As the final few items went up for auction, Yang Kai naturally watched from the sidelines. Every last Saint Crystal he'd obtained from Wu Yi had been spent purchasing the Mysterious Gold, leaving him with no resources to compete for anything else.
That said, while the last few auction items were quite impressive, Yang Kai felt no temptation whatsoever.
After the time it takes an incense stick to burn, Qing'er returned carrying a jade box. She handed it to Yang Kai with a respectful bow and congratulated him: "Congratulations, Senior, on obtaining this item as you wished."
Yang Kai smiled and accepted the box, cracking it open for a look. Inside was indeed the piece of Mysterious Gold he had seen earlier — roughly the size of a goose egg, entirely lustrous gold, sealed by an expert with restrictive formations. Even so, those formations couldn't fully contain the pure metallic spiritual energy bleeding from within. Wisps of qi seeped out like invisible blades, impossible to ignore.
To describe this Mysterious Gold as blazing with razor-sharp edges would be no exaggeration.
Yang Kai played with it happily for a while, then casually tossed it into his Black Book's space.
He would need this Mysterious Gold to prepare for cultivating the body-tempering technique — the Undying Five Elements Sword. To cultivate this technique, he had to gather all five supreme treasures of the Elements!
Among the five, he already possessed the Thunder Wood, the Mysterious Yin Sunflower Water, and the True Solar Essence. Now that he had obtained the Mysterious Gold, only an earth-element supreme treasure remained unaccounted for. Once he gathered them all, he could begin cultivating the Undying Five Elements Sword.
Perhaps he could ask the Treasure Tower to keep an eye out for one — after all, that organization specialized in exactly this sort of thing. With this thought, Yang Kai secretly resolved to pay a visit to Old Man Yan Pei after the auction concluded.
Surely the old man wouldn't refuse, as long as Yang Kai could offer a sufficient price.
In high spirits, Yang Kai was naturally not stingy. With a wave of his hand, he rewarded Qing'er with several bottles of pills, an Artifact, and a considerable number of Saint Crystals.
The pills were ones he had refined himself — their quality went without saying. The Artifact had been provided by Yang Yan, and naturally it was a fine piece, perfectly suited for a young woman at Qing'er's stage. The Saint Crystals, though not many — only tens of thousands — were already a generous windfall for a warrior of Qing'er's level, enough to support her Cultivation for a long time to come.
Naturally, Qing'er was moved to tears of gratitude.
From below came Ren Tianrui's voice, tinged with excitement: "Ladies and gentlemen, this auction has now come to a successful conclusion. Thank you all for traveling so far to attend. Now, please remain patient for just a moment — while the auction itself is over, our Treasure Tower has been entrusted by a reclusive expert to make a request of you honored seniors."
"What does this mean, Young Ren?" Immediately, a powerhouse from one of the major factions spoke up to ask.
Ren Tianrui smiled faintly, gestured toward the back, and bowed slightly. Following his gaze, the crowd saw what had prompted the gesture — Old Man Yan Pei's dark-faced figure was leisurely walking onto the raised platform from the back of the hall.
"Heh heh, no need to be nervous, everyone. Since the auction is over, there will be nothing else to put up for bidding. I am merely here on behalf of an old friend to discuss a matter with all of you," Yan Pei said in his unhurried manner.
"Discuss what matter? If you have something to say, say it quickly and cut the nonsense. We don't have time to sit here while you beat around the bush." Clearly, not everyone trusted Yan Pei, and many remained wary.
"My old friend wishes to exchange an item with all of you!" Yan Pei didn't keep them in suspense. After a faint smile, a flash of light appeared from the spatial ring on his hand as he drew out an object and held it high before him.
The powerhouses inside every private room extended their spiritual senses to examine it carefully.
After a moment, cries of astonishment rang out.
"This is..."
"No way — something like this really exists?"
"There's a trace of Emperor's might still remaining. It seems authentic! Who would've thought the legends were true!"
In private room B-13, Yang Kai was staring intently at the object in Yan Pei's hand, a peculiar expression on his face. As he pondered, he seemed to sense something and turned to look at Yang Yan. To his surprise, she wore the same look of shocked disbelief, her beautiful eyes brimming with both excitement and something like trepidation. Her delicate fists were clenched so tightly that her nails had dug into her palms without her even noticing.
"A Star Emperor Token!" Mo Xiaosheng's exclamation rang out. "Brother Yan, forgive this old man's poor eyes — is that truly the legendary Star Emperor Token in your hand?"
Yan Pei smiled faintly. "Since Brother Mo has already recognized it, why bother asking me? I imagine most everyone here has already formed their own judgment."
"It really is a Star Emperor Token? It's not a fake?"
"If it were fake, would I have brought it out?" Yan Pei gave a soft snort. "Several friends of mine at the Treasure Tower and I personally verified it — this is indeed the genuine Star Emperor Token. After all, no one could possibly replicate the remnant Emperor's might sealed within!"
"Legend has it that the Starry Sky Great Emperor forged ten Star Emperor Tokens, each containing a tremendous divine ability sealed within. Their power could destroy heaven and earth, move mountains and fill seas. Could this be one of them?" Cheng Pengxuan's voice had lost its usual composure as well — he was utterly excited.
If this truly was one of the ten Star Emperor Tokens forged by the Starry Sky Great Emperor, whoever possessed it would be virtually invincible.
The Starry Sky Great Emperor — that was an existence that had surpassed the Void King realm! The Dark Star didn't even have a single Void King realm cultivator. Who could hope to stand against the divine abilities sealed within a Star Emperor Token?
Every powerhouse from every faction arrived at the same realization, and in an instant, the looks they cast upon the Star Emperor Token turned searingly intense. The atmosphere inside the Treasure Tower's auction hall immediately grew charged with a sinister, electric tension.