Paragon of Sin

The spiritual incarnations of numerous figures started to tremble, releasing a variety of colorful light that tainted the air. The first bid was terrifying! To outright bid an entire World Realm, two small-sized herbal planets, and forty mystic essence stones was absolutely terrifying!

Just the value of the mystic essence stones, or mystic stones for short, were outrageously high, and most assumed thought it'll be the first exhausted by the forces before planets, lunar satellites, and realms were introduced! These things required immense time and arduous effort to develop, typically requiring centuries just to reach an appropriate level for these types of forces!

Ma Sujiang slowly inhaled. She looked directly at the speaker, seeing a tall, fit, bronze-skinned female with a tight top with a midriff. Her well-toned and muscular abdomen was proudly revealed. She wore a pair of baggy pants that grew tight around her ankles, leading to a pair of bare feet with carefully trimmed toenails and baby-like smooth skin. For those of a particular inclination, her feet would evoke all sorts of feelings. 

She was an outstanding heroic beauty, with bright, powerful dark eyes and long, sleek and glistening black hair tied into a short-styled ponytail. Despite not being present physically, her spiritual incarnation contained an outrageously powerful presence.

'Chen Yili.' Ma Sujiang instantly recognized this outstanding figure.

She was a High-Lord from the Chen Clan, one of the Eight Noble Clans of the Aeternal Sky Starfield, a genuine Demi-Mortal Lord Phase cultivator! 

Ma Sujiang performed her duties, calmly responding: "The value of the Obsidian Furnace World Realm is eighteen mystic stones, two hundred thousand astral stones. The two small-sized, astral-graded planets will be judged based on the average. Each worth three mystic stones and four-hundred thousand astral stones. Adding the mystic stones, the bid is now at fifty-five mystic stones."

The basic conversion from Qi Essence Stones to Astral Essence Stones is a million to one, this followed true for astral stones. A single mystic stone was valued at one million astral stones. The prices weren't that much different from the Everlore Starfield, if not exactly the same, with the Astral Dipper Fountain Pill, a low-tier, seventh-grade alchemical product at the low-quality being valued at one astral stone.

This wasn't its exact worth, but it was relatively close.

There were a few cold gasps from inexperienced youths who've never seen such a high amount of wealth, especially for a first bid.

Ma Sujiang beautifully performed her job, allowing the others to know the value presented. Since most weren't aware of the exact value of a specific property. This was exactly why all forms of wealth, be it planets, world realms, secret realms, or specific items must be registered prior and given a valuation beforehand. 

Chen Yili's spiritual incarnation was standing upright like a pillar of heaven, releasing an intimidating aura. While she wasn't directly threatening the others, it was clear that she was outright challenging them. Her bid cost the Chen Clan five percent, a total of two mystic stones and five hundred thousand astral stones. This was close to the average cost of a small-sized, astral-graded planet.

Unbelievable!

Woosh…

Abruptly, a chilly air swept the crowd. It was a frost-like spiritual aura that caused the various youths to shiver, even though they were just spiritual incarnations! 

"If you think such a small bid can push any of us away, you should sit back down. The Bing Clan bids our Frost Glades Secret Realm, three small-sized, astral-graded planets, a drop of Stellar Icy Dew, and forty mystic stones." A white-robed woman, expressionless with a pair of light-blue irises that refracted light like genuine ice crystals, being absolutely gorgeous.

Her ocular cultivation method had manifested even through her spiritual incarnation. Just her gaze alone felt freezing to the spirit, with many juniors who turned to look at the white-robed woman with long, calf-touching white hair that glistened like crystals felt themselves freeze entirely. It was only with their seniors' help that they shattered from their frozen state, many feeling horrific horror after.

Ma Sujiang glanced at this woman, noting that she wasn't particularly beautiful, just slightly above average, and her aura gave her an extremely cold, terrifying feeling. 

'Bing Tian.'

She, too, was a Demi-Mortal Lord. She belonged to another of the Eight Noble Clans, the Bing Clan, that specialized in ice-attributed cultivation methods. Their connections ran deep as they had numerous intermarriages with the Tian Clan—the current Imperial Clan, similar to the Tang Clan. 

