Star Odyssey

Chapter 3188: Chaos Ensues

Arch-Elder Zen chuckled. "That’s quite thoughtful of you, but our Dao Monarch is the one who enjoys Roots of Intelligence."

Bai Ni's eyes lit up. "Lord Lu?"

Arch-Elder Zen nodded.

Bai Ni swallowed and glanced at the others. Only after checking with all four was a decision made.

The auction continued, and the atmosphere grew heated. Suddenly, someone joined, and they placed a crazily high bid, showing their determination to obtain the Root of Intelligence. Their bid was so high that no one dared to compete any longer.

Lu Yin had initially intended to join the bidding, but he had decided to let the Root of Intelligence go. There was an inevitability to certain things, and there was no need to rush when things would eventually end up in Lu Yin’s hands.

The Root of Intelligence was won by the determined buyer. No one knew who that was, since the plaza was not specifically an auction venue. It was the most distinguished location in the Bai Wu Universe, which was why the auction was being held there, but that also meant that it was not difficult for people to hide their identities while bidding.

On the platform high up above the plaza’s statue, Bai Ni let out a sigh of relief. Thankfully, their bid had been successful. This item might bridge a connection between them and Lord Lu.

They had initially assumed that Lord Lu would not care about something like a Root of Intelligence.

Arch-Elder Zen found the proceedings amusing, but he did not expose his hosts. There were many people across numerous parallel universes who sought to get closer to the Dao Monarch, and not even peak powerhouses were exempt from such ambitions.

The auction continued.

People in the plaza bid on the various items, though some remained silent throughout the entire proceedings. They were waiting for the final item.

"Next up, we have a cosmic door up for auction. No one knows where it connects to. We were entrusted with selling it, so please understand that it may connect to Aeternus’s territory, or possibly to a universe that served as the stronghold of the expert who took it. Everything about this item is unknown. Bidding begins..."

Lu Yin arched a brow as he looked up at the platform up above the plaza. These people dared to sell off a cosmic door?

Any cosmic door could potentially connect to Aeternus’s territory. Because of this, when one was discovered by humans, it would usually be taken to the Sixverse Association for their decision. Instead, this one was being placed for auction.

Lu Yin's eyes moved down from the high platform, his expression souring.

Arch-Elder Zen frowned and turned to look at Bai Ni and the others. "What's the deal with this cosmic door?"

Zhao Li quickly stepped forward, showing a forced smile. "Senior Arch-Elder Zen, this cosmic door actually belonged to one of my seniors, and it connects to the universe where they once cultivated. This no longer has any connection to Aeternus, which is why we dared to auction it off. If there was any connection to Aeternus, we would never dare too sell it and would have instead sent it straight to the Heavens Sect."

Qing Du jumped in, "Not only that, but we can also use this cosmic door to see if any of the bidders are from Aeternus."

Arch-Elder Zen shook his head. "You're underestimating the Aeternals. If it was so easy to test them, how would Aeternus still exist?"

The five hosts had the grace to look embarrassed, and they said nothing further.

Ultimately, no one tried to buy the cosmic door. Most people would not dare to place any bids, and any who did would choose to deliver it to either the Heavens Sect or the Sixverse Association. Any other choice would result in bad luck, as the buyer would gain Aeternus’s attention. Only a fool would pay for such danger.

Just as Arch-Elder Zen had said, even if there were experts from Aeternus in the plaza, they would not touch the cosmic door.

Mr. Daheng and Luo Shan would never place a bid on such an item. Second Life was only interested in leaving, and they were waiting for the final item to appear. At that time, the monsters in the crowd would not have the time to bother with Second Life, and they would be able to leave. Naturally, they would not bid on the cosmic door either.

After the cosmic door, several more items were put up for auction. It was unclear just how many items remained.

Finally, an old man was unable to hold back. He rose to his feet, the movement shaking his surroundings, as though he had rattled space. "Bai Ni, what are you guys doing? Hurry up and put the stones on! Do you think that we came here just to give you money?"

“Exactly! Hurry up and auction off the stones. We’ve been waiting too long.”

“How much longer are you going to make us wait?”

“Hurry up!”

More and more people started losing their patience. On the stage, the auctioneer was at a loss. While she was certainly experienced, she was facing many ruthless powerhouses, as most of the participants in this auction were the most powerful cultivators of their universes. The woman grew flustered, and she turned to look above the statue for help.

On the platform behind the statue, Bai Ni gritted his teeth. “These guys are clearly here for a show. How do they have the confidence to bid?”

“Just bring out the stones now. These guys don’t matter, but if we offend others, things won’t end well for us,” Yang Jia suggested.

King Luo Fu nodded. “Start.”

Bai Ni nodded and gave the order.

On the stage down below, the stunning auctioneer breathed a sigh of relief. She settled her thoughts and turned to face the audience again. “In response to our esteemed guests’ requests, the next item up for auction will be the final item of the auction: five Peaks and Rivers Stones, as well as the hide that was found wrapping them. Starting price: none.

“Due to the rarity of this final item, all bids must be made with something equally valuable. Because our Bai Wu Universe may not recognize all such items, we will only accept cultivation resources from the Origin Universe, which means that bidding will be conducted with star essences. All proceeds from this sale will be sent directly to the Heavens Sect.”

This announcement shocked the entire crowd. The proceeds of the final sale were going to be sent to the Heavens Sect?

No one had expected the Bai Wu Universe to play such a card. What did this mean? Were they trying to get closer to the Heavens Sect?

Luo Shan was surprised, and he looked at the platform high above the statue. Naturally, he was able to see Bai Ni, the other hosts, as well as Arch-Elder Zen.

