Chapter 1831: The Royal Divine Army Mobilised
"What? That person is you? Doesn't that mean that you also cut off Yang Tie's arm?" The captain stared at Jian Chen in shock. Disbelief flooded his face as he was completely taken aback.
Did the elders of the Yang family not take away the person who offended the Yang family and cut off Yang Tie's arm? How could he still be here.
Even if the elders of the Yang family did not take away the person who had chopped off Yang Tie's arm yet, just where had the elders run off to? Why did they leave the person behind and return all by themselves?
Even if he ignored just how unbelievable the outcome was, it was impossible for the Yang family to do such an embarrassing thing with their strength and prestige.
If the matter made it out to the public, the Yang family's status would probably plummet in the Divine Kingdom of Pingtian. It could even affect their status in the surrounding divine kingdoms.
"As a captain of the guards for the royal capital, you should enforce the laws impartially. Shouldn't you at least ask about how everything happened in the first place after getting here and not focus on Yang Tie's arm? Don't tell me that as a captain of the guards, you're connected to the Yang family, and you want to take advantage of your position so things work in the Yang family's favor?" Jian Chen said calmly. He had not shifted his gaze from beyond the window.
He stared in the direction of the royal palace of the kingdom. Just then, he had discovered someone sending over the senses of their soul in an extremely well-hidden manner.
Although the senses had been purposefully concealed, Jian Chen still discovered it. He only found it to be extremely unclear and hazy. Clearly, his current strength was not enough to clearly pinpoint where it had settled.
However, even though he had only captured it vaguely, Jian Chen could feel a mountainous pressure from it. Even with his current strength, he could not help but shiver.
"Godking," Jian Chen thought. The Godkings of the divine kingdom had already begun paying attention to here.
"The Divine Kingdom of Pingtian has two Godkings. I wonder if the senses of the soul I just discovered belongs to the divine king his majesty or the Grand Imperial Protector," Jian Chen wondered.
"The divine king reached Godking many years ago. It's said that before the divine kingdom had even been founded, the divine king Pingtian was already a Godking. He personally led his subordinates to create this divine kingdom. Now that the divine kingdom has already existed for several hundreds of thousand of years, the divine king must have made quite a lot of progress compared to before. On the other hand, the Grand Imperial Protector has only reached Godking recently. It's said that he only broke through a little over a hundred thousand years ago."
"The divine king's strength must be greater than the Grand Imperial Protector. I won't be able to sense the divine king's senses of the soul as a result, so it should have been the Grand Imperial Protector's."
Jian Chen stood before the window with his back towards the captain of the guards. He gazed in the direction of the royal palace as he pondered deeply.
He completely did not notice that the captain's face had become abnormally ugly when he mentioned that the captain might be abusing his position. His face basically sunk completely and killing intent filled his eyes.
The laws within the Divine Kingdom of Pingtian were particularly strict. As a captain of the guards, he was loyal to the divine king, but he still helped the Yang family do many things in secret. As a result, the thing he feared the most was other people mentioning that he was abusing his position of power.
Clearly, Jian Chen's words had completely infuriated the captain.
"I will naturally find out exactly what transpired. However, there's no hope denying that you cut off Yang Tie's arm. You dare commit crimes so openly in the royal capital. Hmph. Come, take him away," the captain said coldly.
"Yes, captain," immediately, a few guards charged into the room to take Jian Chen away.
At this moment, a thunderous series of galloping sounds rang out, causing the ground to tremble gently.
"What is happening?" The captain and his guards all looked at each other from the sudden disruption. The guards who wanted to take Jian Chen away stopped as they became uncertain.
The disruption was simply far too great, and it was like an entire army was moving about. The earth seemed to be shaking from the deafening gallops.
"Two of you stay here to watch over him. The others, come with me to see what's happening," the guard said coldly. He immediately stopped paying anymore attention to Jian Chen and left with his trusted subordinates.
However, when the captain left the inn and saw what was happening in the distance, he became completely stunned.
In the distance, a squad of elite, armored soldiers shot over. They moved extremely quickly as if they were lightning. From the distance, they seemed to have been reduced to a string of blurs.
The soldiers were all actually at Godhood.
The mounts beneath them were Three-flamed Divine Horses that burned with red flames.
Three-flamed Divine Horses were relatively common beasts in the Saints' World. They seemed like horses, but they were three times larger and were naturally accompanied by flames.
They were called 'Three-flamed' because the flames of the mount could change three times in a single lifetime.
Newly-born, they would possess strength at Sainthood, and their flames would be scarlet. Once they reached adulthood, their strength would be on par with Deities, and their flames would become blood-red.
If they were nurtured with a vast quantity of heavenly resources, the horses could even become Gods. Once they became Gods, their flames would burn a deep violet.
That would be the final stage of cultivation for the horses. Throughout history, there had never been a Three-flamed Divine Horse that had reached Overgod.
However, these divine horses would become the mounts of the very best due to their strength. Once they were tamed, they would remain loyal for the rest of their lives, and they were naturally skilled at teamwork.
The horses beneath these soldiers all possessed blood-red flames. Clearly, they had all reached adulthood, and they possessed the battle prowess of a Deity.
"It's the Royal Divine Army. Oh my god, it's actually the Royal Divine Army. Am I dreaming? The Royal Divine Army has actually come..."
"Looking at the direction they're heading in, the Royal Divine Army seem to be going to the Perched Phoenix Inn. Has something happened there, which is why they're going that way..."
"The conflicts within the royal capital have always been handled by the regular guards. Why would the Royal Divine Army deal with these miscellaneous matters? They are lofty existences, and they are the strongest and most terrifying army of the entire divine kingdom. They're known to be the protector gods of the kingdom..."
...
On the streets, countless people watched on. All of their eyes were filled with respect and quite a few of them were filled with eagerness.
The Royal Divine Army was a group of soldiers that was almost divine in the Divine Kingdom of Pingtian. They possessed crushing strength. In the entire region, there were no armies from any divine kingdom that could match up to the Royal Divine Army.
"Why has the Royal Divine Army come?" The captain of the guards watched everything unfold in disbelief. The Royal Divine Army was rarely ever mobilised.
Chapter 1832: Ten-thousand-man Commander Peng
The captain of the guards watched as the Royal Divine Army galloped towards him in a stunning manner as he directly pondered to himself, "The army seems to be heading for the inn. Strange, why has the Royal Divine Army suddenly shown up here when they're rarely mobilised at all?"
"Has the matter of Yang Tie's severed arm alarmed the Royal Divine Army? And before, I clearly heard that there were a few elders from the Yang family who came here. It's impossible for them to allow something like this to happen with the Yang family's pride and strength, yet they actually left quietly in the end. They did not even bother with the person who offended them. Looks like the Yang family retreated because they received the news that the Royal Divine Army was coming. That's why the person who chopped off Yang Tie's arm is completely fine." The captain could not help but nod to himself secretly when he thought up to there. He found his thoughts to be more and more believable. The real reason why the Yang family had retreated was very likely due to the fact that they learnt that the Royal Divine Army was coming to take away the person instead, so they decided to not get in their way.
Although the Yang family was one of the most powerful clans in the divine kingdom, they were nowhere near close to reigning supreme in the royal capital. Although there were basically no clans who dared to stand up to the Yang family, the Royal Divine Army was an exception.
Even when ignoring the fact that the person behind the army was the divine king, just the strength of the army by itself was no weaker than the Yang family.
At the same time, the Royal Divine Army also possessed a late Overgod as their commander.
If someone asked whether there was anyone who could stand up to the Yang family in the Divine Kingdom of Pingtian, the Royal Divine Army would definitely be one of the answers.
However, the captain of the guards shook his head again after some thought, "No, the Royal Divine Army and the Yang family have no connections at all. Why would they stand up for the Yang family just because the young master's arm was cut off? What is this all about? Is this really not as complicated as I imagined it to be, and the Royal Divine Army is just passing by?"
