"The Heavenly Snake Mansion?" Fan Tian froze at the name.
Seeing Fan Tian suddenly turn serious, the two women stopped fooling around and followed his gaze through the curtain.
"I once heard my teacher say that the Heavenly Snake Mansion is one of the top forces on the Northwest Continent!" Cao Ying explained to Fan Tian while casting disdainful looks at the women with their breasts exposed beside Elder Qing.
"That's right. And unlike ordinary factions, they've done extensive research into snakes and the Snake-People!" Dan Chen wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and rose onto her tiptoes, curiosity showing on her face.
"So are they snakes or humans?" Fan Tian asked in surprise.
"Humans, of course. They're different from the half-snake, half-human Snake-People Tribe!"
Fan Tian stared at Elder Qing's legs.
Those were indeed legs beneath her, not a tail.
Elder Qing had a voluptuous, graceful figure, her whole body exuding a languid beauty. Her delicate red lips parted and closed as she spoke, and beneath her green dress, the view between her legs flickered in and out of sight.
The beautiful Elder Qing seemed to sense something and looked toward Fan Tian's room. A layer of powerful Dou Qi shrouded it, preventing her from seeing anyone inside.
But a woman's intuition told her that the Heavenly Mansion Alliance Lord was secretly ogling her from that room.
Her fine brows knitted slightly, then relaxed. Elder Qing licked her lips, smiled seductively, and casually tugged the neckline of her dress a little lower.
Fan Tian swallowed, his breathing growing heavier.
Elder Qing pinched her skirt's hem with her right hand and rested her left at her waist. With a gentle sway, the leather skirt fluttered up at an uncanny angle before falling again, rising in precisely Fan Tian's direction.
"Holy shit!"
"Pink!"
Fan Tian's mouth fell slightly open. In the instant that corner of her skirt lifted, everything beneath it lay bare to his gaze.
Although the skirt fell again a moment later, the sight between those two snow-white thighs was deeply etched into Fan Tian's mind.
"This woman understands me!"
Fan Tian narrowed his eyes. Fortunately, the Pill Tower's two peerless beauties seemed utterly uninterested in this pill auction. Before Elder Qing lifted her skirt, they had turned away to sit in meditation and cultivate.
While Elder Qing and Fan Tian exchanged their covert signals, the bidding in the auction hall grew lively. The other factions occasionally fanned the flames, making life a little harder for Fan Lao.
"Four million six hundred thousand!" Fan Lao drew a deep breath. An unhealthy flush rose on his pale face as he fixed his sinister gaze on the alluring Elder Qing.
"Oh my, Sect Master Fan certainly has deep pockets. Must you fight so hard?" Elder Qing's expression shifted slightly at Fan Lao's latest bid. But their objective on this trip was not this lifespan-extending pill, and wasting their funds on it would be unwise.
Pursing her lips, Elder Qing abandoned the bidding for the Azure Nether Longevity Pill.
"Hmph."
With a cold laugh, Fan Lao turned toward the crystal platform and snapped at the auctioneer, "What are you standing there for? Announce it already!"
Snapped out of his daze, the auctioneer hastily offered an ingratiating smile. After calling for further bids three times as the rules required, he finally brought his auction hammer down hard.
As the hammer fell, the pale-faced Fan Lao let out a long breath and sat down beside Han Feng.
Han Feng narrowed his eyes and swallowed, but ultimately said nothing.
"Tsk, tsk. I wonder how many venomous beauties like her the Heavenly Snake Mansion has. Born with seduction in their bones, every last one of them, stealing hearts and souls!"
Since transmigrating to the Dou Qi Continent, that old lecher Fan Tian had accomplished little of substance. All day long, he thought about the continent's famous beauties. It really made one...
Made one itch to...
Take his place.
"The Emperor's Extreme Pill! A peak sixth-tier pill. There's no need to explain its effects. The starting price is six million gold coins!"
