Chapter 546 - 496: Winds and Clouds of the Vast Sea

Chapter 546: Chapter 496: Winds and Clouds of the Vast Sea

Under the Chen Family’s tyrannical rule of "submit and prosper, resist and perish," any Vast Sea Cultivator with hopes of Breaking the Core to Form the Infant had only two choices: submit to the Chen Family or flee to a distant land.

Take the Overlord Saber True Master, for example. He was a Golden Core cultivator a millennium ago, yet he had been missing from the Vast Sea Cultivation Immortal World for many years.

Considering his lifespan, it was clear his Nascent Soul Formation wasn’t a recent event.

Yet, a Nascent Soul Great Power such as him only returned to the Vast Sea Cultivation Immortal World when the region was in turmoil and the Chen Family’s rule was on the verge of collapse. That was the reason for this thousand-year celebration.

With the Chen Family having ruled the Vast Sea Cultivation Immortal World for so many years, figures like the Overlord Saber True Master could hardly be an exception.

The Nine Heavens Sect was one such case, as was the Profound Nether Alliance. And in the shadows, there were likely many more yet to reveal themselves.

With the Chen Family losing its grip on power, a scene of ambitious heroes rising to stake their claim had now fully formed in the Vast Sea Cultivation Immortal World.

’Nine Heavens Yin Ghost Technique... Celestial Yin Ancestor...’

Chu Mu pursed his lips, his gaze on the Nine Heavens Sect’s plaque flickering with uncertainty.

According to the records in the Jade Scroll, the ancestor of the Nine Heavens Sect was none other than a Nascent Soul Ghost Cultivator!

The technique he cultivated was an Ancient Ghost Dao Skill called the Nine Heavens Yin Ghost Technique. Known by the title Celestial Yin Ancestor, he had once been a renowned Golden Core True Master in the Vast Sea Cultivation Immortal World.

Approximately eight hundred years ago, he left the Vast Sea Cultivation Immortal World. After traveling through Great Chu for many years, he went to the Southwest Countries. There, about six hundred years ago, he succeeded in Breaking the Core to Form the Infant, earning the name Celestial Yin Ancestor. He had remained in the Southwest Countries ever since.

The predecessor to the Nine Heavens Sect was primarily built upon the Nine Heavens Business Alliance, which the Celestial Yin Ancestor had founded back in the day. The current Sect Leader of the Nine Heavens Sect is the Celestial Yin Ancestor’s final disciple, the Extreme Yin True Master, who was also the former head of the Nine Heavens Business Alliance.

The Jade Scroll also recorded that this Celestial Yin Ancestor had left behind a legacy in the Great Yue Kingdom in the Southwest. It too was named the Nine Heavens Sect, and in the Great Yue Kingdom, it could be considered a regional hegemon.

However, all this information was clearly quite secret and not widely known.

Furthermore, the Nine Heavens Sect seemed to operate under the principle of getting rich quietly. Therefore, in the current Vast Sea Cultivation Immortal World, its prestige was far from matching that of the Overlord Saber Alliance and the Celestial Star Alliance, both of which were currently enjoying the spotlight.

But clearly, in terms of overall strength, and given the foundation the Celestial Yin Ancestor had built over many years in the Southwest, this Nine Heavens Sect in the Vast Sea Cultivation Immortal World was likely a cut above all the other rising stars.

Abruptly, Chu Mu recalled the Corpse Cultivation Golden Core from the Southwest whom he had met on the Demon Suppression Islands. According to him, the Southwest Countries were far from peaceful at the moment.

’An alliance of several nations, called the Celestial Bamboo Alliance, is trying to reunite the Southwest Countries, which have been divided for countless ages. The Nine Heavens Sect is based in the Southwest, the Celestial Yin Ancestor was entrenched there for hundreds of years, yet now he has returned to the Vast Sea to establish another Nine Heavens Sect...’

’Could this be a contributing factor?’

