The Demon's Gate.
Yao Jun casually entered the city, which had the words Godspear city carved directly into the valley wall located directly next to the city. The auction was still around a month away, allowing him to take it a bit slow and cast a few curious glances at his surroundings while he walked, inspecting the city and some of the people moving around within it.
Most of the people he saw moving around didn't seem to be cultivators, they were either too old or too young, their cultivations too low. He guessed that they might be inhabitants of this place, possibly brought here by the various clans and sects so that they could run the cities spread throughout the half-finished universe. Of course, they might also be people who had lived here since before the sects and clans found this place, any universe would eventually breed life after all.
Yao Jun also found the ground, as well as the buildings, in the city to be rather interesting, mainly because of how clearly different they were in age. The closer he got to the coliseum at the center of the city, the older the materials used to create the roads and building were. There were parts where the stone rode had turned completely white and become covered in cracks, the stone taking on a chalk-like feel.
For there to be such a clear difference in age between the various parts of the city, who know how many years must have passed between each time the city grew larger. He couldn't help but be somewhat curious, just how old was this city actually, had it been around since the birth of this half-finished universe? If so, who was the one to first start working on this city?
Yao Jun didn't spend too much time wandering around the city, only a few days so that he could see enough to sate a bit of his curiosity before he returned to his main goal, the coliseum. The coliseum looked like a mountain from up close, completely filling Yao Jun's vision. It was made out of a type of black metal, windows covering a large portion of the outside and doors spread out at an even distance along the bottom of the coliseum. Each door was guarded by two normal mortals holding long spears and clad in polished metal armor, nothing more than a formality. Yao Jun had no idea where to go, so he walked up to the closest guard to ask.
"I'm here to bring out some items to be sold in the auction, where can I do that?"
Yao Jun did indeed have quite a few funds on his hands, at least when he compared it to what he himself was used to. If he just counted his Spirit Stones, he had around 100 000 Earth grade Spirit Stones. Back on his home planet, this sum would be so immense it would drive the entire planet mad, the highest rank of Spirit Stone on his home planet was only Heaven grade, after all, only a single rank higher.
But after traveling the wider universe, Yao Jun learned that the legends he had heard as a child were true, there existed Spirit Stones which were even more valuable, the Primordial and the Empyrean grade ones. Most large clans used Earth to Primordial grade Spirit Stones, Empyrean grade reserved mostly for Godkings. So while Yao Jun himself felt that he had an immense sum of money on his hands, he was uncertain if it could actually be considered much.
So, to procure more funds for the auction, as well as clear up space in his interspatial ring, he decided to sell almost everything he had acquired from other peoples interspatial rings. The guard quickly straightened his back when Yao Jun approached him, speaking up in a rather youthful, but trembling, voice.
"Yes, Senior! If you head to the eighth door to the right from this one, you can hand over your items to the auction appraiser, she'll tell you if they will be willing to sell your items!"
Yao Jun slightly raised one of his eyebrows when he saw how tense the youth was and what term he used to refer to him. Yao Jun simply kept forgetting how strong he was to normal people, always interacting with people stronger than him, so he wasn't used to being treated like this.
He thanked the youth with a nod of his head and headed to the door he had been pointed towards, stating his business to the two guards and then entering the door. An arched hallway stretched out beyond the entrance, a few doors lining the walls of the hallway, leading either to the stage area of the coliseum or some other rooms. But even if he hadn't been pointed towards the right door, Yao Jun would know where the appraiser was, he could feel her. Waiting behind the door located at the end of the hallway was one of the six Heavenly Deities currently present within the city.
Yao Jun stopped in front of the door, which was a wooden door covered in ornate carvings featuring a three-headed lion with only one eye on each head roaring at the moon. He gave it a few soft knocks and waited for a response from beyond the door, receiving a reply after only a few short moments.
"You may enter."
Yao Jun pushed open the door and entered a surprisingly small and simple room. The room was only around 15 meters in width and length and the floor was made from a strange type of hollow wood which had been tied together using a straw-like material. Due to its small size, the room only had a few pieces of furniture and decorations, a few potted orchids decorating each corner of the room, a human-sized mirror hanging on the wall, and a single square table which was low to the ground and had a pillow placed on each side of it.
Sitting on the pillow on the right side of the table was a rather charming woman that had slightly tanned skin, long and untamed golden hair that hung down to the ground, a curvaceous and slim figure, and three crimson eyes. The woman cast a sideways glance at Yao Jun, waving her hand toward the pillow on the opposite end of the table.
"Take a seat, let me see what you have deemed worthy to be sold in the upcoming auction."
Yao Jun gave a nod of his head and sat down on the pillow with crossed legs. A porcelain cup filled with tea appeared in front of him, the golden-haired woman beckoning for him to drink it while waiting. Yao Jun once again nodded his head and took and swiped his interspatial ring, another interspatial ring appearing in his palm. He slid the ring across the table, the woman picking it up and sinking her mind into it to go through its contents.