The gallops of the horses rang louder and louder, clearer and clearer up ahead. Clearly, only around a hundred people had come, but it created the same disturbance as an entire army of soldiers. Most importantly, all their movements were completely in-sync. As a result, every time the hooves of the horses struck the ground, it was thunderous, causing the ground to shake.
The group of soldiers from the Royal Divine Army rapidly approached the inn under the gazes of everyone. Everyone on the streets stuck close to the buildings. All of them had even stepped aside to broaden the path without any warning so that the Royal Divine Army could pass through. Even the captain of the guards stood to one side obediently.
He could put on airs normally, but before the Royal Divine Army, he could only stand down obediently. He was no longer bold enough to order people around. The Royal Divine Guards were on a whole different level compared to his guards.
However, just when the captain of the guards believed that the Royal Divine Army was simply passing by, the entire squadron unexpectedly pulled on their reins in a single motion together. All the Three-flamed Divine Horses immediately raised their front legs. Coupled with a deafening screech, their hooves struck the ground heavily, producing a thunder-like boom.
Immediately, a shockwave visible to the naked eye rapidly expanded in all directions due to the hooves. It shook up all the bystanders, making them stagger. Many of them even lost their footing and fell over.
If it were not for the fact that the ground and the entire city was enveloped and protected by a powerful formation, just the stamp from the horses would have been enough to reduce the surrounding structures to ruins.
After all, there were over a hundred adult Three-flamed Divine Horses, which was equivalent to over a hundred Deities!
Rourou, the same person that Jian Chen had seen in the True Sword Pavilion, currently stood with a few guards in the crowd. She stared at the squadron of Three-flamed Divine Horses that stood in a neat formation outside the Perched Phoenix Inn in doubt.
"Strange. Why has the Royal Divine Army come?" Rourou wondered softly.
"Young miss, I heard that Yang Tie's arm was cut off by someone in the Perched Phoenix Inn. Maybe the Royal Divine Army came for that?" A guard said from behind Rourou. Her voice was crisp and pleasant, making it very evident that she was female.
It was easy to assume that her appearance would match her voice.
Moreover, looking at the statures of the other guards, they all seemed feminine as well.
"Young miss, in my opinion, the person who cut off Yang Tie's arm seems to be the young man who purchased the Startling Rainbow sword in the True Sword Pavilion. However, isn't he just a little too bold? He has offended the Yang family," added another guard.
"Young miss, the young man certainly did act rather viciously, but he also possesses a sense of righteousness. I am not powerful, but I have seen countless people in the world. If I am correct, that young man should be an honorable person, or he would not possess such a bearing. Young miss, let's help this person out. After all, it was all caused by Yang Tie," said another guard. She seemed to be pleading Rourou.
Rourou remained silent. She just stared at the inn.
The person at the very front of the squadron from the Royal Divine Army dismounted; he was wearing deep red armor. He said to the people behind him, "Thousand-man commander Lu, thousand-man commander Chou, come with me. The rest of you remain in position!"
"Yes, sir!" The squadron replied.
Listening to the familiar voice of the squadron captain, the eyes of the captain of the guards immediately widened. Disbelief filled his eyes as he thought, "I- i- isn't that sir ten-thousand-man commander Peng's voice? How is that possible? Sir ten-thousand-man commander Peng has personally come and there are two thousand-man commanders as well? W- why has sir ten-thousand-man commander come with two thousand-man commanders?"
Although very shocked and doubtful, the captain of the guards dared not to tarry. He immediately ran up like a suck up and arrived before ten-thousand-man commander Peng, who was covered in armor apart from his two eyes. The captain of the guards smiled as he fawned over ten-thousand-man commander Peng, lowering himself very much and speaking extremely politely.
He knew extremely well that although he was the captain of a squadron of guards in the royal capital, it was nothing before a ten-thousand-man commander of the Royal Divine Guards.
Not to mention that the ten-thousand-man commander of all people was ten-thousand-man commander Peng!
However, ten-thousand-man commander Peng paid no attention to the captain of the guards. After glancing coldly at him, he entered the Perched Phoenix Inn with his two thousand-man commanders.
The captain did not become angered at all. He smiled resplendently as he glanced at the remaining squadron of the Royal Divine Army with eagerness and envy. Afterwards, he ran off behind ten-thousand-man commander Peng again.
"Young miss, the Royal Divine Army has already gone in to capture the person, and it seems like the person leading the squadron is ten-thousand-man commander Peng. He's known to be the strongest beneath Overgod in the entire divine kingdom. There are even rumors that ten-thousand-man commander Peng has the right to make it onto the God's Pedestal. It's impossible for that person to be his enemy," the guard who had asked Rourou to save Jian Chen before spoke out again.
"Young miss, why don't we help him out? I don't think he's a bad person either. Moreover, we were slightly mistaken about him in the True Sword Pavilion as well. We thought that he had only mentioned that he wanted to buy a supreme quality saint artifact or a high quality saint artifact to attract your attention, but we never thought he would actually buy one," added another guard. She also seemed to be reluctant about Jian Chen getting taken away by the Royal Divine Army.
Once he was taken away by the Royal Divine Army, he would suffer even if he came from an organization that possessed an Overgod.
Under the persuasion of the guards, Rourou finally let out a sigh and said, "Alright, let's go in and have a look."
Chapter 1833: Xuan Rourou
Rourou made her way towards the inn gently. She moved at a steady pace while her guards all followed behind her closely.
There were two armored members of the Royal Divine Army guarding the entrance to the Perched Phoenix Inn right now. They stood straight like statues without moving at all. Only their eyes were revealed, which shone with a cold and merciless light as they observed the surroundings. Clearly, they were there to prevent anyone from entering.
The guards under the captain had stood to one side long ago.
Rourou directly made her way towards the entrance of the inn with her guards. Even though there were two soldiers at the entrance, she did not show any signs of hesitation in her steps at all. She was completely at ease.
Just as Rourou was about to enter the inn, the two soldiers did not do anything to stop her. Instead, they bowed at the same time and said to Rourou together, "Greetings, young miss!"
The jaws of everyone in the surroundings immediately dropped at the sight of this. All of their eyes became filled with shock and disbelief towards Rourou, leading to quite a large disturbance. They all soon began to guess at Rourou's identity when they saw how the Royal Divine Army showed so much respect towards her.
Clearly, Rourou was already used to the polite treatment she received from the two soldiers. She did not find it strange at all. She nodded at the two of them calmly and did not halt her steps at all. She directly entered the inn.
At the same time, Jian Chen resided on the very top floor of the inn. He remained by the window as he gazed out. He seemed to be deep in thought.
Behind him, ten-thousand-man commander Peng and his two thousand-man commanders had already arrived in the room. When the ten-thousand-man commander saw Jian Chen's back, he immediately clasped his fist towards Jian Chen without any hesitation and said loudly, "Ten-thousand-man commander Peng of the seventh regiment of the Royal Divine Army greets the patriarch of the Tian Yuan clan!"
"Thousand-man commander Zhang of the seventh regiment of the Royal Divine Army greets the patriarch of the Tian Yuan clan!"
"Thousand-man commander Li of the seventh regiment of the Royal Divine Army greets the patriarch of the Tian Yuan clan!"
At the same time, the two thousand-man commanders behind ten-thousand-man commander Peng clasped their hands towards Jian Chen. They looked at Jian Chen with much respect.
This was the respect towards strength!
The three of them were only Gods. In their eyes, Overgods were indomitable existences.
Moreover, the Overgod standing before them was not like any other Overgod. Instead, he possessed a crushing advantage in power. He was the patriarch of the Tian Yuan clan who defeated the Overgod of the Wayner clan, someone that had comprehended the Laws of Strength; he was Jian Chen!
