble that always attracted problems hovering above his head?
After three days, Ling Han headed to the auction.
This auction was hosted by the Imperial Family, and thus no one dared to put fakes up for auction. Similarly, no one dared to raise bids maliciously, nor did anyone dare to refuse to pay for their purchases.
The auction house was gigantic, and its interior design was very similar to that of a battle arena. The auction stage sat in the center, and the prospective buyers were seated along its four sides. The bottommost seats were for ordinary buyers, while level two and upwards were all VIP boxes. In total, there were five levels.
Ling Han displayed his invitation slip and was led into a private box on the fourth level. Li Weiwei and Ji Yun’er were already sitting inside.
This private box belonged to the Left Minister—only the empress and the Nine Kings had the right to enter the fifth level. Meanwhile, the fourth level belonged to the Left and Right Ministers, as well as the Seven Generals and so on.
“You’re late!” Li Weiwei said with a smirk. “Drink three glasses as punishment!”
Ling Han sat down and took a small sip of the wine. It was extremely rich and aromatic. However, he naturally ignored Li Weiwei’s call for him to down three glasses as punishment.
“Stupid blockhead! Putting on airs is all you do,” Li Weiwei said unhappily.
This auction was especially grand and high in grade as it was the first auction held after the opening of the Heavenly Sea Mystery Realm. It was clear that Mountain River Stones would be auctioned today, and perhaps even ones with special attributes would be sold among them. It was just that the latter would be much rarer than the former.
Ling Han scanned the auction catalog, and found that there were 12 ordinary Mountain River Stones to be auctioned. Meanwhile, there were only two special attribute Mountain River Stones: one of the metal element, and one of the water element.
What piqued his interest was that there was a Flight God Tool to be auctioned as well. It was called “Cloud Piercing Shuttle”, and it could be activated using True Origin Stones. At its peak, its speed was four times that of a cultivator at the consummate level of the Sun Moon Tier.
He was going to embark on a journey far away soon, and if he obtained this Flight God Tool, he wouldn’t need to worry about others trying to assassinate him anymore—unless his enemies sent a cultivator at the Heavenly Body Tier after him.
However, how many cultivators at the Heavenly Body Tier did the entire Joint Peace Planet have?
The circumstances surrounding the Heavenly Sea Mystery Realm were special. Otherwise, how could there have been so many Heavenly Body Tier elites pursuing a small cultivator at the Mountain River Tier?
He was determined to obtain this Cloud Piercing Shuttle.
He continued to scan through the catalog, only to discover that a few items were merely labeled as extremely valuable. Apart from that, there was no other description. Ling Han found this especially odd.
‘Is it really okay to intrigue people like this?’
He raised his query with Li Weiwei. She had been to numerous auctions, so it was likely that she was relatively more experienced.
“Generally speaking, items without specific descriptions are all extremely valuable.” Li Weiwei nodded, and continued, “However, that isn’t always the case. Some items might be incredibly rare, yet of no major use to anyone. Thus, it’s not surprising for some of these items to attract no bidders.”
By the looks of it, he had to put some money aside. What if some of those items were useful to him?
It was hard to determine others’ identities as most people were seated in private boxes. However, the top two levels were reserved for a select few great elites, so it was still relatively easy to deduce who was seated in which private box.
“Zhao Lun has also come.” Li Weiwei looked around, and humphed. “This shameless person still has the face to meet others!”
Ling Han was also extremely surprised. ‘He’s just been slapped around in public, yet he’s willing to show his face again so soon?’
Ling Han’s opinion of Zhao Lun became even higher. The fact that he didn’t take others’ views of him to heart proved that he truly possessed the domineering aura of a King tier cultivator! A true King tier cultivator wouldn’t care what others thought about them, a
nd their mindset wouldn’t waver no matter the circumstances.
Zhao Lun arrived, and Sha Yuan also arrived. The descendants of the Seven Generals and the Right Minister all arrived as well.
“There’s destined to be a ‘bloody battle’ today.” Li Weiwei chuckled, and said, “However, no one can defeat me!” She had a whopping 3,000,000 True Origin Stones now.
