The Woman in Purple

The City of Sin, Fengdu.

Here, there were no laws and no morals, only naked desire and slaughter.

The air was perpetually thick with the rusty stench of blood. Instead of lanterns, the skulls of unknown creatures hung on both sides of the streets, with eerie ghost fires burning in their empty eye sockets.

Ye Xuan, dressed in spotless white robes, looked completely out of place as he walked down this muddy, filthy street.

However, the Nascent Soul realm aura radiating from him, coupled with his nonchalant expression, kept the surrounding greedy gazes from daring to approach easily.

The Embroidery Maid followed submissively behind him, carrying a few skewers of candied haws that Ye Xuan had just bought.

Her gaze appeared docile, but it was actually like a dense net. In her mind, she had already handed down a death sentence to anyone whose eyes dared to linger on Ye Xuan for more than a single breath.

"Is that the Ten Thousand Demons Auction House over there?"

Ye Xuan stopped and looked up at a massive skull-shaped building carved from a single piece of obsidian ahead of them.

"Yes, Young Master," Wu Lingxiao said softly. "It is jointly hosted by the three sects of the Demonic Path. Only those holding a Demon Token or possessing a net worth of billions are allowed to enter."

"Billions?"

A playful smile tugged at the corners of Ye Xuan's lips. He reached into his robes and touched the Nine Dragons Supreme Ring that belonged to the Empress.

"That's perfect. I'm so poor that spirit stones are all I have left."

Inside the auction house, it was a whole different world.

It was a colossal, circular colosseum-style structure. Surrounding it were rows of suspended private boxes, reserved for important figures. In the center stood a massive circular high platform.

Ye Xuan did not choose a private box.

He enjoyed the feeling of being watched, and even more so, the thrill of being at the center of the vortex.

He led the two women straight to the most conspicuous seats in the first row and sat down.

In front of him sat a bronze tray half the height of a person. This was the signature magical artifact of the Ten Thousand Demons Auction, the Gold Swallowing Tray.

Here, there were no tabs and no credit.

For every round of bidding, actual spirit stones had to be thrown into this tray. The tray would emit a pillar of light corresponding in height to the grade and quantity of the spirit stones.

The highest pillar of light would win.

This simple and crude method of flaunting wealth was the best way to stimulate the bloodlust and vanity of demonic cultivators.

"Yo, where did this pretty boy come from? You're still wet behind the ears, yet you dare to sit in the first row?"

Nearby, a demonic cultivator with a face full of fierce flesh, exuding an early Nascent Soul realm aura, stared sinisterly at Ye Xuan. His gaze roamed unscrupulously over Wu Lingxiao and Ying'er behind him.

"Tsk tsk, these two little wenches are top-tier. Kid, lend them to me to play with for a couple of days, and I guarantee you'll be safe in Fengdu City. How about it?"

The fingers Wu Lingxiao was using to peel a grape for Ye Xuan suddenly paused.

Crack.

The pitiful grape was instantly reduced to nothingness.

Before the Nascent Soul demonic cultivator's words had even faded, he suddenly felt a wave of terror.

He felt a chill shoot straight from his tailbone to the crown of his head, as if he were being targeted by some primordial ferocious beast.

But after looking around, he saw that the white-robed pretty boy was only at the Nascent Soul realm, and the two maids had absolutely no spiritual energy fluctuations. His courage involuntarily swelled a bit more.

"What? Scared stupid? Hahaha..."

The laughter came to an abrupt halt.

Because Ye Xuan moved.

He didn't draw a sword, nor did he even stand up. He casually grabbed a handful of items from his storage ring and, like feeding fish, casually tossed them toward the demonic cultivator's location.

They were supreme-grade spirit stones.

Over a hundred supreme-grade spirit stones sparkled with dazzling brilliance under the dim lights, tracing enchanting arcs through the air.

Clatter!

The rain of spirit stones fell, not hitting the demonic cultivator, but scattering onto the aisles and under the seats around him.

Ye Xuan gently fanned himself with a folding fan, a lazy curve forming at the corner of his mouth. His voice was not loud, but it was clearly audible in the silent venue.

