Chapter 4340 – Old Ginger Is Spicier
Translator: Silavin & Danny
Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun
Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys
Shopkeeper Tong appeared to be quite old, but he was only a Second-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. At first glance, he looked like a person from a humble background. There were countless cultivators in the Outer Universe, and most weren’t as lucky as the disciples of Void Land who had a good cultivation environment and abundant cultivation resources.
With limited aptitude and resources, even if many cultivators could reach the Open Heaven Realm, it would only be the trivial Second-Order, and they would remain in that Order until they passed away.
Even among the more than 300 Open Heaven Realm Masters from Abundance City, 89 of them were Second-Order, not to mention cultivators from other places.
For people like Shopkeeper Tong, an Open Heaven Realm Master with no background and low strength, it was extremely difficult to survive in the 3,000 Worlds.
He worked hard all his life, spending most of his savings just to finally manage to open a shop in Void Star City and start a small business. He did not need to worry about food and shelter for now, but the sudden calamity in Void Star City had chased away most of the cultivators who came to shop or work here. Shopkeeper Tong was unable to sleep due to anxiety these days.
What business could he do when the Star City was desolate? If he had no business, how could he survive in the future?
He wanted to leave, but where could he go? He didn’t have enough funds left to set up another store elsewhere, and he could not bear to let go of the one that he spent most of his life’s savings to purchase.
It could be said that most of the cultivators still left in the Star City were in the same situation as Shopkeeper Tong.
It was hard to say if his intentions to help Yun Xing Hua were real or not, but it was not false that he sincerely hoped that Yun Xing Hua would return. The law and order of the Star City was managed quite well when Yun Xing Hua was in charge, so at least no one came to cause trouble during that time.
After Yun Xing Hua was captured, Shopkeeper Tong’s business plummeted, and scoundrels were attracted to the unguarded Star City from time to time, causing him so much trouble that he had to keep his shop closed.
Therefore, his words seemed very sincere.
After speaking, Shopkeeper Tong cupped his fist again, “Sir Yun, the Star City is in chaos now. This Old Master pleas for Sir Yun to stand up and preside over the situation quickly!”
Behind Shopkeeper Tong, a group of shopkeepers cupped their fists one after another, “Please take charge of the situation, Sir Yun.”
Yun Xing Hua heard the words and replied, “Shopkeepers, please remain calm. Sir Yang, Sect Master of Void Land, has now arrived to rectify the situation in the Star City. This Yun is simply a subordinate of Sir Sect Master and has only been obeying orders.”
Although many shopkeepers had noticed Yang Kai heading this group, they did not know him, so they could only address Yun Xing Hua. Now listening to Yun Xing Hua’s introduction, they all cupped their fists to greet him in unison, “Greetings, Sect Master Yang!”
Yang Kai’s Emperor Realm aura was obvious, but despite that, none of the many Low-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters present underestimated him. To be able to lead such a large group of Open Heaven Realm Masters, Yang Kai’s identity and status no longer had anything to do with his cultivation. Moreover, when even Yun Xing Hua, a dignified Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, claimed to be a mere subordinate of this young man, how could they dare to regard him as an ordinary Emperor Realm Junior?
Yang Kai nodded lightly, “This King understands all of your concerns, but please rest assured. The reason Void Land has migrated here today is to revitalize this Star City.”
When everyone heard the words, they looked at each other and were overjoyed.
They initially did not understand why Void Land had to migrate its Headquarters, but now they heard that it was all to revive this Star City, so how could they not be happy? They could feel Void Land’s determination from this act alone.
After all, Void Land was a Second Class great force with many Open Heaven Realm Masters. If they focused on resurrecting the Star City, the situation should not be too bad in the future.
Another person asked worriedly, “Sect Master Yang, I heard that many great forces led by Heavenly Sword Union were causing trouble in Void Land. What is the situation now?”
If they were to make a living in Void Star City in the future, it was only reasonable that they paid close attention to the relationships Void Land had, so as not to be affected by their disputes.
Yun Xing Hua sneered, “That group of pitiful weaklings? What could have they done? The Union Master of Heavenly Sword Union, Kong Feng, was beheaded by Sect Master Yang, and the Hundred Sect Alliance was wiped out!”
Exclaims and gasps resounded loudly as everyone was stunned.
Although the Star City did receive similar rumours that the Hundred Sect Alliance was eliminated, and even Kong Feng was killed, no one had confirmed them yet. The incident happened not long ago, so the news has not fully spread out; as such, no one knew the full details of what happened.
But since Yun Xing Hua had said so, it must not be wrong.
How powerful was Void Land that even the Hundred Sect Alliance was annihilated, while Kong Feng, a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, was executed?
If this was all true, Void Land was definitely a top-tier Second Class great force. Besides the Cave Heavens and Paradises, there probably was not a more powerful existence than Void Land in the 3,000 Worlds.
The strength of Void Land naturally gave these people a sense of security. Shopkeeper Tong and the others were instantly overjoyed, secretly feeling affirmed that their decision to not abandon their businesses was the right one.