  Chen Yili turned to face Bing Tian. Her valiant gaze was challenging and fierce, but she was met by an indifferent stare. Their auras clashed, and albeit they didn't have even one percent of their spiritual strength, an explosively fierce collision of spiritual strength erupted! 

BOOM!

The world was immediately drowned by a blizzard and violent winds. 

"Ahh!" A careless junior screeched. What type of event was this? His spiritual incarnation was directly obliterated, the resulting feedback traveled back to his sea of consciousness. With a scream of his real body, his eyes frosted over as his skin burst out violently. In moments, he was drenched in blood and completely unconscious. 

If it wasn't for the timely aid from a Mystic Star Phase expert, the junior might've lost their lives.

Ma Sujiang merely watched as she proceeded to calculate: "The value of the Frost Glades Secret Realm is twenty-one mystic stones, six hundred thousand astral stones. The total value of the small-sized, astral-graded planets is ten mystic stones and two hundred thousand astral stones. The Stellar Icy Dew, a unique mystic-level resource from the Bing Clan's Stellar Ice Tree, is valued at five mystic stones. Adding the mystic stones, the bid is now seventy-six mystic stones and eight hundred thousand astral stones." 

Very few expected such an exceptionally high bid for just a single pill and twenty-four priority purchase rights. Even the average peak-tier, ninth-grade product was roughly one hundred thousand astral stones. This was completely insane!!

Just two forces had clashed, and they weren't even remotely amongst the top wealthy forces. Were they expecting others to not bid? Wasn't this just losing money?! A few of these juniors amongst the crowd felt these old experts were just too rich and too bored, bidding literal planets! 

However, how were they to know the Neo-Dawn Eclipse Pill's value was far beyond the average. Its effects were heaven-defying, breaking the conventions of cultivation and giving one thing that most cultivators lacked the most: lifespan. 

Lifespan will eventually equate to confidence, and confidence leads to smoother insights and cultivation. The most underlying issue was the lifespan issue, the sacrifice of eight hundred years to attempt to ascend! This limited most cultivators, even geniuses, to a seven hundred years of cultivation time limit before they must reach the Ninth Stage of the Astral Core Realm, the Star Core Phase, and assail the Mystic Ascendant Realm. 

The vast majority of cultivators fail their ascension due to this fact, pushing it the limit yet still being insufficient. How many false Ascended, those at the Mystic Star Phase, would have succeeded if given an extra two or three hundred years to comprehend the ways of mysticism?! 

No one knew how many pills would be available when the public stock was released. Furthermore, how long each pill will require to concoct with the joint effort of skilled alchemists. It was highly unlikely for the Golden Life Pavilion to outsource unless the other is bound by drastically restricting oaths. This could be a year, a decade, or several.

In a hundred or so years, many of these so-called Chosens will be replaced by those brought up using the Neo-Dawn Eclipse Pill. After all, a Worldly Domain wasn't just a combat tool, its Domain Seed can help with comprehension of phases, and also grants World Pressure and conversion abilities can help with refining difficult resources.

It was not so simple. 

An hour passed in silence. During which, Chen Yili and Bing Tian remained in conflict. The intensity of their spiritual collisions were still running rampant. The weaker forces were cowed. Fortunately, only the ignorant and nascent were foolish enough to buy actual bidding rights. 

They lost the initial bidding cost just like that. The current prices even exceeded some of their total wealth. It was quite embarrassing. 

Those truly in the running were contemplating whether to bid. The sacrificial bidding rule urged them to be cautious. They were unsure if they had a chance, but they understood the importance. Most of these forces could eclipse the Eight Noble Clans in terms of total wealth. The issue wasn't total wealth, but the unknown.

What was their maximum bid potential? 

Was it already reached? Is this why Chen Yili remained frustrated and confrontational towards Bing Tian? Did she reach her limit?! Did Bing Tian spit on her maximum bid? Looking at her fierce gaze, many believed so.