Jian Chen turned his head towards the three soldiers covered in armor and asked, "Did Xuan Dou send you here? Are you really that certain that I'm the patriarch of the Tian Yuan clan? What if you recognised the wrong person? Wouldn't it become a huge joke if that happened?"
"It was commander Xuan Dou who sent us. Before we came, the commander showed us images of the patriarch, which is why we recognize you," said commander Peng Fei.
Jian Chen nodded. Just when he was about to say something, the door to the room suddenly opened once again. The captain of the guards entered from outside. Clearly, he did not sense the special atmosphere in the room, nor did hear what had just been said earlier. As soon as he saw Jian Chen, coldness filled his eyes. He pointed at Jian Chen and said, "Commander Peng, it's him. He was the one who committed crimes in the royal capital. Not only does he look down on the laws, but he's extremely audacious as well. If you let him go, who knows how many more heinous crimes he will commit. Please take him away for arrest, commander Peng."
Jian Chen smiled when he heard that. He looked at the captain and commander Peng in interest without saying anything at all.
However, when commander Peng heard the captain's words, his gaze changed slightly. If his covered face was visible at that moment, it would be evident that his face had already darkened, having become extremely sunken.
The person before them was the patriarch of the Tian Yuan clan, the same person who easily defeated Wayner Yan who had comprehended the Laws of Strength several dozen years ago. Not to mention that there were rumors recently that the patriarch of the Tian Yuan clan had broken through once again in Godking Duanmu's dwelling.
The patriarch of the Tian Yuan clan was someone that even their superior, Xuan Dou, had to treat politely. Xuan Dou had even ordered them to receive the patriarch warmly, yet the captain of the guards had demanded his arrest as soon as he showed up. Was he not trying to go against everything that the commanders were trying to carry out?
Right now, Peng Fei was tempted to swat the captain to death in a single stroke.
"Even if you want to take people away, you should find out everything about the matter before taking action." At this moment, Rourou entered the room with her guards as well. Clearly, she had heard the captain's words. She said all that as soon as she had entered the room.
"Young miss, why have you come as well?" Peng Fei was rather surprised as he stared at Rourou and said politely.
Rourou glanced at the guards behind her and a sliver of helplessness appeared on her face. She said, "The girls can't bear an innocent person being framed, which is why I came specially to have a look." Rourou paused after reaching this point. She glanced at Jian Chen and said, "Ten-thousand-man commander Peng, according to my knowledge, the entire matter was instigated by Yang Tie. As a result, I hope that commander Peng can look through all the facts before making an arrest. I won't allow you to take away the innocent."
"Arrest? Young miss, a- aren't you..." Commander Peng stared at Rourou. He was clueless as to how to respond. He only grumbled indignantly inside, "My young miss, the person before you is the famed patriarch of the Tian Yuan clan. Just what position have you forced me into by saying that I would arrest people right before him?"
"Moreover, even if I really wanted to arrest him, I'm nowhere near his opponent as a God. At the very least, we would need an Overgod like commander Xuan Dou to come personally."
Rourou could not help but become slightly confused when she saw how commander Peng responded. Something did seem slightly off.
"Commander Peng, are there any problems?" Rourou asked.
The captain also looked at commander Peng. He also sensed that something was off.
Jian Chen's interest was piqued as he watched everything unfold like a cliché drama. He smiled at the people in the room.
Suddenly, commander Peng clasped his fist towards Jian Chen. He said apologetically, "Patriarch, this is the first young lady of our commander, Xuan Rourou. The young miss did not know the patriarch's identity, so I that hope the patriarch can forgive her if she has offended you in any way."
The captain immediately became stunned when he saw the commander's actions. Disbelief filled his face.
He was a mighty ten-thousand-man commander of the Royal Divine Army, not to mention the fact that he was the famed ten-thousand-man commander, Peng Fei, yet he was actually apologising to the young man. Moreover, the reason for his apology was how their young lady had spoken.
Just how great was the first young lady of the commander's estate? With her status in the army, very few Overgods would ever truly pursue the matter even if she disrespected a few regular Overgods.
However, commander Peng was actually personally apologising to the young man before him due to some minor things raised by Xuan Rourou. Just who was this young man?
"Patriarch? Patriarch? Just which patriarch in our Divine Kingdom of Pingtian possesses such power? There aren't any. Let alone our divine kingdom, there are no patriarchs as powerful as him even in our neighbouring divine kingdoms because the patriarchs of clans with Overgods are always Gods or even other Deities. However, even when facing the patriarch of the Yang family, commander Peng would still talk without going out of his way to be respectful. He would not show any fear, let alone lower himself like this... Unless he's from the Dong'an province... no... impossible..." The captain guessed. Finally, he seemed to think of who this person was, and his face immediately paled.
Xuan Rourou was also slightly taken aback by commander Peng's apology. However, she also seemed to realise something soon afterwards. A strange light immediately filled her eyes as she stared at Jian Chen. She almost cried out, "You're the patriarch of the Tian Yuan clan from the Dong'an province?"
According to Xuan Rourou's understanding, only the patriarch of the Tian Yuan clan could be referred to as patriarch and make commander Peng act with so much caution.
Overgods were basically all ancestors in clans. They would stand back while the position of patriarch would be occupied by someone else. Only the Tian Yuan clan of the Dong'an province possessed an extremely powerful Overgod as a patriarch.
Chapter 1834: The Commander's Estate
"Young miss, you're right. This is the patriarch of the Tian Yuan clan," said commander Peng. As soon as he thought about how their young lady had spoken to Jian Chen so eagerly without even knowing his identity, ten-thousand-man commander Peng could only smile bitterly inside.
Their young lady was normally rather clever, but why had she suddenly lost her touch? Did she not realise from the response and actions of the Royal Divine Army that they had not come to arrest someone?
Xuan Rourou immediately became stunned after confirming Jian Chen's identity. She stared in disbelief at Jian Chen's young face that was filled with a sense of righteousness.
She had already considered that Jian Chen possessed an extraordinary background, where it was extremely likely that he came from an organisation with an Overgod. Otherwise, it would have been impossible for him to possess so many high grade divine crystals to take out for a high quality saint artifact.
However, she had never considered that the person who had said that they wanted to buy a supreme quality saint artifact and had even been mistaken by people as someone who was just trying to attract her attention would be the famous, almost legendary patriarch of the Tian Yuan clan, Jian Chen!
For a moment, even Xuan Rourou found it rather unbelievable for such a great change in status to occur.
The jaws of the guards around Xuan Rouruo dropped at that moment as well. Disbelief was plastered across their faces.
Compared to Xuan Rourou and everyone else's shock, the captain of the guards felt like he had just entered hell. Not only did his entire body tremble violently, but even his legs shook.
"I'm done for. I'm done for. How is this person the patriarch of the Tian Yuan clan? Yang Tie, of all the people you could provoke, you just had to provoke the patriarch of the Tian Yuan clan. You've doomed me," the captain sobbed inside. At the same time, he had already become pale.
He was the captain of a group of guards in the royal capital, but the royal capital was so big. There were naturally many guards as a result, as well as countless captains like him in the city. Although he worked for the government, his status was nothing special. No one would be able to save him once he offended an Overgod.
Even if an organisation with an Overgod stood behind him, very few Overgods would step forwards to speak for him.
After all, purposefully offending an Overgod was completely different from suffering unwanted harassment from an Overgod.
Suddenly, the captain of the guards dropped to his knees and constantly lowered his head towards Jian Chen. As his forehead smacked against the floor, there was a constant banging sound. He did not use origin energy to protect himself. As such, after just a few times, his forehead had become all bloodied.
"Patriarch, this one has been ignorant. This one did not know that the patriarch had come to the royal capital personally," the captain's attitude changed drastically. He constantly bowed his head as he asked for forgiveness in guilt.
