In Starhaven City, the Ascendant Shield crafted by Qian Xun is always in high demand. However, since a dozen or so appear at every auction, the price is usually fixed between fifteen and eighteen Supreme Ley Lines.
Don’t assume that for a Fifth Step cultivator, a dozen Supreme Ley Lines is insignificant. In reality, Supreme Ley Lines are extremely valuable in Starhaven City. As for Dao Veins, those are simply unattainable treasures.
Selling a single artifact for fifteen to eighteen Supreme Ley Lines is already considered a very high price. So after Quentin Gong called out his bid, no one else raised the price.
Some gazes fell on Quentin Gong, but most were focused on Joe Di and Yu Zhai. Everyone understood that it was these two newcomers who had provided Quentin Gong with the Supreme Ley Lines.
After the auctioneer called for bids several times with no response, she directly announced that Quentin Gong had won the Ascendant Shield.
Quentin Gong was so excited he kept rubbing his hands, grinning at Joe Di. “With this Ascendant Shield, searching for Ascendant Gold later will be twice as effective!”
“What’s the main use of the Ascendant Shield?” Joe Di asked, puzzled.
“You’ll understand when we start searching for Ascendant Gold. I’ll take you with me, don’t worry. I guarantee you’ll get enough Ascendant Gold, and then we’ll cross into the Ascendant Gate together.” Quentin Gong continued, transmitting his voice.
Just as Joe Di was about to speak, the auctioneer suddenly announced loudly, “The next item up for auction is a piece of Vast Iron Crystal…”
The moment those words were spoken, the auction hall erupted in excitement. Joe Di, having established many of his own cosmic laws in this sector of the starry sky, could clearly sense countless messages being transmitted outward.
Yet his strength was limited, and he still couldn’t grasp the content of those messages. From Joe Di’s perspective, those transmissions were surely meant to gather Supreme Ley Lines or Dao Veins to purchase the Vast Iron Crystal. But regardless, he was determined to win it. Vast Iron Crystal was the finest artifact material he’d ever encountered—capable of forging true creation treasures.
His Azure Veil Blade owed its power to the addition of Vast Iron Crystal, allowing it to rival any top-tier artifact. If there was enough Vast Iron Crystal, Joe Di planned to use it to forge a starship.
Other vessels struggled to travel through Chaos, but a starship forged from Vast Iron Crystal could soar through it with ease. With such a ship, even the Ascendant Gate wouldn’t be able to restrain him.
The auctioneer, Hannah Mei, seemed well aware that the appearance of Vast Iron Crystal would cause a sensation. Her voice rose another notch: “I believe everyone here knows what Vast Iron Crystal is. The Ascendant Gold we seek comes from Vast Iron Crystal. To many, Ascendant Gold is far more valuable than Vast Iron Crystal. From the perspective of the Grand Way, that’s certainly true.
But every existence has two sides. Ascendant Gold is formed from Vast Iron Crystal after countless years of Dao refinement and condensation. It is both a testament to the Grand Way and the passage of ages, and an embodiment of our pursuit of ultimate Dao…”
Before Hannah Mei could finish, someone in the crowd called out, “Fellow Daoist Hannah Mei, just name your price and let everyone bid. We all know the value of this item.”
Anyone seated here was no fool. That comment made it clear to everyone what was happening: the bidder feared that Hannah Mei would reveal the hidden value of Vast Iron Crystal, causing the auction price to skyrocket.
Hannah Mei merely smiled, unfazed by the interruption, and continued: “In Forgeworld, it’s almost impossible to find a piece of Vast Iron Crystal—what you’ll find instead is Ascendant Gold. All the Vast Iron Crystal has been permeated by the Grand Way and refined into Ascendant Gold. But Vast Iron Crystal untouched by cosmic rules is like a blank canvas—you can inscribe anything upon it, forging whatever you desire…”
Here, Hannah Mei paused, her gaze sweeping the auction hall with a smile before she continued in a softer tone, “More importantly, this piece of Vast Iron Crystal can definitely be used to forge a starship. Maybe most of you don’t see the use for a starship, but what about one that can travel through Chaos? I don’t need to explain; everyone knows that a ship forged from Vast Iron Crystal can easily traverse Chaos. I’ll say no more—I’m sure you all understand.”
