Ordinarily, only King Realm experts could fly through the air, but Lin Xuan was different. Although he was not in the King Realm, the vast spiritual power within him was no less than that of a true King Realm expert.
Moreover, he had successfully comprehended twenty-one Great Daos. Apart from his cultivation realm, Lin Xuan was already no different from an ordinary King Realm expert-and even surpassed one.
Right now, Lin Xuan was desperately short of money!
Su Lianxin and Wang Yan did not know why Lin Xuan had taken them off the flying ship, but neither asked. Yet when they saw him carrying them back through the air, something suddenly occurred to them.
"No way... Master... is he going back for that Purple Scorpion Demon King?"
The moment this thought arose, the two exchanged a glance, their hearts shaken.
As they drew closer to where they had encountered the Purple Scorpion Demon King, their suspicions became certainty.
Their master really was going after the Purple Scorpion Demon King!
Their hearts thumped wildly. That was no ordinary Demon Beast, but a... genuine Demon King!
They knew their master was not at the Tribulation Realm Seventh Layer as outsiders believed, but at the Tribulation Realm Ninth Level. Yet...
Even someone at the Tribulation Realm Ninth Level was nothing but an ant before a Demon King!
They knew their master was mysterious, but...
With some apprehension, Wang Yan and Su Lianxin followed Lin Xuan back to where they had encountered the Purple Scorpion Demon King.
Boom!
As soon as they arrived, Lin Xuan slashed his sword at the ground nearby.
Terrifying Sword Gang cleaved a deep trench into the earth. Immediately afterward, a furious roar rose from underground, and an enormous purple scorpion dozens of zhang tall burst out, glaring furiously at the three—or, more precisely, at Lin Xuan.
"Human, I spared you once before. Do you really think this king fears you?!"
The Purple Scorpion Demon King spoke in a human tongue, barely restrained anger in his voice.
Yet the Purple Scorpion Demon King's words startled Su Lianxin and Wang Yan behind Lin Xuan...
What had they just heard?
I spared you once before. Do you really think this king fears you?
This...
Something suddenly occurred to them, and boundless shock appeared in both Wang Yan's and Su Lianxin's eyes.
In fact, when they had first encountered this Purple Scorpion Demon King, they had also assumed the Qingwei Peak Master had intimidated him into retreating.
But judging by the Purple Scorpion Demon King's angry words, it seemed... that was not what had happened?
The one the Purple Scorpion Demon King dreaded was not the Qingwei Peak Master. The one he truly feared was their master?
So that was it! That was what had happened!
"You fear me. Of course you do. If you didn't, you would have attacked outright instead of wasting your breath here," Lin Xuan said with a smile.
"Human, you're courting death!"
The Purple Scorpion Demon King soared into the air. The long stinger on his tail detached from his body and shot straight toward Lin Xuan.
At the same time as he unleashed this attack, the Purple Scorpion Demon King fled in the opposite direction at tremendous speed without hesitation.
This sight left Wang Yan and Su Lianxin even more dumbfounded.
They had thought a fierce battle was inevitable. Instead... after firing off a stinger, the Purple Scorpion Demon King had simply chosen to flee?
The fleeing Purple Scorpion Demon King had no idea what Wang Yan and Su Lianxin were thinking. He only knew he was absolutely no match for Lin Xuan.
Having lived so many years, he could tell at a glance whom he could afford to provoke and whom he could not.
This human, Lin Xuan, was far too strange. Despite being only at the Tribulation Realm Ninth Level, he exerted tremendous pressure on the Purple Scorpion Demon King. Even a single glance at the terrifying sword intent in his eyes was enough to fill it with panic and dread.
Clang!
Facing the incoming stinger, Lin Xuan did not move an inch. Sword light flashed through his eyes, and a streak of Sword Qi cleaved through the air, knocking the stinger down.
Then he raised a hand and lightly tapped the air.
Immediately afterward, a colossal frost sword cleaved up from beneath the ground in the Purple Scorpion Demon King's path, instantly piercing him and freezing his enormous body solid.
Ice Sword...
It was one of the sword-related Great Daos Lin Xuan had comprehended. He had originally thought this strike would not be enough to kill the Purple Scorpion Demon King, but he had underestimated both its power and his current strength.
The King Realm First Layer Purple Scorpion Demon King had fallen!
He had not even withstood a single strike from Lin Xuan.
Only Wang Yan's and Su Lianxin's eyes witnessed this utterly breathtaking scene.
