Soul Crystal. Unfettered Omnidirectional Footwork.
“Esteemed guests, we just had a bit of an accident to tackle, but it has been resolved. Hongji, the auction will commence as per usual,” informed someone in the hall, voice making one feel numb.
“Yes, Ma’am.” Hongji hastily nodded upon hearing the voice then and resumed the auction for the item that had yet to be sold.
“Damn buggers.” Yang Tian broke out in a cold sweat, sensing several Divine Senses tracking him. He let out a breath of relief then lied sideways on his chair. “Luckily, I’m wearing this black robe, and they wouldn’t act brash here.”
In some room within the building, three elders conversed with each other while affixing their poor vision on a particular location.
“Old Li, there’s something bizarre about the kid. He just put the demonic aura in some sort of barrier. Not even the three of us combined could tell how he did. It’s weird, I tell you.”
“He must have a special item on him. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to pull that off with his level of cultivation,” Old Li expressed.
“Stop overthinking it. He’s from Green Sun Empire. We can’t afford to offend him,” suddenly said an elder who didn’t comment until then. His eyes looked as lifeless as a dead man.
“Haha, you’re a wise crack, Brother Zhou. We would not bully a young kid at our age. We were just making idle chatter.”
Though the auction had gone on for an entire day, nobody was irritated. As the auction went on, more and more rare items were offered. Many people saw things they’d never usually see otherwise.
“Esteemed guests, we are now in the final phase of our auction,” Hongji announced, clapping her hand. Several men dressed in typical male martial artist garbs wore, fitted, tidy and allowing for ease of movement.
Hongji opened the jade container fetched for her to exhibit a thumb-sized black stone.
Divine soul power cultivation was particularly difficult. Soul stones contained soul energy, which had the ability to strengthen one’s divine soul. Soul stones may be rare; however, primordial clans did keep some. Hence, perceiving it to be a hoarded treasure is exaggerating.
“Hongji, stop seducing this old one with it. Hurry up and give us and introduction,” demanded a reputable elder.
“It’s a soul crystal!”
Currency symbols showed in their eyes.
“Hmph!” coldly snorted someone. The warning snort had everyone’s ears buzzing.
Everybody present returned to their senses. Some of the people who revealed unbecoming looks went red in the face and ears while sweating, convinced that they would’ve been killed just before if they budged.
In ancient times, there was an abundance of resources in the world of cultivation. Soul crystals were formed from mines.
Divine souls are feeble when initially born, meaning that the individual housing it would also be feeble against divine soul weapons. Once one cultivated a divine soul to an advanced realm, they could create a divine soul dimension. Once a divine soul dimension was created, one’s divine soul power cultivation would rapidly improve in addition to gaining tremendous defence power. Soul crystals could form Divine Soul dimensions, and that dimension could develop into a world as one’s cultivation developed.
“Adept requested us to auction off this soul crystal. As long as you can provide a few materials, this crystal shall be yours. If you cannot provide the materials our client is after, then it shall be auctioned off for high-grade bloodstones. Three nine heavens star grains, five drops of life force spring water, one nine leaf divine chain, one cloud star mother extract or a divine soul guardian Dao Weapon. As long as you can provide any aforementioned item, this soul crystal will be yours.”
Hongji had worked as the auctioneer for Myriad Auction Company for decades, yet she had never heard of any of the items she named, let alone seen them, especially a divine soul guardian Dao Weapon.
“Lass, you aren’t fooling this old one, are you? Those items are rarer than a soul crystal. Who would exchange that?” asked an old freak from Heaven room, trying to make things difficult for Hongji.
“I dare not. This is client’s demand. I am just reiterating what was said.” Hongji quickly glanced up to Heaven room number three whilst tidying herself.
“Hihi, Old Freak Wang, you’re smitten, aren’t you? Don’t be shameless here; you’re spoiling this old one’s mood,” suddenly said someone in the room next door, voice disdainful.
Yin Yang Cultivation Sect’s supreme elder, Wang Mo, had a special – dual “cultivation”. He was notorious as a lecherous freak in the world of cultivation. Hongji quivered upon learning of Wang Mo’s identity for she was afraid he’d kidnap her to use as a human cauldron.
“Haha, Old Huang Quan, this old one doesn’t need your opinion. How about you exchange one of the items for it?” Satisfied with the gazes of fear below, Old Freak Wang laughed.
“Since neither of you have the items to exchange for it, let us begin bidding. The starting bid will be twenty thousand high-grade bloodstones. Every increase must be one thousand high-grade bloodstones or more,” Hongji announced.
“Twenty-one thousand,” declared someone from Heaven room, after a long silence in the hall.
“Twenty-two thousand.”
The fame of the top influencers had Yang Tian thinking how he could never achieve their wealth. Their wealth alone was enough for them to train up a massive group of adepts, yet they were spending that same sum just to create a stand-out hero.
The bidding went on for an hour, with neither giving in. In the end, primordial Li Clan won the bid for sixty thousand high-grade bloodstones. Before Li Hongtao’s divine soul could condense and take form, he needed to use the soul crystal along with his divine soul’s growth in order to maximise it. If he could get his hands on the crystal, then he would soar up the ranks in the clan. He shook with so much excitement it even manifested on his face.
“The auction has gone on for an entire day. Next, we will offer the final item,” announced Hongji.
Noticing an elder come up the platform, Hongji quickly went to meet him, smiling from cheek to cheek. Before she spoke, he waved his hand to stop her and passed the jade container to her. Inside the container was a purple jade slip. The faint purple energy escaped into the atmosphere and formed ripples.
“Star Level Mid-Rank stance, Unfettered Omnidirectional Steps. Those who master it can traverse the air and manifest seven clones. Its power is on par with a Star Level High-Rank stance!”
Star Level Martial Techniques were a rarity even among primordial clans, not to mention that it was a movement art. Being able to traverse the air and spawn seven clones was an excellent way of getting out of pinches. Heaven Level Martial Techniques were the highest level Martial Techniques on the continent, but they were basically never seen – even among the strongest and most influential on the Eastern continent.
Star level stances were rarer than a number of offence martial techniques. The world of cultivation had existed for millenniums, and there was no time limit for cultivation. Some competent adepts secluded themselves to cultivate for decades. Nobody would want to lose their long lifespan after living for centuries or millenniums or unfathomable might that allowed them to look down on the world. That was the reason cultivators treasured life.
“Please rest assured in regards to the origins of Unfettered Omnidirectional Steps. The style was formulated by an adept who poured his heart and soul into it back in ancient times,” elucidated Hongji. “There is no starting price for this item.”
Once the affluent got over their initial shock, it took them mere minutes to take it up to ten million bloodstones.
“Those damn old geezers have finally removed their divine sense off me.” Yang Tian felt relieved once he was no longer under surveillance. Without hesitating, he stepped into the teleportation formation behind him, transporting himself to an independent tunnel fifteen metres wide. Around him were inlaid night pearls. The dimension was one of the ways Myriad Auction Company protected themselves and their guests.
Glossary
*Martial arts garb – There’s no English equivalent and instead of describing it every time with words and more words, I’m coining it the martial arts garb, which will as I described – fitted, tidy and allowing for ease of movement. Please note that these martial arts garbs are typically only worn in Wuxia/Xianxia/Xuanhuan. They are not actual martial arts garbs worn in martial arts practice in real life.
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