Chapter 423: Stone of Slowness

Zhang Haoxuan refrained from interrogating Tang San about the reason behind his lavish spending on this item. As he often did lately, he opted to just have faith in his disciple. The thirty thousand naturae coins that constituted their funds had been earned by Tang San himself, after all.

As the auction progressed, a succession of rare goods emerged. Nevertheless, Tang San maintained a low profile. He allowed his teacher to place bids on interesting things he found. It was as simple as that: if the price was good, they bought it; if not, they passed.

Time gradually passed, and as the sun began to set, the day's auction was also nearing its end.

Several auctioneers had already been changed, since an entire day of auctioning was truly exhausting. Keeping tabs on the products at all times was also a drain on the bidders. But the arrival of the final few pieces was something everyone was anticipating.

Given yesterday's auction of spiritual items, it was clear that today's final rare items would certainly not disappoint. This was indeed a rare opportunity!

"We will finally begin the auction for today's last three items. If you expect them to be as good as yesterday’s items, well, I believe you will not be disappointed—each of these three is truly a treasure! Now, let's welcome the third-to-last item!"

Finally, it was here. The somewhat drowsy bidders, especially those with deep pockets and willingness to spend, all perked up.

Yesterday's final three items were undoubtedly stunning: the Stone of Shelter, the Solar Blossom, and, lastly, Tang San's Chrono Array Disc. Though the Chrono Array Disc had the lowest price, it was of the greatest significance, as it essentially pioneered a new path.

So, what treasures would today's final three rare items be? This was what every bidder eagerly anticipated.

A cart was wheeled into the venue, and as it entered, all spectators seemed to feel a sense of sluggishness. What was this thing?

Tang San gazed into the distance, and when his eyes landed on the cart, he immediately felt his thoughts becoming sluggish. The four bears pushing the cart wore heavy armor made of metal, as if whatever was on the cart posed some kind of danger to them.

Judging by the bulge on the cart, this item also didn’t seem very large.

The cart was wheeled to the center of the venue, and the auctioneer stepped back to a more distant spot, in an unusual display. And when he spoke again, everyone noticed something even more unusual.

"Honored... guests... next... this... item... is... very... unique.... It... is... a... piece... of ore,... believed... to... come... from... a... meteor... from... beyond... the heavens.... When... it... was... discovered... it... exhibited... very... strange... effects.... Later... it was... sent to... the Ancestral... Court... where... it has... been... kept... ever since... Several... of Their... Majesties... the Demon... and Nymph... Emperors... have... studied... it... but... none... could... determine... the cause... of its... peculiar... effects."

The Blue Fox auctioneer's speech was extremely slow and halting, as if his language faculty was affected. This was clearly an effect of the item in front of him. What could cause such a state? Slurred speech? No, it wasn’t slurred but

slowed

; moreover, even the thoughts of the bidders observing this item seemed sluggish.

"The... Emperors... of... the... Ancestral Court... call... it... the Stone... of Slowness.... Within... its... certain range... everything... becomes... slow... but... the flow... of time... is... unaffected.... We... even... invited... the elders... of the Chrono... Crocs... to... verify... and... they... found... that their... mastery... over time... could... not... alter... its... surrounding effects.... Among... the rare items... kept... in the... Ancestral Court..., this... is... absolutely... one of... the most... miraculous.... If we... could... fully... understand... its nature... it... might already... be considered... a godly... item.... When... a piece... is cut... from its... main body..., the slowness... effect... decreases... significantly.... Please... watch."

As he spoke, the auctioneer signaled the armored bears to lift the red cloth.

When the red fabric was raised on the cart, a piece of ore the size of a human skull was exposed. It had crystalline patterns and an uneven surface, and it was a uniform yellow-brown color. No light was coming out of it, but if one could tap into its spiritual energy, they'd perceive a hazy halo. The effect seemed to reach far and wide, slowing down everything within a radius of 100 meters.

An unknown rare item! That was the category it fell into. However, the effects it produced undeniably proved its value. It made perfect sense for it to be one of the final three items.

"Starting... price... five thousand... naturae... coins... each increment... must be... at least... five hundred." The auctioneer announced the rules with difficulty, then slowly raised his hand to signal the start of the bidding.

The venue fell into silence. No one placed a bid.

The reason no one bid was simple: its uses were unclear. It was simply that: one knew what to do with it. Five thousand naturae coins was no small sum, and spending such an amount on an unknown item was indeed somewhat extravagant.

Even the Demon and Nymph Emperors couldn't figure out its origin, mechanism of action, or how to use it. Obviously, the bidders entertained no thoughts of outsmarting the emperors.

This thing was indeed bizarre, and at the same time, painfully impractical. A first thought would be that it was suitable for making weapons, except the slowness would affect the user themself! The bears’ heavy metal armor seemed to barely insulate them from the effect so they were able to move the cart.

Using it as a weapon? Don’t be ridiculous. If someone attacked you from a distance, you couldn’t even think to defend before you were hit...

Slowness was absolutely helpful in some situations, but only if the user was not affected. What was the point if they were?

The Chrono Croc clan was naturally very interested in this rare item, but they were unusually poor for such a powerful clan and couldn't afford it. The Ancestral Court allowed them to study it for a while, but they didn’t find any results and had to return it.

After numerous failed studies, it was sent to today's auction.

Among all the bidders present, if one person was interested in it, it had to be number 336. At this moment, Tang San looked very much like the sparkly-eyed, curious child his physical age warranted him to be.

In this plane, even high-level gods failed to recognize this so-called Stone of Slowness, but Tang San, a former God King and ruler of a divine realm, recognized it!

This was not a Stone of Slowness or whatever; it was clearly a Temporal Beacon. Tang San could not even fathom how it had even ended up in a mortal plane like this; it belonged to a divine realm, where it was used to calculate the time flow of different planes.

In the divine realm, it wasn’t particularly precious, nor did it have such slowness characteristics; it was merely a time regulator. However, outside the divine realm, it was a whole different story.

Moreover, this Temporal Beacon was huge. A typical Temporal Beacon was only the size of a fingernail, and the gods in divine realms fashioned it in a specific shape in order to conduct time calculations. Such a large Temporal Beacon, even in the Douluo Divine Realm where Tang San had once resided, did not exist.