34: Blood Fiend Sect and Killing Hall

“The bones of this mixed-blood glutton are relatively well preserved. If any of you possess a special secret art, perhaps you could refine them into an unusual Dharma Aspect...”

Shang Yingxue introduced many uses for the glutton's bones, and a lively discussion erupted in the hall.

Normally, when Cultivators Breakthrough to the Dharma Aspect Realm, the Dharma Aspect they condense is a human form modeled after themselves. However, in history, some eccentric geniuses took an unconventional path, developing secret arts to condense unusual Dharma Aspects.

Using the body of a strange beast to condense a strange beast Dharma Aspect is one such method.

It allows those stuck in the Divine Martial Realm to Breakthrough without needing heaven and earth great medicine, and upon Breakthrough, they can inherit some of the strange beast's former power, instantly becoming a powerhouse within the Dharma Aspect Realm.

However, the drawbacks are equally obvious: at best, Lifespan is greatly reduced; at worst, personality changes drastically, leading to Qi Deviation and transformation into a half-beast, half-human state.

Unless it's a desperate situation, generally no one chooses such a life-gambling method.

In the private room, Xia Xuan suddenly stood up, looking at the enormous glutton's bones on the display stand, his eyes flickering.

“Your Highness, should we bid?” White Plain tilted her head slightly and asked, puzzled.

Such strange beast corpses are more often used by those of the Demonic Path; for Righteous Path Cultivators, their value is not great.

Xia Xuan nodded, his thoughts drifting.

He wasn't going to use it to refine some unusual Dharma Aspect.

The corpse had a great use for him.

Some time ago, he secretly visited several mass graves outside the Imperial Capital, hoping to replenish his Ghost Soldiers, but the harvest was minimal.

The corpses of ordinary people who have lost their Souls cannot even be transformed into minor ghosts; at least Acquired Realm Martial Artists are needed to transform minor ghosts, and Innate Realm Martial Artists are required for Ghost Soldiers.

Xia Xuan had once instructed Wu Zhong to secretly retrieve corpses and people from various death row prisons; accumulated until now, the nether ghost king's nest only housed five thousand Ghost Soldiers and seven thousand minor ghosts.

However, under the command of the Hundred Soul Ghost Marshal, whose strength is comparable to Divine Martial Triple Layer, there were plenty of Evil Ghost Leaders, Evil Ghost Generals, and Ghost Generals.

The number of ordinary Ghost Generals even exceeded expectations, totaling one hundred and seventy.

The upper limit for Ghost Soldiers is one hundred and seventy thousand.

If he were in a war-torn region, he might quickly fill the empty slots.

But as the Prince of Chu, his identity was sensitive; once he left the Imperial Capital and appeared at the border, it would inevitably attract attention from all sides, even leading to a life-killing token.

Fewer Ghost Soldiers are not a problem; as long as one Ghost King can emerge, it's worth a hundred thousand strong army!

“Don't mind how much others bid; we must secure these mixed-blood glutton bones in the end.”

Xia Xuan's funds had just been replenished, so he was not at all timid.

The gains from participating in this auction had already far exceeded expectations, so even if all the remaining primeval stones were spent on the glutton's bones, it didn't matter.

The bidding quickly began.

Several major forces successively made bids, until finally, only the Killing Life Hall and the Blood Fiend Sect from the Western Desert were still competing.

“This is interesting. It's said that the founding Old Ancestor of the Blood Fiend Sect was once a Vice Hall Master of the Killing Life Hall. The relationship between the two forces has always been poor. When these two meet, they're bound to drive up the price to an astronomical level.”

The spectators began discussing.

The Killing Life Hall is a disciplined and rule-abiding assassin organization.

The Blood Fiend Sect, however, is a Demonic Path Sect with no bottom line or principles. They once tried to imitate the Killing Life Hall, accepting assassination missions, but their Disciples, deeply demonic, sometimes even killed the employers. Over time, they completely gave up and became a demonic Sect that dominated the Western Desert.

In terms of financial power, the Killing Life Hall was undoubtedly superior.

“Three and a half billion!”

The Killing Life Hall Elder spoke indifferently. Their Sect had no shortage of primeval stones; he wanted to see how long the demonic remnants could last.

“Heh heh, the more you want it, the less I want to see you get it. Four billion!” The Blood Fiend Sect Elder sneered.

“Four and a half billion!” The Killing Life Hall Elder's gaze was icy.

