NOVEL WEB Chapter 998: Messed Up
'This will be very difficult.' Vale mused.
After talking to these representatives, he was able to learn just how wealthy they were. He knew that if they really wanted to, they'd be able to obtain whatever item they wanted.
Thankfully, the seventh corpse just now doesn't look desirable as they do not have extraction abilities. Because of that, he was able to get it for a bargain.
However, it would be different for the next ones.
Vale kept his posture relaxed, but inside, his mind worked swiftly.
The seventh corpse was secured, but he wasn't done.
'There are still six left… and I still have enough Divine Crystals for one more, maybe two, depending on how things go.'
The casket of Immortal Corpse Six was still rising from the stage, enveloped in intricate preservation formations.
Soon, a mist billowed around it as it allowed their Divine Sense and other detection skills to check the corpse.
Then, the announcer's voice regained her lively tone.
"This corpse has been verified to possess more than 60% intact Divinity. While the Immortal Core has collapsed, traces of the original Shadow Law Imprint still remain. This corpse was thought to have been a Divine Judge during the Twilight Tribulations."
Since Vale had no knowledge of this realm's history, he couldn't understand the significance of the Divine Judge or the Twilight Tribulations. However, he knew how to read the mood.
Seeing how everyone perked up at the mention of those words, he knew that it was quite important.
Gasps echoed through the hall as he made sure to listen to some whispers and silent conversations of the Immortals.
Thanks to that, he learned that it wasn't just a title. It was a high-tier combat and enforcement role in the Shadow Celestial Bureaucracy.
If true, this corpse could still hold spell structures, soul imprints, and a large amount of Shadow Divinity.
'I hope I can also extract Memory Fragments.' He mused.
Now that he had excellent control of his Divine Extraction System, absorbing memories was already a lot easier for him. The first corpse he obtained was definitely a great source of memories. However, it wouldn't hurt to get more samples.
As the auction continued, he confirmed that those powerful VIPs were already planning to take this auction seriously.
Ilsera Dawnveil bid first, and she immediately raised the price to stop most bidders.
"450,000 Arcane Crystals and 2,500 Divine Crystals."
Immediately after, Commander Jurhan's booth pulsed with a pulse of abyssal light.
"500,000 Arcane Crystals. 3,100 Divine Crystals."
Another unknown Immortal, someone Vale hadn't noticed before, joined in.
He looked really old despite being an Immortal…
"Same Arcane Crystals… 3,500 Divine Crystals."
Bidding escalated fast.
Vale clicked his tongue as he could tell that these people were planning to take this corpse no matter what.
With his limited wealth, he had to back out for now.
'Even if I joined, they'd just outbid me by throwing in more than 4,000 Divine Crystals without blinking. This corpse… is beyond my reach.'
And so, he sat still, observing, analyzing their limits.
Eventually, it was sold to Jurhan for a final bid of 5,800 Divine Crystals and 530,000 Arcane Crystals.
It was a huge amount.
No one dared question the price, not when Divine Judge corpses were nearly impossible to come by. However, it was still not as expensive as Corpse Nine, which was sold for 8,000 Divine Crystals.
Next.
A pillar of blue crystal rose…
"Immortal Corpse #5. Opening bid: 290,000 Arcane Crystals and 800 Divine Crystals."
This one was different.
The corpse inside was intact, its skin was smooth and looked really beautiful, like the Immortal was only sleeping. There was also a slight glow surrounding it—evidence of natural regeneration even in death.
But unlike the last corpse, it had no known title or record attached to it.
Still, Vale could tell how great this corpse was….
"It's not just Divinity… Is it the Time Manipulator's ability?" He frowned at this thought.
It was subtle, but after extracting Time Manipulators a few times and gaining their memories, essence, and others, he already felt somewhat familiar with it...
However, Time Manipulators weren't Immortals, so this confused him a lot.
'An Immortal body tempered by time?'
Vale guessed as he couldn't help but desire this corpse.
He wasn't sure if it was noticed by the others, but he had to try his luck!
This… could be his second prize.
Soon, the bidding started, and unlike the previous bids, the increment was slower. It seemed that the ViPs weren't desperate at all. Even if they joined, they would only bid one time, and if it failed, they didn't push it.
Still, there were only five Immortal Corpses left, and there were a lot of bidders who hadn't claimed one yet.
As the bidding war steadily increased, Vale finally joined. The current bid was only 4,200 Divine Crystals, so he decided to increase his price by a thousand to show how serious he was.
"510,000 Arcane Crystals and 5,200 Divine Crystals."
As expected, the others immediately glanced in this direction and stopped.
However, as it seemed that it was going his way, something unexpected happened.
An old Immortal who had been trying to take the corpse all this time and was the one who actually made the last bid, glared at Vale's direction. He seemed furious…
Realizing that he was about to lose, he decided to mess with Vale!
"A Chrono-touched corpse only for 5,200 Divine Crystals… You're lucky, young Immortal."
As soon as he said this, everyone froze…
"Chrono-Touched?"
"You mean Time Spell?"
"Wait… This Shadow Immortal Corpse had dealings with the Time Manipulators?"
"Ahhh… What if it's actually a Time Immortal of the legend!"
"No, Time Immortals don't exist! Maybe the old man just wanted to raise the price!"
"Still… It's worth the gamble!"
At this point, Vale coldly looked at the old Immortal who had just messed up his plan.
He could make a few guesses as to why the old bidder revealed it to others…
However, the glare that this old Immortal gave to him almost felt as if this was a personal matter…
'You think I'll just let it slide… I guess I've been too kind lately.' Vale thought as he remembered the old Immortal's face.