Chapter 700: Dragon Blood Tree

The divine abominations materials Donald had shown earlier were meant to draw the attention of the gods present; in fact, he had his own plans.
Firstly, even within the Emerald Holy Land, rare immortal plants were limited, and most beings above the level of medium immortals were unique. Donald did not intend to release them until offspring could be bred.
As for the others, although Donald still had a considerable supply, having too many valuable items would lead to an oversupply, causing prices to drop and values to fall, so he could not keep releasing them repeatedly.
Secondly, he planned to use this auction to announce another plan of his, shifting the momentum of the entire multiverse in his favor and helping the Nature Deity faction gain more supporters in the Pantheon!
If the Nature Deity faction opened such resource-rich realms to the outside world, it would surely win the support of most gods. Anyone who tried to threaten the Nature Deity faction would be challenging the gods themselves.
Although the Shadow of the Divine Abomination Hunting Ground had not yet appeared, the appearance of two living divine abominations with the strength of lower gods had indeed piqued the interest of the gods present. They were willing to trust the Nature Deity faction and Donald.
Thus, the auction of these thirty entry passes for the Divine Abomination Hunting Ground turned out to be even more intense than the previous two final auctions.
The first batch was bought together by the group represented by Garland, the God of Art, and Asten, the God of Knowledge, as many true gods were still hesitant. As for how to divide them afterward, that was their own business.
Due to restrictions in their domains, the art and academic factions of true gods, whose combat strength was relatively weaker than that of the main warrior gods, had always received far fewer resources than other true gods. As a result, their strength had not improved significantly. The highest achievement these two factions had ever achieved was reaching the level of mid-tier gods, and there were only two of them. They could only rely on the Magic Goddess and the Agriculture Goddess, representatives of the neutral factions, to gain a foothold in the Pantheon.
Therefore, the Divine Abomination Hunting Ground—a way to obtain abundant resources without risking destruction through dangerous expeditions—was undoubtedly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for these non-combatant gods.
Seeing that one-third of the thirty entry passes had already been sold, the remaining true gods stopped hesitating and began bidding fiercely.

The two supreme gods, the God of the Underworld, Rops, and the God of Intrigue, Bansen, do not have a particularly close relationship with the pantheon of nature gods. The former, as part of the neutral faction, has had only a few interactions with them, while the latter is a dark and evil true god with a rather poor reputation among the gods. Although evil, the King of Lies has his own principles and is not like the abyssal demons that attack anyone they see. Thus, toward Donald and his growing pantheon, the God of Intrigue adopts an attitude of trying to build good relations—if that’s not possible, at least avoiding offending them.

However, these two supreme gods are now somewhat glad they chose to attend this celebration banquet out of boredom, as they never expected a series of surprises to arise at the banquet held by the pantheon of nature gods to celebrate the birth of a new god. After all, a hidden realm filled with ancient divine abominations is a very valuable resource even for supreme gods like them. Although abominations below mid-tier gods may no longer be of much use in enhancing their own strength, they represent a great opportunity for the godly factions under them. Moreover, these abominations not only have material value but also research value that supreme gods highly appreciate. A rare abomination is a highly significant research subject even in the eyes of the Creator, let alone for supreme gods who have not yet achieved Creator status.

It should be noted that although not all supreme gods are Creators, becoming a Creator grants power on par with that of a supreme god. If one could hold both roles, it would greatly enhance their strength. Why has the Lord of Elves been regarded as the most powerful supreme god, standing at the pinnacle of the Pantheon of Gods for countless years? That’s because he is a great Creator who created the high elves, a race considered perfect. Here, “race” refers to a group, not just a single organism. Only a group of a certain size with complete genetic traits that can reproduce and continue exists can truly be said to have created a race. Otherwise, many true gods can modify or create individual beings with various defects that cannot reproduce, but they are not Creators.

Therefore, these abominations, created by ancient gods as weapons of war, undoubtedly hold great research value for supreme gods. In contrast, most mid-tier gods and lower beings place more emphasis on the practical uses these abominations can provide, such as crafting divine artifacts or creating puppets to enhance combat strength.

