148: Abyss Auction House! I'm here to organize a "group purchase"!

The streets of the City of Sin presented a distorted, three-dimensional sensation due to the chaotic gravity.

Some taverns hung directly upside down from the ribs of giant beasts, while the 'residents' walking the streets mostly exuded a gloomy aura, with no shortage of aberrations that were half-human, half-fish, or covered in tumors.

Gu Yang strode down the center of the street. Because his Physical Body mass was so incredibly high, every step he took caused the ground to emit an extremely dull 'thud-thud' sound, as if a giant earth compactor were moving slowly.

The 'scavengers' nearby who attempted to steal or rob him would have their knees go weak from the gravitational field he inadvertently emitted once they came within ten meters of Gu Yang, and they could only watch helplessly as this humanoid Divine Demon walked away.

"Gu... Fellow Daoist Tie Niu, the 'Return to Ruins Auction House' is just ahead." Saintess Feng Ni followed closely behind Gu Yang, her face slightly pale.

She was currently enduring immense psychological shock. As a Saintess of the Heavenly Phoenix Sect, she had frequented countless luxurious auction events, but the black pyramid before her, constructed from countless shipwreck remains and Siren skulls, exuded a bloody scent that made her Soul tremble.

"Halt! This is a restricted area of the Return to Ruins Auction House. Those without an entry permit who trespass will die!"

At the entrance of the pyramid, two 'Abyss Guards,' about three zhang tall and covered in dark red coral cuticles, held long forks horizontally. The cultivation of these two guards was clearly at the Peak God Transformation Stage, and they were wrapped in an extremely viscous Death Qi; they were clearly living corpse puppets refined from vicious criminals who had killed over ten thousand people.

Gu Yang stopped, looked up at the pitch-black, deep entrance, then looked at the two guys blocking the way, and smiled honestly.

"Brothers, I just came from the countryside and don't have any permit. Do you think this rock of mine is worth the price of a ticket?"

After saying this, Gu Yang casually plucked a piece of 'Black Nether Stone' used for paving from the ground beside him. This was originally just building material commonly found everywhere in the Abyss, but the moment Gu Yang closed his five fingers, his incredibly terrifying physical strength erupted.

"Crack—"

The Black Nether Stone, which had a hardness comparable to a top-grade Spiritual Artifact, was forcibly compressed and squeezed in Gu Yang's palm. Accompanied by a teeth-grinding friction sound, the stone, originally the size of a human head, was crushed by Gu Yang in just a few seconds into a crystal the size of a fingernail, with a density so high it turned pitch black and shiny.

Gu Yang flicked his finger, and this 'compressed pebble,' which had condensed terrifying mass, flew with a sharp whistling sound and slammed heavily into the force-testing monument at the entrance of the auction house.

"Boom!!!"

The black crystal monument, specifically used to detect the aura of experts at the Void Refinement Stage, was actually tilted backward by thirty degrees under the impact of that pebble, and a layer of evaluation light so rich it turned purple appeared on its surface.

The entire place was silent. Those Abyss powerhouses who were originally queuing to enter now all held their breath, their eyes filled with shock.

This method of compressing matter to the limit purely by brute force without relying on magical power was beyond their scope of understanding. In the eye sockets of the two living corpse guards, dark red Soul fire jumped violently, as if they were performing some kind of complex calculation.

A moment later, one of the guards stiffly put away its long fork, stepped aside to make way, and said in a hoarse, low voice: "Physical Body mass... Rating: Disaster Level. Respected Body Cultivator expert, please enter. You will enjoy a first-class seat inside the auction house."

Gu Yang patted the stone dust off his hands and winked at Feng Ni. "See? I told you the people here are reasonable."

Inside the auction venue was a huge sunken circular staircase. Because gravity was forcibly twisted here by the Formation, the front-row seats were actually perpendicular to the ground. Gu Yang found a seat and sat down; as his butt landed, the entire row of benches made of deep-sea wood groaned, as if they would fall apart at any moment.

"The first item up for auction: ten kilograms of 'will fragments'! Starting bid, three Deep Sea Demon Cores!"

On the stage, an auctioneer with six arms was roaring wildly. Gu Yang had no interest in these trinkets that could enhance Divine Sense. His current Divine Demon Golden Body Third Turn most needed 'super-heavy matter' sufficient to support the next evolution of his Physical Body.

Soon, the auction entered the middle stage, and the atmosphere gradually became fanatical and oppressive.

"The next item is a rare treasure excavated from the periphery of the 'Burial Dragon Cave'—Abyss Black Hole Iron!"

As soon as the auctioneer finished speaking, four burly men laboriously carried up a dark iron box covered with layers of Restriction. The moment the box was opened, the gravitational field of the entire auction house shifted visibly to the naked eye.

Everyone's body involuntarily tilted toward the stage.

