Chapter 545 - 496: Winds and Clouds of the Vast Sea

Chapter 545: Chapter 496: Winds and Clouds of the Vast Sea

As the bidding continued, with one high price after another, the fight for this wisp of Cyan Lotus Earth Core Flame had clearly reached a fever pitch.

The various factions competed, none willing to back down. They took turns outbidding each other, calling out one high price after another.

This competition lasted for nearly a quarter of an hour, and the price had already been pushed to almost fifty thousand Upper Grade Spirit Stones. Only then did the fierce bidding war between the participating factions begin to settle.

Fifty thousand Upper Grade Spirit Stones. Even without considering the high premium often required to exchange Lower Grade Spirit Stones for Upper Grade ones, that was equivalent to five million Lower Grade Spirit Stones.

Such an enormous sum, if compared to the Ten Thousand Souls Banner, represented the value of at least a million living souls.

A price like this was far beyond what any ordinary faction, or a lone individual, could afford.

At this moment, Chu Mu was rendered speechless.

He only had a few thousand Upper Grade Spirit Stones on him. If he were to use his Spiritual Objects to cover the cost, fifty thousand Upper Grade Spirit Stones wasn’t an impossible sum for him to produce, should he truly liquidate all his assets.

But obviously, this brought up the question of whether it was worth it.

Besides, judging by the current momentum, a price of over fifty thousand Upper Grade Spirit Stones was clearly not the final one.

The bidding was still ongoing, and the only ones still competing for the Cyan Lotus Earth Core Flame were major powers with Nascent Soul cultivators presiding over them, such as the Longevity Sect, the Chen Family, the Righteous Alliance, the Celestial Star Alliance, and the Nine Heavens Sect.

’If I throw everything I have into the fray and manage to get the Cyan Lotus Earth Core Flame, that would be one thing. But if I fail, it would be a thankless effort, and I might even attract a load of trouble.’

As his thoughts churned, Chu Mu couldn’t help but feel a headache coming on.

His trip to Bazhou was for the Nine Heavens Profound Gold in the first place.

If he hadn’t made preparations in advance and reached a mutually beneficial agreement with that Sword Dao Nascent Soul, then judging by the current scene, his desire to win the Nine Heavens Profound Gold would have likely been a pipe dream.

And now, this unexpected delight, the Cyan Lotus Earth Core Flame...

It was certainly a delight, but this delight didn’t seem to have much to do with him.

Like the thousands of Loose Cultivators from various factions in the audience, he was just... a spectator...

"The Nine Heavens Sect..."

Chu Mu looked at the private room directly opposite his. The plaque of the Nine Heavens Sect hung high. In this contest for the Cyan Lotus Earth Core Flame, this Nine Heavens Sect, which had only suddenly appeared in recent years, could be described as the most enthusiastic bidder.

They raised the price again and again, adopting a posture that said they wouldn’t rest until it was in their hands.

A glint flashed in Chu Mu’s eyes. He certainly hadn’t forgotten that just a moment ago, that very same Nine Heavens Sect had won the Top Grade Magical Treasure, the Ten Thousand Souls Banner, for the astronomical price of over ten thousand Upper Grade Spirit Stones.

’The Ten Thousand Souls Banner and the Cyan Lotus Earth Core Flame... a perfect match, it seems.’

Chu Mu was lost in thought.

’Magical Treasures like the Ten Thousand Souls Banner often use all sorts of cruel methods to torture the souls during Soul Refining, stimulating the Divine Souls’ Resentment and passions to the greatest extent.’

’Only in this way can the Mighty Power and potential of the Ten Thousand Souls Banner be expanded to its absolute limit.’

’Although the Ten Thousand Souls Banner itself has no spirit, the countless Resentful Souls Refined within it are, in themselves, spirits!’

’The Resentful Souls can transform into the Magical Treasure’s Mighty Power to fight enemies, but this naturally comes with the backlash of devouring the master.’

’The Refiner is bound to suffer from the backlash of the Resentful Souls day and night. Over time, their mind will inevitably be affected by them.’

’This is the root reason why so many Ghost Cultivators and Corpse Cultivators are bloodthirsty and quick to anger.’

’And the mind-cleansing effect of this Cyan Lotus Earth Core Flame—to remain unshaken even if the heavens fall, to stay unstained by filth—is clearly a perfect match for Corpse Cultivators, Ghost Cultivators, and even the Cultivator who wields this Ten Thousand Souls Banner.’

’The Nine Heavens Sect... do they have a Ghost Cultivator at the Golden Core or Nascent Soul realm?’

Chu Mu frowned slightly. With a wave of his hand, a Jade Scroll materialized, hovering over his palm.

This Jade Scroll, like the one that recorded the Sword Pill Cultivation System, came from Xu Changqing. He had obtained it from him in his capacity as the Ninth True Inheritor of Longevity.

His Divine Sense flowed into it, and the information recorded in the Jade Scroll was instantly presented to his Divine Sense Perception.

Compared to the few short entries on the Sword Pill system, the information recorded in this Jade Scroll was nearly all-encompassing.

It contained detailed records on the current state of the Vast Sea Cultivation Immortal World, including up-and-coming powers like the Celestial Star Alliance and the Nine Heavens Sect, everything except for the Chen Family.

As his Divine Sense swept through it, the vast trove of intelligence quickly formed a clear picture in Chu Mu’s mind.

After just a moment, while the bidding war for the Cyan Lotus Earth Core Flame continued in the auction hall, Chu Mu had already lowered the Jade Scroll in his hand.

Looking again at the factions competing in the hall, Chu Mu now had a better understanding of the situation.

Based on the intelligence in the Jade Scroll, the current situation in the Vast Sea Cultivation Immortal World was undoubtedly quite clear.

After the Longevity Sect, and perhaps the great Demon Beast Clans from the Outer Sea, had fanned the flames and successfully thrown the Vast Sea Cultivation Immortal World into chaos...

...it was just as he had guessed back then: the Chen Family had lost the deer, and now the world was chasing it.

The Celestial Star Alliance, for example, was a tentacle propped up by the Longevity Sect. Its Nascent Soul Supreme was a Honored Guest Elder of the Longevity Sect who had never appeared before the public.

As for the Celestial Demon Sect, one could guess its background from its name alone. According to this intelligence, the ancestor of the Celestial Demon Sect appeared to be a Tier Four Great Demon...

As for factions like the Nine Heavens Sect and the Profound Nether Alliance, they were part of the so-called "contending heroes chasing the deer."

For tens of thousands of years of the Vast Sea Cultivation Immortal World’s history, among the countless factions big and small, the Golden Core realm had been the pinnacle. With the exception of the Chen Family, there hadn’t been a single Nascent Soul cultivator. This in itself was an abnormality.