Paragon of Sin

"...About 530,000 Mystic Earth Stones."

Not a single expression wasn't one of unadulterated horror! A small-sized astral-graded planet was roughly priced at ten or so Mystic Essence Stones! Even Wei Wuyin's peak Terra-Mystic Ore rogue planet could be valued at 800,000 or so Mystic Earth Stones!

"RIDICULOUS! RUBBISH! BULLSHIT!" The elderly Alchemic Sovereign that sought trouble for San Luoyang spat out what everyone was thinking. While a Heaven Relic was heavily valued, for it to be 530,000 Mystic Essence Stones?! 

Not even the lowest-ranking starfields were worth a quarter of that! It must be understood that the majority of the Grand Cyclic Stellar Region was the result of countless assimilations of thousands upon thousands of Starfields. Even the lowest-ranked was larger than the average starfield by hundreds of times, and therefore their value was equally as outrageous. 

Yet the total value of these monster starfields at the lowest ranking was far less than the Heaven Relic! This included their Solar Stars, their planets—natural and artificial, their various realms, and cultivated materials.

"..." Everyone looked at him, and he felt a shiver down his spine.

"Are you questioning my appraisal capabilities?" The Imperial Advisor's eyes were now closed again, yet she turned her head perfectly toward the elderly Alchemist, and he felt his heart sink into the depths of icy despair. 

"I…I…I-" He couldn't speak! It was like there was a sinister edge at his neck!

"Enough," Evergod finally spoke. Out of every alchemist here, he was the only one that kept his composure. He had retrieved the core from Highlord Spiritwalker, so he had the most amount of time to inspect it. 

"450,000 Mystic Essence Stones in evaluated products, properties, or materials. Then, this Heaven Relic will be the Everlore Association's property. Do you understand what that means?" Evergod's voice was abnormally calm despite the price, and he was looking at the Imperial Advisor as he retrieved the Heavenly World Core, placing it back in the box.

He was currently cursing the Mythical Oaths of this world in his heart. If not for them, the Soul Saint King would be forced to stand outside and look on wanting like a dog. He didn't fear the Ninestar Sainthall inside the Imperial Clan's territory. They would never invade.

"I do," the Soul Saint King was delighted. While he was a little sullen that the Soul-Rising Saint and his other prepared cards were no longer needed, receiving goods for no work was the best. After all, Highlord Spiritwalker had obtained the Heaven Relic. All he did was show up and bring her away, alongside 450,000 mystic stones worth of goods that would now be his.

As for this wealth, other forces would never be able to pay, but the Mystic-Earth products and endless storages of Ninth-Grade products of the Everlore Association were bound to be able to gather that. Especially given how inflated the price of Mystic-Earth products were valued at, even the high-tier, Mystic-Earth grade Mystic-Will Convergence Pill at low-quality was valued at 300 Mystic Earth Stones each.

"Shall we swear an oath on this valuation and agree upon the price then?" The Imperial Advisor asked.

"Let's. Also, it's best to put a deadline on this." The Soul Saint King finally understood that the Imperial Advisor had no moves to play regarding Highlord Spiritwalker's involvement, so she wasn't acting passive but ushering his situation ahead swiftly! She wanted him out of the way!

He was more than happy to oblige, not even in the mood to negotiate. 450,000 Mystic Stones was an absurdly high price. He could confidently say that the Ninestar Sainthall would be unable to pay that price unless they sold off most of their Solar Stars, mystic-graded planets, World Realms, and Secret Realms!

While they were the second-ranked starfield in the Grand Cyclic Stellar Region, most of their wealth is possessed by individuals or expended daily on cultivation.

The sheer volume of materials needed to match it at the mystic-level would be too difficult to acquire in a thousand years. This would definitely set Evergod and the Everlore Association back by centuries. But given their profession and the inflated value of products, it wouldn't be hard to fully recover in a thousand years or two.

"Deadline?" The Imperial Advisor asked.

