Chapter 888: Divine Blood

The golden deity sat upon the great mountain, shedding immortal holy radiance, its light more blazing than the sun, terrifying beyond measure.

The golden statue lasted only a moment before its divine brilliance withdrew, becoming an ordinary figure with an indistinct true form, yet its presence was dreadfully imposing.

The scene that occurred in this city spread across the globe at an alarming speed. Many scoffed, refusing to believe it.

But those in the city had witnessed with their own eyes: someone had unleashed nuclear material, only to be suppressed by the deity, who erected an immortal statue here to protect them.

The rulers of this nation were enraged and sought to level the golden statue, but something even stranger happened: anyone who harbored murderous intent or carried lethal weapons was directly swept off the mountains.

Three days later, word of mouth had turned falsehood into truth; some had personally seen armed soldiers being swept away.

Through these days of observation, Yang Tian gradually uncovered some secrets. He could instantly arrive here through the statue, and the faith power absorbed by the statue interlinked with him, allowing them to merge.

This holy aura grew steadily stronger. Given enough time, it would surely balance the divine-demonic curse.

The Book of Life and Death, combined with faith power—two extreme energies. Yang Tian had a premonition that comprehending the Yin-Yang Diagram of Life and Death would bring him unparalleled benefits.

In recent days, under the leadership of the Red-robed Archbishop, they had found some heavy artifacts. He hoped to discover something special but had been disappointed.

One day, he came to a place where worshippers once offered sacrifices. Previously bustling with devotees, it was now desolate.

Yang Tian's gaze fell upon a stone statue, and he could detect a peculiar fluctuation within it. Without a doubt, this was faith power.

Having mastered faith power, he was very familiar with this aura. He closed his eyes slightly and entered a realm filled with holy energy. Below lay a rolling sea of faith power, vast and terrifying.

After scanning many times, his eyes fixed on the front, where a deity stood, cold and lifeless, its gaze fixed on him.

"Your master has long fallen. You are a deity formed by faith power, receiving offerings but not fulfilling your duties," Yang Tian said indifferently. He waved his hand, and a giant golden palm pressed down to suppress the deity.

The deity was an ownerless consciousness. Under attack, it naturally retaliated, but it was far too weak compared to Yang Tian. It knew nothing of cultivation, being merely an ownerless consciousness.

He suppressed the deity with a backhand and absorbed the endless faith power within into himself. He could feel his vitality surging at a terrifying rate.

Yang Tian's injuries were healing, and the balance with the divine-demonic curse grew ever closer. He traveled to many places, suppressing ownerless deities and seizing their faith power.

The faith power he gathered increased, and the golden statue grew more formidable and sentient. As long as one made a reasonable wish, it would be granted.

Seven days passed. Yang Tian had traversed countless places, absorbing immeasurable faith power.

Finally, he returned to the Huaxia Kingdom, but faith power was hard to find; he could not locate any portals, which gave him a headache.

He vaguely sensed that the faith power in any random bronze statue here was far more formidable than that in foreign stone statues—not even on the same level.

As he observed, his heart stirred. He moved slightly and instantly arrived before the statue. The surrounding area was packed with people, many thanking him for the events of the past few days.

The Red-robed Archbishop had become something of a caretaker. He had used his wealth to build a courtyard here, still under construction.

He seemed to have truly repented, doing good deeds daily to wash away his past sins. Yang Tian found it absurd—this man had killed countless people; not executing him was already too merciful.

"Great deity, the auction will begin soon," the Red-robed Archbishop said, startled. He had only called out once, and Yang Tian had actually come.

"This auction is hosted by the world's largest black market. It is the biggest auction of the year, with many ancient items up for bidding," the Red-robed Archbishop explained.

Yang Tian nodded slightly. Heavy artifacts were what he needed—the more, the better. They bore the cosmic laws inscribed by supreme beings; the more he comprehended, the more he gained, and such things were nearly impossible to find in the Tianyang Continent.

Qing Xiaoyue was also here. She too followed the Red-robed Archbishop to the auction, which was said to be extraordinary, with sacred artifacts up for bidding.

The auction was held on a luxury cruise ship at sea. Those aboard were the wealthy and powerful of this world.

The Red-robed Archbishop, once infamous and feared by all, had no trouble securing a few spots.

As soon as they boarded the cruise ship, they were escorted to a luxurious private box. Yang Tian looked down into the auction hall, which could hold a thousand people and was very quiet.

After a while, the auction began. A seductive blonde woman swayed gracefully as she walked up, holding in both hands an object covered by red cloth.

Yang Tian glanced at it a few times, then closed his eyes. It was a piece of porcelain, worthless to him. Though it had a history of several thousand years, he could easily obtain a mountain of such porcelain from tens of thousands of years ago.

"These people are crazy. A broken porcelain bottle sells for so much money," Qing Xiaoyue muttered. Such a shabby thing was nowhere near as beautiful as gold and silver jewelry.

The auction proceeded calmly, with many bids. Yang Tian remained silent until a piece of jade was brought out, catching his attention.

The jade was ancient, its age indeterminable. Yang Tian sensed it for a moment and detected a sound emanating from it, as if a great figure was preaching, echoing continuously.

The auction house stated that the jade was incredibly hard, indestructible even by bombs, and had an extremely ancient origin.

Some collectors examined it, then shook their heads. Though hard, its age was unclear, so they decided not to bid.

"Three million!" A young man stood up. He had yellow skin and an imposing demeanor, appearing to be from Huaxia.

"Four million." An old man in a Daoist robe stood up to bid, his face ruddy. He seemed to sense the jade's uniqueness and intended to purchase it.

The bidding grew intense. Both seemed to recognize the jade's value, and the price quickly rose to ten million.

"Master, is this thing really that good?" the young man asked, hearing the ten million bid, and turned to the old Daoist beside him.

"I just heard a sound. This should be left by some senior with profound cultivation. It has unique value, and might even contain ancient techniques," the old Daoist said in a low voice.

"Hmm, even a martial artist can see something," Yang Tian thought upon hearing their conversation. The jade was decent, but he had already seen through it completely. It contained a Dao sound, which, though remarkable, was useless to him.

Soon, the young man won the jade for thirty million, drawing gasps from the crowd.

Then, the blonde woman brought out a jade cup. White jade, with a luster, and inside were some dark red substances that looked like blood.

The moment it appeared, Yang Tian's eyes widened in shock. After a careful look, he could detect a dormant energy within the blood, emitting a faint divine fluctuation. This was divine blood!