Chapter 044: Soul Crystal, Carefree Eight Wastelands Step!

"Dear guests, a small accident just occurred, but it's fine now. Meiji, the auction will proceed as normal." Suddenly, a voice that could melt bones slowly echoed through the hall.

"Yes, sir." Hearing this voice, Meiji quickly nodded.

Her gaze shifted to the audience, continuing with the items that had not yet been auctioned. As prices soared, the earlier tension dissipated somewhat.

"These old bastards." Yang Tian broke out in a cold sweat but dared not look back, faintly sensing several divine thoughts still fixed on him.

"Good thing I wore this black robe." Noticing his palms were drenched in sweat, Yang Tian exhaled a breath, lay back in his chair, and stared straight ahead at the screen before him.

Although the divine thoughts were terrifying, within the Senluo Wanxiang Auction House, they dared not act openly.

In a certain room of the Senluo Wanxiang Auction House, three elderly men on the verge of death conversed, their murky eyes fixed on a certain spot.

"Elder Li, this kid is a bit odd. He actually managed to block that demonic aura just now. With the three of us watching, we couldn't figure out how he did it. Truly strange."

"This kid must have some exotic treasure on him; otherwise, with his cultivation, he couldn't have blocked that demonic aura." Elder Li nodded, a trace of faint surprise in his eyes.

"Don't overthink it. He's from the Qingyang Empire, not someone to offend lightly." The elder who had remained silent suddenly spoke. His hair was completely white, and his murky eyes held no sparkle, like a dead man.

"Hehe, Brother Zhou jests. We're old bones; why would we bother with a junior? Just casual talk." The two quickly waved their hands, though a hint of inexplicable meaning flickered in their eyes.

By now, the auction had been going on for an entire day, yet the audience showed no signs of impatience. The atmosphere continued to rise. As it progressed, the treasures brought out by the auction house became increasingly precious. Various high-grade pill formulas and spiritual herbs appeared, broadening many people's horizons.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the auction now enters its final stage." Meiji clapped her jade-like hands. Behind her, several burly men with unfathomable strength stepped forward, and among them, an old man held a jade box.

"Tsk, such tight security. Must be good stuff, right?" The crowd below buzzed with discussion, their eyes growing more fervent. Having seen so much today, they now had material to boast about.

Hearing the clamor below, Meiji said nothing. She directly opened the jade box, revealing a black stone the size of a thumb, gleaming with an inky luster. The black stone was covered in dense patterns, and a tremor from the soul arose, giving the entire stone an eerie feel.

"Could this be a soul stone?" Yang Tian murmured softly, staring at the black stone. Cultivating soul power was extremely difficult. Soul stones contained soul force that could strengthen the soul, and they were exceedingly rare in the cultivation world.

"Probably not. Although soul stones are rare, ancient aristocratic families still have some in their collections. Using one as a final treasure would be overkill."

Just as Yang Tian was pondering, the audience below erupted in discussion, whispering among themselves. Soul stones were precious, but this seemed excessive. This black stone was unusual.

"Meiji, don't keep us old men in suspense. Hurry up and introduce it." An elder with some prestige in Martial Dao City couldn't help speaking out, and the crowd below chimed in agreement.

"This is a soul crystal!"

A light laugh came, but it carried a faint tremor.

Whoosh!

The entire hall instantly widened their eyes, dead silent. Boundless greed was exposed in their eyes, and a few even stared at the soul crystal with reddened gazes, as if ready to make a move.

"Hmph!" Suddenly, a cold snort, laced with warning, resounded throughout the hall, causing eardrums to ring.

The people in the hall immediately snapped back to reality. A few who had shown their ugly sides blushed deeply, breaking out in cold sweats. They believed that if they had made the slightest move, they would have been killed on the spot.

"It's actually a soul crystal? Haven't they gone extinct?" Licking his dry lips, Yang Tian's eyes blazed with fervor, speaking in disbelief.

In ancient times, the cultivation world was rich in resources, with treasures everywhere. Soul crystals were born from soul stone mines, and the probability was extremely low, rare even in antiquity.

A soul crystal is one of the five legendary stones of the cultivation world. Its function is to open the soul space! When the soul is first born, it is extremely fragile and easily destroyed by soul treasures. If the soul perishes, so does the person.

Cultivating the soul to an extremely high level allows one to open the soul space, but such experts are few and far between in the entire Eastern Continent. Opening the soul space not only accelerates soul cultivation but also provides strong defense.

A soul crystal can open the soul space, and as cultivation deepens, the soul space can evolve into its own world. It is a rare and precious treasure on the continent.

"This soul crystal is entrusted to our auction house by a powerful expert. If any of you esteemed guests can provide a few materials, this soul crystal is yours. If you cannot provide the materials the expert requires, it will be auctioned for high-grade blood stones."

"High-grade blood stones?" The crowd below couldn't help gasping. High-grade blood stones were incomparable to mid-grade blood stones; even ancient aristocratic families had limited quantities.

"Three grains of Nine Heavens Star Sand, five drops of Vitality Spring Water, one Nine-Leaf Divine Chain, one Cloud Star Mother Essence, or a Dao artifact that guards the soul. Any one of these treasures I mentioned, and this soul crystal is yours."

As she spoke, even Meiji's mouth went dry. In her decades as an auctioneer at Senluo Wanxiang, she had never heard of these items, let alone seen them. Especially a Dao artifact that guards the soul—even ancient aristocratic families might not have many.

"Sigh." Yang Tian couldn't help gasping. Of these items, he had only heard of Vitality Spring Water, but it was even rarer than a soul crystal, capable of reviving someone on the verge of death and granting an extra thousand years of life.

