Xiao Yuan Sharpens His Blade

Stepping into the ancient pavilion, Xiao Yuan glanced around. The pavilion was dimly lit and quite ordinary, with nothing particularly remarkable about it, nor did it exude any sense of Treasure Aura.

"Five of you, please follow me."

As Xiao Yuan looked around, an Gray-Clothed Old Man walked quickly from the side, whispered something to the five of them, and then headed into the dimly lit depths of the pavilion. Yao Lao didn't say anything and followed him with practiced ease, and Xiao Yuan and the other three naturally followed quickly as well.

The group walked along the corridor inside the pavilion for about a few minutes before finally stopping in front of a bronze door. The old man also stopped there, cupped his hands in greeting to the Yao Lao, and then quietly left without saying anything more.

This is our destination.

The Yao Lao spoke softly, then slowly pushed open the ancient bronze door. A faint light shone out from it, and the Yao Lao did not dodge, but stepped inside.

After Xiao Yuan and his three companions stepped through the bronze gate, they avoided the intense light.

An ancient hall, roughly half the size of a plaza, came into view. Inside the hall were many stone chairs, and several people were already seated on them. However, like Xiao Yuan and his group, these people had their faces covered by black cloaks, and no one knew their identities.

The arrival of Xiao Yuan and his group attracted some glances, but they quickly looked away. However, Xiao Yuan could still sense that some eyes were secretly scanning them back and forth, as if trying to find out their identities from some clues.

The Yao Lao didn't respond to these gazes at all. He walked to a relatively secluded spot, sat down on the ground, and with a wave of his sleeve, the surrounding space subtly distorted.

"There are many powerful individuals here, so we must be careful, otherwise our conversation could easily be discovered."

The Yao Lao said calmly.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Yuan nodded slightly, glancing around and discovering similar spatial traces in other places, indicating that others were quite wary.

"Let's wait quietly for now; the trade fair here should start soon."

"Yao Lao said softly, and then fell silent. But Xiao Yuan could sense that Yao Lao was slowly scanning the entire scene, as if trying to figure out who these people were."

Xiao Yuan naturally didn't need to help with this kind of investigation. With Yao Lao's soul power and experience, doing this kind of thing was not difficult at all, and Xiao Yuan was too lazy to put in the effort.

With Yao Lao's probing and the silence of Xiao Yuan and the other three, nearly two hours passed quietly. During those two hours, more and more figures dressed in black cloaks entered the area, and by the end, there were no fewer than a hundred people there.

"Call"

While Xiao Yuan waited idly, the Yao Lao suddenly let out a soft sigh.

Xiao Yuan turned his head and whispered, "Did you detect anything?"

"Hehe, some good news, it seems some familiar faces have come."

The Yao Lao smiled slightly, but did not elaborate on who the acquaintance was. Seeing this, Xiao Yuan could only shake his head helplessly. Ever since the Yao Lao was resurrected and became younger, he had become more and more fond of keeping secrets.

"Thump!"

Just as Xiao Yuan was feeling helpless, a melodious and clear bell suddenly rang out in the quiet ancient hall. Then, in the center of the hall, an old man with white hair and beard, who looked like he was about to die, slowly appeared in everyone's sight in the distorted space.

Upon seeing the suddenly appearing white-haired old man, Xiao Yuan raised an eyebrow beneath his cloak. In his perception, this seemingly half-dead old man was actually quite terrifying.

"Nine Stars Dou Zun Peak?"

Xiao Yuan muttered to himself, "This white-haired old man seems to have one foot in the Half-Saint level. If his Dou Qi were compressed again, it would undergo a qualitative change, allowing him to directly advance to Half-Saint!" "This is the Lord of Treasure Appraisal Mountain, the Treasure Mountain Old Man. He has seen countless treasures in his life and has an extremely sharp eye. When I first met him, he was already a well-known powerhouse in the Central State. Now, he has reached the Nine Stars Dou Zun Peak, only a step away from Half-Saint."

The Yao Lao's voice reached the ears of Xiao Yuan and the other three.

"Nine Stars Dou Zun Peak."

Upon hearing this, Cai Lin and Xiao Yi Xian's faces also showed a solemn expression, and they were somewhat shocked. This Central State was indeed worthy of being the most advanced region of the Douqi Continent. If this level of powerhouse were placed in the Northwest Continent, he would definitely be a peak-level powerhouse. However, here, he still had to show up to preside over the trade fair, even though this was not an ordinary trade fair.

