Chapter 47: Competition

Node Eighteen

Moments later, inside the underground hall of a seemingly ordinary cave dwelling.

The white-robed figure, wearing a red mask, greeted the two guests with a smile, saying, "I have long heard of the renown of the Yu Tian family's 'Five Yu Tian Gods.' I didn't expect the Marquis to send the two strongest among them this time."

"My second brother is the strongest in our family; I am far inferior and can't even rank among the top three within the clan," the woman with the ice-cold body chuckled softly. Her presence naturally exuded coldness, significantly lowering the temperature of the entire hall.

"Are you Blood Cloud?" the burly figure asked, looking at Blood Cloud God Lord. "Wearing a mask, concealing your aura, not even daring to show your true face?"

Blood Cloud God Lord continued to smile at them. "After all, for a long-term infiltration within Yu Nation, it's better to be cautious."

"Hmph." The burly figure calmly stated, "The Marquis must have already informed you about our arrival in Huyang City."

"Yes, you've been sent to assist me in acquiring the complete formation blueprint of Huyang City," Blood Cloud God Lord replied.

"For the three of us to work together, there must be a clear hierarchy. The Marquis didn't specify who should lead the operation. In my opinion, we should have a test," the burly figure suggested.

Blood Cloud God Lord nodded slightly, looking at the siblings. "I've long heard of the fame of Yu Tianhu and Yu Tianyi. I'm also eager to test your strength. You two may even team up."

"Team up?" The burly figure and the woman with the ice-cold body both showed a slight change in expression. They were both extremely proud. Two against one? That would be an insult to them.

"I alone am enough to deal with you," the burly figure declared.

"If you can defeat my second brother, my sibling and I will naturally follow your lead," the woman with the ice-cold body stated.

"Very well," Blood Cloud God Lord said, looking at the burly figure. "I've heard that Yu Tianhu, the strongest in the Yu Tian family, has awakened a special bloodline and cultivated body-refining secret arts to an incredible degree. I shall test it today."

With that, Blood Cloud God Lord released a large ship artifact, which landed in the center of the hall.

"Please."

Blood Cloud God Lord, Yu Tianhu, and Yu Tianyi all flew into the large ship artifact. Given that their level of combat would create too much commotion, fighting within the artifact ensured the battle's sounds and effects would not be exposed. The three most powerful figures of the Food Nation faction in Huyang City were now engaging in a trial of strength inside the ship artifact. The outside world remained completely unaware of this battle.

Moments later, three figures flew out.

"Everyone in Huyang City believes that God Lord Luohe possesses an extraordinary divine body, capable of piercing the mechanical artifact 'Purple Jade Hou' with a single hand. In my opinion, Brother Yu Tianhu, your divine body... is probably even stronger than God Lord Luohe's," Blood Cloud God Lord praised. "Even the legendary Infinite Divine Body would likely struggle to surpass yours. With Brother Yu Tianhu's assistance, our chances of acquiring the Huyang City formation blueprint are much greater."

"My second brother's divine body is considered the pinnacle of bloodline cultivation for an Eternal True God," Yu Tianyi said, looking at Blood Cloud God Lord in surprise. "I didn't expect him to still be defeated by you, God Lord." Through this encounter, the siblings realized just how deeply Blood Cloud God Lord had concealed his true strength. Blood Cloud God Lord, who had always hidden his true identity, had little renown but possessed strength far beyond their imagination.

"In all my cultivation, you are the most profoundly accumulated Eternal True God I have ever met," Yu Tianhu admitted with some admiration. "In our fight, you used five Chaos Realm techniques. Having comprehended so many Chaos Realm techniques, you must have one foot already in the Chaos Realm."

"I don't know." Blood Cloud God Lord shook his head. "I've been accumulating power, always feeling like I'm getting closer to the Chaos Realm. However, after all these long years, I'm still stuck at the Eternal True God level."

"Blood Cloud God Lord, have you also cultivated the Law Path?" Yu Tianyi asked.