Lost in thought, Chu Mu turned his attention back to the auction floor. With each new bid, the price for the Cyan Lotus Earth Core Flame soared, and fewer and fewer powers remained in the running. The Nine Heavens Sect, however, showed no signs of backing down, their determination to win evident.

It seemed the final winner would soon be revealed.

"Alright, congratulations to the Nine Heavens Sect, congratulations to the Extreme Yin True Master..."

"...for winning the Cyan Lotus Earth Core Flame with a bid of sixty-nine thousand Upper Grade Spirit Stones..."

As the man’s passionate voice rang out, the contest for the astronomically priced item concluded, revealing the final winner... the Nine Heavens Sect!

A single Cyan Lotus Earth Core Flame had sold for the astronomical price of sixty-nine thousand Upper Grade Spirit Stones!

When the final bidding price was announced, the entire auction house, filled with thousands of Cultivators, fell utterly silent for a long moment.

It was as if everyone had been so stunned by the sky-high price that they couldn’t even react.

In his private room, Chu Mu’s expression was complex. There was a hint of helplessness, but also a touch of relief.

That astronomical price was truly far beyond his reach.

The auction continued. After a moment of silence, an uproar over the astronomical price erupted throughout the venue. The hall went from dead silent to deafeningly loud in a mere instant.

The few remaining finale items were brought out for auction one by one. Although they were all exceptionally rare, for Chu Mu, they were either still priced at unattainable, astronomical heights, or they were treasures of little use to him.

The auction came to a successful conclusion, but the clamor lingered. Endless discussions still revolved around the terrifyingly high prices seen at the event.

Chu Mu remained seated in his private room, watching the dispersing crowd, and couldn’t help but let out a self-deprecating smile.

’If I hadn’t made some arrangements beforehand, I really might have left this auction empty-handed.’

At the auction, every single one of the finale treasures, without exception, had fallen into the hands of the major powers.

And every one of these major powers present in Bazhou City, without exception, was backed by a Nascent Soul Great Power.

’Even if I had any ideas, they would have been nothing more than pointless fantasies, utterly meaningless.’

’Forget it...’

After a long moment, Chu Mu let out a long breath and stood up.

’What’s fated to be yours will be yours, and what’s not, you can’t force...’

He gave another self-deprecating smile, set down his wine cup, and with a single step, walked out of the private room.

At that exact moment, the door to the Longevity Sect’s private room happened to open, and Xu Changqing emerged, surrounded by a crowd of Longevity Sect disciples.

Their eyes met, but neither revealed the slightest hint of anything. They brushed past each other, and Chu Mu walked out of the auction house.

At the same time, a telepathic message entered Chu Mu’s ears.

Chu Mu paused before the hall and glanced back one last time at the towering structure, then melted into the crowd and disappeared.

In the Cultivation Immortal Realm, information often spread with unimaginable speed.

The buzz that started in the auction house spread rapidly outward as the event concluded.

The unimaginably high prices from the auction instantly became the hottest topic in Bazhou City.

The entire city was abuzz with discussion, all of it centered on the astronomically priced treasures from the auction.

In any other place, the appearance of such valuable treasures and the heated discussion they generated would inevitably lead to an unimaginable bloodbath.

But here in Bazhou City, with all the treasures falling into the hands of major powers personally attended by Nascent Soul Great Powers, it was clear that little could change. The situation was, for all intents and purposes, settled.

The only uncertainty, perhaps, was that one figure... the Overlord Saber Ancestor...

Chu Mu had already returned to the True Understanding Base. From the top floor of his pavilion, he had a clear view of the Overlord Saber Alliance’s headquarters in the center of the city.

From what he had observed, for the various Nascent Soul Great Powers who had come to Bazhou City, the technique demonstrations, the Dao sermons, and even the recent auction with its astronomical prices were likely all secondary matters.

The true heart of this volatile situation in Bazhou was still the Overlord Saber Ancestor.

If he remembered correctly, after the technique demonstrations and Dao sermons had ended, once the Overlord Saber Ancestor departed, the other observing Nascent Soul Great Powers had also vanished without a trace...

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