The self-destruction of a First-Order Origin Returning Realm cultivator is indeed powerful, but it couldn’t threaten a Third-Order Origin King, so the thin cultivator’s act of defiance would at most be able to dirty Lu Bai Chuan a bit and cause him to lose face.
But, it was mainly how madly obsessed this thin cultivator was going against him, which annoyed Lu Bai Chuan.
What Lu Bai Chuan was far more concerned about, though, was the young man who suddenly appeared in front of him. As soon as this young man appeared, his Domain had instantly been suppressed, saving the thin Zhang Family cultivator.
The aura coming from this unknown young man made Lu Bai Chuan aware that he was no weaker than himself.
But since when did the Zhang Family have another Third-Order Origin King? Lu Bai Chuan was puzzled and did not hesitate to open up some distance between them.
Yang Kai looked at him faintly, not giving chase and instead reaching out and tapping the thin cultivator’s back. The violent power which was rioting inside the thin cultivator’s body instantly steadied and the man himself staggered and nearly fell to the ground.
Raising his head, the thin cultivator looked at Yang Kai who appeared suddenly with a blank face, seemingly in a daze.
“Old Third, get back here!” The fat cultivator was dripping cold sweat as he hurriedly called out to the thin cultivator. Seeing that he did not move though, the fat cultivator rushed over and dragged his companion back.
“Who is Your Excellency?” Lu Bai Chuan stared at Yang Kai, instinctively feeling that the other party was a tricky opponent, causing his tone to become serious, “You don’t seem to be a Zhang Family member, right?”
Yang Kai smiled and shook his head, “You’re right.”
“Then who are you and why are you interfering in this private affair?” Lu Bai Chuan frowned.
Just now, Yang Kai’s casual move had made him realize that Yang Kai’s strength was not inferior to his own, so he did not want to make an enemy of him if possible and tried to probe Yang Kai’s background and relationship with the Zhang Family.
“For certain reasons, the Zhang Family’s affairs are now my concern,” Yang Kai grinned meaningfully.
“What does friend mean? Since the Zhang Family’s affairs are now your concern, should you not also give a reason? Moreover, this old master is only here to welcome a bride into his family, not to embarrass the Zhang Family in any way, is this friend perhaps misunderstanding something?”
“Lu Bai Chuan, cease your meaningless rhetoric! My husband was killed by you inside the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda, so our hatred is absolutely irreconcilable!” At that moment, the middle-aged beauty soared out from the manor, a sword in hand, screaming as she landed beside Yang Kai.
Lu Bai Chuan smiled upon hearing these words and said, “Sister-in-law, this Lu is also deeply saddened by Brother Zhang’s death, but it truly has nothing to do with this Lu. How can I explain it to you so that you will believe me?”
“This little brother has brought back the last words of my husband, yet you still dare to quibble?” The middle-aged beauty pointed to Yang Kai as she grit her teeth and shouted.
Lu Bai Chuan narrowed his eyes and immediately turned his attention to Yang Kai, “So you met Brother Zhang inside the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda?”
When he asked these words, a look of pleasant surprise filled his expression, as if this was extremely good news for him.
Yang Kai replied calmly, “Indeed I met Brother Zhang, but why does that make you so happy? Heh heh, did you perhaps think of something?”
Lu Bai Chuan’s face changed several times before he whispered, “If that’s the case, then is ‘that’ thing with you?”
“You guessed right. Yes, that thing is with me. Do you want it?” Yang Kai looked at him lightly.
At that moment, a trace of guilt suddenly flashed across the face of the middle-aged woman as she secretly blamed herself for being indiscreet, exposing the secret that Yang Kai had obtained the Dao Source Fruit.
Lu Bai Chuan and Zhang Gao Xuan had entered the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda together, and had also travelled together inside the pagoda, so it wasn’t a surprise if they had found the Dao Source Fruit together as well.
Even if the beautiful woman did not directly reveal that the Dao Source Fruit was with Yang Kai, with Lu Bai Chuan’s shrewdness, how could he not infer it?
“It seems that you killed Brother Zhang because of that thing,” Yang Kai looked at Lu Bai Chuan contemptuously.
“Hmph, even if it weren’t for that, I would still have done so, but that is my Lu and Zhang Families’ business. Now that it is with you, this Lu has something to say to this friend.”
“And what might that be?” Yang Kai looked at him with interest.
Lu Bai Chuan’s expression turned serious as his lips began to squirm, seemingly sending a message to Yang Kai.
In that instant though, Yang Kai smiled meaningfully as he leapt up into the air. The moment he did so, a small black snake burst out of the ground silently and bit towards where Yang Kai’s leg was a moment ago.
Everyone on the scene was taken by surprise when the little black snake appeared from the ground, none of them having detected it before it showed itself.
“Friend is truly sinister!” Yang Kai said in a condescending tone as he looked down at Lu Bai Chuan with a sneer, “It seems that Brother Zhang was attacked by you in this way and then killed by its poison, yes?”
As he spoke, Yang Kai flicked his wrist and sent out a Golden Blood Thread that swiftly wrapped up the little black snake.
Lu Bai Chuan hadn’t expected Yang Kai to be so alert and able to avoid such a concealed attack. He had used the same move against Zhang Gao Xuan inside the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda and at the time it had worked perfectly.
Seeing that his attempt had failed and that he was at a disadvantage, Lu Bai Chuan hurriedly moved his lips and the black snake immediately tried to retreat underground, like it had received some kind of order.
But it was too late. The Golden Blood Thread had already wrapped up the little snake and was rapidly constricting it.
*Chi Chi…*
The snake struggled hard but no matter how it tried, it was unable to escape from the Golden Blood Thread. The Golden Blood Thread continued to tighten and it was not long before the black snake’s skin was cut open and blood began leaking from its body.
“Stop!” Lu Bai Chuan shouted as he summoned out a war-hammer artifact and poured his strength into it. This hammer flashed with dark blue sparks before it rapidly shot an arc of lightning out towards Yang Kai.
Yang Kai narrowed his eyes as he realized that this war-hammer was a high-grade artifact. Not wanting to act rashly, he swiftly dodged to avoid the blow.
With a hissing sound, accompanied by a faint crack, the black snake was strangled to death by the Golden Blood Thread and slivered into several pieces. As its corpse fell to the ground, the head continued to struggle about, looking particularly fierce and vicious.
But with such an injury, it was destined to die.
“My spirit snake!” Lu Bai Chuan roared in anguish, as if his wife or daughter had been snatched from him, his eyes turning bloodshot as he glared towards Yang Kai, who was still standing up in the air, and roared, “For killing my snake, I’ll have your head!”
Saying so, he poured his strength into the war-hammer in his hands recklessly.
With a loud crackling noise, lightning arcs swirled around the hammer wildly and even the surrounding World Energy became turbulent.
Lu Bai Chuan lifted his arms and hurled the war-hammer out towards Yang Kai with a Heaven destroying force.
“Little Brother, be careful! That is the Lu Family’s Thunder Wind Hammer, an Origin King Grade High-Rank artifact, don’t try to confront it head on!” The Zhang Family’s old matriarch shouted from below as she finally managed to arrive on the scene with the help of Zhang Ruo Xi.
How could Yang Kai not understand the power of this artifact? The Thunder Attribute Energy which pulsed from it was violent and domineering, so even with his intrepid physique, he did not dare despise it.
Waving his hand, Yang Kai sent out dozens of Golden Blood Threads and wove them into a sturdy net to intercept the Thunder Wind Hammer.
*Hong long long…*
There was a loud series of bangs as the Golden Blood Thread net was continuously strained and lightning arcs darted about. The scene of the two forces opposing one another was quite a thrilling sight to behold.
“Grandma, can this Sir win?” Zhang Ruo Xi, who was supporting the old woman, looked at Yang Kai and asked. Although she was not very old, she at least understood that the Zhang Family’s safety was all tied to Yang Kai’s ability, so she couldn’t help feeling nervous.
The old woman didn’t answer; after all, she didn’t know much about Yang Kai, only that he was a Third-Order Origin King. However, Lu Bai Chuan was also a Third-Order Origin King.
Comparing opponents of the same level was always difficult.
But looking at the situation right now, Yang Kai seemed calm and relaxed while Lu Bai Chuan wore a violent expression and was clearly going all out, perhaps because his precious spirit snake had been killed.
High in the sky, the golden net condensed from Golden Blood Threads and the Thunder Wind Hammer competed on equal ground.
Lu Bai Chuan suddenly shouted loudly, and as he opened his mouth, he spat out a ray of light which quickly transformed into another artifact.
The old woman’s expression changed drastically when she saw this artifact and cried out in shock, “Silver Moon Purple Frost Sabre!”
The Zhang and Lu Families had been close for centuries, so the old woman knew a bit about the Lu Family’s most precious artifacts and quickly recognized the one Lu Bai Chuan had summoned.
The Silver Moon Purple Frost Sabre, like the Thunder Wind Hammer, was an Origin King Grade High-Rank artifact. These were the two most powerful artifacts owned by the Lu Family. Generally speaking, they would be held by different individuals, but now they both appeared in Lu Bai Chuan’s hands.
“Be careful, Little Brother, this Silver Moon Purple Frost Sabre was originally a Dao Source Grade artifact refined by an Artifact Refining Grandmaster, but due to some sort of failure in the refinement process, it only ended up as an Origin King Grade High-Rank. Nevertheless, it still contains a trace of Principle Strength,” The old woman opened her mouth to warn.
“Old thing, shut your mouth!” Lu Bai Chuan was furious.
He was locked in a life or death fight with Yang Kai but the old woman was completely exposing all his secrets, so how could Lu Bai Chuan not be angry? With a glance, he silently signalled to the other members of the bridal procession, and they swiftly turned to attack the Zhang Family.
In this team, there were three Origin Kings, and although these three were just First-Order Origin Kings, that was more than enough to deal with the current Zhang Family.
Seeing the Lu Family’s people rushing over, the old woman gripped her cane tightly and exchanged a glance with the middle-aged woman. Nodding to one another, they bravely led the Zhang Family’s people into battle against the enemy.
After Lu Bai Chuan summoned the Silver Moon Purple Frost Sabre, he immediately gripped it tightly and sneered over at Yang Kai, “Boy, I won’t waste my breath with you, hand over that thing and I’ll spare your life, otherwise you’ll die under my blade!”
“Just where are you getting all your confidence from?” Yang Kai laughed and scornfully beckoned to him, “If you want to do it, hurry up and do it, I’m quite interested in the power of your sabre.”
“Since you refuse a toast, you must drink a loss!” Lu Bai Chuan was thoroughly enraged now and shouted, “In that case, this Lu will let you witness his might!”
As soon as these words fell, he held up the Silver Moon Purple Frost Sabre in front of his chest and spat out a mouthful of Blood Essence onto it, causing it to hum slightly as a trace of Principle Strength began to radiate from it.
Feeling the unique sensation of Principle Strength, Yang Kai’s eyes narrowed and his expression became more solemn.
The old woman saying that this Silver Moon Purple Frost Sabre was a failed Dao Source Grade artifact was definitely correct, as an ordinary Origin King Grade artifact couldn’t have such an effect.
Of course, this was also only possible because Lu Bai Chuan’s own cultivation had reached a certain height, his Saint Qi being fully transformed into Source Qi while he had likely touched upon the mysteries of the Dao Source Realm and Principle Strength.
All of this was essential as an average Third-Order Origin King would not be able to produce such a result even if they had the Silver Moon Purple Frost Sabre.
The Principles inspired by the sabre were naturally Ice Principles, and although the effect was quite subtle, even somewhat faint, it was still the domain of Dao Source Realm masters. With this artifact in hand, Lu Bai Chuan’s combat power had risen to a new level!
*Kacha…*
There were now faint signs of the surrounding space being frozen, and with Lu Bai Chuan at the centre, layers of frost began to spread outwards.
The Patriarch of the Lu Family suddenly let out a great roar and with a single step, disappeared from where he stood and then re-appeared in front of Yang Kai, slashing out with the sabre in his hands.
The blade flashed as it released an extremely powerful aura, one that seemed completely overwhelming and unavoidable. Moreover, with the Ice Principles emanating from the blade sealing the surrounding space, there was no way Yang Kai should have been able to avoid this blow.
“Hahahaha!” Lu Bai Chuan laughed madly as a happy expression filled his face, “Like an ant trying to stop a cart, such overconfidence!”
He was completely certain that his attack had succeeded in dispatching Yang Kai, because he had already killed several Third-Order Origin Kings with the very same move in the past.
However, in the next instant, his eyes suddenly shrank as he stared forward in amazement.
Standing before him, Yang Kai, who should have been split in half without being able to resist, actually remained completely unscathed, with no trace of any kind of wounds on his body. In his hands at this moment was a verdant coloured long sword that had no edge. From this sword, a sort of snake had emerged and was even now blocking the terrifying slash the Silver Moon Purple Frost Sabre had released.