Yang Kai’s voice echoed loudly, “The Star City now lies in ruins, and we, Void Land, have the intention to remodel it completely. We of course won’t disappoint. This King is gratified that you chose to stay and weather through this period of difficulty with Void Land. To thank you all, this King has decided that after three days, an auction will be held by Void Land, and all are invited to attend!”
Shopkeeper Tong was puzzled, “Auction? May I ask what Sect Master Yang is planning to auction?”
Yang Kai smiled slightly and replied lightly, “A Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill!”
“Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill?” Some were puzzled. Obviously, they had never heard of this Spirit Pill before, which was not odd seeing how it had essentially been extinct for thousands of years. Unless one was extremely knowledgeable in Spirit Pills, rarely would anyone have heard about it.
However, although the number of people present was not large, there were still some who knew about the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill, so audible gasps were heard coming from around the crowd.
Yang Kai did not explain too much, and simply replied, “After three days, if you are free, please join in the fun. There might even be a pleasant surprise for some of you.”
After saying so, he left, leading the group of people to continue to survey the situation in the Star City.
After everyone from Void Land left, the cultivators left behind burst into excited whispers. Since some people knew about the amazing effects of the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill, the information naturally spread quickly, and for a time, all the cultivators wore faces of disbelief.
Most of these cultivators in the Star City who were only in the Emperor Realm and did not have an excellent aptitude. If they wanted to break through to the Open Heaven Realm, they were bound to face huge risks. One careless mistake could cost them their life. However, with the help of a Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill, their chances for success would improve greatly.
Who would not be moved by such an opportunity? Not to mention the Emperor Realm cultivators, even Shopkeeper Tong and the other Open Heaven merchants were extremely excited. They may have already advanced to the Open Heaven Realm, but who among them did not have a Disciple or descendants?
However, at the thought of the preciousness and rarity of the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill, these people became a little disheartened. Without millions of Open Heaven Pills, it would only be a dream to get their hands on such a treasure.
In the crowd, Shopkeeper Tong fell silent for a long time before he suddenly smacked his cheeks with both hands and summoned a young man, “He’er, quickly liquidate everything in the store, even if we need to take a bit of a loss. It’s important that we convert everything we have into Open Heaven Pills as soon as possible.”
Tong He asked haltingly after hearing the order, “Grandpa, are you going to participate in the auction of the Spirit Pill? Don’t tell me you’ve gone senile! Didn’t you hear Shopkeeper Chen and the others? They said that this thing is extremely valuable and could cost tens of millions of Open Heaven Pills. How can we collect so many pills?”
“Idiot!” Shopkeeper Tong raised his hand and knuckled the boy’s head, “This Spirit Pill is indeed very valuable, but in an auction it still requires someone to raise its price. The only ones left in this Star City are desperate and destitute people. So, how rich can they be? If we want to bid for that Spirit Pill, we don’t need tens of millions, we just need to be richer than everyone else.”
Tong He’s eyes lit up, “What Grandpa says makes sense. You really are an old fox... gah…” Shopkeeper Tong knuckled his head again before he could finish, so he quickly rephrased, “As expected, old ginger is spicier. Grandpa, I’ll get going right now!”
After saying that, he turned around and ran towards their store, but turned back after just a few steps.
Shopkeeper Tong frowned, “Why are you back?”
“Grandpa, I suddenly realize that this doesn’t feel right. Since the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill is so precious, how could Void Land let it fall into the hands of outsiders? Someone will definitely drive up the price at the auction. This grandson thinks that the Spirit Pill will eventually return to Void Land.”
Shopkeeper Tong looked at his grandson gratifyingly with a smile, “Your worries are not without reason.”
Tong He questioned, “Then are we still going to gather money? We might just end up going for wool and coming back shorn...”
Shopkeeper Tong smiled and replied, “If it were normal times, your Grandpa might not even dare to covet this Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill, but things are different now. Now, the popularity of Void Star City is at an all time low. Since Sect Master Yang wants to reinvigorate this place, he will need something big to begin attracting people back. Auctioning this Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill is his way of gathering fame for Void Star City, so naturally he has to take the circumstances into consideration. Think about it, if word of the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill spreads out from this Star City, the 3,000 Worlds will definitely be shaken, and many will come over to investigate.”
“So what?” Tong He was puzzled.
Shopkeeper Tong continued, “If Sect Master Yang wants to revive the popularity of the Star City, his first act cannot be to rig an auction. This is his public debut, so he cannot show duplicity or underhanded behaviour; otherwise, who would dare come here in the future?”
Tong He contemplated for a while, and agreed that what his Grandpa said was reasonable, but he still felt insecure, “But Grandpa, we’re just running a small business. We can’t afford a single mishap.”
A shrewd light flashed across Shopkeeper Tong’s eyes, and he smiled slightly, “With such a great opportunity sitting in front of you, how can you hope to be successful if you don’t even dare to take a gamble on it? He’er, your aptitude is pretty good, and if you have enough resources, you should be able to refine Fourth-Order materials to achieve the Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm in the future. With Grandpa’s ability, there’s no way I can satisfy your cultivation needs. If we do this right though, not to mention Fourth-Order, even Fifth-Order materials won’t be out of your reach!”