Emperor’s Domination

"Sir and Lady, would you like to look at our mounts?" The clerk remained enthusiastic despite failing to advertise the draconic abalone.

"You sell mounts too? And here I thought it was all seafood." Yang Ling replied.

"Haha. My Lady, seafood is only a tiny venture of our store. We mainly specialize in aquatic treasures. Just let me know what you need."

"What kind of mounts do you have?" Yang Ling became interested.

"We actually have a heavenplunder duck right now, definitely a top choice for a mount." The clerk led the way.

A small part of this ocean was being separated into a separate pond for certain creatures. The group got there and saw a duck leisurely floating on the surface.

It was several times larger than a swan, about the size of a boat. It had gray feathers and large feet. As it flapped its feet, they resembled two paddles.

"Heavenplunder ducks are extremely fast, especially in water, virtually unmatched." The clerk introduced the creature.

"It's really that fast?" Yang Ling was skeptical since the duck was floating very slowly right now. Plus, how fast could a duck be?

"Fweet!" The clerk answered by whistling.

The relaxed duck sprung downward into the water like an arrow and disappeared from sight - a testament to its astonishing speed.

"So fa-…" Yang Ling was impressed.

She couldn't finish before the duck appeared again not far from her, assuming its leisure state once more. Only ripples and splashes were left as proof of what had just happened.

Yang Ling couldn't believe it. This mount was indeed superior to others.

"One of the fastest aquatic creatures, thousands of miles in the blink of an eye." The clerk smiled at the guests: "It's perfect for escaping from enemies while traveling near an ocean."

"Right." Yang Ling nodded, certainly tempted to make a purchase. However, she gasped after hearing the price and gave up. She couldn't afford the sky-high price.

Li Qiye wasn't interested in a mount and only watched for fun.

The clerk took the two to see several more merchandise - a lightning-bolt stingray, a chariot coldfish, a sea devourer conch…

These things had frightening backgrounds along with equally terrifying prices.

Yang Ling naturally couldn't afford them while Li Qiye remained uninterested.

The clerk could tell that Li Qiye was unmoved. He still didn't give up and smiled: "Actually, something good came today and it's available for sale. Let's go take a look, it won't be a waste of time."

Yang Ling was naturally interested. Today's trip has opened her eyes. She didn't expect a tiny store to actually have a separate dimension.

The clerk brought the two to another enclosure within this ocean.

The place was packed with guests. They were clearly either nobles or wealthy men judging by their attires.

The walls of the enclosure were made from white jade bricks. This was a rare type with a cold affinity. People could sense it from a distance.

One could see five colors soaring to the sky. Each ray looked quite real and spirited, seemingly made from metals. They could pierce through the sky and emitted a powerful and beautiful aura.

After getting closer, one would find that the rays came from one conch around the size of a bowl.

It had five colors mixed together, akin to taking the powders of five metals and just added them on the shell. There were also countless flashing dao runes. If one stared for too long, they might get lost in the process.

The conch was placed on top of a flat rock with a dark shade. The gaps and lines seemed peculiar as if it was made from numerous layers of lava cooling, culminating in this appearance.

Of course, no one would bother to look at the rock. All eyes were on the conch. The spectators couldn't help but praise this wondrous creation.

"This is our key treasure today." The clerk smiled at the duo: "We have a small auction dedicated to this conch."

"It's so pretty." Yang Ling was drawn by the colorful conch.

On the other hand, Li Qiye didn't particularly care about the conch. His focus was on the rock instead.

Suddenly, Yang Ling noticed that the manager in charge of finances back at the beach was standing by the pond.

He was at least one head taller than everyone here. He smiled and said: "It is an honor to have esteemed guests such as yourselves visiting our humble abode. Recently, we have obtained a treasure up for auction. It is this pentachromatic immortal conch. We found it deep in the ocean, not that easy to spot."

"What are the uses?" One guest asked.

"There are many. It is a creation of the grand dao so it can help its master cultivate and understand dao regarding the ocean. It can also accumulate vitality and listen to the tides of the dao. With the proper grooming technique, it can become a guardian deity. Of course, this requires several tens of thousands of years or even one hundred thousand years. But if your needs are different, you can also try its meat, definitely the finest delicacy. Its shell can then be used for artifact refinement. The outcome will be mighty." The manager explained.

"As if anyone will do the latter." A few guests laughed.

Everyone knew that the final price of this conch would be ridiculous. No one would view it as a view - that's truly wasteful.

"What's the starting price?" One guest became impatient.

"300,000 Minor Heavenly Sovereign Chaos Stones." The manager revealed.

This startled the crowd because it stopped the majority of them from even bidding once.

"Remember, this is a special conch. I dare to say that our Xiong Clan is the only one in all of West King capable of finding it. That's why the price is a little high." The manager said.

The guests exchanged glances, clearly thinking about their own financial circumstances.

This price was insane because most sects wouldn't be able to produce this sum.

"I bid 310,000." A youth spoke.

"Young Noble Li." Someone immediately recognized him.

The first bidder was none other than Cold-eyed Lightning Sword, Li Xiangquan.