The Ice Principles which should have rendered any Origin King powerless didn’t seem to affect Yang Kai at all. In fact, with just a flick of his wrist, the verdant long sword released a strange power that instantly disintegrated the Ice Principles and scattered them to the wind.
“You…” Lu Bai Chuan’s face changed wildly as he called out sharply, “You can also utilize Principle Strength?”
Principle Strength was the ultimate power that governed the world itself. In this world, only those who had reached the Dao Source Realm could touch upon this strength while Origin Kings could not use it at all. Lu Bai Chuan had only managed to inspire traces of Principle Strength thanks to his special Silver Moon Purple Frost Sabre, but now it seemed Yang Kai could do the same, or possibly even better.
Seeing Yang Kai easily disperse his killing blow, Lu Bai Chuan realized that his opponent had surpassed ninety-nine percent of all peak-level Origin Kings and was likely on the verge of breaking through to the Dao Source Realm.
Without the support of Principle Strength, Yang Kai could easily handle an attack from an Origin King Grade High-Rank artifact.
“Boy, you’ve been playing the pig to eat a tiger, curse you!” Lu Bai Chuan roared indignantly.
Yang Kai laughed, “Blame your dog eyes for looking down on people too much.”
As he spoke, he pushed the Dragon Bone Sword in his hand forward with force and sent Lu Bai Chuan crashing to the ground like a meteorite.
Upon landing though, Lu Bai Chuan immediately steadied himself and formed a seal with his hands. The earth began to rumble and in a series of bangs, three earth dragons shot up from the ground, roaring as they rose up to attack Yang Kai.
“Earth Dragon Dance!”
Lu Bai Chuan shouted sharply before he swiftly turned around, ignoring the life or death of the other Lu Family members, and fled.
“Sir Yang, he’s going to run!” Zhang Ruo Xi suddenly shouted softly.
This little girl, who was just a First-Order Saint King, could not contribute anything to the battle between the Lu and Zhang Families and could only hide in the back and observe from a distance. When she saw Lu Bai Chuan flee though, she could not help calling out.
“He won’t get away!” Yang Kai snorted coldly before he slashed forward with his Dragon Bone Sword, chopping the three earth dragons into dust before his body flickered and disappeared.
Although he did not have any grudge with the Lu Family, he had an agreement with Zhang Gao Xuan and against such a shameless man like Lu Bai Chuan, Yang Kai had no qualms about acting ruthlessly.
Lu Bai Chuan using these three earth dragons seemed to only be an act to buy time, but it did not play any role.
By the time Yang Kai appeared again, he had already caught up and swung out his Dragon Bone Sword. Yang Kai was about to deliver a fatal blow to Lu Bai Chuan, but suddenly, the Lu Family Patriarch, who seemed to be fleeing with all his might, turned around and flashed a vicious, victorious grin.
In the next instant, he flicked his wrist towards Yang Kai.
A strange, subtle power fluctuation propagated.
Yang Kai’s brow rose sharply as his expression suddenly became weird.
Instantly, he reached forward with his hand and grabbed the air.
“Hahahaha…” Lu Bai Chuan stopped, as if he was watching a joke and smiled at Yang Kai mockingly, “Seems you can’t wait to court death!”
“Really?” Yang Kai glanced at him in a sidelong manner as he twirled something in his fingers lightly.
Lu Bai Chuan’s smile suddenly stiffened as his face began to twitch and a voice filled with shock called out, “Impossible, that is impossible! There’s no way you could break the Secret Technique this old master spent half his life studying!”
“So this is what you were relying on and running away was just an act to get me to lower my guard?” As Yang Kai spoke, he clenched his fist and the subtle energy fluctuation lingering around it flickered and disappeared.
Seeing this, Lu Bai Chuan’s face really paled this time as he realized he was completely not Yang Kai’s opponent. If he continued the fight, he would definitely die, so without hesitation, he immediately fled without another word.
“Interesting, it turned out to be Space Force,” Yang Kai did not chase immediately this time and instead just observed Lu Bai Chuan’s disappearing figure.
Just now, Lu Bai Chuan had lured him close by pretending to escape and then launched a sneak attack, one that was actually comprised of Space Force! Although this attack was nowhere near as powerful as Yang Kai’s Moon Blade, it could at least be considered a condensed Space Needle.
Space Force was incredibly difficult to guard against, and if one was caught off guard, Lu Bai Chuan’s technique might really have been able to hit its mark.
Once that happened, a tiny Space Needle could really kill.
Unfortunately for Lu Bai Chuan, he had actually tried to use Space Force against Yang Kai. How was that any different from using a blunt kitchen knife to attack a man holding a peerless sword?
Glancing back, the battle between the Lu and Zhang Families was in a state of chaos. Although the Zhang Family was composed entirely of orphans and widows now, and the number of masters on their side was lower, each of them fought without fear of death, each of their moves fierce and resolute. This was especially true of the old woman and middle-aged beauty who were First-Order Origin Kings. Their reckless assault, which completely ignored their own safety, caused great hardship to the Lu Family masters.
However, in the end, the difference in strength was obvious and if things continued as they were, it would only be a matter of time before the Lu Family won.
But now that Lu Bai Chuan was unable to compete with Yang Kai for even half a cup of tea’s time and was forced to escape, everything was different.
This shocked the rest of the Lu Family members and they lost all will to fight, only wanting to flee from this place as soon as possible.
Yang Kai saw this, flicked his wrist, and sent out a dozen Golden Blood Threads which swiftly transformed into three golden spears that flew out and pierced through the three Lu Family Origin King Realm cultivators, causing them severe injuries.
“The rest of the mixed fish are yours to deal with, I’m going to pursue Lu Bai Chuan,” Yang Kai did not finish all of the enemies off and instead just took out the three First-Order Origin Kings before turning and chasing after Lu Bai Chuan.
“Many thanks, Little Brother!” The old woman was overjoyed and quickly rallied the rest of the Zhang Family to battle.
With the three First-Order Origin Kings already having lost the ability to fight, now was the perfect time to take revenge with their own hands, so how could the old woman hesitate? While directing her anger and hatred at the enemy, she was also immensely grateful to Yang Kai.
…
To the northwest of Maplewood City, a thousand kilometres away from the Zhang Family Manor, another large complex stood. Above the gates, the words ‘Lu Mansion’ were written boldly. Obviously, this was the residence of the Lu Family.
Inside the Lu Mansion, lavish decorations had been put up while everyone was continuing with preparations for the marriage ceremony, all of them completely unaware that catastrophe was approaching.
It was not until Lu Bai Chuan suddenly appeared in the main hall of the mansion that a few of the Lu Family cultivators realized something was wrong.
“Patriarch, didn’t you go to the Zhang Family to welcome the new bride? Why have you suddenly returned alone? The auspicious hour has not yet arrived,” A Lu Family Origin Returning Realm cultivator asked curiously.
“Pass the order, make everyone pack up everything of value with all haste, we must leave here as soon as possible!” After Lu Bai Chuan gave these words, he did not explain any more and immediately rushed deeper into the mansion.
“What?” A few of the Lu Family leaders looked at each other in confusion.
However, although Lu Bai Chuan did not leave much information, all of them were able to infer from his expression that something bad would soon happen; what’s more, they did not dare disobey the Patriarch’s order so after a quick discussion they immediately began carrying out his command.
In the backyard of the Lu Family, in front of a secret room, Lu Bai Chuan hurriedly took out a token and opened a few dozen barriers before diving inside.
This secret room was not very big, but it was where the Lu Family had stored its accumulated treasures over the years. Almost all of the Lu Family’s Source Crystals were also stored.
At the centre of this secret room, there was a pitch-black round jade suspended in the air, slowly rotating, and from time to time giving off a profound but indescribable light.
As soon as Lu Bai Chuan rushed into the secret room, he hurriedly moved to this round jade. It seemed that in this secret room, only this round jade was of any worth to him.
Just as he was reaching out to retrieve this black jade though, he suddenly turned around and shouted, “Who!”
Because at that moment, he noticed another living being behind him.
“Huh…”
At the same time, a mutter of surprise left Yang Kai’s lips as his figure appeared behind Lu Bai Chuan, a look of astonishment on his face.
As early as halfway back to the Lu Mansion, Yang Kai had already caught up to Lu Bai Chuan.
But, he did not immediately show up to attack him and instead quietly trailed behind.
With Yang Kai’s powerful Divine Sense, and his Nihility Secret Technique, if he wanted to hide, even most Dao Source Realm masters would be unable to detect him, much less Lu Bai Chuan who was running away in a panic.
As for the reason he didn’t kill Lu Bai Chuan immediately, it was because Yang Kai was a bit curious about him.
The Dao of Space was not so easy to comprehend, and even if Lu Bai Chuan could only condense a small Space Needle, that was enough to show he had some competency in the Dao of Space.
As such, Yang Kai wanted to investigate him a bit.
After noticing that Lu Bai Chuan had entered this secret room, Yang Kai hurriedly followed him inside, maintaining Nihility to observe him from up close.
But something he didn’t expect suddenly happened. The moment he entered this secret room, Nihility was actually forcefully dispersed by some strange force, revealing him!
Yang Kai clearly felt that this force emanated from the pitch-black round jade suspended up ahead.
“You… how did you come in?” Lu Bai Chuan shouted in a high-pitched voice as he stared at Yang Kai like he was a ghost.
Yang Kai withdrew his gaze from the round black jade, glanced at Lu Bai Chuan, and grinned, “Naturally, I followed you inside.”
“Damn! Do you really insist on killing ruthlessly? Little Brother, this old master has never met you before today and has no grievances or grudges with you, so why take things to such extremes? Instead of fighting with this old master and ending with mutual wounds, why not let matters end here? If you agree, this old master can allow you to leave here unharmed,” Lu Bai Chuan saw that Yang Kai hadn’t immediately attacked him and forced himself to calm down.
“If I want to leave, do I need your consent?” Yang Kai sneered, “Moreover, although I have no grudge with you, since I have agreed to the Zhang Family’s request, I can’t let you live anymore.”
“Boy, don’t go too far! Do you really think that this old master is afraid of you? If so, I advise you to think twice!” Lu Bai Chuan saw Yang Kai’s stand-offish attitude and immediately understood that it was useless to say anything more. There was nothing more to do now but fight.
As he spoke, Lu Bai Chuan pushed his strength madly and rushed towards Yang Kai, murderous intent filling his bloodshot eyes as he summoned his Thunder Wind Hammer again and sent out bolts of lightning to fill the secret room.
Yang Kai smiled lightly at this sight and just shouted, “Come out!”
As he spoke, he waved his hand casually.
The pure white Monster Insect Queen, wielding its blue and purple dual swords, made a grand entrance.
As soon as Monster Insect Queen Yu appeared, she received Yang Kai’s order and waved her swords towards Lu Bai Chuan.
Yang Kai didn’t want to expose the existence of the Monster Insect Queen, but inside this secret room, there was just him and Lu Bai Chuan, so there was no issue. The Monster Insect Queen could now rival a Second-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator, so dealing with Lu Bai Chuan was naturally a breeze.
Feeling the aura emanating from Monster Insect Queen, Lu Bai Chuan was startled and cried out in shock, “An Eleventh-Order Monster Beast!?”
Instantly, his face turned pale and all his fighting spirit disappeared.
He was currently just a Third-Order Origin King, so after encountering an ordinary Eleventh-Order Monster Beast, he would have no choice but to flee. What’s more, at first glance, it was obvious the Monster Insect Queen in front of him was no ordinary Eleventh-Order Monster Beast, it was wielding dual sword artifacts after all…
“Little Brother, this Lu acknowledges his punishment is deserved and asks Little Brother to show mercy by not killing him!” Lu Bai Chuan immediately begged for mercy without any shame.
Yang Kai flatly ignored him.
Naturally, the Monster Insect Queen would not pay attention to Lu Bai Chuan’s begging and the icy aura it released surged as it swung the dual swords down.
Suddenly, the inside of the secret room became chaotic as Lu Bai Chuan called out repeatedly. Even going all out, he couldn’t protect himself from the Monster Insect Queen and it was not long before he was bleeding from cuts all over his body.
In the meantime, Yang Kai had arrived in front of the pitch-black round jade and was frowning as he observed it.
This thing was extremely weird. Yang Kai’s Divine Sense was able to penetrate it, but when it did it was as if it was sinking into a bottomless ocean.
On top of that… it was able to disperse his Nihility Secret Technique somehow or another.
After studying it for a while, Yang Kai stretched out his hand and grabbed the pitch-black round jade. But unexpectedly, nothing happened. Even after pouring his strength into it, the jade did not respond at all.
“Strange!” Yang Kai shook his head.
“Little Brother, mercy! If you want to know the purpose of that thing, this Lu can tell you, all he asks is you spare his life!” Lu Bai Chuan had been forced into a corner by the Monster Insect Queen at this moment and had no way out.
What made him feel resentful at this moment was how sturdy this secret room was. Long ago, his Lu Family ancestors had spent a great sum of money to create a secret room that even a Dao Source Realm master would find difficult to break out of in short order, so there was naturally no way Lu Bai Chuan could simply smash a wall and escape.
