Chapter 00214: The Earthly Change
# The Earthly Change
Chapter 214
Novel: Abandon The Universe
Chapter 214: The Earthly Change
"There's no need for that. I never expected a guest would come here and use their divine sense to break the restrictions on someone else's ring," Lan Xiaobu said, discomfort evident in his tone.
He felt compelled to voice this.
If others invaded his space and he pretended not to notice, that would raise questions.
It was not simply a matter of being timid; it implied there was something he didn't want to admit.
The frail man who stood across from him seemed to have gleaned that Lan Xiaobu's ring held nothing of value, and he chuckled softly.
"Ah, you know how it is. Our shop sees all kinds of people. Many do not abide by the rules, and we can't always keep watch over our guests."
Lan Xiaobu feigned outrage.
"I'll go and ask someone about this."
With that, he swiftly made his way to the first floor.
Before he could even get a word out, the frail man dashed down and said, "Friend, please wait! It’s also our Dan Pavilion's fault. We should be the ones to investigate this matter."
"Very well then. In that case, how much will you offer for this bottle of Five Essence Liquid? If the price isn't to my liking, I will auction it right here," Lan Xiaobu said, feigning helplessness.
Deep down, he felt truly powerless.
If he had the strength, he would have immediately unlocked the restrictions on his ring and stated that his items had been tampered with, announcing the auction of the Five Essence Liquid to everyone present.
But Lan Xiaobu understood that doing so would ensure he would not leave Dan Yue today.
"How about ten thousand spirit crystals?" the frail man raised a finger.
Lan Xiaobu scoffed.
"Ten thousand upper-grade spirit crystals? That wouldn't even buy one-tenth of my Five Essence Liquid."
Initially, he was unsure of the exact value of the Five Essence Liquid.
However, seeing that the Dan Yue Pavilion had boldly broken the restrictions on his ring with divine sense indicated that its worth was likely beyond his initial estimates.
The frail man was taken aback, having meant to offer ten thousand lower-grade crystals.
He hadn’t anticipated Lan Xiaobu would counter with ten thousand upper-grade crystals, and worse yet, that it wouldn't even amount to one-tenth of the value.
His eyes flickered as he thought over Lan Xiaobu’s rapid arrival on the first floor.
After a short while, the frail man seemed to have received some news and said again, "Forty thousand upper-grade spirit crystals. If it goes higher, we won't be able to acquire it."
"That works," Lan Xiaobu replied without hesitation.
From what he had concluded earlier, he knew that the bottle of Five Essence Liquid was certainly worth more than forty thousand upper-grade spirit crystals.
Yet he was left with little choice, especially after witnessing how Su Shanhe and Qi Hanfu were covertly taken away, indicating that the so-called Pill Capital was far from safe.
Considering his meager strength here, offending a shop like Dan Yue was tantamount to courting death.
Though Lan Xiaobu regretted that he might have already crossed that line.
"Good," the frail man must have realized that Lan Xiaobu was someone who would not take lightly to negotiations without results, so he promptly took out a storage pouch and handed it to Lan Xiaobu.
Lan Xiaobu checked inside with his divine sense and found indeed that it contained forty thousand upper-grade spirit crystals.
Without delay, he grabbed the pouch, exchanged it for the jade bottle, and turned to leave.
"Investigate this person’s background," a voice whispered to the frail man.
...
With no hesitation whatsoever, Lan Xiaobu hurried straight to the ticket booth for the auction.
Outside the ticket booth stood a display screen that detailed the ticket prices: "Fourth-Class Ticket: One hundred lower-grade spirit crystals; Third-Class Ticket: Five hundred lower-grade spirit crystals; Second-Class Ticket: One thousand lower-grade spirit crystals; First-Class Ticket: One hundred upper-grade spirit crystals; Low-Class Booth: One thousand upper-grade spirit crystals..."
After scanning the options, Lan Xiaobu spent one thousand upper-grade spirit crystals to purchase a Low-Class Booth ticket.
While it stated that the First-Class Ticket included a restriction space, he was not inclined to skimp on spirit crystals for this experience.
At this moment, there was still some time before the auction began, and a few scattered guests were starting to enter the auction hall.
Lan Xiaobu preferred to settle into his booth first.
The booth was small, hardly covering a few square meters, with average protective restrictions and formations.
Even though Lan Xiaobu was merely a seventh-tier formation master, he still set up his own formation restrictions within the booth.
His formation wouldn’t be able to stop a strong individual if they decided to forcibly break through, but should anyone try to attack his booth, he would be alerted immediately.
Furthermore, such a grand auction was unlikely to see such disturbances.
One side of the booth was open, facing the auction stage.
He could choose to close it if he wanted, using the monitor screen inside, but Lan Xiaobu preferred to observe with his divine sense instead.
Inside the booth, he refined his plans while waiting for two to three hours.
The auction stage finally began to rise, the bright lights casting an elegant glow over the setup.
The hall was not completely filled; about seventy percent of the seats were occupied, indicating that there were indeed valuable items to be auctioned, as such allure would not attract so many.
A lovely woman stepped onto the auction stage, smiling as she greeted everyone with a graceful bow.
"I am Qin Xunshuang, representing Pill Capital to greet you all. I will be hosting this auction. This marks the sixth auction since the Nine Prefecture Pill Competition, and although it may not be the largest, there are many fine items available, and I trust you won’t be disappointed."
