Auction House

At her words, Xun Er let out a soft sigh. A trace of coldness suddenly flashed through her exquisite eyes. After a moment, she said quietly, "After tonight, I don't want to see Ga Lie Ao again. You know what to do, don't you?"

"Miss, there's no need to go that far over this matter." Ling Ying gave a bitter smile.

"What? Are you going to defy my orders?" Xun Er's expression turned cold, and two golden flames suddenly rose within her dark, beautiful eyes.

"This old servant would not dare. It's just that Ga Lie Ao is already living a fate worse than death. Killing him would only be letting him off easy." Ling Ying wiped away cold sweat that did not exist on his forehead and replied respectfully.

"A fate worse than death?" Xun Er froze slightly, surprise flashing through her beautiful eyes. She said calmly, "Explain."

"While Miss was chasing after Young Master Xiao Yan, Ga Lie Ao was attacked and lost the symbol of his manhood." Ling Ying straightened himself slightly and spoke to Xun Er with respect.

"Lost the symbol of his manhood?" Xun Er's pretty face flushed red. The coldness on her face quietly faded as she could not help asking, "Do you know who did it?"

"This old servant does not know. At the time, I feared that Miss might encounter danger, so I followed as well. But I do have a suspect."

"Who?" Xun Er was clearly interested.

"Xiao Se," Ling Ying answered.

"Cousin Xiao Se? He was at the Imitation Market too?" Xun Er had a fairly good impression of Xiao Se. His temperament and talent were both exceptional. Given sufficient opportunity, he could become a peerless expert renowned across the continent, barring any mishaps.

Ling Ying nodded. "Yes, Miss. This old servant happened to see him hiding among the crowd. After Young Master Xiao Yan and Miss left, Xiao Se was the only one in the entire Imitation Market with the motive and nerve to do it. This old servant always feels that boy is somewhat strange. Should we keep an eye on him?"

"There's no need. Cousin Xiao Se acted in secret today because he likely did not wish to see anyone from the Xiao Clan being bullied. As long as he does not set his sights on Brother Xiao Yan, there is no need to bother with him," Xun Er said calmly.

"Yes." After giving a slight bow, Ling Ying turned into a cloud of black mist and vanished from the spot.

The next day.

Morning.

Xiao Se donned a large black cloak and arrived before the Mittel Auction.

"Wow! Brother, this building is so luxurious. It's even more imposing than the palace in Jiang Country back then." Long Kui's startled cry suddenly rang out in his heart.

Xiao Se smiled. "Is that so? I'll build you an even bigger one someday."

"Hehe..." Within the Demon Sword Space, Long Kui's beautiful eyes curved into shallow crescents as she giggled. "Then Long Kui will thank Brother! But what are we doing here?"

"To auction the Nurturing Spirit Liquid," Xiao Se replied.

"Nurturing Spirit Liquid? Isn't that something Brother needs? We only refined two bottles in total, and one of them is even inferior due to the materials. If we auction it off, what will Brother do?" Long Kui asked in surprise.

"The two bottles of Nurturing Spirit Liquid will run out eventually. If we auction that inferior bottle, we can use the Gold Coins we get to buy more medicinal ingredients and refine more Nurturing Spirit Liquid. More importantly, I need medicinal ingredients to refine a Tier 3 Pill, the Ice Spirit Pill, to aid in refining the source Beast Flame of the Fifth Order Magical Beast, the Fire Devouring Flood Dragon. With the Beast Flame's assistance, I believe I can refine Nurturing Spirit Liquid without borrowing your power," Xiao Se explained.

"Without borrowing Long Kui's power?" Long Kui immediately grew anxious. A mist of tears welled up in her beautiful eyes as she asked urgently, "Brother, did Long Kui do something wrong? Long Kui will correct it properly."

Xiao Se smiled helplessly. "Long Kui is very good. It's just that every time Brother borrows your power to refine pills, it invisibly consumes your Soul Power. Although nothing can be noticed now, after enough time passes, your soul will fall into a dormant state from excessive weakness. You don't want Brother to be unable to see you, do you?"

Having read the original story, Xiao Se knew very well that Xiao Yan's excessive reliance on Yao Lao's power had severely depleted Yao Lao's Soul Power. In the end, Yao Lao had even fallen into slumber in order to protect Xiao Yan.

Xiao Se did not know whether Long Kui's soul, cultivated over a thousand years, was stronger than Yao Lao's.

But even Yao Lao, whose soul had reached the middle stage of the Heavenly Realm, had suffered such a fate. Xiao Se did not want such a thing happening to Long Kui.

"Long Kui understands, but Brother must not think Long Kui is a burden." Hearing Xiao Se's explanation, Long Kui finally relaxed. What she feared most was that Brother would come to dislike her.

"Mm." Xiao Se smiled and entered the auction house under the watchful gaze of the guards at the entrance.

The moment he entered the hall, he felt a wave of cool air. His gaze swept over the spacious, resplendent interior before finally settling on a room marked with the words "Appraisal Room."

Upon entering, he saw a middle-aged man sitting listlessly in a chair beside the table. Hearing footsteps, the man lazily raised his head. He looked at the figure wrapped entirely in a black robe, his brows furrowing slightly before he swiftly put on a professional smile. "Sir, are you here to have an item appraised?"

"Mm." A hoarse voice came from beneath the black robe. Long Kui had used Soul Power to alter his voice.

Walking up to the table, Xiao Se casually pulled out a green jade bottle from his waist and gently placed it on the tabletop.

"This is..." The middle-aged man's expression changed slightly upon seeing the jade bottle. He carefully picked it up and brought it to his nose for a light sniff. After a moment, he looked at Xiao Se again, his gaze carrying several degrees more reverence. "Are you an alchemist, sir?"

"Mm." The hoarse voice sounded again.

After receiving confirmation, the middle-aged man was visibly moved. He asked respectfully, "May I ask what pill this is, sir? What effect does it have?"

"Nurturing Spirit Liquid. It is ranked Tier 2. Whether consumed or used in a medicinal bath, it can increase a cultivator's cultivation speed. It is only effective for Dou Zhe."

"Increase a Dou Zhe's cultivation speed?" The middle-aged man cried out in surprise. Although Dou Zhe were not like those at the Dou Qi stage, who could only cultivate in a rigid, conventional manner, their Meridians were still comparatively weak. Pills that could increase cultivation speed were extremely rare. One careless mistake might not cause someone to explode and die, but damaging their Meridians and turning them into cripples was highly possible...

"Rest assured. My spirit liquid has an extremely mild medicinal effect and no side effects. Even if a Dou Qi cultivator takes it, they will merely be unable to absorb it and expel it from their body." Seeing the middle-aged man's doubts, the hoarse voice slowly explained.

The middle-aged man's expression changed again. He carefully placed the jade bottle back where it had been and replied respectfully, "Sir, could you please wait a moment? I need to invite Grandmaster Gu Ni to personally appraise it."

"Go quickly and return quickly." Xiao Se casually waved a hand. Without standing on ceremony, he sat down in a chair to the side and closed his eyes to rest.

The middle-aged man nodded respectfully, then turned and hurried out of the room.

Inside the room, Xiao Se remained silent as he thought to himself, I wonder if Ya Fei has arrived yet.