While Yang Kai was still riding high on his excitement, up on the elevated stage, the beautiful female auctioneer had already begun presiding over the auction of the first Void-grade lower-grade Artifact.
Thanks to the Flame Sand Land and the scarcity of Void-grade Artifacts, even though the Treasure Pavilion had put all twelve Artifacts on display at once, it still couldn't contain the bidding frenzy of the powerhouses in the private rooms. If anything, it only fueled their determination to win at all costs.
There were only twelve Void-grade lower-grade Artifacts in total. Once they sold out, there would be no more.
Yang Kai heard the booming bids from Lei Tai Sect's Fang Tianzhong, the smooth and self-assured price increases from Zhan Tian Alliance's Qu Changfeng, the melodious silver-bell-like voice of Liu Li Gate's Yin Sudie, and the competitive shouts of young prodigies from various other factions. These rising stars all seemed eager to acquire Void-grade lower-grade Artifacts for self-defense, making early preparations for the Flame Sand Land.
The auction for a Void-grade lower-grade Artifact, which had opened at one hundred thousand Sacred Crystals, was instantly bid up to six hundred thousand, with offers still pouring in.
Yang Kai suddenly realized he had underestimated the purchasing power of the great factions and wealthy powers of the Dark Star, and had even more so underestimated how precious Void-grade Artifacts were here. He had originally thought that a Saint King-grade upper artifact might sell for thirty to fifty thousand Sacred Crystals, so a Void-grade lower one should go for around two or three hundred thousand at most.
But reality was nothing of the sort.
Though Void-grade lower and Saint King-grade upper differed by only one tier, the price gap was a world apart.
Thinking it through, Yang Kai understood. These great factions didn't lack purchasing power—years of accumulation had given them vast quantities of Sacred Crystals. What they lacked was the opportunity to see good things. Once something worthwhile appeared, no matter how many Sacred Crystals it cost, they wouldn't hesitate.
Void-grade lower-grade Artifacts were exactly such treasures. On the Dark Star, the highest rank of artifact refiner was precisely Void-grade lower. But they couldn't be like Yang Yan, who succeeded in forging every single Artifact without fail.
Much like alchemy, artifact forging carried a significant chance of failure. Once the forging went wrong, not only would no Artifact be produced, but all the raw materials would be lost as well.
The high likelihood of destroying raw materials naturally drove Void-grade Artifact prices sky-high.
The first Void-grade lower-grade Artifact quickly surpassed the one-million Sacred Crystal mark. Though fewer people were bidding, there were still those deliberating over their next move.
Yang Kai had been watching to see how much the Artifact would fetch when his expression suddenly shifted. He leaned in and whispered to Yang Yan and Wu Yi, "I'm stepping out for a moment. I'll be right back."
The two women gave him surprised looks but asked nothing, simply nodding softly.
Yang Kai swiftly left Room Bing-13. He walked straight out of the Treasure Pavilion, lingered for a while in a shop across the street, then seamlessly merged into the crowd flowing to his left.
Though he had been monitoring the auction's progress, he hadn't relaxed his watch over the warrior who'd previously won the map fragment. The appearance of the twelve Void-grade Artifacts had sent the auction hall into a frenzy. Seizing the moment when most people's attention was drawn to the Void-grade Artifacts, that Saint King First Layer warrior who had obtained the map fragment quietly slipped out of the auction hall.
Obviously, he figured this was an excellent opportunity to slip away!
He had earlier spent one hundred thousand Sacred Crystals to doggedly win that map fragment, which had already attracted considerable attention. Had it not been for the fear of drawing even more eyes, he would have left long ago.
But by now it was already too late. A warrior of his caliber should never have gone after that map fragment in the first place.
Yang Kai's Divine Sense was comparable to that of a Void Returning Realm powerhouse, so monitoring someone like this was effortless—there was no way the man could escape his line of sight. What's more, Yang Kai noticed that quite a few others shared his intentions. After he left the Treasure Pavilion, one by one, warriors quietly withdrew from the hall, all of them tailing the map fragment's owner.
Yang Kai was speechless. He had thought that apart from himself, hardly anyone would be paying attention to that warrior. But now he saw the truth—it wasn't that others weren't watching; they had all been quietly watching all along.
The factions backing these people clearly believed the map fragment's owner possessed more than one piece. If two fragments could be brought together, they might yield useful clues.
Yang Kai's face darkened. Though he had no good plan to snatch the map fragment, simply giving up was out of the question. After all, Yang Yan had confirmed she possessed one piece. For now, he could only play it by ear, making his way toward the outskirts of Tianyun City.
The map fragment's owner had gone to considerable lengths to conceal his aura along the way, trying hard to maintain a composed expression. But as a mere Saint King First Layer warrior, how could he evade the watchful eyes of so many experts?
A stick of incense later, he left Tianyun City. Right after, figure after figure followed him out one by one.
Yang Kai hung back at the very rear. Though several people's Divine Sense swept over him—including some Void Returning Realm cultivators—no one paid this minor character any mind.
Fifty li west of Tianyun City: Falling Horse Slope.
The area was desolate, covered in strange hills and odd rock formations. Further ahead lay a jumble of jagged stones—an ideal spot for robbery and murder.
It wasn't that Ge Xiong hadn't noticed he was being tailed. But even noticing wouldn't have helped—he couldn't shake them off. Because he knew perfectly well why they were targeting him.
His legs were trembling, his face had gone pale, and he wished nothing more than to slap himself hard across the face.