First Immortal of the Sword

Chapter 1788 - Blood-Soaked Dragon Scales

Boom!

Widespread uproar followed Su Yi’s statement. Discussion arose on all sides. Someone could really decipher the glyphs of the Dragon Palace?

The auctioneer couldn’t help but be delighted. “Forgive this old man’s impudence, but this matter is of the utmost importance. Might you confirm your ability?”

“The left side of the bronze plate has a line of nine characters that reads, 'The Will of Heaven cannot be deceived, the source of fortune and disaster...'”

The crowd instinctively pricked up their ears. All of them were intrigued.

But before Su Yi could continue, a coarse voice rang out. “Enough, that’s enough! Fellow Daoist, please don’t publicize the glyphs’ contents.”

A tall, stalwart figure appeared on stage accompanying this voice. He was dressed in military uniform, with a prominent, sharp mustache and blue-gray eyes.

Jing Hongyu! A mid-stage Miracle Realm Immortal King of the Giant Whale Spirit Race!

His appearance triggered a disturbance throughout the auction hall.

“No need for any further confirmation. That bronze plate belongs to our fellow Daoist!” announced Jing Hongyu. “Furthermore, if possible, I hope to converse with you after the auction.”

His gaze was focused on Su Yi’s private room.

Qin Jianshu’s eyes flashed. “It seems the Giant Whale Spirit Race has numerous similar treasures, and they need someone to decipher them!”

He wasn’t the only one who realized this. The others reached the same conclusion. There was no doubt about it—the Giant Whale Spirit Race had goals for each of the three relics of the Dragon Palace they’d put up for auction.

The Great Unity battle clothes were sold to cure one of their older-generation Great Realm experts of divine misfortune. As for the bronze plate, it was there for them to see whether anyone at the auction was capable of deciphering the secret glyphs of the Dragon Palace!

Su Yi realized what the Giant Whales were after, too. He nodded. “Very well.”

Jing Hongyu visibly lit up, and he bowed at the waist. “Many thanks!”

A moment later, he turned and left the stage. The box containing the bronze plate was quickly delivered to Su Yi’s private room.

“Make arrangements. When the auction ends, we’ll go visit the Giant Whale Spirit Race too!” ordered Qin Jianshu. “I’m shocked that Xi Ning’s servant boy can read the secret writing of the Dragon Palace. She obviously came prepared, but we cannot let them seize the initiative when it comes to exploring the ruins of the Dragon Palace!”

“Understood!” The elderly woman nodded.

Meanwhile, many others scattered throughout the auction house reacted similarly. Some of them even arranged for their subordinates to leave the auction house and start spreading word of what had happened. It was obvious to all of them that the glyphs on the bronze plate touched upon some of the greatest secrets of the ruins of the Dragon Palace!

......

Meanwhile, Su Yi examined the bronze plate he’d acquired. This is most likely a remnant of an Immortal King treasure. The materials aren’t particularly rare, but the secret glyphs carved on it are extraordinary. It obviously hides an enormous secret.

Furthermore, this secret regards the catastrophe that befell the Dragon Palace!

Su Yi recalled the way Lei Ze had haltingly read the secret glyphs, then compared them to the glyphs on the bronze plate and matched them, one by one. He’d already developed a hypothesis.

Meanwhile, the auctioneer opened the third box containing a relic of the Dragon Palace. When the crowd saw it, they were instantly in uproar. Startled voices rang out, one after another.

“What is that? A dragon scale?”

“What a terrifying aura! If it really is a dragon scale, it must have belonged to a peak Great Ream Expert True Dragon!”

“Didn’t you notice? That scale is damaged and covered in blood!”

...Su Yi saw the suspected dragon scale too. It was as black as ink, and it looked as if it had been forged out of divine iron. It was covered in natural, mysterious Dao Markings, and it was smeared with a layer of blood and damaged around the edges.

It seemed as if the dragon scale had met with terrifying destructive power. It must have fallen off the body of a true dragon!

A dragon scale? Su Yi’s eyes flashed, but he couldn’t discern anything beyond that.

Meanwhile, the auctioneer explained, “The third treasure is a scale suspected to have fallen from the body of a Great Profound Stage True Dragon. It contains a wisp of an incomparably inscrutable power of the Grand Dao. If you can grasp it, you might well glean insight into some of the Great Profound Stage True Dragon’s secrets.”

Boom!

The auction hall was increasingly in uproar.

The scale of a Great Profound Stage True Dragon? That’s an expert at the pinnacle of the Great Realm, and a member of the dragon race. A True Dragon’s strength is far beyond others of the same cultivation!

Whatever secrets are hidden inside that scale are sure to be extraordinary!!

“No need to waste any more time on talk. Tell us how you plan to auction off this treasure!” urged Qin Jianshu.

The crowd’s gazes were heated. All of them were eager. The scale of an unparalleled Great Profound True Dragon was far more enticing than the Great Unity battle clothes and mysterious bronze plate!

Even the divine children were tempted. None of them could remain seated.

“The rules are simple. Anyone, no matter who, can receive an opportunity to contemplate the scale’s secrets so long as they agree to the Giant Whale Spirit Race’s conditions,” said the auctioneer.

The crowd was stunned.

What does that mean?

