Chapter 974: Claiming the Treasure, But Not the Beauty

Though the Heart of Nature had no consciousness of its own, it naturally reacted to the presence of divinity within Tang San—specifically, to the presence of a divine seat that did not belong to this plane. How could it not feel repelled? Once the Heart of Nature of a plane was taken away by someone from a divine realm, the plane would fall under the control of that divine realm, or even be devoured by it. This was an omen of its destruction.

Tang San's divine consciousness immediately settled on the surface of the Heart of Nature. In his palm, a faint layer of warped light appeared, silently enveloping the Heart of Nature and preventing it from erupting with an utterly cataclysmic repellent force.

The Spacetime Beacon and the Heart of Nature were on the same level of existence, and since the former had been refined by Tang San into the Spacetime Lighthouse, it was the perfect vessel to contain the Heart of Nature. It instantly sealed the Heart of Nature into a spacetime bubble, completely isolated from any and all external influences, and then drew it into itself.

Tang San let out a small breath of relief. If the Heart of Nature had suddenly gone berserk, it would have plunged the entire Ancestral Court—or whatever was left of it—into absolute chaos and shock. Thankfully, he had been prepared and he had the Spacetime Lighthouse. Otherwise, he would have had to rely on the projection of the Sea God's Trident just to barely suppress the Heart of Nature, and even that seal would have been unstable. After all, the cornerstone of a divine realm was not something that could be measured against mere divine items, even transcendent ones. Especially a Heart of Nature this massive, corresponding to the entire flourishing and resource-rich Planet Falan!

To the powerful beings at the transaction desk, it simply looked like Tang San had grasped the seven-colored gemstone in his hand, then stored it away.

"Clan Leader Jin, you're truly remarkable! We tried many times, but this gemstone couldn't be placed inside any storage equipment. Yet you did it." The one in charge at the delivery point was a Great Demon King of the Golden Mammoth clan, working directly for the Ancestral Court, and she was eyeing Tang San curiously.

Tang San smiled. "Well, I have to disappoint you, but I didn't really. That was not storage equipment. I used one of my clan's special abilities, granted to us by the Ancestral Tree."

There was no need for further explanations, and using the Ancestral Tree as an excuse was perfect.

"This shield, though... Well, you must be careful. It's extremely heavy, and I mean that by Golden Mammoth standards. I have to use eighty percent of my strength just to lift it. Most rings and other storage equipment can't contain it, unless they are spacious enough to hold a small mountain..." The Great Demon King trailed off as she saw a blue light flickering on Tang San's finger and enveloping the pitch-black Black Tortoise Shield. The next moment, it was gone.

Tang San smiled again. "Now

this

was a piece of storage equipment. No worries, my storage ring is up to the task. I don't know about a small mountain, but it does have quite a large space. Thank you very much!"

With that, he turned and left with the elders of the Blue Gold Tree clan, leaving the Golden Mammoth Great Demon King staring blankly. It took her a long while to pull herself back together.

𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

She muttered inwardly,

As expected of a city lord! Even if it's just Skytree City, it still has plenty of good stuff. Seems the Blue Gold Tree clan is wealthier than I thought. They've really made a splash at this auction, though I suppose it's just because they're rich and clueless. That gemstone and shield were the bottom-of-the-chest items of the Ancestral Court. He could have spent that money on dinner and he would've been better off...

Tang San couldn't possibly care less about her thoughts, or anybody else's. At this moment, his mood couldn't have been better. And just as he returned to the VIP area, he happened to run into Mei Gongzi, who had just come back from somewhere.

"City Lord Mei, greetings!" Still wearing the Tang San greeted her with a smile.

Mei Gongzi's face was veiled, so her expression was anybody's guess, but she gave a slight nod in return, then continued walking toward her VIP room.

In his elated mood, Tang San couldn't help but tease her. "City Lord Mei, if we were to end up together after the matchmaking tournament, wouldn't that be the most far-flung romance on the continent? You on the eastern shore, me on the western one..."

Mei Gongzi's delicate figure stiffened slightly, and her steps paused for an instant. Without even turning her head, she said coolly, "Don't waste your time fantasizing about things that will never happen."

Tang San chuckled. "I've always believed that in this world, there's nothing that's truly impossible. What if, by some chance, it does happen?"

Mei Gongzi suddenly turned back to face him, and the ice in her tone made the Throne of Frost feel like a heated massage chair. "You will die before it happens."

The icy murderous intent that flared from her in that instant was directed at Tang San alone, enveloping him in a chilling aura.

Tang San quickly raised both hands in a gesture of surrender, speaking a bit helplessly, "City Lord Mei, why so cold? In this world, truly nothing is impossible. If it really happened, couldn't we just get along?"

A trace of surprise flashed in Mei Gongzi's beautiful eyes. She realized that when her killing intent swept over Tang San, it dissipated as effortlessly as spring snow melting in the sun, leaving no trace behind.

She had always been confident in her killing intent, which was rooted in the innate ability of the White Tiger Transformation and further refined into the God-Killing Domain that Tang San had helped her acquire. With the Shadowfiend Sword amplifying the Asura Sword's power, it had even evolved recently, and her killing intent was now no weaker than that of her grandfather. Yet the leader of the Blue Gold Tree clan, by all accounts a clan that could not even protect the lives of its own members, had neutralized it like it was nothing. Was it his cultivation? Or some special ability tailored to counter her?

She shot Tang San a cold glare, clearly not wanting to speak with him any further, and turned to leave again.

"Big Brother, please don't provoke her, alright? Do you really... like her?" Jin Miaosen's voice was trembling a bit.

Tang San laughed. "What would be wrong with me truly liking her? Everyone has the right to pursue beauty."

"I beg you, Big Brother, I don't want a sister-in-law like that.... She's terrifying...." Although Mei Gongzi's killing intent had been directed at Tang San alone, Jin Miaosen's heart was still racing from the cold intensity of her aura.

"Let's go back." Tang San smiled. In his heart, though, he was thinking,

When Little Mei eventually learns that Jin Miaolin is actually Tang San, how will she react? Basically... how hard am I courting death these days?

But right now, he was in an exceptionally good mood. With the Black Tortoise Shield and the Heart of Nature, there were few things left in this world for him to worry about.

By the time he was back in his VIP room, it was already midday. Today's final auction would end during the daylight.

The morning's auction had been hosted by the Sunborne Nymph Emperor personally. For the afternoon's auction, it would be the Celestial Fox Demon Emperor presiding. The Ancestral Court's level of importance placed on this auction had truly reached unprecedented heights.

***

Meanwhile, in VIP Room Eleven, Mei Gongzi's expression had turned a bit grave.

Ever since she had broken through to the eleventh order, her strength had been growing by leaps and bounds. Especially as she became more attuned to the Asura Sword, and with her three bloodlines blending harmoniously, she felt truly confident in herself.

But her brief clash with Jin Miaolin had left her feeling serious doubt.

Blue Gold Trees were not known for their combat prowess. Yet their clan leader had shrugged her killing aura as if it was nothing more than a spring breeze. His cultivation felt unfathomable to her senses.

If even a "weakling" clan leader has such hidden depths, how powerful must the others be in this tournament? The other city lords, like Jin Anguo... Just how strong are they really?

To claim the title of Emperor, there was no doubt that all participants would give it their all. Could she truly walk this path to the end alongside Tang San? She still didn't even know how Tang San planned to enter the tournament. If he lost during the qualifiers...