The wooden box opened to reveal an emperor's finger
The interior of Great Thousand Auction House is structured like a huge circular colosseum.
Nine house-sized, luminous ghost beads floated above the dome, their cold white light illuminating the greedy faces of the thousands of Ghost Cultivators in the hall.
Inside the No. 1 Zijin Tianzi VIP Box.
Zhong Cheng sat on a soft couch covered with ancient silkworm silk, holding a cup of the finest Netherworld Tea personally served by the head steward. He stood ramrod straight, feeling more triumphant than he had ever been in his life.
Just now at the entrance, the head manager, who was Three-Tribulation Ghost Immortal, bowed to Chen Changqing in front of all the Cultivators in the city, and even personally crippled that snobbish Steward Zhao.
Now, who in the entire auction house doesn't know that sitting in Box Number One is a powerful figure who even the Nangong Aristocratic Clan can't suppress?
Chen Changqing ignored the spiritual fruits and tea on the table. He leaned back in his armchair, his Divine Sense fixed on the adjacent private room number two.
The second VIP room was surrounded by a top-tier isolation array, but under the detection of Chen Changqing's Twelve Primordial Spirits, the blood Jade Slip that the black-mist youth inside was playing with was continuously emitting a wisp of extremely weak pure Yin essence.
Chen Changqing was all too familiar with that aura; it was none other than the origin of his disciple Xiaoqian's Nine Netherworlds Pure Yin Immortal Physique!
"The young master of the Netherworld Palace, huh? That saves me the trouble of searching everywhere for someone to talk to."
Chen Changqing withdrew his Divine Sense and looked down at the towering white jade auction platform.
The auction was nearing its end, with the first dozen or so Quasi-Immortal Artifacts and Nine Netherworlds fetching high prices.
Chen Changqing casually spent a fraction of 20 million top-grade Ghost Coins to bid on three ten-thousand-year-old Taiyin divine herbs. After obtaining them, he immediately threw them into the system space and converted them into pure energy.
Finally, accompanied by three clear chimes, the nine luminous ghost beads above the hall went dark simultaneously, leaving only a blinding beam of light shining on the center of the auction stage.
The head steward, a cultivator at the Three-Tribulation Ghost Immortal level, personally carried a cold jade tray up to the high platform.
On the tray lay a dilapidated peach wood box, about a foot long, completely rotten and blackened, its surface covered with crisscrossing Ancient Sword.
As soon as the wooden box was revealed, the six Inheritance Tokens in Chen Changqing's Heaven-Stepping Ring inside Box Number One trembled violently once again.
"Fellow Daoists, this is the final, most spectacular item of this grand event."
The head manager's voice was loud and clear, carrying throughout the entire place.
"This box was unearthed three months ago by Rogue Cultivator from an ancient ruin on the outskirts of the Senluo Deathland, a forbidden zone in the Central Domain. I, along with two fellow cultivators at the Three Tribulations stage, tried to remove it, but we couldn't even budge the sword-marked restriction on the surface of this wooden box."
"This item has a mysterious origin. It may contain a priceless treasure from the former Yinyue Holy Dynasty, or the legacy of some ancient powerful being. The starting bid is ten million top-grade Ghost Coins, and each bid must be at least one million higher. Bidding begins now!"
After the words were spoken, the Rogue Cultivators in the hall looked at each other in bewilderment.
Even Three-Tribulation Ghost Immortal can't open a blind box like this. Ordinary people can't afford to spend tens of millions of Ghost Coins to buy it and keep it as a keepsake.
"Twenty million."
Chen Changqing's calm voice traveled clearly through the sound transmission array in VIP room number one, echoing throughout the entire hall.
However, his voice had barely faded when...
A cold, hostile laugh immediately came from the No. 3 VIP box diagonally opposite.
"Fifty million!"
In front of the railing of Box No. 3, a senior Two-Tribulation Ghost Immortal, dressed in a black and gold robe from the Nangong Aristocratic Clan, stood up and stared at the direction of Box No. 1 from afar, his tone chilling.
"This item, unearthed from the Senluo Deathland, has caught the eye of my Nangong Aristocratic Clan!"
"I don't care who those madmen are sitting in Box Number One. Anyone who dares to kill the Iron Cavalry Commander of my Nangong Family, today my Nangong Family is determined to have this wooden box! Anyone who dares to bid against me, as soon as they step out of this Tianyuan Giant City, my Nangong Aristocratic Clan will tear them to pieces!"
