Before the Dao Artifact auction, Yaoguang had already put on display the Purple Firmament Type 31 flying swords and Jiuzhou warships he meant to release at the same time. The Purple Firmament Type 31 flying swords weren't particularly high grade, but their value for the price was astonishing, and their appeal was extremely broad.
As for the Jiuzhou warships, they were aimed mainly at Blazing White Golden Core and Azure Golden Core cultivators, along with Void-Piercing battle immortals. Yet their exceptional value for the price meant that many weaker forces with a single Void-Piercing cultivator overseeing them would not mind buying a few for themselves, for everyday travel.
Those families naturally could not compare to top-tier Void-Refining cultivators who traveled aboard Dao Artifact warships, nor to the Void-Piercing cultivators of the great sects, whose warships reached the grade of top-tier spirit treasures.
The Jiuzhou warships were priced on par with ordinary spirit treasure warships, yet in every aspect of performance they came close to high-grade ones, which for many forces was just right.
Half a month before the auction, they had already received more than thirty orders for the Jiuzhou warships. And once word of Yaoguang slaying a Void-Refining cultivator spread, making the world truly acknowledge his ability, orders for the Purple Firmament Type 31 flying swords and the Jiuzhou warships grew even faster.
If Yaoguang did not step in himself, then over the next hundred years, even with all of the Nine Cauldrons Sect's artifact refiners working overtime, they would never finish production of all these orders.
In other words, the sect's refiners would be self-sufficient and earn a more than satisfactory income for the next century. The sight of it left the Void-Piercing cultivators who had come for the auction, and even some who had only come to watch the spectacle, secretly alarmed.
***
The auction venue sat atop a mountain peak that towered into the clouds. From its foot, warships constantly ferried the guests up to the summit to take part.
Any cultivator could easily reach the top of this peak, but it was much like how great figures would ride a carriage between meetings even over a short distance; the gesture itself was a mark of status. And the procession of warships drew no end of comment.
"Looks like the southern domain's changing its trade."
"Its pillar industries used to be Enlightenment Spirit Liquid, Longevity Fruit, Carefree Grass, and Timeless Adamant. Now it seems like they've added Purple Firmament Type 31 flying swords and Jiuzhou warships to the mix. And compared with raising those natural treasures, the swords and warships have far better prospects. Just look at the orders they've taken these past few days. The value's got to be close to a billion, hasn't it?"
"Who wouldn't want a warship of their own? If the Jiuzhou warships really are as good as the Southern Capital claims, then once the first batch is delivered and word gets around, more and more forces are bound to place orders. This one line of business alone could bring in tens of millions a year! Add in the Purple Firmament Type 31 flying swords, and the southern domain's total output jumps by fifty percent."
"Deputy Sect Master Yaoguang has the strength, the skill, the talent, and a mysterious power backing him. Sect Master Zong Wenxian's got himself a real problem now."
As they talked, they soon reached the summit.
By the time the auction was actually due to begin, there were over a hundred Void-Piercing cultivators present, as well as more than thirty Void-Refining cultivators.
The Ten Great Immortal Dao Sects, the Six Buddhist Temples, the Four Great Immortal Dynasties, and the Three Great Martial Dao Sects had nearly all sent Void-Refining cultivators, some of them more than one.
Yet plentiful as the Void-Piercing and Void-Refining cultivators were, not a single Void-Shattering cultivator could be seen. This was because every Void-Shattering cultivator represented the peak fighting power of a top-tier great sect, and when one visited another great sect of the same level, they usually had to give their own sect advance notice to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings.
Granted, should a Void-Shattering cultivator wish to attend, the Heavenly Dao Sect would surely welcome them, but it was, in the end, more bureaucracy to deal with.
On top of that, Void-Shattering cultivators generally already carried several Dao Artifacts, and this Void Sword up for auction was, in all likelihood, not for their own use, so rather than come in person, they simply sent a Void-Refining or Void-Piercing cultivator in their stead.
Besides, a wise man does not stand beneath a teetering wall. The fact that Yaoguang was hosting the auction within the Southern Capital, where the Heavenly Dragon-Slaying Array lay, leaving them with little sense of security, was a factor as well.
Once the guests were more or less all in, Yaoguang appeared at the summit with a single Void Flicker.
Before more than a hundred Void-Piercing and some thirty Void-Refining cultivators, he was the only one, thanks to his status as deputy sect master, who carried enough weight to be able to preside over the auction. And his Dao Technique, which had stirred almost no ripple in space at all, startled the many seasoned cultivators present all at once.
"What an exquisite Dao Technique!"
"So this is his life-bound Dao Technique? I didn't sense a thing out of place before he arrived. Truly unbelievable!"
"No wonder he could kill and refine that Void-Refining fiendish cultivator of the Yin Lunar Sect. Deputy Sect Master Yaoguang's divine ability is something else."
Many of them voiced such marveling remarks.
Yaoguang swept his gaze over the crowd and said with a smile, "Because of a certain unexpected turn of events, and you all should already know what that was, the Dao Artifacts up for auction this time have gone from one to two. There's now an extra halberd attuned to the Great Dao of lightning. The reserve for both is one billion Pure Yang Grand Pills, though, and anything that falls short of the reserve will be considered unsold."
These words made the crowd stir. Even though many already knew Yaoguang had killed Evil Eye and seized the Dao Artifact as a spoil of war, hearing him admit it with their own ears still left them shaken.
Peak Master Qian Ren especially, who stood on Zong Wenxian's side, wore a look of stern unease. Deputy Sect Master Yaoguang is growing far too fast.
