The Auction Begins

Zhou Yuan looked around and found that the surrounding World Lords were all discussing in low voices. Some were speculating about the lots in this auction, some were exchanging cultivation insights, while others were making conversation and 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 out through the auction hall, instantly drowning out all the noisy discussions. The entire hall immediately fell silent, and everyone turned their gaze toward its center.

Zhou Yuan looked up as well. A tall, beautiful woman in an elegant, starry-blue gown stood upon the circular platform in the center of the auction hall. Her figure instantly enlarged, becoming a three-dimensional projection nearly a thousand meters tall that hovered in the air. Her delicate features and graceful posture were clearly displayed before everyone.

A tall, beautiful woman in an elegant gown stood in the center of the auction hall. A three-dimensional projection of her, nearly a thousand meters tall, appeared overhead.

"Welcome, everyone, to this 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 tremendous support." The beautiful woman wore a professional smile, her voice crisp and pleasant. "I am Yun Yi. I believe many familiar faces already know me. I will once again be hosting this auction."

"First, let me mention the number of participants in this auction. The previous auction had 3,173,952 participants, while the count for this auction has already been finalized at 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 across the universe.

"All right, without further ado, before the official auction begins, we will start with a warm-up auction." Yun Yi raised a hand to signal for quiet, then pointed at the virtual light screen to her right. "Please look at the first lot."

A scarlet spacecraft instantly appeared on the screen. Its streamlined hull gleamed with metallic luster, while the details of its cannon barrels and engines were plainly visible.

"This is an E9-class spacecraft, the 'Red Shuttle,' exclusively manufactured by the Virtual Universe Company. Its hull is forged from E9-class Scarlet Mixed Copper-Gold and can withstand the ordinary attacks of Immortal-level powerhouses.

"It is 800 meters long, 200 meters wide, and 160 meters tall. It is equipped with nine E9-class laser cannons and 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 big screen!" Yun Yi announced loudly. A striking line of numbers appeared on the screen—200 mixed yuan units.

"The starting price is 200 mixed yuan units. Each raise must be an integer multiple of no less than 1 mixed yuan unit. Now, bidding begins!"

"300 mixed yuan 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 mixed yuan units at once.

Zhou Yuan watched the rapidly changing numbers on the big 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 mixed yuan units, so he was not even qualified to bid.

In the blink of an eye, the price reached 400 mixed yuan units.

410—420—430—435—438. The increases gradually slowed, and the price was already approaching the spacecraft's expected selling price.

Just as everyone thought it would sell for around 440, a calm voice suddenly rang out. "500 mixed yuan units!"

The number 500 mixed yuan units appeared on the big screen, and the auction hall instantly fell silent.

The entire auction hall sank into a deathly silence. Five hundred mixed yuan units was already far beyond the spacecraft's actual value.

"500 mixed yuan units, going once!" "500 mixed yuan units, going twice!" "500 mixed yuan 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 splendid attire spoke with a crystalline voice. "This Purple Zenith Auction is about to officially begin. Please watch the countdown on the big screen!"

"10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1!"

The woman in splendid attire had a voice as clear as a divine being's.

As the countdown ended, the center of the auction hall became dazzlingly bright. A golden pillar of light shot into the heavens, shining upon every powerhouse's face with a sacred and solemn radiance.

"This auction officially begins! The first batch of lots is now available. One thousand upcoming items have been synchronized to your auction tokens. Guests who wish to bid, please prepare yourselves. The first item is—Life Fruit, twenty in total!"

She paused before continuing her introduction. "Life Fruit contains pure life energy and can instantly restore a heavily injured, dying World Lord to peak condition. It 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 successfully win the auction. Bidding begins now!"

At once, the World Lords in the auction hall began placing bids. For World Lords who spent their lives exploring the universe, Life Fruit was an essential life-saving trump card. No one wanted to perish from their injuries at a critical moment.

The price of Life Fruit rose directly from 500 billion Universe Coins to 2 trillion Universe Coins, then continued climbing rapidly.

2.1 trillion—2.2 trillion—2.3 trillion...

Only after reaching 2.6 trillion Universe Coins did the growth in the price of Life Fruit gradually slow.

The lowest final price was 2.998 trillion Universe Coins. The highest reached 3.0827 trillion Universe Coins.

However, Zhou Yuan did not need Life Fruit. His life level was only at the Universe Level; even with a 120-fold genetic level, he was merely equivalent to a level-five Domain Lord. Using Life Fruit would be far too extravagant, and there were other Domain Lord-level substitutes. Naturally, he did not participate in the auction.

Seated in his chair, he used the purple token in his hand to browse the thousand auction items. His gaze swept quickly over them. Most were ordinary cultivation resources, fifth-tier weapons, and auxiliary items.

"There's nothing I want in this batch." Zhou Yuan shook his head and turned his attention back to the auction.

As the lots were successfully sold one after another like flowing water, the wide variety of auction items left people dazzled. Any one of them, taken alone, was worth more than a Domain Lord's entire fortune.

This was one of the Purple Chen Universe Nation's greatest events. Millions of World Lords had gathered together, with many Immortal deities also participating. Whenever they encountered a lot they liked, they showed no restraint, and bids rose one after another. The scene was exceptionally lively.

Soon, the first batch of lots had all been sold. The most eye-catching among them was the Life Fruit, whose highest bid reached 3.0827 trillion Universe Coins, while even the lowest sold for several hundred billion Universe Coins. Its popularity was obvious.

"Now comes the second batch of lots. Another thousand new items have been synchronized to your auction tokens. Please prepare yourselves, honored guests." Yun Yi maintained her elegant smile, her gentle voice carrying clearly throughout the entire hall.

Zhou Yuan activated his token again and began browsing. "Machine Race battle armor, full-body protection. It can form an energy shield on the outermost layer. D9-class, usable by anyone. A Planetary-level warrior could wear it to defend against Domain Lord-level attacks. Unfortunately, it's useless to me.

"A fifth-tier force weapon. Also useless. Its performance is about the same as the Zhenkong Blade, so there's no need to replace it.

"The God-Shaking Weapon, a divine weapon combining earth and space, for spirit readers. Unfortunately, I'm not a spirit reader..." Zhou Yuan examined the lots in this batch one by one.