Chapter 720

Chapter 720: The Great Earth Net

Hearing this, Fang Lie, Qing Feng, and Immortal Lan Shan were immediately enraged. Although the three of them were competing, how dare anyone else interfere? Who was so oblivious?

So, the three of them glared fiercely, almost in unison shouting, "Who shouted that? Do you want to die?"

The one who called out was a young Thunder Tribulation Immortal, known to everyone as just a minor sect member. No one expected him to speak up at such a moment; didn’t he fear retaliation from the Three Great Sects?

However, this young man showed no fear in the face of the overwhelming presence of the three masters. Instead, he grinned and said, "I come from Zhu Xian. This time, I represent both the Zhu Xian and Shi Shen Organizations in making a bid. Surely I have the qualification to participate?"

Upon hearing the names of Zhu Xian and Shi Shen, the crowd’s expressions changed instantly. If there was an organization in the world that caused headaches for everyone, it was surely these two wretched assassin organizations.

They also had enough financial resources to compete for this super secret treasure.

Suddenly, Immortal Lan Shan frowned, and Qing Feng fell silent, clearly hesitating.

It wasn’t that they feared Zhu Xian and Shi Shen; they were genuinely shocked by the magnitude of the bid.

A Ninth-Rank Treasure, even a low-grade one, was indeed rare. Ten Eighth-Rank High-Grade treasures weren’t worth as much as one Ninth-Rank treasure. The difference in value was not just about cost, but also about combat power.

Normally, without a Ninth-Rank treasure, even a Semi-Immortal would find it difficult to withstand the mighty powers of a Ninth-Rank treasure.

Thus, this kind of item was usually the treasured item of a sect, very rarely allowed to flow outside.

Even for major sects, this was the case. Besides ancestral possessions, they could only rely on the fortunate encounters of their high-ranking disciples to occasionally obtain one, and each was invaluable, almost never traded externally.

Only Zhu Xian and Shi Shen were restless; sometimes they would rob treasures while annihilating entire families. Throughout history, many small to mid-sized sects had been wiped out because of them.

And while many of those sects might not be impressive now, several had once enjoyed glory, possessing Ninth-Rank treasures to influence fortunes, but they had drawn disaster and met their end at the hands of Zhu Xian and Shi Shen.

Thus, Zhu Xian and Shi Shen became the sects with the most Ninth-Rank treasures in the world. Someone had privately calculated that even without counting ancestral Ninth-Rank treasures, they had plundered more than ten Ninth-Rank treasures just through forced theft and killing commissions!

The most famous incident was the recent assassination of Fang Lie, a core disciple of the Mo Sect, for the price of one Ninth-Rank treasure.

Sadly, Zhu Xian failed in that mission, not only having to return the commission but also losing many experts, making it their most costly venture in thousands of years.

But regardless, Zhu Xian and Shi Shen were still rich and powerful, opening with the promise of a Ninth-Rank treasure, instantly overwhelming the crowd and forcing the two righteous sects to reconsider seriously.

In fact, the Inner Core of the Five-Poison Golden Toad, in terms of power, was indeed not inferior to a Ninth-Rank treasure. This was because its deadly principle was the deadly poison, which would not diminish in power with the absence of Immortal Energy from the mortal world. Unlike other Immortal artifacts, which would suffer a huge loss in power without Immortal Energy, this treasure could maintain its lethal essence.

This thing could even kill an Eleventh-Rank Dragon King, showing how formidable it was. The combined might of all the Semi-Immortals in the mortal world would likely fall to a single breath of its poison.

And if it were refined using special secret methods by Zhu Xian and Shi Shen, its power would surely grow. At that point, Fang Lie wouldn’t even know if his undying nature could withstand it.

Under these circumstances, the price of a Ninth-Rank treasure was not too high, and one might even say it was a bargain.

But the issue was that this deadly poison was useful for the Left Dao; for the righteous sects, its usefulness was limited. The Xuan Sect wanted to study the principles of Immortal-level toxins to see if they could learn anything to improve their Alchemy Skill.

However, they did not know that they would have to pay a Ninth-Rank treasure as the price.

Meanwhile, the West Kunlun had a precious treasure crafting manual, allowing them to refine a special type of treasure. With the right materials, it could potentially reach Seventh or even Eighth-Rank when completed, possessing lethality comparable to a Ninth-Rank treasure. Moreover, it should have an easier path to advancing to Ninth-Rank in the future.

However, that was all in the future; who knew how long it would take for it to reach the Ninth-Rank?

Of course, if successful, the Ninth-Rank treasure produced could far exceed the capabilities of other treasures at the same rank and would be considered profitable, even a windfall.

But the problem was that the materials were too high-end, and no one could guarantee success. If there was an accident during refinement, the invested Ninth-Rank treasure would be a total loss.

Immortal Lan Shan clearly did not dare to gamble with the sect’s fortune.

Thus, after a moment of contemplation, Qing Feng and Immortal Lan Shan both sighed heavily and returned to their seats, signaling their withdrawal from the competition.

However, they both cast hopeful glances toward Fang Lie, clearly wishing he would not give up.

Even Immortal Lan Shan would prefer this item to fall into Fang Lie’s hands rather than let the sinister Zhu Xian and Shi Shen obtain it.

