Chapter 504: Endless Stall
"This was used in the past? Could it be that the Dimensional Alliance tried to use it to purify void pollution?"
"You hit the nail on the head, my lord!" The stall owner bragged.
"So, does it work?" Maximus asked excitedly.
"Barely. Although it works, the corrupted energy is not something a Tier 12 material can handle for long. The sensitive and fragile parts of the device are easily destroyed by it."
"If they wanted to continue purifying void pollution, they either needed stronger materials or had to fix the device frequently," the stall owner recounted, sighing.
This device was proposed by the Alchemy Alliance in the past, aiming to tap into the massive amount of Causality of power in the Aeon Plane.
Unfortunately, reality gave them a hard lesson.
Due to the device breaking easily, the cost to repair it was more than the cost of hiring a Master of the Ocean of Law to condense a strand of causality using their own power.
"How much?" Maximus asked, intrigued.
He didn't care whether the purification device could be easily broken, as long as it worked.
His system was a Tier 12 ultimate treasure.
If he could integrate such a function, how could mere corrupted causality points destroy it?
"This is a bidding item, my lord. You'll have to wait a while for others to arrive."
Soon enough, a crowd began to gather around the stall.
Though they had little interest in the purification device itself, the material it was made from was very rare.
Some of it was nearly extinct. If it could be purified, they would earn a fortune.
"The starting bid will be 3 million Origin Coins, with an increment of at least 10,000 per bid."
"3.01 million!"
"3.06 million!"
"3.1 million!"
As the bidding progressed, Maximus watched with interest.
He estimated how much he would need to easily win the item.
"10 million should be enough…"
As the bid neared 10 million, it began to slow down.
"9.5 million!"
"9.7 million!"
"9.9 million!"
"10 million," Maximus finally bid.
With his voice, the bidding parties fell silent, considering if the price was still worth it.
The higher the tier of the material, the more concentrated the void pollution was.
Using the traditional method of isolation and time, it would probably take millions of years to remove the void pollution from the material.
Such a slow return on investment made them hesitate.
Just as Maximus thought he was about to win, a voice suddenly broke the silence.
"11 million! This treasure is contracted by the Chrome Alliance, no need to continue gathering here," a man in luxurious clothes declared coldly.
"Chrome Alliance? They're here? This is a thousandth-number Nullspire foothold. How could such a prestigious organization come here?"
Usually, these top forces stayed in more prosperous places, like the three- or two-digit number Nullspire footholds.
Some were even in distant strongholds deep in the Endless Void Nullrift. Why would they be here, in a barren place?
Hearing this, the man from the Chrome Alliance, Uriel, couldn't help but look displeased.
It wasn't that he wanted to be in this dilapidated place, but he had no choice.
The Devourer faction had staged a revolt, attacking all the Dimensional Alliance strongholds in the Endless Void Nullrift.
Fortunately, the power of the Dimensional Alliance was nothing to scoff at.
Not only did they repel the attack, but they also managed to destroy some of the enemy's strongholds in return.
However, regardless of victory or defeat, there were always casualties and losses.
Most of the Dimensional Alliance's strongholds were either destroyed or too damaged to be used in this polluted void.
As forces converged into safer places, the areas they could trade within shrank.
Even if he wanted to trade in a more prosperous base, he didn't have the power for to do so.
The Chrome Alliance was barely a second-rate force, with a Master of the River of Law in charge.
Uriel, on the other hand, was only at peak tier 10 realm, and couldn't compete with his seniors.
Soon knowing the reputation of the Chrome Alliance, the crowd quickly dispersed.
As for the stall owner, he wasn't too disappointed.
He was satisfied with earning 10 million, let alone the 11 million Uriel had offered.
"My lord of the Chrome Alliance, here is your item—"
"12 million."
"Huh?" The stall owner froze, setting down the dilapidated purification device in a hurry.
Since there was another bidder, how could he stop the auction?
He didn't care if he offended the Chrome Lord.
Money talks and makes him move; as long as he can earn more, it is worth the risk.