“Do you know the details of this thing?” Yang Kai turned to look at him.
Lu Bai Chuan said anxiously, “I know!”
Yang Kai nodded, and in the next moment, with a single command from his Divine Sense, the Monster Insect Queen froze in place, its dual swords less than a finger-length away from Lu Bai Chuan’s forehead. Some residual Sword Qi from the swords even shaved off a few of Lu Bai Chuan’s hairs.
The hair fell through the air and passed by Lu Bai Chuan’s eyes, making him leak cold sweat all over.
“Talk. What is this thing? Why can it break my Secret Technique?” Yang Kai asked after fiddling a bit with the pitch-black jade in his hand.
Lu Bai Chuan gulped hard before he weakly glanced over at the Monster Insect Queen standing in front of him, not understanding how a trivial Origin King like Yang Kai could command such a powerful Monster Beast.
“Don’t get any ideas, or I’ll kill you immediately,” Yang Kai couldn’t help coldly snorting when he saw Lu Bai Chuan’s expression flickering.
Lu Bai Chuan quickly understood something and hesitantly asked, “This old master admits the punishment is deserved, so he would not dare try anything, but… If this old master can provide Little Brother with the information he wants, can Little Brother spare his life?”
“Are you trying to negotiate terms with me?” Yang Kai grinned.
“I would not dare!” Lu Bai Chuan waved his hand quickly, “It’s just… This old master really doesn’t want to die.”
“No one wants to die,” Yang Kai nodded, “Good, I can give you a way out.”
Lu Bai Chuan was overjoyed and was about to speak when Yang Kai continued, “Of course, the premise is that the information you provide can satisfy me!”
Lu Bai Chuan’s face suddenly became bitter as he said, “This old master will not conceal anything.”
“Very good,” Yang Kai nodded in satisfaction, stretching out his hand and pulling over a stone bench from somewhere inside the secret room before sitting down casually. Still playing with the black jade in his hand, he asked once more, “What is this thing?”
Lu Bai Chuan quickly replied, “A Space Spirit Jade!”
“Space Spirit Jade?” Yang Kai raised his brow, as if thinking of something before asking, “What is its relationship with Space Spirit Crystal?”
Lu Bai Chuan hurriedly replied, “Space Spirit Jade is produced at the cores of pure, condensed Space Spirit Crystals. Less than one in ten thousand Space Spirit Crystals will produce a Space Spirit Jade.”
“So it’s the core of a Space Spirit Crystal?” Yang Kai’s expression changed.
“Indeed, but… this doesn’t seem to be a pure Space Spirit Jade. It seems to have been blended with other materials by some powerful master and refined into a type of artifact,” Lu Bai Chuan explained further.
“Oh? You know quite a bit,” Yang Kai said with some surprise.
“Little Brother flatters me, this old master has been studying it for many years and read many ancient books to come up with these speculations,” Lu Bai Chuan smiled, his expression fluctuating quite a bit as he hesitantly asked. “Dare I ask if Little Brother cultivates Space Force?”
“Don’t you?” Yang Kai looked at him faintly.
Lu Bai Chuan smiled bitterly, “How can this old master’s comprehension of the Dao of Space compare to Little Brother’s? After Little Brother caught this old master’s Space Needle with one hand, this old master had some faint guesses, but now it seems to be true. If Little Brother did not cultivate Space Force, how could he have accomplished such a feat?”
“Just some paltry tricks,” Yang Kai snorted.
“Yes yes, this old master’s accomplishments are like dim fireflies compared to Little Brother’s brilliant moon.”
“Cease your flattery and get to the point. How did you manage to cultivate Space Force? Does it have something to do with this Space Spirit Jade?” Yang Kai continued to inquire.
“Little Brother’s insight is indeed sharp,” Lu Bai Chuan nodded, “The reason why I know something about Space Force is because of this Space Spirit Jade.”
Hearing what he said, Yang Kai’s doubts disappeared.
When his Nihility Secret Technique was cracked by the Space Spirit Jade, he had a guess that Lu Bai Chuan’s comprehension of the Dao of Space was related to it.
“As this old master said before, this Space Spirit Jade seems to have been refined into a peculiar artifact by some powerful master, but this old master is unable to draw out any of its power and only inadvertently gained some inspiration from it which allowed him to begin cultivating Space Force…” Lu Bai Chuan explained while carefully observing the changes in Yang Kai’s expression.
However, Yang Kai’s face remained as tranquil as an ancient well, with no joy, sorrow, or interest showing at all, causing Lu Bai Chuan to become more and more nervous.
“How difficult the Dao of Space is to cultivate, I understand well. If one does not have the appropriate aptitude for it, even spending a thousand years would not be enough to learn anything. I’m a little curious, what kind of opportunity did you have that allowed you to accidentally comprehend Space Force from this thing?” Squinting at Lu Bai Chuan, Yang Kai asked lightly, “If you dare to speak any lies, I’ll make you beg for death.”
Lu Bai Chuan shivered in fright as he quickly said, “Little Brother, I would not dare tell any lies. Since Little Brother wants to know, this old master will naturally explain clearly. There truly was a special opportunity that allowed this old master to spy on the mysteries of the Dao of Space. It is a long story though. Actually, this thing was not originally my Lu Family’s, but the Zhang Family’s.”
“Then how did your Lu Family come to possess it? Did you steal it?” Yang Kai looked at him and sneered.
Lu Bai Chuan waved his hand, “Little Brother misunderstands. This thing was part of the dowry the Lu Family received when a woman from the Zhang Family married into the Lu Family two hundred years ago. You should know that my Lu Family and the Zhang Family have several hundred years of friendship, so marriages between us are…”
“What does that have to do with the opportunity you obtained?” Yang Kai cut in, still quite confused.
“Please be patient, Little Brother, this old master will explain everything,” Lu Bai Chuan squeezed out a smile, but seeing Yang Kai’s cold glare, he didn’t dare to dally and quickly continued.
After listening to Lu Bai Chuan’s explanation, Yang Kai understood the whole story.
According to him, this Space Spirit Jade was the dowry of a woman from the Zhang Family who married into the Lu Family two hundred years ago. The Lu Family Patriarch at that time had also studied this treasure many times, but never discovered anything about it.
At that time, the Lu Family Patriarch even consulted the Zhang Family Patriarch about the purpose of this Space Spirit Jade, but even the Zhang Family Patriarch only thought of it as a rare Artifact Refining material.
The Lu Family Patriarch believed that to be true and took the Space Spirit Jade to a few Artifact Refining Grandmasters, wanting to refine it into something more practical. Unfortunately, those Artifact Refining Grandmasters were unable to melt this rare ‘Artifact Refining material’, let alone forge it into something. None could even tell what its origins were.
Since then, this Space Spirit Jade had been stashed away in the Lu Family’s Vault until Lu Bai Chuan’s generation.
“How did you discover its purpose and realize you could use it to cultivate Space Force?” Yang Kai asked curiously.
“It was all a coincidence.” Lu Bai Chuan gave a wry smile and continued, “Ten years ago, when this Lu was cultivating in this secret room, he accidentally discovered that this Space Spirit Jade was emitting some subtle energy fluctuations. At that time, this Lu was surprised and went to investigate, but did not learn anything useful. Soon after, the fluctuations ceased. At that time, this Lu merely thought he was seeing things and didn’t take it to heart.”
“After half a year, it reacted again. This old master realized when this phenomenon occurred once more that it was no mere illusion. The second incident lasted for much longer, but unfortunately, I was still unable to learn much. It was two more years before the fluctuations resurfaced, and this time they persisted for three whole months, allowing this Lu to finally glean something from it, including the method to begin cultivating Space Force.”
“Something so convoluted actually happened?” Yang Kai looked at Lu Bai Chuan suspiciously.
“This Lu would not dare to lie, this is the entire truth,” Lu Bai Chuan said hastily.
Yang Kai nodded, “Go on. I want to know why this Space Spirit Jade responds only at random intervals.”
Lu Bai Chuan gave a wry smile, “This Lu thought the same as Little Brother at the time, that everything was random. Since this Lu managed to obtain great benefits from this phenomenon, however, he naturally did not want to miss any opportunity. Later, after careful investigation, this Lu realized that only when a certain individual came to my Lu Family did the Space Spirit Jade React.”
“What individual?” Yang Kai’s eyes flashed.
Lu Bai Chuan’s mouth twitched, “It was a little girl from the Zhang Family…”
Yang Kai frowned, but soon seemed to understand something and asked, “Zhang Ruo Xi?”
“Indeed,” Lu Bai Chuan nodded and explained, “Every time this Space Spirit Jade has reacted, that little girl was inside my Lu Family and staying close to this Vault. If the first two times could be written off as coincidence, the third time settled things because, at that time, that little girl stayed in my Lu Family for an entire month, and only after she left did the Space Spirit Jade fall silent again. After this Lu had this speculation, he paid special attention to it and sure enough, every time that little girl from the Zhang Family came to my Lu Family, the Space Spirit Jade would show a reaction. What’s more, as she grew older, the jade’s reaction became stronger and stronger. This Lu has no aptitude in the Dao of Space. The only reason this Lu was able to cultivate his Space Needle was thanks to this jade.”
“That little girl actually has some kind of connection to this thing?” Yang Kai was also a little surprised.
There were only two possible explanations for this situation. One was that Zhang Ruo Xi had some kind of Special Constitution which was able to induce a reaction from the Space Spirit Jade, the second was that she had some kind of bloodline connection to this Space Spirit Jade.
However, Yang Kai examined Zhang Ruo Xi before and had not discovered anything special about her. Though, determining if she had a Special Constitution would require a more careful inspection.
As for the second possibility, the chances were low because if Zhang Ruo Xi was inspiring a reaction due to her bloodline, other members of the Zhang Family should have been able to do so as well. Of course, there could be special circumstances, like Zhang Rou Xi’s bloodline suddenly awakening after generations of slumber, or her bloodline being more concentrated due to a sudden mutation, making her unique compared to the rest of the Zhang Family.
Yang Kai frowned as he sank into contemplation while Lu Bai Chuan didn’t dare to move, only able to observe expression anxiously.
“So, you wanted one of your descendants to marry Zhang Ruo Xi for this Space Spirit Jade?” Yang Kai suddenly asked.
Lu Bai Chuan smiled awkwardly, nodded, “Exactly, as long as that little girl remained inside my Lu Family, this old master would be able to study this Space Spirit Jade longer and it may not have been impossible to delve further into the Dao of Space!”
As he spoke, Lu Bai Chuan’s tone grew more and more frantic.
But soon, depression overtook him. A single mistake had caused him to lose this opportunity, and now, whether he lived or died was up to Yang Kai’s mood, so there was no need to think about future glory.
“Little Brother, I have told you everything I know, all I request is that Little Brother allows me to live,” Lu Bai Chuan looked at Yang Kai anxiously.
Yang Kai nodded and said with a smile, “Not a problem.”
“Many thanks, Little Brother…” Lu Bai Chuan was overjoyed and bowed his head, but as soon as the voice fell, he suddenly let out a painful scream as his body was thrown out like a sack, smashing into the wall and causing his bones to shatter while a mouthful of blood spewed from his lips.
“You…” Lu Bai Chuan looked at Yang Kai incredulously, as if he did not expect that after Yang Kai agreed to let him live, he would still launch such a vicious attack.
“I promise to spare your life, so I won’t kill you, you can be assured of that,” Yang Kai continued to smile. “However, whether the Zhang Family kills you or not is none of my business.”
The smile on Yang Kai’s face looked as terrifying as that of a reaper from the underworld to Lu Bai Chuan. Feeling pain in his body, heart, and soul, he coughed up another mouthful of blood and passed out.
Yang Kai turned around, swept up all the Source Crystals in the Lu Family Vault, removed Lu Bai Chuan’s Space Ring, then hoisted him over his shoulder before he began searching for a way to open the various barriers.
It took Yang Kai a little time, but eventually, he managed to disable the arrays protecting the vault. Even with Lu Bai Chuan’s token in hand, the dozens of barriers weren’t so easy to open.
By the time he left the vault, about half a day had passed.
Sweeping the complex with his Divine Sense, Yang Kai could not help but feel a little astonished, “This Lu Family is really skilled at fleeing, there’s actually no-one left.”
When Lu Bai Chuan asked the Lu Family members to pack up their things and leave as soon as possible, Yang Kai was also hiding nearby and heard it, but he hadn’t expected their efficiency to be so high.
However, that did not matter. Yang Kai had promised the Zhang Family’s old matriarch he would obtain vengeance for them, and now that Lu Bai Chuan was captured by him, and the three Origin Kings who had gone to the Zhang Family had been crippled by him, his task could be basically considered complete.
Yang Kai had never intended to slaughter the Lu Family to the last; after all, there were over three hundred members of the Lu Family, many of them elderly or children, so even if they were right before his eyes, Yang Kai would not have been able to just kill them.
And so, after seeing that the Lu Family had fled, he did not have any intentions of chasing them down and instead flew back the way he came leisurely.
