Chapter 418: Thirty-Six Thousand

The elderly man frowned and said, "If we only take thirty percent, we’ll barely break even. After all, we spent too much on distribution channels."

Xu Ziran glanced at him and snorted. "We’re the exclusive sellers of this disc. Is the profit only about the money? What we want is status, a level above other merchant associations. Are you seriously worried about not making money? You've been with my father for so many years. How can you not understand this basic business logic?"

"Thirty-six thousand naturae coins, for the third time, sold!"

With these words, the gavel finally fell.

The Chrono Array Disc was auctioned off at a staggering thirty-six thousand naturae coins. This was an incredibly high price. Its primary cost was just a single drop of Chrono Croc blood; that’s right, it was only one drop. The other materials were not particularly rare. As for the rest, that was all considered Tang San’s labor cost.

Tang San exhaled deeply. After deducting fees and the naturae coins he had borrowed from the merchant association earlier, it was still a massive fortune. In tomorrow’s auction, this money would undoubtedly allow him to get what he wanted.

—Th-Thirty thousand! Tang San, that’s thirty thousand naturae coins! Our organization has never seen so much money!

Zhang Haoxuan audibly gulped.

"Master, calm down. We should spend as much of this money as possible tomorrow. Money is just an external thing; converting it into strength is what matters most."

—Alright, I’ll follow your lead.

Zhang Haoxuan no longer regretted the large sum Tang San had spent on the Golden Roc blood. They were genuinely wealthy now.

In the end, the Chrono Array Disc was secured by Room 119, and seated there was none other than Fatball, the manager of the Skyway Merchant Association’s Ancestral Court shop.

Fatball’s expression was gloomy as he constantly communicated through a communicator, "What? No information at all? Don’t tell me the Aetherhorn Merchant Association just conjured the damn Chrono Array disc out of thin air? Use any means necessary; keep investigating and find out the origin of the disc. If you can't, don’t bother coming back."

Thirty-six thousand naturae coins!

His heart bled at the cost, but he had no choice but to bid. The Chrono Array disc was simply too astonishing. In his view, its true significance lay in its research value. Its mechanism could revolutionize the cultivation system.

Whether demon or nymph, those who could simultaneously wield two bloodline powers were rare, and those who were at least somewhat strong were rarer still. Most cases occurred with weaker races, as stronger races faced more significant issues with bloodline incompatibility and conflict. The Lion-Tiger lineage was a prime example.

But a bloodline array disc changed everything. Carrying one could allow the wielder to mobilize another bloodline's abilities using their own bloodline power. Furthermore, the disc could be imbued with power higher in order than the wielder’s own. This allowed them to activate high-level abilities without needing advanced cultivation themselves. It was practically defying nature!

He still didn’t know where his competitors had sourced this Chrono Array disc, but he realized that if it could be mass produced, its value would surpass that of any product on the market; practically every race would need it.

If this bloodline array disc’s capabilities could be expanded and if it could integrate first-tier bloodlines, wouldn’t anyone have the potential to become as omnipotent as the Crystal Demon Emperor? Although this was only theoretically possible, as the manager of the Skyway Merchant Association's Ancestral Court shop, he couldn’t afford to miss such an opportunity!

Just because the Aetherhorn Merchant Association couldn’t figure it out didn’t mean the Skyway Merchant Association couldn’t; after all, they had a Demon Emperor backing them.

Thus, when he contacted the higher-ups, the directive he received was to secure the item at any cost and send it back to headquarters for detailed research. This could very well be a groundbreaking product!

The first day of the auction thus officially concluded. All items were sold at high prices, and it was reported that today’s Spiritual Items Auction Day had set a new historical high for spiritual artifact auctions.

Although the Chrono Array disc hadn’t achieved the highest auction price, its appearance was by far the most significant to the bidders. Moreover, its origin was still a mystery. According to information from the Aetherhorn Merchant Association, the item had been found in an excavation of ruins; there was no further explanation.

Although this item wouldn’t reach the level of the Ancestral Court emperors for now, all research reports regarding it had already been submitted to the Ancestral Court Council before the auction. It was universally acknowledged that the arrays it contained were beyond the capabilities of current research.

Since they couldn’t leave the auction venue, Tang San and Zhang Haoxuan had to rest in their bidding rooms.

Sitting cross-legged in meditation and focusing inward, Tang San immediately directed his attention to the crystal imprint.

The crystal imprint protected him when the Celestial Fox Demon Emperor appeared today. Although the Celestial Fox Demon Emperor was targeting everyone at that time, if his divine consciousness had been detected, it would have been an enormous problem. Tang San did not doubt that the Celestial Fox Demon Emperor possessed such capabilities. The Hell Garden might very well be a plane created by this emperor!

The crystal imprint remained silent, with Crystalline showing no signs of awakening and appearing unchanged.

At least so far, she had brought Tang San nothing but benefits. The Polar Domain significantly improved his control over fortune, for instance. Even at the same seventh order, his Discerning Eye of Heaven was far more powerful than Du Bai’s Celestial Fox Vision.

Unable to grasp her mysteries, he could only let her continue to develop. He didn’t want to visit the Crystal Demon Emperor proactively. Until he became a god, he had no confidence in facing these emperors.

After briefly reflecting, he didn’t continue cultivating. The Great Beast Fighting Arena was not a suitable environment for cultivating. His thoughts drifted back to Kali City. Was she still waiting for him there? She was probably disappointed that he didn’t show up right away... He wanted to go back to her!

It had been over a year since they last saw each other. He wondered how she had changed. She must have become even more beautiful.

She had always been under immense pressure, and the last battle between the Peacock Great Demon King and the Crystal Phoenix Demon Emperor had left the former severely injured, likely irreversibly. If the Crystal Phoenix Demon Emperor caused trouble again, the Peacock Great Demon King could face severe problems. Could Kali City be defended? What would she, as the successor, do then?