Fengxiao City

After staying in Fengxiao City for two days and purchasing some daily necessities and clothes, Liuli prepared to leave.

Arriving at an uninhabited mountain area on the outskirts of the city, she took out a blue Storage Ring. From it, she retrieved a jade token and a Scroll, then crushed the jade token with force.

"Buzz—" The space before the Young Girl began to fluctuate violently before slowly tearing apart, forming a Space Wormhole five zhang wide.

The Space Wormhole slowly revolved, emitting a faint suction force as endless Space Power dispersed across the mountaintop.

"After entering the wormhole, tear open the Scroll to lock onto the exact destination. It should take around three hours to reach Liang City." Liuli carefully read the instructions on the Scroll in her hand, patted down her dress, and strode into the Space Wormhole.

After Liuli vanished into the entrance, the Space Wormhole began trembling violently, and the spatial fluctuations intensified. In the end, the wormhole gradually collapsed and shrank until it disappeared from the world.

A few moments after the Space Wormhole vanished, an old man in hemp clothes appeared out of thin air. Sensing the lingering Space Power around him, the old man in hemp clothes smiled faintly and sent a spiritual message to the wormhole's creator.

Sword Clan Space

Gongsun Lin sat within an Elegant Chamber, sipping tea brewed by the Pink-haired Woman seated opposite him.

"That child Liuli has already left Fengxiao City. I had Gongsun Xiao stop following her. She can walk the rest of the road on her own," Gongsun Lin said calmly after taking a small sip.

"Mm, I understand." The Pink-haired Woman nodded and gave a soft laugh. "The little girl has grown up. It will do her good to travel by herself."

Looking at the woman's beautiful face, which resembled Liuli's by seventy percent, Gongsun Lin spoke with a hint of resentment, "Eight years apart just like that. The next time we meet, she'll be a grown young lady! When she comes back, she'd better not bring some brat home with her."

"What if she does?" The woman looked at Gongsun Lin's expression, her face full of amusement.

"Then I'll beat him half to death first," Gongsun Lin said fiercely, clenching his fist.

Liang City

As a city with a Space Wormhole capable of connecting Central Continent and the Northwest Region, Liang City remained prosperous despite being located at the edge of Central Continent and having no resources in its vicinity.

Every day, large numbers of merchant caravans and travelers entered and left the city. Where there were many people, there was naturally disorder, so Liang City was managed with extreme strictness. Anyone discovered fighting or committing crimes within the city would immediately be expelled from Liang City and barred from setting foot there again for five years.

Thus, Liang City was one of the few peaceful places in Central Continent. The most important factor maintaining that peace was Liang City's lord—Yue Yang, a super expert with the strength of a Three-star Dou Venerate.

Today was the day Liang City's largest auction house held its annual Auction. Numerous factions and clans from the Western Region of Central Continent had come to attend. The city was exceptionally lively, while the entrance to the massive auction house building was packed with people. Of course, most had merely come to watch the excitement. Without sufficient strength and backing, they could not even enter through the doors.

"Miss, do you have an invitation? If not, you may also present some items for appraisal." A female receptionist guarding the entrance approached the black-robed Young Girl who had emerged from the crowd and spoke evenly.

"There." The black-robed Young Girl tossed a small Jade Bottle to the receptionist.

The receptionist carefully caught it, gently opened the bottle, examined the medicinal pill inside, then placed her nose near its opening and took a sniff. Her face immediately blossomed into a smile as she said warmly, "This way, Miss. I'll take you to the reception room."

The black-robed Young Girl nodded and followed the receptionist through the doors.

"Please wait here for a moment, Miss. I'll invite our auction house's Senior Appraiser to speak with you." The receptionist brought the black-robed Young Girl to a VIP reception room, bowed, and departed.

Only after the receptionist left did the black-robed Young Girl remove her hood, revealing her light pink hair. Sitting on the soft sofa, she stretched lazily.

"I've finally reached the last stop in Central Continent!" Liuli relaxed.

There had been an error in the coordinates of Gongsun Lin's small Space Wormhole, sending her nearly a thousand li off course. The first thing she saw upon stepping out of the wormhole had been endless yellow sand. As a result, she had spent another two days flying through dust and wind, nearly getting lost.

"That stinking Dad definitely did it on purpose!" The Young Girl was extremely displeased. She waved her little fists twice in the air, as though she could hit that man who had always grinned at her when she was little.