“Four point nine billion!” The Blood Fiend Sect Elder scoffed, “What? The Killing Life Hall can't even afford this much money? I heard you're being suppressed by all sides and not doing well. Why don't you come and pledge allegiance to my Sect? Call me grandpa, and perhaps I'd even be willing to accept you.”

The Killing Life Hall Elder suddenly laughed, “Since you want this corpse so badly, we'll let you have it.”

He had long realized that the other party was maliciously driving up the price. When the price far exceeded the item's inherent value, he decisively gave up.

“Damn it! You son of a bitch!”

The Blood Fiend Sect Elder instantly realized he had been tricked, his anger flaring, unable to help but curse.

At this point, the price was already close to five times the starting bid; whoever bought it would lose money.

He only wanted to disgust the people from the Killing Life Hall, but he didn't expect to disgust himself in the end.

Seeing that the hammer was about to fall for the third time, cold sweat broke out on the Blood Fiend Sect Elder's forehead. He couldn't personally come up with these primeval stones. If he angered the Heaven and Earth Merchant Guild because of this, the Blood Fiend Sect would probably sacrifice him without hesitation.

Thinking of this, he urgently shouted, “Whoever is willing to take over, I will offer a life-killing token!”

The life-killing token was an ancient item issued by the Killing Life Hall. Its holder could make the Killing Life Hall complete an unrefusable assassination mission, but the reward still had to be given.

Many super forces collected this token, but its actual value was not high.

“Tsk tsk, it seems you can't come up with the primeval stones. I wonder if your benevolent Blood Fiend Sect Leader would be willing to pay a ransom to save this fool?” The Killing Life Hall Elder mocked.

“The Killing Life Hall takes almost any mission. Who would be willing to spend this unjust money for an impractical token?”

Everyone sighed with regret.

The old man behind Shang Yingxue's gaze was cold as he looked up at the people from the Blood Fiend Sect:

“People of the Demonic Sect have no credibility in my Heaven and Earth Merchant Guild. If the item you bid on cannot be settled on the spot, do you know the consequences?”

The Heaven and Earth Merchant Guild maintained good relations with all parties, even tolerating Demonic Sect Disciples who killed without blinking an eye to participate in the auction.

However, they had zero tolerance for actions that openly disrupted the auction's order and maliciously drove up prices.

This Blood Fiend Sect Elder had been so enraged that he exposed himself; it would be inexcusable not to deal with him.

“Wait!”

“I'm willing to add... a secret transmission of my Sect!”

The Blood Fiend Sect Elder understood the seriousness of the consequences and even planned to throw out his Sect's secret transmission as a bargaining chip.

“Secret transmission? Ridiculous. Your so-called Blood Fiend Sect's secret transmission is probably just an adaptation of the incomplete texts from our Hall, isn't it?” The Killing Life Hall Elder sneered.

All the forces also knew that most of the Demonic Sect's secret transmissions were things that harmed both oneself and others; no one stepped in to help at this critical moment.

They were more inclined to watch the show.

The Blood Fiend Sect Elder's face was pale, as if he could foresee his tragic fate of being used by the Heaven and Earth Merchant Guild as a warning to others.

Just then.

A clear, ethereal voice rang out.

It sounded like heavenly music to the Blood Fiend Sect Elder's ears.

“My Young Master is somewhat interested in your secret transmission. Four point nine billion and one million.”

After three hammer strikes, Shang Yingxue announced with a smile, “Congratulations to the esteemed guest in Sky Room Three for winning this auction item.”

The crowd in the hall erupted in a frenzy.

“The powerful figure in Sky Room Three is as rich as a nation! From the start of the auction until now, besides Princess Wuhuang, he's spent the most, hasn't he? Roughly calculated, it must be close to fifteen billion.”

“Spending five billion to take over this mess not only saved the Blood Fiend Sect's man but also gave the Heaven and Earth Merchant Guild a way out.

The owner of Sky Room Three is most likely a representative sent by Emperor Wanwu. This truly demonstrates the Imperial Dynasty's magnanimity.”

Upon hearing these words, a certain Crown Prince felt utterly humiliated.

If people knew the truth, that would be truly embarrassing.

The Wu Dynasty's borders were plagued by wars, and Emperor Wanwu's support for him was limited. As a semi-host, the Wu Dynasty's financial power had been trampled on by the major forces in this auction.

This small misunderstanding, however, allowed the Wu Dynasty to regain some face.