All the auction participants could only grimace and bare their teeth—throwing out a bid of a hundred billion at the drop of a hat, did you really think you could just print money as you pleased?
Though they felt disgruntled, no one dared speak up—after all, not everyone could casually produce a hundred billion.
In the end, Joe Di won the Foundation Pill Formula without contest. After collecting the formula, he stood up without a moment's hesitation.
Since he was out of money, what was the point of staying any longer?
He had just opened his Sea of Consciousness and gained spiritual power. Together with the seven Spirit Stones he possessed, now was the time to hurry and cultivate to the Fourth Level of Qi Refinement. Ideally, he’d get his hands on a flying sword artifact—if he had one, even if he couldn’t travel directly to Celestia, at least he wouldn’t need to take a plane for his journeys. He was carrying a pile of contraband; taking a ship like the Celestia VII was fine, but if he boarded a plane, he’d probably be discovered immediately.
Almost at the same moment Joe Di stepped out and onto the staircase, another private room on the third floor opened—a man wearing a cloak emerged.
His money had already been spent on that ring; the reason he had waited until now was because someone was worth waiting for.
The only person at this auction worth his attention was, naturally, Joe Di.
Joe Di didn’t fear anyone watching him. Having reached the Third Level of Qi Refinement, gained spiritual power, and mastered the Fourth Blade, even if that white-haired man came after him, he was confident he could put up a fight.
Just as he stepped out the auction hall’s main entrance, Joe Di sensed someone watching him. He immediately stopped, turned around, and looked back at the entrance, wanting to see exactly who was tailing him.
After waiting a long while without seeing anyone emerge, Joe Di finally turned and left. It seemed the person tailing him didn’t dare face him directly.
In a corner outside the auction hall, the cloaked man watched Joe Di’s figure fade into the distance, but did not follow.
After years of cultivating his Dao techniques, this was the first time he’d truly felt danger. Perhaps he wasn’t afraid of Joe Di, but right now, he didn’t want to take the risk.
Anyone he’d ever marked, he could recognize again if he saw them.
Now that he’d obtained a Quantum Vault Ring, his top priority was to find a place to unlock it and check the treasures inside. If he could get something to boost his strength, he could wait to go after Joe Di. After all, what Joe Di had won wasn’t a consumable—so long as Joe Di was alive, he’d be able to track him down and take the items back.
......
Joe Di walked to the main plaza of Celestia One and sensed the tail behind him had vanished. He didn’t bother to check—whether someone was following him or not, he didn’t care.
At least dozens of massive cruise ships were docked around Celestia One, and on the other side of the plaza, more than a dozen helicopters waited.
"Senior, are you leaving now or would you like to stay and wait for the auction to end?" Just as Joe Di was wondering how to leave, a young man in a blue attendant’s uniform hurried over and bowed respectfully.
"How do I leave now?" Joe Di didn’t want to stay any longer. If leaving was dangerous, he’d simply wait a few more days.
The young man quickly explained, "If you leave now, Senior, we’ll use a helicopter to take you to Renee Island. From there, you’ll catch a plane to depart this sea region."
After saying this, he seemed to think a further explanation was needed and added, "All guests of this auction receive this service free of charge."
"Alright, in that case, I’ll leave now," Joe Di replied without hesitation.
He was eager to find a quiet place to cultivate.
"Yes, Senior, please follow me," the young man said, bowing again.
......
At the center of Celestia Plaza stood the most striking building. Outside, a sign in five languages read: Earth Federation Headquarters.
Even though Celestia was now a tangled web of competing powers, the Earth Federation was still unquestionably in charge—at least on the surface.
The Earth Federation Headquarters was the Earth Federation’s office building on Celestia.
The headquarters had only eighteen floors. On Earth, even a residential building would have more, but here on Celestia, constructing an eighteen-story tower was no easy feat.
Although the Quantum Spaceplane was fast, transporting building materials to Celestia was no easy feat.
On Celestia, only the expanse of Celestia Plaza was considered safe for activity—step beyond it, and danger was immediate.
Building here required more than just steel and concrete—even bricks had to be shipped from Earth. For the Earth Federation to construct such a tower in just a few years, and to erect a laser wall around Celestia Plaza, was truly remarkable.
At that moment, in the top-floor conference room of the Earth Federation Headquarters, a gold-haired, bearded man was bracing himself against the table, speaking loudly and passionately.