Knock, knock, knock! The VIP room door was knocked on.

Liuli jolted, hurriedly sat properly, pulled her hood back over her head, rubbed her face with her hands, and said blandly, "Come in."

A Green-robed Woman pushed open the door, walked to the other side of the tea table, and gave Liuli a slight bow.

"Greetings. I am Qing Yun, this auction house's Senior Appraiser. Your two Sixth-grade Imperial Pills have been successfully appraised. We will auction them at a Low-level Auction. Their starting price will be 1,200,000 Gold Coins, and we conservatively estimate that they can sell for around 3,000,000 Gold Coins."

Liuli nodded and continued speaking in her deliberately altered voice. "I need a High-grade Space Ship. Does this Auction have one?"

Qing Yun froze for a moment before nodding. "Yes. The seventh item in the upcoming High-level Auction is a High-grade Space Ship."

"Then arrange a seat for me."

"Miss, the High-level Auction only permits those at the Dou Wang level or above..."

Liuli said nothing and directly spread her Dou Qi wings.

"It was Qing Yun's poor judgment. I never expected that, at such a young age, Miss already possesses the strength of a Dou Emperor." Qing Yun hurriedly apologized.

"One cannot judge people by their appearance." Liuli withdrew her Dou Qi wings, plucked a grape from the tea table, and tossed it into her mouth.

"Then Qing Yun will go arrange a seat for Miss." A faint cold sweat appeared on Qing Yun's forehead.

She was merely a Great Dou Master, yet she had questioned a Dou Emperor expert. If this person had a bad temper, she would not even know when she might be killed.

"Wait. Can you arrange a private room for me?" Liuli called out to Qing Yun.

"Miss, the VIP seats require the user to have purchasing power exceeding Five Million..."

Before Qing Yun could finish, Liuli took out another Purple Crystal Card embedded with Seven Gold Thread Patterns.

"Esteemed guests, welcome to this High-level Auction. I am Bai Yao, this auction house's Chief Auctioneer." A man in White Robe stood upon the stage and bowed to the audience.

"Most of you are old friends, so I won't waste time on complicated opening remarks. Let us begin directly with our first auction item."

The floor before the stage split open, and a display platform slowly rose. Inside the brocade box atop it lay a yellowish-white crystal.

"This is the Magical Core of a Seventh-tier Magical Beast, the Wind Thunder Divine Eagle. I presume I need not explain the Wind Thunder Divine Eagle's reputation to everyone?" Bai Yao chuckled as he swept his gaze over the crowd's lively discussion.

"What? A Wind Thunder Divine Eagle!"

"That rare bird Magical Beast can rival the legendary Heavenly Demon Phoenix in speed, streaking across the skies like wind and lightning!"

"If its breeding ability were not so poor, leaving its numbers so scarce, and if its strongest members were not limited to the eighth tier, it might have become the strongest avian Magical Beast beneath the Heavenly Demon Phoenix."

Bai Yao nodded and continued, "A medicinal pill refined using this Magical Core will contain a strand of Wind Thunder Power. After consuming it, one's speed will increase dramatically, while one's Dou Qi will gain greater affinity for both the Wind Attribute and lightning."

"A Seventh-tier Magical Core is already incomparably precious. Together with these effects, it is undoubtedly among the finest of Seventh-tier Magical Cores. Therefore, this auction item has a starting price of 1,400,000 Gold Coins, and each bid increase must be no less than 70,000!"

"1,500,000!"

"1,590,000!"

"1,680,000!"

Many people in the hall began bidding. A Seventh-tier Magical Beast possessed strength comparable to a Dou Zong; hunting one was already extremely difficult, let alone a Wind Thunder Divine Eagle with speed comparable to a Dou Venerate.

"4,000,000!" A cold voice sounded from VIP Room No. 2 upstairs. The terrifying increase in price brought everyone present to a halt.

"Young Master Fei Yun, it is only a Seventh-tier Magical Core. Is it really worth spending 3,000,000 Gold Coins on it?" At that moment, a burst of delicate laughter came from VIP Room No. 5. The voice was as graceful and melodious as a flowing tune.

Upon hearing the name "Fei Yun," the people below began discussing among themselves.

"So it's Fei Yun, the son of Thunder Venerable, the Wind Thunder Pavilion Master, and the current Young Pavilion Master of Wind Thunder Pavilion."

