Chapter 00215: Ding Huan's Lack of Experience
# Ding Huan's Lack of Experience
Chapter 215
Novel: After the Myth
Chapter 215: Ding Huan's Lack of Experience
There were quite a few True Core cultivators present here.
Upon hearing that the first auction item was the Three-Colored Zilin Flower, the auction hall immediately erupted in excitement.
Pang Xiangxiang seemed to have anticipated this reaction.
She waited for the noise to die down a bit before speaking:
"The Three-Colored Zilin Flower is a spiritual herb that is extremely difficult to cultivate artificially. It can be said that in the cultivation world, each one used is one less available. I believe everyone understands this principle. The starting price for this Three-Colored Zilin Flower is fifty thousand high-grade spirit stones, with each bid increment not less than one thousand. The bidding begins now..."
It must be said that Pang Xiangxiang was quite skilled with her words.
Just by saying "each one used is one less," she had already spurred the late-stage True Core cultivators into a frenzy of bidding.
"Fifty-five thousand spirit stones..."
"Fifty-eight thousand spirit stones..."
The price on the bidding array screen kept refreshing, showing just how many people desired this Three-Colored Zilin Flower.
Ding Huan, however, was thinking about whether he could acquire the Three-Colored Zilin Flower and use it to secretly poison Elder He by injecting it with genetic toxins.
If he could successfully make Elder He consume this genetic poison, he could basically eliminate Elder He.
But Ding Huan quickly dismissed this thought.
It was unlikely to succeed.
First, even if he bought the Three-Colored Zilin Flower and gave it to Elder He, Elder He might not be able to refine it into a Void Vein Pill.
Second, Ding Huan couldn't guarantee that the genetic toxin chain he attached to the Three-Colored Zilin Flower wouldn't break down and disappear during high-temperature refinement, which was highly probable.
If he didn't use genetic toxins, ordinary poison would likely be detected by Elder He.
Forget it.
Spending hundreds of thousands of high-grade spirit stones would be useless.
In the end, this Three-Colored Zilin Flower was sold for two hundred and thirty thousand high-grade spirit stones.
Pang Xiangxiang was quite satisfied with this price.
She tapped the table, and a small box was transmitted to the auction stage.
Pang Xiangxiang picked up the box and raised it:
"This is a Ascension Token. Everyone can use their divine sense to inspect it."
Following Pang Xiangxiang's words, Ding Huan's divine sense, along with everyone else's, fell upon the box.
Inside the jade box was a white token with the words "Ascension Realm" written on it.
Ding Huan's heart stirred.
He had one of these tokens as well.
"The starting price for the Ascension Token is one hundred thousand high-grade spirit stones, with each bid increment not less than five thousand. The bidding begins now..."
The Ascension Token, with a starting price of one hundred thousand high-grade spirit stones, attracted a flurry of bids.
Ding Huan asked in confusion, "Sister Yuhe, is this Ascension Token for entering the Ascension Realm?"
Sang Yuhe knew that Ding Huan came from the Four Directions Star Continent and was unfamiliar with the Ascension Token.
She explained:
"The Ascension Token is one of the ways to enter the Ascension Realm. Unless invited by a sect from the Ascension Realm, the Ascension Token is almost the only means to enter."
Ding Huan thought to himself, this is ruthless.
The Ascension Realm could amass a wealth of cultivation resources just by selling these Ascension Tokens.
He didn't need to ask to know that once one reached a certain level of cultivation, progress would be impossible without entering the Ascension Realm.
He had already experienced the difficulty of entering the Dao Cultivation Realm from the Mortal Realm.
Many people might not understand why this was the case.
Through the information in that scroll, Ding Huan had a rough guess.
It was likely related to the rules of heaven and earth.
Once one reached a certain level in the Dao Cultivation Realm, if they couldn't enter a place with stronger heavenly and earthly rules, their cultivation would likely stagnate.
But this probably didn't apply to him, right?
He practiced the Great Universe Technique.
When it came to advancing, it entirely depended on the strength of the universe's rules within himself.
So even though his current cultivation level was low, he needed to find ways to understand various cosmic rules.
What Ding Huan didn't expect was that this Ascension Token was eventually sold for three hundred and eighty thousand high-grade spirit stones.
It seemed that entering the Ascension Realm was indeed difficult.
The Ascension Realm wanted to monopolize resources and strictly limit the number of cultivators entering.
It was just like how the Dao Cultivation Realm didn't allow ordinary people from the Mortal Realm to enter.
People are selfish.
When in the Dao Cultivation Realm, they advocated against a large influx of Mortal Realm cultivators.
At the same time, they hoped that the Ascension Realm would open its barriers, allowing them to enter easily.
Pang Xiangxiang had already brought out the third auction item:
"Fellow Daoists, this is a Level Five Hell Vine Seed, which has undergone instantaneous spiritual energy activation. The starting price is one million high-grade spirit stones, and the bidding increments are flexible."
Ding Huan immediately perked up.
This was something he needed.
Although Ding Huan needed this item, the majority of people in the auction hall were not interested in this seed.
The few who were interested also found the price too outrageous.
Not to mention one million, even one hundred thousand was too high.
In their eyes, the seed's reputation outweighed its value.
Spending one million on a seed that could only be used for a single attack was madness.
For a long time, no one placed a bid.
Pang Xiangxiang seemed to know that this Hell Vine Seed would be hard to sell.
After waiting for a while, she continued:
"The Level Five Hell Vine Seed is now reduced to eight hundred thousand. If no one bids, it will be withdrawn."
Although Ding Huan had never participated in an auction before, this was the first time he encountered an item whose price could be reduced.
"Eight hundred thousand."
Ding Huan had been prepared to bid one million, let alone now that it was reduced to eight hundred thousand.