"Yes." Blood Cloud God Lord admitted, "Being stuck at a bottleneck for a long time, I tried to comprehend the Laws. As my understanding of the Laws improved, I was also able to more effectively tap into my bloodline potential. The two cultivation systems are not contradictory; instead, they complement each other."

"Your comprehension, Blood Cloud God Lord, is indeed far superior to mine," Yu Tianhu admitted. "I am completely convinced by my defeat this time. For this operation, my sibling and I will both follow your lead." Yu Tianyi also nodded in agreement.

Looking at the siblings, Blood Cloud God Lord secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He had finally gained their respect.

"Within Huyang City, the City Lord's Mansion's greatest advantage is 'geographical superiority.' This refers, in essence, to Huyang City's grand formation," Blood Cloud God Lord explained. "This grand formation has been continuously perfected by masters throughout generations. Once its various powers are unleashed, our strength will be significantly suppressed." Yu Tianhu and Yu Tianyi both nodded.

"The formation blueprint is the core of Huyang City and is its most closely guarded secret," Blood Cloud God Lord continued. "When it comes to the most heavily protected place in Huyang City, it's undoubtedly the City Lord's Mansion. I suspect... the blueprint is located inside the City Lord's Mansion."

"What good does knowing that do?" Yu Tianhu and Yu Tianyi also felt a headache. "Are we supposed to just fight our way in?" The City Lord's Mansion's defenses were too strong; it was like a super-large mechanical artifact, fraught with danger.

"No need to rush. The Marquis has given us an epoch, so we have plenty of time," Blood Cloud God Lord said. "For the first step, I plan to capture alive all the masters who have repaired Huyang City's formations. Since they've worked on the formations, they must have some understanding of them."

"We'll first gather enough information about Huyang City's formations from them; they might even know the location of the complete blueprint," Blood Cloud stated.

"How many masters in Huyang City have repaired the formations?" Yu Tianhu and Yu Tianyi were unaware.

"Historically, many have made repairs, but there are nine still within Huyang City!" Blood Cloud said. "One has already defected to us, but the other eight pose a challenge."

"Capture eight Eternal True Gods?" The Yu Tianhu siblings felt no pressure at all.

Blood Cloud God Lord waved his hand, and detailed information about seven Eternal True Gods appeared in mid-air. "Our targets are these seven Eternal True Gods."

"Seven? Not eight?" Yu Tianhu and Yu Tianyi asked, puzzled.

"There's one master who repaired Huyang City's formations named Shang Tianyan," Blood Cloud God Lord explained. "He specializes in artifact refining and the mechanical flow system, making him one of Huyang City's foremost artifact masters. However, he is God Lord Luohe's best friend in Huyang City. If we attempt to capture Shang Tianyan, we risk attracting God Lord Luohe."

"God Lord Luohe?" Yu Tianhu sneered. "Before we came to Huyang City, my sibling and I gathered intelligence on all Eternal True Gods here. We heard that God Lord Luohe rarely takes action."

"He killed Blood Python Guild Master Muyang, pierced the Huyang Guard mechanical artifact 'Purple Jade Hou' with a single hand, and the assassin Ying Cang likely died by his hand," Blood Cloud God Lord nodded, saying. "He indeed acts very rarely."

"Who witnessed his battle with the assassin Ying Cang? Who can say for certain he was the one who killed him?" Yu Tianhu shook his head. "Even if he killed Ying Cang, Ying Cang was just an assassin, famous for ambush assassinations and fleeing to preserve his life. No one ever said his divine body was powerful."

"With an ordinary divine body, a single misstep could lead to death," Yu Tianhu said. "In my opinion, his strength might not be that great; he just happened to counter Ying Cang."

"Various factions in Huyang City are terrified like this just because they didn't witness God Lord Luohe and Ying Cang's fight?" Yu Tianyi also shook her head. "In my opinion, since he's an Eternal True God, he shouldn't be much stronger than us. My second brother and you, Blood Cloud God Lord, are both at the peak of the Eternal True God realm in all aspects. How much stronger could this God Lord Luohe possibly be?"