"You're all the pillars of your families and forces, with countless matters to attend to, so I won't waste your time. I'll go straight to the point. First up is, of course, the item promised from the start: the Void Sword."
He waved an empty hand, and a void-type Dao Artifact flying sword, somewhat resembling the Wandering Dragon Sword, manifested into view.
As he lightly activated it with the power of the Great Dao of the void, the Dao resonance held within it spilled out at once, soon stirring a resonance of the Great Dao.
Under this peculiar resonance, a Void-Piercing-level cultivator would find both the might and the efficiency of any Dao Technique they cast greatly enhanced.
"Good. A fine Void Sword indeed."
"Whoever forged this Dao Artifact understood the Dao of the void to its depths! The quality's beyond question!"
"What a Dao Artifact! If I could wield this thing, my understanding of the Dao of the void would surely grow several times over! Rather than need a thousand years to reach the Void-Refining Realm, I might cut that down to under three hundred!"
The moment the Dao Artifact appeared, many Void-Piercing and Void-Refining cultivators' eyes lit up.
Strand after strand of psychic thought extended toward it, trying to understand the full extent of the Dao Artifact's might. Yaoguang did not stop them.
Only after an hour had passed, when no one held any further doubt about the Void Sword's performance, did he speak up. "Alright. Now, please place your bids, and do bid within your means. And no causing trouble in the midst of it, or else..."
He paused, his aura merging as one with the Heavenly Dragon-Slaying Array. "Don't blame me for showing no mercy."
In the past, words like these might even have rankled some Void-Refining cultivators who prided themselves on their seasoned aptitude and lofty status.
But with the Yin Lunar Sect's fiendish cultivator as a cautionary tale, and Yaoguang's aura now fused with the Southern Capital's city-guarding grand array, not a soul stepped forward to ask for trouble.
A palace master of the Penglai Immortal Sect was the first to speak, smiling. "This Void Sword is worth more than a billion. Still, allow me to get the ball rolling with the reserve, one billion Pure Yang Grand Pills. Bid up freely from there, everyone."
Once this Void-Refining palace master had spoken, the Void-Piercing and Void-Refining cultivators of the other forces wasted no more time. The bid started climbing. 1,100,000,000, 1,200,000,000, 1,300,000,000, 1,400,000,000...
Of all the cultivators on the North Sea Star, the most numerous by far were those who had planted their Dao Seed with the Great Dao of the void as their life-bound Dao Technique. And the Void Sword was an offensive-type Dao Artifact well suited to killing.
Bidders came one after another, and in moments the price had been driven up to 1,400,000,000, already far past what the Longxiang Flying Vessel had fetched before!
After a fierce round of contention, the flying sword was finally bought by Pan Yuan of the Immortal Martial Sect for 1,530,000,000.
With the price settled at last, despite the final price pained him a little, the Void-Refining cultivator still said with a broad smile, "I don't have enough Pure Yang Grand Pills on hand, but I do have some Void Dao Pills and related goods of equal value. Here's the list. Deputy Sect Master Yaoguang, please take a look."
He handed a jade talisman straight to Yaoguang.
When Yaoguang saw the goods listed, and especially the exchange rate for the Void Dao Pills, which was set at only the market rate of one to ten thousand, he was a little surprised.
Many great sects used this figure, but on the black market, or when converting Pure Yang Grand Pills into Void Dao Pills, a single Void Dao Pill was worth twelve thousand.
And going by the listing, the Void Dao Pills came to a full three hundred million in value, which meant this Immortal Martial Sect cultivator had, in the end, offered a price that exceeded the original by a full sixty million.
After a moment's thought, Yaoguang understood. When Pan Yuan had first arrived at the Southern Capital, his words and conduct had been downright insolent and overbearing, and he had nearly fought with Li Hanqiu, who had been overseeing things at the time.
Now, deliberately offering an extra sixty million Pure Yang Grand Pills' worth of goods was his way of apologizing for that earlier misunderstanding.
Having grasped the reason behind it, and seeing that the two sides had never actually come to blows in the end, Yaoguang said with a smile, "These goods are more than enough to claim the Void Sword. This Dao Artifact is yours, Perfected Lord Pan Yuan."
"Thank you very much, Deputy Sect Master Yaoguang." Pan Yuan was all smiles.
Next, Yaoguang put the lightning halberd up for auction. With no buildup beforehand, and far fewer cultivators having picked the Great Dao of lightning, the second Dao Artifact sold for only 1,090,000,000 in the end, bought by a Void-Refining deputy cult master of the Fiend God Cult.
"The two of you are welcome to refine your Dao Artifacts here in the Southern Capital. With the Heavenly Dragon-Slaying Array in place, even if a Void-Shattering cultivator came in person, I can guarantee your safety," Yaoguang offered with a smile.
But both Pan Yuan and the Fiend God Cult's deputy cult master who had won the halberd came from top-tier forces and had brought many experts with them, so neither feared an attack.
"We're grateful for your kindness, Deputy Sect Master Yaoguang, but since we had the means to bid on a Dao Artifact, naturally we have the means to hold on to it as well," Pan Yuan said with a smile.
Yaoguang gave a slight nod. "The Dao Artifact auction ends here. But before everyone leaves, I have one more piece of good news for you all..."
He smiled. "Effective today, the Southern Capital is accepting custom orders for void-type Dao Artifacts. We'll quote a price based on your needs, and we'll only take a ten percent deposit before the artifact is complete. You're all welcome to place an order."
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