Senior Brother Guo said nothing more, merely sitting there with an inscrutable expression, while the proprietress also fell silent. For a moment, the atmosphere felt somewhat awkward.
Though Senior Brother Guo and the proprietress had exchanged relatively few words, they had inadvertently revealed quite a bit of information.
The first was that he had almost certainly been completely exposed. Many Grotto-heavens and Blessed Lands had likely taken notice of him. In the short term there probably wouldn't be any immediate problems, but over the long run, what stance that attention would eventually transform into was anyone's guess.
Perhaps suppression, perhaps recruitment—the only certainty was that no one would want to see him directly ascend to Seventh-Order Open Heaven.
The other thing was that the proprietress truly intended to move against Jinhong Prefecture and the Senluo Altar. But those two second-tier powers were not pushovers she could trifle with. If she really made her move, with her current strength she was bound to fail more than succeed.
And when that time came, Yang Kai could not very well stand by and do nothing.
But with his current cultivation level, what help could he offer? Even if he brought every Open Heaven Realm cultivator in the Void Land along, it probably wouldn't make a decisive difference—unless he could get Zhu Jiuyin to act!
That woman was not someone he could count on. She had indeed agreed to become his guardian and protect him for a thousand years, but that was contingent on him being in mortal peril. She wasn't a fool—why would she follow Yang Kai into murky waters?
A sense of urgency and crisis welled up in Yang Kai's heart. Time waited for no man!
While his thoughts were churning, a familiar voice suddenly reached his ears: "Thank you all for gracing us with your presence, taking time from your busy schedules to attend the trading convention of our Danxia Auction House. There are many old friends here, and some new ones as well. I won't belabor the rules—surely most of you have participated in such conventions before. So let's not waste any more time. The trading convention begins now. After all, we are all busy people."
Several Open Heaven Realm cultivators below chuckled.
Yang Kai looked up to see the elderly man who had previously presided over the auction standing on the central circular platform, cupping his fists to those around him. Realizing the trading convention had officially begun, he immediately composed himself and paid close attention.
Everyone present was a mid-tier Open Heaven cultivator—Fifth and Sixth-Order were everywhere among them. They surely had plenty of good things on hand, and perhaps among them were exactly the high-grade resources he needed. How to coax those resources out of their hands, however, depended on each person's own ability.
Yang Kai silently prayed, rubbing his fists in anticipation.
"Then allow me to break the ice," the elderly man said from the circular platform, producing an item—it was a stalk of bamboo roughly two feet long. Though uprooted, it still brimmed with vitality, its leaves thick and lush. More peculiar still, threads of lightning crawled along the bamboo, flickering among the branches and leaves with a crackling sound.
"A Sixth-Order Thunder Tone Purple Bamboo. It is a Wood-element resource, yet it gives birth to lightning. If refined, one can generate the power of thunder—its offensive capabilities are extraordinary," the elderly man said slowly.
Yang Kai's eyes lit up. Impressive indeed! This was exactly what one would expect from a high-end trading convention—utterly incomparable to a regular auction. A Sixth-Order resource would normally be saved for the very end of an auction, typically serving as a grand finale item, yet here at this convention it appeared as the very first offering.
Of course, this was partly a tactic by the Danxia Auction House to elevate the convention's prestige, but to produce a Sixth-Order resource right off the bat was still a bold statement.
"I have no specific requirements—as long as the value is appropriate, any exchange will do. Even Open Heaven Pills are acceptable," the elderly man finished, then said nothing more, standing quietly on the platform to await responses.
Yang Kai looked around and saw the numerous powerhouses surrounding the circular platform each producing a spatial ring and getting busy, including Senior Brother Guo beside him.
The proprietress transmitted a voice to him: "Place the items you wish to exchange into a spatial ring and hand it over. He will inspect and select from them. If he finds your offer satisfactory, he'll trade with you. If not—or if it doesn't meet his requirements—he'll return the ring to you."
Yang Kai understood.
Without hesitation, he immediately produced a spatial ring and transferred twenty million Open Heaven Pills into it. He had been purchasing all manner of cultivation resources, so he obviously couldn't trade away his own stock, but Open Heaven Pills were something he had in abundance.
Besides, the man had said Open Heaven Pills were acceptable. Twenty million should be about right.
He handed over the ring and waited quietly.
Before long, all the martial artists who wished to trade with the elderly man had prepared their offers, and the spatial rings in his possession numbered over fifty.
After all, his requirements weren't high—everyone was willing to take a shot. Even if they weren't ultimately selected, there was no real loss.
The elderly man inspected the rings one by one. After a moment, he selected one and said: "Brother Xu of the Sacred Fire Alliance has offered the highest price. I will exchange this Thunder Tone Purple Bamboo with him."
With a flick of his hand, the spatial rings were sent back to their respective owners—only the Sacred Fire Alliance's Brother Xu's ring remained. Under a gentle force, the Thunder Tone Purple Bamboo drifted across to the other man.
Brother Xu caught the Thunder Tone Purple Bamboo, his face brimming with delight. He cupped his fists and thanked the elderly man.
Yang Kai, however, stared at his spatial ring in some surprise. He had previously spent twenty-six million on a portion of Sixth-Order Crimson Yin Sand, but that was a Yin-element resource—naturally rarer, which was why its price had been higher.