At that moment, in front of the Zhang Family Manor, red blood covering the earth as the broken corpses of the three Lu Family Origin Kings lay on the ground. None of the members of the Lu Family that had come with this bridal procession had been spared, all of them were killed by the Zhang Family’s people.
The old woman was pale, covered in blood, her own and her enemies’, while the middle-aged beauty also had a chaotic aura, her jade white hand trembling as it held her sword. On her delicate face, there was some crimson blood that added a dreadful kind of beauty to her.
The fat and thin cultivators were both lying on the ground, one of them leaking blood from his leg with the other was clasping his stomach which was oozing red.
Although the Lu Family’s bridal procession had been wiped out, countless people from the Zhang Family’s side had also been injured. Fortunately, no one had died, which was a small blessing.
The team of women were cleaning up the battlefield even now, kicking and spitting on the dead bodies of the Lu Family cultivators as they worked.
After taking a short break, the middle-aged beauty said, “Mother, Little Brother Yang has been gone for almost a day now. I would like to go and see what the situation is and if he requires assistance, what do you think?”
“Alright,” The old woman nodded, “but be careful.”
“Yes,” The middle-aged beauty nodded sternly and without even taking the time to restore herself, turned to fly towards the Lu Family.
At that moment, Zhang Ruo Xi suddenly cried out, “Grandma does not need to worry, Sir Yang seems to be back.”
Hearing what she said, the old woman and the middle-aged beauty quickly turned their gazes towards the horizon where they saw a figure quickly flying over.
“You’re right, he’s back.” The middle-aged beauty calmed down.
The old woman also smiled and said, “Little Brother Yang is quite amazing, coming back safely.”
“Oh, he seems to be carrying something… It’s a person…” The middle-aged woman stared attentively, and when Yang Kai approached, her tender body suddenly trembled as she shouted, “It’s Old Dog Lu Bai Chuan! Brother Yang managed to capture and bring back that old dog!”
“Really?” The old woman’s eyes flashed as she hurriedly got up and stared towards the distance. Soon after, she burst into laughter and cheered, “It’s really that Old Dog Bai Chuan! Retribution has come! Gao Xuan, my son, you can rest in peace now!”
As she spoke, two tears rolled down her wrinkled cheeks.
Zhang Ruo Xi supported the old woman as she wept with both sorrow and joy.
Soon, Yang Kai landed before the crowd, threw the half-dead Lu Bai Chuan to the ground, and cupped his fists, “I’ve kept you waiting.”
“Good, good, Little Brother has worked hard. Little Brother, for this great kindness, my Zhang Family is eternally grateful,” The old woman said solemnly.
Yang Kai simply waved his hand and said, “Old madam need not be so polite, I’m simply fulfilling the agreement I made with Brother Zhang.”
Hearing him mention Zhang Gao Xuan, the old woman’s face could not help turning slightly gloomy again.
“Ah… I also brought Lu Bai Chuan back with me. I’ll leave what to do with him up to old madam,” Yang Kai quickly changed the subject.
In the middle of the night, inside the Zhang Family Manor, inside an elegant hall.
The old matriarch of the Zhang Family hosted a dinner in Yang Kai’s honour to thank him. Only Yang Kai, the middle-aged beauty, and the old matriarch attended.
The young girl, Zhang Ruo Xi, stood to the side, waiting eagerly, pouring drinks for the three of them as she cast Yang Kai glances from time to time with her beautiful eyes, her gaze filled with gratitude and admiration.
This young girl was only sixteen or seventeen, an age where she was still enamoured with stories of heroes and legends. Today, Yang Kai had almost single-handedly destroyed the Lu Family and avenged the wrongs that had befallen her Zhang Family, so how could she not worship him?
Among the people she met in her life, Zhang Gao Xuan was probably the strongest, but unfortunately, her father had died inside the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda.
Now though, Yang Kai seemed quite young, but clearly possessed even greater strength than her father. It was only natural she stole a few glances at him. Perhaps it was also due to the aroma of the wine, but the little girl’s delicate face now had a healthy blush on it. However, she still maintained excellent decorum and would promptly perform her serving duties without a single mistake.
“My Zhang Family does not have much in the way of hospitality, but I do hope Sir Benefactor will enjoy what little we do have.” Although the old matriarch was still injured, she still had a ruddy look on her face and politely offered Yang Kai the best she could.
The middle-aged beauty also spoke to him warmly.
“Old madam is too polite, and there is no need to address me as Sir or Benefactor. If old madam does not mind, please just address Junior by name directly,” Yang Kai felt quite uncomfortable when the old woman addressed him so formally.
After the Zhang Family killed Lu Bai Chuan, Yang Kai wanted to leave. If it weren’t for Zhang Ruo Xi’s relationship with the Space Spirit Jade, he would never have agreed to remain.
However, he didn’t know how to bring up this subject. He instinctively felt that this Space Spirit Jade was hiding many secrets, ones likely related to the Zhang Family, so talking about it rashly would only be counterproductive. As such, he could only look for the right opportunity.
Considering all this, he couldn’t help glancing over at Zhang Ruo Xi, just to find that this little girl was also quietly looking at himself with a pair of bright eyes.
Seeing Yang Kai looking towards her, Zhang Ruo Xi was shocked and hastily lowered her head, her pretty face turning bright red as she stared at the floor.
Yang Kai chuckled and looked away casually.
The beautiful woman sitting on the left side of Yang Kai saw this scene and many thoughts flashed across her mind as a slight smile appeared on her lips.
“Old madam, the Lu Family matter has been settled, so according to our previous discussion, the agreement between myself and Brother Zhang has now been completed,” Yang Kai said with a solemn expression.
“Naturally,” The old woman nodded.
“As for the Dao Source Pill, after I find an Alchemist to refine it, old madam may rest assured that I will find a way to deliver one to the Zhang Family.”
The old woman chuckled, “This old woman believes in Sir Benefactor’s character, and my Zhang Family is in no hurry now. Currently, my Zhang Family has suffered severe damage, so even if we were to receive a Dao Source Pill, what could we do with it? So, Benefactor need not worry about this issue, we can discuss it after the pill has been refined.”
“That would be best,” Yang Kai nodded.
At that moment, the middle-aged beauty, who had not much that evening, suddenly spoke, “Brother Yang is so young but has such amazing cultivation, an extraordinary hero worthy of admiration. There must be many women who have shown you favour, yes?”
Yang Kai was startled when he heard these words, never having expected them to come up and from a woman no less.
The old woman also frowned, and although she felt that it was a bit inappropriate for a woman to talk about such a topic with Yang Kai, she knew her daughter-in-law was not one for casual gossip so she didn’t interrupt and instead just observed.
The middle-aged woman was also observing the situation carefully, and after seeing the shock fade from Yang Kai’s eyes and be replaced with a look of fond reminiscence, she immediately knew her speculations were not unfounded.
However, if one thought about it a bit, it wasn’t too surprising. Despite Yang Kai looking quite young, with a Third-Order Origin King cultivation, it was only natural he had plenty of life experience and would have met at least one or two unforgettable women on his journey through life.
It would be stranger if Yang Kai really was divorced from the matters of the heart.
The banquet seemed to fall into a strange silence as Yang Kai became lost in his memories.
After some time, Yang Kai sighed and stood up, “Old madam, the hour is late, so Junior would like to go back and rest first. Old madam was injured during the battle today so she should also go back and rest early, lest her wounds become worse.”
The old woman smiled and nodded, “Many thanks for Sir Benefactor’s care, I shall do so. Ruo Xi, take Benefactor to the guest room and serve him well.”
“Yes,” Zhang Ruo Xi heard this, put down the wine pitcher, and elegantly bowed to Yang Kai, “Sir, please come with me.”
Yang Kai complied and left with Zhang Ruo Xi.
After Yang Kai left, the old woman glared at the beautiful woman.
The beautiful woman looked embarrassed, “Mother, daughter-in-law knows she made an indiscreet remark.”
“Hmph! Fortunately, Benefactor seems to have a benevolent nature, otherwise, this old lady would not spare you,” The old woman coldly snorted.
The middle-aged beauty nodded repeatedly.
“But… why did you ask such a question just now?” The old woman frowned and inquired.
The beautiful woman smiled and said, “Mother, did you not notice? Benefactor glanced towards Ruo Xi several times during the night.”
“And so?” The old woman asked.
The beautiful woman smiled, “Even though Ruo Xi is not a great beauty, she still has her charms. It seems Benefactor is a bit interested in her.”
The old woman heard this and furrowed her brow, “That can’t be, no? Ruo Xi is just a First-Order Saint King, how could she enter Benefactor’s vision?”
The beautiful woman pursed her lips and smiled, “Mother, men do not only care about a woman’s cultivation, their feelings also matter as well. If there is an attraction, no matter how low a woman’s cultivation is, it will not matter, and if there are no such feelings, it will not matter how high a woman’s cultivation is.”
The old woman immediately became a bit disgruntled as she snapped, “Are you implying this old woman does not understand the ways of men and women?”
The beautiful woman spat out her tongue, “Daughter-in-law had no such intentions. However, right now, my Zhang Family is weak, Gao Xuan died inside the Five Coloured Treasure Pagoda, and although the Lu Family is now gone, meaning there is no need to worry about foreign enemies in the short term, Mother must not forget that in the surrounding region, it is not just the Lu Family that has an interest in us. If my Zhang Family does not have a master to protect it, what will we do if a strong enemy invades? The three favours Gao Xuan secured from Benefactor for us have also been used up, so it will be impossible to ask him to help in the future.”
“What you mean is…” The old woman asked thoughtfully.
“If my Zhang Family can form a relationship with Benefactor, if the Zhang Family encounters trouble in the future, will he just stand by and watch?” The beautiful woman smiled elegantly, “And Ruo Xi is the key to forming such a relationship.”
“I understand what you want to say,” The old woman nodded and said seriously, “If it is as you said, this is an excellent plan. Gao Xuan has died, and my Zhang Family really must begin considering its future. “
“En. He is so young yet has already reached the Third-Order Origin King Realm, and judging from his performance during the day, it seems that he is not an ordinary Third-Order Origin King. No ordinary Third-Order Origin King would be capable of plunging into the Lu Family and capturing Lu Bai Chuan alive! With his aptitude, breaking through to the Dao Source Realm in the future is not impossible. If my Zhang Family could be connected with him, it would be the same as enjoying cool shade under a big tree! Even if he did not remain here, who would dare to provoke us?”
Hearing this, the old woman’s eyes lit up and she also became excited. Around Maplewood City, there weren’t many families that had a Dao Source Realm master. If a Dao Source Realm master was sheltering them, that family could at least remain worry-free for a hundred years.
But she still hesitated, “It is as you say, but I’m afraid all this is still just our wishful thinking, and if we were to upset Benefactor in any way…”
The beautiful woman smiled, “Mother, we can do this…”
As she spoke, she leaned forward and whispered in the old woman’s ear.
The old woman listened and nodded repeatedly, and after a long time smiled and said, “Good, good, very good, we’ll follow your plan. But doing this will probably make Ruo Xi suffer.”
The beautiful woman smiled and shook her head, “Why would this make her suffer? I think Benefactor is by no means a villain, and if Ruo Xi can really follow him, she will likely be extremely happy. Mother, rest assured, I will go and explain everything to Ruo Xi tonight.”
“Good, but if Ruo Xi disagrees, don’t force her. I don’t want to exchange her happiness for the future of my Zhang Family,” The old woman nodded.
…..
Under the guidance of the young girl, Yang Kai walked through the manor until finally arriving at a certain room. The young girl opened the door and quickly prepared the beddings inside.
Yang Kai exchanged a few words with her on the way, but judging from the girl’s reaction, she was extremely shy. When answering Yang Kai’s question, her voice trembled and her face flushed while she constantly apologized to Yang Kai even if she had done nothing wrong.
After everything was prepared, the girl bowed and said, “Sir, please rest, Ruo Xi will take her leave.”
“En, good work,” Yang Kai nodded.
The girl hurriedly walked by him, and with the faint moonlight, Yang Kai was able to make out a hint of red colouring her cheeks all the way to her ears.
After the girl left, Yang Kai turned his head and looked around the room, finding that it was decorated quite luxuriously. With a wave of his hand, he used his Qi and Spiritual Energy to create a barrier around the room to isolate it from the outside.
With a flicker, he arrived atop the bed and sat down cross-legged to begin checking his harvest from the day.
Needless to say, the things he obtained from the Lu Family Vault were not plentiful nor poor. Just the Source Crystals along number more than 600,000.
With Yang Kai’s previous gains, he now had almost one million Low-Rank Source Crystals.
There were also some artifacts in the vault, all of them Origin King Grade. Yang Kai had only glanced at them before tossing them into his Space Ring. As for the rare ores, he had thrown them into his Sealed World Bead so his Embodiment could absorb them with the Heaven Devouring Battle Law.
There were also some pills which Yang Kai quickly sorted through and stored away in case of emergencies.