"Hehe, another Space Trade Fair. How have you all been?"

The Treasure Mountain Old Man swept his gaze around the main hall, his aged voice ringing in everyone's ears. However, no one responded to his greeting; the atmosphere remained strangely quiet.

Treasure Mountain Old Man Treasure Mountain Old Man n't seem to care, clearly not having experienced something like this before. With a wave of his sleeve, the space around him slowly distorted, then formed a Spatial Prison that surrounded him.

"Same as always, please don't mind."

Having done all this, Treasure Mountain Old Man smiled, then stood on the auction stage in front of him, coughed, and said, "Almost everyone has arrived, so let's skip the pleasantries and begin this year's Space Trade Fair."

As Treasure Mountain Old Man finished speaking, almost all eyes in the hall instantly focused on him, a mixture of anticipation and excitement emanating from them. Everyone knew that anything traded here was no ordinary item! "Now we will begin the auction of the first item of this Space Trade Fair."

Within the distorted spatial barrier, the Treasure Mountain Old Man swept his hand across the void in front of him, and a pair of pale white bone wings appeared in everyone's sight. From within the bone wings, the faint sounds of wind and thunder could be heard.

"Heavenly Demon Phoenix Wings?"

Looking at the somewhat familiar bone wings, Xiao Yuan and Xiao Yan exchanged a glance, then their expressions became somewhat strange. They knew that the Heaven Demon Phoenix Clan valued the corpses and bloodlines of their clansmen extremely highly. If anyone dared to take them for themselves, they would be besieged by the Heaven Demon Phoenix Clan once discovered. Therefore, the two of them rarely used the Heavenly Demon Phoenix Wings after that. They never expected that the first item in this Space Trade Fair would be this kind of thing.

"The Heavenly Demon Phoenix Wings, the wings of the Heaven Demon Phoenix Clan. Everyone here should know how rare they are. If you were to refine them into Flying Dou Technique, you would undoubtedly be unmatched in speed among those of the same level. They are truly an essential tool for killing and escaping."

The Treasure Mountain Old Man said with a smile, not afraid of offending the Heaven Demon Phoenix Clan with his words.

"The owner of these Demon Phoenix Wings wants to exchange them for an Rank 8 Pill that has been tempered by Four-Colored Pill Tribulation Lightning. After evaluation, the Demon Phoenix Wings are worth this price, so if you are interested, please make an offer."

As soon as the Treasure Mountain Old Man finished speaking, the hall fell silent again. Xiao Yuan crossed his arms, leaned back in his chair, and lowered his eyes, showing little interest in the object.

The main hall was quiet, and no one spoke. But the Treasure Mountain Old Man was not in a hurry and stood there with a smile on his face.

This silence lasted for about five minutes, until finally a hoarse voice rang out. "I want it."

Xiao Yuan looked in the direction from which the sound came and saw a figure wrapped in a cloak throw a jade bottle at the Treasure Mountain Old Man.

Taking the jade bottle, the Treasure Mountain Old Man opened the cap, glanced at it, smiled, and then looked around, asking, "Is there anyone who has offered a higher price than this?"

The surroundings were completely silent, and no one made a sound. Treasure Mountain Old Man was not surprised. The original owner of the Demon Phoenix Wings was only around a six- Dou Zun. It was already good that he could exchange it for an Rank 8 Pill Four-Colored Pill Tribulation Lightning. If he could get more, no one would compete with him. After all, it would not be worth it if the price was raised.

Seeing that no one spoke, the Treasure Mountain Old Man smiled, flicked his finger, and the Demon Phoenix Wings in front of him swept directly towards the person who had made the first bid. The latter grabbed them and stuffed them into his Storage Ring.

The transaction was very simple; both parties delivered their goods simultaneously, but the items they brought out were all of considerable value.

"This is different from a regular auction. Unless there are special circumstances, most people will choose to give up when the items offered are far greater than what they want to trade. After all, the people here aren't fools."

"Yao Lao said softly."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Yuan and the other three nodded.

"Hehe, this is our second item for auction today."

Having completed the first transaction, the Treasure Mountain Old Man smiled, and another object appeared before him—a pale gold scroll.