"Before we start the bidding, I must outline the auction rules. First, you may use your divine sense to observe the items but may not touch any of the auction items' restrictions. Second, interference with others' bids is prohibited. Third, false reporting of prices will not be tolerated. Violation of any of these rules will result in dire consequences according to the Pill Capital's regulations. We may begin now. The first item for auction is a premium defensive fairy artifact, the mandarin duck umbrella, with a starting price of fifty thousand upper-grade spirit crystals, and increments cannot be less than one thousand. Bidding starts now..."
Lan Xiaobu let out a sigh, having come primarily to observe.
The huge bidding screen displayed rapidly changing prices, soon exceeding eighty thousand upper-grade spirit crystals.
Lan Xiaobu had initially thought that Fu Jing was wealthy but quickly realized that those who participated here were truly the affluent elite.
The mandarin duck umbrella eventually sold for eighty-seven thousand upper-grade spirit crystals.
"The second item up for auction is a fairy pill, the Breakthrough Pill. Many of you might recognize this; it is crafted primarily from True Jia Immortal Bamboo. This pill can increase a perfected Earth Immortal's chance of advancing to True Immortal by fifty percent—truly a rare find. The starting price for this pill is one hundred and twenty thousand upper-grade spirit crystals, with each increment no less than two thousand upper-grade spirit crystals. Bidding starts now..."
As Qin Xunshuang finished speaking, the pricing screen lit up with fast-moving digits.
Lan Xiaobu felt disheartened; he too desired these items, but alas, his finances were limited.
Deep down, he was certain that his bottle of Five Essence Liquid could easily fetch over two hundred thousand upper-grade spirit crystals, if not more.
Without any ability to reclaim lost value today, he couldn't help feeling somewhat uneasy.
Each item thereafter saw bidding exceed one hundred thousand, with one attack artifact reaching close to a million upper-grade spirit crystals.
Lan Xiaobu was initially waiting for the Earthly Change fragment to make its appearance, but when Qin Xunshuang presented the next item, he felt instinctively that it was exactly what he needed.
Holding up a jade box, Qin Xunshuang announced, "This is a Fire Origin Stone, an extremely rare item, nearly impossible to find in the Great Desolate Universe. This particular stone does not originate from within the Great Desolate Universe itself, but from a chaotic rift along the edge of it, and its quality rivals that of Fire Origin Stones from the universe's inception..."
Lan Xiaobu’s heart raced.
This was indeed what he sought! With this Fire Origin Stone, his flames might very well ascend to the first level of heavenly flame.
Heavenly flames were classified into nine levels, and his Primordial Eternal Flame currently felt inadequate, unable to even rank at first level.
"The Fire Origin Stone is crucial for fire-type cultivators seeking to comprehend foundational powers. Moreover, it can propel flames to ascend. If used for weapon refinement, it's at least a top-tier material. The starting bid for this Fire Origin Stone is one million upper-grade spirit crystals, with each increment no less than ten thousand upper-grade spirit crystals. Now bidding begins..."
Lan Xiaobu watched in frustration as the bidding numbers on the screen changed frantically, soon reaching one hundred thirty thousand.
Alas, he had no qualification to even place a bid.
Much as he longed to trade his colorful fairy fungus or the Five Essence Liquid for the Fire Origin Stone, he understood that doing so might yield the stone but could cost him his life instead.
Ultimately, the Fire Origin Stone was sold to an unknown cultivator for nearly two hundred thousand upper-grade spirit crystals.
Even without acquiring the Fire Origin Stone, Lan Xiaobu pinpointed his destination: the chaotic edge of the Great Desolate Universe.
If one Fire Origin Stone could be found there, surely another would follow.
As a night passed and Lan Xiaobu grew increasingly anxious, Qin Xunshuang finally displayed a thin ancient scroll.
"I believe many of you came for this treasure. This is a fragment of the Earthly Change, with three forms of transformation detailed within. But its value comes specifically from the inclusion of the Phantom Form..."
Lan Xiaobu clenched his fists.
The Phantom Form was what he needed! In fact, to him, the Earthly Change encompassed seventy-two divine methods.
Only the Phantom Form truly counted as change; it allowed for transformation of the body, alteration of appearance, and the ability to conjure illusions of plants, animals, and more.
At its peak, it could embody countless variations.
"The starting price for this fragment is five million upper-grade spirit crystals, with each increment no less than one hundred thousand upper-grade spirit crystals. Bids can also be made using spirit veins..."
As Qin Xunshuang continued to speak, Lan Xiaobu began constructing a model for this Earthly Change fragment in his cosmic dimensional matrix.
Both the Celestial and Earthly Change arts were held tightly by a select few powerful beings.
Such techniques were only imparted to direct disciples and were never revealed to outsiders.
The fact that the Pill Capital could present a fragment of the Earthly Change was already extraordinary.
Though the five million upper-grade spirit crystals quoted by Qin Xunshuang was steep, Lan Xiaobu felt it was not unreasonable for the Earthly Change.
What astonished him even more was that no one dared to place a bid.
If no one here could produce five million upper-grade spirit crystals, Lan Xiaobu could hardly believe that could be true.
(End of Chapter)