Ye Qing smiled mysteriously. "Our honored guests are correct. Living cultivators may be relatively rare, but a cultivator merely at the Foundation Establishment Realm isn't worth much."
"The reason this seemingly unremarkable little girl has appeared as our final auction lot is that she harbors an enormous secret."
As he spoke, Ye Qing leisurely drew a sharp dagger wreathed in black mist from his waist.
The next instant, he plunged it straight through the girl's wrist with a wet squelch.
"Ngh..."
The girl's pupils abruptly contracted, and fine beads of cold sweat appeared on her forehead. She nearly fainted on the spot.
"You bastards!"
Gongsun Fu was beside herself with rage and instinctively sprang to her feet.
Fortunately, the other guests also rose one after another, keeping her from drawing anyone's attention.
Blood poured from the wound in a steady stream, like a little brook.
Astonishingly, the girl's blood was not red, but a clear, deep blue.
Within that deep-blue blood were tiny motes as brilliant as starlight, exquisite and dazzling as a work of art.
At the sight of that star-spangled blue blood, almost every cultivator present trembled with excitement, their eyes gleaming with greed and feverish desire.
"Is... is this the legendary..."
"Exactly!"
Ye Qing grinned. "This little girl possesses the legendary star spirit blood, something that appears only once in a thousand years!"
"Our honored guests should all know very well that, to us, star spirit blood is not merely jade nectar of the purest flavor, but also an enormously valuable nourishing tonic!"
"More importantly, this little girl is alive. Whichever of you wins her can keep her penned up somewhere and draw an endless supply of star spirit blood every day."
"What's more, this little girl is pretty, young, and beautiful, and she's untouched merchandise. When