33: Chapter 33 Qi Jia Wolf Puppet, Ning Family Suffers Bloodshed

Zhiyao stood in the center of the auction stage, the soft light of the spirit lamps falling upon her, making her purple robes shimmer with brilliant colors.

She raised her hand to signal the audience below to quiet down, her voice clear and confident, completely different from the forbearance she showed when facing the Ning Family's harassment just now.

"Fellow Daoists, this qijia wolf puppet is not an item from the Yue Country."

She paused, watching with satisfaction as all the gazes below focused on her, "It comes from Dahuang City."

As those three words fell, the crowd below fell silent for a moment before erupting into a frenzy.

"Dahuang City? Could it be that immortal city known as the City of a Hundred Crafts?"

An old Cultivator suddenly stood up, his voice trembling.

"Nonsense, is there a second Dahuang City under the heavens! Only Foundation Establishment Cultivators are qualified to enter that city. Any random item flowing out from there would be a supreme treasure over here!"

"Good heavens, Wanbao Pavilion can actually get goods from Dahuang City? This connection is way too wild..."

"Doesn't winning the bid for it mean directly coming into contact with things from Dahuang City? Once this news spreads, even the Spirit Sword Sect will send people over, right!"

Zhiyao thoroughly enjoyed this reaction.

Wanbao Pavilion was merely a second-rate merchant house in the Yue Country, but today she was able to stand here and auction a Puppet beast produced by Dahuang City. Such prestige could not be found a second time in the entire history of the Wanshan County branch.

She slightly raised her chin and continued, "The qijia wolf puppet, crafted by Dahuang City Puppet masters using fine iron for bones and profound copper for armor, with an embedded gathering spirit Formation for drive, is painless, fearless, and tireless. It only needs Spirit Stones embedded to be driven, and its combat power—"

She deliberately paused, waiting for the noise below to completely quiet down, "is equivalent to the Late Stage of Qi Refinement."

A suppressed gasp of air echoed from the crowd below.

The Late Stage of Qi Refinement was already a strength that allowed one to walk sideways in a small place like Wanshan County.

The goatee Cultivator counted on his fingers, "Doesn't eat, doesn't sleep, isn't afraid of death, and can fight like a Late Stage Qi Refinement Cultivator... Raising a Late Stage Qi Refinement Cultivator costs hundreds of Spirit Stones a year just in salary. This Puppet doesn't consume Spirit Stones at all when not fighting, and can be used for more than ten or twenty years. It's a bargain, an absolute bargain!"

Someone immediately retorted, "A bargain? Take a look at the starting price; selling you off wouldn't even afford one of its legs."

The goatee gave an embarrassed smile and shrank his neck back.

Wang Shouren stood by the third-floor railing, his gaze falling upon the dark-hued wolf-shaped Puppet.

The profound copper armor plates emitted a faint, cold light under the spirit lamps. The wolf's head hung low, and two narrow slits at the eye sockets faintly revealed the intricate internal structure.

"Good stuff."

Zhiyao raised the auction mallet, her voice clear, "Starting price of one thousand two hundred Spirit Stones, each bid must not be less than one hundred Spirit Stones. Begin!"

Before her voice faded, a sharp voice from Ning Xishan came from the private room on the second floor hanging the Ning Family's emblem, "One thousand five hundred!"

He had learned to be smart this time and stopped playing petty tricks, directly raising the price by three hundred Spirit Stones right off the bat, showing a strong determination to win it.

Inside the private room, Ning Xishan put down his teacup, a resolute smile floating on his fair face.

The old man beside him leaned in close, lowering his voice, "Young Master, is this Puppet truly worth making such a big fuss over?"

Ning Xishan sneered, his gaze passing through the gaps of the beaded curtains to land on the wolf-shaped Puppet, a flash of eager enthusiasm in his eyes.

"What do you know? Before coming here, Father personally instructed that this qijia wolf puppet is genuine Dahuang City merchandise.