"I heard that he is only thirty years old, yet he has already become a Three-Star Dou Zong expert! He is extremely likely to become a Dou Venerate in the future."

"This Wind Thunder Divine Eagle Magical Core is of great use to me. I hope everyone present will give Fei some face." The curtains of VIP Room No. 2 were lifted, and a white-clothed man stepped out.

After confirming that it was truly him, everyone tactfully stopped bidding and began offering Fei Yun pleasantries. However, Fei Yun did not pay the people below any attention at all.

"4,080,000." A pleasant voice came from a VIP room to one side, causing the entire hall to fall silent again.

Fei Yun raised a brow and looked toward VIP Room No. 12, speaking with some displeasure. "Why does Your Excellency continue to bid?"

"If I want to buy it, I bid. This is an Auction," the woman in VIP Room No. 12 said indifferently.

"You..." Fei Yun was angered by her attitude, but uncertain of her identity, he still patiently said, "My father is Thunder Venerable Fei Gucheng. I hope Your Excellency can give us some face."

"If you want to buy it, bid."

Fei Yun clenched his fists and took a deep breath, forcing himself to remain calm. After a while, he finally spoke in a low voice. "4,170,000."

"4,280,000." VIP Room No. 12 continued bidding.

A fierce look appeared in Fei Yun's eyes as he gritted his teeth. "It seems Your Excellency does not regard our Wind Thunder Pavilion highly."

"If you like it, bid." The person in VIP Room No. 12 remained unmoved.

"Fine, fine, fine! 4,500,000!"

"4,570,000."

"4,800,000."

"4,870,000."

Every increase from VIP Room No. 12 was the minimum permitted amount. Some sharp-eyed observers had already guessed the reason, but since there was a spectacle to watch, no one pointed it out.

Only the person involved, carried away by anger, continued raising the price without restraint.

"5,000,000! Damn it, keep bidding!" Fei Yun had lost his previous cold demeanor. His face twisted viciously as he spoke.

"It seems Young Master Fei Yun truly is wealthy! Spending Five Million Gold Coins on a Magical Core... I happen to have a few Seventh-tier Magical Cores here as well. Does Young Master Fei Yun need them?" The woman in VIP Room No. 5 joined in watching the spectacle and even fanned the flames.

"5,070,000." VIP Room No. 12 said nothing and simply continued bidding.

"6,000,000! If you dare bid again, I'll break the rules today and rush over to kill you!" Fei Yun gripped the railing, his face savage as he roared.

"...I don't want it anymore. You can have it." The person in VIP Room No. 12 remained utterly calm.

At that moment, Fei Yun actually felt somewhat relieved, though the resentment in his heart grew even deeper. In an extremely cold tone, he said, "Your Excellency should be careful when traveling outside. Offending the Wind Thunder Pavilion is not a wise choice."

The person in VIP Room No. 12 gave no response, merely urging Bai Yao below, "Hurry up with the next item. No one will bid again now."

Bai Yao nodded and said with a smile, "If no one else is bidding, then 6,000,000 Gold Coins once, 6,000,000 Gold Coins twice, 6,000,000 Gold Coins three times—sold."

Bai Yao lightly struck the hammer, and Fei Yun obtained the first auction item.

VIP Room No. 12

Liuli sat on the soft sofa, giggling foolishly with an expression of having succeeded in her scheme.

In the Original Work's plot, Wind Thunder Pavilion stood against Xiao Yan, and one of its Northern Pavilion Masters, Fei Tian, had even pursued Xiao Yan for a long time. This could count as helping Xiao Yan get a little revenge in advance.

"But..." Liuli pondered for a while, then picked up the Communication Crystal on the table.

"Could you call Appraiser Qing Yun for me?" Liuli contacted a service attendant.

Not long after, the green-robed woman pushed open the door, bowed to Liuli sitting on the sofa, and asked warmly, "Miss, how may I assist you?"

"Arrange for someone to bid on my behalf below. The target is that High-grade Space Ship," Liuli said.

Having made an enemy of Fei Yun this time, if she bid on the Space Ship herself, that fool would definitely drive up the price.

"This..." Qing Yun hesitated.

"After the Auction ends, I will pay the auction house an additional 100,000 Gold Coins, and give you and the person helping me bid 100,000 Gold Coins each." Liuli glanced at her.

Delight appeared on Qing Yun's face as she said excitedly, "I-I'll make the arrangements right away."

