A helpless smile appeared on the face of the Second Prince of the East Ming Nation. He wondered how Ling Jue Yun could stay calm under such circumstances. âBrother Jue Yun, arenât you worried?â
âI believe in Old Hu,â Ling Jue Yun replied as he looked up at the old man.
The old man nodded, clearly satisfied, as he looked at Ling Jue Yue. His eyes gleamed with determination as he said, âYoung Master Ling, I certainly wonât disappoint you. Since you trust me, Iâll do everything in my power to obtain the Profound Golden Pill for you!â
...
In the Supporting Fall Nationâs room...
Duan Ling Tian, Huang Jia Long, and Old Mo looked at Huang Yuan Fei. What happened during the auction for the pair of Golden Nematodes was too strange. Huang Yuan Fei must have done something without their knowledge.
âFather, whatâs going on?â Huang Jia Long asked, puzzled, as he looked at his father.
Despite being silent, Duan Ling Tian and Old Mo were clearly confused and curious as well.
Huang Yuan Fei looked at Duan Ling Tian briefly before he explained, âItâs nothing. I sent a Voice Transmission to the leaders of the entourage from the East Ming Nation and the Moran Nation. I told them that as long as they cede the Golden Nematodes to me, I guarantee Iâll be able to produce a Profound Golden Pill that they can bid for later. I told them I have a King Grade Celestial Alchemist who has agreed to refine two Profound Golden Pills. I will keep one of the pills while the other one will go to the highest bidder.â
Naturally, Huang Yuan Feiâs entire plan hinged on Duan Ling Tianâs ability to refine the Profound Golden Pills. If Duan Ling Tian failed, there was no doubt Huang Yuan Fei would be blamed for deceiving the two nations. If that happened, he would definitely offend the One Basic Celestial Kings from the East Ming Nation and the Moran Nation!
Huang Jia Long and Old Mo were stunned. They did not expect Huang Yuan Fei would lie to the other two nations in order to obtain the pair of Golden Nematodes. Indeed, a King Grade Celestial Alchemist would be able to successfully refine the Profound Golden Pill. The problem was Duan Ling Tian was not a King Grade Celestial Alchemist! The duo instinctively turned to look at Duan Ling Tian.
Huang Yuan Fei continued to say, âThe two nations must be not 100% confident they would be able to refine the Profound Golden Pill since they accepted my proposal. This means they only have a supreme Duke Grade Celestial Alchemist, at most, to help them refine the Profound Golden Pill. Moreover, based on how the two nations insisted on having the two Golden Nematodes instead of just one, it could be seen that they wanted to increase the success rate of refining the Profound Golden Pill. Since I told them I had a King Grade Celestial Alchemist willing to help me refine the Profound Golden Pill and that Iâll offer one of the pills to the highest bidder among the two, they were, naturally, willing to let me have the pair of Golden Nematodes.â
âBrother Duan...â Huang Jia Long looked at Duan Ling Tian with a grim expression on his face. He knew his fatherâs action was born out of trust for Duan Ling Tian. However, if Duan Ling Tian failed to refine two Profound Golden Pill, his father would end up offending the Celestial Kings from the two nations.
Even Old Mo had a worried expression on his face when he looked at Duan Ling Tian.
âUncle Huang,â Duan Ling Tian looked at Huang Yuan Fei and confidently said, âI wonât let you down!â
Duan Ling Tian was deeply moved at this moment. He did not expect Huang Yuan Fei to trust him to this extent. After all, if he failed to refine the two Profound Golden Pills, Huang Yuan Fei would not only offend the Celestial Kings from the East Ming Nation and the Moran Nation but even the Emperors of the East Ming Nation and the Moran Nation!
Huang Yuan Fei handed the pair of Golden Nematodes to Duan Ling Tian as he asked, âLittle Tian, when do you plan to start refining the Profound Golden Pills?â
âIâll start refining the two Profound Golden Pills after the Imperial auction ends,â Duan Ling Tian replied as he took the jade box that contained the pair of Golden Nematodes from Huang Yuan Fei, âUncle Huang, please tell the leaders of the entourage from the East Ming Nation and the Moran Nation to come to our courtyard in the Imperial palace to bid for the Profound Golden Pill in ten days!â
âAlright!â Huang Yuan Fei was in high spirits due to Duan Ling Tianâs confidence. He did not delay and quickly sent a Voice Transmission to the leaders of the entourage from the East Ming Nation and the Moran Nation respectively.