The blatant threat of death echoed in the hall, and the patriarchs of the major clans who had initially been somewhat tempted immediately shrank back, not daring to utter another word.
Zhong Cheng slammed his fist on the table in anger. "That old dog from the Nangong Family is too much of a bully! It's obvious they're targeting us!"
Chen Changqing's expression remained unchanged, and he was just about to speak again.
A cold, hoarse young voice suddenly came from the next private room, number two.
"Eighty million."
Black mist surged in the second VIP room. The young master of the Netherworld Palace played with the blood Jade Slip in his hand, while also keeping his eyes on the peach wood box on the stage.
Seven days later is the Ten Thousand Ghosts Worshipping Heaven Grand Sacrifice, which the Netherworld Palace and the Nangong Family have been preparing for for a hundred years. This strange wooden box, which was dug out from the Senluo Deathland, has a residual aura that is extremely similar to the seal of that being deep in the Imperial Mausoleum. It must not fall into the hands of outsiders!
Not only that.
As he quoted a high price of 80 million, a ruthless glint flashed in the eyes of the young master of the Netherworld Palace in VIP room number two.
He had already learned from the elders of the Nangong Family that the Fiend of the Yang Realm was in the No. 1 private room. In order to avenge the three subordinates who died in Azure Wolf Plain and to eliminate future troubles, he quietly crushed a pitch-black skull talisman with his left hand!
The Netherworld Palace's secret divine soul-destroying technique, the Netherworld Soul Devour Thorn!
Buzz!
A completely invisible and intangible black thorn, specifically designed to target Cultivator's Sea of Consciousness of consciousness and Primordial Spirit, followed the trajectory of the sound transmission, completely ignoring the ordinary soundproofing between the private rooms, and silently pierced into private room number one, heading straight for Chen Changqing's Sea of Consciousness between his eyebrows!
This strike condensed the divine soul essence of Two-Tribulation Ghost Immortal. Once it hits, an ordinary Heavenly Monarch would instantly become an idiot, and even the Great Thousand Auction House would not be able to find any evidence!
"Trying to take this from me? See if you even have the life to do it!"
Inside the second private room, a sinister smile appeared on the young master of the Netherworld Palace as he waited for the screams of souls shattering to come from next door.
However, the next second...
Inside VIP box number one, Chen Changqing, who was sitting upright in a grand chair, suddenly let out a cold snort.
"A mere trifle of skill, yet you dare to show off your meager abilities before an expert!"
Deep within Chen Changqing's Sea of Consciousness, the Nine Great Red-Gold Primordial Spirits and the Three Great Star Primordial Spirits opened their eyes at the same instant!
The Netherworld Soul Devour Thorn that had invaded the private room was instantly shredded into nothingness before it even got within three feet of Chen Changqing, thanks to the vast net of crimson-gold stars formed by his boundless Divine Sense!
Immediately afterwards, Chen Changqing tapped the table lightly with his right index finger.
A wisp of supreme killing music from "The Immortal-Burying Melody" carried the terrifying power of the Twelve Primordial Spirits' counterattacks, flowing back against the remnants of the Netherworld Palace's young master's Divine Sense senses with unparalleled ferocity!
Boom--!
A deafening roar, audible only to those at the spiritual level, exploded inside Box Number Two!
The top-tier soundproofing array surrounding Box No. 2, set up by Great Thousand Auction House, shattered like glass under the impact of this immortal music!
"Puff--!"
Under the horrified gazes of thousands of Cultivators, the purple-gold door of the second VIP box was blown off with a deafening roar. The arrogant young master of the Netherworld Palace inside clutched his head tightly with both hands, and black and red Soul Blood gushed out from all seven orifices at the same time. He screamed and fell off the chair, his soul severely injured and unconscious on the spot!
The blood-red Jade Slip containing Xiaoqian's essence fell to the ground with a crack!
"Young Master!!"
The two Two-Tribulation Ghost Immortal protectors in Box Number Two were terrified. They rushed forward to seal their young master's Sea of Consciousness. When they looked up at Box Number One, their faces were filled with the fear of seeing a ghost.
Despite the protective barrier of the private room, a single counterattack of Divine Sense was enough to shatter the soul of the Netherworld Palace's young master. What kind of freak is this?!
The hall was deathly silent. Elder Nangong Family number three, shrank back and swallowed the threatening words that followed.
