"Furthermore, this Dou Technique was provided by Young Master Nalan. Its origins are legitimate, and it won't bring you any trouble, so everyone can bid with peace of mind."
Ya Fei first gave Nalan Sheng a seductive smile, then addressed the crowd in the hall. "The starting bid for this Dou Technique is eighty thousand gold coins. Each increase must be at least one thousand gold coins. You may begin bidding."
"Eighty-five thousand!"
"Ninety thousand!"
"Ninety-three thousand..."
Upon learning that Suction Palm came from Nalan Sheng, everyone's lingering concerns vanished, and they immediately began competing to bid.
After a fierce bidding war, the black scroll containing Suction Palm was finally won by an elderly man in yellow for one hundred and twenty thousand gold coins.
The elderly man in yellow was a well-known medicinal merchant in Wutan City. Though fairly wealthy, he certainly could not compare to the Three Major Clans.
Under normal circumstances, he would never have been able to outbid Xiao Zhan and the others.
However, Xiao Zhan and the others were targeting the upcoming Wind Scroll Technique. Besides, the Three Major Clans had no shortage of Profound Tier Low Grade Dou Techniques, allowing the elderly man in yellow to snag a bargain.
"Now, let us welcome the final treasure of this auction!"
Soon, another maid in blue walked onto the Auction Stage carrying a silver tray, with a blue-green scroll resting on it.
"This scroll contains a wind-attribute Profound Tier High Grade cultivation method called the Wind Scroll Technique!"
Ya Fei did not beat around the bush. She went straight to the point. "A hunter was fortunate enough to find this cultivation method in the mountains. It was left behind by someone from an earlier generation, and its origins are legitimate, so you may bid with peace of mind.
"The starting bid is two hundred thousand gold coins. Each increase must be at least five thousand gold coins. You may begin bidding."
"Two hundred and ten thousand!"
"Two hundred and thirty thousand!"
"Two hundred and forty thousand..."
In a remote country like the Jia Ma Empire, Profound Tier High Grade cultivation methods were already the finest ordinary people could ever encounter, so this one naturally sparked fierce bidding.
In the end, however, Jia Lie Bi proved a cut above the rest, successfully winning the Wind Scroll Technique for the hefty sum of five hundred and fifty thousand gold coins.
With the Wind Scroll Technique sold, the auction came to a close.
Nalan Sheng and Xiao Yi Xian had just left the auction hall when Ya Fei approached, swaying her slender, serpentine waist. She then took out a Purple Gold Card and handed it to him.
"Young Master Sheng, your big sister still has an honored guest to entertain. If you don't need anything else, I'll excuse myself for now~"
"An honored guest?"
A sharp gleam flashed through Nalan Sheng's eyes, and a teasing smile appeared on his face. "Sister Ya Fei, besides me, who else in Wutan City deserves to be called your honored guest?
"If I'm not mistaken, this honored guest of yours must be the alchemist who put the Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid up for auction, right?"
"There really is no hiding anything from you."
Ya Fei shook her head helplessly. "That's right. The honored guest I'm meeting is indeed the alchemist who auctioned the Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid."
"Although the Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid is only a second-rank medicine, it can be used by people below Dou Zhe. An alchemist capable of creating a new Pill Recipe like that must be either an experienced veteran with extraordinary alchemical skills or a genius with exceptional talent."
Nalan Sheng gave her a harmless smile. "Sister Ya Fei, why not take me along to meet this honored guest?
"If I can recruit a skilled alchemist for the Nalan Family, perhaps I'll receive fewer beatings when I return to the imperial capital."
"Well..."
At his words, Ya Fei could not help looking troubled.
"Sister Ya Fei, you're the best~"
Nalan Sheng gazed intently into Ya Fei's beautiful eyes, his voice taking on a slightly wheedling tone.
"All right, all right! I really don't know what to do with you. Come along!"
The corner of Ya Fei's mouth twitched, and she could only agree to take Nalan Sheng to meet the mysterious alchemist.
With Ya Fei leading the way, Nalan Sheng and Xiao Yi Xian soon reached the auction house's VIP room. There, they found Xiao Yan, shrouded in a black robe, and Gu Ni, who was attending to him.
"Hm?"
When Xiao Yan saw Nalan Sheng and Xiao Yi Xian following behind Ya Fei, he could not help frowning. Somewhat displeased, he said, "Master Gu Ni, these two aren't members of your auction house, are they? What is the meaning of bringing two outsiders to meet this old man?"
"Honored sir, I..."
Before Ya Fei could finish, Nalan Sheng cried out in feigned shock, "You're Xiao Yan!"
"..."
Seeing Nalan Sheng expose his identity in an instant, Xiao Yan's pupils abruptly contracted.
"Young Master Nalan, have you made a mistake? How could this gentleman possibly be Xiao Yan?"
Gu Ni was the first to recover from his shock, and he questioned Nalan Sheng.
After all, Xiao Yan was something of a celebrity in Wutan City, so Gu Ni had naturally heard of him.
But Xiao Yan was not even a Dou Zhe. How could he suddenly transform into a Second-Rank Alchemist capable of refining Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid?
"Hmph!"
Nalan Sheng ignored Gu Ni's words and snorted. "Xiao Yan, the next time you want to disguise yourself, you'd better take off that ring on your hand. I'm not blind!"
Hearing this, Xiao Yan's expression filled with realization. He then shook his head helplessly and reached up to remove his black conical hat, revealing a rather delicate face.
"I thought something was strange earlier. Clan Leader Xiao is still the head of a clan, after all. No matter how incompetent he might be, he shouldn't dare divert half a year of the Xiao Clan's income to buy a bottle of Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid for you.
"If he really dared abuse his position for personal gain like that, his days as clan leader would probably be over."
At this, Nalan Sheng feigned displeasure. "Now it's clear that you and your father set a trap, deliberately driving up the price of the Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid so I would buy it for fifty thousand gold coins. What a clever scheme!"
"..."
The corner of Xiao Yan's mouth twitched. "Young Master Nalan, I never forced you to bid on the Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid. If you hadn't been determined to make trouble for my father, how could you have ended up buying that bottle at such a high price?"
Although Xiao Yan wanted to explain that Xiao Zhan had not been acting as his shill, he was even less willing to saddle his father with an accusation of abusing his position for personal gain. He could only tacitly accept that the two of them had worked together to set a trap for Nalan Sheng.
"Fine, fine, fine. I'll accept my loss today. But you still owe the Nalan Family an explanation for deliberately pretending to be a useless failure, don't you?"
Nalan Sheng feigned anger. "Even now, are you still going to claim you suffer from some strange illness that makes your cultivation regress?
"I should have realized it long ago. If such a strange illness really existed, all the Dou Qi in your body would have dissipated. How could you have remained at Dou Qi Third Stage all this time?
"Thinking back on it now, you clearly disguised your cultivation as Dou Qi Third Stage on purpose, making everyone believe you were a useless failure.
"I originally thought Clan Leader Xiao didn't understand the rules. Who would have thought you were the one refusing to play by them?"
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