The auction continued. Qika kept up his enthusiastic hosting. "Next is the final item in the fifteenth batch: five Divine Illusion Beads. These telekinetic weapons are suitable for World Lord Level illusionists. They can strengthen Spiritual Force and amplify the power of Soul Secret Techniques."
"Bidding starts at 100 Hunyuan Units per bead, and each bid must be at least 10 Hunyuan Units higher than the last. The five highest bidders will each win one of these rare telekinetic weapons for illusionists. Please enter your bids in the bidding panels beside you. The auction starts now!"
When Luo Zhiyuan heard that the Divine Illusion Beads were up for auction, he quickly clicked on the detailed description. A glowing, milky-white oval bead appeared on the circular platform, accompanied by surprisingly little text.
The description was brief: a telekinetic weapon used by illusionists that could strengthen Spiritual Force and amplify the power of Soul Secret Techniques. It came with a Combat Secret Technique consisting of three levels, and at its highest level could increase the power of Soul Secret Techniques tenfold.
Huh? Why was the description so short?
Bulieni explained, "Illusionists attack their opponents' souls. But when their cultivation levels are the same, their soul strength is usually similar, so the main thing that determines how they fight is their Soul Secret Technique."
"Illusionists with powerful Soul Secret Techniques are indeed extremely difficult opponents for beings with souls. But what if they don't have powerful Soul Secret Techniques? Then they find a way to increase the strength of their consciousness."
"At its highest level, this Divine Illusion Bead can increase the power tenfold. That's like forcibly raising your cultivation by one level. If two opponents are both at Peak World Lord Level, but one has consciousness strength approaching that of an ordinary Immortal, then he'll have an almost overwhelming advantage over his peer."
"So, for ordinary illusionist cultivators, the Divine Illusion Bead is an excellent telekinetic weapon as long as it can reach the tenfold enhancement. Just watch—the price will definitely surpass what you paid for the Spirit Reader's Nine Great Divine Weapons set."
Sure enough, once the bidding began, the price climbed steadily. In the end, Luo Zhiyuan won one for 680 Hunyuan Units.
After that, Luo Zhiyuan didn't participate in any more of the bidding, except for the ingredients that might have been food. He just clicked on each item to read its details, treating it all as a chance to broaden his horizons.
"Esteemed guests, we've now reached the final batch of items in this auction!" Qika's voice suddenly rose with excitement. Even the six ears on his head had darkened in color, a sign that the Seba Race was feeling thrilled and exhilarated.
"This batch contains a hundred items, with only one of each. They all have no starting price. Please get ready—the bidding is about to begin!"
"The first item is a quota to enter the Initial Universe for study. Those up to World Lord Level may enter!"
"Guests, if you'd like to add another Immortal to your ranks, this is a wonderful opportunity. Don't miss it! Even at a mid-level auction, quotas like this rarely appear. The bidding starts now!"
When Luo Zhiyuan heard that the item was a quota to enter the Initial Universe for study, he let out a surprised sound. Bulieni asked in confusion, "What's the deal with this quota? I've never heard of it. But since it's in the final batch—and is even the first item in that batch—there must be something special about it, right?"
"Oh? You don't know about it, Bulieni? Looks like my teacher wasn't all that close to humanity back then." Luo Zhiyuan didn't speak to Bulieni through the Virtual Universe System. Instead, he addressed him in the Consciousness Ocean, his voice thoughtful.
Bulieni pursed his lips and replied in Luo Zhiyuan's Consciousness Ocean, "Your teacher only had a few simple dealings with humanity back then, most of them to satisfy his appetite. Even the bank account he set up was done secretly, under a false identity. I doubt your people even know who the account really belongs to."
Luo Zhiyuan nodded, looking relieved. "That's good. I've been worried that humanity's higher-ups might know the account was left behind by my teacher. It hasn't changed for all these years, and now that I've suddenly inherited it, they might guess that I'm connected to him."
"If they don't even know who opened it, then I don't have to worry about my connection to my teacher being exposed to humanity."
"After all, I'm still weak. It wouldn't be good if some powerful figures among humanity's higher-ups took an interest in me—especially since my teacher was one of the Natural Beast Gods."
Bulieni glanced sideways at Luo Zhiyuan and chuckled. "Heh. So you're not stupid after all. I didn't remind you because I wanted to see whether you'd thought of that. Not bad—you'd already considered the problem. You pass!"
Luo Zhiyuan smiled. Leaving out information like the Original Ancestor, which might attract the attention of the Virtual Universe, he explained the significance of the quota to Bulieni through the Virtual Universe System. "First, the Initial Universe is a sacred cultivation ground for humanity. It's an independent universe in the early stages of evolution, and it has remained in the universe's primordial state of development. That's why it's called the Initial Universe."
"Second, because the Initial Universe hasn't fully developed, it's easier to comprehend the Universe Origin Law there. So humanity sends some of its most important elites to study in the Initial Universe, where they can make progress more easily."
"Finally, if someone at Peak World Lord Level enters the Initial Universe to study, their chance of reaching Immortality is greater than one in two!"
"So this quota is extremely valuable. Just watch—the bidding will be fierce. There's a good chance it could produce an Immortal-level powerhouse."
