Chapter 2337: Treasure Heist

"You said that's only one reason; what about the other ones?" the Mayfly Race Grand Ascension Stage being asked.

"The other reason is that even though this drop of spirit blood is clearly an extraordinary item, our trade guild still hasn't been able to find a good way to use it. All we know is that water that the blood has been soaked in for some time can become spirit liquid that can regenerate magic power, but there's no way to extract the fearsome power contained within the blood essence, nor can we find any way to refine it," Hu Yushuang explained.

"This spirit blood can't be refined?" a Grand Ascension Stage being exclaimed.

"Hehe, this Ancestral Dragon blood definitely has many extraordinary uses; if it can be easily refined, then our guild wouldn't be putting it up for auction. However, many of the fellow daoists present are extremely powerful beings, so just because our guild is unable to accomplish something doesn't mean that the same applies for all of you. If you can truly refine this spirit blood, perhaps it wouldn't even be impossible for you to directly ascend to the True Immortal Realm. Of course, if you don't have confidence in your ability to find a refinement method, then it would be best not to participate in the bidding," Hu Yushuang replied.

"Even if this isn't Ancestral Dragon blood, the fact that it contains such fearsome energy means that it definitely belonged to an unimaginably powerful being; I'm determined to take it for myself!" a Grand Ascension Stage being declared in a calm voice.

"Haha, you can't just decide that for yourself; everyone else has to agree first. Junior Hu, go ahead and begin the bidding," another Grand Ascension Stage being chuckled.

No one from the other silver cabins said anything, but the tense aura in the air clearly indicated that they were all tempted by the golden spirit blood as well.

As for the Body Integration and Spatial Tempering Stage attendees on the plaza down below, they were all staring at the drop of blood essence with wide eyes.

There was no way that they would be able to obtain such an incredible item, but just being able to witness it was worth the trip here.

"The base price for this spirit blood is 1,000,000,000 spirit stones; let the bidding..."

"Please wait a moment, I seem to have some recollection of this item, but I'm unable to recall exactly what it is. Would it be possible for me to examine it up close?" A male voice rang out, following which a black-robed man with an ordinary appearance rose to his feet on the plaza.

"You recognize this spirit blood, Fellow Daoist?" Hu Yushuang's expression immediately changed slightly upon hearing this.

Everyone else also turned their attention toward the black-robed man with surprised expressions, and even the four trade guild elders had opened their eyes to see what he had to say.

"Does this spirit blood release a burst of five-colored light once every 24 hours?" the black-robed man asked. Hu Yushuang was rather skeptical toward the man's claims, but a hint of delight immediately appeared on her face upon hearing this. "How did you know that?"

Instead of answering the question, the black-robed man replied in an ambiguous manner, "I'll have to examine the spirit blood to confirm that I haven't misidentified it."

Hu Yushuang hesitated momentarily before turning to the four trade guild elders. "What do you think esteemed elders?"

"What do you think, Brother Ming?" the thin elderly man asked as he looked up into the air.

"If he wants to take a look, then let him. Hehe, with the five of us here, it's not like a Grand Ascension Stage junior like him can do anything," Ming Zun replied from within the golden palace up above.

"In that case, invite him onto the platform to examine the spirit blood, but directly touching the spirit blood is prohibited," the thin elderly man instructed in a cautious manner.

"I understand. You can come onto the platform now, Fellow Daoist," Hu Yushuang prompted.

Thus, everyone's attention naturally shifted onto the black-robed man.

He was already making his way toward the stone platform, and a few moments later, he arrived beside Hu Yushuang before carefully inspecting the bowl before him.

"I can almost confirm what this spirit blood is now, but as a final check, would I be able to extract some of the spirit liquid in the bowl before giving a final verdict?" the black-robed man asked.

Hu Yushuang's brows furrowed slightly upon hearing this, but she still nodded in agreement in the end. "Alright, but you can't extract too much."

"Rest assured, Fellow Daoist; I won't overstep my boundaries. Please remove the restriction for me," the black-robed man said with a smile.

Hu Yushuang gave an affirmative response before making a hand seal, then thrust a palm toward the bowl.

The light barrier above the bowl instantly dissipated amid a dull thump.