Many cultivators who wanted Vast Iron Crystal for starship forging felt a pang at Hannah Mei’s words. With her explanation, the value of Vast Iron Crystal would increase by dozens or even hundreds of times. As long as the piece was large enough, it would be far more precious than Ascendant Gold.
As for the rest that Hannah Mei didn’t need to say, everyone already understood.
There is no turning back on the Grand Way Path. Once you reach this place, the only route forward is through the Ascendant Gate. And the only way to enter the Ascendant Gate is to collect Ascendant Gold. This is why the price of Ascendant Gold keeps soaring. While it’s precious, it’s not truly supreme—yet because it’s everyone’s only option, it has become the highest treasure for all.
Before, when Vast Iron Crystal hadn’t appeared, it was just as well. Now that it has, everything has changed. Here, who wouldn’t want to use Vast Iron Crystal to forge a starship and escape the Grand Way Path they once pursued so passionately?
After entering the Grand Way Path, you can only reach the Ascendant Gate. Anywhere else, you’ll be crushed by the Grand Way or the vast cosmic rules. With a starship forged from Vast Iron Crystal, you might be free from such suppression—if you break into Chaos, you could escape the Ascendant Gate altogether.
Even cultivators with enough Ascendant Gold would benefit from purchasing Vast Iron Crystal; at the very least, it offers a possible way out.
This chapter isn’t over yet ^.^, please click next page to continue reading!
Now that the value of Vast Iron Crystal was clear, everyone stopped talking and relied on their own skill to bid.
Hannah Mei didn’t keep everyone in suspense. She produced a dull gray bead and said, “This is an innate-level World Pearl. Whoever purchases the Vast Iron Crystal will receive it as a gift. Now, you may use your divine sense to probe the World Pearl and inspect the Vast Iron Crystal…”
As soon as Hannah Mei finished speaking, nearly every divine sense surged into the World Pearl in her hand.
Naturally, Joe Di wouldn’t fall behind the others—he was almost the first to send his divine sense into the World Pearl.
When Joe Di saw the Vast Iron Crystal inside the World Pearl, he couldn’t help but feel a surge of awe. He’d once obtained a sizeable piece of Vast Iron Crystal, but compared to this one, his old piece was just a drop in the ocean—while this was the ocean itself.
This piece of Vast Iron Crystal was about the size of an ordinary planet. No wonder it wasn’t stored in a ring, but in an innate treasure instead.
Though he was tempted to brand his divine sense onto the Vast Iron Crystal, Joe Di restrained himself. The World Pearl was surrounded by top-tier restrictions; even with his mastery of arrays, he couldn’t guarantee that marking it wouldn’t be noticed.
After a short while, Hannah Mei put away the World Pearl and continued, “I believe no one has ever seen a piece of Vast Iron Crystal larger than this. As for why it isn’t broken up for sale, it’s to preserve its integrity…”
Everyone understood Hannah Mei’s implication: if the Vast Iron Crystal were split, its value would plummet, as its cosmic rules would be fractured and incomplete. Joe Di had his doubts, though—even if divided, selling it in pieces would surely yield more profit than selling it whole. He didn’t believe the auction house was so benevolent as to want to sell a complete piece.
Hannah Mei went on, “The starting price for this Vast Iron Crystal is one hundred thousand Supreme Ley Lines, or thirty thousand Supreme Ley Lines plus one Cosmic Dao Vein. Each bid increase must be at least ten thousand Supreme Ley Lines. Of course, if you have Genesis Veins, those are also accepted…”
The hall fell silent. One hundred thousand Supreme Ley Lines—back when everyone first arrived, maybe a few could afford it. Now, it seemed no one could. As for the Cosmic Dao Vein, that was even rarer. It looked like the auction house wasn’t truly intending to sell the Vast Iron Crystal, but had another agenda.
Time ticked by with no bids. Those with the resources perhaps didn’t dare to bid; those bold enough likely lacked the means.
Just as everyone thought the Vast Iron Crystal would go unsold, a calm, clear voice rang out: “I bid forty thousand Supreme Ley Lines plus one Cosmic Dao Vein.”
All eyes turned to the bidder. Was there really someone who could afford that price? And how did they even have a Cosmic Dao Vein?
(That’s all for today’s update—good night, friends!)