In the center of the box lay a piece of metal the size of a walnut, pitch black as if it could absorb all surrounding light. It did not emit any Spiritual Qi, but just by being placed there, the surrounding space was constantly twisting and collapsing, emitting subtle cracking sounds.

"This is... Black Hole Iron?" Gu Yang stood up abruptly, and in his pair of deep purple pupils, a brilliant light was almost about to burst forth.

He could feel his Divine Demon Golden Body roaring wildly inside him, every cell craving to devour this metal. The density of this thing was actually several times higher than his current Physical Body! This was simply the perfect evolutionary ration tailored for 'Shattered Void'.

"This iron weighs three hundred thousand catties, and an ordinary Storage Pouch cannot carry it at all. The starting bid is five hundred 'will fragments', or... equivalent Body Cultivator essence blood!"

Once the auctioneer said this, a sound of gasping for air echoed through the entire venue.

Five hundred will fragments were enough to buy a small mineral vein on the first level of the Abyss. Not to mention Body Cultivator essence blood; this kind of Origin power from a high-end Body Cultivator was a more precious supplement than any Medicinal Pill in a place like the Abyss where Laws were barren.

"Six hundred will fragments! This old man wants it!" A hoarse and majestic voice came from a VIP seat on the second floor of the hall. A burly man with dark golden scales all over his body and a single horn on his forehead appeared next to the railing.

"That is the head Disciple of the 'Flood Dragon Saint', one of the 'Three Saints of the Abyss'! It seems the Black Hole Iron has found its owner." Someone whispered.

However, before that head Disciple could show a smug smile, a voice that was honest yet tinged with fierceness rang throughout the hall.

"I don't have money."

Gu Yang stood up with a domineering air, and he casually slammed the myriad poison star shattering hammer in his hand onto the ground. "Boom!!!"

The foundation of the entire auction house suddenly sank by several inches, and the terrifying shockwave caused the Formation stones that maintained the gravity to burst on the spot.

Gu Yang took out a piece of 'top-grade origin stones' he had snatched from the Five Elements Mansion, which had become somewhat dim due to the erosion of the Abyss Laws, and tossed it onto the stage.

"This rock, plus this pair of fists of mine, will count as five hundred of those fragments. Will that work?"

"Presumptuous! Where did this barbarian come from, daring to act wild in the Return to Ruins Auction House?!"

The Flood Dragon Saint's Disciple was furious. He leaped, his already powerful half-demon body expanding again in mid-air, turning into a hideous flood dragon claw ten zhang long, grabbing at Gu Yang with the power of Law that could shatter the Void Realm.

"Early Stage Void Refinement Stage?"

Gu Yang grinned, not even raising his hammer. He just slowly raised his left hand, suddenly spread his five fingers, and gently clenched them toward the void. "Extreme Dao Trait—Gravity Capture!"

Hum—! In the eyes of the Flood Dragon Saint's Disciple, who was filled with horror, the entire space he was in seemed to turn into a huge vortex. His momentum, which was enough to crush a Peak God Transformation Stage expert, seemed to have fallen into viscous glue in front of Gu Yang, and then he 'fell' uncontrollably toward Gu Yang's palm.

"Get... down!" Gu Yang backhanded him with a heavy slap, directly striking the Disciple's face. "Slap!!!"

This palm had no fancy magical power; it was purely a collision of extreme physical density. That 'Great Successor of the Flood Dragon Saint' at the Early Stage Void Refinement Stage had his entire head rotate seven hundred and twenty degrees in that instant, and the sound of his cervical spine breaking was crisp enough to reach everyone's ears.

Afterward, his whole body was like a deflected cannonball, crashing through the wall of the auction house and disappearing into the darkness in the distance.

The entire venue was once again plunged into a suffocating silence. Slapped an Early Stage Void Refinement Stage expert away? This barbarian just said... he didn't have money?

The auctioneer's remaining four arms were all trembling slightly. He looked at Gu Yang's dark golden skin and those chilling eyes, and swallowed with a dry throat.

"What the Great Commander says is absolutely correct. The top-grade origin stones paired with your 'fists' are indeed... priceless. This Black Hole Iron is yours."

Just as Gu Yang was swaggering onto the stage, preparing to 'pick up the goods' by force, the crazy old man who had appeared in the shadows of the ruins earlier had somehow appeared in a corner of the auction stage. The dragon-spine staff in his hand struck the ground heavily, and his aged, hollow voice exploded in Gu Yang's Sea of Consciousness:

"Young man... gluttony is a good thing, but some iron is used to 'bury people'. If you swallow it, that 'Old Ancestor' at the very bottom of the Abyss will wake up by smelling the scent."

Gu Yang's movements paused. He looked at the old man, and a flash of extremely dangerous cold light flickered in his eyes. "It's perfect if it wakes up."

Gu Yang grabbed the piece of Black Hole Iron weighing three hundred thousand catties, and in front of everyone, like chewing ice cubes, he 'cracked' a corner off and swallowed it. "I haven't eaten... any meat heavier than this yet."