Cangxuan Continent, Central Domain, Heavenly Emperor City.
This was the oldest and most prosperous city on the entire continent. Legend had it that a true Immortal Emperor had once achieved enlightenment here, leaving behind an immortal palace floating ten thousand zhang above the ground.
Every three years, the Eternal Emperor Auction House — jointly run by the top ten immortal merchant unions — would hold the grandest auction in the lower realm.
Immortal artifact fragments, emperor-level scriptures, ten-thousand-year spirit medicines, ancient beast eggs… anything that could make a Great Emperor go crazy could appear here.
Today was the opening day of the triennial Eternal Emperor Grand Auction.
The entire Heavenly Emperor City was packed.
Flying boats blotted out the sky. Ancient desolate beasts pulled bronze chariots through the clouds. Dragon horses with eight legs neighed as they galloped across the void.
On the main street, a black-gold carriage slowly moved forward.
Eight one-horned thunder rhinos pulled it, each one a peak Great Emperor beast. Lightning crackled around their hooves, shattering space with every step.
On the carriage flag was a simple sword emblem.
The entire street instantly quieted.
Even the arrogant princes of immortal dynasties silently made way.
Because everyone knew who sat inside that carriage.
The man who single-handedly destroyed the Sacred Land of Absolute Beginning three months ago. The man who forced two saintesses to become sword maids. The man who unified the Azure Province at the age of seventeen and renamed the Sacred Land "Heavenly Sword Sacred Land".
Lin Wudi.
Inside the carriage.
The interior was like a small world.
Spiritual mist swirled, hundred-thousand-year spiritual peaches hung from jade trees, and a pool of nine-colored spiritual liquid gurgled in the center.
Lin Wudi leaned half-reclined on a cloud bed carved from warm jade.
Xue Wuxia knelt on his left, white clothes like snow, cold and beautiful face expressionless as she gently massaged his shoulders.
Ji Ziyan knelt on his right, purple palace dress half-untied, charming eyes like silk as she peeled a blood dragon fruit and fed it to his mouth piece by piece.
The former saintesses of the righteous and demonic paths, the dream goddesses of countless young masters, were now nothing more than maids warming his bed and serving his wine.
Lin Wudi bit into the blood dragon fruit, juice flowing down Ji Ziyan's fingers.
He casually licked it clean.
Ji Ziyan's pretty face instantly flushed red, her breathing quickening.
Xue Wuxia's fingers on his shoulder tightened slightly, a trace of frost appearing on her eyelashes.
Lin Wudi smiled faintly.
"Don't be anxious. There's still a long night ahead."
The two women's faces turned even redder.
The carriage stopped in front of the Eternal Emperor Auction House.
A golden path made of immortal gold automatically extended from the entrance.
The auction house's chief manager — a white-haired old man at the peak of Great Emperor realm — personally stood at the door, bowing ninety degrees.
"Welcome, Sword Lord Lin, to grace us with your presence!"
Behind him, eighteen beautiful female emperors in palace attire knelt in two rows, holding flower baskets.
Lin Wudi stepped down from the carriage.
He wore a simple black robe today, long hair tied loosely with a red string, looking more like a scholar than the demon who slaughtered a Sacred Land.
But no one dared to underestimate him.
Because the moment he appeared, the entire auction house's grand formation began to wail, as if submitting.
Lin Wudi was led to the highest heavenly box — Box Number One.
This box had been empty for three thousand years.
Because its previous owner was the last person who unified the continent — Immortal Emperor Taiyi.
Now, it had a new master.
Inside the box.
The walls were made of star meteor crystal, allowing a clear view of the entire auction hall below while those below could not see inside.
A dragon-blooded phoenix perch, a ten-thousand-year ice jade table, ninety-nine night-luminescent pearls floating in the air…
Everything was the best of the best.
Lin Wudi sat in the main seat.
Xue Wuxia and Ji Ziyan stood behind him, one on each side.
The auction began.
The first item was a ten-thousand-year vermilion fruit, starting bid one billion top-grade spirit stones.
The entire hall instantly boiled over.
But Lin Wudi only drank his wine, not even glancing down.