Even with the entire Divine Kingdom of Pingtian in perspective, there were only a little over a dozen Overgods. Every single one of them possessed a significant status in the divine kingdom. He understood exactly what offending an expert like that entailed.
Although he had a connection to the Yang family because he had married one of Yang Tie's female cousins, his wife also possessed no status in the Yang family. The Yang family would never step forwards to speak for him.
Commander Peng stared at the captain coldly. There was no sympathy in his eyes at all. He turned towards Jian Chen and asked, "Patriarch, how do you want to deal with this person?"
Jian Chen shrugged. He looked at the captain who had a bloodied forehead and sighed gently, "You can go. However, as the captain of a squadron of guards, I hope that you can carry out your duties seriously. Do not get your personal interests involved."
Spared, the captain left the place as if he was fleeing for his life after thanking Jian Chen.
"Patriarch, the commander, commander Xuan, has invited you to visit his estate. I was wondering if the patriarch would be willing," ten-thousand-man commander Peng said with clasped hands.
"I just happened to be wanting to visit commander Xuan. However, it'll just attract too much attention if I go with your soldiers. You can go back first. I'll visit the commander's estate afterwards by myself," said Jian Chen.
"Yes, sir!" Ten-thousand-man commander Peng clasped his hands at Jian Chen before leaving with his two thousand-man commanders.
Xuan Rourou naturally did not stay behind after commander Peng departed. She immediately bid farewell to Jian Chen extremely politely.
In the blink of an eye, the room where Jian Chen stayed was emptied out once again. There were only bloody marks left on the ground as evidence for everything that had just happened.
Jian Chen glanced at the bloody patches on the ground and sighed gently, "I never thought all of this would happen. Looks like the royal capital isn't as perfect as I believed it to be. The rules of the royal capital affect ordinary cultivators, but it does not affect people from those powerful organisations and clans."
After sighing, Jian Chen leapt out the window. He turned into a faint blur as he shot off into the distance. He moved like the wind, where the cultivators on the streets below failed to notice him at all.
There were a total of five commander's estates in the royal capital. They were located in the north, south, east, west, and centre. The commander's estates that lay in the four cardinal directions belonged to commanders who guarded the territory of the divine kingdom. They remained near the edge of the kingdom most of the time and rarely returned to the royal capital.
The central estate belonged to commander Xuan Dou.
Not only was Xuan Dou a late Overgod, but he was also the commander of the Royal Divine Army. He was the person in control of the strongest army in the Divine Kingdom of Pingtian. In terms of status, he was one that was only surpassed by few.
However, Xuan Dou always kept a low profile and rarely showed off. As a result, his prestige within the divine kingdom was below the Yang family's.
After leaving the inn, Jian Chen directly made his way towards the central commander's estate. Even though the royal capital was extremely large, he only used a short while to arrive before the main entrance with his speed.
"Hahaha, brother Jian Chen, you've finally come. Looks like my estate is just a little too small. I've waited several decades for you, and you've finally come." At this moment, Xuan Dou emerged from within and laughed aloud. At the moment, he was wearing simple clothes.
"I wanted to visit commander Xuan much earlier, but I've always remained in cultivation. I've only emerged recently," Jian Chen clasped his hands towards Xuan Dou before being invited into the estate warmly.
Jian Chen and Xuan Dou conversed easily in a guest room of the estate. They went from talking about personal experiences in cultivation and comprehension to various affairs that were happening in the Saints' World. They spoke for around thirty hours straight before they showed some signs of stopping.
"Oh right. Commander Xuan Dou, I have something I'd like to ask you about." Suddenly, Jian Chen stopped smiling.
"What is it, brother Jian Chen? Go on ahead, there's no need to be so polite," Xuan Dou said happily.
Jian Chen stood up. With a wave of his hand, he removed a crystal casket from the Bright Moon Divine Hall and placed it onto the ground gently.
Chapter 1835: The Method to Save Kai Ya
On the crystal casket quietly lied a fist-sized beast. It seemed like a winged ant, and it shone with red, orange, and yellow. At the same time, its clever eyes stared at the nearby Xuan Dou, indicating much caution.
"Hmm? This little beast has already become a God, yet it still can't assume a human form," Xuan Dou was surprised when he saw the Seven-colored Heaven-devouring Beast.
The Seven-colored Heaven-devouring Beast had no problems in understanding Xuan Dou. It immediately raised its head up high, showing much disdain towards Xuan Dou.
"You're actually looking down on me," Xuan Dou could not but smile. This was the first time in his life that he, the commander of the Royal Divine Army and a late Overgod, was actually looked down upon by a little beast that was only a God.
Jian Chen looked away from the Seven-colored Heaven-devouring Beast and looked towards Kai Ya, who laid in the crystal casket. He said, "Commander Xuan, this is a friend of mine. She was heavily injured in the past and fell unconscious as a result. However, I've healed all her physical injuries many years ago, and I even used heavenly resources that specialised in healing the soul on her. However, she has never even stirred. Do you know any way to make my friend recover?"
Only after hearing that did Xuan Dou look away from the Seven-colored Heaven-devouring Beast. He stared at the crystal coffin where Kai Ya resided with much interest. Due to the huge disparity in strength, he was able to inspect Kai Ya's body completely without even opening the casket. The situation immediately made him frown.
After a moment of silence, Xuan Dou said, "Jian Chen, your friend is not injured at all. At the same time, her life force is plentiful, so that hasn't been touched at all. As a result, it's possible to conclude that the reason for her unconsciousness has nothing to do with her body. There must be other reasons for it. Oh right, how long has your friend been unconscious for?" Xuan Dou looked at Jian Chen.
"Almost a hundred years," said Jian Chen.
"A hundred years," Xuan Dou furrowed his brows deeply. He paced around the crystal casket with crossed arms as his eyes shone. He stared at the unconscious Kai Ya as he sank into his thoughts.
A while later, he said slowly, "If she hasn't woken up after close to a hundred years and her physical condition is perfect, it must be due to her soul."
"I guessed it had to do with the soul as well, but I was unable to find any problems with it at all. I've used heavenly resources for her soul as well, but they've failed to produce any effect at all," Jian Chen sighed gently. He felt helpless. He had concluded that Kai Ya's problem laid in her soul long ago.
However, since it was a problem with her soul, a single droplet of sap from the Amethyst Spiritual Bamboo should have been more than enough for her to recover, provided her soul remained intact. He himself had used the sap in the past before, so he understood exactly just how potent it was. And since a single droplet did not work, he had tried multiple droplets as well, but it was still useless.
In his eyes, Kai Ya was a Saint Emperor. She was nowhere near the Origin realm. As such, let alone a droplet, but even half a droplet or less than that would have been almost enough to pull her back from the dead.
Of course, there was another possibility, which was that the sap from the Amethyst Spiritual Bamboo was nowhere near enough to awaken Kai Ya.
However, Jian Chen never considered this because Kai Ya was only a Saint Emperor.
"Problems of the soul are the most difficult things to resolve, not to mention the fact that your friend's a little too weak. She hasn't even reached Godhood, so she won't have any tolerance towards wounds of the soul at all. Brother Jian Chen, I'd advise you to find some heavenly resources or pills of higher grades. Although you've used a heavenly resource like this on her in the past, you need to understand that there are many heavenly resources that have these properties. Maybe the one you used was not suitable for your friend's condition," Xuan Dou recommended. He was helpless over injuries of the soul.
Jian Chen sighed gently. He put the crystal casket away again. There was also nothing he could do about Kai Ya's current situation, which was why he had asked Xuan Dou.
Suddenly, Xuan Dou's face changed. He said, "In three days, the United Imperial Merchant's Association just so happens to be holding their once every one-hundred-year auction. The United Imperial Merchant's Association is the greatest merchant's association in the Divine Kingdom of Pingtian. Not only do they have businesses across the entire divine kingdom, but they've even dabbled in the surrounding divine kingdoms. They do have some valuable items among the things that they have collected. And in the auction this time, I think there just happens to be a heavenly resource that deals with problems of the soul, the Soul-drawing Lotus. Brother Jian Chen, maybe you could try acquiring it."
