Chapter 20: All Spent

As soon as the silver-eyed woman finished speaking, the cultivators in the hall, especially some World Gods, began to shout in succession: "Two hundred and twenty cubes!"

"Two hundred and thirty cubes."

"Two hundred and forty cubes."

…

The price soared rapidly.

Ji Ning, who also yearned for it deeply, watched silently from the third floor. In the vast hall ten miles in radius, several World Gods who desired it quite a bit did not rush to bid. Those who bid at the start mostly just wanted to see if they could 'snatch a bargain.' Because it was known that even a top-grade Dao armor with only defensive effects generally cost three hundred cubes of chaos liquid.

A top-grade Dao armor with the additional 'Water Element Rebound' effect would naturally be much more expensive.

"Three hundred and twenty cubes."

"Five hundred cubes!" Suddenly a deep voice rang out. A burly World God of an alien race, covered in fiery red scales, growled, raising the price to five hundred cubes in one go.

The hall fell silent instantly.

Treasures also had a reasonable price. Ordinary top-grade Dao armors were around three hundred cubes. The Water Element Armor was generally around six hundred cubes.

"Five hundred and ten cubes." Ji Ning spoke.

"The disciples of the Great Mo Sect are indeed extraordinary." Some cultivators glanced at the third floor and murmured. Up to now in the treasure auction, the many disciples of the Great Mo Sect on the third floor either did not bid or bid with considerable dominance. After all, this was their territory, and since they were bidding from the third floor, they generally cared about their reputation.

"Six hundred cubes!" A World God seated in the hall, entirely shrouded in a gray robe, said in a cold voice.

"Six hundred and ten cubes." The fiery red-scaled alien World God growled.

"Six hundred and twenty cubes." The gray-robed World God bid again.

This made the alien World God hesitate and then give up.

"Six hundred and ninety cubes!" Ji Ning bid again.

His call made two other cultivators who were eager to bid stop as well. The price Ji Ning offered made them hesitate. The Water Element Armor was rare, but generally there would be one or two pieces in a treasure auction, priced around six hundred cubes, sometimes higher, sometimes lower. Six hundred and ninety cubes was relatively high.

"Forget it. Later I can buy a set of World-level puppets that form a formation for just five or six hundred cubes. That would help me a bit more than this armor."

"Forget it, forget it."

Many World-level cultivators could only console themselves. After all, this was a huge fortune. For Ji Ning, on the core island of the Tracewind Ruins, the treasures left by the two Chaos Immortals, the Initial Transformation Immortal and the Blood Marsh Immortal, combined were not worth this single armor. It was only because the treasures left by the World God Dongming were plentiful that Ji Ning could afford it.

"Six hundred and ninety cubes. Any higher?" The silver-eyed woman spoke. The armor in the air began to descend slowly and finally landed in her palm. "The treasure, Water Element Armor, auction concluded."

…

"Phew." Ji Ning breathed a sigh of relief, sat down, picked up his wine glass, and took a light sip. He had been standing nervously just moments ago. Because he knew very well that although he had so much chaos liquid, it was thanks to the favor of Daoist Tian Yi. Without Daoist Tian Yi, he didn't know when he would have accumulated such wealth.

"Congratulations, Master." The Wild Dog Ancestral God said.

"Such a treasure, probably few World Gods possess." Su Youji added.

Ji Ning smiled.

Strictly speaking, from the current perspective, this armor's help to him was far less than using nearly seven hundred cubes of chaos liquid to buy some 'insect beasts' or 'puppets.' For example, with the 'Demon Fiend' from before, he could buy thirty of them! He could also buy many World-level insect beasts. As for the puppet treasures he already had, he could buy five or six more, and he could even buy a set.

Puppets were after all Dharma treasure puppets; they could be formed into a set. Five or six puppets forming a set would have extraordinary power.

However, Ji Ning still thought that when he broke through to become a World God, this armor would still be of great use.

"Fellow Daoist." A gentle voice came from outside.

"Enter." Ji Ning said.

Creak.

The door opened. The woman holding the armor walked in and said with a smile, "Water Element Armor, six hundred and ninety cubes."

"Mm." Ji Ning tossed out a storage treasure.

The woman took it, checked it, placed the armor on the table beside her, and then withdrew.

Ji Ning reached out and stroked the silver armor. His divine power surged in, easily refining it. Whoosh~~~ The armor instantly clad his body. The previous top-grade Dao armor he had was put away by Ji Ning.

