119: Auction and Yuanying Old Monster

Heavenly Vault Fortress, the exclusive top-floor private room of Tianji Pavilion.

There wasn't a trace of worldly luxury here.

On the walls, pieces of soul-warming jade, each the size of a baby's fist, were embedded, emitting a soft, visible glow that continuously nourished the Divine Souls of everyone in the private room.

A clear, crisp tea fragrance wafted through the air.

Spirit Mist Tea.

Harvested from the peak of a ten-thousand-foot Spiritual Vein, a mere tael was enough to bankrupt a Golden Core cultivator.

Blocking out external prying eyes was a massive, one-way crystal.

From here, one could overlook the entire auction hall.

However, the outside world could not see anything inside.

Yan Ziyue sat at the center of this silent luxury, personally pouring tea for Lin Gou and Su Meier, her movements elegant and flawless.

"I never expected to meet the Death Artist and his golden producer here."

"What a great Opportunity."

She smiled, her beautiful eyes, which seemed capable of seeing into people's hearts, flitting between Lin Gou and Su Meier, carrying undisguised scrutiny.

Su Meier picked up the jade cup, her fingertips slightly cool.

She had calmed down from her initial shock and instantly slipped into the role of "Madam Bai."

"Pavilion Master Yan, you jest."

"We are merely two wandering Loose Cultivators who, by chance, obtained some Opportunity and were able to come here to broaden our horizons."

Her tone was calm and impenetrable.

"What artist, what producer—we don't understand such things."

The smile on Yan Ziyue's face deepened.

"Is that so?"

"Then what a coincidence."

She gently set down her teacup, her voice carrying a hint of playfulness.

"Our Tianji Pavilion just received the latest intelligence regarding the Death Artist."

"It is said that not long ago, he challenged the might of heaven and earth in the Void Thunder Abyss."

"That scene was truly earth-shattering; even a Formation Grandmaster who had been meditating there for a hundred years was impressed by it."

As her words fell.

The temperature in the private room seemed to drop by a few degrees.

Su Meier's hand, holding the jade cup, imperceptibly tightened.

This matter, apart from the three of them, could never have been known by a fourth person.

Tianji Pavilion's intelligence capabilities had reached such a terrifying level.

Lin Gou, however, acted as if nothing had happened.

He picked up his teacup, took a light sip, and then let out a sigh of satisfaction.

"Good tea."

He even nodded sagely, as if he had truly come here only for the tea.

Elder Ji Xuan, stroking his long beard nearby, smiled without speaking, choosing to be a qualified background.

Yan Ziyue's gaze finally, for the first time, completely fell upon Lin Gou.

This man had not said a word since he entered.

He was like a bottomless ancient well.

No matter how large a stone you threw in, you would not hear a single echo.

This feeling made Yan Ziyue, who was always in control, feel a hint of frustration for the first time.

"Fellow Daoist Lin, you don't seem very interested in our Tianji Pavilion's business?"

She decided to get straight to the point.

Lin Gou finally put down his teacup.

He lifted his eyelids, looked at this woman, who was shrewd to her bones, and showed an innocent and harmless smile.

"Pavilion Master Yan misunderstands."

"I merely believe that professional matters should be handled by professionals."

He tilted his head slightly, glancing at Su Meier beside him.

"She is my agent, and also my... entire fortune."

"For business matters, you can just talk to her."

Su Meier's heart leaped.

She could feel that Lin Gou's hand, which had been resting on the armrest, had at some point covered the back of her hand.

His palm was warm and dry.

A steady, mountain-like strength slowly transmitted through their clasped hands, instantly calming all her tension and unease.

Yan Ziyue watched the unreserved intimacy between the two, a peculiar glint flashing in her beautiful eyes.

She suddenly smiled.

"Alright."

"Since that's the case, I will speak with Madam Bai."

She took out a Jade Slip and gently pushed it towards Su Meier.

"This is the next death commission our Tianji Pavilion has tailor-made for the Death Artist."

"The reward is this amount."

She extended three slender fingers.

"Additionally, we can provide all the materials needed for the Death Artist's next performance, no matter what they are."

"Even including a... living Soul Transformation Late Stage Cultivator."

Su Meier's Divine Sense swept over the Jade Slip, her mind greatly shaken.

Tianji Pavilion's conditions were so generous that they startled her.

But their demands were equally outrageous.

Just then, a melodious bell rang from within the hall.

The Ten-Thousand Treasures Auction officially began.

Yan Ziyue put away the Jade Slip, her professional smile reappearing on her face.

"We can discuss business slowly."

"Let's first see what surprises this grand event, which appears once every three hundred years, can bring us."

The high platform slowly rose, and a Nascent Soul Middle Stage Cultivator with a youthful face and white hair, holding a small white jade hammer, spoke loudly.

"Fellow Daoists, welcome to the Heavenly Vault Fortress!"

"This Old Ancestor, Duobao Sou, has the honor of presiding over this Ten-Thousand Treasures Auction!"

"Without further ado, please behold the first item!"

The red cloth was lifted, revealing a section of withered wood as black as ink, lying quietly without any spiritual energy fluctuations.

"This item is called 'Soul Nurturing Wood'."

Duobao Sou introduced with a smile.

"Its greatest use is not nurturing the soul, but... peaceful slumber."

"Starting bid, one hundred thousand High-Grade Spirit Stones."

Inside the private room, Su Meier pouted: "Flashy but impractical."

Lin Gou, however, shook his head: "No, this thing is very useful. For Cultivators troubled by Heart Demons, this is a true luxury."

