Chapter 717: The Great Heavenly Demon Spirit Fruit
"Thank you, Lin Langtian."
Seeing the Heavenly Flame Phoenix Marrow safely claimed, Aunt Ling finally relaxed and offered her thanks.
Lin Langtian smiled. "There's no need for that. We've come all the way from the Tianxuan Continent to the Great Thousand World together. If this helps you, there's no reason to be stingy."
He paused, then asked, "With this Heavenly Flame Phoenix Marrow, how much of your strength can you recover?"
The Qiankun Continent was nothing like the Tianxuan Continent. Here in the Great Thousand World, the waters ran deep and strong. Even Lin Langtian had to tread carefully.
If Aunt Ling could regain some of her power, it would be a tremendous boon.
At her peak, she had been an Earth Supreme. Even a fraction of that strength might save his life at a critical moment.
"The marrow is rich in fire element and phoenix divine power," she said after a moment's thought. "It will certainly help my soul. But in the end, it's only one chunk of bone marrow. Its effect is limited. At most, I can recover to the Third‑Grade Supreme level."
"Third‑Grade Supreme…" Lin Langtian nodded, though a faint disappointment flickered in his eyes.
Such strength would not shift the scales too much for him. Still, he had never expected miracles from a single treasure worth only a few thousand drops.
If it were enough to restore an Earth Supreme, its price would have been vastly higher.
"How can I help you fully revive?" he asked quietly.
"Hehe, your heart is enough," Aunt Ling replied with a soft laugh. "But it's far too early to talk about reviving an Earth Supreme. Focus on growing stronger yourself first."
He inclined his head.
He had always moved one step at a time, never reaching blindly beyond his grasp. Right now, his priority was simple: to increase his own power as quickly as possible.
Without strength, he would remain nothing but an ant in this world.
Shaking off the thought, he turned his attention back to the stage.
Thanks to the Spirit‑Gathering Bowl he had taken from the Skyfiend Wolf King, he now held between twenty and thirty thousand drops of Sovereign Spiritual Liquid.
A respectable sum—but hardly enough to guarantee victory against every competing bidder.
Time crept by as he waited.
After the sixth item was sold, his eyes finally brightened.
Xu You's hand raised, and a deep black radiance appeared.
The black light swelled like a demonic sun, its glow swallowing the hall.
A strange, unsettling aura filled the air.
The auction hall fell quiet, every gaze drawn to that dark orb.
At its heart, they saw it: a fruit the size of a human head, pouring out endless black light.
Lin Langtian's stare burned on the shadowy fruit. His back straightened.
In his Supreme Sea, the Supreme Demonic Body stirred.
One of the three key materials he needed… was finally before him.
He was not the only one stirred. Motion rippled through several of the private boxes as powerful figures turned their attention to the stage.
"This is the Great Heavenly Demon Spirit Fruit," Xu You said. "As you all know, although the Great Thousand World is vast, half of it lies under the rule of the vicious Extraterritorial Fiend Clan.
"Their domains, too, hold countless peerless treasures, and this fruit is one of them.
"It is said to be formed from a wondrous fusion of fiendish qi and our own spiritual power. Not only can the fiends refine it, but cultivators of the Great Thousand World can absorb it as well.
"You have all heard of the fiends' might. Their eerie qi clashes with spiritual power, yet its strength is terrifying.
"Refining this fruit greatly strengthens the Supreme Dharmic Body and may cause the spiritual power in one's Supreme Sea to take on a trace of fiendish nature, making it far more bizarre and fearsome."
He smiled faintly. "Its rarity hardly needs to be stated. The starting price is eight thousand drops of Sovereign Spiritual Liquid."
A collective hiss swept the hall.
The figure would make many flinch—and many more drool.
Treasures that could enhance a Supreme Dharmic Body and taint spiritual power with fiendish force were few and far between.
"Eight thousand, hm…" Lin Langtian's heart sank slightly.
That was only the beginning. Winning it would mean a brutal fight.
He had no idea where the final price would fall—but he knew one thing.
He could not afford to let it slip away.
This was one of the three linchpins for perfecting the Supreme Demonic Body. Miss it now, and he had no idea when—or if—he would see another.
"Let the bidding begin," Xu You said, smile widening at the simmering tension below.
For a moment, no one spoke.
