Once the cave heaven specialty segment—tailor-made for Ye Chen—finally concluded, most cultivators breathed a collective sigh of relief. At last, the auction could proceed normally. They no longer had to endure the terrifying resource dominance of the Heavenly Emperor's heir.

The myriad races' powerhouses who had hoped to fleece him, however, felt a twinge of regret. They could only lament that their clans possessed too few cave heaven treasures. Everything that had just happened clearly hadn't pushed the heir to his limit. Failing to glimpse his true ceiling was truly a pity.

...

"Ethereal Jade Marrow Essence: a top-tier refining divine material with unimaginable affinity for spiritual qi. Whether used as primary or auxiliary material for Extreme Dao weapons, it is nothing short of perfect..."

"Starting bid: five million top-grade spirit stones..."

On the auction stage, the hostess's voice rang out once more. Yet even she sounded somewhat hollow, feeling that the joyful times had been far too brief. Without the Heavenly Emperor heir's generous support, she would have to work for the rest of the sales herself.

However, the moment her words faded, that unmistakable voice echoed again from his private box: "Twenty million top-grade spirit stones!"

The heir was still bidding?

In an instant, the lively atmosphere that had just returned was swept away by a cold gust, plunging the hall back into silence. Everyone's lips twitched as they turned toward his box.

The Ethereal Jade Marrow Essence was undeniably precious, but among rare materials, it hardly ranked among the absolute rarest or most elite. Its fragile nature made it better suited as a spellcasting medium; it held little advantage in direct combat.

The piece on stage was also modest in size. Based on past transactions and market rates, its final price would typically hover around ten million at most. Who could have predicted that the Heavenly Emperor's heir would open with twenty million?

This...

Compared to his earlier frenzied tenfold premiums, this seemed somewhat restrained. But it was still outrageous. Were his spirit stones blown in by the wind?

For a moment, the cultivators who had shown mild interest in the essence fell completely silent. At twice the price, they could buy superior divine materials instead.

The owner of this particular piece happened to be the War God Clan. Inside their box, the three semi-saints' eyes lit up the instant they heard Ye Chen's bid.

The heir was interested in the Ethereal Jade Marrow Essence too? Did that mean they could push it to ten times again?

They had misjudged earlier and bled thirty million dry. This time, they had to recoup it.

Without hesitation, the three semi-saints raised by ten million, barely containing their glee. "Thirty million top-grade spirit stones!"

Yet once their call settled, silence returned from Ye Chen's box. A bad feeling immediately crept into their hearts. The heir wouldn't back out again, would he? It was only double the price.

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You're quitting at double? Bid, damn it—you have mountains of spirit stones—bid! Even a single spirit stone more would do. We swear we won't raise it again!

To their despair, however, the silence persisted until the hostess brought down the gavel. Moments later, the three semi-saints stared at the Ethereal Jade Marrow Essence delivered back to their box, hearts aching so fiercely they could barely breathe.

They hadn't recovered the thirty million loss. Now they were out another three million top-grade spirit stones. Heavenly Emperor's heir—you inhuman bastard.

We suspect you're targeting the War God Clan on purpose!

Hatred surged within them, killing intent boiling over. They itched to charge over right then and there and blast the heir to pieces.

...

The War God Clan had suffered yet another loss. The onlookers, however, gained fresh insight.

Clearly, for items unrelated to cave heavens, the Heavenly Emperor's heir still had need, but his eagerness paled in comparison to cave heaven treasures. He would only raise the bid to roughly double the item's true value.

The moment it crossed that threshold, he abandoned it without hesitation. Once this pattern became clear, the crowd silently thanked the War God Clan once more for sacrificing itself to reveal the heir's stance and test his limits.

As predicted, the subsequent auction unfolded exactly along those lines. The instant any item appeared on stage, the Heavenly Emperor's heir immediately offered double its market worth. If no one contested him, the piece smoothly entered his possession. If someone did speak up, he refused to counter—clean, decisive, and absolute.

It left everyone speechless. This display only heightened the excitement among the myriad races' forces, who had been eagerly plotting to harvest Ye Chen before his eventual fall.

True, the tenfold windfalls were gone. But a modest double was still utterly adorable, wasn't it? They could seize everything back later anyway.

Without delay, they dispatched messengers racing back to their clans to fetch more treasures and divine materials in frantic haste.

A fool this generous was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. They had to capitalize on it. Otherwise, after ambushing and killing the heir outside the city, who knew how many factions would divide the spoils—and how little each would receive? Securing profit early was by far the safest course.

The auction house executives and the hostess herself were practically blooming with joy. With a lavish spender like the Heavenly Emperor's heir present, every lot gained an automatic insurance policy that guaranteed at least a doubling of price. Higher final bids meant fatter profits for the house.

The hostess's commissions soared, granting her far more resources for future cultivation. Thus, with Ye Chen's enthusiastic patronage, her tail wagged even faster...

...

The auction continued in orderly fashion. Absurdly, though the pace was blisteringly quick, the queue of items awaiting sale grew like a rolling snowball—ever larger.

Evidently, beyond the great clans eager to fleece Ye Chen, many individual cultivators also sought to cash in while he was present, consigning their own treasures for premium prices.

Ye Chen, for his part, welcomed all comers. For ordinary lots with no special requirements, he casually tossed in a handful of spiritual plants to settle the fee. Even for those demanding rare materials, he fulfilled them effortlessly.

His cave heaven had truly become a boundless treasury, containing every wonder imaginable. His resources piled like mountains, divided into only two categories: those he could gift away and those he could not. He left the giftable untouched and spent the rest without restraint.

Spirit stones flowed from him like water. Those consigning items reaped bowls overflowing with profit, their faces radiant with uncontainable delight. Only the bidders who possessed nothing to sell and lacked the means to buy their coveted pieces now wore expressions dark enough to drip water. How were they supposed to compete?

The moment the Heavenly Emperor's heir spoke, the final price instantly doubled. True, if they raised by even a single top-grade spirit stone, Ye Chen would not follow. But they would still hemorrhage value. Resentment toward him sprouted wildly in many hearts, growing unchecked like weeds.

In one private box, Thunderbolt Great Saint Wen Tailai—who had earlier flown into a rage—sat with a face as gloomy as storm clouds.

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