"Two hundred and seventy thousand!"
The girl frowned slightly and looked toward VIP seat 67.
"Three hundred thousand."
Lin Xuan refused to yield an inch.
Although he did not have many Spirit Stones on him now, at least three or four million would come into his possession after the auction. The Purple Scorpion Demon King's remains would certainly fetch no small sum.
"Three hundred and ten thousand!"
A voice rang out from VIP seat 26 again, but this time it was not the girl's voice. The young man in dark robes beside her had spoken.
This made the girl's brow furrow even more deeply. "Mu Lang, stay out of this."
To her surprise, Mu Lang chuckled. "How is this meddling? Whatever you want, I'll help you get it, no matter what. What's a mere Spirit-Gathering Pill?"
The girl was speechless.
Seeing this, Mu Lang turned to look at Lin Xuan in VIP seat 67. "I am a member of the Mu Household of the Holy Sun Empire. Might you show the Mu Household a little respect and let me have this pill?"
The dark-robed youth sounded polite, but anyone could hear the naked threat in his words.
"The Mu Household of the Holy Sun Empire?!"
Everyone present was familiar with the names Holy Sun Empire and Mu Household.
Among the Seven Moon-Reflecting Kingdoms, the Dawn Empire stood at the pinnacle, followed by the Holy Sun Empire. The Mu Household was one of the Holy Sun Empire's foremost great clans, with no fewer than ten King Realm experts. Its patriarch had even reached the King Realm fourth layer.
The King Realm fourth layer! An expert of that level would be all but invincible in Linyue City!
The dark-robed youth watched Lin Xuan with a smile, confident that Lin Xuan would give him this much face.
Yet Lin Xuan's next words made his expression change abruptly!
"Three hundred and twenty thousand."
Lin Xuan merely glanced at him before speaking again.
The dark-robed youth stared fixedly at Lin Xuan, his expression rather ugly, but he did not raise the bid again.
Instead, he told a household servant behind him, "Once the auction ends, send word to the sixth elder and have him come over."
"Yes!" The servant cupped his fists and accepted the order, inwardly mourning the young man in VIP seat 67 once more.
Was a single pill worth losing his life over?
The girl, however, sneered inwardly. What a pig-brained fool. That man still dared to bid without fear despite knowing you came from the Mu Household. He clearly wasn't an ordinary person, and his background was probably far from simple.
But the girl did not warn Mu Lang. In fact...
If I could use this man's hand...
At this thought, the girl's eyes narrowed slightly.
The little interlude did not affect the rest of the auction. In the end, Lin Xuan won the One-Pattern Spirit Gathering Pill for three hundred and twenty thousand Spirit Stones.
It also made those in the auction hall regard Lin Xuan in VIP seat 67 more highly. He dared to offend even the Mu Household-he truly had some courage. They simply did not know whether he would be able to leave Linyue City alive.
Judging by the look of the Mu Household's young master, he clearly had no intention of letting this go.
Several more items were auctioned off in succession, but none interested Lin Xuan for the moment, so he simply closed his eyes and rested.
At last, as the auction neared its end, the final item was brought onto the stage.
It was a storage ring.
At that moment, everyone knew that the auction's grand finale had arrived.
"This is the final lot of today's auction. I imagine many of you came here for it."
With a wave of the auctioneer Suyi's slender hand, an enormous body appeared on the auction stage, taking up almost its entire surface! The sight was immensely striking!
"These are the remains of a King-level Demon Beast!"
Many were shaken. Even though it was already dead, the oppressive weight of that massive body still struck fear into many cultivators present.
Yet what startled them even more was the appalling... sword scar on the King-level Demon Beast's chest!
That sword scar had nearly cleaved it in half at the waist.
The faint Sword Intent emanating from the scar made everyone's scalp prickle!
"That sword scar..."
"This is... Sword Intent!"
There was no shortage of sword cultivators present, and they immediately sensed the faint Sword Intent emanating from the scar.
"This King-level Demon Beast was slain with a single strike by an extraordinary sword cultivator who had comprehended Sword Intent! Hiss..."
Sharp intakes of breath rang out throughout the auction hall.
A trace of shock appeared in everyone's eyes.
Although this King-level Demon Beast had only been at the King Realm first layer, even someone at the King Realm second layer would have struggled to kill it with a single strike, wouldn't they?
Being able to defeat it was one thing. Being able to kill it was another...
King-level Demon Beasts were not so easy to kill.
Otherwise, the remains of a King-level Demon Beast would not have caused such a stir or been so precious.
As discussion filled the hall, Suyi smiled slightly on the auction stage. "First, we will auction this King-level Demon Beast's inner core. The starting bid is two million, with each increase no lower than ten thousand. Bidding begins now!"
Boom-!
Just as Suyi finished speaking, a terrifying pressure swept through the entire auction hall, making everyone's heart sink.
"Two million and ten thousand!"
"This King-level Demon Beast's inner core is mine."
Everyone looked over. A bald old man slowly rose from tiered seat 1361. That utterly terrifying pressure was coming from him!
This sudden turn of events sent a shiver through those who had been about to bid, and they instantly swallowed the words on their lips.
"This pressure is at least at King Realm second layer perfection!"
"King Mingkong."
"It's him!"
Many gazes directed at the bald old man were filled with fear.
King Mingkong's name was all too well known here. Infamous for his ferocity, he was exceedingly cruel, and few who offended him met a good end. If one person offended him, their entire clan would be buried alongside them. Exterminating clans and sects was as easy as drinking cold water to King Mingkong.
Because he had obtained an extraordinary escape technique in the Heaven-Burning Mystic Realm, even King Realm experts stronger than him could not catch him, making him all the more unrestrained in his evil deeds.
King Mingkong had vanished from the area for some time. Some had even suspected that he had died or left, yet now he had appeared again!
At that moment, the hearts of those who had come specifically for the King-level Demon Beast's inner core sank.
They had even prepared several million Spirit Stones to win the Demon King's inner core, only for something like this to happen.
Truly...
They had money, yet did not dare spend it.
"King Mingkong, what is the meaning of this?"
Her voice arrived before she did. Mu Yue, the auction house's owner, appeared on the auction stage, looking gravely at the bald old man at the very top of the tiered seating.
"Moon King!"
Suyi bowed to Mu Yue, her expression bitter. This sudden turn of events was already beyond her ability to handle.
Many in the auction hall recognized the Moon King as well, but they smiled bitterly inwardly.
The Moon King ranked among the strongest experts in all of Linyue City, but...
No one believed her appearance could change anything. That was King Mingkong!
Even Linyue City's lord, who was at the King Realm third layer, could do nothing to him, much less her...
"Nothing at all. I'm merely participating in the auction. Is that not allowed? Have I broken any rules? Have I forbidden them from bidding?"
"Tell me, have I?" King Mingkong swept his gaze around. Seeing that no one dared answer, he laughed loudly, his laughter thick with arrogance.
Everyone seethed, but none dared speak.
Just then, a streak of pure white sword light answered him.