Then, was Bing Tian also at her limit? Is that why she bid over a dozen more mystic stones than necessary?! 

Ma Sujiang broke the silence with a warning: "There is an hour left before the current bid is finalized." 

"..." The tense atmosphere grew. A two-hour time limit. It might seem long, but this wasn't just some simple auction. There were far too many factors to consider! Damn it! 

A male elder grew irritated. He wasn't a native of the Aeternal Sky Starfield, but an independent cultivator that nurtured his own talented disciples using his strength and personal wealth. He, too, was a Demi-Mortal Lord. Furthermore, his strength was incredibly high for his cultivation level.

When he stood up, a gushing pressure descended and obliterated the spiritual pressure from Chen Yili and Bing Tian. The entire seating area calmed. He wasn't handsome, being relatively heavy-set, but he had an amicable smile that made him seem kind and relaxing. Unlike the fierce tigress Chen Yili or the icy goddess Bing Tian that was terrifying, he seemed more approachable.

He patted his belly and lightheartedly chuckled after feeling the pointed gazes of the two women. "Please spare the juniors," he said with a smile, but the glint in his eyes was clearly alluding to his eventual bid. The crowd turned, waiting for his bid. The juniors were grateful, including the weaker seniors. These two were absolutely terrifying. The last hour felt like an icy tempest of hell.

'Huang Xiaoming.'

Ma Sujiang noted this foreign cultivator, who had once fought two Demi-Mortal Lords and defeated them. His reputation was not small. However, she wasn't disturbed. She merely smiled and waited. 

Huang Xiaoming looked at Ma Sujiang, with a rub of his chest and a bright smile, he said: "I bid a drop of Mystic Origin Liquid." 

A series of gasps, shocked and disturbed, resounded! Even Chen Yili and Bing Tian's eyes dilated. They almost visibly reeled at this bid, feeling intense, unadulterated shock! 

They weren't the only high-level figures who reacted in this way. Almost every High-Lord and Venerable reacted! They all turned to Huang Xiaoming with startled expressions. Was he for real? Was he freaking serious?! 

Mystic Origin Liquid wasn't something minor just because it was a single drop. It was an exquisite mystic-level material formed in very special circumstances, within an area filled in mystic essence year-round, and enriched with highly refined mana. It can be produced deliberately, but it would take ten thousand years minimum just to do so, the average lifespan of a genuine Ascended! 

However, its phenomenal aspect wasn't its difficulty to produce, but its effects. The first effect renowned amongst most was its ability to be refined to enhance a cultivator's comprehension of the ways of mysticism, of Mystic Intent. This greatly increased the chances of a cultivator to ascend. Given to a Chosen, talented and youthful, it was said they'll increase their chance to ascend by ten percent!

A TEN PERCENT CHANCE INCREASE!

Most Chosen had barely greater than a single percentage. It was profoundly difficult. 

Yet that wasn't even its most valuable effect. Those called Venerables, those at the Second Stage of the Mystic Ascendant Realm, those 'true' Ascended, can use it to refine during their attempt into the Demi-Mortal Lord Phase. If failure is met, they could burn this Mystic Origin Liquid to dispel their advancement, giving them a second chance!

If Wu Yu had this during his attempt, he wouldn't have lost his body and almost his life! 

Ma Sujiang trembled as she looked at Huang Xiaolong with a ludicrous gaze as if Huang Xiaolong was absolutely crazy. He had broken her neutral and calm expression, baffled by his bid! 

"Ahem!" It was a forceful cough, and it exploded in Ma Sujiang's mind. Her heart thumped fiercely in response. She looked towards the area her father was, Ma Zheng, who gave her a dark look. She was reminded of her duties, but she didn't apologize, merely regained her state of calm.

"The value of the Mystic Origin Liquid is valued at one hundred and fifty-two mystic stones, based on market average. The bid is now one hundred and fifty-two mystic stones."

Ma Zheng nodded slightly.

"..."

"..."

"..."

This alone eliminated most of the forces present, including a few of the Eight Noble Clans as their maximum bid had been reached. How unfortunate…

Ousted by a foreigner....