While she was looking through the things he had brought, Yao Jun picked up the cup of yellow tea and gave it a few calm sips, the taste strangely metallic, almost resembling blood. The woman cast a few stealthy glances at Yao Jun while going through the ring, giving a slight nod when she saw his perfectly calm state, even when sitting across a Heavenly Deity. She continued to go through the ring, her eyes suddenly hardening when she spotted a few particular items. She raised her gaze, looking directly at Yao Jun and asking for confirmation.
"You wish to sell all of these items, correct? Even the weapons?"
She took out a sword and an axe from the interspatial ring while talking, making sure that Yao Jun knew what she was talking about. Yao Jun cast a glance at the weapons but simply nodded his head in nonchalance. These two weapons were the ones he had taken from Mordred and Ardet, Peyton's left and right-hand men. He hadn't included the special dagger which Mordred had been carrying, keeping it for himself should the need ever arise.
But even then, these two weapons were plenty special in their own right, they were considered High-grade Immortal weapons. Back when Yao Jun first left his own home planet, Leylan had told him about the various ranks in weapon grading. The ranks were Earth, Heaven, Immortal, Deity, and Divine, each rank further divided into low, mid, high, and peak grades. Divine rank weapons could only be used by Godkings, the All-God's List that showed the top 100 000 competitors in this competition was one such item.
But even so, most Godkings actually only used Deity rank weapons, Divine rank weapons were just far too rare. Thus, most Earthly Deities would use Heaven rank weapons and Heavenly Deities would use Immortal rank weapons. So these two weapons, which were both High-grade Immortal weapons, were very tempting to everyone beneath the Godking realm, they would not often be found for sale. But Yao Jun simply had no need for these weapons, his own sword was more than enough for him, so he had no problem selling these.
The woman gave a nod of her head and returned the weapons to the interspatial ring after receiving Yao Jun's confirmation, her expression growing a bit more solemn. It was not easy to acquire even one of these weapons, yet Yao Jun had two on him right now, as well as a few other Immortal and Heaven grade weapons. And these were just the ones he was willing to sell, what if he had kept even better ones for himself? A good weapon could explosively increase a person's strength, so she had no idea how strong Yao Jun might actually be. She gave the rest of the items in the ring a quick look-over, nodding her head after a few more minutes.
"All these items can be put up for auction, some of them should fetch a rather high price. I swear an oath that we will fairly sell these weapons and hand you 95% of the money. The auction will start in about three weeks, we can prepare a room for you if you want to."
This oath was what caused people to trust this auction, it added another layer of believability to it, just the names of the various clans and sects wouldn't always cut it. Yao Jun thought about it for a second before nodding his head, there was no harm in having them prepare a room for him. It saved him the trouble of searching for an inn and they could notify him about the start of the auction should he somehow miss it.
The woman snapped her finger and then waved her hand toward the door, indicating that Yao Jun could leave now. He finished the cup of metallic tea and then left the room, a guard in full armor bowing to him the moment he left the room.
"Senior, I have been appointed to show you to your quarters, please follow me."
Yao Jun followed the guard, which sounded like a somewhat older lady. She led him through several doors and hallways, as well as up a few stairs, bringing him to a large room that had a window that let him look down at the stage where the auction would take place. The tables and the chandelier in the room were made using crystal, the couches and bed covered in silk that gave off a cooling sensation.
He was clearly receiving rather good treatment thanks to the items he brought in. The guard excused herself and left Yao Jun alone to inspect the room. Yao Jun didn't stay in the room for too long, only giving it a cursory glance before turning around and leaving the room, continuing to explore the city while he waited for the auction to start.
More and more people flooded to the city in the coming three weeks, a lively atmosphere covering the entire city. But as the auction drew closer and closer, the names of the ones arriving at the city became more and more famous. Yuri Jahad, Xiao Yan, Berius Daemon, Luosho Li, Baam Noctris, and Mascheny Materius. All four other Supreme Law fragment holders, as well as the two other people who had a chance at receiving the top spot for the competition, had arrived.
No one else that carried one of the Tang Guanyu's tokens arrived at the city before the start of the competition, Yao Jun guessed that they might be scared of running into someone else carrying a token. Of the three tokens currently in the city, Yao Jun had one, the second one remained completely still within the coliseum, and the third one that was moving around made sure to stay away from Yao Jun, unwilling to engage in battle inside the city.
Three weeks quickly passed, the circular seating area going around the entire coliseum filling up with countless cultivators that had arrived to take part in the auction. Yao Jun was one of these people, finding an inconspicuous spot and looking down at the stage as several bright runes started surrounding the stage, the All-God's Auction had begun.
--
Located close to the center of the universe, a somewhat short distance away from the infamous Hollow Waste known as the Sealed King's Tomb, was a rather small covered in a single vast forest with trees so tall that they all stretched into the clouds. Built directly into the crowns of these trees were countless buildings and courtyards that served as the headquarter of the Eagle Soul sect, a subsidiary sect of the Merged Heaven clan.
One of the buildings on the eastern side of the planet, a cozy two-story house that had branches and vines twisting around it, had a small garden located in front of it. A few flower beds decorated the garden, weeping willows growing around the garden and casting a pleasantly cool shade.