The auction started soon after.
Ling Han was determined to obtain the Cloud Piercing Shuttle, so he had to use his money carefully. Although Mountain River Stones were desirable, Li Weiwei and Ji Yun’er would both be fighting for them. He planned to leave these to them.
“Sorry for the long wait. Now, let the auction begin!” An elder walked onto the stage with a cheery smile.
The arena instantly fell silent.
Chapter 995 - Seed of the Reincarnation Tree
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
The auction progressed very quickly.
Everyone had a rough idea of what each item was worth, and thus nothing exceeded its estimated value by too much.
Few people fought over ordinary items as these could all be purchased outside. What was the point of wasting their money on them here?
However, the appearance of truly valuable items would lead to heated competition.
The appearance of the first Mountain River Stone instantly triggered a small crescendo.
In the end, Li Weiwei had the winning bid of 7,000 True Origin Stones. She was about to reach the Mountain River Tier soon, so she could use Mountain River Stones to raise her cultivation level to the low extreme first. After that, she could slowly cultivate to bring her comprehension to the same level. Doing this would save a huge amount of time.
The second and third Mountain River Stones gradually appeared for auction as well. Almost all of the winning bids came from Li Weiwei, Ji Yun’er, and Shui Yanyu. Who told them to be so rich right now?
After waiting for a long while, the Cloud Piercing Shuttle was finally brought onto the stage.
After a brief introduction, the elder announced the starting price. “The Cloud Piercing Shuttle starts at 100,000, and each bid must be at least 5,000 more than the former.”
This was very astonishing. The starting price was already a whopping 100,000!
“110,000!”
“120,000!”
Bids came thick and fast in the beginning as Flight God Tools were not only extremely rare, but also incredibly useful. The bid on the Cloud Piercing Shuttle quickly exceeded 500,000. At this price point, the number of bidders had already decreased dramatically. After all, this was a huge sum of money, and most forces were hesitant to spend so much on a single item.
When the bid reached 700,000, only three bidders were left.
“730,000, going once!”
“730,000, going twice!”
The elder was just about to end the bidding.
“800,000,” Ling Han said.
“800,000, someone has raised the bid to 800,000!” The elder was overjoyed. The more the item sold for, the more commision he would receive.
“810,000!” Someone on the third level raised the bid again.
“900,000,” Ling Han said casually. In this auction, the Cloud Piercing Shuttle was the only item that he was determined on obtaining. In fact, he even wouldn’t hesitate to spend all of his True Origin Stones.
His rival hesitated for a moment before saying, “910,000.”
“1,000,000.” Ling Han raised the bid to an insane level.
This time, no one raised the bid anymore.
After all, genuinely large forces naturally owned Flight God Tools already… though no one would complain about having too many Flight God Tools. However, 1,000,000 True Origin Stones was already the highest limit. This kind of Flight God Tool would appear every few years, so what was the point of overpaying right now?
“Hehe, next up, we have a mysterious item for auction.” The elder gestured with his hand, and a beautiful woman instantly walked on stage with a tray in her hand. There was a small pouch resting on the tray.
This woman was extremely beautiful, and she was wearing a low-cut dress that revealed large swathes of her snow-white skin. Even part of her seductive and voluptuous assets was visible. However, no one gave her a second glance, as their attention was all drawn to the small pouch on the tray.
That was the mysterious item for auction. What did the small pouch hold?
“Has anyone heard of the Godly Tree—the Reincarnation Tree—before?” The elder swept his gaze around the arena.
“What Reincarnation Tree? I’ve never heard of it before.”
“I’ve never heard of it, either. What kind of Godly Tree is it?”
Most people shook their heads. It wasn’t that they were ignorant or ill-informed, but rather that this so-called Godly Tree was definitely too unknown.
“Don’t tell me… Don’t tell me that it’s that Reincarnation Tree!” someone suddenly yelped. He was an elder who was seated on the bottom level. His hair was all white, and so was his beard too.
Someone beside him hurriedly asked, “Elder Zang, do you know this Godly Tree?”