"I have a rule. I cannot stand the sound of dogs barking."

He scanned the surrounding eyes that had instantly turned crimson and greedy, and said indifferently:

"Whoever rips out this dog's tongue gets the spirit stones on the ground. Whoever twists off his head..."

Ye Xuan tossed out another jade box emitting a rich pill fragrance. It was a fifth-tier pill, the Nascent Breaking Pill, a supreme treasure dreamed of by countless demonic cultivators trapped at the Nascent Soul bottleneck.

"...gets this pill."

Dead silence.

Following the brief dead silence was a madness like a volcanic eruption.

There was absolutely no need for any mobilization. In the City of Sin, profit was the sole driving force.

Over a hundred supreme-grade spirit stones plus a Nascent Breaking Pill were enough to tempt even old monsters at the Soul Formation realm, let alone these desperadoes present.

"You dare! I am the Vice Sect Master of the Blood Fiend Sect..."

The Nascent Soul demonic cultivator roared in terror, but his voice was instantly drowned out by the sea of people.

The radiance of dozens of magical treasures lit up simultaneously, and countless claws swiped at him, bringing with them a storm of blood and gore.

The scream was agonizing but brief.

In merely three breaths.

The Nascent Soul demonic cultivator who had been so arrogant and domineering just moments ago was torn to shreds before his Nascent Soul even had time to escape.

A blood-drenched One-Eyed Old Demon, holding a mangled head in his hand, knelt respectfully before Ye Xuan, raising his hands high. "Young Master, I have not failed my mission."

Ye Xuan didn't even glance at the head. With a light flick of his fingertip, the bottle containing the Nascent Breaking Pill fell into the old demon's hands.

"Your reward."

The One-Eyed Old Demon kowtowed in ecstasy. "Thank you for the reward, Young Master! In the future, should you have any orders, this old ghost will not hesitate even if it means dying ten thousand times!"

The entire venue was dead silent.

All the demonic cultivators who had originally harbored covetous thoughts toward Ye Xuan's two stunning maids now only felt a chill down their spines.

What kind of method was this?

Without lifting a finger, he had turned a Nascent Soul expert to ash while chatting and laughing.

Was this the terror of the power of wealth?

"How boring."

Ye Xuan withdrew his gaze, his interest waning, and turned to look beside him.

Wu Lingxiao had her head lowered, her hand that had been prepared to suddenly strike and kill slowly relaxing.

She looked at Ye Xuan's perfect profile, the infatuation in her eyes growing even thicker, even bringing a hint of a sickly flush to her cheeks.

'As expected of my husband...'

'Killing with a borrowed knife, winning without shedding a drop of blood. This indifference that treats human life like grass, this domineering aura that controls everything... Ah, I really want to lock him up and make him show this expression only to me...'

"Ling'er, what are you thinking about? Your smile is so creepy." Ye Xuan pinched her cheek with a half-smile.

Wu Lingxiao instantly concealed the madness in the depths of her eyes, replacing it with an obedient and submissive look. She rubbed her cheek against Ye Xuan's palm. "Ling'er was thinking about how majestic you were just now, Young Master."

Ye Xuan smiled faintly and didn't say anything more.

"Fellow Daoists, jie jie jie..."

On the auction stage, an auctioneer wearing a red robe with bizarre runes painted on his face made his entrance with a strange laugh.

"For today's Ten Thousand Demons Auction, the rules remain the same. Cash on the barrelhead, and the highest bidder wins!"

As his voice fell, the first auction item was carried up.

It was a cultivator's still-beating heart, radiating a rich life force.

"The heart of a Golden Core realm Pure Yang cultivator! Starting price, five hundred mid-grade spirit stones!"

"Six hundred!"

"Eight hundred!"

The surrounding demonic cultivators instantly boiled over, their greedy shouts of bids rising one after another.

Ye Xuan merely yawned, his eyes revealing a perfectly measured trace of disgust and boredom.

The auction items that followed, whether human skin drums or wraith banners, were all sinister and evil objects.