Sitting at a table in the shade of one of these trees were four people. Two of them were a man and a woman sitting side by side and holding hands. The man, Yao Jun's father, Yao He, was middle-aged, clad in a silver robe, and had a small brown beard that covered his chin, a well-built body, and short brown hair. The woman, Yao Jun's mother, Yao Xun, had a more delicate build, was clad in a blue robe, had raven-black hair that was tied into a neat ponytail that hung down to her waist, as well as black eyes.
Sitting on the other side of the table was a youthful girl who seemed to be in her twenties, an emerald green robe covering her slim and graceful body. Her hair was rainbow-colored and hung freely down to her waist, her left eye was covered in an eyepatch made from green silk but her right eye was an enchanting pink in color.
The girl, Guo Luo, was currently playing with a young girl that was sitting on her knee. The child also had rainbow-colored hair, but there was a bit more emphasis on the violet in her hair. But while her hair was bright and cheery, she had ghastly gray eyes that did not seem to fit with her colorful hair as well as her smooth and delicate features. This girl was Yao Jun's daughter, Yao Xuelian. While the four were chatting and occasionally laughing, a voice rang out from the other end of the garden, a young man walking towards them.
"Yo! I snuck away from the others, don't let them know that I'm hiding away here."
The man that walked over casually brought out a chair and sat down at the table, bringing out a gourd filled with wine and taking a few sips. The man had a chiseled face and a very manly and rugged body, he had chestnut brown hair that only reached down to his ears and his eyes were a bright green. Guo Luo looked at the man, Yun Yantian, rolling her eyes slightly.
"Don't worry, how could we possibly tattle on the great and mighty Senior Brother Yantian?"
All of them had ended up in this sect after leaving their own home planet, they had run into a group of disciples and helped them track down a Demonic beast. Their strength increased rather fast thanks to their God Gates, Guo Luo had already reached the early stage of the Immortal Rebirth realm, ensuring that their statuses weren't too bad.
But Yun Yantian's status was even higher than hers, he had become the personal disciple of the sect master. The reason was very simple, he had already reached the late stage of the Immortal Rebirth realm thanks to an immense lucky encounter he had out on a mission.
It happened only a few months after they left their home planet, they ran into a girl that used a power that resonated with Yun Yantian's God Gate. She tried to kill him, but thanks to the combined efforts of the other disciples that had been traveling with them, they managed to kill the girl and leave the area.
But Yun Yantian had kept a secret from all the other disciples. Shortly after they killed the girl, a hand-sized wall-like structure lept out from her corpse and tried to fly off into the distance. Yun Yantian had luckily been very close to it, so he managed to snag it on instinct. But just as he grabbed it, the wall-like structure sank into is chest and fused with his own God Gate, greatly increasing his strength. Had he not immediately used a technique to hide his cultivation, he might have been found out immediately.
It was only a year later that the two of them found out that the girl had been Michelle Zathris, the 6th Lord of Attack. It was also then that they learned about the Supreme Laws and their fragments, as well as the fragment lords. Luckily, both Guo Luo and Yun Yantian had done their best to hide the fact that they had God Gates, so they hadn't been figured out yet. The two had even disguised themselves, taking a page out of Yao Jun's book and making sure that they were as safe as possible. The only one who had learned about them having God Gates was Michelle Zathris, but she was already dead so there was no chance of her telling others.
Yun Yantian chuckled at Guo Luo but didn't give a response. He looked at Yao Xuelian, stretching out his arm and poking her nose a few times to play with her. Guo Luo took this chance to raise her head, looking up at the massive All-God's List that seemed to cover the entire sky, speaking in a longing voice.
"Tell me, do you think he's in there right now?"
She wanted to see Yao Jun with all her heart, but even if she learned that he was taking part in the competition, there was no way for her to enter it now. Yun Yantian glanced at the list, taking a swig of wine and then letting out a light laugh.
"Of course he is. That bastard has a penchant for getting in the deepest shit no matter where he goes, that competition is just the type of place where he would end up. There's no need to worry about him, just as he has a penchant for getting into shit, he also has a miraculous ability to always dig himself out again. Knowing him, he's probably already gotten stronger than me and is just waiting for a chance to show off."
Yun Yantian had supreme confidence in Yao Jun, he had never once seen him panic or get anxious, he seemed to face every dangerous situation with a cool confidence that couldn't be shaken. Yun Yantian seemed to suddenly remember the actual reason he had come here, storing away the gourd of wine and looking at the people around the table with a serious expression.
"Right, let me tell you why I actually came here. A new sect has popped up recently, the sect has already killed a few of the disciples closest to the sect master and the other elders. I'm not entirely sure about the motives of this sect, so you should be careful and try to not leave the sect too much. But that's not the main part, this is."
Yun Yantian swiped his interspatial ring and took out a scroll, unfurling it and placing it on the table, revealing the image on the scroll. Yao He and Yao Xun didn't have much of a reaction upon seeing the image, but Guo Luo's eyes immediately froze. The scroll featured the image of a black gate that seemed to be made from stone, several different Demonic beasts engraved on the gate. Yun Yantian tapped the image with a finger, continuing his explanation.
"This is their sect emblem. And their name is, The Demon's Gate."