Chapter 231 – The Owner of Yunding

Onstage, Han Qiu smiled like a blooming flower, raising her hand to unveil the pill cauldron. Suddenly, she froze, then slowly lowered her hands. “Tonight’s auction has been especially exciting. Let’s take a short break. We’ll resume in fifteen minutes.”

Then, the stage curtains moved, blocking the stage from view.

Ye Feng frowned. “What’s going on? Why did they stop all of a sudden?”

Cao Yan thought for a moment, then said, “Auctions don’t usually pause midway. I’d bet they’re adding an extra item at the last minute.”

Li Guanqi nodded. That wasn’t unheard of.

As the crowd below talked among themselves, Li Guanqi looked up at the rooms on the second floor.

Just then, the main doors opened, and a dozen Golden Core Realm cultivators entered.

Li Guanqi frowned. Three of them were wearing human-skin masks. After a moment’s thought, he had his companions pull on their black hooded cloaks and transmitted, “Something’s not right. There’s a sudden flood of Golden Core Realm cultivators, most of them arriving with partners. I think they’re all from different factions.”

In the span of fifteen minutes, more than thirty Golden Core Realm cultivators had entered the hall.

Inside one of the rooms, Wang Heyang’s face went pale. He quickly pulled out a special jade slip and injected a wisp of vital force.

—Wang Heyang, are you at the Yunding Auction House?

Wang Heyang’s heart skipped. The person who contacted him was Lu Yu, the Sixth Elder of the Cloud Pill Pavilion.

Even through the jade slip, Wang Heyang’s unease was plain. He swallowed hard and answered quickly, “Sixth Elder, yes, I’m at the Yunding Auction House.”

—Good! Stay for the auction and secure the last item, no matter the cost! Keep raising the bids if you must. I’m coming over now.

Wang Heyang was shaken. He had no idea what was happening or why the elder was so anxious.

“May I ask what the item is?”

The reply was impatient, almost a snarl.

—All you need to know is that it’s the last item. Why are you asking so many questions? Just keep stalling until I arrive!

Wang Heyang’s face turned pale, and he put down his jade slip silently.

Sensing that something was off, he called for the servant girl outside his door and asked, “What’s the extra item they just brought?”

The servant girl, dressed in a chiffon dress, trembled and replied in terror, “I don’t know...”

He cursed her uselessness under his breath and waved her away.

Scanning the surrounding rooms, he realized many cultivators were concealing their auras, deliberately hiding their identities. That could only mean the item was of staggering value.

But the pill cauldron was something he longed for, something he’d been waiting three months to acquire. If he gave up, he would regret it for the rest of his life.

While he could handle the other pavilion elders, Sixth Elder Lu Yu was notoriously hot-tempered. A single misstep could leave him severely injured at best, and killed at worst.

Torn by conflicting thoughts, he grew frustrated and impulsively smashed the teacup he held.

Crash!

Li Guanqi quietly withdrew his divine consciousness, a teasing smile tugging at his lips. “I wonder what it could be...”

Before long, the curtains parted again. Han Qiu stepped back onstage with a radiant smile.

She bowed deeply to all sides. “We sincerely apologize for the interruption. A last-minute item has been added to our auction. I hope it hasn’t soured your experience.”

Her grace and charm sparked laughter and playful comments from the audience, swiftly reviving the atmosphere and energizing the crowd.

Buzz!

The array on the tall stage lit up, and a three-chi-wide cauldron appeared. Its sapphire blue glow suggested it was quite extraordinary.

Cao Yan’s eyes lit up instantly.

Li Guanqi’s attention remained on the other attendees. All these newcomers wore black cloaks and had deep auras. Yet none of them so much as glanced at the cauldron, making it clear they were only interested in the final item.

Li Guanqi quietly extended his divine consciousness into Wang Heyang’s room, finding him in a rage. His bloodshot eyes and clenched fists made it clear he was wrestling with a difficult decision.

Li Guanqi smirked beneath his hood.

Looks like he really wants that cauldron...

Han Qiu began introducing the cauldron’s unique features, including a boosting array etched inside. Its starting price was set at eighty-eight thousand, yet few seemed interested in making an offer.

While it was indeed a spirit tool, its use was limited to alchemists since it couldn’t be wielded as a weapon. And there weren’t many alchemists present.

Li Guanqi slowly raised his card and said in a hoarse voice, “One hundred thousand.”

Upstairs, Wang Heyang froze and murmured in disbelief, “There’s an alchemist among those three country bumpkins? No... he’s just trying to drive up the price!”

When he was about to make his offer, the woman from before appeared in his room. She exhaled a stream of smoke and looked at him through drooping eyes, absently rolling a pair of walnuts[1] in her palm.

She sat down and chuckled. “Young Master Wang, I’m afraid you’ve got to pay the penalty before you bid again.”

He turned and glared at her. “It’s a small penalty! Is it really so damned urgent to come collect it now?”

Her elegant face darkened. “What did you just say?

Hahahaha.”

But beneath the laughter was a cutting chill. Wang Heyang felt his stomach drop—he shouldn’t have snapped at her.

She rose to her feet. A terrifying aura erupted from her body.

Boom!

1. Walnuts are the original fidget toys of ancient China. Even today, many people enjoy rolling a pair of walnuts around in one hand. ☜