“A month from now, the Giant Whale Spirit Race will venture into the ruins of the Dragon Palace in search of good fortune once more. However, they know full well that they weren’t strong enough to monopolize the good fortune of the ruins,” continued the auctioneer. “Thus, they hope to invite some of our fellow Daoists to join them and search the ruins for good fortune!”

The entire audience was in uproar, like a pot blowing off its lid. Everyone was stunned.

The Giant Whale Spirit Race is actually willing to work with other people to investigate the ruins of the Dragon Palace?

None of them had anticipated this.

After all, when a faction discovered a place of shocking good fortune, how could they willingly share it?

Some of the older-generation cultivators frowned. After calming down, they guessed what was going on. The ruins of the Dragon Palace were undoubtedly so perilous that the Giant Whales dared not investigate recklessly. Thus, they had no choice but to cooperate with others!

Many of the attendees even suspected that the Giant Whales had paid an extraordinarily heavy price for their last expedition into the ruins of the Dragon Palace, leaving them no choice but to join forces with outsiders.

The ruins of the Dragon Palace were a land of good fortune straight out of a legend. Were they capable of monopolizing them, how could the Giant Whale Spirit Race possibly be willing to share?

It seems the Giant Whales have been planning this for a long time, thought Su Yi.

First, they’d arranged for an auction, causing worldwide uproar. Then, they sold a few relics of the Dragon Palace, all to achieve different ends.

But their ultimate goal was to recruit a group of experts to explore the ruins with them while they reaped the benefits!

Of course, this was no conspiracy. The Giant Whales simply couldn’t handle the good fortune of the Dragon Palace on their own, leaving them no choice but to come up with such a plan.

“Then what conditions do we need to agree to for an opportunity to cooperate with the Giant Whale Spirit Race?” someone couldn’t help but ask.

The uproar instantly died down. All eyes were instantly on the auctioneer once more.

“The Giant Whale Spirit Race has explored the ruins of the Dragon Palace before, and they can say with some degree of certainty that only those at or above the Immortal King level are qualified to enter in search of good fortune. Those beneath that level are doomed to die beyond a doubt,” the auctioneer said gravely.

He continued, “But those who’ve reached the Great Realm face an altogether different type of danger. They’ll face a terrifying restrictive power and backlash. Great Martial Stage experts just have to be careful and wear a few special types of treasure to avoid this problem. They can explore the ruins that way too.”

He paused, then summarized, “Simply put, the Giant Whale Spirit Race is recruiting Immortal Kings, but if Great Martial Stage experts are willing to participate, that would be even better.”

The atmosphere instantly died down. Those yet to reach the Immortal King level felt as if someone had poured a bucket of ice water over their heads. All of their hopes were instantly extinguished.

“Is it really that simple? Aren’t there any other conditions?” asked Qin Jianshu.

The auctioneer said, “If you’re willing to work with the Giant Whale Spirit Race, they request that you leave an Oath Marker on this Talisman Contract.”

He then pulled a black scroll from his sleeves. “You simply need to swear not to harm the Giant Whale Spirit Race and that you will give them forty percent of whatever good fortune you acquire in the ruins.”

Several of the Immortal Kings’ brows furrowed.

One of them laughed coldly, “If we agree to cooperate, we’ll have to give them forty percent of our spoils? They’ve got quite the appetite, huh?”

Even Qin Jianshu, Jin Zhuliu, Gongyang Yu, and the other divine children were displeased. It wasn’t just that the Giant Whales’ demands were excessive; they were even using the Talisman Contract to restrict them. The Giant Whales wanted to reap all of the benefits for themselves!

The auctioneer said calmly, “You are, of course, welcome not to participate.”

The atmosphere instantly fell silent. Without the Giant Whale Spirit Race’s information, how could they possibly find the ruins of the Dragon Palace?

“Allow this old man to speak a word of warning. The Giant Whale Spirit Race wouldn’t have announced this to the public without making ample preparations,” said the auctioneer. “Simply put, if you refuse to cooperate and plan to force the Giant Whale Spirit Race into submission, you’re sure to leave empty-handed!”

Many of the attendees narrowed their eyes. Many of them had indeed been considering just that. After all, although the Giant Whale Spirit Race was an ancient, powerful faction of the Eastern Sea, that was of no concern to divine children like Qin Jianshu and Jin Zhuliu.

If provoked, they dared charge right into the Giant Whale Spirit Race’s territories and force them into submission!

But the auctioneer’s warning made it completely clear that the Giant Whale Spirit Race had already prepared for the worst! This left no room for anyone with ill intentions to succeed!

“Everyone, the ruins of the Dragon Palace are incomparably enormous. Who knows how much good fortune is hidden there? If we work together, even if you have to give up a portion of your harvest, isn’t that far better than missing out on this opportunity completely?” the auctioneer said warmly.

The atmosphere fell silent. Numerous people started weighing the advantages and disadvantages.

Although Su Yi was interested in the ruins, he was extremely averse to the idea of working with other people. Furthermore, if the Giant Whale Spirit Race wanted to decipher the Dragon Palace’s secret writing, they needed his help. How could he possibly agree to such terms?

But he dared say with certainty that they’d give him a better offer as an expression of goodwill.

Indeed, just as Su Yi reached this conclusion, the auctioneer looked at his private room and said, “Fellow Daoist in Private Room Nineteen, if you are willing to help the Giant Whale Spirit Race decipher the secret glyphs of the Dragon Palace, there will be no need for you to leave your mark on the Talisman Contract!”