102: Chapter 102 Jiang Taixu

The South City Gate.

A foul wind swept past.

Several massive exotic beasts forced their way through the crowd. Leading them was a sturdy man with twin horns on his head, draped in animal skins, his Evil Qi surging to the heavens. It was the Southern Border Demon Emperor.

"Get lost! Don't block the way!" Behind the Demon Emperor, a Yao King swung a bone club, smashing it toward the Loose Cultivators blocking the path.

The bone club was about to descend.

A beam of white light shot out from the direction of the Star-Plucking Tower.

There was no world-shaking sound. The white light pierced through the Yao King's glabella.

The Yao King's massive body froze in place; without even letting out a scream, he turned into a pile of fly ash. When the wind blew, nothing remained.

The Demon Emperor's pupils contracted as he looked up toward the Star-Plucking Tower.

That was the absolute crushing pressure of a superior over an inferior. The might of a Great Emperor.

All the restless old monsters within Heavenly Saint City pulled their heads back in.

The Three-Life Ancient Buddha of the Great Leiyin Temple quickened his pace. The ancient corpse wrapped in a shroud from the Heaven Burial Island of the Northern Plains lowered the bamboo hat on its head even further.

The rules had been established.

In Heavenly Saint City, even a Dragon must coil up, and even a tiger must crouch.

High Noon.

The Wanbao Auction Venue.

This place was originally the Great Xia's Imperial Colosseum, but Xia Qingyue had renovated it overnight, making it large enough to hold a hundred thousand people.

Inside the 'Heaven' grade private boxes, the top powers of the four great domains took their seats.

Ye Yuan swaggered into Box No. 1 and propped his feet up on the table. Chu Kuangren stood behind him, massaging his shoulders.

In Box No. 2, the Three-Life Ancient Buddha closed his eyes and chanted sutras.

In Box No. 3, the Southern Border Demon Emperor's expression was gloomy.

In Box No. 4, Jian Wuji of the Sword Burial Abyss held his precept-breaking blade, staring intensely at the Nether Ancestor in the opposite box.

The venue was packed to capacity. The Loose Cultivators stood on their tiptoes to look at the stage.

A spotlight hit the exhibition platform.

Gu Sheng, dressed in a moon-white long robe, walked out while waving a folding fan.

The entire venue fell into a dead silence.

This was the ruthless man who had flayed the Upper Realm's envoy alive.

Gu Sheng closed his folding fan and tapped it against the platform.

"The Heavenly Secrets Pavilion does business with integrity for all. Enough nonsense, let's bring out the goods."

He snapped his fingers.

Su Jiuer walked onto the stage carrying a jade tray. The tray was covered with red silk.

Gu Sheng lifted the red silk.

A single emerald-green tree leaf lay quietly on the tray. The leaf was covered in natural Dao patterns, emitting a profound aura.

"The first auction item. Enlightenment Tea Leaves. It can force one into a state of Epiphany, ignoring cultivation Bottlenecks. Starting price: one million Top-Grade Spirit Stones."

The entire audience gasped.

Starting with a trump card right off the bat.

One million Top-Grade Spirit Stones could drain the foundations of a medium-sized Sect. But in the eyes of these old monsters, this leaf was an Immortal Pill that could extend their lives.

"One and a half million!" The Southern Border Demon Emperor was the first to bid. He had been stuck in the Saint King Realm for too long and desperately needed this leaf for a Breakthrough.

"Two million." An aged voice came from Box No. 2. The Three-Life Ancient Buddha had spoken.

"Three million." Ye Yuan lazily raised his placard. "This Divine Son will buy it back to soak my feet."

The entire venue went silent.

Using an Enlightenment Tea Leaves to soak feet?

Inside Box No. 2, the prayer beads in the Three-Life Ancient Buddha's hand snapped.

"Amitabha. Benefactor Ye, this item has a predestined affinity with my Buddha. Please show some consideration. Three and a half million."

"Four million." Ye Yuan didn't even lift his eyelids. "Old bald donkey, you think you can outmatch my Ye Family in Spirit Stones? The entire treasury of the East Sea Dragon Clan is in my pocket."

The Demon Emperor gritted his teeth: "Four and a half million!"

He had brought the entire fortune of the Southern Border Demon Race this time.

"Five million." Ye Yuan let out a yawn.

No one raised the price further. Five million Top-Grade Spirit Stones for a single leaf was too much of a markup.

On stage, Gu Sheng brought down the gavel with a smile.

"Sold. Congratulations to the Divine Son of the Ye Family."

The System flashed text in his mind: [Host, transferring from your left hand to your right hand... this maneuver of yours is truly slick.]

Gu Sheng tapped the ribs of his fan. Driving up the market price while harvesting a wave of emotional value—this was called business tactics.

[Ding! The Southern Border Demon Emperor feels extreme resentment, destiny points +15,000]

[Ding! The Three-Life Ancient Buddha's Dao Heart is damaged, destiny points +20,000]

[Ding! All Cultivators present are shocked by the Ye Family's wealth, destiny points +50,000]

His destiny points were soaring.

Gu Sheng took the second tray.

"The second auction item. A replica of an Upper Realm Immortal Artifact, the kunlun mirror."

The bronze mirror was revealed to everyone. A warm luster flowed; Gu Sheng had the System mask its Immortal Qi, but the pressure that transcended the Laws of the Lower Realm still made people's hearts turn cold.

