"So he really is in your Great Luo Heavenly Domain. Good." Futu Yijing did not answer Mandala's question. Instead, he confirmed the answer to his own earlier question.
So far, nothing had gone off course. He could also complete the task Qing Yanjing had entrusted to him during this trip to the Ancient Heavenly Palace.
She had asked him to protect Mu Chen for a while, not forever. Since he had an opportunity to get it done this time, he might as well finish it outright.
He had no desire to be Mu Chen's babysitter forever.
Qing Yanjing clearly knew that one opportunity to reach Heavenly Sovereign could not buy Futu Yijing's long-term protection of Mu Chen, so she had only asked him to look after Mu Chen when the chance arose.
After all, even without that opportunity, Futu Yijing's breakthrough to Heavenly Sovereign would merely be a matter of water flowing into a ready-made channel.
In West City, an auction house that had stood idle for a long time was now bustling with voices, with bids ringing out without end.
The auction house had sprung back to life because a team had recently ventured into a spatial rift deep in the Extreme Western Land and obtained several items. One of them was said to be particularly unusual: a token.
After they had managed to obtain this token by sheer luck, it had actually stirred up a spiritual power storm within the Ancient Heavenly Palace. More than ten members of their team had been shredded into bloody mist by that storm. Presumably, this item held considerable importance within the Ancient Heavenly Palace.
By now, the auction had reached its final lot.
An ancient Golden Token lay quietly on a silver tray, its mottled surface bearing the flavor of ages past. It gave off no unusual fluctuations, yet it exuded a sense of mystery, with a faint hint of imposing grandeur.
Within the vast pavilion, countless burning gazes fixed on the Golden Token. Most of the powerful figures present belonged to various factions, and this mysterious Golden Token was clearly the reason they had come.
The resources and opportunities within the Ancient Heavenly Palace were far too immense. Any top-tier faction that obtained them could soar to new heights, inherit its orthodox legacy, and become the new overlord of the Tianluo Continent, while also rising into the ranks of the Great Thousand World's true superpowers!
Thus, anything that might give them a head start within the Ancient Heavenly Palace was incomparably precious. They had to fight to secure it!
As the auctioneer finished speaking, the bidding war for the Ancient Heavenly Palace's token began.
Voices rose one after another, echoing constantly through the enormous pavilion. The token's appearance had clearly pushed the atmosphere to its peak. Every faction was red-eyed, looking as though they would not rest until they had won it.
Amid this fierce competition, the token's auction price soared to ten million drops of supreme spirit liquid in just a few short minutes.
Once the price reached ten million drops of supreme spirit liquid, the bids finally grew less frequent. Even so, plenty of voices continued raising the price, each backed by at least a first-rate faction.
Several more minutes passed, and the price climbed to sixteen million drops of supreme spirit liquid.
Only after Xia Hong, the fourth prince of the Great Xia Dynasty in the Eastern Region, raised the bid to thirty-five million drops of supreme spirit liquid did the auction house fall quiet.
No one else raised the price. Just then, a sweet, lively voice, like pearls falling onto a silver tray, suddenly rang out through the pavilion. Like a thunderclap, it threw the entire hall into an uproar.
"Forty-five million drops of supreme spirit liquid!"
The bidder was a beautiful young woman dressed in white.
"Lin Jing?!" Mu Chen looked at Lin Jing in surprise. He had never expected to meet her here.
"What are you doing here?"
Lin Jing smiled brightly. "I heard that the Ancient Heavenly Palace had appeared on the Tianluo Continent, so I came to join the fun. Besides, I remembered you saying before that you were heading to the Tianluo Continent. I got tired of being cooped up at home this time, so I ran out."
Then Lin Jing waved her hand, and a jade bottle flew out. Its mouth tilted, and a rumbling immediately sounded as rivers poured forth, surging spiritual power instantly filling the air above the entire pavilion.
Forty-five million drops of supreme spirit liquid were right before their eyes. No one could question whether this young woman could afford it.
They gave Lin Jing a searching look. For her to carry such an enormous quantity of supreme spirit liquid with her, the background behind this young woman was probably anything but ordinary.
After all, not just any faction had the financial strength to casually produce forty-five million drops of supreme spirit liquid.
"If no one else raises the bid, this thing is mine," Lin Jing said.
Everyone around her remained silent. Forty-five million drops of supreme spirit liquid had clearly exceeded what they could afford.
"I brought plenty of money this time," Lin Jing told Mu Chen leisurely.
Mu Chen, Nine Nether, and the others exchanged looks before shaking their heads with wry smiles. Throwing out forty-five million drops of supreme spirit liquid in one go... this was truly no ordinary display of extravagance. But when they recalled Lin Jing's identity, they could only accept it.
"Oh, right, there's something I need to tell you. A really big figure has come to compete for the Ancient Heavenly Palace Ruins this time." Remembering her encounter with Futu Yijing on the way here, Lin Jing offered them a warning.
Nine Nether's and Mu Chen's hearts tightened.
Lin Jing was the little princess of the Martial Realm, one of the Great Thousand World's foremost superpowers. If even she called him a big figure, he absolutely could not be underestimated.
"News really does travel too poorly on the Tianluo Continent. Even my father has mentioned him," Lin Jing said earnestly.
After news of the Futu Ancient Clan's Branch Martial Assembly had spread, Lin Jing had heard her second uncle and her dad discuss Futu Yijing.
"Below Heavenly Sovereign, no one in the Great Thousand World can withstand even a single exchange with him!" Lin Jing delivered this astonishing assessment in a calm voice.
She was so calm because, however formidable he might be, he posed no threat to her.
As long as I'm weak enough, it doesn't matter how strong he is!
Besides, her dad was not just there for show. He had never been to school and did not know many words, but if that man tried to attack her, her dad would certainly recite every word he had learned right in front of him.
Great Desolate Imprisoning Heaven Finger, Great Desolation Scripture-he would bring them all out.
Moreover, there was no conflict of interest between them. Judging by his experiences, he was clearly in the same trench as they were.
The Martial Realm stood guard in the far south of the Great Thousand World, fighting the Outer Realm Evil Clan, while Futu Yijing had slaughtered the Outer Realm Evil Clan on the Saint Abyss Continent. Judging by his achievements, he too was someone whose heart was filled with righteousness.
Someone like him would hardly attack a person like her, who was not even an Earthly Sovereign.
Mu Chen and Nine Nether, however, felt differently. Their hearts were somewhat heavy. After all, with such a formidable figure coming to the Ancient Heavenly Palace Ruins, the difficulty of obtaining the finest opportunities had shot straight upward.
Before you continue