"Vajra Glazed Body, Low-Level Heaven Rank Dou Technique. This Dou Technique was created by the Glazed Saint a thousand years ago. If one cultivates it to its peak, the body will be like diamond, indestructible and indestructible. One's fists can shatter the sky, and one's feet can crack the earth. It is a powerful Dou Technique that combines offense and defense."

Upon hearing the Treasure Mountain Old Man's introduction, Xiao Yuan's eyes flashed with a sharp light.

He did remember the Vajra Glazed Body; it was a Dou Technique for cultivating the physical body, and its power was quite impressive.

"The owner of this Dou Technique wants to exchange it for a Heaven Rank Low Grade water-based cultivation technique. Of course, exchanging it for pills of comparable value is also feasible."

"Treasure Mountain Old Man said with a smile."

Inside the main hall, quite a few people were quite interested in this scroll of Dou Technique. So, shortly after the Treasure Mountain Old Man finished speaking, someone threw out a light blue scroll, which eventually landed in the Treasure Mountain Old Man's hand.

The Treasure Mountain Old Man took the scroll, unfolded it and looked at it. Then he looked up and around. Before he could speak, two more people flicked a scroll into his hand. In less than two minutes, four scrolls appeared in the Treasure Mountain Old Man's hands. It was clear that five people were interested in the Vajra Glazed Body at the same time.

After receiving the four scrolls, no one else made a move. Only then did the Treasure Mountain Old Man unfold the four scrolls and examine them carefully. After a moment, he slowly closed his eyes. About a minute later, he opened them again, flicked his fingers, and sent three of the scrolls flying back. He smiled and said, "After the selection of the Dou Technique master, this transaction has come to a conclusion." As he spoke, he waved his sleeve, and the dark gold Dou Technique scrolls in front of him flew to the back of the hall, finally landing in the hands of a black-robed man, who immediately put them into his storage Storage Ring.

"Snort"

Seeing that their chosen cultivation technique was not selected, the three of them let out a cold snort, clearly somewhat displeased.

Xiao Yuan narrowed his eyes slightly, and his soul power silently spread out, attaching itself to the black-robed man who had obtained the Vajra Glazed Body.

He vaguely remembered that the Vajra Glazed Body should have fallen into the hands of three old ghosts. Those three old ghosts were no good people, so he could wait and see if they could just kill him and rob him.

Auctions are never as satisfying as getting something for free!

The Treasure Mountain Old Man seemed oblivious to these comments and continued to preside over the next part of the trade fair.

The items that appeared in the auction became increasingly dazzling, ranging from Dou Technique and cultivation methods to elixirs and rare Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, weapons and medicine cauldrons. However, each of these items, which would have caused quite a stir in the outside world, did not seem to be particularly shocking here.

Although these auction items were rare, Xiao Yuan did not bid on them. Except for a Poison Scripture called "Heaven Nether Poison Scripture" that appeared midway through the auction, which he helped Xiao Yi Xian buy by using two Rank Five-Colored Pill Tribulation Lightning Rank 8 Pill, he did not bid on anything else.

The so-called "Heaven Nether Poison Scripture" was created thousands of years ago by a Dou Sheng Expert named Heaven Nether Poison Saint. This Dou Sheng Expert loved using poison throughout his life, and thus left behind a scroll of methods for refining many kinds of strange poisons. Some of the poisons in it would be quite miserable even for Dou Zun expert if he came into contact with them.

However, while this thing is quite powerful, it requires a deep understanding of poisons to cultivate, making it a very niche skill. Otherwise, Xiao Yuan wouldn't have been able to acquire it so easily through auction.

As one rare item after another was successfully traded, the atmosphere inside the hall became increasingly heated. Many people, hiding behind cloaks, cast fervent gazes, their eyes fixed on the Treasure Mountain Old Man in the center of the hall.

But what Xiao Yuan and his group, or rather Xiao Yan, cared about most was that the fragment of the map related to the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame still hadn't appeared.

"Now, we will begin the auction of the second-to-last item of this trade fair."

Having just completed a high-priced transaction, the Treasure Mountain Old Man looked up with a radiant face, gazed at the main hall, smiled, and with a clench of his fist, a yellowed, ancient piece of parchment appeared in his hand.

At the same time, Xiao Yan, Xiao Yuan, Yao Lao all focused their attention on that direction.

That thing was their purpose for this trip!