âAfter ten days? Thatâs great! City Governor Huang, my men and I will meet you in your courtyard after ten days,â the leader from the Moran Nation replied.
âCity Governor Huang, I wonder if we will be lucky enough to meet the King Grade Celestial Alchemist at that time?â the leader from the East Ming Nation asked.
âOld Hu, Iâm afraid itâs impossible... That Celestial Alchemist doesnât like meeting outsiders,â Huang Yuan Fei replied through Voice Transmission. He, naturally, could not reveal to them that a prominent Celestial Alchemist would be refining the Profound Golden Pill instead of a King Grade Celestial Alchemist. He was aware of how ridiculous it would sound. However, despite the risks, he trusted Duan Ling Tian due to Duan Ling Tianâs confidence and maturity at such a young age. His instincts told him there was something special, which he could not put into words, about the purple-clad young man who was not even 100 years old. Moreover, Duan Ling Tian had defeated his son with a single blow despite only being a Heaven Stage Overarching Heavenly Supreme Celestial who had yet to master any profundity of the law. There was no reason for him to doubt Duan Ling Tianâs capability at all.
âThatâs just too bad,â the leader from the East Ming Nation replied perfunctorily. He was not surprised or disappointed since he had already expected this answer.
While the crowd was still confused and speculating the reason why the East Ming Nation and the Moran Nation did not bid against the Supporting Fall Nation for the Golden Nematodes, the Imperial auction continued. It did not take long before the crowdâs attention shifted to the next item up for bidding.
âSo, this is the Golden Nematodes?â Meanwhile, Duan Ling Tian opened the jade box and saw two bugs about the length of an adultâs index finger in the box. The Golden Nematodes were as thin as thread and were completely golden. Although they were clearly dead, they looked as sharp as a knife. Indeed, a living Golden Nematode could really cut through many things. It could easily cut ordinary primitive Celestial Weapons, and with a few tries, it could also cut mediocre Celestial Weapons. The Golden Nematodes were Celestial Beasts without any intelligence. He was aware of these things because he had studied the Golden Nematode after discovering it was one of the main ingredients to refine the Profound Golden Pill.
At the same time, the atmosphere in the auction center was getting livelier and livelier. However, none of the items caught Duan Ling Tianâs interest.
On the contrary, there were a few items that managed to spark Huang Jia Longâs interest. Alas, he failed to bid for them. Nevertheless, he did not seem too disappointed. It was clear the items were not important to him despite his interest in them.
Soon enough, the auction was nearing the end.
The old man on the stage said, âNow, I will bring up the last item of the auction. This item is rather special. A senior whoâs a sectless cultivator and a Four Phenomena Celestial King has entrusted us to auction this item for him.â
The crowd fell silent briefly before a commotion broke out.
âGood heavens! An item from a Four Phenomena Celestial King?â
âAn item from a Four Phenomena Celestial King has to be extraordinary! What is it? Could it be a King Grade Celestial Pill? Or is it something else?â
âI canât wait to see what it is! It has to be special!â
Even the people from the Supporting Fall Nation, East Ming Nation, and Moran Nation were slightly stirred.
âAn item by a Four Phenomena Celestial King?â Duan Ling Tian cocked an eyebrow.
Although none of them had seen the item, they were certain it had to be extraordinary. After all, even the strongest celestials in the Supporting Fall Nation, the East Ming Nation, and the Moran Nation were only Three Talents Celestial King. Even the three nationsâ emperors had to be courteous to a sectless cultivator who was a Four Phenomena Celestial King. They could not afford to simply offend such a powerhouse, after all.
On the stage, the old man finally took out a long jade box before everyoneâs eyes.
The jade box was three-foot long, half-a-foot tall, and one-foot wide.
The crowd held their breaths, and their eyes were fixed on the jade box as the old man slowly opened it.
âWhat is that?â