This elder had lived for hundreds of thousands of years, yet he was still only at the consummate level of the Mountain River Tier. It was almost impossible for him to break through to the Sun Moon Tier. However, his old age coupled with his love for reading ancient books meant that he was quite renowned for his knowledge.
“According to legends, the Reincarnation Tree is a Godly item that doesn’t belong to this world. It can bring our divine sense on a journey, and a fraction of a second in the outside world is enough for one to experience three full reincarnations. This is an extremely mysterious item.”
“Gasp! Then won’t one be able to comprehend any cultivation technique if they use this Godly Tree to cultivate?” Everyone exclaimed in astonishment upon hearing the elder’s words.
This was far too astounding. Any force would go crazy to obtain this kind of treasure.
Which idiot had put this treasure up for auction?
Ling Han’s heart also thumped in excitement. He had taken a small sip of Reincarnation Tea before, and that had allowed him to experience one full life. As a result, he had been able to comprehend the profoundness of the Shattering Void Tier much earlier than anticipated. Moreover, it had caused his divine sense to become far stronger than that of others at the same cultivation level as him.
Was Reincarnation Tea made from the leaves of the Reincarnation Tree?
“Hehe, this small pouch holds a seed of the Reincarnation Tree,” the elder said with a chuckle.
Excitement spread throughout the arena, and many people instantly stood up in fervor.
One had to realize that the accumulation of Origin Power required time. For example, one would gain 100,000 years of life expectancy with each minor level they advanced in the Mountain River Tier. However, it would only take a maximum of 10,000 years to accumulate one’s Origin Power to the peak limit.
What was hard was comprehending one’s cultivation level and strengthening one’s divine sense.
However, if they could cultivate under the Reincarnation Tree, a fraction of a second would be equivalent to one lifetime! Would one still need to worry about being unable to comprehend their cultivation level? Would one still need to worry about being unable to strengthen their divine sense?
‘It’s mine, it’s mine, it’s mine!’
This was the only thought running through everyone’s mind at this moment.
“Hehe.” The elder chuckled, and said, “I need to make something clear first. Although this seed has already been appraised and confirmed as the Reincarnation Tree, legends say that this tree doesn’t belong to this world. No one knows how to grow it.
“Moreover, according to ancient records, the Reincarnation Tree needs 12 trillion years to grow. It’s because of this extraordinary growth time that it can allow one’s soul to experience a lifeti
me in just a fraction of a second.”
Pu!
Everyone felt like spitting blood. Whether or not the tree could germinate was already a problem. Yet, even if it did germinate, it would still need another 12 trillion years to grow. Who could wait for that long?
One had to realize that the lifespan of a cultivator at the consummate level of the Heavenly Body Tier was only 40,000,000 years. This was a long way off from 100,000,000 years, let alone 12 trillion years.
People often said that later generations enjoyed the shade cast by trees planted by the earlier generation. However, who would be able to enjoy the benefits provided by this tree? Perhaps one’s clan or force would have already disappeared by the time the Reincarnation Tree became mature.
This was 12 trillion years, not 1.2 billion years. Who could guarantee that their clan would prosper for such a long time?
A large majority of people lost interest upon learning of this.
“The starting bid is 1,000,000 True Origin Stones. Each increment has to be at least 10,000 True Origin Stones.” The elder sighed as he announced the starting price. He knew that the price of the Reincarnation Tree would definitely fall dramatically after he revealed its lengthy growth time. However, the auction industry had its own set of rules and regulations, and if they lost credibility, how would they continue to do business in the future?
“1.01 million.”
“1.02 million.”
There were still some bidders. After all, this was a genuine Godly Tree, and if they resold it to someone else, there was a possibility that they could make a huge profit.
“Purchase this tree!” the Small Tower suddenly said.
“It needs 12 trillion years to grow… Do you think I can live so long?” Ling Han asked in his mind.
Chapter 996 - Sha Yuan's Invitation
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
12 trillion years!
Even in the Black Tower, where one year was equivalent to 1,000 years, it would still need a terrifying 12 billion years! Ling Han didn’t think he could live for that long.
Alchemy Emperor of the Divine Dao c1-1294 Page 510