The Shortfall

"Five hundred million?!" The peak master's words stirred the hearts of everyone present. A reserve price of five hundred million—the lower the starting bid, the cheaper one could purchase this Dao artifact. At once, other peak masters chimed in. "Lineage Master Xiang speaks truly. This Dao artifact's performance is indeed somewhat underwhelming. A starting price of five hundred million is quite reasonable." "Then let us open bidding at five hundred million. Of course, we cannot truly let a Dao artifact sell for a mere five hundred million Pure Yang Great Pills. I will add another ten million." Xiang Zhenlong, Lineage Master of the Heaven Lineage, nodded with a smile, playing along. Yaoguang glanced at Xiang Zhenlong and immediately put away the Longxiang Flying Boat. "Before the auction began, I made it clear: if the price of the Longxiang Flying Boat falls below one billion, it will be considered a failed auction. Since none of you can afford the price, I shall simply keep this Longxiang Flying Boat for my own use." "Wait!" The peak master who had first called out five hundred million stood up, disgruntled. "I spent a whole month preparing and even sold off considerable family assets at low prices just to bid on this Longxiang Flying Boat! Now you say you won't sell, just like that? Who is going to cover our losses?" "Indeed! Junior Sect Master Yaoguang, you cannot go back on your word. I was in the middle of hunting a demon king and was on the verge of slaying it, yet I rushed back tens of thousands of li to the sect only because I heard you were auctioning a flying-boat Dao artifact. And now, you say you're not selling?" Another peak master stepped forward with a dissatisfied look, a hint of intimidation in his expression. The others watched the two peak masters. Though they knew which lineage master these two were close to and guessed that someone was pulling strings behind the scenes, none of them said a word. They were not the ones offending Yaoguang, so what did it have to do with them? Besides, if these two peak masters kicked up a fuss and ultimately enabled everyone to snag the Longxiang Flying Boat for five or six hundred million, why wouldn't they welcome it? Watching the show was enough. "Peak Master Qianren, Peak Master Moyou, you two certainly have quite the zest for theatrics, finding the mood to put on a show here. Unfortunately, I have no interest in watching," Yaoguang said nonchalantly. "What do you mean? Junior Sect Master Yaoguang, are you toying with us? Do you think our time is worth nothing?" Peak Master Qianren, who had opened with the five-hundred-million bid, asked with a hostile tone. "Your time is precious, but my time didn't just blow in on the wind either. Rather than wasting time trading barbs with you two here, I would be better off entering secluded cultivation. Who knows, perhaps in eight to ten years I will break through to Void Refining." Yaoguang continued calmly, "Of course, if resources are lacking, it might delay things slightly. But I can easily head outside to slay demons and temper myself. With the capabilities of my Longxiang Flying Boat, let alone Void Piercing demon kings, even if a Void Refining demon emperor comes, escaping unscathed won't be an issue even if I am no match. And as long as that demon emperor cannot kill me, once I reach Void Refining, the day will come when I track him down. Relying on the speed of the Longxiang Flying Boat, I will slaughter his offspring and kin down to the last chicken and dog. Should I be fortunate enough to step into Void Shattering, even that demon emperor won't have a prayer of surviving." He lifted his gaze slightly and looked at the two peak masters, Qianren and Moyou. "Do you two think that the day will come when I possess the strength to slay a demon emperor?" As soon as these words were spoken, the expressions of both Peak Master Qianren and Peak Master Moyou changed. Yaoguang spoke of slaying a demon emperor, but in reality, he was confronting the two Void Refining peak masters head-on, completely without mercy. Yet... His words were not unreasonable. With Yaoguang's talent, breaking through to Void Refining in eight to ten years might be an exaggeration, but reaching Void Refining within eighty to a hundred years was well within reach. Furthermore, with the Longxiang Flying Boat by his side, ordinary Void Refining cultivators wouldn't necessarily be able to kill him even if they defeated him, unless they could seal the void or possessed a Dao artifact capable of void shuttling. Under such circumstances, the chance of him perishing at the hands of a Void Refining cultivator was extremely low. And once he truly grew, reaching Void Refining or even the Void Shattering realm... Their aggressive behavior today would surely be held against them. When the time came to settle scores, the two of them would undoubtedly suffer dearly. As they pondered, the two cast a subtle glance at Heaven Lineage Master Xiang Zhenlong. The Heaven Lineage Master also shook his head slightly. Instantly, Peak Master Qianren burst into laughter. "Hahaha, just a joke! Naturally, we have full faith in Junior Sect Master Yaoguang's talent." "The Longxiang Flying Boat is Junior Sect Master Yaoguang's Dao artifact. What price you sell it for is your prerogative, so long as you aren't deliberately trifling with us," Peak Master Moyou chimed in. "It is indeed difficult to purchase a Dao artifact for five hundred million. Since Junior Sect Master Yaoguang said it will not be sold for less than one billion, allow me to cast a brick to attract jade and open the bidding at one billion Pure Yang Great Pills." Xiang Zhenlong stepped forward at the right moment to smooth things over. Seeing this lineage master back down like this, a flicker of disappointment crossed the eyes of the representatives sent by several deputy sect masters. The probe was over. Yaoguang had displayed sufficient firmness. The two peak masters tasked with probing also maintained a degree of restraint. Having gauged each side's stance in this invisible clash, the subsequent bidding proceeded relatively normally. However, because the three peak masters with the greatest purchasing power and desire to obtain the Dao artifact had been delayed by various underhanded maneuvers outside the hall, the final bid reached only 1.03 billion, won by another peak master, Yanque. This price could not be said to have