Ye Xuan did not make a single bid on any of them.

Wu Lingxiao had been observing Ye Xuan's expression all along. Seeing that he not only refused to associate with them but also sneered at these demonic practices, a sweet sense of pride welled up in her heart.

This is my Consort Xuan.

Emerging unstained from the mud, even in this Myriad Demon Cave, he still maintained a pure, innocent heart.

However, this tranquility was soon broken.

"Next up is one of tonight's finales!"

The host's voice suddenly became excited, even carrying a trace of a lewd tremor:

"This piece of merchandise is a supreme treasure that we captured from the righteous orthodox sect, the Ethereal Sect, at a tremendous cost!"

"Bring it up!"

Rumble.

A huge fine iron cage was slowly pushed onto the high stage by four burly demonic soldiers.

The black cloth over the cage was violently pulled off.

Whoosh!

The entire venue fell into deathly silence for an instant, followed by earth-shattering uproars and wolf whistles.

Inside the cage, there was no ferocious beast, but a woman.

A woman of breathtaking beauty.

She was dressed in a purple gown, revealing large areas of skin as white as mutton-fat jade. Her long hair cascaded like a waterfall, draped messily over her shoulders.

Her limbs were bound by golden chains, and she knelt in the cage.

The most eye-catching detail was that on her wrists and ankles, she wore golden hollowed-out bracelets.

Hanging from the bracelets were nine exquisite little bells.

As she shrank back in terror.

"Tinkle... Tinkle..."

The crisp and melodious ringing echoed in this auction house filled with the stench of blood and foulness, like heavenly music, yet carrying an extreme sense of brokenness and poignant beauty.

"Hahahaha!"

The host laughed wildly:

"Look closely, everyone! This is the illustrious Fairy Ziyao of the righteous path!"

"Not only does she possess the legendary 'Profound Yin Dao Body', making her the absolute top-tier human cauldron in the world! More importantly... her primal yin is still intact!"

On the auction block, the golden cage gleamed with a cold luster under the lights.

"Tinkle... Tinkle..."

With the helpless shrinking of the woman in the cage, the golden bells on her wrists emitted a crisp sound. This sound was not pleasant; instead, it was like little barbed hooks, viciously snagging the darkest desires in the hearts of every demonic cultivator present.

She was too beautiful.

This kind of beauty was not the domineering, peerless imperial beauty of Embroidery Maid, nor the delicate, girl-next-door charm of Ying'er. It was a beauty that was simultaneously pure and deeply seductive.

"So this is the Profound Yin Dao Body..."

"If I can harvest her, the cultivation base that has stagnated for three hundred years will definitely break through!"

Greedy pants, like a pack of beasts in heat, rose and fell throughout the auction house.

"Starting price: five hundred mid-grade spirit stones!"

As soon as the host's voice fell, the price skyrocketed like a rocket.

"One thousand mid-grade spirit stones!"

"Three thousand mid-grade spirit stones!"

"Ten thousand mid-grade spirit stones!!"

Bidding voices echoed one after another, quickly reaching a figure that would make even ordinary Nascent Soul cultivators flinch.

However, right at this moment.

"One hundred."

A lazy, aloof voice, as casual as buying cabbage at a wet market, abruptly rang out.

The entire venue fell silent.

One hundred? What kind of trouble is someone trying to cause with one hundred mid-grade spirit stones?

But the next moment, everyone saw clearly what had been tossed into the gold-swallowing plate in front of Ye Xuan.

It was one hundred supreme-grade spirit stones, exuding suffocatingly pure spiritual energy, each one shining as brilliantly as a star!

In this cultivation world, the exchange rate for spirit stones was extremely strict, one to a hundred. One hundred supreme-grade spirit stones was equivalent to one million mid-grade spirit stones!

"Hiss!"

The sound of sharp intakes of breath resounded throughout the hall.

Sitting next to Ye Xuan, Wu Lingxiao's fingers, which were peeling a grape, suddenly stiffened. Her nails dug deeply into the flesh of the fruit, causing juice to splatter like blood.