"The Soul-drawing Lotus," Jian Chen murmured, and his eyes gradually lit up.
"However, all heavenly resources that heal the soul, regardless of grade, will be at least several times or several dozen times more expensive than other heavenly resources of the same grade. It could even be more expensive by a greater factor than that. Brother Jian Chen, you have to be ready. Oh right, I just happen to have five blocks of high grade divine crystal here. Take them for now," said Xuan Dou as he immediately handed over five blocks of divine crystal.
"Thank you for your kind intentions, commander Xuan, but I just happen to have a few divine crystals on me. Buying the heavenly resource shouldn't be too great of a problem," Jian Chen turned down Xuan Dou. Before long, he bid farewell to Xuan Dou and left the estate.
In another region of the royal capital, there were two veiled women in white dresses who moved through the bustling streets. Without any exhaustion at all, they moved from store to store with interest. Whenever they saw something that caught their eye, they would purchase it regardless of the price. Who knew just how many things they had already purchased along the way.
Their reckless way of buying things naturally caught the attention of some other people with ill intentions. However, as soon as they began to stalk the two women, one of the ladies would glance at them, and they would pale immediately. After that, they would flee for their lives, unwilling to stay put for any longer.
"Sister Xi Yu, this piece of clothing is so pretty. If you wear it, you'll have even more charm. When patriarch Jian Chen sees you, he'll definitely become infatuated." One of the two veiled woman said to the other secretly in one store.
"Mo Yan, what are you saying? You need to control your mouth."
"Hehe. Sister Xi Yu, look at this piece of clothing. Do you think patriarch Jian Chen will seem even bolder if he wears it? Yep, that's it. I've made up my mind. I'm buying this to give to patriarch Jian Chen."
The two veiled women were Xi Yu and Mo Yan from the Tian Yuan clan. Like Jian Chen, they had also come to the royal capital of the Divine Kingdom of Pingtian.
Chapter 1836: The Yang Family's Response
Beauty and shopping were the natural hobbies of almost all women. Very few women were able to form exceptions. Mo Yan and Xi Yu were naturally like that as well. Even a God like Xi Yu, someone who could be considered as an expert in the entire Divine Kingdom of Pingtian, was unable to resist her love for shopping and beauty.
Xi Yu and Mo Yan were having a great time in the royal capital. They shopped like madmen, buying away everything that caught their eye. They spent money like it was worth nothing.
However, Xi Yu naturally could afford to spend like this with her personal wealth and her status as a God.
"Sister Xi Yu, there are three more days before the centennial auction of the royal capital. It'll definitely be full of people. Let's go and check it out when it happens," Mo Yan said to Xi Yu with much excitement and eagerness.
Xi Yu nodded, "Quite a lot of interesting items should appear in the centennial auction. Let's go check it out when it does happen. Let's hope that we can find the supreme grade materials that the patriarch ordered us to look for."
The supreme grade materials Xi Yu spoke of were naturally the items for forging Jian Chen's twin swords. When he left the Tian Yuan clan, he had created a list of all the materials he needed to forge the twin swords. With help from the sword spirits, he had recorded all the characteristics and methods of procuring them in great detail so that the people of the clan could collect them.
Unfortunately, all the materials Jian Chen required were of supreme grade, making them simply too rare for a place like the Divine Kingdom of Pingtian. As a result, they had yet to find anything so far. Jian Chen had only managed to collect the Violet Scalestone and the Profound Lightning Rock from Godking Duanmu's Space Ring so far.
The Yang family was located in a large estate towards the centre of the royal capital. In a radius of five kilometers from the estate, all people were forbidden apart from members of the Yang family.
There was a majestic discussion hall in the large estate. The atmosphere in there was particularly stuffy. Not only was the patriarch of the Yang family present, seated on the patriarch's throne emotionlessly, but there were over twenty male and female Gods seated below him. They were all Gods and every single one of them was solemn.
In the centre of the hall stood the young master of the Yang family, Yang Tie, with his bloodied clothes. One of his arms was missing. His shoulder throbbed with intense pain, causing his face to constantly twitch.
"Father, that is how everything happened. That person went too far, provoking our Yang family time and time again. Our Yang family is one of the most powerful clans. How can we allow others to look down on us so much?" Yang Tie narrated the entire story after bending some truths. He only felt utter hatred towards Jian Chen now.
A God who sat to the left of the patriarch became furious after Yang Tie finished his story, "Hmph, those are all lies. There were four elders present in total, yet he was still able to kill one of them with such ease. Only Overgods can achieve something like that. And who do you think Overgods are? Why would they lower themselves to the level of a wastrel like you and abuse people that are far less great than them? In my opinion, the matter was probably instigated by you."
"Yang Tie, do you understand just how much trouble you've caused? Because of you, not only has our Yang family lost an elder, but we've also offended an Overgod. You can't just provoke Overgods for no good reason. If we let you continue like this, you'll create great problems for the clan sooner or later."
The person who dared to speak out against Yang Tie before the patriarch and all the elders was an esteemed member of the Yang family. He was the elder brother of the current patriarch, Yang Lianxin. He had failed during the fight for the position of the patriarch in the past, which was why his younger brother was the patriarch now.
Although he was now the grand elder of the Yang family, he possessed nowhere near as much power as the patriarch due to the differences in the system of the Yang family. He still desired the position of the patriarch very much, so he obviously would not miss a chance to admonish his younger brother.
A few elders immediately added to Yang Lianxin's words. They agreed with him
The patriarch's face became ugly. He growled, "Enough. Since everything has already happened, there's no point dwelling on these matters. Even if it were really Tie'er's fault, the Overgod only needed to dish out a slight punished. Instead, he killed an elder of our Yang family. Hmph, our elders can't just be killed like that. If we don't demand a proper explanation, will we still have the dignity to remain in the royal capital in the future?"
"Hmph. Yang Aoran, do you plan on biting off more than you can chew by trying to take revenge against the Overgod? It's not that I, your elder brother, don't believe in you, but you really don't have that power, so just listen to me. Don't trouble the ancestor," Yang Lianxin sneered. He secretly rejoiced, as Yang Tie's mistakes gave him hopes of removing his younger brother from the position of patriarch.
This was because no matter what Yang Aoran did in response to the matter, a mistake was still a mistake. If he continued to pursue the matter, he might end up completely offending an Overgod. Although the Yang family no longer feared most Overgods with their power, they still could not go around provoking Overgods, not even early Overgods.
Even if they had already completely offended the Overgod, they would still have to consider whether pursuing the matter was worth it or not.
However, if they did not pursue the matter, the Yang family's status would plummet. There might even be other people with ill intentions who would use the matter to write other things and create a greater negative image of the Yang family. As the patriarch of the Yang family, Yang Aoran would be directly responsible.
The patriarch naturally suspected that his elder brother eyed his position. He stared at Yang Lianxin coldly and said emotionlessly, "Elder brother, do you know why you were unable to become the patriarch? It's because you don't understand the ancestor at all. If you can understand him slightly, even just a little bit, the position of patriarch would have definitely ended up in your hands and not mine."
Yang Lianxin was surprised by these words. He thought, "Is the reason why Yang Aoran is willing to pursue the matter because he understands the ancestor? Is he certain that the ancestor would support him?"
"Pass down orders to immediately investigate all information regarding this Overgod. Once the ancestor emerges, allow him to make the final decision," Yang Aoran immediately ordered. He had no intentions of blaming Yang Tie, and it was evident just how much he spoilt Yang Tie.
