Douluo: Emerald Poison Emperor

Ning Fengzhi was very interested in Chen Ming.

This interest was the good kind of interest, not the bad kind.

Chen Ming had previously benefited from the kindness of Ning Fengzhi's disciple, Xue Qinghe, and in the future, he was highly likely to become one of Xue Qinghe's subordinates. Although Dugu Bo owed Xue Xing a favor, he had already repaid it many times over throughout the years but had yet to resign from his position as an elder.

From this perspective, Chen Ming was someone worth trying to recruit. Even if he couldn't be persuaded to join the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, leaving a good impression and engaging in future exchanges wouldn't hurt.

As an established sect, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had both overt and covert means of dealing with matters and had certainly not hesitated to target geniuses from opposing forces in the past. Ning Fengzhi did not deny this at all.

However, if possible, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect always prioritized recruitment first. Even if someone didn't join their sect, it was still beneficial to gain a friend.

If it became clear that a genius was or would likely become an enemy, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect would not hesitate to take decisive action to eliminate the threat and avoid future risks to the clan.

As a sect primarily focused on auxiliary-type martial souls, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's philosophy was to make as many friends as possible and as few enemies as possible. They would remain neutral whenever possible, but if neutrality wasn't an option, they would act cleanly without leaving any handle for others to exploit.

Since Dugu Bo said that Chen Ming's talent was exceptional, and Uncle Sword also stated that he wasn't an ordinary soul master, Ning Fengzhi began considering how to invest in Chen Ming.

Time passed little by little, and the auction finally began.

No one knew what mechanism had been activated, but the lighting in the auction hall dimmed by seventy percent, becoming quite dark. Ordinary buyers sat on their chairs like elementary school students waiting for a movie in a theater.

Beams of light shot down from the ceiling, illuminating the stage brightly. Standing at the center of the stage was a female auctioneer with fox ears on her head and a snow-white tail swaying behind her. She smiled warmly and bowed slowly.

"Distinguished guests, welcome. I am A Zhen, the gold-medal auctioneer of the Heaven Dou Imperial Auction House. I will be hosting this auction for you today."

"This auction is focused on soul master resources, featuring a total of twenty-two treasures. Each item has been certified by our appraisers as a rare treasure seldom seen in the outside world. I wish you all the best in finding the treasures suited to you."

"Now, let's begin with the first item in this auction."

The female auctioneer, who called herself A Zhen, clapped her hands with a smile, and several strong men carried a cabinet covered in black cloth onto the stage. A Zhen unveiled the black cloth, revealing the item inside.

Inside the cabinet was a giant glass jar filled with pale green liquid. Immersed in the liquid was a heart the size of a basketball, faintly emitting a crimson glow.

"This is the heart of an 8,000-year-old Volcano Earth Dragon, a fire-attribute subspecies of the Earth Dragon found in the Crimson Flame Mountain Range. According to appraisers, the heart contains traces of the bloodline power of a true fire dragon, making its quality far superior to that of ordinary Earth Dragons."

"The starting bid is 10,000 gold soul coins, with a minimum bid increment of 100 gold soul coins."

"Let the bidding begin!"

Although fire-attribute Earth Dragons were of little value to Chen Ming, the heart was an excellent cultivation resource for most soul master families.

Especially for soul masters with dragon martial souls or fire-attribute martial souls, this well-preserved heart could be highly beneficial. Moreover, it contained a trace of power related to a true fire dragon.

True dragons were incredibly noble beings on the Douluo Continent.

As soon as the bidding began, the heart was quickly pushed to 15,000 gold soul coins. After a brief pause, the price jumped to 20,000 gold soul coins.

Finally, after a fierce bidding war, a middle-aged man in a mask won the heart for 26,000 gold soul coins. In truth, this price was slightly above the market value. However, that was the nature of auctions: the excitement of bidding often drove items to sell for several times their usual price.

And the Earth Dragon's heart was merely an appetizer for this auction.

The second item was the skeletal remains of a top-tier 10,000-year-old ice-attribute soul beast, which contained immense ice-attribute power.

Seeing this skeleton, Chen Ming was reminded of the time he had seen such a soul beast in the outer parts of the Extreme North. He couldn't help but marvel at the Heaven Dou Imperial Auction House's ability to acquire items from the Extreme North in this era.

The ice-attribute skeleton was purchased by an ice-attribute Soul Emperor for 49,000 gold soul coins. The next item to appear was a massive fire-attribute mineral.

This mineral was displayed on a large stand, standing roughly half a person's height. It radiated a strong and pure fire-attribute soul power.

Even though it was simply exposed to the air, it passively repelled other elemental soul powers while converting neutral soul power into fire-attribute soul power. It was as if the mineral itself was the crystallization of fire elements.

"This is called a Geothermal Flame Crystal. It is extremely beneficial for the cultivation of fire-attribute soul masters and can be used to create an exceptional fire-attribute mimicry training field."

"The starting bid is 100,000 gold soul coins, with a minimum bid increment of 1,000 gold soul coins."

A Zhen, the auctioneer, provided only a brief introduction to the item, which made her seem far from a competent auctioneer.

Many in the audience were confused about the Geothermal Flame Crystal, but only a select few, including Chen Ming, understood why the auctioneer had glossed over its description.

This was because the method of obtaining Geothermal Flame Crystals was somewhat taboo.

Chen Ming had read about these crystals in Dugu Bo's collection of books.

Geothermal Flame Crystals only form in places where large quantities of fire-attribute soul power are gathered, such as volcanoes. They were essentially the result of the remains of fire-attribute soul beasts and their accumulated soul power crystallizing underground over tens of thousands of years.

Once formed, these crystals instinctively absorbed and released fire-attribute energy, improving the surrounding environment and making it more suitable for fire-attribute soul beasts. They also produced a secondary mineral called Flame Iron Ore.

In essence, these crystals were the foundation of fire-attribute soul beast habitats. Removing even a single piece could disrupt the ecosystem of a large area. Not only would the quality of newly born fire-attribute soul beasts decline, but their growth rate would also slow.

The half-person-sized Geothermal Flame Crystal before them was the result of tens of thousands, or even over 100,000 years, of accumulation in a fire-attribute soul beast habitat.

Such a crystal was essentially the heart of a region's geothermal system. Extracting it would kill the entire system, essentially destroying the foundation for fire-attribute soul beasts in the area.

Although the Spirit Hall had never explicitly prohibited the extraction of such crystals, they had long discouraged soul masters from interfering with soul beast habitats in this manner.

The consequences of such actions could include diminished soul beast populations in the long term, rendering soul beast resources scarce. In some cases, an entire soul beast habitat could disappear.

In more severe cases, it could provoke soul beasts into rebellion, leading to beast tides that pose immense threats to innocent civilians and soul masters alike. Throughout history, there have been numerous small-scale beast tides caused by similar incidents.