She stared fixedly at the purple-clad woman on the stage, the jealousy in her eyes churning like concentrated sulfuric acid, burning her internal organs with pain.

Supreme-grade spirit stones...

Consort Xuan actually threw out one hundred supreme-grade spirit stones for a woman he had never even met?

He has never bought me such an expensive thing!

This woman deserves to die!

No matter who she is, she must die.

Wu Lingxiao took a deep breath, suppressing the urge to smash the auction block to pieces. She leaned close to Ye Xuan's ear, her voice trembling, carrying a trace of imperceptible viciousness and pleading:

"Young... Young Master."

"Although this woman is beautiful, this Myriad Demon Cave is a filthy place. She has been locked in that cage for who knows how long; I'm afraid she has long been..."

Wu Lingxiao paused, a hint of disgust showing in her eyes, as if looking at a pile of trash:

"I'm afraid her body is no longer clean, a cheap good ridden and straddled by thousands. If Young Master wants a human cauldron, Ling'er... Ling'er will go catch a few Holy Land Saintesses for you, pure and clean; wouldn't that be better?"

Hearing this, Ye Xuan turned his head.

He looked at Wu Lingxiao's face, slightly distorted by jealousy, and a flash of disappointment crossed his eyes as he gently shook his head.

"Ling'er, you are too attached to appearances."

Ye Xuan's voice was very soft, yet firm, carrying an unquestionable righteous aura:

"I am buying her not out of lust, and certainly not for a human cauldron."

"I just feel that such a beautiful life shouldn't wither away in this dirty quagmire."

"Saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda. So what if she is a ruined flower and a withered willow? In my eyes, all living beings are equal."

These words were spoken with awe-inspiring righteousness, radiating a holy light.

Wu Lingxiao was stunned. She looked at Ye Xuan's eyes, clear as high mountain snowmelt, and the hostility in her heart instantly dissipated, replaced by a deep sense of unworthiness.

That's right... He is Consort Xuan.

He is the saint who dared to sacrifice himself for the common people of the world.

How could I use such filthy thoughts to gauge him? I really deserve to die...

But even so, her intuition as a woman still made Wu Lingxiao tense up all over. She looked again at the purple-clad woman on the stage.

Right at that moment, the purple-clad woman sensed something and slowly raised her head.

Their eyes met.

Wu Lingxiao's pupils suddenly shrank.

Where was there even the slightest bit of numbness in the purple-clad woman's eyes? In this instant, Wu Lingxiao clearly saw a trace of fervor and greed, hidden extremely deep and burning like magma!

This kind of look... Wu Lingxiao was too familiar with it.

Because every time she looked at Ye Xuan, she had the exact same look in her eyes!

No! There's something wrong with this woman!

She is strong... very strong! So strong that even I feel a trace of palpitation right now!

She's faking it!

Wu Lingxiao was just about to open her mouth to warn him, but the bidding had already reached a fever pitch.

"Two hundred supreme-grade spirit stones!" From a private box on the second floor, a sinister voice rang out, carrying the terrifying pressure of a Body Integration realm mighty figure: "Kid, I am Blood Demon Patriarch, give me some face."

As soon as this pressure was released, the entire venue fell silent out of fear.

Body Integration realm!

This was an existence standing at the peak of the pyramid in the Southern Province!

Ye Xuan, however, didn't even bat an eyelid.

He didn't even bother talking nonsense. He directly grabbed his storage ring and, like dumping trash, poured it out onto the gold-swallowing plate in front of him.

Clatter, clatter, clatter!

Like a cascading waterfall.

The entire auction house was instantly illuminated by a dazzling spiritual light. The spiritual energy was so dense that it materialized into a physical mist.

One thousand.

Three thousand.

Five thousand...

Ten thousand!

A full ten thousand top-grade spirit stones piled up into a small mountain, nearly collapsing the Gold-Devouring Plate beneath their weight.

"Are there any other bids?"

Ye Xuan lightly waved his folding fan, his tone as casual as if he were asking about the weather.

"If it comes down to competing with money, forgive my bluntness, but everyone sitting here is trash."