The man stepped forward before pointing a finger at the bowl, and it shuddered slightly before a small ball of the spirit liquid rose up out of the bowl.

Hu Yushuang's heart eased slightly upon seeing how small the amount of spirit liquid that had been extracted was.

However, just as she was lured into a sense of security, the black-robed man casually reached forward, as if he were going to catch the ball of spirit liquid.

Spiritual light flashed between Hu Yushuang's fingers as she prepared to reactivate the restriction over the bowl.

However, right at this moment, the thin elderly man's expression abruptly changed, and he roared, "Stop! What do you think you're doing?"

He swept a sleeve through the air as he spoke, and his seemingly ordinary hand abruptly transformed into a massive blue palm that came crashing down toward the black-robed man like lightning.

Hu Yushuang's expression changed drastically upon seeing this, and she hurriedly pointed a finger toward the bowl, but it was already too late.

The black-robed man cackled as he completely disregarded the descending giant palm, and silver light erupted beneath him before instantly sweeping toward a certain direction.

The silver light flashed past, and the bowl abruptly vanished along with its contents.

However, right at this moment, the giant blue hand also arrived, sending an inescapable burst of enormous force crashing down upon the black-robed man.

All of a sudden, spatial fluctuations erupted above the black-robed man, and a grey shadow appeared before immediately raising a hand, sending a giant crimson palm hurtling directly upward.

The two massive palms clashed amid an earth-shattering boom, resulting in powerful shockwaves that sent the three platter-carrying women and Hu Yushuang flying off the stone platform.

No one had expected anyone to attempt a heist during this auction, and even Han Li was rather dumbstruck by what he was seeing.

The thin elderly man wore an enraged expression as he made a hand seal, and an azure crystal ball flew out of his body alongside a small silver hammer.

The crystal ball rose up into the air before rotating on the spot, releasing an azure light barrier downward to encompass the entire stone platform.

As for the silver hammer, it was caught by the elder before swelling to around 10 feet in size with arcs of silver lightning flashing over its surface.

"Who are you, and what gives you the courage to attempt such a brazen heist?" the thin elderly man interrogated a cold voice.

Even though the spirit blood had been snatched away, he didn't seem to be too panicked.

Both the black-robed man and the grey shadow had already displayed Grand Ascension Stage powers, so they definitely couldn't just be a pair of nobodies.

The other three trade guild elders also rose to their feet expressionlessly before releasing their own protective treasures, surrounding the black-robed man and the grey shadow from all sides.

The heavenly music being played up above drew to an abrupt halt, and the five-colored cloud parted, releasing countless armored guards who instantly filled the air above the entire plaza.

At the same time, a series of formations began to appear near the plaza, completely restricting the surrounding area.

At this moment, the spiritual light around the gray shadow faded, and he was revealed to be a short grey-robed elderly man with a long beard.

"Did you get the right item? Don't let them fool you with a counterfeit," the short elderly man cautioned.

"Hehe, don't you trust my abilities? This is definitely real Ancestral Dragon blood. Otherwise, I wouldn't have struck here," the black-robed man chuckled in response.

"Good. Looks like we didn't come all the way here and expend all that effort for nothing," the elderly man replied with a pleased expression.

The two of them were chatting with one another and completely disregarding the four trade guild elders.

The thin elderly man was furious to see this, but he didn't immediately lash out. Instead, he said in a cold voice, "There's no way the two of you can get away now. If you return the spirit blood now, we can view your actions as a result of an impulsive rush of blood to the head and deal a lighter punishment upon you two. Otherwise, don't blame us for what we're about to do."

"Haha, return the spirit blood? Why do you think the two of us spent so much effort to plan this heist? There's no way we're returning the item!" the black-robed man chortled with a hint of mockery in his eyes.

"Cut the chit-chat; let's get out of here," the short elderly man urged in an impatient manner.

"Don't worry, there's no way they'll be able to stop us anyway," the black-robed man said in a nonchalant manner, but he still filled a hand over to produce a dark green formation plate, which he immediately tossed forward.

Spiritual light flashed within the formation, following which a green seedling emerged, and the seedling grew to become a massive tree in the blink of an eye.

Han Li's pupils immediately contracted at the sight of this giant tree.