The sharp announcement exploded through the crowd like thunder.
Everyone in the hall grew tense, clenching their fists.
The appearance of the Emperor's Extreme Pill drove everyone's excitement to its peak.
"Six million five hundred thousand gold coins!"
"Seven million gold coins!"
"Seven million three hundred thousand!"
"Seven million five hundred thousand!"
Hu Gan's hair and beard fluttered as he drove the price straight up to seven million five hundred thousand. The Heavenly Mansion had previously auctioned ten Dou Ling Pills in succession, and Jia Nan Academy alone had won five of them.
With students spread across the entire Dou Qi Continent, Jia Nan Academy possessed immense wealth and formidable strength. It truly had no rival in the Black-Corner Region.
"Seven million six hundred thousand!"
A Seven-Star Dou Huang gritted his teeth and called out his bid.
At this price, ordinary sects with only Dou Emperor-level strength could no longer participate.
Hu Gan laughed loudly and slammed his right hand on the table. "Eight million!"
The air instantly froze.
Everyone drew a sharp breath and looked toward Hu Gan with a hint of anger.
"What are you staring at? Bid if you've got the ability!"
Hu Gan's Peak Dou Emperor aura stood poised to erupt. He paid no heed whatsoever to the various factions in the hall.
Su Qian shook his head helplessly.
Damn it, anyone who didn't know better would think Hu Gan was a Dou Zong.
Under everyone's watchful eyes, three Emperor's Extreme Pills were auctioned in succession. Jia Nan Academy won two, while the remaining one went to a faction called the Black Skull Tomb.
By now, factions backed by ordinary Dou Emperors had completely lost their say in the auction. Only regional titans could compete for the pills that followed.
"The Sect Breaking Pill! The lifelong pursuit of every Dou Huang expert, a miraculous treasure that enables a breakthrough to Dou Zong!"
"It is no less difficult to refine than a low-grade seventh-tier pill. Even our Black-Corner Region's Medicine Emperor Han Feng cannot successfully refine it!"
The hall fell utterly silent. Everyone stared fixedly at the center, where four Dou Wangs and two Dou Emperors of the Heavenly Mansion guarded the pill securely between them.
This single pill might produce a Dou Zong expert.
Dou Zong-a realm countless Dou Emperors spent their entire lives pursuing, without any path to follow.
Out of a hundred Dou Huang experts, perhaps only a handful could successfully advance to Dou Zong.
Over the years, generation after generation of Dou Huang experts had come and gone in the Black-Corner Region, yet Dou Zong experts were seldom heard of.
Once that threshold was crossed, the very level of one's existence underwent a qualitative leap. There was no longer any need to form wings from Dou Qi; one could stand directly in midair.
"The starting price is seven million!"
"There is only one available today!"
The auctioneer added that final line to remind everyone that an opportunity missed would never return.
The moment his words fell, the Gold and Silver Elders, who had remained indifferent all along, abruptly stood up. "Everyone, we brothers have been trapped at Peak Dou Emperor for years. Show us some respect today, and refrain from competing with us for this Sect Breaking Pill!"
"Pah! Who the hell do you think you are? Show you respect? Are you even worthy?"
Hu Gan stood and rebuked them before everyone.
Except for Su Qian, all the elders of Jia Nan Academy rose and moved behind Hu Gan.
"Heh, your Jia Nan Academy has already reaped plenty of benefits today. Do you still want this Sect Breaking Pill?" Gold Elder barked. Behind him, Yan of the Emperor Flame Sect, Fan Lao of the Blood Sect, and roughly a dozen other Dou Emperors moved behind the Gold and Silver Elders as though they had arranged it beforehand.
Powerful Dou Qi surged through the hall, seemingly ready to erupt at any moment.
"Hmph. You two really think you're Dou Zongs!" Su Qian shook his head slightly and rose without haste.
The aura of a Dou Zong expert swept outward, blotting out heaven and earth.
Before you continue