Chapter 414: Undying Body, Map
"Unfortunately, you won\'t have that chance!"
Ye Chen\'s expression calmed down, as if hostility was turning into kinship. However, his eyes didn\'t give that impression at all. What kind of eyes were theses? Colder than ice, shriller than blood, devoid of emotions. Boundless slaughter will erupted like a volcano, rupturing the ground\'s crust before a slaughtering qi shot out, carrying a will to destroy everything.
Clank!
Two gazes clashed like two peerless swords in the void. Facing Duan Lingyun\'s Soul Sundering God Light was Ye Chen\'s slaughter sword will.
Puff!
Soul Sundering God Light, was sliced apart in millions of fragments, as if encountering its nemesis. Duan Lingyun, who was mentally connected with it, let out a blood-curdling scream and covered his eyes with his hands, retreating rapidly. From the cracks of his fingers, a darkish red blood could be seen dripping down, wriggling like a snake.
"Ye Chen, you dared to injure my eyes? You\'re done." Duan Lingyun roared, his powerful voice brimming with fury and killing intent, but also a trace of fear.
Ye Chen advanced toward him step by step. The sound of neither-heavy-nor-light footsteps seemed like a death god, making the very soul of Duan Lingun tremble. He spoke in terror, "What are you trying to do? This is Three Yin City. If you kill me, my Soul Sunder Sect will know for sure. Then, nobody in the world will be able to save you."
Duan Lingyun\'s confidence had already been smashed by Ye Chen. If this had been the Duan Lingyun of the past, even if his two eyes were heavily injured, he wouldn\'t have been afraid. He had been confident that apart from a few reputed absolute geniuses of outside, he wouldn\'t lose to anybody, much less fear them. At this moment however, apart from fury, only fear remained in heart. He had no confidence of engaging in a death battle with Ye Chen.
"I don\'t have the intentions of killing you, not at the moment at least. Don\'t challenge by bottom line." Brushing past Duan Lingyun, Ye Chen no longer paid him any attention.
Duan Lingyun was moved by the urge to turn around and deal a deadly fist to Ye Chen. This was his best opportunity, and it was quite likely to succeed. But, he was hesitating. For the first time in his life, he was hesitating to kill someone. He was not hesitating whether to kill Ye Chen or not, but whether he dared or not.
"Damn it!"
Duan Lingyun knew that he had thoroughly lost, both in body and mind. The resentment he felt towards Ye Chen couldn\'t be extinguished even by several oceans. His resentment had already turned into a deep hatred.
Murong Qingcheng and Sky Flying Devil Sect\'s supreme elder were paying attention to this scene. The old man creased his brows and asked, "Is that your friend?"
"No."
Murong Qingcheng didn\'t regard Duan Lingyun as a friend yet.
"That\'s good. This person\'s temperament is not good at all." The old man didn\'t look down on the former because of his loss and gloom, but because of his cowardice. If he could have summoned courage to fight a big battle against Ye Chen, he would have been worthy of respect. Unfortunately, a seemingly powerful individual needed to demonstrate whether they were truly powerful in "desperate straits". Ye Chen had already pushed him into "desperate straits", but he couldn\'t face it.
A few steps away from him, Ye Chen shook his head and a sneer appeared on his face. He had already prepared himself for a big battle, but it seemed like his opponent wasn\'t as tough as he showed.
"Youngster, you are Ye Chen, right?"
The old man sent a sound transmission to Ye Chen.
Ye Chen faintly nodded, "Yes senior, I\'m Ye Chen."
"Good. For my South Rudra Region to produce a genius like you is destiny. Keep on growing." The old man was quite pleased with Ye Chen. Of course, this was because his attitude towards Ye Chen was mild, since the two of them had no conflicting aspects. If Ye Chen had been an enemy, he 0
"Alright, you juniors talk. I\'ll stop interrupting."
The old man gave a few words of advice to Murong Qingcheng, then headed towards a thirty-three storied building where his friends awaited him.
Retracting her gaze, Murong Qingcheng looked at Ye Chen, "Let\'s leave!"
Duan Lingyun had left. His injured eyes would require several days to heal. Moreover, he would no longer have face to stay by Murong Qincheng\'s side. His hatred towards Ye Chen was obvious.
…
On the street, the two individuals were walking side by side.
"Extreme Yin Region has its legends. It\'s said that these great lands have maintained their terrain since ancient times. It has neither gone through any topological transformations, nor any volcanic eruptions. This place still has the mark of ancient eras, and contains perfectly intact remains of several civilizations." `While leisurely walking, Murong Qingcheng introduced Extreme Yin Region to Ye Chen.
Ye Chen said, "The earth and yin qi here is so dense… It\'s really strange. Although there isn\'t any place in True Spirit Continent with elevation less than here, there are many that are close. But, they still don\'t have even one-tenth of the earth Qi and Yin Qi compared to here."
"En, this place is not named Extreme Yin Region without a reason. In the ancient era, this place was the breeding grounds of devils."
Three Yin City was huge beyond imagination. The two roamed for half a day, but could only cover a small portion of it. In the end, the two checked in an inn.
…
Three Yin City, Western District…
In the Auction Reception Room…
"Where did the wind blow from today to bring Yin Demon Ancestor here? Welcome, welcome…" Auction Chairman smilingly entered and cupped his hands towards his guest.
The figure with his back turned towards the chairman turned around. Evidently, it was the suspected Master Sea of Soul realm expert who appeared in the Black Stone Field. Of course, his true identity was indeed that of a Master Sea of Soul realm expert. Being titled as "Yin Demon Ancestor", his strength could be well imagined. After all, the word "Ancestor" was usually used for sects. To use it for an individual was sufficient to represent his strength. (1)
Yin Demon Ancestor grinned, "The purpose of my visit this time to entrust your auction with something."