"Eight hundred thousand high-grade spirit stones, once... eight hundred thousand high-grade spirit stones, twice..."
Pang Xiangxiang didn't even bother calling for a third time and directly struck the gavel: "Sold."
Ding Huan spending eight hundred thousand just to buy a seed immediately attracted numerous divine senses scanning him.
Some people, seeing that Ding Huan was in a private booth, withdrew their divine senses.
In such auctions, those in private booths were either wealthy or influential.
It was best not to offend such people.
However, a few still let their divine senses penetrate the booth.
"Brother Ding, although this Hell Vine Seed is Level Five, it's not only a one-time consumable but also has poor effectiveness against enemies. This seed is worth at most one hundred thousand high-grade spirit stones. You spent so much..."
While Sang Yuhe was shocked by Ding Huan's wealth, she also reminded him.
She couldn't help but sigh.
She had guessed correctly.
Ding Huan must have encountered some great opportunity; otherwise, he wouldn't be able to casually spend eight hundred thousand high-grade spirit stones.
She was, after all, a True Core cultivator.
From the start of her cultivation until now, her wealth had never exceeded three hundred thousand high-grade spirit stones.
"What if it comes in handy?"
Ding Huan could only say this.
He was well aware that spending eight hundred thousand high-grade spirit stones on a one-time vine seed was a rip-off, but he had no choice.
Who told him he had to deal with a peak or even perfected Soul Formation expert?
Spirit stones could be earned again, but if he lost his life, there would be nothing left.
Soon, someone came to complete the transaction.
Ding Huan paid eight hundred thousand high-grade spirit stones and obtained the Level Five Hell Vine Seed.
Pang Xiangxiang had already brought out the fourth auction item:
"Fellow Daoists, this is a defensive spiritual artifact. The starting price is seventy thousand high-grade spirit stones, and the bidding increments are flexible."
Ding Huan wasn't interested in this item, and it was eventually sold for seventy thousand high-grade spirit stones.
Next were Foundation Establishment Pills, a metal-attribute cultivation technique for reaching the Soul Formation realm, fragments of starry sky crystals...
None of these items caught Ding Huan's interest.
He turned to Sang Yuhe beside him:
"Sister Yuhe, if there's anything you fancy, feel free to bid. I still have some high-grade spirit stones left."
Ding Huan was certain that Sang Yuhe was currently strapped for cash.
Once Elder He was dealt with, Sang Yuhe would surely be of great help to him.
Sang Yuhe quickly replied, "I don't need anything right now."
Pang Xiangxiang's voice came again:
"The next item up for auction is a spear. This spear is different from ordinary spears. It's a top-grade spiritual artifact with a soul-slaying characteristic. The spear's structure is also different from ordinary spears. Please take a look..."
As she spoke, Pang Xiangxiang waved her hand, and a two-meter-long spear floated in the air.
Ding Huan's divine sense fell upon the spear.
The spear was entirely black, with an extremely long blade and six edges.
The six edges were not evenly distributed.
Instead, the sides were wider, with slight protrusions on either side of the spearhead, forming two small edges each.
From a distance, it looked no different from an ordinary spear.
What surprised Ding Huan even more was that the edges on either side of the spearhead were blood-sucking edges.
This was a spear of slaughter.
The more it killed, the more powerful it became.
The soul-slaying characteristic was something Ding Huan greatly appreciated.
The stronger one's divine sense, the more powerful the spear's abilities would be.
His second divine ability, Annihilation, was a perfect match for this spear.
"This spear is named 'Farewell.' The starting price is one hundred thousand high-grade spirit stones..."
Hearing this price, almost all the cultivators who coveted this spear were delighted.
Such a good spear for only one hundred thousand high-grade spirit stones?
Ding Huan also felt a bit puzzled.
"...plus one True Star Pill and a spirit fruit that can enlighten demon beasts..."
Upon hearing the True Star Pill, Ding Huan knew he had no chance.
He had one of the main ingredients for refining a True Star Pill, the Condensing Star Bamboo.
But turning Condensing Star Bamboo into a True Star Pill was still a long way off.
However, he did have spirit fruits that could enlighten demon beasts.
He still had several Enlightening Blue-Faced Fruits on him.
"I bid five hundred thousand high-grade spirit stones."
A voice rang out from the hall, and the bidding screen immediately displayed the bid of five hundred thousand high-grade spirit stones.
Ding Huan estimated that this price wouldn't be enough.
It wasn't that the bid wasn't high enough, but spirit stones could be obtained anywhere.
True Star Pills and spirit fruits that could enlighten demon beasts were much harder to come by.
Thinking this, Ding Huan was about to write down a bid of three hundred thousand high-grade spirit stones plus one Enlightening Blue-Faced Fruit.
But he hesitated and changed the three hundred thousand high-grade spirit stones to one hundred thousand high-grade spirit stones plus one Enlightening Blue-Faced Fruit.
Enlightening Blue-Faced Fruits were not easy to obtain.
If someone needed it, selling one for a million high-grade spirit stones wouldn't be surprising.
Sure enough, as soon as Ding Huan's bid appeared on the screen, it caused a stir in the hall.
Several divine senses directly broke through the weak shielding barrier of Ding Huan's private booth.
Sang Yuhe felt these powerful divine senses and sighed inwardly.
Ding Huan was still inexperienced.
She had thought earlier that they should upgrade the booth's divine sense shielding barrier.
But since Ding Huan hadn't mentioned it, she hadn't brought it up.
It seemed she should have informed him earlier.
Ding Huan acted as if he didn't notice the divine senses scanning him, showing no change in expression.
Some cultivators, seeing Ding Huan's low cultivation level, even left divine sense marks on him.
(End of Chapter)