Next, Yang Kai checked Lu Bai Chuan’s Space Ring and found a similar assortment of items to the ones he found in the vault.
As for the Thunder Wind Hammer and Silver Moon Purple Frost Saber, Yang Kai appreciated them a bit more than the other treasures. Although the Thunder Wind Hammer was quite imposing, it was just an Origin King Grade artifact in the end, so it was only slightly more valuable.
The Silver Moon Purple Frost Saber, on the other hand, was able to display slight traces of Principle Strength.
Before he broke through to the Dao Source Realm, this Silver Moon Purple Frost Sabre would have some use to him.
His most precious artifacts were the four Emperor Artifacts he had on him, but none could be easily revealed in front of others. Apart from that, only the Dragon Bone Sword was left.
However, Yang Kai had already made up his mind to fuse the Dragon Bone Sword into his body, so this artifact was destined to disappear in the near future. The Silver Moon Purple Frost Sabre would be able to make up for this in the short term. This artifact wasn’t too high-grade, so it wouldn’t be noticeable when he used it, and it could also display the might of Principle Strength, which boosted its strength greatly.
Thinking so, Yang Kai put away the Silver Moon Purple Frost Sabre, not intending on refining it, as that would be a waste of time. This way, when he found something better, he could simply replace it.
Then, he solemnly took out the Space Spirit Jade from his Space Ring.
As soon as the dark round jade appeared, Yang Kai felt that it was different from earlier today. At this moment, the Space Spirit Jade was vibrating slightly while also exuding a profound and mysterious fluctuation. On its surface, a faint trace of black ripples even appeared.
The pitch-black jade seemed to grow even darker, like a pure emptiness that wanted to swallow in everything around it!
“Seems like it’s real!” Yang Kai saw this and confirmed that the Space Spirit Jade had undergone this change because Zhang Ruo Xi was nearby. When Yang Kai had seen it earlier in the day, it was completely still and tranquil.
But now, Yang Kai could clearly feel the Space Force fluctuations coming from the Space Spirit Jade. If someone was immersed in these fluctuations for a long time, it wouldn’t be impossible to comprehend Space Force.
Zhang Ruo Xi had lived with Lu Family for a month at one point, and during that month, Lu Bai Chuan had an opportunity to comprehend the Dao of Space.
Obviously, the reason why Lu Bai Chuan wanted his heir to marry Zhang Ruo Xi was entirely because of this Space Spirit Jade. It could even be said that the reason he turned on the Zhang Family was related to this.
However, Yang Kai wouldn’t be able to learn anything from these kinds of fluctuations. If Zhang Ruo Xi were to be exposed to this jade, however, he didn’t know if a change would occur.
This thing was currently in his hands, but ultimately, it stemmed from the Zhang Family. It belonged to Yang Kai now though, and it didn’t matter if he didn’t return it as this was a trophy that the Zhang Family no longer had any right to. But that also meant that Yang Kai couldn’t just go to the Zhang Family to ask about it either.
What’s more, the Zhang Family likely didn’t even know anything about this! If they had considered it valuable, they would not have given it away two hundred years ago as dowry to the Lu Family.
It seemed he would need to depend on himself.
Yang Kai thus began to study the Space Spirit Jade attentively.
Over the next two days. Yang Kai stayed with the Zhang Family, and he spent almost all his time trying to pry into the secrets of the Space Spirit Jade but got nothing for his investment.
When he realized that such investigations were pointless, he also determined that there was no reason to remain with them. As such, he immediately decided to bid farewell to the Zhang Family’.
The old woman and the middle-aged woman tried multiple times to get him to stay, but seeing Yang Kai determined to leave, they did not force the issue and instead saw him out personally.
“Benefactor, please take care of yourself in the future, if you ever have time to spare, my Zhang Family would be honoured if you grace us with your presence!” After two days of recuperation, the old woman looked much better, but due to her age and the damage she had suffered to her foundation, she was unable to completely restore herself.
Seeing her act so enthusiastic, Yang Kai simply smiled lightly and said, “If there is a chance, I will stop by. When the time comes, I hope old madam will not shut me out.”
“Benefactor is the sole reason my Zhang Family was able to overcome our crisis, but my Zhang Family really has nothing to repay you with… This Mistress has noticed the Benefactor is a lone traveller, so inevitably there must be some inconveniences in Benefactor’s daily life. As such, This Mistress hopes that Benefactor will allow Ruo Xi to accompany him so she may tend to his needs in the future!” The middle-aged beauty suddenly said while pulling out Zhang Ruo Xi who had been hiding behind her.
“Huh?” Yang Kai was stunned for a moment, never having expected the middle-aged woman to make such a proposal, causing him to unconsciously glance towards the young girl.
All Yang Kai could see, though, was the little girl lowering her head and playing with her clothes, her face blushing, her lips pressed tightly shut.
Yang Kai had a strange feeling in his heart, but soon understood the intentions of this middle-aged beauty.
She obviously felt that the Zhang Family was severely weakened now and feared that, powerful enemies would covet them in the future. She wanted to build a good relationship with him in hopes he would shelter the Zhang Family in the future, and Zhang Ruo Xi was the bridge she had chosen to build this relationship on.
If he really agreed, he likely wouldn’t be able to stand idly by if such calamity befell the Zhang Family out of consideration for Zhang Ruo Xi.
After understanding this, Yang Kai frowned as he instinctively repelled such ideas, but he did not immediately refuse.
Because according to his original idea, he was planning on handling affairs with Kang Si Ran first before coming to the Zhang Family to stay as a guest to study the Space Spirit Jade. If that wasn’t the case, he wouldn’t have agreed to the old woman’s invitation to visit in the future.
However, through some twist of fate, the Zhang Family was actually giving Zhang Ruo Xi to him.
While he found this kind of practice off-putting, he also could not help feeling that good fortune had fallen from the sky and landed in his lap.
Seeing Yang Kai hesitating, Zhang Ruo Xi seemed to become even more embarrassed. The middle-aged beauty, however, just smiled slightly and said, “Although Ruo Xi is a young child with low cultivation, unable to assist Benefactor in battle, she has good talent and is both quiet and clever. If Benefactor takes her with him, he will no longer need to worry about trivial matters in the future and can focus on his own cultivation as well as breaking through to the Dao Source Realm as soon as possible.”
The middle-aged woman vigorously promoted Zhang Ruo Xi in front of Yang Kai, while observing his words and expressions, “However… If Benefactor is adverse to this idea, then it seems Ruo Xi will not be able to enjoy this blessing.”
As soon as she said this, Zhang Ruo Xi could not help trembling slightly as she tightly gripped her small fists.
“Sister Ruo Xi is both refined and intelligent, how could I dislike her, it’s just…” Yang Kai frowned and glanced at the old woman while speaking but seeing her looking back at him with some expectation, he knew that this matter had already been discussed between these two women beforehand.
Perhaps, during the dinner that night, him glancing at Zhang Ruo Xi a few times had caused some kind of misunderstanding.
Seeing Zhang Ruo Xi’s head droop as she bit her thin lip, Yang Kai sighed in his heart and swallowed back the refusal he was about to make, “It’s just that I don’t want to force someone to do something against their will. Regarding this matter, I will have to ask Miss Ruo Xi’s opinion. If she wants to go with me, I can take her away from Zhang Family, but if she does not want to leave, then I’ll pretend I never heard anything.”
Hearing this, the middle-aged beautiful woman breathed a sigh of relief and smiled, “Of course.”
Saying so, she turned to Zhang Ruo Xi and asked, “Ruo Xi, you heard Benefactor’s words yourself, so speak your mind. Would you like to leave with Benefactor and serve him from now on?”
Zhang Ruo Xi did not lift her head and just nodded shyly.
The middle-aged woman smiled warmly and spoke once more, “Ruo Xi, you need to make yourself clear or Benefactor will not know your true thoughts.”
Zhang Ruo Xi’s voice was as quiet as a mosquito as she spoke a simple, “Yes!”
The middle-aged beauty smiled and turned to Yang Kai, “Benefactor, Ruo Xi is willing. No one is forcing her.”
Yang Kai sighed, “Good, in that case, she will accompany me.”
“Many thanks, Sir,” Zhang Ruo Xi bowed elegantly.
“You may rest assured, as long as you remain with me, no one will bully you, regarding this, old madam may feel relieved,” Yang Kai turned to the old woman and said with a serious face.
The old woman smiled, “It is Ruo Xi’s blessing to be able to follow Benefactor, and the Zhang Family believes in the character of Benefactor.”
Yang Kai nodded before turning to Zhang Ruo Xi and saying, “If you have anything you wish to say to your family, do so now, I will go on ahead and wait for you.”
Saying so, Yang Kai flew off a short distance.
Glancing back, Zhang Ruo Xi had thrown herself into the arms of the old woman, choking on her sobs, the old woman patting her shoulders to comfort her while telling her something.
Next, Zhang Ruo Xi bid farewell to the middle-aged woman and the other members of her family one by one. Before leaving, she kowtowed three times towards the Zhang Family home before turning around and walking out towards where Yang Kai stood.
When she got closer, she wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes with her hand and whispered, “Sir, I’m fine now.”
Yang Kai chuckled, “You don’t have to look so forlorn. I live in Maplewood City, so if you ever feel homesick in the future, you can come back here to visit, I won’t stop you.”
Zhang Ruo Xi shook her head and said, “Grandma said I am no longer a member of the Zhang Family so I do not need to return. I should only serve Sir with all my heart.”
Yang Kai was taken aback for a moment, before nodding, “Old madam seems to have considered things carefully.”
The old woman telling Zhang Ruo Xi this was obviously because she was afraid of upsetting Yang Kai, but how could she have known that he would not care about such things at all. The only reason Yang Kai agreed to bring Zhang Ruo Xi along with him was because of the Space Spirit Jade, not because he had any interest in her personally. Yang Kai couldn’t be bothered to explain any of this though, so he simply left it as it was.
Flying back, Yang Kai realized he did not have a good flight-type artifact, only the Star Shuttle he had from his native Star Field, which was far from sufficient for his current needs.
As such, he simply wrapped Zhang Ruo Xi in his Qi and flew back on his own.
Zhang Ruo Xi only had a First-Order Saint King cultivation, and had never left the Zhang Family before, nor experienced such a fast flight, so she kept her eyes closed shut with fright and her fists clenched tightly, like she was bracing herself on the way to the execution ground.
Yang Kai saw this, smiled, and shook his head, choosing not to say anything.
Soon after, Yang Kai arrived at the gates to Maplewood City, landed, and brought Zhang Ruo Xi into the city.
This little girl had apparently never seen the city due to her constantly attending to the old matriarch in the Zhang Family, so after entering, she could not stop her eyes from darting about, taking in all the new and dazzling sights.
Yang Kai noticed she was wearing a simple dress with no jewellery on her body and found it a bit pitiful. He wanted to give her something, but was afraid she would misunderstand his intentions, so he simply gave up.
Once back at his rented secluded home, Yang Kai took out the Identity Token and was about to open it when suddenly, someone rushed up to him and called out anxiously, “Alchemist Yang, you’re back.”
Yang Kai heard this voice, turned his head, and saw a familiar face he couldn’t help chuckling at, “It’s you again?”
It was none other than the shop-hand from Spirit Pill Plaza he was familiar with. Because Yang Kai often went in and out of Spirit Pill Plaza to refine Spirit Pills, he had a slight impression of this man.
“It is this humble one,” The shop hand bowed to Yang Kai. After straightening himself back up, he gave Zhang Ruo Xi a strange look, wondering why Yang Kai was being accompanied by a young First-Order Saint King girl.
“Why are you waiting here for me?” Yang Kai asked, looking at the shop-hand.
The shop hand promptly replied, “It’s like this, this humble one has been ordered by Shopkeeper Kang to wait here for Alchemist Yang to invite him to the upcoming auction fair.”
“Auction fair?” Yang Kai raised his brow, soon recalling that Kang Si Ran had mentioned this to him a few days ago. He said that the cultivators of Maplewood City had found a lot of treasures in the Five Colored Treasure Pagoda, so City Lord Duan Yuan Shan had organized an auction fair to let everyone exchange for what they needed.
It was just that Yang Kai’s pockets were a little light at that time, so he didn’t have much interest in it. As he hadn’t expressed much interest in participating, he was surprised Kang Si Ran would send someone to invite him.
[I’ve just obtained a lot of Source Crystals and treasures from the Lu Family, so it should be fine to check it out.]
Having considered all this, Yang Kai asked, “What’s so special about this auction fair? Why is Shopkeeper Kang so interested?”
The shop hand smiled mysteriously, glancing left and right before leaning in closer to Yang Kai and saying in a low voice, “Shopkeeper Kang said that a Dao Source Fruit will appear.”
“Really?” Yang Kai was astonished.
“Indeed! That’s why Shopkeeper Kang is so keen about this auction, and also wants to ask Alchemist Yang to join him to gather funds and snatch the Dao Source Fruit together.”
“Alright,” Yang Kai nodded.
