"All this fighting over a piece of garbage? Is that really necessary?"
The words plunged the entire room into deathly silence. Not a peep could be heard.
Everyone turned toward the voice at once and saw two figures walking onto the auction stage.
"That brat's men?"
Below the stage, Jia Lie Bi narrowed his eyes sharply. He recalled the man who had appeared during his confrontation with Ling Feng. He looked exactly like the purple-clad man now standing onstage.
His brows knitted, then relaxed, but he could not figure out what Ling Feng was plotting. "What is that fellow trying to do now?"
Jia Lie Bi had guessed correctly. The purple-clad man onstage was Shadow Seven. The other was Wu Dan, whom Ling Feng had created using the sleazy young man he had just knocked unconscious.
Seven was cold and ruthless, better suited to outright fighting. Wu Dan might have been sleazy, but with his endless stream of outrageous remarks, he was perfect for disrupting the auction.
To keep anyone from turning the tables on Wu Dan, Seven temporarily served as his bodyguard, ensuring that he could cause trouble unhindered.
"Who are those two? They actually dare cause trouble at the Mittel Auction House?"
"Now we're in for a good show."
The appearance of Shadow Seven and Wu Dan sent the audience buzzing again. Xiao Zhan and Oba Pa sat below the stage, ready to watch the show, while Ya Fei's expression turned unpleasant. Nothing like this had happened since she came to Wutan City. Her mood was easy to imagine.
"Gentlemen, isn't this behavior showing a little too much disregard for our Mittel Auction House?"
Ya Fei's face turned cold as she lost her temper in public, a rare occurrence. Following Ling Feng's instructions, Wu Dan addressed her. "Miss Ya Fei, please give me a few minutes. We will cover every loss incurred during this auction, and we will give you a satisfactory explanation."
"Very well. I hope you can afford the price. Otherwise, don't blame the Mittel Auction House for showing no mercy."
Her delicate brows knitted as Ya Fei briefly considered the matter. In the end, she left them with a warning and stepped offstage. She still wanted to see what they intended to do. Besides, she needed to summon help, so she left the stage to Wu Dan for now.
A Dou Zhe and a Da Dou Shi think they can undermine me? They dare call my medicine garbage? Let's see what they're trying to do...
Watching Wu Dan and Seven on the auction stage, Yao Chen was clearly displeased. He might have let other matters slide, but when it came to refining medicine, he was supremely confident and proud.
Although he had used the poorest ingredients to refine this Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid, having someone call it garbage was something Yao Chen could not stomach. An aunt might endure it, but an uncle certainly could not.
"Everyone, everyone, pardon the interruption. I came up here because of this Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid."
Wu Dan clapped his hands to draw the audience's attention, pointed at the Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid onstage, and declared loudly, "I'll spare you the nonsense. Just tell me: do you want this Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid?"
"Isn't that a stupid question? Why would we be here if we didn't?"
"What exactly are you trying to say?"
The responses were clearly nowhere near as friendly as those Ya Fei received, but Wu Dan did not care. He went straight to the point.
"Excellent! What I'm saying is that I also have the Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid you want."
As he spoke, Wu Dan took more than a dozen small white jade bottles from inside his robe. Facing the audience, he announced loudly, "And I can guarantee that however much Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid you want, I have it. You can have every bottle tested. This is the Mittel Auction House, and you can inspect the goods and buy them right here!"
The room erupted again. Even the three clan heads, Jia Lie Bi, Xiao Zhan, and Oba Pa, could no longer remain composed.
Standing to one side, Ya Fei could not help frowning. Still unsure of his intentions, she did not stop him. She had already summoned help anyway. As long as Wu Dan and his companion remained inside the Mittel Auction House, she was confident she could apprehend them.
"Teacher, how does he have Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid too? Didn't you guarantee that no one in the Jia Ma Empire could refine the same liquid?"
Hearing Wu Dan speak with such conviction, Xiao Yan lost his composure. Yet Yao Chen could not give him an answer either.
"I don't know either. But I spent several years experimenting before developing the formula for this Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid. No one in the Jia Ma Empire should be able to refine the same liquid as mine!"
"Then how did he..."
"Don't rush. Let's keep watching."
Yao Chen cut off Xiao Yan's question. Though anxious, Xiao Yan obediently refrained from asking any more.
"How much are you charging per bottle?"
"Right! Will it cost even more than at the auction?"
The bidders had initially disliked Wu Dan's interruption and grown impatient with him, but now they eagerly asked questions. Clearly, the Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid held an enormous allure for them.