After listening, Bulieni shook his head. "I still don't understand everything, but I get the general benefit of the quota. Luo, if you can study the laws faster in the Initial Universe, then hurry and bid for it!"
Luo Zhiyuan shook his head. "There's no need. We can just watch. Remember the Genius Tournament I told you about? Once I enter the Core Layer of the Virtual Universe Company, I'll be granted a chance to study in the Initial Universe for free."
"Even if we won this quota now, it might take who knows how many years to travel to the Initial Universe. It'll be faster to wait until I've competed in the Genius Tournament and the Virtual Universe Company takes us there together."
"This quota may be a treasure, but it's no use to us. I can spend these three years cultivating, then make a stunning breakthrough and enter the Core Layer of the Virtual Universe Company!"
Bulieni patted his chest. "So that's how it is. Now I can relax and watch these people bid. Oh? The price has already climbed to Hunyuan Units. This is really fierce!"
On the bidding screen, the displayed amount jumped again, changing to Hunyuan Units, then Hunyuan Units, Hunyuan Units, Hunyuan Units... It kept rising until Hunyuan Units, when Qika announced the end of the bidding.
"Excellent! Sold for Hunyuan Units! Congratulations to the guest who won the quota to study in the Initial Universe. May a new Immortal be born among your ranks. The next item is Leishan Dew. Bidding begins in ten seconds!"
While marveling at the price of the quota to study in the Initial Universe, Luo Zhiyuan clicked on the description of the Leishan Dew. When he discovered it was a treasure that restored the divine body of an Immortal Expert, he lost interest and went back to watching.
The auction continued. After several treasures for restoring the divine bodies of Immortal Experts had been sold, Qika began introducing a new treasure. "Next is a Flame Light Feather, a flying telekinetic weapon suitable for powerhouses who have become Immortal Gods through the Light Law Path. Bidding begins in ten seconds."
When Luo Zhiyuan heard that it was the item he wanted, he immediately opened the detailed description.
The Flame Light Feather had been created long ago by the ruler of the Xuanyi Universe Kingdom. Of course, this particular one was now a mass-produced version.
The Flame Light Feather was generally a flying telekinetic weapon used by Immortal Experts. It could greatly increase the user's instantaneous dodging speed and burst speed.
Its main body was a mass of feathers burning with white flames. After absorbing large amounts of blood and Spiritual Force, it could merge into its user's back and form a pair of Light Wings. The edges of the wings radiated waves of white flame, which was how the weapon got its name.
Luo Zhiyuan knew that a powerhouse's strength in the universe wasn't measured only by their Law Comprehension and the strength of their Combat Secret Techniques. Their ability to stay alive mattered, too.
So instantaneous dodging speed and burst speed were important to any powerhouse. He figured that plenty of Immortals would want the Flame Light Feather.
Sure enough, once Qika announced that bidding had begun, the price shot up. Hunyuan Units, Hunyuan Units, 100,000 Hunyuan Units... It soon passed 200,000 Hunyuan Units, with no sign of slowing down.
Luo Zhiyuan joined the bidding and entered 300,000 Hunyuan Units, but someone immediately outbid him. The price rose to 400,000 Hunyuan Units, then reached 500,000 before it began to slow. Even so, bids kept rising by a thousand or a few hundred Hunyuan Units at a time.
Luo Zhiyuan grew a little tense. The price had already exceeded the net worth of many ordinary Immortals. It still wasn't much to him, but it was the highest price seen at this auction so far.
A little while later, Luo Zhiyuan set his bid at 560,000 Hunyuan Units. Finally, no one raised the price.
"560,000 Hunyuan Units! Three-second countdown: three, two, one—sold! Congratulations, guest! You've won a flying telekinetic weapon that can accompany you for a long time. May it serve you well in your future adventures across the universe!" Qika shouted excitedly.
After winning the Flame Light Feather, Luo Zhiyuan relaxed. He'd now bought everything he'd planned to get, so he leisurely picked up the food beside him and sampled a little of everything.
As for the weapons and equipment he'd originally planned to prepare for his clone, Luo Zhiyuan and Bulieni had decided it would be better to wait until the clone was born and they knew more about it before making specific preparations.
From then on, Luo Zhiyuan became a spectator. Whenever an item came up for auction, he opened its details and then paid no further attention.
If he felt like it, he might casually enter a bid. If he was outbid, he wouldn't raise it. If no one else bid, he'd buy it himself. The most expensive item cost less than 200,000 Hunyuan Units, so he didn't care much about the price.
The final showpiece of the auction was a Time Chamber. It could accelerate the flow of time by up to six times, far less than the thousandfold acceleration of Luo Zhiyuan's own Time Chamber. Even so, it eventually sold for 8.26 million Hunyuan Units.
After all, it was a treasure that could accelerate cultivation. Even at a high-level auction, it would generally count as a rare treasure. For some customers who had just reached four-star status, seeing one at a mid-level auction was quite an eye-opener.
The auction lasted nearly twenty hours. When it ended, Luo Zhiyuan left the Virtual Universe Company a delivery address: Qingyu Planet, the administrative planet directly governed by the Xuanyi Universe Kingdom. Bulieni had already bought a house there, and they'd decided to stay there for the time being.
Before you continue