hit rock bottom, but it was hardly much better. Still, because this price exceeded Yaoguang's reserve, he ultimately sold the Dao artifact. In the end, Yaoguang successfully took in 50,000 Void Dao Pills and 430 million Pure Yang Great Pills. As the auction concluded, Yaoguang looked at Peak Masters Qianren and Moyou and remarked, "Both peak masters are occupied with a multitude of daily affairs. If I have Dao artifacts to sell in the future, I will not trouble you two." Hearing this, Qianren and Moyou were somewhat surprised. Could Yaoguang... possibly have a second Dao artifact? Even if he did, so what? Putting aside whether that Dao artifact would match the Grand Dao they cultivated, even if it did, whether they could buy it was another unknown. It didn't matter. ... The small-scale auction came to an end. As the Void Piercing representatives of the peak masters, lineage masters, deputy sect masters, and supreme elders departed one by one, Nine Cauldrons Peak returned to quiet solitude. Before long, Chi Yu arrived before Yaoguang and presented a document. "Both Peak Master Qianren and Peak Master Moyou hail from the Heaven Lineage and are on quite good terms with Lineage Master Xiang, but Peak Master Yanque hails from the Immortal Lineage..." Yaoguang glanced over the dossier. He had more or less guessed that this was a small test from the Heavenly Dao Sect's ruling class. Then again, selling a Dao artifact with merely Void Piercing cultivation—how could there not be complications? That the trouble had been resolved so easily showed that the Heavenly Dao Sect had actually exercised some restraint. Of course, this was related to his demonstrated Void Refining potential, and the fact that, as fellow members of the Heavenly Dao Sect, they had to take the Golden Book of the Great Dao into account. Regardless, his objective had been achieved. "Out of thirteen peak masters, Peak Master Ziyang is the only one who can remain relatively independent? Of the remaining twelve, five are close to the three deputy sect masters, and seven have ties to the four lineage masters?" Yaoguang scanned the document. The three deputy sect masters and the five peak masters close to them stood in an essentially adversarial stalemate against the four lineage masters and the other seven peak masters. No! More accurately, the three deputy sect masters were engaged in overt and covert struggles with Sect Master Zong Wenxian. Everyone wanted to secure maximum power, but the cake was only so big. If you took a larger slice, others naturally got less. Just like Deputy Sect Master Song Youque of the Southern Domain, who originally wanted to carve out more from the sect master's lineage led by Zong Wenxian, only to trigger a backlash; Sect Master Zong Wenxian seized the opportunity and wiped him out in a single stroke. To this day, the Southern Domain remained under Zong Wenxian's control and had not been reassigned. Otherwise, even without a deputy sect master, assigning a peak master to govern the Southern Domain would be far better than managing it from afar. "Everyone is caught in circumstances beyond their control," Yaoguang remarked. "In our Heavenly Dao Sect, unless one is strong enough—like Peak Master Ziyang, a peak Void Refining expert hailed as the foremost figure beneath Void Shattering in the sect—everyone must pick a side," Chi Yu said with a bitter smile. He then added, "Yet even if you pick a side, you might not rest easy. Are the overt and covert clashes among the four lineage masters any less frequent? The sect master appears to command them in managing the sect's affairs, but at times they will also bring in the power of the deputy sect masters to counterbalance him and secure the interests they desire." Yaoguang looked at Chi Yu and asked with a smile, "Then which lineage did Clan Head Chi originally belong to?" "Originally, I leaned toward the Heaven Lineage... but Lineage Master Xiang's demands on our Chi Family have grown increasingly harsh, to the point where the Chi Family can barely sustain itself..." Chi Yu did not hide the truth. Yaoguang nodded upon hearing this, but offered no further comment. Seeing this, Chi Yu knew when not to overstep and tactfully took his leave. Following his departure, Yaoguang waved his hand, reactivating the formations on the main peak, causing the dao arena atop the summit to vanish into the swirling mists. With that done, Yaoguang focused his attention into his spiritual world. Looking at the abundant experience points gathered on the [Merchant] branch... "I wonder if this can boost my realm straight to Void Shattering in one go." With that thought, the experience on the [Merchant] branch was immediately poured entirely into the [Immortal Dao · Void Refining] branch. As the experience poured in, the branch grew at tremendous speed. Accompanying it was a torrent of information vast beyond measure. Yet Yaoguang did not immediately assimilate the information torrent, keeping his eyes fixed on the growth of the [Immortal Dao · Void Refining] branch. Moments later, he arrived at a conclusion. "Not enough!" He wasn't sure where the problem lay. Selling a Dao artifact had yielded revenue in the billions of pills, yet the [Merchant] experience gained was somewhat less than he had anticipated, leaving it insufficient to push his realm to Void Shattering. The progress halted when it reached 92%. This result left him somewhat disappointed. "Calculated this way, a single Dao artifact only yields slightly over half the progress? Going from Void Refining to Void Shattering equates to the profit of two Dao artifacts?" Unexpected, yet within reason. He wondered if the low selling price of the Longxiang Flying Boat had resulted in a lower calculated profit, thereby yielding less [Merchant] experience. "Selling a single Longxiang Flying Boat within the Heavenly Dao Sect already provoked all kinds of probing. If I were to sell another Dao artifact..." Yaoguang shook his head. Involving oneself in transactions at the Dao artifact level while only in the Void Piercing Realm was simply too risky. And given the labor costs attributed to him as a level fifteen artificer, any transaction not measured in the hundreds of millions yielded virtually no experience for the [Merchant] branch. "It seems I will have to lead the Tianshang Battle Hall to hunt demons to make up the remaining eight percent shortfall from Void Refining to Void Shattering."