Chapter 407: The Auction Begins

The reason for having two people bidding separately was to avoid drawing too much attention and maybe fake bidding against each other if needed. This was the Ancestral Court, rife with influential and formidable entities. Even though Tang San had tokens from three Demon Emperors, he dared not act recklessly here.

However, this grand auction was the main reason for his visit to the Ancestral Court, and he had to participate regardless of the risks.

During his days of crafting array discs, Crystalline remained in a peaceful slumber, showing no signs of awakening. Tang San could feel her silently absorbing his bloodline energy and some of the spiritual energy he had gathered from the world around him.

But this didn't cause him any problems. On the contrary, he found that his ability to draw in spiritual energy had increased by nearly thirty percent. The part Crystalline absorbed was less than the extra amount he drew in, so it didn't burden him. In fact, it even improved his cultivation speed and slightly purified his Mysterious Heaven Technique energy. So, having her imprint occupying his dantian wasn't a waste.

With that said, for Tang San, this was undoubtedly a hidden danger. The only thing that slightly reassured him was that he was sure Crystalline was a newly hatched lifeform, incredibly pure, and he was the first person she saw, so she regarded him as her father. She had no ill intentions toward him and likely never would. Additionally, she was highly intelligent and seemed to have strong learning abilities.

Another point of comfort for Tang San was that the Crystal Demon Emperor seemed to have completely forgotten about this little one. Despite leaving the Hell Garden for some time, the first Demon Emperor had never come looking for him.

The only concern was whether her constant absorption of energy inside him would lead to danger—what if she gathered energy until she accidentally blasted herself apart?

The queue for entry moved quickly. Those allowed in had already paid their deposits and received their number plates. Tang San followed the line of people ahead of him. He was finally about to enter the continent's foremost Great Beast Fighting Arena.

The Ancestral Court Great Beast Fighting Arena was built against a mountain, or rather, three adjacent mountain peaks. These three peaks formed a concave shape, and in the middle of these peaks, halfway up, a massive platform connected them—an impressive feat of engineering.

This platform was actually the arena. The spectator areas were set higher up on the peaks, carved out like caves of various sizes, suitable for demon and nymph spectators of all sizes. Each cave was single occupancy, and it seemed that the tickets were priced based on the location and size of the caves—the larger and higher, the more expensive.

The massive caves at the top of the three peaks were reserved for the Demon Emperors and Nymph Emperors, to show their high status. The height of these three peaks was generally comparable to most palaces, although not at the level of the highest-ranked ones.

One side of the platform was a sheer cliff. It was said that in battles here, the loser would jump or be thrown off the cliff, with no chance of survival. Those with flight abilities were no exception, as flying was forbidden here.

One had to climb the stone steps on either side to reach the Great Beast Fighting Arena. This required courage, as the steps were not wide and they were on the side of a sheer cliff. The higher one climbed, the more dangerous it became. With flight forbidden, one misstep meant the climbers could only rely on their own bodies to break the fall.

This was how Tang San entered the stone steps area. He wore a hood and mask, keeping his aura restrained. He wasn’t really afraid of being recognized as a human, but a little cautiousness couldn’t hurt. As he walked, he constantly observed the Great Beast Fighting Arena.

After days of rest and cultivation, Tang San discovered that his Discerning Eye of Heaven, now at the seventh order, had gained an additional ability—Celestial Gaze!

This Celestial Gaze was different from the rudimentary ability he had acquired when he had first met Du Bai. It could genuinely peek into fortune and momentum, whether of a living being, an object, or even a location.

At this moment, he was using this ability to probe the fortune of the Ancestral Court Great Beast Fighting Arena. Tang San discovered that the arena was filled with a soaring black-red aura.

Black represented gloom, haze, and misfortune, while red symbolized slaughter and bloodshed. Obviously, this was a place filled with disaster and misfortune—the obvious result of countless brutal deaths. However, at the same time, it also bore the opposite energy to the Celestial Fox Sacred Mountain. In other words, this could be one of the measures the Celestial Fox Demon Emperor used to counteract the backlash from the massive cluster of luck. However, in spite of its immense scale, all the black and red aura seemed confined within a specific range and didn't leak out.

As he continued to climb, the mountain wind grew piercingly cold, and the temperature dropped. On one side was an increasingly tall cliff, and on the other, a precipice. Unlike other peaks with abundant vegetation, the three peaks holding the Ancestral Court Great Beast Fighting Arena were barren!

Celestial Gaze could also be used on oneself to peek into one's fortune and hide one's aura. Tang San's spiritual power was at the peak of the ninth order, and with his divine consciousness as the core, he could use it skillfully. His aura was now restrained to that of an ordinary person.

Because of this, other bidders who were also heading to the auction kept their distance from him.

In their eyes, the lack of any bloodline aura was far more terrifying than a powerful presence. If they couldn’t tell his cultivation, it could only mean he was an absolute monster.

Tang San didn't mind this. He was content as long as the top-level powerhouses didn't notice his overwhelming fortune from a distance.

Finally, the height of the staircase exceeded that of the platform of the Great Beast Fighting Arena. Continuing up the stairs, Tang San could see the dark red ground of the arena. The air seemed to grow heavier and more oppressive. Countless beings from various races had died here—some sentenced and forced to fight for their lives, others choosing to risk everything to train here.

After a second check of his badge, Tang San finally found his cave. The caves on the three peaks were densely packed, with a total number exceeding three thousand. Except for the topmost caves, the remaining ones could be occupied by bidders. The three-day auction really continued for three full days, and leaving midway meant forfeiting the right to return and continue participating. Thus, the caves had to be habitable. Of course, the ordinary caves were only suitable for sitting meditation. After all, no one would want to cultivate in such a place and absorb misfortune.

Tang San's cave was close to Zhang Haoxuan's because they had registered together. They arrived separately to avoid their relationship being noticed.

Zhang Haoxuan's position was 338, while Tang San's was 336.

The cave wasn't large, and it was rather far from the grand stage. Naturally, those without connections wouldn't be assigned the best positions.

Tang San's cave, number 336, was about ten square meters. Inside was a table with a crystal ball engraved with a miniature array for bidding. Besides that, there was some food, some water, and nothing else.

The seating was just a mat, and a telescope mounted on one side allowed for detailed viewing of the auction items. After all, the peaks were some distance from the arena. Not every bidder had Tang San's sharp eyesight.

"Master, I've arrived. I'm in cave 336."

—Good, let’s keep quiet and wait for the start.