Ladies and gentlemen, the final lot of tonight

“The second item up for auction is the Black Tortoise Sea-Suppressing Armor. It was refined from the shell of a ten-thousand-year-old black tortoise of the deep sea, supplemented with a Sea-Suppressing Divine Pearl. It can withstand a full-power strike from a cultivator of the Dao Integration Realm without sustaining damage.”

“The starting bid remains one hundred thousand high-grade spirit stones.”

The moment the words left his mouth, movement finally came from the Shu family’s private room on the eastern side of the second floor.

“Six hundred thousand.”

It was Shadow One’s voice, cold and devoid of emotion.

As soon as the price was announced, the auction hall erupted in a chorus of sharp intakes of breath.

The Black Tortoise Sea-Suppressing Armor was certainly valuable, but under normal circumstances, five hundred thousand would already have been the limit. The Shu family had added another one hundred thousand right from the start, making it clear that they were determined to have it.

“Seven hundred thousand.”

A sinister voice came from an inconspicuous corner on the western side. Several cultivators sat there, their bodies shrouded in black robes, making it impossible to tell where they came from.

“Eight hundred thousand.” Shadow One’s voice remained utterly composed.

“Eight hundred thousand and one high-grade spirit stone.” The black-robed man let out a strange chuckle.

This was no longer bidding. It was a naked provocation.

“One million.” A trace of killing intent finally entered Shadow One’s voice.

The black-robed man fell silent.

In the end, the Black Tortoise Armor fell into the hands of the Shu family at a price far exceeding its actual value.

“The third item up for auction is a fragment of the ancient pill formula for the Reverse-Dust Pill. It is said to allow a cultivator to reshape their original Dao foundation, reverse themselves to their innate state, and make up for the regrets caused by a lack of resources in the past. The starting bid is two hundred thousand high-grade spirit stones.”

This time, it was the Puppet Heaven Sacred Land that made a move.

The sallow-faced middle-aged man had only called out two bids from beginning to end.

“Three hundred thousand.”

“Five hundred thousand.”

When he called out five hundred thousand, no one else in the hall dared to continue bidding. Everyone had seen the girl beside him, who had been wiping down a puppet, flash a sweet smile at the hesitant competitors before lightly drawing a line through the air with her finger.

An invisible burst of force shaved a piece off the corner of the sandalwood table in front of one of the competitors.

Not a bit more, not a bit less—exactly one inch.

A silent threat, yet a deadly one.

“These people…” Su Ji complained in his sea of consciousness. “Every one of them has such a heavy killing intent.”

“In their eyes, human lives are no different from materials for refining weapons,” the Old Emperor replied, without much surprise. “But this pill formula really is a good thing. What a pity that it’s only a fragment. Otherwise, its price would probably be more than ten times higher.”

The auction continued in a manner that was seemingly uneventful, yet beneath the surface, undercurrents surged.

The various factions maneuvered against one another, and every item up for auction was sold at a bizarrely high price.

They weren’t buying things.

Who knew whether they were showing off their strength, probing one another’s limits…

Or whether they had never intended to pay in the first place.

Su Ji watched with dwindling interest.

He yawned. Even the juicy spirit fruit in his hand had begun to taste dull.

“Ajiu.”

“Hmm?” Su Jiu was nervously observing the activity on the second floor. She answered instinctively when she heard him.

“I’m going to sleep for a while.”

“Huh?” Su Jiu thought she had misheard him.

“It’s too boring.” Su Ji leaned back in his chair and adjusted himself into a comfortable position. He even pulled Su Jiu into his arms, making sure she was seated more securely. “It’s like watching a bunch of monkeys fighting over bananas. It’s not even as entertaining as street performers.”

Su Jiu: “…”

Senior Brother, could you keep your voice down?!

Several nearby cultivators who had been straining their ears to listen turned green in the face.

Monkeys fighting over bananas?

That description of yours is truly… refreshingly unconventional.

“Wake me when that sword comes out.”

After saying this, Su Ji actually closed his eyes. Within a few breaths, his breathing had already become steady and deep.

In the Treasure-Gathering Pavilion’s main hall, where thousands of cultivators had gathered and mighty experts watched from all sides, with the atmosphere tense to the extreme, he fell asleep in full view of everyone.

Su Jiu sat stiffly on his lap, as if perched on a bed of needles.

She could feel one scrutinizing gaze after another settling upon them.

Some were cold and sinister, others merely curious, but all of them enveloped her and Su Ji.

The girl’s face had grown so hot it could have fried a spirit chicken egg.

Yet when she looked at her senior brother’s calm, peaceful sleeping face, the panicked heart within her inexplicably settled down.

She straightened her back, imitating Su Ji as she picked up a spirit fruit and nibbled at it in small bites. Still, the slight tremor in her fingertips betrayed the turmoil in her heart.

Time slowly passed amid this strange atmosphere.

One auction item after another was brought out, then carried away by its new owner.

As the final moment drew nearer, however, the atmosphere in the hall grew increasingly oppressive.

Until…

“Senior Brother… Senior Brother, wake up…”

Su Jiu gently bumped Su Ji’s shoulder with her own.

Su Ji’s eyelids twitched, and he slowly opened his eyes.

There was not the slightest trace of drowsiness in those eyes.

“It’s time?”

Su Jiu nodded. “Mm.”

Su Ji sat up straight and stretched. A series of crisp pops came from his joints.

He lifted his eyes toward the stage.

At this moment, all the maidservants had already withdrawn from the platform.

Only Tong Qiannian remained, standing there alone.

In front of him was an object covered by a huge red cloth.

Everyone’s eyes were focused on that red cloth, greed flickering in their gazes.

That faint, desolate sword intent, spanning countless ages, continued to seep out in wisps even through the cloth. The swords worn by the sword cultivators present all began to hum softly, as if paying homage—or perhaps trembling in fear.

But…

A huge question rose in everyone’s hearts.

The shape was wrong.

The outline beneath the red cloth was that of a square stone platform roughly the height of a person.

Could the sword be embedded in the platform?

“What’s going on?”

“Could the Tong family be trying to play us for fools?”

Suppressed murmurs of discussion rose from the crowd.

In the private room on the second floor, Shu Wanjuan’s brows drew tightly together.

The middle-aged man from the Puppet Heaven Sacred Land opened his eyes outright. For the first time, a sharp gleam appeared in those dull, wooden eyes.

On the third floor, Elder Fang Zheng’s figure also appeared silently by the window.

Facing the doubts and pressure of the entire hall, Tong Qiannian remained expressionless.

He slowly walked to the enormous red cloth and placed his withered hand upon it.

The entire hall instantly fell silent.

Tong Qiannian drew a deep breath. His gaze swept across the hall, and finally, an exceedingly complicated light flickered within his murky eyes.

Then, using every ounce of strength in his body, he shouted hoarsely, one word at a time:

“Honored guests, the final auction item of tonight!”

“It is not only… the ancestral sword passed down through my family!”

He paused sharply, and his voice suddenly rose.

“It is also—”

“The only daughter of the Tong family.”