"Everyone, let me make this clear: the price of the Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid is definitely not high. In fact, everyone here can afford it."
His announcement immediately quieted the room. Without keeping them in suspense, Wu Dan raised his index finger and declared loudly, "Just one hundred gold coins! For one hundred gold coins, you can take this Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid home!"
The room broke into an uproar again, with voices of doubt rising among the crowd. Wu Dan shouted once more to dispel their suspicions.
"You must be wondering whether I'm an idiot! Why sell it so cheaply? Is this Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid fake? Let me tell you plainly: it's genuine! If it's fake, I'll compensate you tenfold, and you can inspect it on the spot!"
Wu Dan's words rang out with conviction. At the end, his tone shifted. "However, there's a condition attached to this low price. Don't worry. It isn't too demanding, and it won't harm your interests."
The moment he finished, someone asked, "What condition?"
One call drew a hundred responses. Hidden in the shadows, Ling Feng grinned. Everything was unfolding exactly as he had calculated.
"It's simple. Anyone doing business with the Xiao Clan must cut those ties from now on and never deal with them again..."
Wu Dan's words abruptly silenced the room.
His intentions could not have been clearer: he was targeting the Xiao Clan. Everyone immediately turned toward the Xiao Clan's seats in the front row.
Boom!
Xiao Zhan's expression darkened completely. His fists clenched as the oppressive aura of a Five-Star Great Dou Master instantly burst forth, charging straight at Wu Dan.
But just before that Da Dou Shi aura could crush Wu Dan, a purple shadow flashed over and blocked its path. At the same instant, a blade gleamed. Xiao Zhan's oppressive aura fell apart, slashed to pieces by Shadow Seven's Thousand Blades Demon Sword.
Xiao Zhan frowned at the sight, then rose to his feet. His face was as grim as still water as he stared at the pair. "Gentlemen, how has my Xiao Clan offended you? Why are you targeting us?"
Created through copying, Wu Dan had inherited Ling Feng's hatred. A cold light shone in his eyes as he stared straight at Xiao Zhan and spoke icily.
"Xiao Zhan, the hatred between me and your Xiao Clan cannot exist beneath the same sky. Sooner or later, I will tear your clan out by the roots, along with your son, Xiao Yan!"
"Such arrogance!"
Xiao Zhan roared in fury. Azure Dou Qi instantly enveloped his body, gathering around his face into an illusory lion's head.
This was the Xiao Clan's top art, the middle-grade Xuan-class Dou Technique, Furious Lion Vajra.
Facing the enraged Xiao Zhan, Shadow Seven's expression grew somewhat solemn. He unleashed his own Da Dou Shi aura to oppose him.
As beings created by Ling Feng, neither Shadow Seven nor Wu Dan would retreat or cower, no matter how powerful their opponent was.
Protected by Shadow Seven's Da Dou Shi strength, Wu Dan remained unharmed. Ignoring Xiao Zhan's hostility outright, he looked out into the dim auction hall and loudly taunted, "Xiao Yan, your old man has already stood up. Aren't you coming out? Oh, right. You're just like that undying old bastard behind you, hiding like turtles and never daring to show your true faces. No wonder. That old bastard has spent all these years clinging to life while the Soul Hall hunts him down. It's only natural that he treasures his life..."
Yan'er?
What on earth is this fellow talking about?
Xiao Zhan's brows knitted tightly. He withdrew his Dou Qi aura and looked around.
Just then, an abrupt change occurred.
Boom!
A powerful aura suddenly erupted. Xiao Zhan hurriedly turned toward it, only to see a black shadow flash past. In the blink of an eye, it reached the auction stage.
"Hm?"
Shadow Seven's expression changed. An icy chill swept through his entire body. Just as a sense of foreboding arose, a black shadow flashed before his eyes. Danger struck, but before he could react, a pale hand had already reached his throat.
"Speak! Who exactly are you? Why do you know so much?"
Temporarily controlling Xiao Yan's body, Yao Chen launched a sudden attack, seizing both Shadow Seven and Wu Dan by their throats as he questioned them coldly.
With strength already at the Dou Emperor level, Yao Chen utterly overwhelmed Shadow Seven and Wu Dan. Neither could withstand even a single exchange with him. He captured them both within a single breath.
Yet in the face of Yao Chen's interrogation, Shadow Seven and Wu Dan ignored him. They simply closed their eyes, showing no intention of struggling or trying to survive.
The people created through copying were absolutely loyal to Ling Feng. Wu Dan and Shadow Seven would never expose him, even in death.
