Power of Silence!

Ten million High-grade Spirit Stones!

This price was no longer simple bidding. It carried an overwhelming, crushing force, directly more than doubling the 4.8 million bid from Heavenly Grade No. 2!

The entire inner hall fell silent enough to hear a needle drop. Every gaze, whether from the independent cultivators below or the honored guests in the surrounding private rooms, focused in unison on the Heavenly Grade room named "Purple Palace." Their eyes held shock, confusion, scrutiny, and utter disbelief.

"Ten... ten million?" A suppressed snort of anger came from Heavenly Grade No. 2, which had previously bid 4.8 million, before it fell completely silent. This price had already far exceeded the Dragon Scale Stone's proper value. Continuing to bid would bring them more loss than gain, and would be little more than a fit of spite.

On the elevated platform, Pavilion Master Lu Guan's gentle smile stiffened slightly, and a trace of surprise flashed through his eyes. Yet he swiftly returned to normal. He looked toward the Purple Palace room, his gaze seeming able to pierce through the one-way glazed window and see the three people inside.

"The honored guest in the Purple Palace room has bid ten million High-grade Spirit Stones." Lu Guan's voice remained warm and mild, without the slightest ripple. "Are there any fellow cultivators willing to raise the price?"

The hall was utterly silent. Ten million for a stone with such immense uncertainty—even if it came from the Primordial Forbidden Ruins—was simply too astonishing.

"Ten million, first call."

"Ten million, second call."

"Ten million, third call."

At some point, a small jade hammer had appeared in Lu Guan's hand. He lightly struck the golden bell beside him.

Dong—

The crisp chime echoed through the hall.

"Sold. Congratulations to the honored guest in the Purple Palace room for acquiring this Dragon Scale Stone."

Only after the dust had settled did the crowd below seem to regain their senses, erupting into even more heated discussion.

"Madness! This is utter madness!"

"Which family's young master is in the Purple Palace room? How can he be so extravagantly wealthy?"

"Perhaps he truly has confidence? Maybe there's some earth-shaking treasure inside?"

"Hmph, in the art of stone gambling, how could there ever be a sure thing? I say some spoiled scion of a great lineage has come out to squander Spirit Stones."

Inside the Purple Palace room, Thunder Roar Ravine's mouth hung wide enough to fit a fist inside. He stared blankly at Xuanyuan Che and stammered, "L-little Junior Brother... y-you spent... ten million High-grade Spirit Stones... just to buy that huge rock?"

He had also felt that the stone was unusual, but this price was simply too absurd! Even selling him would not be worth a fraction of it!

Yun Mengyao's beautiful brows furrowed slightly as well. Her cool eyes turned toward Xuanyuan Che, filled with a questioning look.

The two of them both knew that their little Junior Brother was immensely wealthy—perhaps even that description fell short. Yet having money was one matter; knowing how to spend it was another.

Xuanyuan Che smiled and sent them a message with his spiritual sense. "There really is something inside that stone. Ten million isn't a loss, but that isn't the important part. The important part is that our Pavilion Master Lu's attention does not seem to be on that Stone King."

Yun Mengyao's eyes flashed, and she instantly understood Xuanyuan Che's meaning. Her spiritual sense quietly swept below, and she immediately noticed Lu Guan's gaze. It seemed casual, yet it had repeatedly swept over a certain corner at the edge. In that corner lay the grayish-white, pitted "scrap material" Xuanyuan Che had noticed earlier.

"Junior Brother, you mean..." Yun Mengyao sent back.

"Shh. The real show is only just beginning." Xuanyuan Che winked.

Below, Lu Guan had already ordered people to carefully carry away the enormous Dragon Scale Stone and deliver it to the Purple Palace room for the exchange. The smile on his face remained as gentle as a spring breeze, as though the astonishing ten-million transaction had merely been an insignificant interlude.

"Thank you all for your fondness for the Dragon Scale Stone. Next, according to custom, it is time to display some of our pavilion's more 'special' stone materials." Lu Guan clapped his hands, and several stewards immediately pushed a number of mobile display racks into the center of the venue.

The stones on these racks varied in size and shape, but they all shared one feature—either their appearance was abysmal and they looked utterly worthless; or their shapes were peculiar and could not be judged by common sense; or they came from certain deadly lands and secret realms, carrying strange auras. Their prices ranged from several hundred to tens of thousands of High-grade Spirit Stones, making them as far apart from the Dragon Scale Stone as clouds and mud.

Most people's interest had clearly faded with the final hammer strike on the Dragon Scale Stone. Only a few cultivators truly obsessed with this path, or hoping to pick up a bargain, continued to inspect them closely.