His forehead was wrapped in white gauze, looking as if he’d been seriously injured.
The room was filled almost entirely with top experts from various countries, or national representatives stationed on Celestia.
"Lord Eddie, what you’re saying is simply too far-fetched. We all know that time and space are the most unique phenomena in the universe—they cannot be altered by human will or means..." An elderly man stood up, speaking gravely.
This old man was the most renowned bibliographer on Earth, and also a scientist across multiple disciplines—Senfu.
Eddie didn’t wait for Senfu to finish; he slammed the table and interrupted, "Senfu, it’s exactly your mistaken judgment that led to the real treasures being auctioned on Earth. Those three jade slips, in my opinion, must contain a powerful immortal technique. And that ring is a Quantum Vault Ring. You don’t know this because you’ve never encountered mysterious immortal cultivation. The Quantum Vault Ring can store anything in a vast space, and when you wear it, you don’t even feel its weight."
Senfu’s face turned ugly. You could disrespect him, but never his scholarship, nor his research achievements.
But Eddie’s status was even higher—he was one of Celestia’s top ten innate experts, ranked above Zeng Dongling, the dean of Celestia Martial Academy, and second among the top ten.
"Mr. Eddie, why are you so certain that’s a Quantum Vault Ring?" asked a thin middle-aged man—Zeng Dongling, dean of Celestia Martial Academy. Although he ranked third among the top ten, no one thought he was inferior to Eddie. His third place was due to his mild temperament and lack of competitiveness, and because of his great contributions to Earth’s martial arts.
He’d seen the ring and the Three Jade Slips himself. His view differed somewhat from Senfu’s—he vaguely sensed that the three slips recorded some kind of elemental information.
Eddie softened his tone at the question. "Dean Zeng, it’s because I gained true Dao cultivation methods during my deep exploration of Celestia. I’ve now reached the Fourth Level of Qi Refinement and developed spiritual sense. Both the Three Jade Slips and the Quantum Vault Ring require spiritual sense to use."
A brief silence fell over the conference room. No one doubted Eddie’s words. Although he was the first on Celestia to reach the Fourth Level of Qi Refinement, someone else had already reached the Third Level—Luo Qu.
"Quick, notify the auction immediately—stop the transfer of the Three Jade Slips and the ring!" A chubby man suddenly thought of something and stood up, speaking rapidly.
He was Fan Wenxing, Secretary-General of the Earth Federation. At this moment, not only Fan Wenxing, but everyone present understood the significance of the ring.
A Quantum Vault Ring with a large internal space would be a tremendous tool for Celestia’s development.
......
The auction staff searched everywhere for Joe Di and the cloaked man, but unfortunately, both had already left Celestia One.
At this moment, Joe Di had prepared plenty of rations and returned to his aircraft beside the Lethe Mountains—his favorite spot for cultivation.
Gripping a spirit stone, Joe Di was frantically absorbing spiritual energy to strengthen his true essence and power. For the first two days, he still remembered to eat some rations, but later, he completely forgot his hunger and focused solely on absorbing spirit stones.
Day after day passed, and the spirit stones around Joe Di dwindled one by one as his aura grew stronger. In such a cultivation state, not even insects or ants dared approach.
In the blink of an eye, half a month had passed. Covered in grime, Joe Di suddenly felt a faint flame spreading inside him. The vague barriers that had limited his cultivation were burned away by this flame.
It was like being splashed with ice water on a hot June day—a sense of relief spread from Joe Di’s brow. Powerful energy surged within him, and the circulation of his internal energy was smoother than ever before.
At the same time, Joe Di felt his Purple Mansion expand dramatically, and his spiritual sense grew lighter, extending dozens of meters...
His spiritual sense only stopped when it reached a hundred meters.
Everything within a hundred meters was under Joe Di’s control, and he was not only delighted but also deeply shocked.
He’d reached the Fourth Level of Qi Refinement. Back when he was at the Third Level, his spiritual sense could only cover a few meters. Now it had extended past a hundred meters—just one level made such a huge difference.
Fortunately, Joe Di was no longer a novice. He knew this was the difference between the early and middle stages of Qi Refinement. Sensing his surging true essence and spiritual sense, Joe Di picked up the last spirit stone to stabilize his cultivation.
(That’s all for today’s update. Good night, friends!)