Chapter 1837: The United Imperial Auction
Jian Chen emerged from Xuan Dou's estate. He did not return to the Perched Phoenix Inn immediately. Instead, he strolled through the streets of the royal capital by himself. He did not even miss the free markets in the royal capital that sold a few items for independent cultivators.
The royal capital was extremely large. Just the city itself was several times larger than the Gesun Kingdom. However, with Jian Chen's current strength, he only needed two days to go through all the stores.
However, his actions in the past two days were rather strange. He moved quickly, traversing hundreds or even thousands of meters with each step. He basically made his way down every street and alleyway. He visited areas with a dense population of shops or free markets on purpose. It seemed like he wanted to buy something, but he did not even enter a single store during the two days. His actions were rather confusing.
"Sigh. I've basically searched through the entire royal capital, but I haven't even found a single material for the twin swords." Jian Chen returned to the Perched Phoenix Inn. He stood in the same room as before as he gazed outside the window and mumbled to himself.
He had always been searching for the materials for the twin swords in the past two days. Although he had never entered a single store, he had been looking secretly. He would sense it as soon as he discovered any of the necessary materials.
"There's still another day before the centennial auction held by the United Imperial Merchant's Association. The Soul-drawing Lotus holds the hopes of waking up Kai Ya. Even though the chances aren't significant, I have to obtain it," Jian Chen murmured softly as his gaze became extremely determined.
Afterwards, he tidied through all the divine crystals on him. After spending six blocks for the Startling Rainbow sword, he only had four blocks of high grade divine crystals remaining from the ten he had received from the divine king.
Additionally, he still had a few of the supreme grade divine crystals from Godking Duanmu's Space Ring. Although there was not a lot of them, there was roughly a block of high grade divine crystal if he broke it down.
"Five blocks. Even many clans with Gods can't take out a sum like that. Only clans with Overgods would have that much. It should be more than enough to get the Soul-drawing Lotus," Jian Chen felt certain.
...
In the blink of an eye, the day of the centennial auction held by the Imperial United Merchant's Association arrived. Clearly, the city was especially bustling on this day. There were discussions about the auction everywhere on the streets. Many people discussed in great interest just what valuable items would appear on the auction this time, or they would be sighing in pity that they did not have the power to take part in the auction this time.
The area around the Imperial United Merchant's Association was already packed. Many people stood in line with their seating tickets. They all slowly entered the huge, majestic building where the auction would be held.
On the other side for the VIP entrance, a red carpet had already been rolled out on the floor that was covered with fragrant petals. Beautiful female servants stood in a row with smiles on their faces as they constantly welcomed the esteemed guests.
Any person who could enter the auction through the VIP entrance possessed great statuses. Most of them came from organisations with Overgods. Not only did this include organisations native to the Divine Kingdom of Pingtian, but it also included clans and organisations from neighboring divine kingdoms as well.
The Imperial United Merchant's Association was just too famous. They had held countless auctions across the years, and almost every single one of them would have treasures that were enough to interest clans with Overgods.
"That's the carriage of the Guhun clan. The people of the Guhun clan have come..."
"Do you see that white carriage with a snowflake imprint? That's the people of the Yubing clan from the Frigid Snow province..."
"The people from the commander's estate have come as well. That lady seems to be their first young lady, Xuan Rourou..."
"The carriage of the Yang family has come as well. Hmm, that young man seems to be their young master, Yang Tie. Wasn't his arm cut off a few days ago? He has actually completely recovered now..."
"Do you see that flag with the stars? That's the royal family of the Divine Kingdom of Nine Stars..."
...
As the extremely luxurious carriages arrived and people from Overgod organisations arrived one by one, the VIP entrance immediately became busy. Countless people gazed over, and the area became the centre of attention.
"Woah, sister Xi Yu, there are so many people here. It's so busy." At this moment, Mo Yan and Xi Yu arrived. Their faces remained veiled. They did not arrive in luxurious carriages. Instead, they made their way over from afar, trudging over the carpet towards the entrance.
"Who are those two women? Don't they seem quite sorry arriving like this..."
"Other people have come in luxurious carriages, while they've come on foot. Clearly, the organisation behind the two women is just too weak..."
"That's because they come from a clan with Gods. They don't have the confidence of an Overgod clan..."
Many people stared at Mo Yan and Xi Yu as they secretly judged them. They did not look at them with the fear and envy that they showed towards Overgod clans.
Mo Yan and Xi Yu did not mind it at all. They giggled as they walked, making their way into the auction elegantly.
Afterwards, guests from various organisations arrived one after another. Most of them were famed Overgod clans from neighboring divine kingdoms. They either came on powerful, rare beasts, or rode luxurious carriages. They all paraded their wealth.
Of course, there were also a few guests from clans with Gods. Naturally, they did not parade their wealth as much, but they still made arrangements, so they would receive the respect that they deserved. Very few entered with such a low profile like Xi Yu and Mo Yan.
As everyone poured into the auction centre, fewer and fewer people remained outside. Just as the doors were about to close, the white-robed Jian Chen arrived in the distance steadily. He also entered through the VIP entrance as the last person to go in.
The auction centre was extremely large, and it was enough to seat several tens of thousand people.
Currently, Jian Chen sat in his private viewing box with his eyes closed, resting and waiting quietly for the auction to start.
Around five minutes later, the auction finally started. The hostess for the auction was a mature, well-endowed and beautiful woman. Her level of cultivation was extraordinary as well, as she was a God.
"I am Ou Di, the hostess for this centennial auction held by the Imperial United Merchant's Association. Greetings to all..." The hostess smiled gently as she stood on the stage. After introducing herself, she directly got to the point and began auctioning the first item.
"The first treasure is a flying sword. Even though it's only a medium quality saint artifact, it has reached the peak of the medium quality. As a result, even when compared to inferior high quality saint artifacts, it is almost the same in power. It's an extraordinary and rare piece of work. Everyone, you must understand just what a high quality saint artifact is worth; this flying sword is almost on the same level, so I presume I don't need to explain any further the value of this flying sword. The starting price is ten thousand high grade divine crystals," Ou Di held a long, embroidered box as she introduced the item to everyone. To no surprise, a sword lay within the box, and it shone with a cold and threatening light.
Chapter 1838: Sword of Ways
"Fifteen thousand high grade divine crystals..."
"Twenty thousand high grade divine crystals..."
"Thirty thousand high grade divine crystals..."
...
"A hundred thousand high grade divine crystals..."
The flying sword intrigued many people. At the same time, there were a few people who revealed much desire and yearning towards possessing it. As a result, the price surpassed a hundred thousand high grade divine crystals very quickly.
There were three grades among medium quality saint artifacts. Although Jian Chen had also obtained a medium quality saint artifact in the Dong'an province, the Flying Snow sword, it was far, far cheaper than the flying sword right now.
This was because the Flying Snow sword could only be considered as a rather normal medium quality saint artifact. As a matter of fact, it was nowhere near the level of being considered as a superior medium quality saint artifact, while the flying sword that had appeared in the auction was a masterpiece, even though it was also of medium quality. It was basically on par with inferior high quality saint artifacts, so it would naturally be extremely valuable.
"One hundred and fifty thousand high quality divine crystals..."
"One hundred and eighty thousand high quality divine crystals..."
...
The price of the medium quality saint artifact continued to climb. Many people bid for it, which was why its price rose like this. It had already surpassed the limit that many clans with Gods could afford, so they could only give up on it. Now, only a few people from clans with Overgods within the private viewing boxes contended for it.
After a fierce struggle, the flying sword that was only slightly inferior to a high quality saint artifact was purchased by a person from an Overgod organisation from the Divine Kingdom of Kaiyuan.
The items for auction were brought up one by one. Not only were there various saint artifacts, but there were also a few precious heavenly resources, Truth Tier Battle Skills, cultivation methods, and notes on cultivation. There were even various formation discs and banners that possessed extraordinary power.