Lu Guan strolled between the display racks, casually picking up several stones and briefly introducing them. His attitude remained gentle, but he was clearly nowhere near as attentive as he had been when introducing the Dragon Scale Stone.

At last, he seemingly wandered without intent to that corner and picked up the grayish-white, pockmarked stone.

"This stone was brought back from a forbidden land by a fellow cultivator. Its material is unknown, its spiritual essence does not show, and it is quite unusual." Lu Guan weighed the stone in his hand, his tone casual. "Its price is one thousand High-grade Spirit Stones. Any fellow cultivators interested may study it for themselves."

He set the stone back in its place, seemingly not expecting anyone to buy it.

Just as he turned to return to the center of the venue—

"Purple Palace room. One thousand Spirit Stones. We'll take this one too."

Xuanyuan Che's voice rang out from the Purple Palace room once more, clear and calm.

This time, it did not stir even the slightest ripple. Everyone had already decided that this spoiled scion had come here to scatter his wealth.

Lu Guan's movement as he turned paused slightly.

He looked up toward the Purple Palace room. This time, the surprise in his eyes could no longer be fully concealed. There was even a hint of exceptionally grave scrutiny.

Yun Mengyao looked at Xuanyuan Che, who wore a relaxed expression, and she understood everything. This grayish-white stone was likely Xuanyuan Che's true objective! His lavish bid for the Dragon Scale Stone earlier may have merely been to make his acquisition of this "waste material" less conspicuous now, allowing it to happen as naturally as water flowing into a channel.

Using ten million to establish the persona of a spoiled scion... Whatever her Junior Brother did was right.

Xuanyuan Che smiled out the window. "What is it, Pavilion Master Lu? Is this stone not for sale?"

Lu Guan drew a deep breath. A smile returned to his face, though it now held a few more layers of meaning. "Honored guest, you jest. The Mysterious Yellow Pavilion has opened its doors for business—how could there be anything we would not sell? Since you favor it, this stone shall belong to you."

He still had to follow the auction rules. Moreover, Lu Guan himself had only seen through a small part of this stone. He was becoming increasingly curious about the young master in the Purple Palace room.

He signaled for a steward to wrap up the grayish-white stone and send it to the Purple Palace room together with the other one.

The exchange was completed swiftly. A storage ring filled with ten million and one thousand High-grade Spirit Stones was respectfully taken away by the steward, replaced by two stones delivered into the Purple Palace room.

The enormous Dragon Scale Stone took up nearly an entire corner of the room, emanating an ancient, desolate aura. Meanwhile, Xuanyuan Che casually held the inferior grayish-white stone in his hand, turning it over as he examined it.

For the moment, Xuanyuan Che paid no attention to the Stone King that had drawn the entire hall's attention. All of his focus rested on the inconspicuous grayish-white stone in his hand.

"Let me see just how extraordinary you are."

A thread of nearly imperceptible Chaos Qi Flow curled around his fingertips and gently brushed across the stone's surface. Under the infusion of Chaos Qi, the rough, pitted surface seemed to turn faintly translucent for an instant. Deep within it, an exceedingly dim yet incomparably profound glimmer of dark light flashed and vanished!

Though it lasted only an instant, Xuanyuan Che and Yun Mengyao, who had been watching him closely, both caught it clearly!

"This is..." Yun Mengyao's pupils contracted slightly. From that dark glimmer, she sensed an indescribable ancient stillness, as though she were facing the void from the dawn of the universe.

A satisfied smile curled Xuanyuan Che's lips. "As expected, it's somewhat interesting."

He tried to probe deeper with Chaos Qi, only to discover that an exceptionally strange power coiled around that speck of dark light within the stone. It absorbed and annihilated all of his probing power, making it impossible for him to penetrate any further.

"Power of Silence... worthy of its name." Rather than becoming annoyed, Xuanyuan Che grew even more interested. Things capable of blocking his Chaos Qi's investigation were exceedingly rare in the Lower Realm.

Just as he prepared to study it further, a light knock sounded on the private room's door.

A steward from the Mysterious Yellow Pavilion stood respectfully outside, holding a violet-gold invitation in both hands. "Greetings, honored guests. My Pavilion Master invites the three of you to the rear hall for a conversation. Would the three honored guests be willing to grace us with your presence?"

Xuanyuan Che and Yun Mengyao exchanged a glance. Both saw the look of just as expected in the other's eyes.

"Lead the way." Xuanyuan Che put away the grayish-white stone and spoke calmly.