In the heart of Tianxing City's inner city, a towering structure built entirely of starstone-the Star Palace Auction Hall-was especially lively that day. Radiant light flowed over its walls, and countless streaks of flight light converged from every direction. Their auras varied in strength, but none belonged to ordinary figures. Today marked the Star Palace's grand auction, held once every hundred years. Rumor had it that several priceless treasures would appear as the final lots, drawing forces from far and wide.
Han Li had altered his appearance, disguising himself as a pale-faced, middle-aged cultivator in black robes with a cold, sinister aura. His displayed cultivation stood at the peak of the Foundation Establishment late stage. Holding the Guest Elder token Ling Yuling had given him, he passed several rigorous inspections and entered the auction hall without trouble. An attendant led him to an ordinary private box on the second floor. Wards blocked divine sense from entering, while allowing those inside to observe the vast circular auction chamber below.
The chamber teemed with people, bustling and noisy. Han Li swept his Profound Yin Spirit Eye across it, and a faint chill stirred in his heart. Several thousand cultivators were present, more than half of them at Foundation Establishment. He sensed at least twenty sources of Core Formation stage spiritual pressure, and several auras were so obscure and profound that they might have belonged to Nascent Soul old monsters hiding among the crowd! Cultivators from the Star Palace, the Demon Tribe, major island factions, and independent cultivators from distant seas mingled with figures wreathed in ghostly energy. Dragons and snakes truly shared the same pit.
His gaze lingered briefly on several areas. Ling Yuling was absent from the VIP section reserved for Star Palace cultivators. Presiding there instead was a stern-faced, white-haired