Both were shaken to their cores.
One strike, and a Demon King fell.
That was a Demon King! The equivalent of a Human Race King Realm expert—no... even considerably stronger than a Human Race King Realm expert of the same level. Yet he still could not withstand a single strike from their master.
Just how strong... was their master?
This was the first time they had personally seen Lin Xuan fight since becoming his disciples.
Slaying a King Realm opponent while in the Tribulation Realm! And with just one strike!
Had they not seen it with their own eyes, neither would ever have believed it.
After all, the higher one's realm, the harder it became to fight above it.
Being able to casually cross several realms in the Earth Mysterious or Heavenly Profound Realm did not mean one could still cross several levels upon reaching the Tribulation Realm or King Realm.
The splendor of that strike was deeply branded into their hearts.
After putting the Purple Scorpion Demon King's remains into his storage ring, Lin Xuan did not continue toward the Heaven-Burning Mystic Realm with his two disciples.
There was still some time before the Heaven-Burning Mystic Realm opened anyway. Arriving early or late made no difference; if they arrived before it opened, they would merely wait outside.
"Linyue City."
Linyue City stood at the edge of the Moon-Reflecting Mountain Range and took its name from its proximity to the mountains. It was also Lin Xuan's next destination.
The Purple Scorpion Demon King's remains and inner core were extremely valuable, but of little use to Lin Xuan. If he bestowed them upon his disciples, he worried that what he received in return would still be inner cores...
After several investment rebates, Lin Xuan had roughly figured out the system's patterns.
The items returned by the system were highly likely to be superior versions of whatever he invested. If he bestowed an inner core, for instance, he would most likely receive another inner core. Although this was not absolute, it held true in most cases.
Lin Xuan had little use for inner cores.
He might as well auction them off or exchange them for other items of equal value, then bestow those upon Wang Yan and Su Lianxin.
Because of its proximity to the Moon-Reflecting Mountain Range, Linyue City had become a haven for many adventurers. Its city lord was said to be a King Realm Third Layer expert.
His presence also meant that no individual or faction dared cause trouble lightly within Linyue City.
A King Realm Third Layer expert was already an extremely powerful existence in this region.
Even in the entire Azure Yang Sword Sect, only the sect master and Ancestor Xuanjian were stronger than him.
Although the First and Second Peak Masters were also at the King Realm Third Layer, they had only recently entered it. In an actual fight, they would likely be no match for the Linyue City Lord.
With the Heaven-Burning Mystic Realm about to open, Linyue City, already well populated, now saw a great influx of cultivators and factions preparing to head there. Some came from the Tangqing Empire like Lin Xuan, while others came from the other six nations.
The city's largest auction house was called the Dusk Moon Auction House, located in the north. After entering the city, Lin Xuan headed straight there. As for Su Lianxin and Wang Yan, they rarely left the sect and found everything outside fascinating, so Lin Xuan let them wander around the city.
The Dusk Moon Auction House was an enormous tower roughly thirty stories tall, standing conspicuously in the north of the city.
As soon as he entered, an attractive female attendant approached him and asked with a smile, "Welcome to the Dusk Moon Auction House. Young master, are you here to consign something, or...?"
"To consign something."
"Certainly, I'll just..."
Before she finished, however, she caught sight of a purple-robed young man slowly entering through the auction house doors. Her expression instantly grew excited, and her unfinished sentence trailed off.
The purple-robed young man walking leisurely into the auction house exuded nobility. His arrival excited not only the attendant before Lin Xuan; many other attendants also moved to greet him upon seeing him, only...
The attractive attendant before Lin Xuan beat them to it.
"My apologies, young master. Something urgent has come up. Qinghe, come here and attend to this guest." With that, she walked straight past Lin Xuan and hurried toward the richly dressed, purple-robed young man, seemingly afraid someone else would snatch him away if she was a step too late.
"Ah, huh? Oh..."
The attendant she had called Qinghe was a young girl of only around sixteen. Upon being called, she immediately grabbed a registration booklet in a fluster and hurried toward Lin Xuan.
The sight left Lin Xuan momentarily taken aback. Then... he smiled, not taking it too much to heart.
How could he not understand what had happened? It was simply that the purple-robed young man had an extraordinary status and could bring her far greater benefits than attending to him.
He did not blame her. It was human nature, and the attractive attendant's attitude toward him had been fairly good throughout.
Before long, the attractive attendant was already chatting and laughing with the purple-robed young man as they prepared to go upstairs.