"If you won't talk... then die!"
Yao Chen frowned, seemingly recognizing their resolve to die. His heart hardened, and ghastly white flames suddenly surged from his hands, swiftly engulfing them both.
The Bone Spirit Cold Flame burned their bodies as though they had been plunged into a hell of molten lava. Even the cold and ruthless Shadow Seven could not hold back his agonized screams.
Those wretched cries made everyone's scalps prickle. The entire auction hall fell deathly silent.
"Yao Chen, you really are vicious!"
Having witnessed Shadow Seven and Wu Dan's horrific deaths, Ling Feng stared fixedly at Yao Chen on the auction stage, his eyes filled with icy coldness.
Although Shadow Seven was someone he had created through copying, he was no different from Ling Feng himself. He, too, was a living being.
Yet Yao Chen had killed them with such ruthless decisiveness. It only deepened the hatred in Ling Feng's heart.
He also silently rejoiced that he had prepared ahead, sending his creations to cause trouble rather than appearing in person.
Crack! Crack!
Ling Feng clenched and unclenched his fists repeatedly. His icy gaze remained fixed on Yao Chen as the Creation God Pen in his hand moved once more.
"Yao Chen, Xiao Yan, don't think this is over. The real show has only just begun!"
By then, Wu Dan and Shadow Seven had stopped breathing beneath Yao Chen's Bone Spirit Cold Flame. Their bodies had been burned into human charcoal.
Yao Chen waved his hand, and the two crumbled into drifting ash. The sight made those below swallow nervously as they stared in awe and fear at the black-robed Yao Chen.
But Yao Chen paid no attention to anyone present. All he cared about was how Wu Dan and Seven had known his identity. How had they known he was here? One question after another weighed on his mind, leaving his expression grim and his spirits low.
"You undying old bastard, you really are vicious!"
Just as Yao Chen was lost in thought, a voice abruptly snapped him out of it. He turned toward the sound, his eyes widening as though he had seen a ghost. "H-how is this possible?!"
Seeing Wu Dan and Shadow Seven appear on the auction stage again, Yao Chen was stunned. Everyone else present was even more horrified, as though ghosts stood before them.
"Yao Chen, you can't kill me."
"Who exactly are you?!"
Hearing Wu Dan call him by name made Yao Chen's expression even more solemn, and he could not help shouting the question.
"You'll know before long."
Wu Dan gave him a cold smile, then turned toward Jia Lie Bi and the others. "Everyone, if you want my Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid, all you have to do is agree to my condition. Tomorrow, you can come to the Mittel Auction House to buy it. I'll discuss the arrangements with the auction house personally in a moment."
Having delivered that statement, Wu Dan said no more on the matter. Instead, he looked back at Yao Chen, his lips curling into a sinister smile. "Yao Chen, my master told me to pass on a message: stay alive. You don't have much time left. Today's events were only the beginning."
With those words, Wu Dan and Shadow Seven suddenly turned into clouds of inky shadow and vanished without a trace.
Those copied and created by the Creation God Pen lived by their master's will, and by that same will, their existence could vanish from the world.
"Master?"
Yao Chen pondered. So those two were merely puppets. Who is the person behind them? Why does he know about me?
Questions swirled through his mind, making his expression terrifyingly dark.
"Teacher? What exactly is going on?"
"I don't know either. But it seems we've provoked a troublesome fellow. Little Yanzi, you need to grow stronger as soon as possible."
Yao Chen and Xiao Yan communicated privately.
"But Teacher, we can't sell the Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid anymore. Without that, I won't be able to cultivate."
"We'll find another way. From now on, I'll train you hard. Be prepared."
"Yes."
Only after watching the black-robed Yao Chen leave did Ling Feng emerge from his dark corner. Gazing in the direction he had gone, Ling Feng wore an indifferent expression. "Yao Chen, Xiao Yan, our contest has only just begun. Just wait and see."
Meanwhile, seeing Yao Chen leave, Xiao Zhan hesitated briefly before following him. Watching Xiao Zhan depart, Jia Lie Bi looked thoughtful. "It seems Ling Feng genuinely intends to deal with the Xiao Clan. But that black-robed man is far too powerful. His strength is well beyond mine. I wonder whether that brat Ling Feng can handle him."
As head of the Jia Lie Clan, Jia Lie Bi clearly had more to consider.
With Ling Feng and Yao Chen leaving one after the other, the farce finally came to an end. But because of Ling Feng's disruption, the Mittel Auction House could no longer continue the auction. Ya Fei could only bring it to a close.