As for his safety, unless he left the Nullspire foothold, no one would dare attack him.
Although the Guardian Commander of the stronghold was only in the Tier 11 realm, he had the authority to issue a wanted order.
Thus, if one didn't want to be marked as a devourer, no one dared to kill someone in this base.
"Who are you? Didn't I say this is already contracted by the Chrome Alliance?" Uriel asked with a frown, scrutinizing Maximus to see if he was part of an organization.
However, seeing his heavy disguise, where it was hard to even tell if he was a man or a woman, Uriel ruled it out.
In this place, identity was crucial. Otherwise, how could one compete with others?
"Stall owner, how long until I'm confirmed as the final bidder? Can you hurry? I still have things to do," Maximus urged, seeing it had already been a few seconds since he bid.
"You!" Gritting his teeth in anger, Uriel hastily bid 20 million.
This amount would send even a Tier 11 packing.
The stall owner even perked up, counting down the time like a real auctioneer.
"Can you still bid, my lord? In 3… 2…"
"21 million," Maximus said nonchalantly.
"25 million!"
"26 million."
"30 million."
"35 million!"
"36 million!"
By now, Uriel realized he had met an iron plate.
Bidding tens of millions for a Tier 12 scrap material even amazed him.
Thinking it over, Uriel aimed to make Maximus lose as much as possible.
"40 million!"
"41 million."
"50 million!"
"51 million!"
"60 million!"
"Enough with this nonsense, 80 million," Maximus said, frowning, realizing Uriel was just trying to drive up the price.
"Haha, it's yours now! I didn't expect you to be both stupid and rich!"
Not caring about such an insignificant individual, Maximus paid 80 million and smoothly placed the purification device into his storage dimension.
Looking for other stalls, Maximus bought all the cheaper and bargain materials filled with higher concentrations of void pollution.
Soon, he found another interesting Tier 12 scrap treasure.
While bidding, Uriel, who was following him, fiercely tried to drive up the price again.
"What, trying to cheat me?" Maximus thought, bidding slowly and stopping at the right time to trick Uriel.
Unlike the tier 12 purification device, he had not much interest in the treasure before him.
Soon, the Tier 12 treasure, which should have been worth 6 million, was bought by Uriel for 13 million.
"This—" Uriel stood in a daze, swallowing at the loss he had just incurred.
"This must be a coincidence!" Seeing Maximus bidding fiercely, he reassured himself.
Realizing Uriel was still following him, Maximus couldn't help but frown.
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Though he didn't mind paying more for things he liked, it was irritating to have a dog constantly biting at his heels.
Wanting to teach Uriel a lesson, he began simulating various ways to deplete his money.
From stall to stall, Maximus walked Uriel like a dog, giving him treats at every milestone and tricking him with every opportunity.
Within a few hours, Uriel found himself unable to pay for a treasure, waking up in a daze.
"You don't even have the money, how could you bid so fiercely?! Are you just faking being under the name of the Chrome Alliance?! Get out of here, you make me sick!" The stall owner kicked Uriel out, seeing he couldn't pay.
Turning to Maximus, the stall owner asked if he still wanted the treasure.
Unfortunately, Maximus had only been tricking Uriel and left without looking back.
Now free from his troublesome pursuer, Maximus leisurely continued shopping for all the treasures and devices he liked.
A few days later, after using up all his money, he returned to the ship and found his wives had also finished shopping.
"How was your haul? Is there anything else you need? If not, let's head to the closest dimension."
The Virtual Realm was inaccessible in voids and unstable places like battlefields and special dimensions.
Although one could access the virtual interface to conduct transactions and chat with others, they couldn't buy resources and have them delivered.
To access the Virtual Realm and sell their harvest, they had to travel to the nearest transit dimension in the Endless Void Nullrift.
"No, we don't need anything else. We don't have any money left. Let's sell our loot first."
They only had a billion each, and shopping in the endless line of stalls had drained it all in just a few days.
"Then, let's go."