"Yes. Two days? Yes, two days." The Soul Saint King had devolved into a desperate man wanting his wealth fast and wanting to leave even faster. He could take it away and escort it back to the Ninestar Starfield with his full fleet. It was best not to stay for long and linger in his mind. Whatever the Imperial Advisor was scheming, he wanted to be far, far away.

"What do you say? Can you pay it in two days?" The Imperial Advisor seamlessly took the job of a mediator as if that was her entire purpose. Evergod's eyes flashed with disdain and contempt at the mere mention of that question. Eventually, he nodded. Their vault contained at least a million Mystic Earth Stones' worth of raw materials and even more in products, including a few of the King of Everlore's personally refined products left behind, which value was even more inflated!

If it was calculated, perhaps six or seven million Mystic Earth Stones was the value of just their vault's contents. 

Could he pay in two days? The Everlore Association could pay in two minutes.

"Then I'll do my best to value each item for fairness sake. If you both have no issue with that, of course." The Imperial Advisor's offering was timely, and the Soul Saint King hopped on board. He wanted to get this bag and leave as quickly as possible. Under the eyes of these Alchemic Sovereigns and the Imperial Advisor, they swore a deadline oath of strict obligation and conditions should it not be met.

Evergod then sent his Ever-Knights to the vault to retrieve the items the Soul Saint King preferred and extra to even out the cost. They were fully loyal, bound by extreme Mythical Oaths, so they were the only ones, beside himself, that could enter the vault. 

After this was settled, he would have an official claim over the Heaven Relic, and he could keep this one. As for the other one, San Luoyang would handle that if he succeeded. If not, he'll have to offer it up for auction or sell off portions of the Heavenly Mana it contained. While they didn't fear much, if the entire Grand Cyclic Stellar Region began to launch a coordinated boycott of their goods or materials, the Everlore Association would be finished.

He refused to give that dastardly Wei Wuyin the slightest chance to capitalize on this predictable opportunity to turn the Everlore Association to globally recognized greedy villains. This was especoally because Wei Wuyin had laid the groundwork by tainting their reputation with the Sharded God Domain Pill against the Ever-Domain Pill. 

In fact, he knew that it was Wei Wuyin who pushed this rumor out there! While he was ignorant of the Heaven Relic's existencr until it came out, when it did, he instantly realized who was responsible and their intentions. He eventually learned of what happened, San Luoyang's ignorance of the existence of the Heaven Relics as well, and how his adopted granddaughter had obtained it by chance while exploring the edge of the Aeternal Sky Starfield just prior to the Chaosnova event.

The riled-up members of the Aeternal Sky Starfield?! The fleet of pressuring Voidships?! Who else but that little mortal bastard could orchestrate such an coordinated act so swiftly? Especially after he openly captured the Evil Cultivator that participated in fighting for it!

And he would've succeeded, but the Everlore Association's foundation wasn't something a measly mortal with only a few decades of presence could shake, and he wasn't easily disturbed by these paltry moves. San Luoyang's loyalty toward the organization and worth weren't minor. As for that adopted granddaughter, the two made an agreement that could settle the ownership of the second Heaven Relic and push back these dogs.

As long as San Luoyang…

Anyways, he just needed to deal with this pesky sworn oath agreement, and even push it into his favor.

Roughly thirty-eight seconds later…

"...What?" Evergod dryly spat as he learned of the contents of the Ever-Knights transmission.

"What?" Evergod's eyes widened! He, without any explanation, rushed out of the hall and dashed to the world below! The others were taken aback while the Imperial Advisor smiled as they saw him leave.

He activated a talisman and entered the depths of the continent, penetrating its core, and arriving at the Everlore Vault! He was absurdly fast, and his Mystic Power flowed as he interfaced with the talisman to defuse the protections of the formations that shielded the Everlore Vault, finding two armored Ever-Knights at the side.

It was open.

When he entered, what should've greeted him, several thousands of glorious years of exceptional accumulation, the endless hours of efforts, deals, and acquisitions…

Didn't…

Only the muted song of silent emptiness remained in a vault the size of a small world.