He handed the pill recipe to the proprietress for inspection. After a moment, she said, "The seventy-two supplementary materials are quite common. Excluding the Heavenly Origin Liquid, the remaining eight primary ingredients are all rare, but they can certainly be found if you look. The price, however… won't be cheap."
Yang Kai asked, "What do you think the production cost of refining one such pill would be, Proprietress?"
The proprietress pondered briefly. "At least a hundred thousand."
The production cost of one Heavenly Origin True Seal Pill was a hundred thousand, and that didn't account for failed attempts. If failures were factored in, the cost would at least double — two hundred thousand.
Of course, this was only the cost of materials excluding the Heavenly Origin Liquid.
Add the Heavenly Origin Liquid, and… the Heavenly Origin Liquid had already gone extinct. It could only form when heaven and earth first came into being. Its value was immeasurable.
Regardless, the cost was undeniably steep. Yang Kai might be free with his spending now, casually dealing in tens of millions, but for most cultivators, accumulating Open Heaven Pills was no easy feat.
Those third-rate sects, even exhausting the full might of their entire organization, probably didn't have several hundred thousand Open Heaven Pills to spare.
But if the refinement succeeded, the price of a single Heavenly Origin True Seal Pill would be far beyond what a few hundred thousand could measure. Lord Teng had been willing to bid over thirty million for such a pill, not to mention the terrifying price of fifty million that Ye Jian had named.
Of course, that was at an auction, and the Heavenly Origin True Seal Pill was one of a kind. If refined and sold in bulk, the price would certainly not reach such heights.
Still, selling for a few million should be easy. Which great sect didn't have several disciples worth prioritizing? Spending a few million on a Heavenly Origin True Seal Pill to ensure those disciples' advancement — what that brought was the future hope and soaring strength of one's own sect.
Yang Kai's eyes couldn't help but light up, as if he saw a path of wealth laid out before him.
What's more, if the refinement succeeded, it would greatly benefit the future Void Territory as well!
He instructed Yue He to bid appropriately in the upcoming auction, then took the jade vial and carefully extracted the Heavenly Origin True Seal Pill. He scraped off a thin layer of pill powder and studied it intently.
Time flowed on, and the auction resumed.
Yang Kai immersed himself wholeheartedly in studying the Heavenly Origin True Seal Pill, continuously running through the refinement process in his mind. Nothing else existed for him — he was completely absorbed, unable to pull himself free.
He didn't know how long had passed when suddenly a gasp came from beside him.
He collected his thoughts and turned to look. Old Bai's mouth hung wide open as he stared at the auction stage, where something remarkable seemed to have appeared.
Even Yue He and the proprietress wore grave expressions.
Yang Kai frowned, wondering what had happened. Just as his curiosity peaked, the elder on the elevated platform spoke: "You heard correctly. What I hold is none other than the map of the Blood Demon Grotto-heaven. Though not comprehensive, it should cover at least twenty percent — perhaps more — of the Blood Demon Grotto-heaven's entire territory. Our auction house has produced one hundred copies of this map, auctioned in batches of ten. The starting bid is five hundred thousand Open Heaven Pills. Please place your bids!"
As his words fell, bidding voices erupted from the private rooms one after another. Even the proprietress called out a bid.
Yang Kai asked in bewilderment, "Old Bai, is there a Blood Demon Grotto-heaven among the Thirty-Six Grotto-heavens?"
He hadn't been in the Beyond the Universe for long, but it hadn't been short either. The Three Thousand Worlds were home to countless great powers. While he might not know much about the others, the Thirty-Six Grotto-heavens and Seventy-Two Blessed Lands were common knowledge.
After careful thought, he had never heard of a place called the Blood Demon Grotto-heaven.
Old Bai licked his lips. "The Blood Demon Grotto-heaven isn't one of the Thirty-Six Grotto-heavens. It's a Universe Grotto-heaven!"
Yang Kai froze, then blurted, "A Universe Grotto-heaven?!"
He had only recently heard the proprietress mention the existence of Universe Grotto-heavens and Universe Blessed Lands. She had explained that Universe Grotto-heavens were the small universe worlds left behind after the death of eighth-stage Open Heaven cultivators, while Universe Blessed Lands were the small universe worlds left behind after the death of seventh-stage Open Heaven cultivators. They likely harbored the lifetime treasures of those superior cultivators, and anyone who found them could rise to unprecedented heights.
When the proprietress had told him this, Yang Kai had listened with great interest, never imagining such fortune might fall to him. And now he was hearing that the Danxia Auction House was auctioning a map to a Universe Grotto-heaven!
This truly shocked him!
If the Danxia Auction House had obtained the map to this Blood Demon Grotto-heaven, didn't that mean they had been inside?
Old Bai's gaze burned with intensity. "You wouldn't know this, but the Blood Demon Grotto-heaven is one of the most extraordinary Universe Grotto-heavens in the Three Thousand Worlds. It was left behind after the death of an eighth-stage Open Heaven cultivator called the Blood Demon Divine Lord. Unlike other Universe Grotto-heavens and Universe Blessed Lands that hide without a trace, the Blood Demon Grotto-heaven is a secret realm known throughout the Three Thousand Worlds. It opens once every two hundred years, and any cultivator below the Open Heaven Realm can enter. If fortune favors you, you can obtain vast quantities of precious resources, and even inherit the Blood Demon Divine Lord's legacy!"
Yang Kai was startled. "The Blood Demon Divine Lord's legacy!"
A small universe world left behind after the death of an eighth-stage Open Heaven cultivator, concealing within it a lifetime's wealth and the inheritance of their teachings — it was only natural that such a treasure would draw countless seekers.
Even now, wealthy enough to rival nations, he couldn't help but feel a pang of envy, wishing he could rush into the Blood Demon Grotto-heaven this very moment to see what it held!