Chapter 517 491: Refusing a Toast Only to Drink a Forfeit

One million Low-grade Essence Stones was one-thirtieth of the Daluo Kingdom's entire annual treasury revenue.

One million Low-grade Essence Stones could nurture three True Dao Experts, greatly enhancing a family's power.

One million Low-grade Essence Stones could allow a True Dao Expert to easily advance their cultivation from the True Dao First Layer to the True Dao Third Layer.

To any faction, one million Low-grade Essence Stones was a colossal fortune. To an individual, it was an even more astronomical figure.

The sight of this huge pile of Essence Stones would make anyone who saw it burn with envy and go mad. The line of people coming to offer their Treasure Armor was endless, stretching from day to night.

Just as the stream of people offering Treasure Armor was endless, so too was the stream of those with designs on the one million Essence Stones. Some of the major factions in Daluo City had clearly set their sights on Zhaang Ye's pile of Essence Stones. These factions sent out their people to observe from a distance, plotting how to seize the pile for themselves.

Zhaang Ye, having dared to display one million Essence Stones, was naturally prepared for this situation. He emitted a faint Suppression, a terrifying pressure comparable to that of a True Dao Fourth Layer expert. This dissuaded the vast majority of factions from any thought of trying to rob him. Only a few powerful factions hadn't given up; they continued to watch him in secret.

The first day passed quickly. Zhaang Ye came up empty-handed, failing to find a single piece of Treasure Armor that satisfied him.

By the second day, the number of people presenting Treasure Armor was ten times greater than the first. Various families and Sects, of all sizes, brought out their own Treasure Armor for Zhaang Ye to appraise.

Over the course of the day, Zhaang Ye appraised over ten thousand pieces of Treasure Armor and spent five hundred thousand Essence Stones to buy two of them. Of these two, the first was called the Purple Scale Treasure Armor. It was forged entirely from the scales of an Ancient Barbaric Beast. Even with Zhaang Ye's full strength, he couldn't cut through it.

The second piece of Treasure Armor was named the Soft Jade Treasure Armor. Eighteen Defensive Arrays—two sets of nine—were inscribed upon it, granting it outstanding Defense Power. Even the Sword Gang Zhaang Ye unleashed with his bare palm couldn't leave a scratch on its surface. Zhaang Ye spent a full three hundred thousand Essence Stones to purchase this piece.

On the third day, the number of people presenting Treasure Armor was several times greater than the day before. Every corner of the Celestial Net Auction House was packed. It was a veritable sea of people, a sight that secretly astonished even Zhaang Ye.

Many hands make light work. After a busy day, Zhaang Ye acquired two more pieces of Treasure Armor.

The first piece was called the Spirit Wood Treasure Armor. It was made from a type of ancient wondrous wood, which had the magical property of being able to absorb force. The Defense Power of armor made from this ancient wood was outstanding. Zhaang Ye took out the Mysterious Blade Tip and, using fifty percent of his strength, was still unable to leave a mark on it.

Good quality comes at a high price. Zhaang Ye had to spend three hundred fifty thousand Essence Stones to acquire this Treasure Armor.

The second piece was named the Profound Turtle Treasure Armor. It was crafted from the shell of an ancient wondrous beast—the Black Water Profound Turtle—and its greatest feature was its hardness. Zhaang Ye tested it and found the Profound Turtle Treasure Armor was ten times harder than Profound Iron. Tapping it produced the sound of clashing metal.

Having obtained four pieces of Treasure Armor, Zhaang Ye's objective was achieved. On the morning of the fourth day, Zhaang Ye packed his things and left Daluo City, heading straight for the wilds.

Seeing Zhaang Ye leave Daluo City, several mysterious experts also slipped out of the city.

Zhaang Ye activated his Body Technique and had just flown several tens of thousands of miles when he felt the Heaven and Earth Essence Qi behind him suddenly fluctuate. Three black-clad elders abruptly closed in from behind, their terrifying auras locking tightly onto Zhaang Ye.

Zhaang Ye came to a halt and sized up the three black-clad elders. His perception was extremely sharp. With just a single glance, he could immediately tell that the cultivation of these three black-clad elders was at the Early-stage of the True Dao Third Layer. In the Daluo Kingdom, they would be considered decent experts.

Zhaang Ye completely ignored their auras locking onto him. He looked at the three black-clad elders with a faint, unreadable smile and said coolly, "What do you three want?"

One of the black-clad elders stared at Zhaang Ye and let out a strange cackle. "GAK GAK GAK! Junior, stop pretending! The aura you're emitting may be comparable to a True Dao Fourth Layer expert, but your true cultivation is only at the Early-stage of the True Dao Third Layer. Junior, you'd better obediently hand over the Essence Stones and Treasure Armor, then let us search your Storage Pouch. Otherwise, you'll die a miserable death!"

A cold glint flashed in Zhaang Ye's eyes. He said flatly, "Three ignorant fools! With such poor judgment, you dare to come out and rob people?"

BOOM!

Zhaang Ye took a step forward in the void. The empty space itself actually trembled from his step, and an immense aura instantly locked onto the three black-clad elders.

