The Main Event

"Next up is what I believe everyone came here for: two Xiantian Pills. I'm sure you all understand their effects. After swallowing a Xiantian Pill, your chances of advancing to the Xiantian realm increase by more than fifty percent. The starting bid is twenty thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones!" the old man in white announced.

At last, it was time to auction the Xiantian Pills.

"Forty thousand!" Zhao Qiyan spoke again, intending to crush everyone else in one stroke.

"Forty-five thousand!" A voice suddenly cut in, instantly igniting everyone's enthusiasm.

"Fifty thousand!!"

"Fifty-three thousand!"

People in the major VIP rooms began calling out bids one after another. They had come precisely because of the Xiantian Pills; these pills were their primary objective. How could they not go mad over them now?

At this point, everyone outside the VIP rooms had basically become spectators. At such astronomical prices, they were not even qualified to join the bidding.

"Seventy thousand!" Zhao Qiyan declared smugly once more.

By now, quite a few people had calmed down. Those still competing were undoubtedly from the various great powers. Everyone else had long been left dizzy and seeing stars by such sky-high prices.

"Eighty thousand!" An Yunpeng, the Blood Hand Gate's representative, finally spoke. He raised Zhao Qiyan's bid by ten thousand in one breath, displaying truly deep pockets.

"One hundred and fifty thousand! Our City Guard Mansion offers one hundred and fifty thousand. We hope everyone will give the City Guard Mansion some face!" A middle-aged man's voice rang out. It was actually the City Guard Mansion. Since the City Guard Mansion and the City Lord's Mansion had never gotten along, no one had expected the City Guard Mansion to show up, much less bid one hundred and fifty thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones in a single breath. That was no small sum.

All the factions fell silent and did not continue bidding. It was not that they feared the City Guard Mansion itself, but that they feared the Dayue Kingdom court standing behind it. Although these people ran rampant around Green Peak Mountain, beyond the reach of the authorities, they knew that was only because this place lay on the frontier rather than in the heartland. No one could be bothered with such a place, which was why they could lord it over one region. But a city guard was the Dayue Kingdom's representative here. Killing a city lord might not cause trouble, but killing a city guard meant facing the Dayue Kingdom court's thunderous wrath. The Dayue Kingdom court was known throughout the world for protecting its own. Without distinguishing black from white, it would wipe out your entire sect first and ask questions later. The court even had a dedicated punitive army for suppressing sects like these. Aside from a handful of colossal powers such as the Yi Yuan Sect's Main Sect, who would not fear the Dayue Kingdom court to some degree? Unless forced into a corner, no one wanted to tear all pretenses of civility with the City Guard Mansion.

Once the City Guard Mansion spoke, it cowed the entire hall and purchased the first Xiantian Pill for one hundred and fifty thousand.

After the first Xiantian Pill was sold, the second one drew even fiercer competition.

However, in terms of financial resources, the Da Qing City Lord's Mansion, Dark Devil Valley, and the Blood Hand Gate were still the strongest. Once the bids surpassed one hundred thousand, everyone else was almost immediately eliminated.

"One hundred and thirty thousand!" Dark Devil Valley's young master spoke. "I hope everyone will give Dark Devil Valley some face this time. There will surely be generous repayment in the future!"

"Bullshit. You say we should give you face, and we have to give you face? Is your face made of gold?" Da Qing City's young master said disdainfully. They still harbored some apprehension toward Tian Yuan City's City Guard Mansion, but Dark Devil Valley was nothing to fear.

"One hundred and fifty thousand!" After cursing him out, Da Qing City's young master, Zhao Qiyan, declared smugly.

"Zhao Qiyan, so you've made up your mind to oppose me?" Dark Devil Valley's young master, Wen Qingxing, was a handsome young man. Yet at this moment, his handsome face was shrouded in gloom, giving him an eerie, sinister air.

"So what if I am?" Zhao Qiyan did not care in the slightest.

"One hundred and sixty thousand!" A voice suddenly came from the Blood Hand Gate's private room. An Yunpeng, the Blood Hand Gate's young master, rested his blood-red hands beneath his chin. A wicked smile flickered across his lips as he said, "My apologies, gentlemen, but I am rather interested in the Xiantian Pill as well!"

Ye Xiwen watched as the price of the second Xiantian Pill surpassed that of the first. What puzzled him, however, was that the ones speaking now were all young masters from the various factions. The older generation remained remarkably composed, not saying a single word, as though they did not exist at all.

Yet Ye Xiwen could clearly sense three terrifying auras entrenched within the private rooms. Unlike his father, Ye Kongming, who was also a Xiantian Expert, Ye Xiwen could not feel such an oppressive aura when facing Ye Kongming. All he could sense from his father was unfathomable depth.

"One hundred and eighty thousand!" Wen Qingxing said in a somewhat low voice.

"Two hundred thousand!" Zhao Qiyan immediately followed up, as though money meant nothing to him. And indeed, it was true. When it came to wealth, the Da Qing City Lord's Mansion was undeniably the richest. Da Qing City was their family's fief. Although the city guard still kept them in check, eighty percent of the city's taxes went to their family, and more than one-third of the city's businesses belonged to them. In terms of financial resources alone, they were absolutely the most well-funded.

Competing with them in wealth was a battle one could not win even after vomiting blood.

Sure enough, just as Ye Xiwen expected, Wen Qingxing and An Yunpeng soon gave up competing with Zhao Qiyan, watching as Zhao Qiyan smugly claimed the final Xiantian Pill.

The struggle over the Xiantian Pills seemed to have drawn to a close, but Ye Xiwen knew that the real show had probably only just begun. The auction was not yet completely over, and several more items remained. Yet the City Guard Mansion had already hurriedly withdrawn. Having bought what it wanted most, it returned to the City Guard Mansion under the escort of a large number of soldiers.

The Da Qing City Lord's Mansion, which had purchased the second Xiantian Pill, also quietly departed soon afterward. But to many watchful factions, this "quiet" departure was far from unexpected.

Ye Xiwen also rose quietly and left the auction house without a sound. Sure enough, not far away, Da Qing City's group was hurrying toward the city gates.

Not long afterward, the people from the Blood Hand Gate and Dark Devil Valley each followed behind them from different directions.

How could Ye Xiwen still fail to understand? Spending money to buy the Xiantian Pills had merely been the prelude. Now came the true main event. Buying them with money was one thing; having the life to bring them home was what truly mattered.

Clearly, everyone understood this principle. No one was foolish, and no one was an idiot.

Tian Yuan City's City Guard Mansion had heavily armed troops protecting it, and it was on its own turf, so naturally there was no issue with safety. But the Da Qing City Lord's Mansion was another matter entirely.

Second update—please bookmark and recommend! There will be a third update later!