Chapter 2003: The God of Deception Strikes Again

Chapter 2003: Pit God Strikes Again

"It's not Tian Lei; it's Zhen Lei," Ye Chen murmured.

Zhen Lei and Tian Lei are different. Tian Lei comes from heavenly tribulations and inherently carries the will of divine punishment.

Zhen Lei, similar to Zhen Huo, is nurtured and evolved by the heavens and earth.

In comparison, lightning is even rarer.

At that moment, the Tian Lei in his Dantian Sea was becoming restless.

Just like Xian Huo, his Tian Lei was unsettled, constantly wanting to break out and devour that crimson lightning.

Not only was it agitated—he felt the same desire.

The world has Chaos Fire, so naturally, there is also Chaos Lei. The lightning before them contained a trace of Chaos Lei's origin. The evil demon had taught him the Chaos Return to Origin technique, which could create Chaos Fire and also Chaos Lei. Whether forging Chaos Fire or Chaos Lei, it required fusing many similar elements, and the amount of Zhen Huo and Zhen Lei needed was enormous.

Now, with lightning appearing at the auction, how could he let it slip away?

The Tian Lei was still rampaging, desperate to escape the Dantian Sea.

Ye Chen used his divine sense to soothe it, then scanned the bidders with his Zhoutian insight. He discovered that many people wanted this Zhen Lei, and their bidding limits were extraordinarily high.

Fortunately, none of them were from the Honghuang clan.

He understood this better than anyone. The Honghuang were fully committed to competing for the Immortal Gold, and in its presence, any Zhen Huo or Zhen Lei would take a back seat—they wouldn't waste source stones on it.

This was good news. As long as the Honghuang weren't involved, everything could be handled.

"Eight million."

"I'm determined to get it—nine million."

"One billion."

While Ye Chen was observing, the price of Zhen Lei was skyrocketing.

Just because the Honghuang weren't participating didn't mean the human cultivators wouldn't fight for it.

"If I had known there were so many treasures, I should have brought more source stones," the skinny old man grumbled, clutching his chest in pain. He could only watch enviously.

"One billion two hundred million."

"I'll raise you by one hundred million—one billion three hundred million."

"One billion five hundred million."

"I'll bid two billion—who's got the guts to follow?" A human cultivator old Quasi-Emperor snorted coldly, his words forceful. After shouting the price, he glanced at the person opposite him. His gaze fell on a black-robed figure, his main rival so far—the only one still bidding against him. That was another human cultivator old Quasi-Emperor, who was equally determined to get the Zhen Lei.

The black-robed figure pondered for a long time before finally giving up.

Seeing this, the human cultivator old Quasi-Emperor breathed a sigh of relief.

Two billion was already a sky-high price. After his bid, the auction hall fell silent. Many people looked disheartened, shaking their heads helplessly—not because they didn't want to bid, but because they couldn't afford it.

"Any higher bids?" Youming Laoren scanned the crowd below.

"Two billion one hundred million." As soon as Youming Laoren finished speaking, Ye Chen in the corner raised his hand.

His bid drew attention from all sides.

"What's going on? Isn't the Pit God only messing with the Honghuang? Now he's targeting human cultivators too?"

"Maybe the Pit God really wants that Zhen Lei?"

"That guess makes sense."

The most awkward one was the human cultivator old Quasi-Emperor. He hadn't expected Ye Chen to join in and was caught off guard, unsure what to do. Should he bid against him or not? He wanted the Zhen Lei, but Ye Chen was the Pit God—if he wasn't careful, he could end up bankrupt.

The Honghuang clan earlier was a bloody example of that.

"Senior, please give me some face. Let me have the Zhen Lei," the human cultivator old Quasi-Emperor said hesitantly, his voice transmitted through divine sense—it was Ye Chen's message. This was an attempt at courtesy before force; if they could talk it out, there was no need to waste more source stones. They were all human cultivators, after all—no point in infighting.

"Why didn't you say so earlier if you wanted it?" The human cultivator old Quasi-Emperor rubbed his brow.

"So, you're agreeing, Senior?" Ye Chen laughed.

"Take it, take it." The human cultivator old Quasi-Emperor waved his hand with a smile, giving him face and doing him a favor. Regardless of anything else, just for how badly Ye Chen had tricked the Honghuang, it was worth letting him have the Zhen Lei.

"Any higher bids?" Seeing no one speak, Youming Laoren asked again.

Below, everything was quiet. A third of the people were watching Ye Chen, another third were watching the human cultivator old Quasi-Emperor, and the rest were glancing at the Honghuang Quasi-Emperors. But after more than ten breaths, aside from Ye Chen, the other two sides remained silent, with no one raising the bid.

Youming Laoren saw this and didn't bother asking further—he simply finalized the Zhen Lei.

Once the Zhen Lei was finalized, everyone in the hall sat up straight, even the Honghuang Quasi-Emperors who had been resting with eyes closed slowly opened their eyes. Because next up was the auction for the Immortal Gold.

"After waiting so long, it's finally here." The skinny old man rubbed his hands excitedly.

Ye Chen also held his breath, eager to see the Immortal Gold.

Under everyone's gaze, Youming Laoren gently waved his sleeve, and a piece of Immortal Gold hovered in his palm. It was about the size of a baby's fist, gleaming golden and radiating immortal energy. Strands of it were incredibly heavy, its appearance causing space to crack, lightning to tear through, and dazzling immortal light to burst forth, making it hard to look directly at. Vaguely, ancient visions frequently manifested.