Just as the entire hall fell silent...
The crystal railing directly in front of Box Number One slid open automatically, Chen Changqing stepped to the edge of the box, looking down at the auction stage below.
"You think you can buy my stuff for 80 million? That's incredibly stingy."
Chen Changqing didn't even bother to bid, and suddenly waved his right sleeve towards the platform below!
Rumble--!
Two hundred million top-grade Ghost Coins, along with the three Low-grade Immortal Artifacts and ghost treasures that were just taken from the Black Mountain Ancestor, Nangong Third Elder, Zhong Wansha, and others, transformed into a hundred-zhang-long, blinding torrent of Taiyin light, pouring down from Box Number One and crashing heavily into the center of the white jade auction stage!
Thump--!
The auction platform, crafted from millennia-old white jade and seemingly indestructible, groaned under the immense weight of the towering golden mountain and the three Immortal Artifacts. The entire platform collapsed three inches into the ground!
The dense, almost liquefied, primordial spiritual energy of Taiyin instantly filled the entire circular hall, making it difficult for the weaker Nascent Soul cultivators in the front row to breathe!
Two hundred million top-grade Ghost Coins in cash! Plus three genuine Low-grade Immortal Artifacts!
The thousands of Cultivators from the Central Domain present nearly had their eyes pop out of their sockets. Their mouths were agape, and they were breathing heavily like bellows, their minds completely blank.
This isn't an auction; it's practically rubbing the faces of the Netherworld Palace and the Nangong Family into the ground with mountains of gold!
"Two hundred million Ghost Coins, plus three Immortal Artifacts, for that broken wooden box you have."
Chen Changqing stood with his hands behind his back on the high place, his calm voice carrying throughout the entire venue.
"Anyone else wanting to raise the price? Just say so."
In VIP Box No. 3, the Second Tribulation Elder of the Nangong Family had a face that turned a deep purplish-red, his hands gripping the railing tightly, his fingernails digging deep into the ironwood, yet he couldn't utter a single fart.
Although the Nangong Family is wealthy and powerful, who would carry two hundred million in cash and three unused Immortal Artifacts with them when they go out?!
The head manager on the stage snapped out of his shock, looked at the mountain of gold in front of him that was comparable to the total turnover of an auction house over ten years, and without the slightest hesitation, raised the purple-gold wooden gavel in his hand and brought it down heavily!
"Two hundred million Ghost Coins plus three Immortal Artifacts, sold! This wooden box belongs to the esteemed guest in VIP room number one!"
The head steward picked up the rotten peach wood box with both hands and personally flew into the number one private room.
"Let's go! Let's find the Fourth Tribulation Ancestor outside the city. I'll see how he leaves Tianyuan City alive today!"
Elder Nangong from Box 3 and the Netherworld Palace protectors carrying the young master from Box 2 simultaneously gritted their teeth and retreated, their murderous intent filling the wilderness as they rushed towards the city gates.
Inside VIP room number one, Chen Changqing waved his hand, setting up multiple layers of isolation barriers, and had Zhong Cheng guard the door.
He reached out and grabbed the rotten peach wood box from the table.
The moment my hand touched the wooden box, a glaring, blood-red exclamation mark I'd never seen before popped up on the system panel in my mind!
[Ding! An extremely dangerous and precious supreme primordial item has been detected. Host is advised to activate it immediately!]
Chen Changqing raised an eyebrow, gripped both ends of the peach wood box with both hands, and used the brute force of the Sixth Turn of the "Primordial Nine-Turn Body Refining Art"Quasi-Immortal Artifact to combine with the Pure Yang Heavenly Monarch's origin, and suddenly twisted the Ancient Sword restriction on the surface of the wooden box!
Click--!
That ancient restriction, which even Three-Tribulation Ghost Immortal couldn't overcome, shattered instantly under the combined aura of the Heaven-Stepping Inheritance and the violent brute force!
The rotten box lid slipped off.
There was no seventh Token inside, nor any peerless immortal Immortal Sword.
On the black velvet cushion lay a section of the index finger joint, severed cleanly at the root, dry and blackened. And at the cut end of that severed finger, a pulsating mass of purplish-gold Immortal Emperor's Essence Blood, as vivid as a miniature heart, was still throbbing!
On the bottom of the box beneath the severed finger, an ancient divine script was inscribed with that clump of imperial blood, causing Chen Changqing's pupils to shrink drastically!