"Oh, something that can make Yin Demon Ancestor come himself is bound to be extraordinary. I wonder what sort of treasure it is." The chairman was quite curious. Master Sea of Soul realm experts usually purchased and did not put something from their side for auction. This was because they had no care for ordinary things, and would rather give them away. As for good things, they would keep them for themselves even if they didn\'t have much use.
"It\'s not a treasure, but a map."
"Could it be a treasure map?"
Hearing his words, the chairman blurted out, but then thought that it couldn\'t be case. If it had been a treasure map, the former could have gone himself and claim the treasure rather than auction it.
"It\'s an ancient map for seeking secrets of undying body."
Yin Demon Ancestor spoke slowly.
"What? Secrets of undying body?"
As the chairman, he had seen all sorts of treasures. But even so, his heart sped up. Undying body… What was an undying body? It was a body that wouldn\'t be destroyed, or perhaps be extremely hard to kill. The reason Life and Death Kings were so revered apart from their strength was because they possessed undying bodies. Even low grade Life and Death Kings could regenerate broken limbs, and wouldn\'t die even if their heads were chopped off. They would only be killed if they were chopped into countless pieces. High grade Life and Death Kings were even more frightening. They could even regenerate from blood. One could turn their body into roasted meat, but even if a single drop of blood remained, they could survive.
As for the undying body that Yin Demon Ancestor was talking about, the chairman believed that it was the first type. The secrets of undying body had been transmitted in the history several times. In the end, it was made quite clear that before Life and Death realm, the undying body could only be comparable to that of ordinary Life and Death Kings. Hence, it wouldn\'t enter the eyes of Life and Death Kings. They weren\'t idle enough to chase after something they already possessed.
Yin Demon Ancestor said in a voice brimming with confidence, "Correct! The secrets of undying body... I wonder if it\'s qualified to be put in auction."
"It\'s naturally qualified if it\'s true. But, the secrets of undying body are not ordinary items. With a high starting price, if it turned out to be fake in the end, it would lower the auction\'s reputation."
The chairman wouldn\'t dare be assured that the map Yin Demon Ancestor had brought was true. It might be a counterfeit. Such incidents had happened before.
Yin Demon Ancestor said, "That\'s simple. You can start with a low price and announce that it\'s not certain if it\'s genuine. Then, whatever price it fetches will be fine by me."
"Low!" Creasing his brows, chairman said, "This method is feasible, but what do you think will be a good starting price?" He needed to hand over half the starting price to the former as a downpayment. Thus, he needed to properly consult it over.
"Keep it a thousand mid grade spirit stones!"
Alarming words came out of Yin Demon Ancestor\'s mouth.
"Don\'t joke around, Yin Demon Ancestor! A thousand mid grade spirit stones are way too low. Even hundred thousand or two hundred thousand will be low, exceptionally low."
"I\'m obviously not joking around. I\'ve reproduced three hundred copies of this map. One thousand mid grade spirit stones for one copy will be three hundred thousand for three hundred copies. Exceeding the bidding price of a million wouldn\'t be a problem."
Hearing these words, the chairman was somewhat dazed. To auction three hundred copies, what was the former up to? Lacking in spirit stones? If so, he could have simply sold one copy at a high price. He was sure it would sell for several million, or even higher. One shouldn\'t forget that there were many Sea of Soul realm experts in Extreme Yin Region. Not to mention millions of mid-grade spirit stones, they would even be willing to compete with several hundred thousand upper grade spirit stones. Of course, the prerequisite would be for them to be prepared beforehand. As for the price of three hundred copies, perhaps the overall price might reach quite a high degree, but it won\'t be sensational.
"I\'ve thought thoroughly. Here are the three hundred copies. I\'ll trouble your auction." Yin Demon Ancestor took out a case from his storage ring and opened it. Its interior was filled with beast skin scrolls that portrayed bizarre looking maps.
"Fine!"
Chairman shook his head and accepted the case, then handed hundred and fifty thousand mid grade spirit stones. He didn\'t worry about being cheated. Even if he were, such a measly amount of spirit stones would simply be lowering the status of a Sea of Soul realm expert.
"Well then, I\'ll take my leave."
Yin Demon Ancestor turned around and left the Reception Room. The moment he was leaving, his lips curled into a bizarre smile. At the same time, it also seemed as if he\'d just been freed of a burden.
It had been fifty years since he obtained this map. During these fifty years, he bitterly studied it, wishing to find the secrets of undying body, but couldn\'t find any clues at all. After fifty years, he eventually felt some regret. If he had been spent these fifty years wholeheartedly in cultivation, breaking into Life and Death realm might not have been impossible. If he became a Life and Death King, what would undying body mean to him? For these fifty years, he didn\'t gain anything from the map at all. Nobody was more sullen than him.
However, he felt unresigned to directly give up something he had invested fifty years in. In the end, he came up with a solution- to make three hundred copies of it and auction it off. With three hundred people helping him in studying the map, the chances would basically increase by three hundred times. Who knew that there might really be some gains? As for why he didn\'t make five hundred copies or a thousand, he feared that the map would become too widespread, which might lead to some accident. If there were a thousand copies, why not just publically announce it?
"Hope it doesn\'t disappoint me. I really anticipate that day."
Yin Demon Ancestor left with his heart brimming with hope.
1. (\'宗\' is the word used for \'sect\', and could also represent an honorific.)