"Today I sentence you to destruction!"

"Twenty million!"

She added another five million without Bai Haoze so much as furrowing her brow.

She could tell Gu You wanted that ancient map badly, and the fact that someone else had raised the bid by three million also proved there was something unusual about it.

The harder something was for others to understand, the greater the value that might be hidden behind it.

That was the best payoff for a gambler. Even if they lost, it did not matter. She would just treat it as buying Gu You a lesson.

"Thirty million."

In the shadows at the edge of the auction hall, that withered hand rose again.

When he called out that price, the entire hall burst into an uproar.

The price of an ancient map whose value could not be confirmed had already been pushed to the same level as the ninth-grade Soul Guidance Device, the Sky Crystal Barrier. Many people whispered among themselves, their gazes sweeping back and forth between Gu You and that shadow, catching the scent of gunpowder in the air.

On the display platform, Xu Mingzhi watched the two fiercely competing sides below, a meaningful smile appearing on his face.

Gu You turned his head slightly then, his Golden Pupils narrowing.

He saw clearly now. He saw the person: an old man in a dark-gray cloak, his figure hunched, his entire face hidden beneath the hood, with only one withered hand protruding from under the cloak. The guests who had originally been around him had quietly shifted several seats away, forming a strange vacuum around him.

"Thirty-five million."

Bai Haoze bid again, a trace of impatience in her voice. The money might not be hers, and she might not care about the Vice Tower Master's money, but anyone would be annoyed being bid against like this.

This time, the gray-cloaked elder did not bid again. Perhaps the price had exceeded his expectations. He lifted his deep, shadowy eyes and looked toward Gu You's seat, as if thinking about something.

Gu You did not notice that old bastard's gaze. He had turned his head away long ago, feeling as though he had been bled dry.

Why did he stop bidding? Wasn't he pretty ruthless when he directly added ten million?

Gu You seriously suspected there was something shady going on. The more he complained inwardly, the worse it felt, so he could only take a deep breath and force himself to calm down.

A single map had cost as much as a ninth-grade Soul Guidance Device. If it turned out to be completely worthless in the end, then those thirty-plus million would have been truly wasted.

Thinking of this, he felt that the old man had better not let him run into him after the auction. If he did, he would have to make him suffer a little. He did not look like a good person at all. He looked like an Evil Soul Master.

"Next is tonight's final grand treasure! It is also the soul bone lot that everyone has been waiting for..."

Until the final treasure was auctioned, Gu You had not bought anything else beforehand. Mainly, there had been no good goods. The best item was a piece of heavenly-forged metal for forging four-word battle armor, but its metal attribute did not suit him, so he had not bought it.

Besides, this trip had already been enough. He only wanted the auction to end quickly so he could pay, collect his things, and leave.

However, he still had to take a look at the soul bone. If its quality was good enough, there was no harm in taking it.

"As everyone knows, soul bones are rare in the world today, and every soul bone can serve as a family's inherited foundation," Xu Mingzhi continued. "Today, Tiandou Auction House will be bringing everyone a ten-thousand-year soul bone."

At the mention of a ten-thousand-year soul bone, the hall was no longer calm.

Gu You, however, did not show much interest when he heard this. It was coming out last, so he had thought it would be some rare treasure~. In the end, it was only a ten-thousand-year soul bone.

If its quality was good, then fine. If its quality was poor, then this would really be a huge letdown.

However, this was the Dragon King era now. Soul beasts were scarce, and soul bones were far rarer than they had been ten thousand years ago. A ten-thousand-year soul bone being treated as a family's inherited foundation was not without reason.

"Clap, clap." Xu Mingzhi clapped his hands, and a bone giving off a cyan glow slowly rose in the center of the display platform.

"A left leg bone from a mutant Gale Demon Wolf, with an age of approximately twelve thousand years. The soul bone skill attached to this soul bone is called Gale Strangling Break. Anyone interested can learn more about it afterward."

After the introduction, Xu Mingzhi smiled and announced the bidding price. "The starting bid is ninety million Federal Coins, and each increase must be no less than one million!"

"Right, nothing good left."

Gu You yawned. The attributes of a Gale Demon Wolf soul bone did not suit him. Fusing it with his Dragon Phoenix Martial Soul would be destroying his own talent and future.

"You're not bidding on the soul bone? A ten-thousand-year left leg bone from a Gale Demon Wolf. Its quality isn't bad."

Bai Haoze asked from the side.

"A wolf-type soul bone isn't worthy of my martial soul," Gu You replied simply and directly. "If it were a soul bone from a true dragon or true phoenix, I would want it. Unfortunately, there isn't one."

This kid really was picky.

Bai Haoze sighed. A ten-thousand-year soul bone placed in the outside world would be enough to make seven-ring and eight-ring soul masters fight until their heads were split open, yet in his mouth, it had become three words: "isn't worthy."

The bidding for the soul bone was extremely intense. In the end, Xu Mingzhi brought the hammer down, and someone won it for one hundred and thirty million.

The Tiandou Auction ended there.

Afterward, Gu You and Bai Haoze first returned to the previous VIP room.

After they had waited for a while, the door to the VIP room opened.

Xu Mingzhi entered holding a golden tray. On it were the two items Gu You had bought. He had personally come to meet the two of them.

"Honored guests, these are the Sky Crystal Barrier and the map you won."

Xu Mingzhi looked the two people in the VIP room up and down. Bai Haoze looked like a rough man and did not seem to be the main buyer. The other was a child with golden eyes, wearing a mask, looking extraordinary and mysterious.

"Please inspect them."

Gu You stepped forward and first picked up the Sky Crystal Barrier.

It was cold to the touch, and silver-white streams of light flowed inside as if alive, with fine Soul Guidance arrays engraved into it.

He actually wanted to try using soul power to activate it and see what would happen, but he did not dare. Activating a Class Nine Soul Guidance Device could drain him dry on the spot.

"Not bad."

Gu You nodded, extremely satisfied as well. He tossed the Sky Crystal Barrier to Bai Haoze and had him carry it for him.

He still did not have a storage-type Soul Guidance Device. When he had time, he would buy a good one. For now, aside from the Seven Deadly Sins, he had Bai Haoze carry everything else.

Then Gu You's gaze fell on the second auction item: that ancient map.

He reached out, and the instant his hand touched the map, a strange fluctuation suddenly came through.

Gu You only felt a buzz in his mind, and countless shattered images flashed before his eyes.

Towering mountains, a vast and boundless land...

"Today, I sentence you to destruction!"

A voice came from between heaven and earth. In the sky, an unfathomable nine-colored radiance lit up.

A gigantic nine-colored blade of light crushed down.

Gu You could hardly believe it. In his eyes, the blade of light grew larger and larger. The place where the nine-colored blade fell was exactly where he stood!

"Why? Why?!"

Powerless, Gu You roared, but all that awaited him was being crushed to pieces.

"Honored guest? Are you all right?"

Outside, Xu Mingzhi saw Gu You standing there in a daze and asked with concern.

Gu You came back to himself and waved a hand. "I'm fine. Isn't it time to settle the bill? Senior, it's your turn."

He looked at Bai Haoze.

"This is the payment card."

Bai Haoze took out the black card he had used when checking into Tiandou Hotel and handed it to Xu Mingzhi.

Xu Mingzhi accepted it, then went out with a smile to settle the payment.