100,000 Gold Coins! That was five years of her salary!

As expected, the High-grade Space Ship was bought by the person Qing Yun arranged for 9,000,000 Gold Coins, a fairly reasonable price.

After the Space Ship was auctioned, more than a dozen more items were sold one after another, and the atmosphere in the hall grew increasingly heated.

Liuli did not encounter anything she wanted. She mostly ate snacks and watched the show. Whenever Fei Yun joined a bid, she would help him pay a little extra, though she did not go as overboard as she had the first time.

If Fei Yun became desperate enough to jump over the wall and pursued her outside, it would be troublesome. Of course, she was absolutely safe within Liang City. After all, who would dare violate the rules set by the city lord?

The final auction item was a Local Earth-tier High Rank Dou Technique. It held little appeal for Liuli, since she had plenty of such things on her. But to everyone else, it was a treasure one might not encounter even with money, so its price naturally soared into the heavens.

Liuli did not continue watching. She left early and went to the VIP room to collect her Space Ship.

"Miss, the Space Ship has been placed in this Storage Ring. The Four Imperial Pills sold for a total of 11,500,000 Gold Coins. After deducting the half-percent commission, 11,000,000 remains. After deducting 9,000,000 and the 200,000 Reward, there are 1,800,000 Gold Coins remaining. This is the Three-patterned Purple Gold Card." Qing Yun respectfully handed a Storage Ring and a Gold Coin card to Liuli.

"Mm, a pleasant cooperation." Liuli nodded, placed all the items into her own Storage Ring, and turned to leave.

"Wait, Miss." Qing Yun suddenly called out to the Young Girl.

Liuli stopped and looked at her doubtfully.

"You offended the Young Pavilion Master of Wind Thunder Pavilion today. I fear he may harm you afterward. An Eight-star Dou Zong elder protects him," Qing Yun said worriedly.

"Don't worry. I won't be in Central Continent after today." Liuli shrugged, unconcerned.

The Space Wormhole was set up inside the city anyway, so she was not worried.

"Fei Yun is also heading for the Northwest Region this time, leaving the day after tomorrow. You can avoid traveling at the same time as him. After all, the city lord by the wormhole only possesses the strength of a Five-star Dou Zong. If you clash with Fei Yun, he will stand by and do nothing," Qing Yun continued to warn her.

"How do you know so much?" Liuli asked suspiciously.

She could believe some of this for now, but how could an appraiser who was merely a Great Dou Master Seven Stars know so much about the schedules of two Dou Zongs?

"Our auction house owner asked me to relay it to you, Miss," Qing Yun answered.

Liuli understood. They were trying to build a relationship.

She looked very young, was powerful, and spent lavishly. She clearly appeared to be the disciple of some great clan, so it was only natural for them to curry favor with her.

Sigh! A genius from a great clan is popular wherever she goes!

After staying in Liang City for another half day, casually strolling around, and buying some local medicinal ingredients as well as some strange little trinkets, Liuli arrived before Liang City's Space Wormhole.

As a large, stable Space Wormhole that crossed regions, it was enormous—over seventy zhang tall—leaving even Liuli unable to help but marvel.

Then she disdainfully compared it to the little unreliable thing her Dad had made.

After paying 50,000 Gold Coins, the Young Girl slowly stepped into the Space Wormhole. Her body experienced a brief sensation of weightlessness, but it vanished in an instant. Immediately afterward, a Space Passage with no visible end appeared before her eyes.

The passage was around twenty zhang wide, with transparent spatial barriers on either side separating it from the Void beyond.

Liuli took out the Space Ship and gave it a light push. The ship slowly floated above the Space Passage, expanding from the size of a palm to seven zhang wide. Its hull was engraved with numerous Space Inscriptions that emitted faint Space Power, making it appear exceptionally profound and mysterious.

"A Seventh-grade High-rank Space Ship, plus a stable Space Wormhole. Don't let there be an accident like Xiao Yan's time!" Liuli muttered before leaping aboard the Space Ship and pouring in her Dou Qi.

In the Original Work, Xiao Yan and Xiao Yi Xian had encountered an accident within a wormhole while using a Fourth-grade Space Ship.

As Dou Qi flowed into it, the Space Inscriptions on the ship began activating. The Space Ship started moving and gradually accelerated.

Liuli smiled faintly.

The plan had begun. Xiao Yan, I'm coming for you!