“In addition, Shopkeeper Kang said that there is an ancient pill furnace among the items listed for auction, one that is at least of Dao Source-Grade Low-Rank. If Alchemist Yang can obtain this pill furnace, his refinement success rate will surely increase. This ancient pill furnace should be very attractive to all Alchemists.”
“I am indeed interested in this,” Yang Kai smiled. “Hmm, where is this auction held and when will it start?”
A smile appeared on the shop-hand’s face as he replied, “It will start at noon today. I have been waiting for Alchemist Yang for two days now, if Alchemist Yang had not just returned, he may have missed it.”
“So, it seems that I came back just at the right time. Good, go back and inform Shopkeeper Kang I will come to meet him right away.”
“Yes!” The shop hand replied before promptly retreating.
Although the two didn’t speak loudly, Zhang Ruo Xi, who was curiously watching things nearby, heard most of it. Waiting until the shop hand left, she asked Yang Kai curiously, “Sir, are you an Alchemist?”
Yang Kai smiled and replied, “I know a little something. Let’s head in first.”
Saying so, Yang Kai activated the barrier of the secluded home and took Zhang Ruo Xi inside.
The secluded home that he had rented in Maplewood City might not be the best, but it wasn’t bad either, having several rooms inside and being fairly spacious. Yang Kai gave a room to Zhang Ruo Xi to live in for now.
He also gave her an Identity Token and taught her how to activate and deactivate the protective barriers. He then warned her not to open the secluded home to anyone except him.
Zhang Ruo Xi nodded and agreed.
“You can go out for a walk if you are bored. Security in Maplewood City is fairly good, but you must stay away from the Black Market as the City Lord’s Mansion cannot supervise that area. If you went there with your cultivation, it would be very dangerous,” Yang Kai exhorted.
“Ruo Xi won’t go anywhere. Ruo Xi will be waiting for Sir’s return,” Zhang Ruo Xi stated in a quiet voice.
“As you wish. You can rest first, I will be going out for a bit,” Yang Kai said before leaving straight away.
Zhang Ruo Xi bowed respectfully to his disappearing figure.
After Yang Kai left, Zhang Ruo Xi started looking around the secluded home and realized that although it was neat and clean, it was also quite barren and empty. Considering she would be living here from now on, she began thinking about how to redecorate.
After taking some time to come up with a plan, Zhang Ruo Xi smiled happily before immediately taking things out of her Space Ring and arranging them.
…
Spirit Pill Plaza…
When Yang Kai arrived, someone immediately informed Kang Si Ran.
Not long after, Kang Si Ran came out and held Yang Kai’s hands enthusiastically, “Alchemist Yang, you finally showed up. If you didn’t appear, I’m afraid you would have missed this auction fair. Let’s go, time is running out, we need to arrive at the City Lord’s Mansion as soon as possible.”
“The auction fair is being held at the City Lord’s Mansion?” Yang Kai asked, astonished.
“Naturally! After all, this auction fair is organized by Sir City Lord himself, so of course, the venue is the City Lord’s Mansion. I will tell you about the treasures that will appear on the way.”
While on his way to the City Lord’s Mansion with Kang Si Ran, Yang Kai listened to the inside information from him. As they walked, Yang Kai came to realize that although Maplewood City’s cultivators had suffered serious casualties inside the Five Colored Treasure Pagoda, many had also managed to obtain good treasures.
Needless to say, the Dao Source Fruit would surely become the final item to be auctioned.
There were also several Dao Source Grade artifacts, which had attracted many Dao Source Realm masters of nearby great forces to participate in the auction.
Moreover, there were ancient pills, Secret Arts, and Secret Techniques.
In short, this auction would be an unprecedented event for Maplewood City, and all cultivators were looking forward to it. However, there were some prerequisites to participating in the auction; after all, there were many cultivators in Maplewood City and not everyone could be accommodated into the City Lord’s Mansion.
If one wanted to join the auction, other than being invited by the City Lord’s Mansion, only two kinds of people could enter freely.
Cultivators at or above the Origin King Realm, or someone with strong financial backing. If a cultivator didn’t meet either of these requirements, they weren’t even allowed to enter the auction house.
As the shopkeeper of the Spirit Pill Plaza, Kang Si Ran often dealt with the City Lord’s Mansion, so he had obtained an invitation long ago and was allowed to bring one person inside with him, meaning Yang Kai’s cultivation and financial resources didn’t need to be checked.
“Heavenly Martial Holy Land placed three Dao Source Fruits in the Five Colored Treasure Pagoda this time, one of which will appear in the auction. As for the other two, no one knows who obtained them,” Kang Si Ran said. He had always been eyeing the Dao Source Fruits and was quite annoyed that his luck wasn’t good enough to obtain one inside the Five Colored Treasure Pagoda. Today though, he had brought out his life’s savings to obtain this Dao Source Fruit.
However, he knew that he had little to no hope of success; after all, while he was the shopkeeper of Spirit Pill Plaza, how could his financial resources be compared with those from big Sects and families? If he were to attend the auction as a representative of Violet Source Chamber of Commerce, his situation would have been completely different, but using funds from Violet Source Chamber of Commerce would mean the Dao Source Fruit would ultimately not belong to him.
Hearing what he said, Yang Kai scratched his nose and remained silent.
After all, one of the Dao Source Fruits was still lying in his Space Ring. As for the third one, he had no idea about it.
Chatting and walking, the two soon arrived at the City Lord’s Mansion.
The City Lord’s Mansion entrance was bustling with people, many of them eager to enter while the guards were trying to maintain order. From time to time, people would try to push their way inside, but they would immediately be thrown out while being mocked and cursed.
“A mere Third-Order Origin Returning Realm wants to participate in the auction!? Go back and cultivate for a few more decades first! What, you have Source Crystals? Let me see, a few hundred thousand Source Crystals? You call this having Source Crystals!? Scram!” Loud cursing could be heard coming from the front as some unqualified cultivators wanted to pass through but were caught by the guards and unceremoniously expelled.
“First-Order Origin King, you are barely qualified.”
“A Third-Order Saint King like you wants to join in the fun? You think Father here won’t slap you to death? What, you have a million Source Crystals? Why didn’t you say so! Go on in.”
The guards were also very busy. The auction was about to start, but there were still countless cultivators who wanted to enter, leading to many big headaches.
“Ah, Shopkeeper Kang!”
Kang Si Ran and Yang Kai squeezed their way through the crowd to get to the City Lord’s Mansion’s gates where the guards immediately recognized Kang Si Ran and put a big smile on his face.
“Shopkeeper Kang, even if it is you, you must follow the rules. You have an invitation, right?”
“Of course,” Kang Si Ran smiled as he took out the invitation before handing it over under the envious gazes of the nearby cultivators.
The guard took it and after verifying its authenticity, he said with a smile, “Shopkeeper Kang, please enter, you only need to show the invitation at the entrance and someone will come to greet you.”
“Very good! Ah, right, this Kang will be bringing this friend in with me, that’s not a problem, right?” Kan Si Ran pointed at Yang Kai.
“According to the rules, it’s not a problem,” That guard only glanced once at Yang Kai before letting him go.
Kan Si Ran nodded before the pair left the crowd and made their way inside.
“Let’s go, the auction is about to start,” Kang Si Ran picked up his pace.
Soon after, the two entered the City Lord’s Mansion and after Kang Si Ran showed his invitation, a maid promptly led them to a private room numbered B9.
Kang Si Ran looked a little surprised by this number; after all, he could be regarded as someone famous in Maplewood City and although his cultivation wasn’t the strongest, with Violet Source Chamber of Commerce backing him, even City Lord Duan Yuan Shan dared not look down on him.
But now, he had only been assigned to a private room in the B Block, making it all the more evident that the people in the higher-ranked rooms either had higher strength, or bigger backgrounds.
Realizing this, Kang Si Ran frowned as a bad premonition came over him.
The auction site was a large hall inside the City Lord’s Mansion that had been temporarily remodelled specifically for the occasion. The hall was jam-packed with people and with just a glance, Yang Kai estimated that there were at least thousands of people here and over a hundred private rooms.
What’s more, there were many people who were still trying to enter. If not for Kang Si Ran’s status, the two of them might not have even been able to squeeze inside.
At this moment, the lower hall was bustling with noises and people as countless cultivators chatted with each other in small groups. Obviously, the auction had still not started.
Only the hundred private rooms remained silent, and whenever a cultivator down below glanced upwards, gazes filled with envy.
“Please sit,” Kang Si Ran said as he found a place for himself.
Yang Kai also took a seat. In any case, he had participated in several auctions over the years, so despite this being his first one in the Star Boundary, everything still felt quite familiar to him.
Yang Kai and Kang Si Ran took their seats and began chatting, but soon after, drums played and down in the auction hall, a short old man with white hair and beard jumped onto the auction platform all of a sudden.
This man’s appearance was quite eye-catching. He wore loose and baggy clothes, his hair was unkempt, and he had the red nose of a drunk. On his waist, there was a big green wine gourd. At first glance, everyone would think of him as a beggar from the streets.
As soon as the old man stepped on the stage, he let out a hearty laugh, lifted the big gourd on his waist like there was no one watching, removed the cork, and poured a strong-smelling wine straight down his throat.
After a few loud gulps, he actually gave a loud burp and narrowed his eyes slightly in satisfaction. He looked as if he would have no regrets even if he ended up dying right this moment.
The smell of wine quickly permeated through the hall.
“This…” Yang Kai was dumbstruck at this sight, his eyes looking as if they were ready to pop out at any moment.
He had participated in several auctions in his native Star Field, but in every one of those, the host had either been a sophisticated or seductive woman, or a scholarly well-kept man. He had never seen a host as unique as this old man on the high platform.
“Alchemist Yang, you only arrived in Maplewood City recently, so it’s not a surprise you don’t know him,” Kang Si Ran broke into a fit of laughter, and before Yang Kai could ask anything, he explained. “He is one of the two Vice City Lords of Maplewood City, no one knows his exact name, but since he calls himself Drunkard, everyone else does as well.”
“He’s one of the two Vice City Lords? Wouldn’t that make him a Dao Source Realm master?” Yang Kai was extremely shocked.
“Yes! He is a First-Order Dao Source Realm cultivator, but as for his specific strengths, that’s unknown. Rumour has it that his true strength isn’t much worse than that of City Lord Duan’s and he is actually capable of fighting cultivators above his realm,” Kang Si Ran said.
Yang Kai nodded his acknowledgement as he asked with a smile, “Is it okay to let him preside over the auction? I think he’s already drunk.”
To that, Kang Si Ran just smiled and said, “Don’t judge him by his appearance, Drunkard has a very prestigious reputation in Maplewood City, beating up ruffians and helping the down-trodden, being generous and kind to the poor. He is a good man.”
Yang Kai nodded, “If that’s the case, then there should be no problem.”
At that moment, Drunkard seemed to be reminiscing about the taste of his wine, but after a moment, he returned to his senses, glanced around, and cupped his fist, “I believe all our honoured guests recognize this old man already. En, it doesn’t matter if you don’t recognize me either. This old man isn’t here to make friends, but to host an auction anyways, so don’t stare at this old man; just focus on the auction items.”
Just as he said this, many cultivators in the hall broke into laughter. Yang Kai also found him quite interesting. This old man didn’t seem to have the slightest aloofness and arrogance a Dao Source master should have, but was instead calm and carefree.
“Good, this old man despises troublesome things, so obviously this old man didn’t want to host this auction, but Sir City Lord suddenly came out and offered me some good wine, getting me to agree to this while I was drunk. Sir City Lord is really too sinister, damn it all! Anyway, this old man is in a hurry, so act decisively during the auction because this old man won’t wait, he has to go out and bask in the sun as soon as possible,” Drunkard quickly said as he walked up to the dais.
Hearing what he said, many people put on serious expressions.
“Good, enough nonsense, let the auction begin,” Drunkard said in a low voice as he gestured towards the back.
A maid of the City Lord’s Mansion immediately came out from backstage, carrying a jade plate. On this jade plate was a white porcelain bottle. From the looks of it, the first item going to be auctioned today was a pill.
“Soul Condensing Pills, an ancient lost pill, three pills in total to be auctioned off together, the starting bid is 30,000 Source Crystals, and each raise should not be less than 1,000 Source Crystals, begin.” Finished with the introduction, Drunkard stood in place silently.
“Soul Condensing Pill, it’s really a Soul Condensing Pill!? If Soul Condensing Pills are being auctioned first, just what kind of treasures will appear next?”
“It’s said that taking a Soul Condensing Pill can temper one’s Soul, making their Spiritual Energy and Divine Sense stronger. I wonder if it’s true or not.”
“This is an Origin King Grade High-Rank pill! It can’t be refined by any of Maplewood City’s Alchemists under normal circumstances.”
After hearing the words ‘Soul Condensing Pill’, all the cultivators present instantly became enthusiastic; after all, it was difficult to increase the strength of one’s Soul, and a powerful Divine Sense was useful for many things, including searching, concealment, and even direct confrontations. These Soul Condensing Pills were useful to all cultivators.
