Pursuit of the Truth

When Su Ming saw the mermaids and sea dragons, his pupils shrank. This scene felt somewhat familiar to him, and a memory abruptly surfaced in his mind. It was the memory of the black-robed man who destroyed Dark Mountain. He had also cast an Art like this at the end of the battle and covered himself with a beast skin before turning into a ferocious creature.

”That is the Beast Form Transfiguration Art. You must have heard about it before. This is an Art Western Sea Clan inherited from the Ancients. No one else but those from Western Sea Clan can use this Art in the Land of South Morning.” A proud look appeared on Zi Shan’s face as she spoke languidly beside Su Ming.

Su Ming remained silent.

As the ancient voice echoed from that stone pillar on the platform at the center of the auction hall, the seawater above the stone pillar distorted and an old man appeared, standing on it.

The old man wore a long blue robe that was so big that it covered the surface of the stone pillar under his feet, and some of the cloth even spilled down the pillar. His hair was blue, and if it was not because of his old appearance, it would be difficult to discern his age with just one look.

”My fellow tribesmen in the land of Freezing Sky, I am Feng Shao Feng of Western Sea Clan. It is my pleasure to be here and be the host of the auction. This time, Western Sea Clan has prepared a lot of rare items for all of you in the land of Freezing Sky. I am not good with words, so I will say no more.

”The first item to be auctioned is…”

When the old man started speaking, the nine sea dragons swimming around the area stopped roaring, and the songs from the nine mermaids also gradually faded away. Only the old man’s words echoed in the area.

The moment he finished his last sentence, a mermaid immediately swam forward with a swaying tail fin. Her hands had been empty just moments ago, but now, as a whirlpool appeared in between her hands, a purple skull instantly appeared in her hands. She lifted it up and held it above her head as she swam around the hall so that all the people there could clearly see the bone.

It was a skull that did not seem to belong to those in the Berserker Tribe. Its size was about that of a basin, and the few bones jutting out of the top of the skull were shining grimly with a chilling glare. Clearly it was a beast’s skull.

Especially since there was a symmetrical crack at the center of its brows above its eyes, making it seem as if it had a third eye!

As the bone appeared, a great wave of sorrow spread out. That sorrow felt so real that it actually caused the seawater to start showing signs of freezing. If that had just been the case, it would have been fine, but the seawater around the skull also started showing signs of freezing. As the mermaid swam around the area, a ring of ice chips seemingly appeared in the area she just swam past.

”As usual, we will not offer detailed descriptions of the first item. You will all need to determine its value with your own judgment. I can only say that this creature had the power equivalent to those in the great completion of the Bone Sacrifice Realm when it was still alive!

”The starting bid for this bone is 100,000 stone coins, and every time you place a bid, the minimum increase must be 1,000 stone coins.” A glint appeared in the old man’s eyes, and his voice traveled to the entire area like a loud clap of thunder.

There were thousands of people in the auction hall, and some of them had come to this place since early morning. The moment the old man’s voice rang out, they fell into silence.

Perhaps some people loved making noise in this sort of place and talk amongst themselves, but most of the people who came here chose to remain silent. It was without a doubt that the more precious was the item that was brought out, there would also be less people who knew about it. Besides, most of the people who were invited to this place were very independent people. Very few of these buyers would go along the flow and place bids.

”110,000,” a voice said from the crowd gathered in the auction hall. The instant it spoke, immediately, a number of people looked over. The person who called the bid was a man. However, since he wore a straw hat over his head, his face could not be seen clearly.

Such an appearance was rarely seen in this area.

”120,000!”

”130,000!” Perhaps it was because someone had placed the first bid, gradually, more voices appeared in succession.

Su Ming stood inside the ninth room and looked at the purple and black beast bone calmly.

”Brother Su, do you like it? This beast bone is the only thing left behind by a powerful creature with a cold attribute. One of the Clan Elders from Western Sea Clan obtained that beast bone when he went out on a journey. According to him, that creature was trying to break through and reach a level equivalent to Berserkers in the Bone Sacrifice Realm, but it failed and was burnt alive by freezing fire. Besides this skull, its entire body, flesh, and blood were all burnt to ashes.

”This skull was not destroyed by the freezing fire because the beast hid a fragment of its soul in there before it died. If a person who is skilled in foreign Arts obtains it, they can provide nourishments for that skull and reap its rewards.”

Su Ming’s gaze swept past that beast bone. After a long while, he shook his head.

”210,000!” a sullen voice stated from within the auction hall. The person who spoke was the man with the straw hat, who was also the person who had called for the first bid.

Once he laid his bid, no one spoke again for quite some time. The blue-haired old man smiled faintly.

”210,000! The item now belongs to this man!”

”We’ll now begin bidding for the second item. This one is quite interesting…”

The old man paused in his words, and one of the sea dragons roaming around the area let out a huge roar before going towards the old man. Its body twisted beside the old man and he returned to his human form. The man lifted his arms high above his head, and in his hands, a black stone blade appeared!

That blade was very crudely made and only the vague shape of a blade could be seen. Yet the body of the blade itself was rough and it did not seem to be anything special.

”Bring the beast here,” the old man’s said in a mild tone.