Everyone stared at the stage, completely captivated.

It was a piece of Immortal Gold, brighter than the scorching sun. Though only fist-sized, it loomed like a mountain. Many felt their bloodlines and origins trembling—this was the suppression from the Immortal Gold. After all, it was connected to the Immortal Body, that heaven-defying bloodline that had long been extinct from the world.

"It's indeed Immortal Gold." An elder from the human cultivators said excitedly, his voice trembling.

"To see Immortal Gold before I die, this life is without regret."

"The Youming Continent is truly bold to auction genuine Immortal Gold." The Honghuang Quasi-Emperors' eyes shone the brightest, filled with startling light. A few even licked their lips greedily. They had come all this way precisely for this Immortal Gold, all determined to get it.

"Now that's a true immortal treasure!" The skinny old man was parched, staring wide-eyed.

"A heaven-seizing fortune." Ye Chen murmured to himself, his expression dazed. This was his first time seeing Immortal Gold, and he was truly shocked. In terms of grade, even Da Luo Divine Iron was a level below. If such material were refined into a artifact, its power would be absolutely unparalleled.

At that moment, even the Chaos Cauldron was rumbling loudly, nearly bursting out of his divine sea several times, only to be held back by Ye Chen. As materials for forging artifacts, one was immortal iron and the other immortal gold—how could the Chaos Cauldron not be excited? If it could swallow the Immortal Gold, that would be a real heaven-defying transformation.

"I just don't get it—how could they auction something as heaven-defying as this Immortal Gold? Has the Youming Pavilion lost their minds?" The skinny old man muttered under his breath, cursing quietly.

Ye Chen didn't respond, but his fingers in his sleeve were secretly calculating, gauging the bidding limits of the attendees.

The human cultivators' limit for the Immortal Gold was at most nine billion source stones.

As for the Honghuang clan, that was terrifying.

"Little guy, it's up to you now." Youming Laoren's voice transmission reached Ye Chen's ear.

"What do you mean, it's up to me?" Ye Chen raised an eyebrow. "Senior, are you really treating me like a shill?"

"You have the potential to be a shill. I have high hopes for you."

"I could be a shill, but what's in it for me, Senior?"

"The Taiyin Zhen Huo and Zhen Lei you bid on—I can consider them gifts to you. How about that?" Youming Laoren smiled at Ye Chen.

"You're quite generous, Senior." Ye Chen grinned.

This deal was absolutely worth it. The Taiyin Zhen Huo had cost six billion source stones, and the Zhen Lei two billion, totaling eight billion. This commission was more than generous. Stirring things up? That was his specialty. Get paid, trick the Honghuang, and go all out.

After laughing, Ye Chen looked at Youming Laoren again. "Senior, I have one question."

"Go ahead."

"Why auction the Immortal Gold? Is the Youming Continent that short on money?"

"Yes, very short."

"What's the use of so many source stones?"

"We'll discuss that after the auction." Youming Laoren said leisurely.

Ye Chen didn't press further and sat up straight, cracking his neck. Next, he would fully unleash his role as the Pit God. He didn't know why the Youming Continent needed money or why they wanted so many source stones, but he knew one thing: if the Honghuang wanted it, they would pay the price.

"Five billion."

"I'll raise you by five hundred million—five billion five hundred million."

"Six billion."

"Seven billion."

The bidding for the Immortal Gold pushed the auction to its peak. Prices soared in billions, with shouts overlapping and drowning each other out, making the entire Youming Pavilion rumble and shake.

However, all the bidders were human cultivators.

As for the Honghuang Quasi-Emperors, although they had opened their eyes, none participated; they just quietly watched the human cultivators bid, each with a slight smirk full of mockery. It was as if the human cultivators' bidding was nothing but clownish antics to them—a mere joke.

Anyone with discernment could see that this was just the prelude.

The real showdown was coming later, and the true competition wasn't among the human cultivators—it was with the Honghuang.

After all, no one present could match the Honghuang's wealth.

Youming Laoren was unfazed, casually finding a chair and watching the human cultivators bid with his hands behind his back. As the auction host, he knew best: once the Honghuang joined in, the human cultivators would all back down.

"Nine billion." Amid the bidding, a loud shout echoed through the Youming Pavilion.

The speaker was a Quasi-Emperor from the human cultivators, hidden under a black robe, his face unseen. His price was indeed devastating, crushing all the other human bidders.

In an instant, the auction hall fell silent.

Nine billion was a supreme price that not everyone could match.

"Any higher bids?" Youming Laoren asked calmly.

Taotie Quasi-Emperor sneered and glanced at the human cultivator black-robed Quasi-Emperor. "What are you, to dare touch the Immortal Gold?"

"You..." The human Quasi-Emperor's face darkened, his Quasi-Emperor aura spreading instantly.

"Ant." Taotie Quasi-Emperor laughed sinisterly, his aura even stronger, making the human Quasi-Emperor's expression turn pale.

"Any higher bids?" Youming Laoren said sternly, stepping in forcefully.

"Of course, we'll bid." Taotie Quasi-Emperor ignored the human Quasi-Emperor and said lazily, "Ten billion."

"Fifteen billion."

"Twenty billion."

"Twenty-five billion."

After Taotie Quasi-Emperor, the other Honghuang Quasi-Emperors also jumped in.

That was the Honghuang for you—filthy rich. While the human cultivators bid in increments of one billion, they went in five-billion jumps. Compared to that, the human cultivators really were just playing around.