The aura Zhaang Ye released was as heavy as a mountain, yet it also carried a terrifying, baleful killing intent, comparable to the aura of a True Dao Fourth Layer expert. As Zhaang Ye's aura bore down on them, the three black-clad elders immediately felt a deep unease, as if they had been plunged into a Barbaric Beast's lair!

'What a terrifying aura! Is his cultivation really only at the True Dao Third Layer?' Sensing Zhaang Ye's frightening aura, the hearts of the three black-clad elders sank.

SWISH!

Just as the three elders' hearts sank, Zhaang Ye's figure suddenly vanished. When he reappeared, he was already above one of the elders, his palm gently pressing down toward the man's head.

The elder, suppressed by Zhaang Ye's aura, was secretly terrified, and his reaction time had slowed considerably. Furthermore, Zhaang Ye's Wind Realm was exceptionally profound. He had appeared above the elder's head, and the man still hadn't even noticed.

SQUISH!

With that one press, Zhaang Ye crushed the elder's skull, driving his entire head down into his torso. He died without so much as a scream.

"Ah!"

A nearby elder saw Zhaang Ye suddenly appear and casually crush his companion to death. He was so terrified his soul nearly scattered. With a loud roar, his body transformed into a streak of black light as he rapidly retreated, trying to escape Zhaang Ye's attack range.

Unhurriedly, Zhaang Ye took the first black-clad elder's Storage Bag. Then, his figure abruptly vanished and reappeared to the right of the fleeing elder. Spreading his five fingers, he lunged for the man's neck like a bolt of lightning.

It was a simple grab from Zhaang Ye, but it was fused with the Wind Realm. When the Wind Realm was integrated into an attack, its speed was as fast as lightning. The elder clearly saw Zhaang Ye's hand coming for him, but he simply couldn't dodge it. In his horror, his only option was to retract his own hand and use it to shield his neck.

The black-clad elder's defensive measure was completely useless. Zhaang Ye's palm contained immense power; he easily swatted the elder's hand aside and seized him fiercely by the neck.

CRACK!

With a single exertion of force, Zhaang Ye snapped the black-clad elder's neck. Then, with practiced ease, he took the Storage Bag from the man's body.

In just a few simple moves, Zhaang Ye had killed two True Dao Third Layer experts. This heaven-shaking display of power terrified the last remaining black-clad elder, whose soul nearly fled his body. He desperately activated his Body Technique and fled back toward Daluo City.

"Only thinking of running now? Too late!" Zhaang Ye's voice suddenly sounded from behind the black-clad elder. The man had just registered a sense of dread when a terrifying Sword Gang slashed across his neck. The elder felt his head suddenly fly high into the air as the world spun around him, and then he knew nothing more.

Zhaang Ye took this black-clad elder's Storage Bag, then smashed the corpse into a bloody mist with a single punch. He muttered, "With such pathetic strength, they dared to have designs on me. They were simply courting death!"

Back when he was at the True Dao Second Layer, Zhaang Ye could already slay True Dao Third Layer experts. After his cultivation advanced to the True Dao Third Layer, even experts at the Late Stage of the True Dao Fourth Layer had fallen at his hands. These three black-clad elders, with their cultivation at only the Early-stage of the True Dao Third Layer, were simply asking to die by trying to rob Zhaang Ye.

After killing the three black-clad elders, Zhaang Ye had gained three more Storage Bags. Upon inspecting them, Zhaang Ye discovered that they unexpectedly contained over six hundred thousand Essence Stones. In addition, there were ten bottles of Qi Gathering Pills, three True Artifacts, and several bottles of miscellaneous Elixirs. It was a nice little windfall.

Once he finished taking inventory, Zhaang Ye's gaze suddenly fixed on a patch of empty sky above him. He said coldly, "Have you seen enough? You can come out now."

Scarcely had Zhaang Ye's voice faded when a long laugh suddenly echoed from the void above. Following the laugh, a gray Flying Vessel, a dozen or so zhang long, emerged from the clouds and stopped in front of Zhaang Ye.

WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

The moment the Flying Vessel stopped, two figures flew out. Zhaang Ye's gaze swept over them, and he saw that the person in the lead was surprisingly an old acquaintance—the Third Prince of the Daluo Kingdom, Luo Juewu.

Standing to Luo Juewu's right was a middle-aged man in black. When he saw this man, Zhaang Ye's eyes narrowed slightly. He discovered that even with his perceptive abilities, he actually couldn't see through this man's cultivation.

The Third Prince, Luo Juewu, fixed his gaze on Zhaang Ye and laughed. "Your Excellency, we meet again. The sun is bright and the wind is gentle today—a perfect time for drinking and making merry. How about you join us on the Flying Vessel for a cup?"

Zhaang Ye had no favorable impression of this Third Prince and replied flatly, "Not interested."

Hearing Zhaang Ye's blunt refusal, the Third Prince Luo Juewu's expression instantly darkened. He said in a low, dangerous voice, "Your Excellency, it seems you're choosing to do this the hard way."

--(To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian.com to vote with Recommendation Tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)