In such a grand auction, there were naturally various pills that normally never appeared. Even three Soul Recovery Pills appeared, which piqued even Jian Chen's interest. He was tempted to buy all three of them immediately.
Soul Recovery Pills could save his life in crucial times. If he had enough of them, he would have no need to worry about the consequences of consuming all the power of his soul from using two strands of Profound Sword Qi together.
Unfortunately, the Soul Recovery Pills were just too expensive. Basically every single one of them had been sold for over two hundred thousand high grade divine crystals, so Jian Chen could only suppress his desire.
He still had a few Soul Recovery Pills that he had obtained from Godking Duanmu's Space Ring. As a result, he was not in desperate need of the pills right now. He had to use the limited sum of divine crystals he had to buy the Soul-drawing Lotus.
"I believe many will find interest in the item for auction next," the hostess smiled on the stage. She currently held an embroidered box covered in formations with great caution.
Ever since the auction began, this was the first time the hostess had revealed such a stern expression, which made people realise that the item within the box was probably something special.
At that moment, everyone became interested. Their eyes shone as they stared at the box within Ou Di's hands.
Ou Di carefully removed the formations on the box. She moved extremely slowly and with great care. However, it was exactly because of her actions that everyone became even more intrigued by the item within the box.
Finally, the formations on the box was completely removed. Ou Di used her elegant fingers to remove the lid carefully. Instantly, a deathly presence of destruction began to radiate from it, filling the entire auction centre. The expressions of all the Gods present changed drastically, revealing their shock.
Jian Chen also became surprised. He stared at the box.
Within the box laid a translucent sword that was the length of a hand.
The deathly presence of destruction experienced by all the Gods originated from this sword.
Ou Di brought the box around so that everyone could see it before closing the box immediately. She cut off the presence of the sword that was extremely terrifying to Gods.
"A Sword of Ways! It's a Sword of Ways!" Someone suddenly cried out from one of the private boxes.
The tens of thousands of people present were immediately thrown into an uproar when they heard this person's words. They all discussed with each other softly as shock was plastered across their faces.
Ou Di stood on the stage as her gentle and pleasant voice rang out, "Correct, this is a Sword of Ways, and it's one condensed by an Overgod!"
Ou Di continued, "Although many of you have already recognised what it is, I believe there are still quite a few of you who have no idea what a Sword of Ways is. Allow me to explain in detail."
"A Sword of Ways cannot be condensed by those below Overgod. Once someone reaches Overgod, they can use their comprehension to control the laws of the world and forcefully seal it into a piece of Stone of Ways, which forms a Sword of Ways. Each sword's power is equivalent to a strike from the expert who condensed the sword. It's only a single attack condensed from the laws of the world, so it lacks adaptability and ingenuity, making it very difficult to threaten experts of the same level. However, it is a fatal threat to those one cultivation level lower. It can kill them instantly or even heavily injure a large group of people."
"Let's use the Sword of Ways here as an example. It was condensed by an Overgod, so you all must have sensed how terrifying it was. May I ask just how great of a chance do you have to survive if someone used this against you?"
Many people paled slightly when they heard Ou Di's explanation. They became extremely stern. Before, they had all clearly sensed the presence of destruction from within the Sword of Ways. In front of the presence, all of them felt their souls tremble.
A sliver of pity appeared on Ou Di's face. She continued, "Unfortunately, although Overgods only need some time to condense a Sword of Ways, the Stones of Ways that can record the laws of the world are extremely hard to find, which is why Swords of Ways are extremely rare in our region."
Ou Di's face suddenly changed. She raised the box up high and said, "The bidding for the Sword of Ways starts now. If you need a clan treasure, if you need a trump card to save your life, if you have an enemy who is also a God, you cannot miss the opportunity to purchase this item. The starting price is five hundred thousand high grade divine crystals!"
Chapter 1839: The Soul-drawing Lotus Appears
For a moment, the auction centre fell dead silent. After the hostess announced the starting price, no one added to it.
Everyone stared at the embroidered box in Ou Di's hands. There were no exceptions, not even people from Overgod organisations. The light in their eyes flickered as they secretly pondered to themselves.
Ou Di stood on the stage quietly. She was not surprised by this at all. Instead, she smiled confidently.
This was the calm before the storm. The appearance of the Sword of Ways would definitely lead the auction to a new high.
This was because the Sword of Ways was far more valuable than any item auctioned earlier.
"Since no one is bidding, allow me to start. Six hundred thousand. Everyone, if you want the Sword of Ways, you can't keep up the silence, or once she counts to three, the Way of Swords will be purchased by me for six hundred thousand high grade divine crystals."
The strange silence did not last for very long. It was disturbed by a confident, middle-aged man. His voice came from a viewing box, and it sounded like he was smiling when he said that.
"You must be joking, brother. After all, a Sword of Ways is useless for Overgods, but it holds extremely great significance to us. You would be bringing disgrace to the Sword of Ways to purchase it with just six hundred thousand high grade divine crystals. It would also tarnish the name of the Overgod who created it." A voice rang out from another viewing box as soon as the middle-aged man finished speaking. The voice was rather feminine and was riddled with disdain.
Afterwards, the feminine voice stated his price coldly after a slight pause, "The Zhan clan of the Divine Kingdom of Scarlet Clouds will pay a million high grade divine crystals."
"It's the people from the Zhan clan. I never thought that in that viewing box sat the people of the Zhan clan..."
"Not only does the Zhan clan have an Overgod, but they're extremely powerful as well. In the Divine Kingdom of Scarlet Clouds, they're equivalent to the Yang family in the Divine Kingdom of Pingtian..."
"Are they that only clan that possesses two Overgods in the Divine Kingdom of Scarlet Clouds?"
...
After the Zhan clan stated their identity, a series of discussions immediately sprang up around the auction center. Many people showed surprise when they discussed the Zhan clan.
It was extremely rare for a clan to have two Overgods in the surrounding divine kingdoms. Even when looking at all the divine kingdoms in the entire region, it would be very difficult to find another clan with two Overgods.
The fame of the Zhan clan really was widespread.
However, fame was only fame. Ninety percent of all the people seated in the viewing boxes came from Overgod clans, so they naturally would not hold back in the face of such a treasure.
"One million and two hundred thousand high grade divine crystals..."
"One million and three hundred thousand high grade divine crystals..."
...
The bidding war for the Sword of Ways was extremely intense. Basically, most of the people from Overgod clans took part in the bidding war this time. After all, the Sword of Ways possessed the power to kill a God instantly, and even late Gods would not be able to avoid such a fate. Clans with Overgods would naturally value a treasure like that.
The price rapidly soared, surpassing two million high grade divine crystals very soon. A few Overgod clans gave up on the bidding war, but there were still many who did not back off, and they constantly added to the price.
As a matter of fact, there were even people who began to name their clans in hopes that the prestige of their clan could deter the other competitors. Unfortunately, the clans did not really fear each other, as they came from different divine kingdoms.
In the end, the Sword of Ways was purchased by an Overgod organisation from the Divine Kingdom of Nine Stars for four million high grade divine crystals.
Even Jian Chen was amazed by the price. He had learnt quite a lot about Swords of Ways from commander Xuan Dou. Creating one was nothing difficult for an Overgod. All they needed was some time. The true obstacle was finding a Stone of Ways that could carry the laws of the world.
If he possessed a Stone of Ways, would he not be able to make millions of high quality divine crystals in such an easy fashion?
Afterwards, a few more items were sold. Every single one of them was extraordinary. Even to the Overgod clans, these were exceptional treasures. Their final prices were shockingly high, reaching into hundreds of thousand high grade divine crystals at the very least.
After all, the Imperial United Merchant's Association had scoured the lands for a century to collect all of these things. Anything they took out would definitely be valuable.