Eight thousand drops was no trivial sum. Only a limited circle could play at that level, and no one wanted to move first without gauging the field.
The quiet did not last long.
"Eight thousand three hundred!"
The first bid came from a hard‑eyed middle‑aged man wrapped in a violent aura. His cultivation was clearly far from ordinary.
"Eight thousand five hundred!"
"Eight thousand seven hundred!"
Voices followed in quick succession, cracking the hall's stillness like glass.
The Great Heavenly Demon Spirit Fruit had clearly awakened many long‑banked desires. Any Supreme worth the name knew how precious such a thing was.
In only a few minutes, the price had soared to nine thousand five hundred.
A hair's breadth from ten thousand.
More than a few faces flushed at the sight.
That much Sovereign Spiritual Liquid could speed a Supreme's cultivation by severalfold.
At that point, the bidders thinned rapidly.
Those who remained, everyone knew, were the true sharks.
"Nine thousand seven hundred…"
The voice that floated out then was lazy and soft, laced with a bewitching sweetness.
Almost every head snapped up toward a particular box.
The gauzy veil over its front had been lifted. Behind it, a face of heart‑stopping beauty smiled out at the hall.
"The Heavenly Demon Fairy…"
"She's after the Great Heavenly Demon Spirit Fruit too?"
Whispers rippled through the crowd as men stared, their hearts hammering.
The woman was as famous as she was feared.
With her bid, the hall calmed sharply.
Several who had been tempted sank back in their seats. It was not merely a question of money now; few wanted to cross the Heavenly Demon Sect for a single fruit.
Lin Langtian frowned, then spoke in a level tone.
"Ten thousand."
The hall erupted.
A thousand eyes swung toward him in an instant, full of startled curiosity.
Ten thousand drops were not a figure just anyone could name.
Under the weight of their stares, Lin Langtian's face remained unmoved. His gaze never wavered from the fruit, as calm as still water.
By his side, Song Yanfei stared as well, surprise glimmering in her eyes.
She knew full well he had come from a lower plane with no great clan at his back.
Yet in one day, he had calmly bought the Heavenly Flame Phoenix Marrow and now vied for the Great Heavenly Demon Spirit Fruit.
By comparison, even she could not quite match his resources.
"It must be because of the Skyfiend Wolf King…" she thought, a flash of understanding passing through her gaze.
Huanglie had ruled his patch of wilderness for years; it would have been strange if he hadn't amassed a fortune.
He had simply chosen the wrong man to rob.
In the Heavenly Demon Sect's box, the Fairy's eyes slid to Lin Langtian.
His composure seemed to catch her off guard. Most men could not look away from her for long, but he met her gaze for a heartbeat and merely nodded politely.
Then he turned back to the stage.
For a moment, surprise flickered across her features. Then she smiled, slow and sultry.
After a moment's thought, she leaned back and let her lashes fall.
She had no intention of raising the bid further.
"Hehe. Since the Heavenly Demon Fairy has no great interest in the fruit, allow me," a languid male voice called from another box.
The white‑robed youth—Han Lin—stepped into view, smiling thinly as he saluted the Fairy.
She shook her head lightly. "My purse is shallow. I can't hope to compete. Since even Young Master Han of the Earth Desolation Hall has deigned to bid, I'll withdraw."
He answered her with a gentlemanly bow, then turned his eyes on Lin Langtian, a cold curl touching his lips.
"Eleven thousand."
Lin Langtian's eyes narrowed as soon as Han Lin appeared.
"I'm sorry, Young Master Lin. This is my fault," Song Yanfei whispered, guilt in her face.
She knew perfectly well that Han Lin's hostility stemmed from Lin Langtian's intervention on her behalf earlier.
For all his polished airs, Han Lin was the vindictive sort. That was what she loathed most about him.
"I have five thousand drops on me," she added, biting her lip. "If you need them, they're yours. It's not much, but…"
"It's fine. If he wants to play, we'll play," Lin Langtian said lightly, a chill glint in his eyes.
Han Lin might have some status in the Earth Desolation Hall, but Lin Langtian refused to believe he could casually toss out tens of thousands of drops just to spite him.
Even new to this world, he knew Sovereign Spiritual Liquid was no trivial thing.
Whatever happened, the Great Heavenly Demon Spirit Fruit would be his.
(END CHAPTER)
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