Harvest

The auction continued, and the second half was still filled with treasures, even surpassing the first half in quality.

Among them, a movement technique called the Heavenly Dipper Eight Steps left the deepest impression on Lu Wangchuan.

It was a movement art that could increase speed. Though not a combat martial skill, its value was in no way inferior, ultimately selling for a high price of twenty thousand taels—even more expensive than the Speed Heart Art.

Lu Wangchuan watched with longing, but could only console himself that his strength was still weak for now. Once he grew stronger, combat skills would come, movement arts would come—everything would come.

Yet just as the auction reached its most thrilling moment, an accident suddenly occurred.

Boom—!

A deafening explosion erupted from the center of the auction hall, sending everyone present flying in chaos. Those at the epicenter of the blast were killed on the spot.

Though Lu Wangchuan was at the edge, he was still caught off guard and thrown back by the shockwave, causing his blood and qi to churn violently.

But since he primarily cultivated blood and qi, and his physique had been strengthened daily through hard training—far surpassing others at the same level—he quickly steadied himself. Glancing around, he saw Lao Tan more than ten meters away, already knocked unconscious by the blast.

At that moment, a severed hand clutching a small black leather pouch landed beside him. Without a second thought, Lu Wangchuan snatched it and tucked it into his chest, then rolled to change his position.

"What happened?"

"It's the Black Lotus Society's Thunderclap Bomb! There are Black Lotus Society members here!"

"Black Lotus Society!"

Lu Wangchuan's pupils contracted. He had heard that name before.

In times of chaos, it was inevitable that some would take advantage to establish their own forces, seeking to rise above the masses. The Black Lotus Society was one of Da Qian's most notorious rebel factions, filled with many experts.

"Hahaha, everyone, long time no see. My brothers of the Black Lotus Society have been short on silver for meals lately, so we had no choice but to come and beg some from you all."

Following this loud laugh, shouts of killing erupted from all sides, battle broke out, and the entire auction descended into utter chaos.

Lu Wangchuan's gaze turned cold. He turned and ran.

The auction wasn't his business. He was just a customer here—no reason to risk his life for others.

At that moment, two core members of the Black Lotus Sect burst in through the door, meeting Lu Wangchuan face to face. His expression tensed, ready to strike, but the two bypassed him and charged straight into the hall.

Just as Lu Wangchuan was puzzled, he overheard their conversation as they passed.

"Don't waste time on him. He only bought a trashy Life Nurturing Art just now."

Lu Wangchuan found it both amusing and frustrating. It seemed the Life Nurturing Art was so worthless in ordinary people's eyes that they couldn't even be bothered to rob him for it.

Still, this was a good thing. He could take advantage of the chaos to escape.

Outside, it was just as chaotic. He wasn't the only one who had fled—others were locked in combat with Black Lotus Society members. Lu Wangchuan glanced at Lu Xianyuan, who moved through the crowd with an unhurried, leisurely air, as if the turmoil had nothing to do with him at all.

And every time he passed, a Black Lotus Society martial artist would be cut down on the spot.

Watching this, Lu Wangchuan's heart raced with longing.

"Kill one man every ten paces, leaving no trace for a thousand miles"—this must be what that meant, right?

After a brief moment of envy, Lu Wangchuan quickly left the area.

With the Black Lotus Society's invasion and everyone's flight, the battle rapidly spread down the mountain. The dense forest was filled with life-and-death struggles everywhere.

Lu Wangchuan leaped down from a high point, sometimes clearing thirty or forty meters in a single bound.

After reaching the Bone Forging realm, his physical condition had reached an extremely terrifying level.

Other Bone Forging cultivators couldn't perform such continuous high jumps like Lu Wangchuan. The reason he could was mainly due to his daily training of blood and qi, which had tempered his physique far beyond others at the same level.

What would normally take over ten minutes, Lu Wangchuan covered in less than three, arriving directly at the foot of the mountain.

"Someone's here!"

No sooner had he reached the base than he encountered several Black Lotus Sect followers.

They seemed to be a small squad. The leader was at the Bone Forging realm, with three at the Tendons and Membranes Realm and four at Blood Solidification.

Lu Wangchuan didn't waste words. He struck decisively, throwing two punches that sent one Tendons and Membranes and one Blood Solidification cultivator flying on the spot.

A Bone Forging expert was not only immensely strong but also had fists as hard as iron. A single punch carried the force of a several-hundred-jin sledgehammer!

"Don't get cocky!"

The Bone Forging expert's face twisted with anger as he charged straight at Lu Wangchuan. Their fists clashed. The opponent's combat martial skill was clearly superior, but Lu Wangchuan's physique was stronger than others at the same level, so the exchange was evenly matched.

After that single clash, both felt their blood and qi surge. Lu Wangchuan followed up with another punch aimed at the opponent's crotch, but the man blocked and parried.

"You want to hit my weak spot? Owww—!"

It turned out Lu Wangchuan had been feinting. He had already stomped hard on the man's foot, twisting his entire face in pain.

Before the opponent could react, Lu Wangchuan grabbed both his hands, forced himself close, and drove a knee into his groin. Even a Bone Forging expert would be left teary-eyed and stiff from that blow. Lu Wangchuan then delivered an uppercut, smashing into his throat, sending him to his grave.

But before he could celebrate, the sound of arrows whistling through the air came from behind. Lu Wangchuan used the Bone Forging expert's body as a shield, and several sharp crossbow bolts sank into the flesh—Fine Steel Crossbows!

Lu Wangchuan didn't dare be careless. He shoved the corpse forward, closed the distance, and unleashed the Mountain Splitting Fist left and right. With his realm advantage, it was like crushing children one punch at a time.

In moments, the entire Black Lotus Society squad was wiped out.

Not daring to linger, he quickly rifled through their robes and sleeves, took their valuables, and ran straight back to his home in the city. He collapsed on the ground, gasping for air. It took a full dozen seconds before his blood and qi gradually settled.

At that moment, he suddenly burst into loud laughter, leaving Xiao Wu and Xiao Yue in the courtyard utterly bewildered.

"What's wrong with the young master?"

They had no idea how Lu Wangchuan felt in that moment of survival after a calamity—that sense of satisfaction from escaping the brink of death and reaching safety was beyond words.

After laughing for a short while, he instructed the two not to disturb him, then quickly entered the training room to inspect his temporary gains.

He hadn't checked before, but once he did, he was directly startled.

The few Black Lotus Society believers didn't have much money on them—altogether, it amounted to no more than eight or nine hundred taels, and most of that came from that Bone Forging realm squad leader.

That small black leather pouch was the real prize. Lu Wangchuan had vaguely guessed it might be the legendary Storage Bag, and when he opened it, he found it was indeed so.

What was even more delightful was that three items lay quietly inside.

That pill formula worth over five thousand taels of silver!

The Heavenly Dipper Eight Steps movement technique!

And a full ten thousand taels in silver notes!

Seeing these three things, Lu Wangchuan's breath caught, his heart pounded with excitement, and he was left speechless.

He had only intended to bid on some items to aid his cultivation, but in the end, he stumbled upon such a massive windfall—a straight-up jackpot!