However, such a significant matter involving a Ninth-Rank Treasure was not something Fang Lie could decide alone. He could only ask the old bird, "Bird Bro, what do you think we should do?"

The old bird pondered for a moment and said, "If there was no Netherworld Ghost Fire warship, I wouldn’t dare to gamble. I would certainly give up just like West Kunlun. But right now, your Netherworld Ghost Fire can enhance the spirit of the treasure, and with Mao Mao’s Plague Spirit roots being the most suitable for refining such poisonous creatures, our chances have greatly increased. It’s truly worth a gamble!"

At this moment, the old bird paused and continued, "The Sect Leader is interested as well, but he can only offer a low-quality Ninth-Rank Treasure, the Earth Net. He originally wanted you to use it to capture some Xuan Water Puppets, but now it can only be sold. Ultimately, it’s up to you to decide!"

At this point, the representative from Zhu Xian’s Thunder Tribulation Immortal could no longer wait. He smiled at everyone and said, "If no one else bids, then this item will be ours~"

Just at this critical moment, Fang Lie finally spoke up, sneering, "Who says no one else is bidding? We from the Mo Sect bid one low-quality Ninth-Rank Treasure!"

As soon as he said this, everyone around was stunned, and the Thunder Tribulation Immortal was shocked as well. He quickly became angry and shouted, "Fang Lie, what kind of joke is this? This is an auction; according to the rules, you must bid higher than me!"

"As long as I make the bid, no matter how small, it is still higher than yours!" Fang Lie replied coldly. "What kind of character does Zhu Xian and Shi Shen have? Who doesn’t know? Are you sure they won’t kill him after they get the treasure?"

"You~" The Thunder Tribulation Immortal’s face instantly changed, unable to suppress his anger as he yelled, "Fang Lie, don’t slander me!"

"Am I slandering you? Hmph~" Fang Lie scoffed. "Let’s not mention anything else; just look at the Ninth-Rank Treasure you put forward. Did you acquire it through a legitimate transaction? Did you find it in some ancient Secret Realm? Or did you snatch it from someone else?"

"This~" The other party suddenly found himself speechless.

Most of Zhu Xian and Shi Shen’s treasures were obtained by killing others. They certainly didn’t have the time to explore Secret Realms, which are dangerous and may not yield any rewards. It’s much quicker to kill and steal treasure!

Seeing him at a loss for words, Fang Lie continued to sneer, "Even if you don’t kill him now, can you really tolerate a Ninth-Rank Treasure falling into the hands of the weak? How long can you endure? A hundred years or two hundred years? In the end, won’t you have to take it back from him or his descendants? Even if you make a deal with a robber, at most, you’d just be the victim of black eat black! But if you deal with them, you must be prepared for repercussions against your descendants! Am I wrong?"

"You, you’re talking nonsense!" The guy shouted angrily.

But no matter how he yelled, everyone around showed disdain. The reputation of Zhu Xian and Shi Shen was truly terrible, as they acted without consideration, being cold-hearted and ruthless only for their own interests.

Just thinking about the tragedies of families wiped out by them over the years made it clear that doing business with them meant dealing with a tiger for its skin!

Finally, Fang Lie proudly said to the seller, "If you complete the deal with Mo Sect, then Mo Sect will guarantee your safe return! But dealing with them, heh, I won’t even need to explain what your fate will be."

The man, even if naive, understood the situation now. A low-quality Ninth-Rank Treasure was certainly better traded with honest people than with cold-blooded killers!

So he rushed over to Fang Lie without a second thought and directly handed the Five Poisons Golden Toad Pearl to him, saying, "I trust you; this item is yours for now!"

"Thank you!" Fang Lie took it with outstretched hands and then took out a Space Treasure, smiling, "For safety reasons, I’ll send you back to the Mo Sect first. My Sect Leader is ready, and you can get the Earth Net when you arrive!"

"Ah, so it’s that item~" The man immediately exclaimed excitedly, "Great, great, it’s perfect for me since I have earth element spiritual roots!"

After saying this, he jumped into the Space Treasure, and with a Sending-Home Art, Fang Lie sent him back to the Cycle of Fire.

As everything settled, the crowd showed regretful expressions, while the representative from Zhu Xian was furious and red-faced.

If he lost the bid due to price, that would be one thing, but to lose because of reputation was unbearable!

He quickly threatened fiercely, "Hmph, you from the Mo Sect can protect him for a while, but you can’t protect him forever! To offend Zhu Xian and Shi Shen is a guaranteed death sentence!"

Fang Lie didn’t waste words. He raised his hand and fiercely slapped, fully unleashing the essence of Past King Fist, rendering the other guy unable to defend or dodge, which was useless.

With a crisp sound accompanied by the force of the slap, he stumbled backward a few steps, half his face swelling up, and he spat out a large tooth!

"I just offended you, VIP Sir! If you have the guts, kill me! I want to die right now; I beg you, make your move already!" Fang Lie sneered maliciously.

"You, you, you wait for me!" The guy was so humiliated that he was almost in tears, but he didn’t dare to retaliate, merely howling as he fled.

"Ha ha ha!" The crowd burst into laughter, making him feel utterly embarrassed.

Fang Lie sneered, "If it weren’t for the agreement of mutual non-aggression with Zhu Xian, I would have wiped out you fools today! What a bunch of scoundrels!"