Nine Astra Skies

"Miss Wanqing is here."

"Over the years, Miss Wanqing really has become hotter and more charismatic. She deserves to be the top ten auctioneers of the Tiandu Chamber of Commerce."

The people below talked in low voices. Although they had seen all kinds of beautiful women, they would not help but burst into hushed whispers when they saw Qiuling Wanqing. Of course, they did not dare to have any lecherous thoughts. Provoking an existence like the Tiandu Chamber of Commerce for a woman would truly be an unwise move. These people had respectable rankings and prominent identities. It was not difficult to find a beautiful woman with their statuses.

Ye Chen looked at Qiuling Wanqing. Although he did not sense any Psyche from her, his Astral Body felt a different sort of energy. Qiuling Wanqing looked very young, around twenty-five or six, but her cultivation was already peak Heavenly Venerable Rank. Her talent was even stronger than Great Emperor Mingwu! This woman was not as simple as she seemed!

Seeing Ye Chen paying close attention to Qiuling Wanqing, Great Emperor Mingwu smiled faintly. Such was a young man's mind. His eyes would not move after locking on a beautiful woman. "This woman is called Qiuling Wanqing. She's from the Central Empire and she has an extraordinary talent. She's already reached peak Earthly Venerable Rank at age twenty-five. It's truly amazing."

Peak Earthly Venerable Rank? She was peak Heavenly Venerable Rank! Ye Chen was suspicious and used his Astral Body to investigate. Qiuling Wanqing was using an unknown method to conceal the energy in her body. Ordinary people would only be able to tell that her cultivation was peak Earthly Venerable Rank, but Ye Chen's Astral Body could sense that she was already peak Heavenly Venerable Rank.

It was quite puzzling that such a woman would willingly become an auctioneer for the Tiandu Chamber of Commerce.

"Esteemed guests, welcome to Jadeite City to participate in this auction. I believe that today's auction will be an unforgettable event…" Qiuling Wanqing said naturally and gracefully under the gazes of the anticipating audience. Her voice was clear like an oriole's song, leaving a lingering note in the ears of those present.

Ye Chen's fingers gently drummed the desk. The ones backing Qiuling Wanqiang must be a force to reckon with for her to achieve such a cultivation at age twenty-five. It seemed like a true human master was present in the Central Empire thousands of miles away!

The other Ye Clan branch was able to gain a firm foothold in a place like the Central Empire and was ranked as a powerful family. Ye Chen could only imagine how difficult that was for them to reach that stage. It was not surprising that the people in that branch looked down on the branch in the Xiwu Empire! They indeed had the qualifications. In this world, the weak would be looked down upon!

At the thought of the Central Empire, Ye Chen thought of Little Rou again. One day, he would also travel to the Central Empire along with his clansmen and make the Central Empire branch so powerful that others did not dare to look down upon them anymore!

The idea rooted firmly in Ye Chen's mind. He knew that his current strength would not count for anything in the Central Empire, but it was fine. He was still young and had a long journey ahead of him with countless possibilities!

Just as Ye Chen was deep in thought, the auction below had already begun.

"Distinguished guests, to start off the auction, the first item we have is a Tier Three Spirit Artifact Rank Celestial Wolf Halbert. It weighs six hundred and fifty kilograms and it's entirely forged from Flareful Thunder Metal. It has already formed a Thunder-type War Soul Rank artifact spirit with unparalleled power." Qiuling Wanqing's slender hands stroked the Celestial Wolf Halbert as she introduced the item. "Starting price at eight thousand Chi-amassing Pills!"

As soon as the Celestial Wolf Halbert was revealed, the entire auction immediately burst with chatter. No one expected that the first item would be something as good as the Celestial Wolf Halbert. The rich men below started to raise the price.

"Eight thousand one hundred!"

"Eight thousand three hundred!"

"Eight thousand five hundred!"

Eight thousand Chi-amassing Pills was a great amount for an ordinary businessman or martial arts family. In the entire Xiwu Empire, perhaps only the Yin Clan from the Royal Tribe, the Three Major Sects, and the Hao Clan could afford such a price. Other families would not be able to afford it even after selling everything they had.

The Celestial Wolf Halbert had only started to auction but it had already reached more than eight thousand five hundred Chi-amassing Pills. In the first round, the Tiandu Chamber of Commerce only wanted to attract the attention of the audience with a Tier Three Spirit Artifact Rank item. The following items would not be as good.

Great Emperor Mingwu already had a Tier Three Spirit Artifact Rank weapon. His target was defensive spirit artifacts, so he waited patiently.

"What's a War Soul Artifact Spirit?" Ye Chen asked curiously. Could it be that there were also ranks between artifact spirits?

"There are many kinds of artifact spirits. One of them is vague and doesn't have powerful consciousnesses, and haven't been fully formed. Those are called Common Rank. Artifact spirits of a slightly higher level which have formed stronger consciousness are called War Soul Rank, and artifact spirits that are extremely powerful and can communicate with people and even integrate their energy with a person's during a battle, are called Martial Soul Rank. It's said that there's another level but I'm not very sure of it. I've heard that some extraordinarily powerful artifact spirits only need a sliver of consciousness and energy to wreak devastation. The higher an artifact spirit's rank, the more expensive the spirit artifact!" Master Apothecary Xuanyi said from the side. He was not very knowledgeable regarding artifacts. Refiners were more mysterious existences than alchemists.

