Chapter 424: Chapter 423: Stone of Delay

Zhang Haoxuan didn't question Tang San again as to why he spent so much money on such an item; instead, he chose to trust his disciple. After all, the thirty thousand Elemental Coins were earned by Tang San himself.The auction continued, with exotic items frequently presented. However, Tang San kept a low profile afterwards. When he encountered interesting items, he let his teacher bid for them. If the price was right, they would buy; if not, they would let it go without any particular pursuit.

As time gradually passed and the sun began to slant westward, the day's auction was slowly coming to an end. Sёarch* The Novёlƒire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

A full day of auctioning was no small consumption of energy, with several auctioneers taking turns. For the bidders, paying attention to the items all day could also lead to fatigue. However, everyone was waiting, waiting for the last few items to be revealed.

From yesterday's auction of spiritual items, it was clear that today's finale would certainly not disappoint. What a rare opportunity this was!

"Next, we will begin bidding for the final three items in today's auction. Each of these last three is a true treasure. Now, please welcome the third-to-last item."

At last, it had arrived. The bidders, who were initially nodding off, perked up at this announcement, especially those with substantial wealth—they were particularly alert.

The final three items from yesterday were indeed stunning—the Stone of Refuge, the Tianyang Flower, and finally the Time Array Plate acquired by Tang San. Although the Time Array Plate fetched the lowest price, it actually held the most significance, pioneering a new path.

So, what precious items would the final three be today? This was undoubtedly what all bidders were eagerly anticipating.

A cart was wheeled into the area, and as soon as it entered, the entire venue seemed to almost come to a standstill. What on earth could this be?

Tang San looked intently into the distance; when his gaze landed on the cart, he immediately felt as if his thinking had become sluggish. The four members of the Bear Clan pushing the cart were clad in thick armor made of special metal. Judging by the volume of the item on the cart, it didn't seem too large.

The cart was wheeled to the center of the venue, but the auctioneer moved to a further position. When he spoke again, everyone sensed an even stranger situation.

"Respected… guests…, the next… exotic… item… is very… unique… It's… a… piece of ore,… probably… a meteorite… from… beyond… the heavens… When… it was… discovered,... it… had... created a… very… peculiar… effect… Later… it was taken… to the… Ancestral Court,… always… kept… in… the collection… of… the Ancestral Court… Over time… several… Demon Emperors… have… studied… it,… but… none… have… discovered… the reason… for… its… special effect."

The Blue Fox Auctioneer spoke slowly, in a halting manner, as if his language was affected, and this influence was clearly coming from the item in question. What kind of existence could cause such a state? Slowed speech? Of course, it wasn't just that; all bidders viewing the item found their thinking becoming slow as well.

"The… Lords… of the… Ancestral Court… call... it the… Stone of… Delay,… within… its… range,… everything… becomes… sluggish,… yet… the flow of… time… remains… unaffected… We also asked… the Time Crocodile Clan… elders to… confirm… Even their control… over… time… couldn't… alter… the effect… around it… Among… the exotic items… in the… Ancestral Court's possession,… this one… is definitely… the most… extraordinary… If its nature… could be truly… understood,… perhaps… it would… already be… considered a… Divine Object… When its… essence… is cut… away,… the slowness effect… of… the removed… portion… lessens… significantly… Please… observe."

As he spoke, the host gestured towards the Bear Clan, protected behind the barrier, to lift the red cloth.

The red cloth was lifted, revealing a head-sized mineral rock on the trolley. The rock was a yellowish-brown color, rough and uneven on the surface, somewhat crystalline in appearance. There was no glow emanating from the inside. However, if one used spiritual power to perceive it, they would detect an obtuse sensation, with a rather extensive range. It seemed that everything within a hundred-meter radius would be affected by its decelerating effect.

An unknown mystic object! That was the category it had been placed into. But the effect it produced had, without a doubt, proved its value. As one of the final three key auction items, it truly deserved its spot.

"Starting... bid... five thousand elemental... coins..., each increment... must be... no less than... five hundred..." the host struggled to announce the auction rules and then slowly raised his hand to signify the start of the bidding.

The entire venue fell into a silent hush. No bidders emerged.

The reason why there were no bidders was simple: its function was unclear. Yes, no one knew what to do with it once bought. Five thousand elemental coins were no small amount. To acquire such an expensive, unknown mystic object indeed seemed extravagant.

Even the Demon Emperor couldn't deduce its purpose or how to use it. Are we supposed to be stronger than the Demon Emperor?

This object was indeed peculiar, but it was also somewhat of a white elephant. Clearly, it wasn't suitable for weapon creation or anything of that nature, as even the user would be subjected to the decelerating effect! The armors worn by those from the Bear Clan must be made from thick lead blocks to barely block some of the decelerating effects. To consider using it as a weapon was laughable. An opponent could just hit you from a distance, while your slowed movements made you an easy target...

Slowness might be somewhat useful in certain special situations, but that assumes the user is unaffected. How can one use it if slowed by it as well?

In fact, the Time Crocodile Clan had once been very interested in this mystic object, but they were too poor to afford it. The Ancestral Court allowed them to study it for a while, but they couldn't unravel anything, so it was taken back.

Ultimately, after multiple failed attempts at research, it was brought to today's mystic object auction.

Among all the bidders present, if there was only one who showed interest, it would have to be Tang San in the 336 Auction House. At this moment, Tang San could be described as having shining eyes.

That's right, in this plane, all the Emperors did not recognize this so-called Stone of Delay, but Tang San, formerly known as the First-Generation God King, the master of the divine world, did!

What Stone of Delay? This was clearly a time-space marker. This object shouldn't even be present in such a plane; it belonged to the Divine Realm. It was used in the Divine Realm to measure the flow of time in different planes of existence.

In the Divine Realm, it wasn't particularly precious, and it would not exhibit such decelerating properties there; it was merely a regulator of time. But in planes outside of the Divine Realm, it was a different story.

It was hard to imagine how it ended up in this plane, but the size of this time-space marker was enormous. A normal time-space marker was only the size of a fingernail, fashioned into a specific shape for measuring time. Such a sizable time-space marker, however, did not exist even in the Douluo Divine Realm that Tang San once inhabited.