The sight drew envious looks from many nearby attendants, who secretly resented being a step too slow and letting her get there first.
Meanwhile, the pretty young girl called Qinghe came up to Lin Xuan in a fluster. "Hello, young master. My name is Qinghe. You wish to consign something, correct?"
"Yes. You won't run off too, will you?" Lin Xuan teased gently.
"Ah! I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." Qinghe's little face instantly flushed red, and she apologized repeatedly.
"It's fine. I didn't take it to heart. Here's what I want to auction. Have a look. If you can't make the decision, you can call whoever's in charge." Lin Xuan shook his head and tossed her a storage ring.
Taking the storage ring, Qinghe probed inside with her Divine Sense.
"Ah-?!"
Her cry rang throughout the auction house's first floor. Many people turned toward Qinghe, puzzled. Even the attractive attendant and the purple-robed young man, who were about to climb the stairs, stopped and looked at her in confusion.
"This... this is..."
Qinghe could hardly believe it, and even her voice trembled. What had she seen?
An enormous creature of astonishing proportions. Although it was already dead, the terrifying presence surrounding it still left Qinghe struggling to breathe.
"This is a King-grade Demon Beast!"
Qinghe paled. There was no mistaking that presence!
It had the same presence as the Demon King bones the auction house had sold six months ago-no... the pressure she felt from it was even stronger!
Most importantly, these were a Demon King's complete remains. Qinghe could even see a huge inner core in its chest!
Qinghe's little heart nearly leaped out of her chest. She had never imagined she would have the chance to attend to an honored guest who brought Demon King remains to auction.
Moreover, this guest had been pushed onto her by Sister Liqin, who was always bullying her...
Qinghe did not even dare imagine how much commission these Demon King remains could earn her.
She only knew that she probably could not earn that many Spirit Stones even if she worked at the auction house her entire life...
"A King-grade Demon Beast?"
An elderly man slowly descending from the second floor spoke in puzzlement.
"Elder Yuan."
"Greetings, Elder Yuan."
The old man appeared to be one of the auction house's managers. At his appearance, every attendant on the first floor bowed in greeting.
"Elder Yuan, you've come at just the right time! Inside the storage ring this young master gave me are... are a Demon King's complete remains, including its inner core!" Knowing full well that this was beyond what she could handle, Qinghe hurriedly addressed Elder Yuan as he descended the stairs.
"What?! Demon King remains? And complete ones at that?"
Elder Yuan had still been descending at a leisurely pace, but Qinghe's words finally shattered his composure. He took a single step and vanished, reappearing directly before her and taking the storage ring from her hands.
He probed inside with his Divine Sense. When he personally saw the Purple Scorpion Demon King's remains, as large as a small hill, even the widely experienced Elder Yuan was shaken!
As Linyue City's largest auction house, the Dusk Moon Auction House had auctioned King-grade Demon Beasts before, but the vast majority had only been individual parts.
Hide or scales, bones, horns, or claws. Inner cores were comparatively much rarer. As for a Demon King's complete remains, even since its founding, the Dusk Moon Auction House had only auctioned those a handful of times.
After all, a Demon King of the same level as a Human Race King Realm expert was already stronger than a Demon King of the same realm.
Even defeating a King Realm First Layer Demon King required at least several Human Race King Realm experts of the same level. And that was merely defeating it; killing it was harder still.
Even someone at the King Realm Second Layer would not dare claim absolute confidence in killing a King Realm First Layer Demon King.
Looking at the startling sword wound in the Demon King's chest within the storage ring, Elder Yuan grew even more alarmed.
This Purple Scorpion Demon King had been killed with a single sword strike!
Sensing the faint sword intent still lingering on the fatal wound, Elder Yuan felt his scalp prickle.
The one who had killed this Demon King was undoubtedly a peerless sword cultivator who had cultivated sword intent!
Elder Yuan had seen sword cultivators who had comprehended sword intent before, and more than one, such as the Dawn Empire's Sword King Liyuan and the Heron Empire's White Rainbow Sword King...
They were all supreme sword cultivators who had comprehended the second level of Sword Dao True Intention.
But... the sword intent lingering on this Purple Scorpion Demon King, that presence that made Elder Yuan's scalp prickle, felt stronger than those two-or even any sword cultivator he had ever seen!
This was definitely a sword cultivator who had comprehended the third level of Sword Dao True Intention! Elder Yuan was certain.