"Perhaps you are right." Blood Cloud nodded. "But our sworn enemy is the City Lord's Mansion! And their sworn enemy is us! At this moment, neither side wishes to create unnecessary complications by adding an uncontrollable opponent. This God Lord Luohe isn't vying for power or profit, so there's no need for us to provoke him. For the sake of the mission, let's ignore him for now."

Yu Tianhu and Yu Tianyi understood the priorities.

"Our first step, capturing these seven Eternal True Gods alive, must be meticulously planned," Blood Cloud God Lord emphasized.

"Understood." Yu Tianhu and Yu Tianyi had some doubts about God Lord Luohe's strength, but they were wary of the City Lord's Mansion, as it was backed by the ancient Marquis Jiujiang and various God Kings of Yu Nation. To deal with God Lord Luohe, the City Lord's Mansion couldn't simply request powerful reinforcements from above. However, when dealing with the Food Nation faction, the City Lord's Mansion could legitimately request support.

In Huyang City, cloaked in night, Luo Feng sat atop a high mountain within his cave dwelling, drinking wine and contacting Mo Limeng and Zhuyou.

"Ten days have passed; I presume you've both made your decisions," Luo Feng messaged them individually. "You've both come to my cave dwelling and experienced the power of the mechanical artifact, 'Sword in the Realm.'"

"Place your bids. There will be multiple competitors, and the highest bidder wins." In reality, Luo Feng had only contacted these two parties. But Mo Limeng and Zhuyou were unaware of how many factions Luo Feng had actually contacted.

"1.5 million cosmos sand," Mo Limeng offered.

"1.3 million cosmos sand," Zhuyou also gave a price.

Luo Feng replied, "The current price is 1.5 million cosmos sand."

Actually, Luo Feng had inquired at the Blazing Wind Guild Hall in the past few days, and they were willing to acquire it for 1.4 million cosmos sand. However, Luo Feng was unwilling to sell to them because, for the Blazing Wind Guild Hall, whose commercial network spanned almost the entire Origin Continent, what treasure hadn't they seen? They were only willing to offer relatively low prices.

"1.55 million cosmos sand," Zhuyou messaged. In fact, a gentle woman was sitting beside Zhuyou at that moment.

"God Lord Wei, the bidding is very fierce. God Lord Luohe's side says the price has risen to 1.65 million cosmos sand," Zhuyou said, looking at the gentle woman.

This gentle woman was a powerful expert living in seclusion within Huyang City. Even the Zhuyou clan was wary of this woman.

"Add fifty thousand cosmos sand each time," the gentle woman instructed.

"It's up to 1.75 million cosmos sand now."

"1.9 million cosmos sand," Zhuyou reported, carefully observing the woman's reaction with each bid.

"Tell that Luohe: 2 million cosmos sand. This is my final offer. Anything higher, and I'll pass," the gentle woman stated.

Zhuyou nodded.

After relaying the final price, Zhuyou waited for a moment before happily announcing, "2 million cosmos sand. The Sword in the Realm belongs to God Lord Wei."

"Even at 2 million cosmos sand, it's not a loss. After all, who knows when we'll encounter another mechanical artifact capable of condensing Chaos divine power," the gentle woman smiled.

"God Lord Luohe will personally deliver the Sword in the Realm to the Zhuyou clan shortly. Would God Lord Wei like to meet God Lord Luohe?" Zhuyou asked.

"It's not suitable for me to appear," God Lord Wei shook her head.

Zhuyou understood.

Meanwhile, several divine power avatars gathered at the City Lord's Mansion.

"2 million cosmos sand? Is Luohe deliberately inflating the price? How can a single Sword in the Realm be so expensive?" A white-haired elder frowned. "That price is too high; we won't buy it."

"If he's just inflating the price, God Lord Luohe will lower it and come back to us," a companion beside him said.

Mo Limeng, meanwhile, was responsible for messaging Luo Feng.

"The Sword in the Realm has been sold for a final price of 2 million cosmos sand," Mo Limeng announced, looking at those around him.

"Sold?" The white-haired elder was startled.