Zhou Yuan looked around and found that the surrounding World Lords were all discussing things in low voices. Some were guessing what items would be offered at this auction, some were exchanging cultivation insights, and others were making small talk, clearly expanding their networks.
Three hours later, most of the five million seats had been occupied, and everyone participating in the auction had entered.
"Everyone!" A clear, jade-like voice suddenly rang through the auction hall, instantly drowning out all the noisy discussions. The entire hall fell silent, and everyone turned their eyes toward its center.
Zhou Yuan looked up as well. A tall, beautiful woman in a luxurious starry-blue gown stood on the circular platform at the center of the auction hall. Her figure instantly enlarged into a nearly thousand-meter-tall three-dimensional projection hovering in the air, displaying her delicate features and elegant bearing clearly before everyone.
A tall, beautiful woman in luxurious formal attire stood at the center of the auction hall. A nearly thousand-meter-tall three-dimensional projection of her appeared overhead.
"Welcome, everyone, to this session of the Purple Zenith Auction. We thank the Virtual Universe Company, First Universe Bank, Universe Galaxy Bank, Giant Axe Dojo, Universe Mercenary Alliance, and the Purple Chen Universe Nation for their generous support." The beautiful woman wore a professional smile, her voice crisp and pleasant. "I am Yun Yi. I believe many familiar faces here know me. I will be hosting this auction as usual."
"First, let me announce the number of participants in this auction. The previous auction had 3,173,952 participants, while the figures for this auction have now been compiled. This time, we have reached 3,759,605 participants—an increase of more than 580,000 over last time."
As soon as she finished speaking, a wave of commotion erupted throughout the auction hall. More than three million World Lord level powerhouses had gathered here, along with quite a few Immortal Level deities hidden in the shadows. Such a scale was enough to demonstrate the Purple Zenith Auction's influence in the universe.
"Alright, without further ado, before the official auction begins, we will first hold a warm-up auction." Yun Yi raised a hand for silence, then pointed to the virtual display at her right. "Please look at the first auction item."
A crimson spaceship instantly appeared on the display. Its streamlined hull gleamed with metallic luster, while the details of its cannons and engines were clearly visible.
"This is an E9-level spacecraft, the Red Shuttle, exclusively manufactured by the Virtual Universe Company. Its hull is forged from E9-level Scarlet Mixed Copper-Gold and can withstand ordinary attacks from Immortal Level powerhouses.
"It is 800 meters long, 200 meters wide, and 160 meters high. Equipped with nine E9-level laser cannons, it can reach a maximum speed of twenty times the speed of light in the Dark Universe. Whether for exploration or escape, it is an excellent choice."
"So, what is its starting price? Please look at the main screen!" Yun Yi announced loudly. A striking line of numbers appeared on the display—200 Hunyuan units.
"The starting price is 200 Hunyuan units, and each increase must be in whole-number multiples of no less than 1 Hunyuan unit. Now, bidding begins!"
"300 Hunyuan units!" Almost the instant Yun Yi finished speaking, a rough voice came from a corner of the auction hall, sending the price soaring by 100 Hunyuan units.
Zhou Yuan watched the numbers continuously change on the main screen and rubbed the purple token in his hand. A spacecraft of this level was far too extravagant for him. His entire fortune amounted to just over sixty Hunyuan units; he did not even qualify to bid.
In the blink of an eye, the price reached 400 Hunyuan units.
410—420—430—435—438. The increases gradually slowed, and the price was already nearing the spacecraft's expected selling price.
Just as everyone thought it would sell for around 440, a calm voice suddenly rang out. "500 Hunyuan units!"
The number 500 Hunyuan units appeared on the main screen, and the auction hall instantly fell silent.
The entire auction hall sank into deathly silence. Five hundred Hunyuan units was already far beyond the spacecraft's actual value.
"500 Hunyuan units, going once! 500 Hunyuan units, going twice! 500 Hunyuan units, going three times! Sold!" Yun Yi's voice was clear and forceful. "Congratulations to guest number FDG75479. You have won the Red Shuttle!" The woman in formal attire continued in a crisp voice, "This session of the Purple Zenith Auction is about to officially begin. Please watch the countdown on the main screen!"
"10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1!"
The woman in formal attire had a clear, penetrating voice, like that of a deity.
As the countdown ended, the center of the auction hall became dazzlingly bright. A golden pillar of light shot into the heavens, illuminating every powerhouse's face with sacred solemnity.
"This auction has officially begun! We will now present the first batch of auction items. One thousand upcoming items have already been synchronized to your auction tokens. Guests interested in bidding, please prepare yourselves. The first item is the Life Fruit, with a total of twenty available!"
She paused before continuing, "Life Fruits contain pure life energy and can instantly restore a severely wounded, dying World Lord to peak condition. They can be called a World Lord's second life. The starting price is 500 billion Universe Coins. The twenty guests with the highest final bids will win. Bidding begins now!"
At once, the World Lords in the auction hall began placing bids. For World Lords who spent years exploring the universe, Life Fruits were essential life-saving trump cards. No one wanted to perish from their injuries at a critical moment.
The price of Life Fruits jumped directly from 500 billion Universe Coins to 2 trillion Universe Coins, then rapidly continued to rise.
2.1 trillion—2.2 trillion—2.3 trillion...
Only when the price reached 2.6 trillion Universe Coins did its increase gradually slow.
The lowest final price was 2.998 trillion Universe Coins, while the highest reached 3.0827 trillion Universe Coins.
However, Zhou Yuan did not need Life Fruits. His life level was only at the Universe Level. Even with a 120-fold genetic multiplier, he was merely equivalent to a Level 5 Domain Lord. Using Life Fruits would be far too extravagant, and there were other Domain Lord level substitutes available, so he naturally did not participate in the bidding.
He sat in his seat and browsed the thousand auction items through the purple token in his hand. His gaze swept rapidly through them. Most were ordinary cultivation resources, fifth-tier weapons, and support-type items.
"Nothing in this batch is what I want." Zhou Yuan shook his head and turned his attention back to the auction.
One auction item after another sold like flowing water. The wide array of treasures was dazzling, and any single one of them was worth more than a Domain Lord's entire fortune.
This was one of the Purple Chen Universe Nation's grandest events. Millions of World Lords had gathered here, along with many Immortal deities. Whenever they encountered an item they wanted, they showed no restraint, and bids rose one after another, creating an extremely lively scene.
Soon, all the items in the first batch had been sold. The most eye-catching were the Life Fruits. The highest bid reached 3.0827 trillion Universe Coins, while even the lowest went for hundreds of billions, showing just how sought-after they were.
"Now for the second batch of auction items. The new thousand items have already been synchronized to your auction tokens. Please prepare yourselves." Yun Yi maintained her elegant smile, her gentle voice clearly carrying throughout the entire hall.
Zhou Yuan activated his token again and browsed. "Machine Race battle armor, full-body protection, capable of forming an energy shield on its outermost layer. D9 level, usable by anyone. A Planet Level warrior wearing it can defend against Domain Lord level attacks. Unfortunately, it is useless to me.
"A fifth-tier force weapon is useless too. Its performance is about the same as the Zhenkong Blade's, so there is no need to replace it.
"The God-Shaking Weapon, a divine weapon combining earth and space, for spiritual force masters. Unfortunately, I am not a spiritual force master..." Zhou Yuan examined the auction items in this batch one by one.