"Everyone, the item next is extremely valuable. However, due to its special characteristics, it cannot be revealed to the outside world for long periods of time and must be stored away carefully to preserve its greatest efficacy. Everyone, please look closely," Ou Di held an ancient wooden box that was a foot in length and width. The box was sealed tightly, and as she spoke, she gradually opened it. Immediately, a wondrous fragrance was emitted.
The fragrance caused everyone's souls to shake. At that moment, everyone felt their souls tremble uncontrollably. A feeling of either comfort or intoxication pervaded the depths of their heads.
Jian Chen's eyes snapped open at this moment. A strange light filled his eyes as he stared at the wooden box.
Inside the wooden box laid a lotus. It was only the size of a fist, and it was black like ink. Its nine petals laid open and trembled gently. Every single petal possessed a strange pattern, which seemed to interweave with the laws of the world. They seemed to possess a mysterious power.
In just a split second, Ou Di closed the lid of the box again and reactivated the formation on it, completely covering up the Soul-drawing Lotus' presence again. She smiled faintly, "This is the Soul-drawing Lotus. It's extremely rare and is extremely effective for healing wounds of the soul. At the same time, it can consolidate and strengthen the soul. You all must know its value, so I'll cut to the chase. The starting price is five hundred thousand high grade divine crystals."
"The Soul-drawing Lotus. It really is the Soul-drawing Lotus. Our grand elder is saved," a middle-aged man with eyebrows as straight as swords stared at the wooden box in Ou Di's hands as he spoke with a trembling voice within his viewing box.
"The Soul-drawing Lotus plays a direct role in whether our grand elder lives or not. As a result, we have to buy it no matter what." There were three other men of the same age aside from the person who had spoken first. One of them spoke coldly, and confidence filled his eyes. He was eager to obtain it.
Chapter 1840: The Thunder Family
"It's a pity that the grand elder is still a late God. His heavy wounds to the soul several dozen years ago have damaged his vitality. Even if his soul is cured with the Soul-drawing Lotus, he probably won't be able to reach Overgod. The ancestor is only willing to spend three blocks of high quality divine crystals on him, and that's all because of all the contributions he made to the clan as the grand elder. Let's just hope that there won't be too many people who bid for the Soul-drawing Lotus. Although three million high grade divine crystals should technically be enough to purchase the heavenly resource, I am just worried that the price will climb higher and higher if there are a lot of bidders," said a third middle-aged man. He was slightly worried.
"Hmph. We have to obtain the Soul-drawing Lotus. Even if someone else manages to buy the lotus, let's see if they have the power to take it away with them," the fourth middle-aged man said coldly as a serious light flickered through his eyes.
At the same time, a few other people from clans with Overgods in other viewing boxes desired the Soul-drawing Lotus as well.
Although many heavenly resources could heal the soul in the Saints' World, most of them were ordinary items that were not very useful to people at higher cultivation realms. On the other hand, high grade heavenly resources like Soul-drawing Lotuses were extremely rare. It did not matter whether they needed it or not. If they could buy it, they could just put it aside for when they needed it.
After just a few bids, the price of the lotus rose to a million high grade divine crystals. The people from the Overgod clans understood its value, so they all took part in the bidding. None of them were willing to miss it.
"One million and two hundred thousand high grade divine crystals..."
"One million and three hundred thousand high grade divine crystals..."
...
"One million and eight hundred thousand high grade divine crystals..."
The four middle-aged men became rather impatient as they watched the price climb. Immediately, one of them stood up and clasped his hands towards the window of his viewing box, "Everyone, we come from the Thunder family of the Divine Kingdom of Aethercloud. Our grand elder has suffered extremely severe injuries to the soul, where it has even reached the stage where his life is threatened. We are in desperate need of the Soul-drawing Lotus. Moreover, the ancestor has given us, the Lightning Brothers, orders when we came here today. He instructed us that we have to obtain this Soul-drawing Lotus no matter what to save the grand elder. As a result, I hope everyone can give up on it and allow our Thunder family to take the lotus. Our Thunder family will feel deep gratitude if that happens. We are going to bid two million and five hundred thousand high grade divine crystals. I do believe that this is a worthy price for the lotus."
"The Thunder family of the Divine Kingdom of Aethercloud is an extremely impressive clan. It's said that a Godking appeared for them a hundred thousand years ago, but he vanished mysteriously afterwards..."
"I never thought that the Lightning Brothers would personally come. They're the four heavenly kings of the Thunder family, and they all possess extremely great strength. It's said that they've grasped a combination attack, where they can even overcome the huge disparity and fend off Overgods when they work together. It's extremely powerful..."
...
The competition for the Soul-drawing Lotus came to a temporary halt after the Lightning Brothers spoke out. The price remained at two million and five hundred high grade divine crystals. No one bid for quite some time.
Most of the people gathered here came from different divine kingdoms. With the obstruction of a border, the divine kingdoms did not fear each other as much, given that the clans possessed similar strength.
However, the Thunder family of the Divine Kingdom of Aethercloud was an exception. They were extremely powerful and great deviants. Even with the existence of borders, most people did not dare to offend the Thunder family.
Even one of the most powerful clans in the Divine Kingdom of Pingtian, the Yang family, feared the Thunder family very much.
"The Thunder family of the Divine Kingdom of Aethercloud?" Jian Chen murmured to himself quietly. He could not help but think of the information he had learnt during his conversation with Xuan Dou about the Thunder family.
Even Xuan Dou feared the Thunder family slightly because there was a rumor that they had gained a Godking a hundred thousand years ago. The rumor was basically confirmed, but for some reason, the Godking vanished mysteriously. There had been no news of him since.
Even when ignoring the missing Godking of the Thunder family, their strength in general was extremely great and terrifying.
It was rumored that the Thunder family originated from an extremely mysterious and ancient royal family. Their bloodline was special, giving them a natural affinity with lightning. Over ninety percent of the Thunder family would become Gods by comprehending the Laws of Lightning, which was one of the most offensive laws among them all. It stood beside the Laws of the Sword and the Laws of Destruction.
Moreover, the people from the Thunder family were much more skilled with the Laws of Lightning than others. The entire clan was basically favored by lightning, so they possessed a natural advantage.
Aside from that, there was another important reason; they were also a clan with two Overgods!
"Since the Thunder family is in desperate need of the Soul-drawing Lotus, our Chu clan will give up on it..."
"Our Cloud Separation sect will also give up on the lotus..."
"The Heavenscaling Pavilion will give up on the Soul-drawing Lotus..."
...
Many organisations with Overgods gave up on the heavenly resource. Basically, all of them declared their names to express their kind intentions, as they were unwilling to offend the Thunder family.
The four brothers gradually smiled. They all let out a sigh of relief. However, before they could maintain their smile for long, a calm voice rang out.
"I will pay three million high grade divine crystals. I am also in great need of the Soul-drawing Lotus," Jian Chen finally stated his price from his own viewing box. He needed the Soul-drawing Lotus, as it was a key to awakening Kai Ya.
The entire auction centre fell silent. They all glanced in the direction of Jian Chen's voice, looking towards his viewing box. Unfortunately, the curtains were closed, and there were formations that warded off the senses of the soul. As a result, unless the person inside was willing, other people would not be able to send in their senses to observe the interior.
Xi Yu and Mo Yan sat in a viewing box leisurely. They watched the ferocious struggles within the auction centre with interest. However, when they heard Jian Chen's voice, their faces immediately froze.
"Sister Xi Yu, t- that seems to be patriarch Jian Chen. Do you think patriarch Jian Chen is here?" Mo Yan's eyes widened as she stared at Xi Yu in surprise, but her face gradually lit up.
Xi Yu nodded silently. She said quietly, "Yes, that's the patriarch's voice. The patriarch has gone missing for several decades. News had only just appeared that he was in Godking Duanmu's dwelling, but who would have thought he would actually come to the royal capital, and he is even taking part in the auction this time."