The second item, a drop of true phoenix blood.
The third, a fragment of an immortal king scripture.
...
Items that could cause bloody wars in the outside world were auctioned off one by one.
Until the ninety-ninth item.
The auctioneer on stage was a beautiful woman in red dress, Great Emperor cultivation, voice trembling slightly.
"Next… is the finale item of this auction's first day!"
She lifted a red cloth.
Beneath it was a palm-sized bronze fragment, covered in rust, full of cracks, looking like scrap metal picked up from a trash heap.
The entire hall fell silent.
Then someone laughed.
"What is this junk?"
"Did the Eternal Emperor Auction House run out of good things?"
The auctioneer's face turned slightly red.
"This item comes from the Black Moon Secret Realm's deepest level. According to our appraisers… it is very likely a fragment of an immortal emperor weapon!"
The hall was in an uproar.
Immortal emperor weapon fragment?
Even if it was broken, it was still priceless!
The starting bid — ten billion top-grade spirit stones!
Bidding began frantically.
"Eleven billion!"
"Fifteen billion!"
"Twenty billion!"
...
In the heavenly box, Lin Wudi finally put down his wine cup.
His eyes lit up slightly.
Because the Swallowing Heaven Cauldron in his dantian suddenly spun wildly, almost breaking out of his body.
This fragment… was part of its body!
Lin Wudi stood up.
Xue Wuxia and Ji Ziyan immediately became nervous.
Below, the bid had reached ninety billion.
A white-clothed prince from the Central Domain's immortal dynasty shouted proudly.
"One hundred billion! This fragment is mine!"
The entire hall fell silent.
No one dared to compete with the immortal dynasty.
At this moment.
A calm voice came from the heavenly box.
"One trillion."
The entire auction house instantly exploded.
One trillion top-grade spirit stones?
That was the entire wealth of a top Sacred Land!
The white-clothed prince's face turned purple.
He stood up and roared toward the heavenly box.
"Who dares to compete with this prince?!"
Lin Wudi's voice came again.
"Add another zero. Ten trillion."
The white-clothed prince directly vomited blood.
The auctioneer on stage was stunned for a long time before reacting, voice trembling.
"Ten… ten trillion going once!"
"Ten trillion going twice!"
"Ten trillion… sold!"
The hammer fell.
The entire hall was dead silent.
Ten trillion for a piece of scrap metal.
Everyone thought Lin Wudi was crazy.
Until the fragment was delivered to the heavenly box.
Lin Wudi took the bronze fragment.
The moment he touched it.
The Swallowing Heaven Cauldron flew out on its own.
The fragment turned into a streak of bronze light and merged into the cauldron.
Boom!!!
A terrifying aura swept the entire Heavenly Emperor City.
The cauldron's repair progress jumped from 3% to 15%.
Cracks healed, runes reappeared.
An ancient, desolate, world-devouring will awakened briefly.
In that instant.
All Great Emperors in the city felt their emperor artifacts cry out in terror.
The floating immortal palace above the city trembled violently.
Lin Wudi's cultivation began to skyrocket again.
Half-step Great Emperor → early Great Emperor → mid Great Emperor → late → peak → half-step Emperor Quasi-Immortal!
He broke through five small realms in one breath!
The entire auction house's grand formation shattered on the spot.
Lin Wudi put away the cauldron.
He looked down at the stunned crowd and smiled faintly.
"Thank you all for the gift."
Then he turned and left.
Leaving behind a hall full of people with shattered worldviews.
From this day forth.
The legend of the black-robed youth who spent ten trillion to buy a piece of scrap metal… and turned it into an immortal emperor weapon fragment spread across the entire continent.
And this was only the first day of the auction.
There were still six days left.
Lin Wudi sat back on the cloud bed.
Ji Ziyan poured wine for him with trembling hands.
Xue Wuxia's cold face finally showed a trace of shock.
Lin Wudi drank the wine in one gulp.
His eyes looked through the star meteor crystal wall toward the deeper boxes.
There, several terrifying auras were awakening.
The true owners of this continent had finally noticed him.
Lin Wudi smiled.
"Good."
"The game… has finally become interesting."