These guys were not brainless. Even the Heavens Sect was interested in the Mirari Realm. While the Bai Wu Universe had not given the Peaks and Rivers Stones to the Heavens Sect because of their own needs, the auction had been a smooth success, and the hosts had already obtained what they needed. By giving the profits from the auction to the Heavens Sect, the Bai Wu Universe would be taken care of. On top of that, the bidding had to be made with star essence.

Who did not know that Lu Yin was greedy for more star essence?

This was a triple win for the Bai Wu Universe: they had achieved their goals, they would earn the Heavens Sect’s favor, and they would also get closer to the Heavens Sect. After this auction, anyone who wanted to mess with the Bai Wu Universe would have to think twice, as Heavens Sect would not stand by and do nothing.

Smart.

Most people realized the various implications, and they suddenly saw Bai Ni and the others in a new light.

Even the members of Second Life were surprised.

Second Gu was impressed. “It’s not surprising. The Bai Wu Universe, Yang Jia Universe, and the Luo Fu Universe have likely formed an alliance. This auction has already successfully expanded their influence, and with this, they might be protected by the Heavens Sect. As for losses, they aren’t taking any, as the Heavens Sect won’t accept the star essence for nothing. Smart.”

The man then looked over at Second Shan, worried. “Fourth brother, can we leave now?”

Second Shan panted, “Go!”

Elsewhere in the plaza, Lu Yin was also caught off guard by Bai Ni and the others’ decision. This maneuver made it impossible for the Heavens Sect to ignore them. Interesting.

Up on the platform, Arch-Elder Zen's eyes swept over Bai Ni and the other four. “What are you trying to do?”

Bai Ni quickly responded, “Please forgive us, Senior Arch-Elder Zen. We wanted to use this auction to make a name for ourselves, and because of that, we were unable to simply give the stones to Lord Lu. However, all the profits from this auction will be sent to the Heavens Sect as a gesture of our goodwill.”

Arch-Elder Zen chuckled. “Do you think the Dao Monarch is short of such resources?”

King Luo Fu answered respectfully, “Of course Lord Lu doesn’t lack resources, but this is all we can do. We don’t know what else might be able to catch his eye.”

Arch-Elder Zen smiled and fell silent.

This was about survival. Some people were born into high positions, while others needed to employ various means to reach such a level.

It was impossible to say that the decision was wrong. Bai Ni and the others had apparently done well enough.

However, it was possible that the final result would not be what they wanted to see.

In the plaza below, bidding had already begun.

“A treasure like mine, when converted to the Origin Universe star essence, is worth at least 50 million star essences.”

“You dare bid with just 50 million star essences? My treasure can block a peak powerhouse’s attack, which makes it worth at least 100 million star essences!”

“Who says that’s worth 100 million?”

“If I can’t sell it for that much, I’ll put my head on the line.”

“Since the Origin Universe joined the Sixverse Association, everyone has learned the value of star essence. I have something worth at least 200 million star essences.”

“My item is worth 258.43 million.”

“How did you come up with that 430,000 star essences?”

“None of your business.”

Without a minimum bid, chaos ensued. However, everyone already knew the real big shots were still waiting.

The four members of Second Life were already making their way to the plaza’s exit.

Lu Yin glanced up at the platform and then suddenly took a step while using Inverse Step.

He moved at the speed of time, and everything around him froze. Lu Yin appeared on the stage, and he looked out at the entire plaza.

No one could move, and no one could see him.

They were faking it. Lu Yin sneered. He knew that there were at least five experts present who were able to touch upon the power of time, and there was no chance that none of them had noticed Lu Yin’s use of Inverse Step. Fine, if they wanted to pretend, he would let them.

Lu Yin waved his hand, and the five stones that were on the tray shot out. One flew towards Mr. Daheng, another towards Luo Shan, and another went towards Second Life. He threw out the last two randomly, but the beast hide remained where it was on the tray.

With another step, Lu Yin left the stage, and everything around him returned to normal.

For anyone who could not touch the power of time, everything that Lu Yin had done had happened instantaneously, and all anyone saw was the stones flying away from the stage.

Mr. Daheng instinctively caught the stone thrown at him. How had this happened?

Luo Shan also caught his stone, and he immediately looked over at Daheng.

At the plaza’s exit, a stone shot towards Second Gu, who caught it out of reflex. Not good, it’s one of those monsters!

Just because someone was a sequence powerhouse did not mean that they were able to see Lu Yin when he used Inverse Step. Still, Lu Yin was certain that some of the experts present at the auction had seen him and might even be able to stop Inverse Step. At least, that was Lu Yin’s intuition.

The other two stones fell into the crowd, and for a moment, the plaza fell silent. Then, a furious roar rang out, and the auction took an expected turn.

“Put that down!”

Someone tried to escape with a stone, only to be stopped by others.

One woman lashed out with a long whip and wrapped it around Mr. Daheng. "Give me that stone!"

Mr. Daheng clenched a fist. Something had clearly gone wrong with this auction, but since he was holding a stone that matched the one he already had, it was clear that Mr. Daheng needed to get the other stones as well.

He glanced over, and the woman’s whip shattered, much to her horror. "Senior, I-"

Before she could finish, she was cut down by the Law of Lightness, and the sequence particles caused her blood to spill across the plaza.

Someone else tried to steal the stone from Luo Shan, only to be killed by the Monarch.

Mr. Daheng looked over at Luo Shan, who met the Arborean’s gaze. "Let's work together."

"Alright."

At the plaza’s exit, Second Gu threw his stone away. Second Life was not getting involved in this fight.

Inexplicably, another stone shot towards them. Second Shan’s head whipped around, and he looked over to see Lu Yin staring at them.

Second Shan’s pupils shrank, and a sense of numbness crept over his scalp. “Big Brother, let’s get out of here!”

No one would be able to easily escape from the auction.

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