"Among divine weapons there is the Violet-Light Divine Sword; among armor there is the Water-Element Armor; for evasive movement and escape there are the Thunder-Light Wings." Ji Ning nodded to himself. "With my sword arts progress over these years at the Great Mo Estate... probably only a World-level cultivator at the perfected stage could overpower me."

...

Ji Ning had used nearly half of his Chaos Nectar, so naturally he was in no hurry to bid.

The treasure auction passed day by day, and some truly wondrous treasures appeared, opening Ji Ning's eyes wide. He realized how countless treasures existed in the endless territories! Even the 'Black Lotus God-Emperor' he had encountered before was merely a failure; some truly monstrous cultivators, if they used their treasures well, would become terrifyingly powerful.

On the seventh day of the treasure auction, Ji Ning purchased another treasure.

It was called the 'Five-Thunder Gourd'.

The Five-Thunder Gourd contained five types of Chaos Divine Thunder. In fact, any single type of Chaos Divine Thunder would be enough to sweep away those below the World level, but its threat to World Gods and Chaos Immortals was much smaller. However, the combination of the five types of divine thunder in the Five-Thunder Gourd... was enough to threaten some weak World-level cultivators, and even strong World-level cultivators would be entangled and hindered.

"This Five-Thunder Gourd can attack groups; even if it doesn't kill, it can affect the enemy." Ji Ning nodded to himself.

Ji Ning obtained the Five-Thunder Gourd for one hundred and eighty cubes.

...

The eighth day of the treasure auction.

"This treasure is a set of three dharma-treasure puppets." The silver-eyed woman extended her palm, and three fiery-red puppets floated slowly upward from her hand. "However, these dharma-treasure puppets are different from ordinary puppets! They have no artifact spirit inside... but cultivators can enter them and control the puppets from within."

"The three dharma-treasure puppets form a formation that doubles their defensive power."

"The starting bid for this set of dharma-treasure puppets is three hundred cubes of Chaos Nectar. Begin the bidding." The silver-eyed woman spoke.

Immediately, many cultivators began to bid.

This type of dharma-treasure puppet, controlled from within, was especially favored by some Chaos Immortals. Chaos Immortals had relatively fragile bodies; inside the puppet, they were at least safe! Moreover, puppets usually fought stupidly, but cultivators with higher insight could drive them, naturally increasing the puppets' power.

But there were also drawbacks!

For instance, Ji Ning and his subordinate puppet could attack the enemy simultaneously, fighting two against one. If he entered the puppet to control it, it would become one-on-one.

"Three hundred and sixty cubes."

"Three hundred and seventy cubes."

Ji Ning held his breath, because six hours earlier, a set of five dharma-treasure puppets had been auctioned. Ji Ning had bid several times, but unfortunately the price rose to eight hundred cubes, and he now had only a little over six hundred cubes of Chaos Nectar left!

"I must get this set." Ji Ning thought to himself. If he obtained these three puppets and let powerful Ancestral Gods or Ancestral Immortals under his command control them, they would be even more formidable than the rock giant. When he ventured outside in the future, he would have more means to deal with danger.

Originally, he had wanted to acquire the Lesser Thousand Ancestral God Formation.

The Lesser Thousand Ancestral God Formation was also available at the treasure auction, costing around two hundred cubes! A thousand Ancestral God slaves would cost about one hundred cubes. In total, about three hundred cubes of Chaos Nectar would get him a slave army with the Lesser Thousand Ancestral God Formation. But relatively speaking, these dharma-treasure puppets attracted Ji Ning more, even though the cost was higher.

"Five hundred cubes."

"Five hundred and ten cubes."

...

The price rose.

"Six hundred cubes!" Ji Ning spoke. He now had only a little over six hundred cubes of Chaos Nectar left.

For a moment, it was quiet.

The silver-eyed woman looked around and said, "Six hundred cubes of Chaos Nectar. Any higher?" The three puppets high above began to descend slowly.

"Six hundred and ten cubes!" Suddenly, a green-robed Chaos Immortal in a corner of the hall gritted his teeth and said.

"Six hundred and twenty cubes!" Ji Ning immediately followed up.

The green-robed Chaos Immortal looked up and fell silent.

The silver-eyed woman continued to ask, and the three puppets slowly descended until they landed in her palm: "Dharma-treasure puppets, six hundred and twenty cubes. Auction concluded."

Standing by the window overlooking the great hall, Ji Ning revealed a smile.

Enough.

Without the help of Daoist Tian Yi, he would have to venture and explore alone. His Chaos Nectar was almost spent, and what he had obtained at the treasure auction was sufficient.

"All spent." Ji Ning watched. The rest of the treasure auction had little to do with him.