"This thing can block a single strike from a Great Emperor. Starting price: five million Top-Grade Spirit Stones."

The sound of breathing in the venue grew heavy.

Blocking a strike from a Great Emperor. In the struggle of the Great Era, this was equivalent to having an extra life.

Jian Wuji stood up, staring fixedly at the bronze mirror. The Sword Burial Abyss was dirt poor and couldn't afford it, but he was covetous.

The Nether Ancestor's eyes turned red. The Nine Nether Devil Emperor had fled, and he now desperately needed a life-saving item.

"Six million!" the Nether Ancestor shouted at the top of his lungs.

"Seven million." The ancient corpse from the Heaven Burial Island of the Northern Plains spoke. Its voice sounded like two pieces of rusted iron rubbing together.

"Eight million." The Three-Life Ancient Buddha bid once more.

The price skyrocketed all the way.

Gu Sheng stood on the stage, watching these old monsters dig out their life savings.

In the end, the kunlun mirror was taken by the ancient corpse of Heaven Burial Island for twelve million Top-Grade Spirit Stones.

Gu Sheng made a fortune.

"The grand finale item."

Gu Sheng put away his folding fan.

Su Jiuer walked up holding a black wooden box.

The wooden box was opened.

Inside was a tattered Jade Slip.

"An Incomplete Manual of a Great Emperor-grade Cultivation Technique, the first half of the 'Heaven-Swallowing Demonic Art'." Gu Sheng's voice spread through the venue. "Starting price: twenty million Top-Grade Spirit Stones. Or equivalent Heaven And Earth Treasures, or Spiritual Vein land deeds."

The entire venue was deathly silent.

A Great Emperor-grade Cultivation Technique.

Among the top powers of the four great domains, even the most ancient Legacies only possessed Quasi-Emperor techniques. True Emperor Scriptures had been lost since ancient times.

The Southern Border Demon Emperor's breath hitched.

The Three-Life Ancient Buddha stood up.

Ye Yuan took his feet off the table.

Once this thing appeared, the sky over Heavenly Saint City was about to be pierced through.

"Amitabha." The Three-Life Ancient Buddha pressed his palms together. "Pavilion Master Gu, the emergence of such a Demonic Technique will surely lead to the slaughter of living beings. My Great Leiyin Temple is willing to offer three Top-Grade Spirit Veins from the Western Barrens, plus ten Saint Weapons, to deliver it into salvation."

"Baldy, get lost!" the Nether Ancestor cursed loudly. "You want to exchange an Emperor Scripture for just three Spirit Veins? My Nine Nether Magic Sect offers five Top-Grade Spirit Veins! Plus half the remains of an Ancient Emperor of the Northern Plains!"

The Demon Emperor kicked through the window of his box.

"Thirty percent of the Southern Border's Hundred Thousand Mountains' territory, plus half the resources of the Yao Race treasury!"

The bids were shouted more crazily one after another.

Whoever obtained the Emperor Scripture would have one more point of hope to prove their Dao and become an Emperor in this Great Era.

Gu Sheng looked at this group of frenzied old monsters and curled his lips upward.

The fish had all taken the bait.

The sky darkened.

A pressure that did not belong to this world descended.

The protective array of Heavenly Saint City let out a mournful cry and shattered instantly.

A massive rift tore open in the Void Realm.

A giant hand covered in golden scales reached out from the rift, grabbing directly toward the wooden box on the platform.

"Ants of the Lower Realm, do you think you are worthy of touching an Emperor Scripture?"

A grand voice resounded through heaven and earth.

People from the Upper Realm had come down again.

This time it wasn't an envoy. It was a true body descending.

The Cultivators in the venue were pinned to the ground by this pressure, unable to even Move a muscle.

The bones of the Saint King Realm Three-Life Ancient Buddha and the Demon Emperor let out overburdened cracking sounds.

Gu Sheng stood on the platform, the corners of his clothes flapping wildly in the gale.

He did not retreat.

He toyed with the folding fan in his hand.

"God King," Gu Sheng spoke softly.

In a corner.

Jiang Taixu put down his teacup.

His white clothes were as pure as snow.

He raised his hand, pointing his fingers like a sword.

A sword light soared into the sky.

There were no fancy Moves, no brilliant lights or shadows.

Only the ultimate, purest slaughter.

The sword light slashed through the Void Realm.

That giant hand covered in golden scales was severed at the wrist.

Golden blood crashed down like a waterfall, corroding half of the Great Xia Imperial Palace's square into a deep pit.

A shrill scream came from deep within the void rift.

"A Great Emperor? How can there be a Great Emperor in the Lower Realm!"

Jiang Taixu withdrew his hand, picked up his teacup, and blew on the floating tea leaves.

"Begone."

A single word.

Will Manifests as Law.

The void rift was forced shut.

That world-destroying pressure vanished into thin air.

The entire venue was deathly silent.

One could hear a pin drop.

Everyone looked at the young Pavilion Master on the stage waving his folding fan, and the white-clothed man in the corner quietly drinking tea.

The Heavenly Secrets Pavilion.

It had a living Great Emperor overseeing it.

This news was even more despair-inducing than the appearance of an Emperor Scripture.

Gu Sheng closed his folding fan and tapped the platform.

"The interlude is over. The auction continues."

He looked at the shivering old monsters below.

"Who was the highest bidder just now?"

From this day forth, the rules of the Great Era would be set by the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion.