Five hundred years of life!
To old monsters whose lifespans were nearly exhausted, or mighty cultivators gravely wounded and dying, this was a second life!
Its value could not be measured in ordinary source, for it was enough to drive even Holy Lord level figures and Ancient Sages into a frenzy of deadly combat.
By now, old Ghost Eye's face was ashen, and Yanlong and the other Great Evolution disciples were at a complete loss. Yet among the onlookers, the flames of greed had already been kindled.
The crowd included elders and renowned veterans from other holy lands and great sects. They scrambled to shout their bids, their voices almost lifting the workshop's roof:
"Young friend, would you sell this medicine king to the Wanchu Holy Land? I personally guarantee an offer of at least a hundred thousand jin of pure source!"
"What a joke! You want to buy a medicine king for a mere hundred thousand? The Yaoguang Holy Land offers two hundred thousand!"
"Three hundred thousand! The Desolate Ancient Ji Family offers three hundred thousand for this medicine king!"
At that moment, everyone had gone mad, whether they were distinguished veterans of the Desolate Ancient Families, Dragon Transformation elders of the great sects, or representatives of the Northern Region's various powers.
Each shouted an astronomical price!
They certainly could not produce that much source on their own, but the powers behind them could! This peerless medicine king was right before their eyes. Whatever the price, they had to seize it first.
Amid the uproar, even the normally unruffled Fairy Yao Li could not resist stepping gracefully forward.
Her bearing was immortal-like, her dark hair cascading to her shoulders and her eyes clear as autumn waters. Yet urgency flashed across her cool, beautiful face. Though soft, her voice pierced the clamor:
"The Yao Family offers two hundred and fifty thousand jin of pure source, along with a ten-thousand-year moon lotus, in exchange for this medicine king."
Her words only deepened the chaos.
As Qingyun Province's foremost beauty, Yao Li had always stood aloof from worldly concerns. This bid clearly showed she was serious, drawing everyone's attention. Even Luo Qingluan could not help muttering:
"Last time, she claimed she had no money. Whenever I ask to borrow some, she pinches every penny. Little Yue, don't sell it to her," Luo Qingluan said, pursing her lips.
Luo Yue was rather speechless.
By now, the situation had spiraled out of control. Gamblers shoved their way forward, and a scramble to snatch the treasure seemed imminent.
Luo Qingying and Jiang Wei exchanged glances and stepped forward together. Towering like a mountain, Luo Qingying gave a cold snort that boomed like muffled thunder. His pressure spread, the aura of a peak Dragon Transformation Realm cultivator intimidating the entire crowd and briefly stilling the chaos.
Jiang Wei's cloud-patterned robes fluttered elegantly. His gentle bearing carried a sharp edge as he declared:
"Everyone, the wager at the Great Evolution Stone Workshop has yet to conclude. This is no place for a sale. If you cause further disturbances, do not blame the Jiang Family and Luo Family for joining forces to suppress you!"
Standing shoulder to shoulder, one firm and the other gentle, they forcibly quelled the feverish bidding.
The Luo Family was one thing, but no one present could disregard the name of the Desolate Ancient Jiang Family.
Still, their feverish desire for the medicine king did not fade. They began sending voice transmissions through their spiritual senses to Luo Yue, Luo Qingying, Jiang Wei, and the others.
Each offer was higher than the last!
Meanwhile, on the other side,
Old Ghost Eye's cloudy eye widened to its limit. Utter desolation filled it as he murmured:
"No, impossible. Absolutely impossible..."
"I clearly cut it open back then, right at that spot. There was only a ten-thousand-year jade marrow mushroom! I refined it myself. How... how could another medicine king have been hidden beneath it without me noticing at all?!"
He stared in disbelief at the medicine king, which quietly shimmered with seven-colored light within the emerald-green variant source.
The overwhelming shock and regret utterly crushed him. He forgot where he was, and who stood beside him, unconsciously murmuring under his breath.
Yanlong, who stood closest to him, heard every word distinctly!
Upon hearing those murmurs, a savage blaze of fury exploded from the Great Evolution direct disciple's heart and shot straight to the crown of his head!
Yanlong's expression had eased slightly after the Heart-Burial Stone yielded the Blood-Weeping Demon Heart Stone. Now it turned blacker than a pot's bottom. Veins bulged across his forehead and neck, writhing hideously like horned dragons.
An icy killing intent, suppressed to its utmost limit and almost tangible, swept from him like a storm. The temperature plunged, making several nearby Great Evolution disciples shiver and instinctively retreat a few steps.
"What. Did. You. Just. Say?!"
Yanlong whipped his head around. Each word was forced through his clenched teeth, his voice low and hoarse, charged with thunderous fury.
His gaze nailed itself to old Ghost Eye's withered, vacant face, as though he wanted to devour his flesh and flay him alive on the spot.
So that was it!
He finally understood why the old bastard had reacted so strangely when Luo Yue chose Black Tortoise Offering Treasure-first with uncontrollable delight, then with panic when she mentioned changing stones.
This old wretch had long ago gone behind his back, abused his position, and secretly cut open this priceless Heaven-Class rare stone.
The ten-thousand-year jade marrow mushroom, worth at least tens of thousands of jin of source, had been secretly pocketed by the old bastard and swallowed into his own belly!
All the Great Evolution Stone Workshop had received was a carefully restored, hollow stone with nothing but an impressive exterior.
This old wretch's audacity was greater than the heavens!
He deserved to die!
Yanlong was almost bursting with rage.
What a loss! A catastrophic loss! A loss all the way to his grandmother's doorstep!
The medicine king's value was beyond anything that mere ten-thousand-year herb could compare with.
Not only had this old bastard secretly stolen a precious herb from the Great Evolution Sacred Land-less valuable than the medicine king, but still exceedingly rare-he had also handed a priceless medicine king that should have belonged to the sacred land to the Luo Family for nothing.
Worse, it had happened right beneath Yanlong's nose, in the workshop he oversaw. That little she-devil of the Luo Family had cut it out before everyone, delivering a vicious slap to the Great Evolution Sacred Land's face.
Humiliation!
An unspeakable humiliation!
It was as though both Yanlong's dignity and the Great Evolution Sacred Land's had been pinned to the ground and scraped back and forth!
Yanlong's blood churned. A metallic sweetness rose in his throat, but he forcibly swallowed it.
His clenched knuckles turned deathly white and cracked audibly. The vast divine power within him threatened to burst free and blast this old wretch, who ruined everything he touched, into dust.
"Mr. Ghost Eye, how do you explain this?"
Yanlong no longer concealed the killing intent in his gaze.
The sight terrified old Ghost Eye out of his wits. His withered body shook like chaff in a sieve, and only then did he realize what an enormous disaster his careless words had brought upon him.
He was far beyond regretting it bitterly. Regret seemed to bleed from every crevice of his bones!
Years ago, he had personally cut open Black Tortoise Offering Treasure and removed the ten-thousand-year precious herb, worth ten thousand jin of source. Using his unique secret method, he had painstakingly restored it and forged the illusion of life within... He had been certain it was empty and intended to use it to deal the Luo Family's little she-devil a fatal blow.
Yet such an earth-shaking divine treasure had been hidden inside!
It was over. He was utterly finished. After this fiasco, even if the Luo Family spared him, the Great Evolution Sacred Land would not!
"Damn it!"
Old Ghost Eye seethed inwardly.
He hated himself for having been so impatient back then. Why had he hastily restored the stone after taking only the herb near the surface? Why had he not gone another inch deeper?
An eighty-nine-thousand-year medicine king!
An immortal treasure that could extend life by five hundred years!
Its value far exceeded his lifetime's savings. It should have been his! It should have been old Ghost Eye's supreme opportunity to ascend to the heavens in a single step and prolong his life.
Seeing his dazed expression and swaying body, Luo Yue thoughtfully added:
"Old man, the ground is slippery. Be careful. Don't fall and die."
"Pfft!"
Those words were the final straw that broke the camel's back. Fury and distress assaulted his heart, and a metallic sweetness surged into his throat. Old Ghost Eye could no longer hold on.
He violently spat out a great mouthful of dark red blood, its alarming droplets spattering across the cold ground.
His hunched body lurched violently. Beside him, Yanlong reacted swiftly and clamped a hand onto his shoulder, gripping hard enough to nearly crush his bones.
"Mr. Ghost Eye, it seems we need to have a proper talk..." Yanlong's tone was chilling.
Now that he had found a target for his anger, he wanted nothing more than to slice the old bastard before him into a thousand pieces.
The knuckles of Yanlong's hand on old Ghost Eye's shoulder whitened with force. His icy killing intent almost became tangible, seemingly freezing the surrounding air.
Beneath his hand, old Ghost Eye's withered body trembled like a guttering candle in the wind. Wet blood still clung to his lips. Despair and terror filled his cloudy lone eye, with none of its former malice remaining.
"Fellow cultivator... could you give this old man another chance?" old Ghost Eye asked in a broken, hoarse voice.
"You still want another chance?!" Yanlong growled, his voice like ice grinding against ice. "You have utterly disgraced the Great Evolution Sacred Land today. We will settle accounts when we return!"
He wanted to grind the old wretch's bones to ash that very instant, but under so many watching eyes, dealing with the mess before him mattered more.
Forcing down his surging fury, Yanlong drew a deep breath and turned to Luo Yue and the others. On his once-handsome face, now twisted and gloomy, he forced an exceedingly ugly smile. His voice was dry:
"Little Princess Luo's Source Arts approach the divine. Yanlong has my admiration. This wager... the Great Evolution Sacred Land has lost."
Though expected, the admission from the lips of one of the Great Evolution Sacred Land's ten great disciples still sent a low stir through the crowd.
Today, the Great Evolution Stone Workshop's dignity had been swept into the dust, and its credibility had utterly collapsed.
"Good, as long as you admit defeat."
Luo Qingluan folded her arms and raised her chin smugly. "Then what about the stakes? A hundred thousand jin of pure source, and this old bastard's 'Ghost Eye.' Hand them over!"
Her clear, ringing voice carried throughout the crowd, reminding everyone of the cruel stakes of this wager.
The corner of Yanlong's eye twitched violently. A hundred thousand jin of source was no small sum even for a behemoth like the Great Evolution Sacred Land. But the wager had been established before everyone, and he had personally guaranteed it. There was no room to renege.
"The source will be prepared shortly and delivered personally to the Luo Residence."
Yanlong practically gritted the words out, each one weighing a thousand tons.
"As for Ghost Eye's 'Netherworld Eye'..."
His gaze swept toward old Ghost Eye, limp as mud in his grip, and viciousness flashed in his eyes.
"A wager must be honored. I will give you his eye."
The instant his words fell, a gleam of divine light flared at his fingertip, swift as lightning!
Without the slightest hesitation or trace of mercy, it stabbed with unerring precision toward old Ghost Eye's green-glimmering Netherworld Eye.
"No-!!!"
Old Ghost Eye let out a shriek of utter despair. He struggled desperately, but beneath Yanlong's iron-clamp grip, he could not dodge even an inch.
Hiss!
A faint sound rang out, enough to make one's scalp crawl.
The divine light pierced that eerie lone eye and instantly shattered it!
Its ghostly green glow went out like a guttering candle in the wind, leaving only a horrifying, bloody hole coated in thin frost!
Agonizing pain sent several violent spasms through old Ghost Eye's body. Then he went completely limp and lost consciousness, his breathing faint as a thread.
The entire process was clean and swift, too fast for anyone to react.
Gasp!
An irrepressible wave of sharp inhalations swept through the crowd. Most had been cowed by Yanlong's ruthless decisiveness.
This successor of the Great Evolution Sacred Land was truly no harmless soul. Once he acted, he was decisive and merciless. He said he would gouge out an eye, and did so without the slightest hesitation.
By now, Ghost Eye had completely lost consciousness. Yanlong casually tossed him to an attendant behind him like a torn sack, his voice cold and devoid of emotion:
"Carry him away. Don't let him die. The sacred land's punishments still await him."
Having settled the stakes, Yanlong turned his gaze toward the medicine king on the stone-cutting platform, radiant with flowing colors and tremendous life essence. His eyes brimmed with resentment, but he knew he had neither grounds nor standing to lay a finger on it now.
"The medicine king's emergence is a great blessing for the Luo Family. Everyone, Yanlong still has important matters to attend to, so I shall take my leave!" He cupped his hands toward Luo Qingying and Jiang Wei, his voice stiff.
Then he sharply waved a hand and led the ashen-faced Great Evolution disciples away. Like a flock of defeated roosters, they hastily fled the Heaven-Class Stone Garden in utter disgrace, beneath countless mocking, pitying, and gloating gazes.
After today, the Great Evolution Stone Workshop's reputation in Luo City, and even throughout Qingyun Province, was utterly finished.
Once the Great Evolution group departed, the oppressive atmosphere eased slightly, but the competitive bidding for the medicine king instantly heated up again.
"Young friend Luo! The Wanchu Holy Land will add another fifty thousand jin of source! Three hundred and fifty thousand jin of pure source for this medicine king!"
"The Ji Family offers four hundred thousand jin!"
"The Yaoguang Holy Land offers four hundred and twenty thousand jin!"
"The Yao Family will offer everything it can: three hundred thousand jin of source, plus any three treasures from our family's secret vault. Third Uncle Luo, this medicine is vital to the Yao Family. Even half of it would suffice!" Fairy Yao Li stepped forward again, her tone earnest and her beautiful eyes anxious.
Despite the increasingly frenzied bids and promises from the various powers, Luo Yue remained unmoved.
She extended her little hand, and a
gentle current of icy divine power enveloped the medicine king and the emerald-green variant source holding it, carefully lifting them from the stone-cutting platform.
Under everyone's burning gazes, Luo Yue held the radiant, peerless medicine king and turned to approach Luo Qingying. She raised her little face, her voice clear and firm:
"Third Uncle, keep this medicine king. We can take it home for Great-Grandfather's birthday. It's just right."
Her voice was not loud, yet it rose clearly above every bid.
At those words, the entire crowd fell silent.
Everyone understood what Luo Yue meant.
The Luo Family would not sell this priceless immortal treasure that could extend life by five hundred years!
It would be presented as a birthday gift to the Luo Family's true sea-calming pillar, old Luo Tiangang, who was rumored to have "just recovered from a serious illness"!
Luo Qingying looked at his niece holding the medicine king before him, her eyes clear and resolute. At last, a smile of gratification and deep feeling appeared on his stern face.
He nodded solemnly and said in a deep voice, "Good. How thoughtful of you, little Yue. This medicine will surely prolong the old patriarch's life and stabilize his Dao Foundation!"
But just as he reached out to take it-
"Buzz!"
A sudden upheaval erupted!
The space less than three feet from Luo Yue's side violently warped and collapsed without warning!
A pitch-black hand tore through the void and abruptly thrust out. It appeared far too suddenly, moving so fast that no one present could track it with their spiritual sense.