Solanky lightly tapped his identity token.
A projection appeared before him.
Without hesitation, he placed the opening bid.
5,500 Red Entity Life Crystals.
A faint smile crossed the officiator's face.
Almost immediately, another bid appeared.
6,000 Red Entity Life Crystals.
Solanky remained calm.
From the resources he had accumulated through alchemy, he believed no ordinary participant could rival his wealth.
For a moment, he relaxed as though the invitation had already become his.
Once the bidding reached this level, the trade formation activated another function.
Participants competing for the same treasure were allowed to view each other's projected identities.
The purpose was simple.
Even if they failed to win the item, they could later negotiate with the victor by offering treasures of equal value.
Seeing this, Solanky calmly raised the price.
7,000 Red Entity Life Crystals.
Almost instantly, another projection appeared.
9,500 Red Entity Life Crystals.
The bidder was the same cultivator.
A Peak Entity-Level expert.
Solanky's lips curved slightly.
"He wants to pressure me."
"If I bid ten thousand now, everyone will believe the invitation is worth that price."
"It would become the new standard."
Instead of backing down...
He played along.
His next bid appeared.
9,990 Red Entity Life Crystals.
The entire trade grounds erupted.
Never before had an invitation reached such an outrageous value.
The amount already exceeded the combined wealth of numerous powerful clans.
The Peak Entity-Level cultivator narrowed his eyes.
Through the aura projection generated by the trade token, he confirmed that his competitor appeared to be only a Mid-Stage Entity-Level cultivator.
Confidence filled his heart.
Once he obtained the invitation...
He would simply seize everything from the old man afterward.
Without hesitation, he raised the bid once more.
10,500 Red Entity Life Crystals.
Silence followed.
Solanky made no further offer.
The Peak Entity-Level cultivator became the victor.
The officiator struck the platform.
"Sold."
"Congratulations to participant PE45800RTY."
"The invitation to the Desolation God's Sect now belongs to you."
"Please deposit the required amount to claim your prize."
The victorious bidder's expression was anything but joyful.
His face darkened.
The scheme he had carefully prepared to force Solanky into overspending had completely backfired.
Instead...
He had trapped himself.
Ten thousand five hundred Red Entity Life Crystals was a painful amount even for a Peak Entity-Level cultivator.
Elsewhere, the Saint-Level protector of Abope City was equally displeased.
He and the Peak Entity-Level bidder had secretly cooperated before the auction.
Their usual method was to inflate the prices of valuable treasures before forcing desperate buyers to pay absurd sums.
This time...
The victim had escaped.
Quietly, the city saint transmitted an order to one of his trusted subordinates.
"Follow that old man."
"Make him pay."
The command spread rapidly.
A kill order was silently issued.
Among those receiving it was participant PE45800RTY himself.
Having become the laughingstock of the entire auction, he had no intention of letting Solanky leave alive.
Meanwhile, the officiator watched everything unfold from the platform.
A trace of curiosity appeared in her beautiful eyes.
"So..."
"You can refine pills flawless enough to earn my praise."
"And despite knowing a storm awaits you after this trade..."
"You remain completely calm."
She smiled inwardly.
"Interesting."
"That old saint from Abope will undoubtedly make his move."
"I'll observe from the shadows."
"I truly want to know..."
"What confidence allows a Mid-Stage Entity-Level cultivator to remain so fearless before a Saint?"
Seated quietly within his residence, Solanky had already perceived every hidden movement through his overwhelming spiritual sense.
Nothing escaped him.
He calmly sipped the spiritual juice placed beside him while waiting for the trade to conclude.
The approaching danger meant nothing.
Without relying on any techniques, merely fighting with his true physical strength, he could already contend against the Saint-Level protector of Abope City despite not yet becoming a transcendent entity.
Much of that confidence came from the spear gifted by the Forsaken God and his Source-Defying Body Armor.
Since absorbing the mysteries contained within the crimson engravings, the armor had undergone another transformation.
Its resilience had increased dramatically.
When worn, it elevated Solanky's combat strength to the equivalent of nine million Infinite Source Gods.
Yet his true cultivation remained strangely stagnant.
Without the armor, his strength remained fixed at nine hundred and eighty thousand Infinite Source Gods.
No matter what methods he attempted...
He could not increase it further.
It was as though an invisible wall continued to suppress him.
At that moment, the officiator gently clapped her hands.
Instantly...
Every light within the trade grounds vanished.
Only the platform where she stood remained illuminated.