Moreover, refiners made more money than alchemists. Medicinal pills were divided into nine tiers and above that was Human, Earthly, and Heavenly Tiers. Spirit artifacts were the same. One Heaven Tier medicinal pill was only tens of thousands of Chi-amassing Pills, and an expensive one might reach hundreds of thousands of Chi-amassing Pills. On the other hand, one Tier Three spirit artifact can sell for tens of thousands of Chi-amassing Pills and Tier Five and Six spirit artifacts can sell for even more. That was not even mentioning Human, Earthly, and Heavenly Tier spirit artifacts.

However, the process of refining artifacts was much more difficult than making medicinal pills. The refiner first had to make an artifact spirit embryo in a weapon with the potential to become Spirit Artifact Rank, and the weapon would have to go through battle after battle. The embryo would then slowly grow into an artifact spirit, but it would be easily damaged before it grew into a powerful artifact spirit. However, alchemists only needed to make the medicinal pill. Therefore, medicinal pills were almost a necessity but Spirit Artifact Rank items were less easy to find.

Ye Chen gained some understanding regarding artifact spirits after listening to Master Apothecary Xuanyi's words. He thought of the Hell Rupture Sword he had. It should also be a War Soul Rank artifact spirit. He was unsure of the tier but it should be Tier Five or Six. As for the armguard artifact spirit, its level might be higher. It might also be a War Soul Rank artifact spirit, but maybe its Tier was higher. Ye Chen then thought about the Flying Dagger in his mind. What Tier was the flying dagger? Human Tier, Earthly Tier or perhaps even Heavenly Tier?

The armguard and Hell Rupture Sword spirit artifacts were useful possessions to save Ye Chen's life. Naturally, the more he had, the better it was!

The atmosphere below was getting more lively. In the end, the Celestial Wolf Halbert was bought by a northern martial arts family for more than eleven thousand Chi-amassing Pills.

The next item was a set of Tier Two Spirit Artifact Rank armor with a total of three pieces. The spirit artifacts were Common Rank and the starting price was six thousand Chi-amassing Pills. Great Emperor Mingwu bought it at ninety-six hundred Chi-amassing Pills.

Ordinary Tier Three Spirit Artifact Rank weapons could only damage Tier Two Spirit Artifact Rank armor but not pierce through it. Great Emperor Mingwu was making preparations for entering the Exclusion Zone.

Seeing Great Emperor Mingwu buying this set of Tier Two Spirit Artifact Rank armor at such a price, Ye Chen could not help but wonder how much the two silk undergarments with extremely high defensive capabilities were worth. Ye Chen used the Hell Rupture Sword to stab it a few times but ended up not being able to tear it. In terms of defense alone, it should be no worse than Tier Three or Four armors. Even if Ye Chen was offered five hundred thousand Chi-amassing Pills, he would not sell the two silk undergarments.

One spirit artifact after another was sold. Most of them were Tier Two or Three, but there was also one Tier Four item. However, as the artifact spirit was not that strong, the price was only slightly higher than the top Tier Three spirit artifacts. In the end, it was auctioned for twenty thousand Chi-amassing Pills.

Besides spirit artifacts, there were also some Tier Seven and Eight medicinal pills and alchemy materials auctioned in the middle. Master Apothecary Xuanyi bought quite a number of rare alchemy materials and had spent more than thirty thousand Chi-amassing Pills without batting an eye. From this point of view, Master Apothecary Xuanyi was richer than Great Emperor Mingwu.

Thinking about it, it made sense. Master Apothecary Xuanyi was one of the top ten alchemists in the Great Eastern Continent. He could casually refine an Earth Quintessence Pill which was worth more than the sum of a martial arts family's years of income. Great Emperor Mingwu's Yin Clan could not compare to Master Apothecary Xuanyi in this respect.

Ye Chen's Astral Body swept and found his granduncle in Honored Room Five. His granduncle had bought several good items including two Tier Three spirit artifacts. One Tier Three spirit artifact was worth tens of thousands of Chi-amassing Pills. If it were the former Ye Clan, they would not even dare to think about it!

The auction went on and by the middle segment, something appeared that finally caught Ye Chen's attention.

"The next item is a Mystique Adept Rank Spirit Pill!" Qiuling Wanqing's jade-like slender fingers held a Spirit Pill. The Spirit Pill was the size of an ordinary fist, appearing splendid and brilliant.

"This Spirit Pill was first discovered in a mountain forest on the northern border of Beiliao Nation by a master of our Tiandu Chamber of Commerce. When we got there, the mystical beast was already dead, so we made this Spirit Pill. According to the appraisal, this Spirit Pill is extremely high quality and contains two types of origin energy - metal and wood-type. It's an excellent material for alchemy."

"Starting price, thirty thousand Chi-amassing Pills."

Ye Chen felt a few Psyches fluctuate in the hall. Several Celestial and mystical beasts started to bid. Their excitement for this Mystique Adept Rank Spirit Pill was beyond imagination. The competition soon began.

"Forty thousand."

"Forty-five thousand!"

"Fifty thousand!"

Although this Mystique Adept Rank Spirit Pill was very good, it was not that useful for Ye Chen. Furthermore, the price had climbed to a level that he no longer had enough Chi-amassing Pills in his armguard space. Ye Chen's eyes scanned the Celestial and mystical beasts, and found that all of them had one common characteristic. They had humans following behind them.