The heavyweights could barely calm their pounding hearts when they heard the news.

The pills were to be auctioned!

Although tensions would run high and a wealth of spirit stones necessary to procure a pill, they were still ecstatic.

Of course, Jiang Chen didn’t intend to hold the auction himself. He’d reached a height where’d he’d at most make a brief appearance and say a few, quick words. The Sacred Peafowl Mountain would be entrusted with the responsibility.

On the day of the auction, figureheads of every major sect in the human domain came in person and with a large group of elites. It was clear that no one wanted to be left out of the fun.

Although Jiang Chen wasn’t going to mediate the auction himself, he did make a public appearance to highlight the strengths of the Taiyi Skymender Pill, which completely changed how the sects viewed him.

When Jiang Chen had first become the young lord of the Veluriyam Capital, he had had a difficult time shouldering the mantle. It hadn’t been that long since then. But he was a thoroughly changed man and had achieved great success. It was possible no cultivators in the human domain would be able to reach his heights in their lifetime.

The guests erupted into chatter.

“Young lord Jiang Chen has lived up to Emperor Peafowl’s expectations. The emperor was wise to pick him as his heir despite everyone else obecting. The capital has prospered under the young man’s rule and grown more than tenfold in power.”

“Haha, Emperor Peafowl’s keen foresight is indeed admirable. It’s unfortunate that no one has heard from him over all these years.”

“Perhaps he’s passed away. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. If he lives and returns, is he going to be in charge or the young lord? The capital will be worse off with either possibility.”

“That’s right. If Emperor Peafowl returns, he’ll have to play an assisting role to young lord Jiang Chen.”

“That’s not necessarily true. If Emperor Peafowl still lives, he would’ve made great progress in his cultivation as well. Maybe his once heir will then become his enemy.”

“That won’t happen. You underestimate the emperor. He’s always been the most far-sighted man in the human domain. He must have predicted today’s situation. The old emperor will want to hand over the torch to Jiang Chen properly. He’ll also be supporting the new ruler from the shadows. Out with the old; in with the new. Aside from Emperor Peafowl, not even any of the previous experts of the capital can rival Jiang Chen.”

“That’s right. Young lord Jiang Chen is the chosen one. Some said that Emperor Peafowl still lives. There are talks of him been spotted near the capital. However, none of the rumors have been proven true yet.”

“It’s difficult to know what is the truth. Maybe he’s alive. I’ve heard that he simply doesn’t want to return to the capital and risk upsetting the status quo. He’s voluntarily surrendered his power to Jiang Chen to secure the young lord’s authority.”

“If that’s the case, Emperor Peafowl’s integrity is admirable.” Speculations flew in the crowd.

Even the reclusive empyrean experts showed up at the auction with Old Crane as their leader.

Old Crane chuckled. “Geniuses spring from the youth, but the statement has never been more true when applied to you. Young lord Jiang Chen, you’re going to ascend to advanced empyrean soon, aren’t you?”

His voice was deliberately pitched like he wanted the entire world to know.

Even those traveling far to the auction could barely recover their jaws. 

Advanced 

empyrean? Was the old man for real?

Hadn’t Jiang Chen been a great emperor? Only a few years had passed since his departure, and he had already ascended to empyrean and reached mid empyrean? Now he was going to break through to the next stage?

This went against all their preconceived notions about martial dao. What beast of a man was he to have progressed at such a ridiculous speed?

A bomb had been lobbed into the crowd.

Jiang Chen’s appearance further boosted interest in the auction. Figureheads from different sects were determined to get a Taiyi Skymender Pill. The air was thick with tension.

The price of the ten pills continued to be hiked up until every single one of them was auctioned off at a ridiculous price.

The room buzzed with energy.

Even though the spirit stones earned in the auction was nothing compared to the amount needed to activate the Great Formation of Heavenly Soul Confinement, it wouldn’t hurt to hold more similar auctions.

That gave Jiang Chen a new idea.

Perhaps he could travel to Myriad Abyss and earn stones in the same way. Given their far superior wealth, Myriad Abyss might end up surprising him.

Afterwards, when delegates from each faction still hadn’t recovered from their excitement, extreme natural phenomenon suddenly disturbed the peaceful air some distance away.

In broad daylight, cracks of lightning split the sky, and rays of technicolor light hurtled through the air. A myriad of strange phenomenon struck the space like it’d become a celestial realm.

The sudden turn of events caught everyone off guard. They all whipped around to look in the same direction. No one knew what was happening.

A terrifying possibility flashed through their minds.

Could it be the demons??

Fear overtook them and spread through the crowd like wildfire.

“Shit, the demons must have broken through the seal! They’re going to attack us!”

“The demonic invasion is coming! Is the human race going to go extinct? Is this the end of humanity?” There would always be pessimists in the world.

In contrast, Jiang Chen’s eyes shone brightly as they focused on the distant sky.

The fearful speculations filtered through his ears. He let emitted a dragon howl and snapped, “Stop talking nonsense and spreading rumors! The natural phenomenon arose due to a powerful entity’s ascension. Look at the tall waves of crimson clouds. The Vermilion Bird has ascended to divinity!”

Jiang Chen hadn’t been sure in the beginning, but further observation told him that the Vermilion Bird had gotten the push of inspiration it needed and broken through the bottleneck. It’d become a true god, a divine level sacred beast! That was cause for celebration!

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