Pursuit of the Truth
chapter-447

Su Ming waited patiently and continued watching as the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth batches of Crimson Stones were sold off, then subsequently cracked open by their buyers right before all the Shamans.

The whole time, besides waiting, Su Ming also observed how the people control those light rings, as well as the strangeness of that Enchanted light ring, especially the act of placing a storage bag on it before it could be activated. These observations allowed Su Ming to figure out that the amount of Shaman Crystals those people had bought the stones for should be contained within those storage bags.

Su Ming was also observing the almost crazed Shamans who had their emotions completely ignited around him. 　　

Su Ming had made some brief calculations. Among the opened five hundred Crimson Stones, there were twelve that had shone with that unusual light, but only five of them had contained anything inside, and the rest of them were empty.

Yet even so, only two of the five stones that contained physical items made the crowd burst into commotion. One of them was the piece bought by Autumn Sea Tribe and the other was the rock containing a lock of black hair inside!

The lock of hair inside that palm-sized transparent mountain rock looked alive, as if it still contained ample amounts of life force. It seemed that if anyone crushed that mountain rock, they would be able to extract it in its complete form.

Even the Grand Elder of the God of Shamans Temple was visibly taken by this item, and he bought it at an exorbitant price! 　

Time continued passing by. It was not midnight. However, under the illumination of the numerous lights from the Crimson Stones in the sky, the entire land looked no different than it was during the day.

During the time, Nan Gong Hen gritted and bought another Crimson Stone, but…

"Brother Mo, I’m not going to continue anymore, I’ll just watch… Ah… I’m just not fated with these one thousand Crimson Stones… Brother Mo, aren’t you going to buy some?" Nan Gong Hen looked as if he had submitted to his fate and sighed beside Su Ming. 　　

The three youths beside them were already stunned by what they’d seen. Their faces were filled with shock. The intense atmosphere could easily affect the emotions of all the people in the area, and their self-control would be whittled down to the extreme.

Su Ming nodded. At the moment, the voice of the Grand Elder of the God of Shamans Temple spread through the land languidly.

"The treasure gambling event will not stop until we have sold off all the one thousand Crimson Stones. If there are any of you who are unwilling to continue, you may leave at any time you please. Now, we will begin the auction for Crimson Stones No.601 to 700!" The old man swept his gaze across the land with a calm expression as he spoke.

Su Ming sucked in a deep breath. He had been waiting for an entire day for this moment!

"230,000!"

"370,000!"

"420,000!"

It might already be midnight, but the liveliness in the place did not diminish. Instead, it only became even more intense. The bids these people placed had only become higher!

Su Ming kept his silence. He was still waiting, and when Crimson Stone no. 696 was bought by someone else for 420,000, the auction for Crimson Stone no. 697 started!

The Crimson Stone that was slightly taller than a person looked no different from the other stones and it did not have a flashy appearance. However, only Su Ming knew that there was a three-petaled flower contained inside. Although two of these petals had already withered away, the last remaining petal was alive!　

"150,000!"

The instant the auction for this Crimson Stone started, someone immediately shouted his bid. This was not because the person who placed the bid had discovered the uniqueness of this stone, but because this was simply what happened once all the Crimson Stones were placed on bid.

"180,000!"

"200,000!"

"230,000!"

The people continued placing their bids nonstop. Su Ming’s expression remained calm, and once someone called out a bid of 230,000, a glint appeared in his eyes, and he placed his first bid ever since he came to the treasure gambling event!

"300,000!"

When Nan Gong Hen heard Su Ming’s loud voice, he immediately looked towards him.

The three youths also became incredibly excited.

"350,000!" another person from the crowd placed a bid.

There were too many people in the area, and it was impossible for Su Ming to know who had placed that bid if he did not spread his divine sense. However, since the God of Shamans Temple hosted this event, it was rare for anyone to place a fake bid. If they did such a thing, then they would need to understand the consequences of their actions.

"400,000!" Su Ming called out without any hesitation.

400,000 was the average price for the Crimson Stones brought out during the latter half of the auction. If they offered a higher price, then if they failed, they would have to suffer the huge pain of such a great loss. Unless they were really confident, the people would usually stop placing bids at this moment. After all, there were still many Crimson Stones after this, and there was no need for them to concentrate on that one piece.

"420,000!" At the moment most people would stop placing bids, someone placed another bid. 　

"450,000!" Su Ming stated calmly with a calm expression on his face.

Several breaths passed by, and when no one else continued placing bids, the Grand Elder of the God of Shamans Temple started the auction for Crimson Stone No.698.

After a moment, once the Crimson Stones for this batch were all sold off, the people who bought the Crimson Stones flew up with excitement, calmness, or eagerness, straight up towards the one hundred Enchanted light rings. 　

"Brother Mo, good luck!" Nan Gong Hen wrapped his fist in his palm towards Su Ming, who gave him a nod, sucked in a deep breath, and with one single move, charged towards the sky.

This was the first time he appeared before the eyes of the Shamans to buy his own Crimson Stone in the treasure gambling event. This was also the first time he would cut open his Crimson Stone before the crowd!

This, too, would be the start of Su Ming’s parade!