The moment his voice traveled out, someone from Western Sea Clan immediately stepped forward from the crowd around him. With a wave of his arm, a ferocious beast that looked like a lion immediately appeared. The creature’s eyes were bloodshot, and once it appeared, it roared towards the sky, but its eyes were filled with fear. Just as it was about to retreat, the old man took up the stone blade and pointed it at the creature.

With that one move, the beast instantly let out a shrill cry. Its body started trembling viciously, and as an uproar broke out in the crowd, the beast’s body turned into a puddle of blood. Even its bones were melted, and a lock of black hair flew out of the puddle of blood. A miniature-sized shadow of the beast could be seen faintly in the lock of hair. The instant it appeared, it flew straight towards the stone blade in the old man’s hands and disappeared into it.

”Soul Separation Stone!”

”It’s the Soul Separation Stone!”

”How could anyone be so wasteful and use such a big Soul Separation Stone to make a blade?!”

Thunderous uproars broke out in the crowd. Waves of sound rose among the people due to the appearance of the blade. The stone’s fame was incredibly great, and due to its shape, it was very easy to identify it. Its effects were especially rare, and only that stone had such an effect. That was why while many people knew about it, those who had actually seen the thing were few and in-between.

The old man smiled and said slowly, ”That’s right. This is a Soul Separation Stone Blade. Well, there’s no need for me to give too many descriptions for this item. The starting bid for this is the same, 100,000!”

”200,000!”

”250,000!”

”280,000!”

”300,000!”

Sounds of bids being placed immediately traveled out, and the appearance of these voices instantly caused the price of the stone blade to go up by several fold from its starting bid.

Su Ming stood behind the balcony and looked at the stone blade. A glint appeared briefly in his eyes, and he looked at the old man holding the blade. That old man looked calm, still wearing a smile on his lips. He looked very relaxed, but Su Ming could tell somewhat that there were a few secrets lying behind the auction.

It was not difficult to guess those secrets, and neither did Western Sea Clan try to hide it. There were also quite a few people who understood what went on behind the auction in the land of Freezing Sky. However, those were the rules. Even if they knew about it, they still could not change it.

‘Not bad. By using the auction that is only held once a century and bringing out a large number of valuable treasures, they can stir up the greed lying within human hearts. As the bidders continuously compete against each other, they will start getting into conflicts with one another. In fact, once every auction ends, there will be people killing each other!

‘Those who obtained a treasure, they have already committed the biggest crime punishable by death by simply possibly possessing these items. Even if they escaped being killed, they can’t escape being remembered by others. Once the others have a chance…

‘With this method, they can weaken Freezing Sky Clan’s power… Just like what Freezing Sky Clan is doing right now in the land of Western Sea by holding the same auction. Their goals are the same!’

Su Ming shook his head. Even if he had understood the purpose of the auction, he still could not change it, neither could he leave the place, because he had something he desired here.

That Soul Separation Stone Blade was eventually sold at a price of 930,000 stone coins. Forget the true value of the item, even if the person who bought it obtained it at a cheaper price than it should have at market value, he still had to pay for the consequences. By how the person hurriedly paid the required amount of stone coins and how quickly he left the area with the blade, perhaps what awaited him was repeated running and escaping.

”What I’m about to bring out this time is something I really like. It’s a pity that I’m poor and can’t buy it…”

The blue-haired old man let out a long sigh and lifted his right hand. This time, the item was not brought over by any mermaids or sea dragons. Instead, he had that item with him.

The moment he lifted his right hand, all the people’s gazes were trained on him. In the old man’s hands, he held a crane woven with grass!

”The crane is a mysterious creature in the other worlds. It has a docile temperament and is well liked by Immortals there. We aren’t able to examine how this crane came to be, but it’s clearly not something made by us Berserkers!

”I don’t know what sort of grass was used to make this crane, but…”

The old man lifted his right hand and waved it before him. The crane instantly floated up, and with a gentle glow, it turned into a true Immortal Crane. It flew around the area, and its graceful movements seemed to stir up soft sounds in the air. As it flew, its soulless eyes swept through the area.

The instant its eyes landed on the balcony to Su Ming’s room, it shuddered lightly, but soon returned to normal before it flew back to the old man’s hands and went back to being a grass woven object.

”There is an Art contained within it that doesn’t belong to us Berserkers. From my understanding, this grass should be normal grass. The reason why this thing could turn into a real crane and fly is because there is a type of spirit contained within that belongs to the other worlds, it’s also called… the Dao!

”If there are those who can understand its spirit, then I congratulate you beforehand here! The starting bid for this item is the same, 100,000!” The blue-haired old man’s voice traveled forth.

Su Ming narrowed his eyes. When the Immortal Crane flew in the air, his divine sense acted up slightly. It seemed that there was a similar but faint power of the divine sense within the Immortal Crane. That faint divine sense seemed to have noticed him, that was why the crane looked at him just then!

”500,000,” a woman’s voice suddenly spoke. That woman’s voice was very gentle, but as her voice traveled out, a large number of people instantly recognized who it belonged to!

In the crowd were a few spots that no one around dared get closer. In a spot that was rather spacious stood a long-haired woman dressed in white. She was the owner of the calm voice.

She was Tian Lan Meng!