All these reasons led to an exceptionally fierce auction in the final round. It is likely that in secluded places like the Sinful Hunting Ground, even if the pantheon of natural gods were open to outsiders, there would not be many spots available. Thus, to secure a chance to enter, all the powerful divine forces capable of participating in the auction bid fiercely. In the end, the second set of ten pass tokens was won by the Lord of Darkness at the price of a medium-tier immortal artifact. This Dragon Blood Tree is a plant unique to the multiverse and is a relatively rare immortal artifact. It only appears in the nests of creatures with dragon blood. The branches and trunks of the Dragon Blood Tree can secrete a mysterious substance that helps dragon-like creatures eliminate parasites from their bodies, shed damaged scales, and grow new ones. Spending time rubbing against the Dragon Blood Tree can also make the scales shinier and harder. Since the Dragon Blood Tree is often exposed to the aura of dragon-blooded creatures and can gradually absorb the essence of dragon blood while being rubbed against, it grows over time. Its sap and fruits both confer a weak dragon blood lineage on those who consume them. For mortals, eating one Dragon Blood Fruit can transform them from ordinary humans into powerful Dragon Blood Warriors or Dragon Vein Mages—a dream of instant greatness! However, due to the scarcity of Dragon Blood Trees, which generally only grow in areas where dragons gather—where the more dragons there are and the stronger they are, the higher the likelihood of finding such trees—it is almost as difficult for mortals to obtain them as pulling a tooth from a dragon’s mouth, even more so than cultivating to become a legendary powerhouse on their own. As for legendary or higher-level warriors, the benefits of Dragon Blood Trees are minimal. Therefore, those strong enough to challenge mighty dragons to obtain these trees would not risk offending the powerful dragon race for such gains. Most legendary dragon slayers target the evil dragons that caused chaos in ancient times, and most legends are fictional, highlighting just how powerful dragons are. When a higher deity steps in, things are naturally different. Ordinary Dragon Blood Trees are at most at the legendary or demi-god level, but the well-preserved Dragon Blood Tree acquired by the Lord of Darkness is a rare treasure that has reached the medium-tier immortal artifact level, likely second only to those found in the two Dragon God Kingdoms. It’s unknown where he obtained it.

But none of this had anything to do with Donald. He was extremely satisfied with this Dragon Blood Tree, so he chose to accept Ropes’ bid, even though several other bidders, including His Majesty the King of Lies, offered amounts comparable to that of the Dragon Blood Tree. The reason was that this Dragon Blood Tree met the needs of the Natural Deity faction. As soon as Nozdorm saw it, his eyes lit up with surprise and desire. It was an innate attraction evolved over eons by the universe’s natural forces—the Dragon Blood Tree attracted dragons through its aura and benefits, allowing it to gain advantages for its own growth, making them two interdependent creatures. Considering the role of this Dragon Blood Tree for Nozdorm, the Bronze Dragon King, and its power on par with that of a mid-tier divine artifact—far surpassing ordinary Dragon Blood Trees—it could cultivate a group of powerful half-dragon-blooded beings. Although Donald didn’t place much value on it, it could still be traded with other true gods and factions, right? The second auction group was won by the God of the Underworld, Ropes, causing tension among the true gods present. With only ten passes left in the final group, and a powerful higher-tier deity like the God of Conspiracy competing, the mid-tier gods who wanted to bid felt helpless. The God of Art and the God of Knowledge were glad they had acted sooner and withdrawn from the competition. “Galand! It seems our decision to act first was indeed wise!” said the God of Knowledge, Asten, smiling at his friend beside him. The God of Music, Bess, agreed, “Pompey was right after all; otherwise, we might have missed this opportunity!” The God of Art, Galand, nodded in agreement. “Indeed. It seems Pompey is not only admirable in the field of drama but also possesses superior insight in reality!” The poet god Pompey, praised by everyone, humbly downplayed his achievements, but the joy in his eyes showed that this true god, who controlled poetry and drama, was very pleased with the compliments. These non-combatant true gods were undoubtedly wise. If they hadn’t seized the first group while the other true gods were still hesitating, given the intensity of the subsequent auctions, there would have been no chance for them to get involved. Pompey joked and sighed, “It’s worth it that we almost emptied the wealth of over a dozen lords just to bid for these ten passes!” The true gods present all laughed together.

The God of Knowledge, still smiling, said, “Don’t worry. Based on my understanding of Lord Donald, the Divine Abomination Hunting Ground he’s created this time will surely not disappoint anyone. Just the income from these ten pass tokens alone will be sufficient to satisfy us! Moreover, considering our combat strength is somewhat weaker, we probably won’t even be able to secure ten entry spots! In my opinion, it would be better to sell some of the pass tokens to the true gods who are interested—this way we can make a profit well before the event starts!”