Chapter 372: The Race for the Heart
[A/N: Sorry but we won’t we be sitting through the sa ole Auction shenanigans.] ;)
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The two won were caught off guard to discover that the first item was, in fact, the coordinates.
The auctioneer stood still on the central dais, raising a single gloved hand.
"The Heart of the Hollow Prince," he declared, his voice smooth and intimate, as if whispering directly into each bidder’s soul.
"For countless cycles, cultivators from all heavens have sought the realm that holds the prince’s heart. And now, at last, it has revealed itself."
Above the platform, a holographic image blood: a small black scroll bound in chains, faintly pulsing with containnt runes. The sight stirred a soft wave of murmurs through the gallery.
"Starting bid," the auctioneer went on, "fifty million mana stones, with incrents of five million. The floor is open."
Yet, despite the majority of those present being in favor of the item, no one spoke up.
No hands were raised, no voices called out, and not a single person in the crowd of over three hundred moved.
Everyone simply waited.
Eyes darted sideways—Devils watching Demons, Dark Phoenixes sizing up Dark Humans, and so on.
Yet it seed no one wanted to be the first to reveal their hand, and it had nothing to do with the price or fear of being outbid.
Far from it... anyone knew the risks of buying such an item, especially sothing as intangible as re coordinates.
First, who could be certain they were accurate? And second, who in their right mind would purchase sothing they couldn’t obtain imdiately?
Sure, the coordinates held value, but the true prize lay within the realm itself.
Aurora reclined in her floating chair, legs crossed, a single brow lifting in mild amusent.
She glanced at Isis and raised one finger.
"Five hundred million," she said, her voice calm and casual, as if she were simply ordering tea.
The gallery fell silent, and the auctioneer’s mask tilted ever so slightly.
"Five hundred million from the lady in white," he announced. "Do I hear five hundred and five?"
No one spoke. No one even breathed.
The silence lingered just long enough for everyone to realize the challenge was done.
The auctioneer lifted his hand.
"Five hundred million, going once... going twice... sold to the lady in white."
At the sound, Aurora flicked another mana ring toward the man, the gesture as quick as the snap of her finger.
A soft chi drifted through the chamber, sealing the deal.
The holographic scroll vanished, instantly stored in a spatial ring that materialized before her. She accepted it with a nod, sending the ring into the Sacred Dinsion.
Isis let out a quiet breath through her nose, already pushing herself up from her chair.
"Good... now let’s go."
But before they could move, the auctioneer’s voice carried across the room—calm, intimate.
"Honored guests, no one may leave the private galleries until the auction concludes. All spatial locks, runes, and formations will remain active for the duration of the remaining lots. This is standard procedure to ensure fairness and security."
Isis tensed instantly, but Aurora remained seated casually as she spoke
"Oh co on princess," she murmured. "Learn to relax a little. Didn’t I say I will make sure we make it back?"
Isis shot her a look and sat down with a huff.
Aurora’s golden eyes wandered slowly across the gallery until they ca to rest on the front left.
"Plus... I did say I wanted to play with that woman a bit," she murmured, having already scanned her through the sub-nexus.
Dex’s younger sister wasn’t much to speak of, but her remarks in her status had revealed plenty about Dex himself.
"There’s no way we’re leaving before that."
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The auction went on smoothly, but soone had managed to seriously anger a certain individual, effectively painting a target on herself in the process.
While Ash and his wives had raised Aurora well, teaching her much and introducing her to the ways of the cultivation world, so lessons were better learned through experience than stories.
As soone with imnse power, she didn’t have much to fear—but when has it ever been wise to draw the attention of so many different factions?
By the ti the auctioneer read out the final totals, Aurora had snagged every item she’d bid on—wearing the calm, easy smile of soone picking out fruit at a market stall.
And such a thing caused so useless digging to comnce. She not only had the the coordinates, but countless other items.
As Aurora and Isis rose from their floating crystal chairs, every gaze in the gallery locked on them.
Devils muttered heatedly into communication tokens.
Dark Phoenixes traded sharp glances, while Demons clenched their fists until knuckles popped. Even the usually stoic specters drifted nearer to one another, their forms flickering with unease.
Even so, the two won left without issue, and once they stepped into the lift again, Isis spoke.
"I seriously can’t figure you out," she muttered. "You seem so sweet... and you even have this natural lody that’s so calming..."
"Yet sohow, you manage to make our concealnts completely useless."
Aurora shrugged lightly.
"It’s not so bad, is it? Plus, I learned sothing interesting."
She went on to explain the connection between the Princess and Dex, and how the remarks revealed just how Dex had been tracking them.
There wasn’t much more to it, except for a hint that he was planning sothing.
Isis’s aura shifted at this news, but her caution shouldn’t be mistaken for fear. Back in Elaris, she had always been the one Dragons relied on.
As the champion of Fay, she had quickly risen to lead the Dragon Faction.
Being a Dragon leader ant having no equals.
She had only ever known battles, war, and supremacy.
But when she went from Elaris to the real world of cultivation, she lost her entire clan—and it wasn’t a slow loss.
The mont they were all teleported in line with their destinies, they were thrown into trial grounds ant for the very bloodline running through her veins.
Those losses, however, only strengthened her resolve.
One cannot act rashly without power, no matter how loudly instincts may cry out.
So, in this mont seeing how laid-back Aurora was being, she decided to let all her guards down for the first ti ever.
If they were to make it out alive, she would have to truly understand and trust this new friend of hers.
She exhaled as her tail coiled around her leg, "Alright, seeing that you are being so calm about it.... What’s your plan?"
Aurora giggled hearing this, she honestly had no plan. She was just enjoying herself out in the world of cultivation.
"We will continue for the heart." She said as the doors to the lift opened, "And we deal with whatever cos."
The mont they stepped out, the atmosphere shifted.
Cultivators moved aside like water flowing around a blade.
Whispers rippled in their wake.
Tokens rose to lips, and orders were murmured in hushed tones.
"Track them."
"Inform the clan head—they are leaving now."
And despite this all Aurora and Isis kept walking—calm, unhurried—through the sea of stares and barely concealed hostility.
Near the main entrance, the Second Princess of the Everlasting Devils had appeared shortly after the won left.
She raised a delicate communication token to her lips, "Dex," she said. "It’s Desiree. That white-haired girl and the dragon— they are leaving the Crimson Spire Auction.... and they stole everything I have!"
A pause ca while she listened.
Then her lips curled into a cold, vicious smile.
"They’re heading straight for the Hollow Prince’s realm. Only they know the coordinates... but there are countless factions already tailing them."
Then she paused again as Dex spoke before ending the line.
"Track their scent... Once they enter the realm send
coordinates."
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