The one hundred long arcs rushed to their respective Enchanted light rings. Su Ming had bought Crimson Stone No.697, and his designated Enchanted light ring was the 97th ring. While he stood there, he looked at the flashing Enchanted Vessel calmly. He watched as the light ring slowly turned about in its place while a sizzling sounded when the lights criss-crossed with each other.

After a moment, the Crimson Stones numbered 601 to 700 charged towards their buyers. When they appeared before the crowd, Su Ming looked at the Crimson Stone. It was indeed the one he had seen previously. In fact, he could even smell that faint and indistinct medicinal fragrance once again. 　

Most of the people around him brought out bags containing their Shaman Crystals with different expressions on their faces, but the expectant look was on all them. They placed their bags on their respective Enchanted light rings, and strong light shone from the Enchanted Vessels, as if they had just been ignited.

The crowd also started breathing quicker, standing underneath. Their gazes were fixed on the people in the sky. They wanted to know whether there would be any light coming from the Crimson Stones and whether any treasure would be found!

When ninety-nine of the Enchanted light rings in the sky had been lit up and these people could start cutting their stones, only Su Ming’s Enchanted Vessel was not lit, and that created an incredibly obvious spectacle in the sky.

This sort of thing had never appeared today. The people’s gazes underneath were instantly gathered on Su Ming, and at the same time they became attracted to the mask on his face, they also recognized him!

"It’s him!"

"He reached a tie against Tie Mu, Eastern Goosefoot Tribe’s Latter Shaman! His name is Mo Su!"

"Unless he hid his true level of cultivation, then this person is definitely the strongest among all Medial Shamans!"

"I saw him fighting against senior Tie Mu that day. The might of that battle is something no Medial Shaman could fight against!"

At the same time, the instant Su Ming became the center of attention, the expressions of the people in four of the eight halls in the sky changed as they became affected by different emotions.

Tie Mu sat inside his hall, and there were other members of his tribe sitting around him. The woman was among them, and as she stared at Su Ming, hatred shone briefly in her eyes.

‘It’s him…’

Tie Mu stared Su Ming. While he had come into some conflict with Su Ming, but due to the other’s politeness, he had become slightly fond of him. When he saw Su Ming, he remained expressionless, and the killing intent he had harbored some time ago was no longer there.

Autumn Sea Tribe’s Sacred Lady Wan Qiu stood on the stairs in the other hall as she looked at Su Ming standing in the dark sky and under the illumination of the flashing crimson light in the dark. She frowned.

‘Their bodies are similar, but… the presence this person gives off seems to be… slightly different from his.’ As Wan Qiu became immersed in her thoughts, the red mark of the dragon on her right arm shone faintly.

While Sky Mist’s ancestor remained seated calmly in the third hall, Tian Lan Meng and Tian Lan You, who were sitting before him, looked at the world outside. Tian Lan Meng’s gaze was focused on Su Ming’s body, and there was uncertainty in her eyes.

In the fourth hall was a long-haired woman in white. She stared at Su Ming blankly, and there was confusion along with a mix of complicated emotions in her eyes. If she was not the Celestial Maiden and could still sense the presence coming from that body, which albeit faint, still existed, she would not have been able to recognize that the person she was looking at right now… was him.

"Why did you appear here..? Do you know just what sort of danger you just brought on yourself by appearing here..?" The long-haired woman mumbled in a voice only she could hear, and the confusion in her eyes disappeared to be replaced by a hint of anxiety.

At the same time, there was a person in black robes standing among the crowd on the ground. He lifted his head slightly and a cold sneer appeared on his lips as he stared at Su Ming with a freezing glint in his eyes.

"Owner of Crimson Stone No.697, bring out the sufficient amount of Shaman Crystals and light up your Enchanted Vessel!" When the people’s gazes were focused on Su Ming, the Grand Elder of the God of Shamans Temple looked at him and spoke in a low voice.

"I don’t have enough Shaman Crystals." Su Ming’s expression remained as calm as usual when he looked towards the Grand Elder of the God of Shamans Temple.

The Grand Elder was already halfway through to becoming an End Shaman, and he no longer showed his emotions on his face. At that moment, he looked at Su Ming with his usual calm look on his face and stated unhurriedly, "I will give you the span of three breaths. After three breaths, if you still can’t bring out something of equal value to the required Shaman Crystals, then I will kill you on the spot."

Naturally, Su Ming was prepared for this since a long time ago. Without another word, he brought out a storage bag he had prepared and threw it towards the Grand Elder.

The storage bag came to a stop before the old man. He cast Su Ming a cold glance, then lifted his hand to take it. After sweeping a look through the contents, while remaining expressionless, he lifted his right hand and pointed at the Enchanted light ring before Su Ming. The Enchanted Vessel was immediately lit up, and it was ready to be used at any time!

While the old man might looked as calm as ever, his heart was in shock, because he saw five Scattering Dusts in the storage bag! He had seen Scattering Dusts before and had even consumed one of them. When he saw them, the unique feeling of the Scattering Dusts allowed him to be able to recognize the authenticity of these items with just one glance.

The quality of the Scattering Dusts in the storage bag was also much higher than the quality of the one he had taken!