Indeed, after some bidding, this section of Soul Nurturing Wood was actually driven up to the exorbitant price of three hundred thousand High-Grade Spirit Stones.

The next few items were even more exotic treasures, causing Nascent Soul Old Monsters to bid frantically, and the atmosphere of the entire hall was pushed to a climax.

Su Meier was dazzled.

Lin Gou, however, remained leaning back in his chair, his expression indifferent.

He was waiting.

Waiting for that one thing that could truly move him.

Finally.

Midway through the auction, Duobao Sou's face showed an unprecedented solemnity.

He personally stepped down from the high platform and took a white jade treasure box, heavily sealed by Restrictions.

"This next item is one of the main treasures of this auction!"

"Its name, nine aperture soul-nurturing jade!"

He suddenly opened the treasure box.

In an instant.

An indescribable, warm and pure Soul Power fluctuation, like a tide, swept through the entire auction hall!

All the Cultivators touched by this aura felt their Divine Souls as if bathed in warm spring water, an indescribable comfort.

Inside the treasure box, a piece of beautiful jade, no bigger than a palm, entirely pristine white, lay quietly.

On the beautiful jade, nine apertures were naturally formed, slowly breathing as if alive.

"nine aperture soul-nurturing jade!"

"Nourishes the Divine Soul, repairs the Origin, reconstructs the Dao Foundation!"

"Starting bid, three million High-Grade Spirit Stones!"

"Each bid must not be less than one hundred thousand!"

The entire hall, after a brief silence, instantly erupted!

"Three million one hundred thousand!"

"Three million five hundred thousand!"

"I bid four million!"

The price soared wildly at a heart-stopping speed.

Inside the private room.

The moment he saw that jade, Lin Gou's breathing paused for a split second.

His pupils suddenly constricted.

This was it!

He needed this!

This jade would allow him to court death more frequently and grow stronger faster!

His gaze towards the jade was no longer one of appreciation.

Instead, it was an extreme greed and longing, like a hungry wolf spotting its prey.

And just then.

A majestic and domineering Divine Thought, like the voice of heavenly law, swept through the entire auction hall without warning.

That Divine Thought carried a scorching heat capable of burning the heavens and boiling the seas, causing everyone's Divine Souls to feel a searing pain.

"This item, this Old Ancestor wants it."

An aged voice slowly emerged from a top-tier private room on the uppermost floor of the hall, a room that had never made a bid before.

The voice was not loud, yet it seemed to command the very laws of reality.

The previously noisy and bustling hall instantly fell silent.

A fine layer of cold sweat seeped from Duobao Sou's forehead.

Old Ancestor Chiyang!

A terrifying existence, renowned for thousands of years, with one foot already stepped into the Soul Transformation realm!

Once he spoke, who would dare to contend?

"Hmph."

A cold snort, like a peal of thunder, exploded.

"When this Old Ancestor speaks, do I still need to bid?"

Overbearing.

Unreasonable.

Duobao Sou's face was deathly pale, and he was about to brace himself and bring down the hammer.

At that very moment.

A lazy, somewhat cynical voice clearly emanated from Tianji Pavilion's private room.

"Five million."

"I bid five million."

The entire auction hall plunged into a silence even more profound than before, a deathly stillness.

Time seemed to freeze.

Everyone's gazes, like sharp swords, simultaneously shot towards the private room where Tianji Pavilion was located.

Their eyes were filled with shock, incomprehension, and... pity, as if looking at a dead man.

He was insane.

This fellow must be insane.

Inside the private room.

Su Meier's face had completely lost its color.

She suddenly grabbed Lin Gou's hand, which was as cold as ice.

"You... what are you doing!"

Her voice was trembling.

Only Yan Ziyue's beautiful eyes glowed with an unprecedented excitement.

Boom!

A terrifying killing intent, powerful enough to completely freeze a Divine Soul, like an invisible giant hammer, violently pierced through layers of Restrictions, firmly locking onto Lin Gou!

The soul-warming jade in the private room dimmed slightly under the impact of this killing intent.

Su Meier let out a muffled groan, a trace of blood spilling from the corner of her mouth.

Lin Gou, however, seemed completely oblivious.

He even shifted into a more comfortable position, leaning back in the chair made of thousand-year-old cold jade.

He looked through the crystal towards the direction where Old Ancestor Chiyang was, and in an extremely provocative, playboy-like tone, he lazily said,

"No choice."

"My master gave me too much pocket money; I can't even spend it all."

"This Young Master simply likes the appearance of this jade."

"What, Senior, do you have an objection?"

His words were like detonating a nuclear bomb inside a volcano.

"Good..."

"Very good!"

Old Ancestor Chiyang's voice rang out again.

In that voice, there was no longer any discernible emotion.

Only a chilling coldness, enough to freeze a thousand miles.

He, an Elder, was actually being humiliated like this by a Golden Core Stage junior.

The rules of the auction prevented him from taking action on the spot.

He could only watch as Duobao Sou, with a hand trembling so much he could barely hold the hammer, completed the final process.

"Five million, once."

"Five million, twice."

"Five million, thrice!"

"Sold!"

Thump!

The hammer fell.

It also seemed to toll the death knell for someone.

The maid quickly and respectfully delivered the white jade treasure box into the private room.

The transaction was complete.

The moment Lin Gou's hand touched the treasure box.

A cold, venomous Divine Thought, filled with endless killing intent, like a red-hot poisonous needle, directly pierced through his Sea of Consciousness, exploding in his mind.

"Little beast."

"Enjoy the last moments of your life."

"Outside the city."

"That will be your burial ground!"