Chapter 718: Five Elements Divine Crystal
"Twelve thousand."
Facing Han Lin's bid, Lin Langtian leaned back in his chair, eyes half‑lidded, and spoke in a calm voice that carried clearly through the vast auction hall.
More than a few people clicked their tongues in secret, their gazes turning curious. In their minds, he had already become some young master from an unknown but wealthy clan.
In the box, Han Lin's brows drew together, a flash of cold light flickering deep in his eyes.
He had already been irritated when Lin Langtian first interfered. It wasn't as though he couldn't see that there was no long‑standing connection between him and Song Yanfei.
And the man's cultivation was barely at the Supreme Realm. If not for the fact that they stood on the Ten Thousand Merchants' ground—and the trouble that starting a fight here would bring—Han Lin would have long since had him thrown out.
He had not expected this "nobody" to keep pushing, daring to compete with him.
"Young master, the Great Heavenly Demon Spirit Fruit isn't even what you need most on this trip," the black‑robed elder behind him murmured.
"I know," Han Lin snapped, still lifting his hand. "Thirteen thousand!"
His voice rang out over the crowd.
"Let's see just how far this fool can go playing the rich man."
In his mind, Lin Langtian was only bluffing.
"Fifteen thousand."
The next bid came almost before his own had faded, Lin Langtian's tone as level as before.
Two thousand more in a single leap.
Gasps rippled across the hall. Even the Heavenly Demon Fairy's eyes widened slightly as she glanced his way.
This mysterious green‑robed man clearly had both courage and coin.
Han Lin's face darkened, his gaze turning glacial as he glared at Lin Langtian.
For his part, Lin Langtian never looked back. His eyes remained fixed steadily on the fruit.
That casual disregard made Han Lin's jaw clench. He swallowed his next bid with an effort as his temper strained against the leash.
"Young master," the elder growled softly.
Han Lin's fingers curled into a fist, knuckles whitening. After a long moment, he swallowed his anger.
"Elder Liu," he said under his breath, eyes never leaving Lin Langtian, "remember that man for me. Not just anyone gets to snatch this young master's things."
The old man's lips thinned into a cruel smile. "Don't worry. We'll treat it as him kindly spending a fortune to buy the fruit for you."
That image eased some of the tension in Han Lin's face. He gave a cold, mirthless chuckle and said no more.
Down below, no one else dared to speak.
With Lin Langtian's raise to fifteen thousand, he had crushed the remaining interest.
After a short pause, Xu You's sleeve flicked and the gavel fell. The Great Heavenly Demon Spirit Fruit was Lin Langtian's.
Outwardly, his face stayed composed. Inwardly, he let out a long breath.
He was just turning away when he felt a chill brush across his back. Looking up, he met Han Lin's venomous stare and answered it with a faintly amused smile.
Song Yanfei's lips tightened. "Be careful, Young Master Lin. Han Lin may have marked you for death."
Lin Langtian nodded.
The elder at his side might be a seasoned Second‑Grade Supreme, but Lin Langtian now stood in the same realm. He had no reason to fear.
As for Han Lin himself, a mere First‑Grade Supreme hardly registered as a threat.
He turned his attention back to the stage just as Xu You unveiled the ninth item.
The moment he saw it, Lin Langtian's eyes lit.
The second key ingredient for perfecting the Supreme Demonic Body.
The Five Elements Divine Crystal.
A globe of light floated in the old man's withered hand. At its heart rested a palm‑sized crystal that shimmered with five shifting colors.
Delicate lines of crystalline texture ran across it. At a glance, it seemed almost plain—hardly worth a second look, if not for the one displaying it.
Deep in the Great Thousand World lay an ancient, chaotic region, counted among its few true deathtraps.
The land there seethed with wild, anarchic elemental currents—lightning, ice, flame, primal floods, and more. Even Earth Supremes risked their lives with every step.
The Five Elements Divine Crystal was born in that crucible.
Countless elemental forces fused together as if by the hands of gods, condensing into this tiny, multicolored gem.
For an ice‑attribute cultivator, refining such a crystal would not only grant a torrent of ice power, but also open the door to perfectly wielding other attributes—thunder, fire, and so on.
That was why the crystal was so coveted. Many walked the path of a single element, but just as many dreamed of mastering several.
Whenever one appeared, the world shook with the scramble to claim it. No price was too high.
All across the hall, eyes burned with hunger.
If not for the iron‑clad rule against violence on Ten Thousand Merchants ground, someone might already have drawn steel.
"Five Elements Divine Crystal," Xu You announced, smiling at the sea of greedy faces. "Starting price: ten thousand drops of Sovereign Spiritual Liquid."
The hall went still, then filled with the sound of sharp intakes of breath.
Ten thousand drops—enough to crush most hopefuls at the first step.
This was a treasure reserved for the truly wealthy.
Lin Langtian's lips twitched.
Even the opening figure was steep. He hardly wanted to imagine the final result.
His head ached. At last, he had a visceral sense of just how vital Sovereign Spiritual Liquid was in this world.
After paying for the Heavenly Flame Phoenix Marrow and the Great Heavenly Demon Spirit Fruit, he had perhaps ten thousand drops left in the Spirit‑Gathering Bowl.
It would not be enough.
"Do you need it?" Song Yanfei asked quietly, slipping off the bracelet from her wrist and holding it out. "There are a few thousand drops in here. Take them. It's the least I can do."
He thanked her with a smile but did not accept.
A few thousand would barely make a dent. Better to watch and wait.
He was not the only one to recognize the stakes. As soon as the bidding started, it became clear that this battlefield belonged to the boxes.
Most of the voices that rose came from there, each backed by deep coffers and powerful clans.
In less than half a minute, the bids had already blasted past sixteen thousand—and the competition was only heating up.
By then, only three remained in the fray.
Han Lin.
The Heavenly Demon Fairy.
And a blood‑robed elder whose icy gaze could chill bone.
"That's someone from the Blood Blade Mystic Gate," Song Yanfei murmured. "Another top force on the Qiankun Continent."
Lin Langtian nodded slightly.
This little‑known continent was richer than the Tianxuan in every way. Its "first‑tier" forces were anything but weak.
"Eighteen thousand," the blood‑robed elder rasped at last, raising the price by two thousand in a single jump and drawing another wave of gasps.
He lifted his chin to look between Han Lin and the Fairy. "That is my final offer. If either of you wish to go higher, I will yield—for the sake of the Earth Desolation Hall and the Heavenly Demon Sect."
The Fairy's lips curved into a languid smile. "At a price like that, this little girl can go no further. I'll leave the rest to Young Master Han, the Glacier King's son."
Han Lin's chest swelled with smug pride.
"In that case, I'll accept graciously," he said. "What the Earth Desolation Hall sets its eyes on is not so easily taken."
As he spoke, his gaze slid once more to Lin Langtian, the depths of his eyes rimed with frost.
"Twenty thousand," he called.
The hall roared.
It seemed the Earth Desolation Hall truly meant to have this crystal, no matter the cost.
For many lesser powers, twenty thousand drops represented more than a year's total income.
The leap was too much even for the Blood Blade elder. His expression tightened, then slowly eased as he sank back into his seat.
For all its worth, the Five Elements Divine Crystal was not worth bleeding himself dry.
Song Yanfei's brows drew together as she turned to Lin Langtian.
He sat with his eyes half‑closed, the black of his irises still and cold—but something darker rippled in their depths.
He might not be able to outbid Han Lin.
But he had no intention of letting things end here.
(END CHAPTER)
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