As long as we get our hands on it, the Artifact Refiners in the clan will have the confidence to take it apart. By then, Dahuang City's refining techniques and Formation layouts—hehe, even if we only learn a mere fur of it, it will be enough for our Ning Family to benefit from for decades.

By then, let alone the Wang Family, even the Spirit Sword Sect will have to look at us with high regard."

He paused, his tone becoming increasingly resolute.

"Furthermore, a Puppet is also a type of Artifact Refining. A Puppet with merely the combat power of the Qi Refinement Stage, how complicated could it be inside?

My Ning Family has refined artifacts for generations, and we can even imitate Medium Grade Magical Artifacts. Taking apart a mere Puppet should be a piece of cake!

Our Ning Family is determined to win this item."

The old man was still somewhat uneasy and whispered, "But will the Wang Family let us get it..."

"The Wang Family?" Ning Xishan sneered, raising his eyes to glance at the figure standing against the railing on the third floor, his shrill voice full of disdain.

"Wang Shouren spent a lot of Spirit Stones bidding on that Earth Fiend earlier. Moreover, that fellow is most likely aiming for the Puppet's combat power; taking it back won't have much major use, so he definitely won't spend a large sum."

Before his voice faded, Wang Shouren's breezy voice came from the third floor, "One thousand six hundred."

Ning Xishan snorted coldly, lifted a corner of the beaded curtains, and shouted toward the stage, "One thousand eight hundred!"

"One thousand nine hundred."

"Two thousand two hundred!" Ning Xishan's voice suddenly rose sharply, "Wang, although this Puppet is rare, it only has the combat power of the Late Stage of Qi Refinement. Our two families have been on good terms for generations, there is no need to drive things to extremes!"

Wang Shouren didn't even glance at him. He definitely couldn't let the Ning Family succeed in getting what they wanted.

"Although this thing is worth at most a little over a thousand Spirit Stones, since the Ning Family wants it so badly, I certainly can't let them have their way. At the very least, I have to make them bleed."

He picked up the spirit tea newly replaced by the maid, took a sip, and unhurriedly spat out a number, "Three thousand three hundred."

The entire venue fell dead silent for a split second before erupting into an uproar.

The gray-robed Daoist pulled at his beard and muttered to his companion beside him, "Directly raising the price by one thousand one hundred, three thousand three hundred Spirit Stones! He called out the bid just like that without even blinking an eye... Can this Wang Family save up this many Spirit Stones all these years just by selling fish?"

His companion rolled his eyes, "Do you think everyone is like you? They just wiped out the Dadao Sect, and the family fortune the Dadao Sect accumulated over thirty years all went to the Wang Family. Can their backbone not be stiff?"

The resolute smile on Ning Xishan's face finally froze.

He abruptly slammed down the beaded curtains, sat back down in his chair, and his chest heaved violently a few times.

"Three thousand five hundred!"

Swish, the entire audience was shocked, and everyone couldn't help but sigh that a family with a Legacy of hundreds of years was truly wealthy and grand.

"Young Master, the head of the family didn't give us this many Spirit Stones. If we exceed the amount, we won't be able to account for it when we go back. The Wang Family just swallowed up the Dadao Sect's family fortune and their backbone is stiff right now, why must we butt heads with them?"

"Shut up, you simply don't know the value of this thing."

Ning Xishan pushed him aside, a trace of ruthlessness flashing in his eyes.

"Four thousand." Just when Ning Xishan thought Wang Shouren wouldn't dare to bid again, the voice from the third floor rang out just as leisurely, as if it weren't Spirit Stones being called out, but a few copper coins.

There was another commotion below. Someone counted on their fingers, "Young Master Wang has such bold aura, five hundred Spirit Stones at a time, while Young Master Ning only adds two or three hundred each time. He really pales in comparison..."

The companion beside him quickly pulled his sleeve, "Keep it down, the people from the Ning Family are still upstairs." That person shrank his neck and didn't dare to say any more.