“31,000!”
“32,000!”
“35,000!”
The bids kept rising in the hall, one after another, and even some from the private rooms participated. Not long after, the bottle of Soul Condensing Pills broke through the 50,000 Source Crystals mark.
It wasn’t until someone called out 60,000 Source Crystals that the hall temporarily turned calm.
“60,000 going once, going twice, going thrice, and sold! This bottle of Soul Condensing Pill is sold to the friend who just made the bid, please take your Source Crystals and go backstage to claim your item. Now, let’s move on to the next item!”
Drunkard, who had been standing on the high platform with his eyes closed, closed the deal all of a sudden and moved on to the next item without giving others even a chance to react.
“This…”
“So fast!”
“Is this an auction or selling by compulsion!?”
“Senior Drunkard’s conduct is really too much!”
An uproar immediately broke out in the hall, with many objecting. Obviously, no cultivator had experienced such an auction before. Normally, auction hosts would ask again and again for higher bids, like they feared selling the item at lower than the deserved price, but Drunkard didn’t seem to care about it at all.
It really seemed like he wanted to end the auction as early as possible and then go to sleep under the sun…
For a moment, the cultivators who had been hesitating on whether to increase the bid or not just now were extremely annoyed, while on the other hand, the man who made the last bid of 60,000 got up from his seat with a face filled with joy at having picked up a bargain and immediately rushed to the backstage to finalize the deal.
After having come to learn about Drunkard’s impatient style, every cultivator bid passionately during the subsequent auctions. When they found something they wanted, they didn’t hesitate, and the rate of bids coming in only grew faster and faster. Everyone was afraid that Drunkard would call the winner before they managed to call their bid.
This way, the auction suddenly progressed extremely quickly, and in less than half an hour, more than forty items had been auctioned off.
This was completely the opposite of all auctions Yang Kai had participated in before.
Pills, artifacts, Secret Arts, Secret Techniques, all appeared one by one. Some of these were put up for auctions by cultivators themselves from their personal or family collections, but most items originated from the Five Colored Treasure Pagoda.
These relics of the ancient battlefield naturally caused a lot of people to vie for them, making the atmosphere of the entire auction site extremely hot.
Yang Kai also gained a rough understanding of the market prices of the items sold.
An ordinary Dao Source Grade artifact apparently cost between 700,000 to 800,000 Source Crystals, and if its grade was slightly higher, then the price reaching a million to several millions was pretty normal.
Originally, Yang Kai felt that with a million Source Crystals, he was sufficiently wealthy, but now he realized he was still quite poor.
“Dao Source Grade Low-Rank Tiger Battle Armor, 1.8 million, going once, going twice, going thrice, and sold! Friend, please take your Source Crystals backstage to claim your item. Let’s move on to the next item,” Drunkard, having finished speaking, continued moving things along.
From backstage, a maidservant walked out, carrying a mysterious auction item on a jade tray which was covered by a red cloth. The audience could not see this item’s true appearance and could only tell it was about the size of a melon.
When the maid came closer, Drunkard suddenly grinned as he looked out at the audience meaningfully, “This item is extremely precious and would normally have been auctioned as the finale, but is being auctioned in advance under this old man’s strong suggestion. Presumably, many people here can guess what it is. Now then… let’s begin.”
Saying so, he lifted the red cloth on the jade plate, revealing its true appearance to everyone.
It was a small furnace that seemed to fit in one’s hand. This furnace had a black lustre to it and had many dragons and phoenixes carved into its surface, giving it an extraordinary appearance while an ancient and desolate aura permeated it.
Drunkard picked up the furnace with one hand and said with a laugh, “This Black Jade Furnace has been studied for many days by this old man and Sir City Lord, but we cannot tell what material it is refined from. We were only able to determine it is an Alchemy Furnace, and a Dao Source Grade Mid-Rank one at that.”
“A Dao Source Grade Mid-Rank Alchemy Furnace!” The audience in the hall cried out in shock.
Many priceless treasures and artifacts had appeared in the auction thus far, but only a few were Dao Source Grade Mid-Rank.
More importantly, this was an Alchemy Furnace, a treasure all Alchemists would fight desperately over.
Alchemists were extremely wealthy, but they wouldn’t hesitate to spend enormous amounts of money on a good Alchemy Furnace. What’s more, big Sects and families always cultivated their own Alchemists, so this Dao Source Grade Mid-Rank Alchemy Furnace would definitely make them excited.
With a good Alchemy Furnace, Alchemists could not only improve their chances of successfully refining pills, but also improve the quality of their pills, so the value of high-grade Alchemy Furnaces could be imagined.
Even Yang Kai, who had not bid on anything during the auction, couldn’t help his eyes from flashing when he saw this Alchemy Furnace, immediately sending out his Divine Sense to the stage to scan it carefully.
Many people were doing the same as him, so numerous powerful Divine Senses quickly surged forth and covered the stage, making for a lively scene.
“Is Alchemist Yang interested in this Alchemy Furnace?” Kang Si Ran asked with a slight smile as he was paying attention to Yang Kai’s every word and expression.
“I am somewhat, but…” Yang Kai wryly smiled and shook his head, “I probably can’t snatch it.”
Kang Si Ran thought for a moment before saying, “How would you know whether you can win it or not if you don’t try? Alchemist Yang, please don’t hesitate. If you are lacking in Source Crystals, this Kang can lend them to you.”
“Let’s wait and watch first,” Yang Kai remained noncommittal.
He knew that Kang Si Ran had brought a lot of Source Crystals to this auction, but those were for the Dao Source Fruit. If Kang Si Ran couldn’t obtain the Dao Source Fruit because of him, Yang Kai would feel troubled.
While he wanted this Alchemy Furnace, it wasn’t a necessity.
“Have you all taken a good look? Good, this old man might not be an Alchemist, but because the Secret Art I cultivate is Fire-Attributed, I can also bring out a bit of this Alchemy Furnace’s power. En, let this old man demonstrate the features of this thing.” Finished with his explanation, Drunkard tossed the Black Jade Furnace he had been holding up in the air and quickly formed a few seals.
Pouring his pure Source Qi into the Black Jade Furnace, it rapidly began to expand and soon became as tall as a person before falling heavily on the auction stage with a grand thump.
After the Alchemy Furnace expanded, the complex patterns on its surface became clearer.
Not only that, everyone was now able to see the inside of the Alchemy Furnace with their Divine Senses. Engraved inside were four dazzling, burning dragon heads.
“The Grandmaster who refined this furnace was definitely a genius who carved countless Spirit Arrays into it, all of which are good auxiliaries for Alchemy. As a result, as long as one understands what these Spirit Arrays are for, they would not need to portray them themselves during Alchemy, saving time and energy. Furthermore, the four dragon heads inside the Alchemy Furnace allow an Alchemist to have better control over the heat as well as providing another interesting feature.”
Saying so, Drunkard suddenly lifted his gourd and took a swig of his wine, causing his ruddy face to immediately become even redder. He then patted his chest and opened his mouth towards the Black Jade Furnace in a spitting motion.
A Fire Dragon flew out of his mouth in the next instant. One that soared forward, shaking its head and wagging its tail before crashing into the Black Jade Furnace and sinking into it like a stone falling into an ocean, disappearing from everyone’s sight.
Drunkard immediately formed another set of seals with a mysterious smile hanging on his lips.
Suddenly, a raging flame spurted out of one of the dragon heads inside the furnace. The flame seemed to be extremely hot and was blue in colour. Next, under Drunkard’s control, the flames grew more intense, then less.
A second dragon head also began spewing flames before the third, then finally the fourth.
Drunkard then withdrew his hands and stood to the side, motionless.
However, the flames inside the furnace didn’t go out, but instead continued to burn. From the looks of it, it would be some time before these flames went out.
“The Alchemy Furnace can even store flames?” A knowledgeable person quickly saw through the situation and commented.
“Precisely! Friend, you have sharp vision,” Drunkard broke into laughter, “This old man didn’t even use much strength, only about as much as a normal attack, but that was enough to provide enough energy to this furnace to burn for half a day. On top of that, once the flame intensity is set, it will absolutely not change until its energy supply is exhausted or the Alchemist alters it. Presumably, everyone understands how great an aid this would provide to an Alchemist, yes?”
Just as Drunkard’s voice fell, everyone in the hall immediately broke into a clamour.
He might not have explained clearly, but all the cultivators present understood how precious this Alchemy Furnace was.
When an Alchemist was refining pills, he would often need to add various herbs and portray different Spirit Arrays all while carefully controlling the heat by providing just the right amount of energy, making it a process that required extreme focus and precise control.
However, with this Black Jade Furnace, the situation was completely different. An Alchemist would only need to set the appropriate temperature and pour in sufficient energy to maintain it for the required period of time, allowing the Alchemy Furnace to remain in that exact state for an extended period without outside intervention.
The Alchemist could take advantage of this time to restore himself.
Many times, Alchemists would fail their refining not because of some mistake in their methods, but because of their physical or spiritual limits.
But with this Black Jade Furnace, there wasn’t any need to worry about this problem at all.
In addition to the various abilities of an ordinary Alchemy Furnace, it also had its own unique auxiliary features. On top of all that, it was of Dao Source Grade Mid-Rank, making it an extremely valuable to begin with. In the eyes of Alchemists, this Alchemy Furnace was no less valuable than an Emperor Artifact!
“Time is limited, so this old man will not show the other features of this Alchemy Furnace but this old man can guarantee that if any Alchemist can obtain it, their grade will increase by one whole rank!”
Everyone couldn’t help but gasp and marvel when they heard this.
An Alchemist’s rank was much harder to raise than a cultivator’s realm, especially when it came to Great Realms. Many Alchemists would become stuck at the Origin King Grade High-Rank, unable to make further progress for the rest of their lives, but if what Drunkard said was true, an Origin King Grade Alchemist had a chance to refine Dao Source Grade pills as long as they had the Black Jade Furnace, and the chances of success wouldn’t be low.
All these features and benefits not only made the Alchemists present on the scene unable to hold themselves back, but also made the representatives of the various Sects and families become enthusiastic.
“Dao Source Grade Mid-Rank Alchemy Furnace, Black Jade Furnace, starting bid, one million Source Crystals, each subsequent bid must increase the price no less than 50,000. Everyone, please.” Drunkard shouted as he stepped aside, chuckling.
“Starting price… one million…” The corner of Yang Kai’s mouth couldn’t help but twitch upon hearing this.
After listening to Drunkard’s extravagant and colourful description, he was naturally a little tempted to bid on this Black Jade Furnace.
The Alchemy Furnace currently had was the Purple Origin Furnace he obtained in the Emperor Garden many years ago. As an Origin King Grade High-Rank furnace, it’s grade wasn’t low, and had served him well over the years, but it wasn’t on the same level as the Black Jade Furnace here.
However, a starting price of a million Source Crystals made Yang Kai smile wryly.
The Source Crystals he had on hand totalled just about one million, which was barely enough to match the starting bid…
“Is this Black Jade Furnace really so marvellous?” The nearby Kang Si Ran also seemed surprised.
Although he was able to obtain some information in advance by relying on his connections with the City Lord’s Mansion, he obviously didn’t know the details of this Black Jade Furnace beforehand, so when he heard Drunkard’s introduction, his expression couldn’t help but become solemn.
If he could obtain this Alchemy Furnace, the pill output of his Spirit Pill Plaza would definitely increase significantly, which would in turn increase his value as a Shopkeeper. Perhaps he could even be rewarded with a promotion from the chamber of commerce.
However, when he thought about the Dao Source Fruit at the finale… Kang Si Ran hesitated.
He turned to glance at Yang Kai, and when he saw the wry smile on his face, he asked curiously, “Alchemist Yang, are you not going to bid?”
“No! I’ll just watch the excitement,” Yang Kai shook his head.
Kang Si Ran immediately understood and nodded in acknowledgement, remaining silent.
The auction had already begun as the two were speaking, but strangely, no one called a bid. The hall was completely silent as, obviously, everyone was waiting for someone else to make the first move.
For a while, the atmosphere in the auction house became tense.
If someone else had been hosting this auction, they would not show any signs of anxiety and would instead just wait confidently; after all, such a good treasure would naturally sell for a high price. However, this time, Drunkard was hosting the auction.
After waiting for only a brief time and seeing no one bid, Drunkard couldn’t help grinning and calling out, “It seems this will be the first item today to not be auctioned off. Good, since that’s the case…”
“Wait, Sir Vice City Lord, aren’t you being too impatient?” A man shouted out from one of the private rooms.
“Nobody’s bidding though? If no one bids, this old man will simply buy it himself. En, maybe he can sell it later and make a big profit!” Drunkard looked toward the speaker, smiling.
Hearing him say this, many people couldn’t help but roll their eyes at him.
The host of the auction actually wanted to participate in the auction, it was completely unheard of. Only someone like Drunkard could act so brazen.
“Well, since all my friends are being so reserved, then this one will offer a million to get the ball rolling,” the man in the private room helplessly said.
