Chapter 973: Grabbing the Shield

"The starting price for the Dark Turtle Shield is two thousand amethystine coins, with each increment no less than one hundred amethystine coins. You may start bidding. " This starting price was not exaggerated; such was the standard for normal divine items. However, it met with a rather cold reception.

The reason for this was simple: It was not easy to use.

The Dark Turtle Shield was actually quite a renowned divine item, but it was famous precisely because it was unusable. Not only was it extremely heavy, but none of the known bloodlines, including the bloodlines of all the turtle and tortoise demon clans, could fully integrate with it and thereby unleash its true might. All it could offer was its pure defensive power.

Of course, it was truly powerful. Not even an Emperor's attacks could break it; this had been verified multiple times. The problem was that carrying such a massive and cumbersome shield that could not be integrated with one's bloodline abilities made fighting with it unfeasible. Most demon and nymph powerhouses relied on their own innate abilities in battle, after all. All things considered, whether in terms of toughness or mobility, it was nothing but a glorified steel wall.

Nearly every Emperor had tried to use this divine item, but no one had succeeded so far. Naturally, those in the know would not bother bidding for it. As for those who didn't know, they could not afford it anyway. After all, its pure defensive power was unmatched. Even if it couldn't be activated, it wouldn't be sold cheaply. Two thousand amethystine coins might not be an outrageous price relative to its actual value, but it was still the price of a high-level divine item. Who would want to spend so much money to buy a useless item?

So, as soon as the auction for the Dark Turtle Shield began, it fell into a lull. No one was bidding.

Sitting in VIP Room Eight, Tang San's expression became somewhat peculiar when he saw that no one was interested in bidding.

No one wants the Black Tortoise Shield? That's really funny! But then again, I suppose it makes sense. It'd take an Emperor, or at least a Great Demon King with an extremely powerful physique, to even move it from that platform. Eh, well, since that's the case, I suppose I don't have to go all in for it.

"Two thousand amethystine coins, VIP Room Eight."

When this bid came in, even the Sunborne Nymph Emperor was somewhat moved.

How could he not be moved? When this item was brought out, it was really just to pad out the item count. After all, even the Ancestral Court didn't have an endless supply of divine items to auction off! The Dark Turtle Shield had last been dumped into a vault under Council Mountain a good thousand years ago, and this was just a chance to let it get some fresh air. Maybe some clueless but wealthy dumbass might buy it on a whim.

The Ancestral Court had long seen it as a hot potato. If it were just a divine item that couldn't be used, that would be one thing. But the Dark Turtle Shield was also extremely domineering, constantly absorbing vast amounts of water energy from its surroundings. The Ancestral Court lost huge quantities of water energy to it every year, and even using divine consciousness or walls made of high-grade materials to isolate it didn't help. Selling it was naturally the best outcome.

When the Sunborne Nymph Emperor was auctioning this item, he had already prepared himself for it to go unsold. Even though this was a top-level auction, no one would be foolish enough to buy something that couldn't be used.

Yet, a "fool" had indeed appeared. Of course, the Sunborne Nymph Emperor did not think Tang San was a fool, but he did remember that he had spoken with Tang San earlier. Clearly, Tang San was stepping in to help him save face, making a bid to ease the awkward atmosphere. How could the Sunborne Nymph Emperor not be moved? His gaze turned to VIP Room Eight, and he nodded slightly, his smile quite a bit broader.

Even though Tang San couldn't see his face clearly, he could still sense the Emperor's satisfaction. And in this case, he was very happy to make Sunborne happy. Two thousand amethystine coins for the seed of a transcendent divine item? And the money wasn't even his own? Where else could one find such a good deal?

As expected, no one else was foolish enough to compete with VIP Room Eight and the Blue Gold Tree clan, who were already seen as crazy. A few moments later, Tang San had successfully secured the shield.

After winning the Black Tortoise Shield, Tang San even wondered if he should stop participating in the auction altogether in order to avoid wasting more of his good fortune. His haul this time was just ridiculous. While the earlier items were certainly respectable, these last two were truly priceless treasures. He had basically stumbled on an incredible stroke of luck.

These two items could not be measured in mere monetary terms. Their significance was enough to influence the fate of an entire plane, especially the Heart of Nature!

What more could he want? Thus, he decided to keep a lower profile for the remainder of the auction. There was no need to overly flaunt the Blue Gold Tree clan's wealth.

If it weren't for Mei Gongzi, he wouldn't even want to participate in the matchmaking tournament anymore; he'd rather find a secluded place to close up and quickly become an Emperor. He had no need of the Ancestral Court's approval, and with the Heart of Nature in hand, there would be no problem crossing the tribulation. He could just tell the planar ruler to piss off and that would be the end of it.

At this moment, Tang San was in particularly good spirits—extremely good spirits.

Indeed, he did not participate again. The following items were still excellent, treasures that could temporarily boost one's power or potent divine items. But these no longer caught Tang San's eye. And because he had helped the Sunborne Nymph Emperor offload the two "problematic" items, the latter no longer sent him any discreet signals.

Soon, the auction of the first ten items was completed. The most prized item was the last one, a truly formidable divine item. It was a massive hammer suitable only for giant races like the Behemoths or Golden Mammoths, whose power was mostly sheer physical might. It fetched a high price of nine thousand amethystine coins.

So far, the highest price reached in the entire auction remained Tang San's earlier bid for the Radiant Dragon Spear, twelve thousand amethystine coins. Other than that, no other items had reached the ten-thousand mark.

The Sunborne Nymph Emperor then announced a one-hour break, after which the final ten items of the auction—undoubtedly the most valuable—would be presented. Everyone was eager to see what the grand finale would be.

This time, Tang San did not invite the Sunborne Nymph Emperor for any polite small talk. Instead, he quietly slipped away with the clan elders to settle the payment for his items. With nearly all the Emperors present, no one would dare try to steal them now; it would be a suicidal move.

He was truly eager to get his hands on the Black Tortoise Shield and Heart of Nature. Only once they were in his possession would he feel at ease.

And once the money changed hands and the two treasures were finally presented to Tang San, even with his self-control, he could not prevent a flicker of excitement from flashing in his eyes. With these two priceless treasures in his possession, his path to returning to the God King level was now clear.

Tang San carefully cradled the Heart of Nature in his hands. The seven-colored gemstone emitted a faint glow and even seemed to pulse slightly, as if it had sensed something. Tang San knew what it had sensed: a foreign element. The Heart of Nature was rejecting him. This was only natural; as the material embodiment of a plane's most fundamental aspects, and the key to its evolution, it made perfect sense that it rejected outsiders.