The remaining participants simply believed it to be part of the ceremony.
Only Solanky understood the truth.
She had silently activated the unique authority possessed by Saint Emperor transcendent entities.
The Absolute Domain.
Within that domain, every fluctuation became transparent before its master.
Solanky remained perfectly composed.
Not the slightest hint of recognition appeared on his face.
Standing within her domain, the officiator examined every participant.
Their true cultivations...
Their disguises...
Their identities...
Nothing escaped her perception.
Until...
She looked toward Solanky.
Her brows furrowed.
She saw nothing.
No hidden cultivation.
No concealed aura.
No true identity.
It was as though an invisible veil completely isolated him from her perception.
A trace of alarm surfaced within her heart.
She silently memorized him before dismissing the thought for the moment.
With another wave of her hand...
A single stalk of Transcendent Grass of Eternity appeared.
The entire venue fell silent.
Although genuine, the herb had already lost nearly seventy percent of its original essence.
The moment Solanky saw it, he understood.
This stalk had undoubtedly originated from the Forsaken Realm.
One of its elders must have exchanged it somewhere along the way before it eventually reached the officiator's hands.
Having already benefited from its medicinal effects, she was now auctioning what remained.
Even with only thirty percent of its energy left...
It remained priceless.
For cultivators below the Peak Entity Level, it was nothing short of a heaven-defying treasure.
Even if their bodies were destroyed...
They could recover to their peak state while losing only five percent of the herb's remaining essence.
The officiator raised the stalk.
"The opening bid..."
"Fifty thousand Red Entity Life Crystals."
"Begin."
Without hesitation, Solanky crushed his identity token.
His action immediately withdrew him from the bidding.
Many weaker participants followed his example.
The competition quickly became one reserved only for the wealthiest forces present.
The bidding intensified.
Seventy thousand...
Ninety thousand...
One hundred twenty thousand...
Finally...
One hundred fifty thousand Red Entity Life Crystals.
The Transcendent Grass of Eternity was sold.
As soon as the transaction concluded, subtle changes swept across the trade grounds.
Many weaker participants quietly headed toward the surrounding whirlpools.
Everyone understood the unspoken rule.
The real battle always began after the trade ended.
The officiator's gentle voice echoed once more.
"The Sixty-First Century Trade has officially concluded."
"I look forward to meeting everyone again at the next gathering."
She smiled faintly.
"And remember..."
"No killing is permitted within this trading space."
"You may depart through the whirlpools or wait for the ships that brought you here."
Everyone present understood the hidden meaning behind her words.
Waiting for the ships was the most dangerous option.
The escorts themselves could become executioners once the vessels left the protected space.
Without hesitation, the crowd surged toward the whirlpools.
Solanky joined them naturally.
As he flew forward, countless hostile gazes settled upon him.
Among them...
He recognized the Saint-Level protector of Abope City.
The enraged Peak Entity-Level cultivator.
And...
The subtle gaze of the Saint Emperor officiator.
He ignored them all.
Without slowing, he stepped into the nearest whirlpool.
His spiritual sense remained fully expanded.
Before even emerging on the opposite side, he had already mapped every hostile presence waiting beyond.
He frowned slightly.
The invitation token to the Desolation God's Sect...
Was no longer with participant PE45800RTY.
It had already been transferred to the Saint-Level protector of Abope City.
Clearly...
The invitation had never truly belonged to the Peak Entity-Level cultivator.
He had merely been bidding on the saint's behalf.
The moment Solanky emerged from the whirlpool outside Abope City near the colossal walls of the Beyond Realm...
He immediately sensed eighty Mid-Stage Entity-Level cultivators surrounding him from every direction.
Among them were three of the very cultivators who had traveled with him to the trade.
The others were strangers.
Ten belonged directly to the Saint of Abope City's personal forces.
Looking around at the tightening encirclement, Solanky slowly shook his head.
"Even your own companions..."
"...covet your wealth."
He spoke calmly, as though addressing the imprisoned cultivator whose identity he currently wore.
"They have chosen to act today."
His voice remained peaceful.
"Leave behind your treasures and your wealth."
"I will pretend none of this happened."
For a brief moment...
Silence.
Then all eighty cultivators burst into laughter.
One of them sneered.
"Has this old fool gone mad?"
"Perhaps he struck his head somewhere."
Weapons flashed.
Techniques erupted.
The entire group charged simultaneously.
Solanky released a quiet sigh.
"Very well."
"You chose this yourselves."