“One million is far too low, my Du Family bids 1.5 million for this Black Jade Furnace.”
“You dare think 1.5 million is enough? Ridiculous! My Jiang Family bids 1.8 million!”
After the first bid, another rapidly came in, then another, and another. Moreover, each of these bidders represented some powerful family or Sect, but that made sense as only such forces could afford to spend so many Source Crystals.
All of a sudden, the private rooms all began enthusiastically participating in the bidding, causing Drunkard to grin meaningfully at the sight while lifting his gourd to drink from it complacently.
The big families inside Maplewood City naturally had friction between them, and now that this Black Jade Furnace had appeared and was clearly capable of improving their respective strength, none of them wanted to let it go.
In just thirty breaths, the price of the Black Jade Furnace had reached 2.7 million and was rapidly increasing with no one willing to give up.
After another half a cup of tea’s time, the Black Jade Furnace’s reached 4 million and only then did several of the families stop bidding. Obviously, the current price had exceeded their limits.
Although this Black Jade Furnace was a good treasure, the Dao Source Fruit which could help a cultivator reach the Dao Source Realm directly was more valuable, so many people could only reluctantly give up in light of this.
At this moment, Yang Kai had completely become a spectator. The Black Jade Furnace had soared past the price he could afford so he had long ago given up.
“My Jiang Family needs this Black Jade Furnace, please give us some face. 4.1 million!” An angry voice suddenly reverberated from the Jiang Family’s private room.
Others truly fell silent as many didn’t dare to continue to compete with the Jiang Family; after all, the Jiang Family was one of the strongest in Maplewood City so it was unwise to offend them while also having to pay out a huge amount of Source Crystals.
Seeing this, the speaker from the Jiang Family called out in an overjoyed voice, “Sir Vice City Lord, if you could…”
But before he could finish, a coquettish voice suddenly sounded, “Uncle Jiang, don’t be so anxious, Little Sister still hasn’t called her bid. I offer 4.2 million.”
As soon as these words rang out, a man with thick eyebrows and sharp eyes inside the Jiang Family private room turned to the source of the sound and snapped, “Shopkeeper Zhuo?”
At this moment, Kang Si Ran also let out a cold snort, “Zhuo Ning Si! That slut really couldn’t help herself.”
As rivals, Kang Si Ran naturally knew that the owner of this sultry voice was the shopkeeper of the Pill Pavilion, Zhuo Ning Si, who had recently poached all his Alchemists from him.
Yang Kai also had some dealings with Zhou Ning Si, specifically on the day he went to Spirit Pill Plaza and signed a Soul Contract with Kang Si Ran. At that time, Zhou Ning Si wanted to poach him for her Pill Pavilion, but he refused.
As such, Yang Kai naturally had an impression of this charming woman.
Her decision to bid for the Black Jade Furnace was understandable; after all, she was the shopkeeper of Pill Pavilion, so buying the Black Jade Furnace would be of great use to her.
Kang Si Ran, hearing Zhou Ning Si’s bid, instantly grew angry. It seemed that he had recalled the various injustices he had to go through over the past few months and that fueled his rage.
On the other side, the man with the thick eyebrows inside the Jiang Family, distinguishing Zhuo Ning Si’s identity, furrowed his brow and said, “Shopkeeper Zhuo, my Jiang Family and your pavilion enjoy a cooperative relationship and have some friendship with one another. Is this really necessary?”
Zhou Ning Si chuckled and said, “Uncle Jiang, while you’re right, friendship is friendship and business is business. Little Sister is just itching to get her hands on this treasure, so naturally she has to offer a bid. Uncle Jiang, how about you be the magnanimous one and give this Black Jade Furnace to Little Sister? Little Sister will definitely host a banquet tonight to entertain Uncle Jiang in return for his favour. Hehe, I just don’t know whether you have the stamina to attend.”
She was blatantly seducing the Jiang Family master in front of thousands of cultivators.
Many cultivators in the hall snorted contemptuously upon hearing this.
“Slut!” Kang Si Ran was also filled with righteous indignation as he despised Zhuo Ning Si’s debauchery.
Inside the Jiang Family private room, the man with the thick eyebrows snorted coldly but remained unmoved and said indifferently, “Is Shopkeeper Zhou insistent on opposing my Jiang Family?”
“Oh, how could I dare? After this incident, Little Sister will personally come to the Jiang Family to apologize, but still, Little Sister can’t give up on this Black Jade Furnace,” Zhou Ning Si declared loudly, as if she was inhumanely wronged, her voice was filled with grief at the injustice she suffered. Everyone couldn’t help feeling some pity for her upon hearing this, but they also realized her last words were filled with determination, as if she was on a crusade that was simply unavoidable.
The Jiang Family man let out a cold snort and snapped, “In that case, let’s see who wins in the end. 4.3 million!”
Zhou Ning Si smiled and continued, without flinching for even a moment, “4.4 million!”
Before the Jiang Family could raise the bid, another voice called out from a different private room, “4.5 million!”
The Jiang Family’s man was stunned and Zhou Ning Si too was taken aback while Yang Kai, who was sitting in room B9, turned to Kang Si Ran in amazement and asked sceptically, “Shopkeeper Kang, are you…”
It was actually Kang Si Ran who had called the bid just now, joining the race for the furnace.
Kang Si Ran smiled and said, “I’m just making some trouble for that slut.”
Yang Kai nodded in understanding.
“I was wondering who was poking his nose into my business, so it is Shopkeeper Kang. En, so you were still alive you old fogey?” Zhuo Ning Si spoke with obvious ridicule.
Kang Si Ran broke out into laughter and replied, “Many thanks, Shopkeeper Zhou, I’m very much alive and well.”
“So, it is Shopkeeper Kang.” Obviously, the Jiang Family master heard Kang Si Ran’s voice and recognized it, laughing as he commented, “Since your two chambers of commerce are interested in this Alchemy Furnace, my Jiang Family will withdraw; after all, we are not an opponent of your two forces.”
Apparently, he mistakenly believed that Zhuo Ning Si and Kang Si Ran were bidding on behalf of the chambers of commerce behind them, so he immediately and swiftly retreated. He could afford to offend Zhuo Ning Si for the Black Jade Furnace, but offending both major chambers of commerce together was not an option for the Jiang Family.
What he didn’t know was that Kang Si Ran was just bidding maliciously while it was uncertain whether Zhuo Ning Si was representing Seven Glories Chamber of Commerce.
“Many thanks.” When Kang Si Ran saw him misunderstand, he didn’t try to explain himself and just cupped his fists instead.
Zhuo Ning Si quickly cut in, “Shopkeeper Kang, now only you and I remain, I wonder what Shopkeeper Kang’s bottom line is.”
“No comment, just make your bid, if you don’t, this Black Jade Furnace will belong to this old master,” Kang Si Ran let out a cold snort.
Zhou Ning Si, having met with gruff rebuff, became annoyed and stopped trying to talk to Kang Si Ran, instead just bidding again.
For a time, only these two competed for the Black Jade Furnace, each of them raising the price by 100,000, soon bringing it to 5 million.
Only at this moment did a meaningful grin appear on Kang Si Ran’s lips as he generously said, “Shopkeeper Zhuo, seeing you persist like this, this old master has no choice but to relent. En, this old master will withdraw here.”
“Damn Old Ghost!” From Zhuo Ning Si’s room, the sound of cursing and grinding teeth could be heard. Although her voice wasn’t loud, many could still hear her clearly.
Kang Si Ran broke out into laughter with a look of satisfaction on his face.
Atop the stage, Drunkard smiled at the sight of this, taking a step forward to announce the winner of the Black Jade Furnace when suddenly, a male voice resounded from a private room in the A Block, “You’re finished, right? If both of you are done, then… 6 million!”
As soon as this bid was called out, the entire auction hall fell silent, while even Drunkard paused in place, turning to the source of the sound in astonishment.
Zhuo Ning Si, who thought that she finally obtained victory, had her pupils shrink sharply as her pretty face distorted in anger.
“6 million? Did I hear that right?”
“Who is this guy? He raised the bid by a million Source Crystals! Is he crazy?”
“Shhh, keep your voice down! Whoever he is, he’s sitting in the A Block so he must be a Dao Source Realm master. If he hears you, you’re dead!”
“So what if he’s a Dao Source master? Do Source Crystals not mean anything to him? A million… if they were given to me…”
After a moment of silence, the hall broke out into an uproar, with all the cultivators whispering amongst themselves; after all, it was truly frightening for someone to increase the price by a million Source Crystals all at once.
After giving it a bit of thought, Drunkard seemed to have realized the identity of the bidder and a trace of fear flashed across his eyes before he stepped back and stood quietly in place.
Inside her private room, Zhou Ning Si’s mood couldn’t be worse; after all, she had the fruit of victory snatched by some troublemaker at the last moment. No one would be in a good mood after encountering such a thing.
While she was just a Third-Order Origin King, she still represented Seven Glories Chamber of Commerce so after a moment of silence, she asked in a cold voice, “Dare I ask what Your Excellency’s honoured name is?”
The bidder in the A Block’s room didn’t seem to have any intention to answer her.
Zhou Ning Si was annoyed and snapped, “Showing the tail but hiding the head, Your Excellency, don’t you dare to reveal your name?”
After she said this, the bidder finally sneered, “What a farce, this one is only participating in the auction according to its rules. What’s wrong, do I have to report my name before I call a bid? What kind of auction house has such rules? Vice City Lord, does your Maplewood City’s auction house have this custom?”
His last question was addressed to Drunkard.
Drunkard furrowed his brow, but after pausing for a moment, he cupped his fists and said, “Friend, you must be joking! Maplewood City’s auctions don’t have such a rule.”
“Good! Shopkeeper Zhuo, I will let this offence go this time because you belong to Seven Glories of Chamber of Commerce, but if you dare use such an arrogant tone with me again, don’t blame me for being ruthless!” A vast and intense Divine Sense suddenly spread from the A Block private room and assailed Zhuo Ning Si at that moment.
Zhuo Ning Si couldn’t help but turn pale as she immediately realized that this man did not care at all about her identity or status and that if she kept pestering him, he might really get annoyed and act against her.
And judging by the strength of this Divine Sense, the other party didn’t seem to be just a First-Order Dao Source Realm master but rather a Second-Order Dao Source Realm master!
Maplewood City’s Lord, Duan Yuan Shan, was a Second-Order Dao Source Realm master and was an overlord in the surrounding hundred thousand kilometre region, so who knew where this man who was on par with him suddenly appeared from?
Even if Zhuo Ning Si had the backing of the Seven Glories Chamber of Commerce, with this man’s strength, killing Zhou Ning Si silently wouldn’t be any trouble.
After realizing this, Zhuo Ning Si quickly backed down, squeezed out a smile, and said, “Since Senior is interested in this Black Jade Furnace, then this Mistress will withdraw. Congratulations, Senior.”
Let alone the fact that 6 million Source Crystals had already exceeded Zhuo Ning Si’s bottom line, this man was a master she could not afford to offend. If she competed with him, she would be the only one to suffer. Understanding this, Zhuo Ning Si judged it best to offer some polite words and retreat.
No one had expected that the Black Jade Furnace, which was fought for by so many Sects and families, would eventually fall into the hands of a mysterious person who only offered one bid.
After Drunkard came to the front of the stage and called for other bids thrice, the ownership of the Black Jade Furnace was settled.
“How surprising! I didn’t expect that the Black Jade Furnace itself would go for 6 million, there’s even the Dao Source Fruit still left to auction off…” Kang Si Ran said with some depression in his voice. Although he had brought a lot of Source Crystals this time, seeing the intensity of the previous bidding, the Dao Source Fruit would probably have nothing to do with him, so he couldn’t help feeling frustrated.
Yang Kai also had no idea how to comfort him, so he just maintained his silence.
The next item auctioned was a Spirit Pill. Atop the stage, Drunkard put on a meaningful grin and said, “Regarding this Spirit Pill, please let this old man explain a little bit.”
While he was introducing the item, a maid had already arrived with a display tray.
After he lifted the red cloth covering the item, everyone immediately saw a navy blue, longan-sized Spirit Pill lying quietly on the jade place.
This Spirit Pill wasn’t inside a jade bottle, as if the auctioneer wasn’t worried about the medicinal efficacies dissipating from improper storage.
When a sharp-eyed cultivator saw the Spirit Pill, he immediately cried out in shock, “Pill Veins! This Spirit Pill actually formed Pill Veins!”
“What!? Let me see… you’re right, it’s really Pill Veins! So, Pill Veins look like this…”
“It’s not just that, take a good look, this Spirit Pill seems to be quite aged, wouldn’t that mean…”
Many cultivators started discussing the pill while Drunkard was all smiles, looking extremely satisfied with the effects of his actions.
Although some Spirit Pills had appeared already during the auction, no Spirit Pill had formed Pill Veins. This was the first.
Furthermore, many cultivators had never even seen a Spirit Pill with Pill Veins, so everyone found it extremely marvellous and kept gawking at it.