"Little girl, are you mocking us old men? These items are rarer than the soul crystal. Who would trade them?" An old monster from a Heavenly Character private room suddenly challenged.

"This servant wouldn't dare. These are the requirements of the consignor; I am merely relaying them." Meiji's pretty face changed slightly, and she quickly curtsied toward the third Heavenly Character room, speaking respectfully.

"Hehe, Old Freak Wang, are you just trying to flirt with the little girl? Don't spout nonsense here and ruin my mood." From the adjacent room, a disdainful voice suddenly rang out.

"It's Old Freak Wang." The faces of the audience changed drastically. Wang Mo, the Supreme Elder of the Joy Union, was terrifyingly powerful. Women turned pale at the mention of him; he specialized in the art of dual cultivation and was an old lecher in the cultivation world.

Meiji's delicate body trembled, fearing the old lecher would kidnap her and use her as a cultivation cauldron.

"Haha, Old Freak Huangquan, do I need you to teach me how to act? If you're so capable, why don't you produce one of those items to trade?" Satisfied with the fearful gazes below, Old Freak Wang laughed heartily.

"Why are you two making a scene here?" Just as Huangquan was about to retort, a light laugh suddenly came, silencing them both.

Hearing this voice, Meiji instantly relaxed, a trace of sweat beading on her forehead.

"Since none of you esteemed guests have items to trade, we will begin the auction. The starting price is twenty thousand high-grade blood stones, with each bid no less than one thousand."

Twenty thousand high-grade blood stones—even ancient aristocratic families had to think twice. Such a price was too high to groom a young prodigy.

"Twenty-one thousand." After a long silence, a voice came from a Heaven Character private room.

"Twenty-two thousand." As one person bid, various old antiques joined in, the price climbing steadily. The auction reached a fever pitch, showcasing their immense wealth.

The price doubled, and the number of voices shouting bids decreased, leaving only a few top-tier factions competing. A fraction of these blood stones could drive the lower classes wild.

The prestige of the top-tier factions made them seem even more unattainable in the eyes of the audience. Just this wealth alone could create a large number of experts, and these top factions were investing heavily to groom their younger prodigies.

"This isn't even the final item. I wonder how astonishing the finale will be?" Watching the heated auction, Yang Tian clicked his tongue in admiration.

The bidding war lasted half an hour, with neither side yielding. In the end, the ancient Li family won the soul crystal for sixty thousand high-grade blood stones, and the atmosphere in the hall subsided.

In his private room, Li Hongtao watched excitedly as Meiji finalized the deal, his heart trembling. He was the youngest in his family, and before his soul had fully solidified, the soul crystal could grow together with his soul, maximizing its effect.

With such a rare treasure about to fall into his hands, his status in the family would surely skyrocket. Li Hongtao's heart quivered, and an expression of extreme fervor surged in his eyes.

"The auction has been going on for a full day now. Next, we will auction the final treasure." Meiji clapped her hands. As her voice fell, the atmosphere that had just quieted down surged again, even more intense than before.

On the stage, an expressionless old man walked over slowly, like an ordinary person, with no trace of blood energy leaking from his body. He held a jade box in his hand.

Meiji noticed the arrival and quickly went to greet him, a charming smile on her face. Before she could speak, the old man waved his hand, interrupting her, and handed her the jade box.

She slowly lifted the lid of the jade box, and everyone's gaze instantly focused on its contents. Inside lay a jade slip glowing with a purple light. A faint purple energy floated into the void, causing ripples to spread.

"Such a strong fluctuation. Could this be a martial technique?" Clenching his fists, Yang Tian's eyes flashed with fervor. Something that could stir the surrounding void on its own was undoubtedly extraordinary.

"Star-tier mid-grade movement technique: Carefree Eight Wastelands Step. When mastered, it can teleport through the void and manifest seven avatars, with power no less than a Star-tier high-grade movement technique!"

"Star-tier high-grade movement technique!" After hearing the introduction, the audience's eyes blazed with fervor. Star-tier martial techniques were rare even in ancient aristocratic families, let alone movement techniques. Mastering it allowed teleportation through the void, and especially the manifestation of seven avatars—this was a top-tier life-saving skill.

Heaven-tier martial techniques were the highest on the continent, but they were rarely seen. Even the top factions of the Eastern Continent might not possess one.

A technique comparable to a Star-tier high-grade movement technique was even rarer than some offensive martial techniques. In the cultivation world, a thousand years passed in a flash, and cultivation knew no time. Some great experts would even go into seclusion for decades.

Having lived for hundreds or thousands of years, no one wanted to lose their long lifespan or their ability to look down on the world. This made cultivators extremely cautious, and life-saving methods often outweighed martial techniques.

Below, fervent gazes swept over the jade slip. Even the doors of some private rooms on the second floor opened. Compared to the soul crystal, this movement technique was more attractive, as it could be passed down to descendants.

"Esteemed guests, rest assured regarding the origin of this Carefree Eight Wastelands Step. It was created by an ancient expert with his life's effort." Meiji's eyes swept across the hall as she spoke slowly: "This technique has no reserve price."

The major factions scrambled eagerly. In less than half a cup of tea, the price had soared to millions of blood stones and was still rising at a terrifying rate. Yang Tian couldn't help wondering what grade the War Heaven Technique belonged to.

"These old bastards finally withdrew their divine thoughts." Sensing the disappearance of several monitoring presences, Yang Tian breathed a sigh of relief. Without hesitation, he walked to the teleportation array behind him and stepped in.

This was an independent passage, about five zhang wide, lined with night pearls. It was a protective measure of the Senluo Wanxiang Auction House. As the view advanced, at the end of the passage was a tastefully decorated room.