Chapter 492 - 288: Second Identity, Unexpected Gain (Part 2)

Chapter 492: Chapter 288: Second Identity, Unexpected Gain (Part 2)

"Li Feiyu..."

Lin Changheng sat in the Celestial Pavilion, his eyes fixed on the box being slowly opened below by the finely dressed old man. He murmured to himself, ’This item... I must have it!’

Inside the Treasure Box, a three-inch-long Spiritual Whisker lay quietly, its entire body shimmering with a magnificent, seven-colored luster. It was no mere dead object; a dreamlike radiance flowed naturally across its surface. Faintly, one could almost hear the clear cry of a phoenix echoing around it, exuding a noble, pure, and immense life force!

The Dust-Reduction Pill, refined from Coiling Phoenix Grass, could wash away imperfections during Pill formation, eliminating impurities and enhancing the resulting Pill’s harmony and potential. For a Cultivator aspiring to travel far on the path of Cultivation, its value was immeasurable!

After all, forming a Fake Core—also known as an Inferior Pill—meant your path forward was likely cut short, your future prospects nonexistent.

With the finely dressed old man’s announcement, bids rose one after another.

The price soared, skyrocketing upwards.

From a starting price of 8,000 Spirit Stones, it shot past 10,000, then 20,000.

And it showed no signs of stopping.

Most of the bidders were Late Stage Foundation Establishment Cultivators, and many were from the Earth Pavilion.

Among the Fake Core Cultivators, only one made a few token bids before quickly falling silent. His attitude was likely, ’If I can get it for the starting price, great. If not, so be it.’

After all, it was useless to him now. Buying it at a high price would just mean selling it at a loss later.

Only when the bidding began to slow did Lin Changheng finally interject, calling out a price with a significant premium.

"Twenty-eight thousand Spirit Stones!"

Judging by their voices, the two remaining Cultivators didn’t sound old; in fact, their voices were full of vigor.

One of the voices, which also came from the Celestial Pavilion, even carried an aggressive, razor-sharp edge.

Just by listening to the voice, Lin Changheng could picture the speaker’s proud and spirited demeanor.

"Twenty-eight thousand five hundred!"

"Twenty-nine thousand!"

They bid again.

"Thirty thousand Spirit Stones," Lin Changheng stated, his face impassive as he outbid them once more.

"Heh heh..."

After two more rounds of bidding, the sharp-edged voice suddenly stopped bidding and spoke instead,

"Ye Wuji, it seems this isn’t just a contest between the two of us. I didn’t expect another Fellow Daoist to be interested as well."

The moment these words were spoken, a stir went through the auction hall. Everyone, including Lin Changheng, had a flicker in their eyes, clearly reacting to the name "Ye Wuji."

He was an Independent Practitioner Foundation Establishment Cultivator under the Purple Extreme Sect’s influence, with Late Stage strength, formidable techniques, and a ferocious style of Magical Combat. He also possessed a Magical Treasure Embryo and had killed many Cultivators who were foolish enough to cross him.

He had made quite a name for himself in the regions of the Purple Extreme Sect, Floating Immortal City, and beyond.

Lin Changheng himself had dealt with him just outside the Jiazi Secret Realm, where they had traded for Molten Fire Crystal.

’To think I’d run into him at this auction! The voice didn’t sound quite the same, so I didn’t make the connection.’

Following that, a private room in the Earth Pavilion on the second floor fell into a brief silence. Then, a deep, rich laugh emerged, completely different from the voice line before. "I didn’t expect that even after I took such pains to conceal myself, Brother Yi would still see through me so easily. The prodigy of the Extreme South Palace truly lives up to his reputation."

’Extreme South Palace? A prodigy with the surname Yi?’

The hall fell silent once more, so quiet you could hear a pin drop. The Cultivators all looked up, their gazes darting between the two private rooms from which the voices had come, their eyes filled with shock and an indescribable emotion.

If the top influences within the Song Country, like the Purple Extreme Sect and Floating Immortal City, were the "blue sky" hanging visibly above everyone’s heads—a majesty and power one could clearly perceive—then the Extreme South Palace was the "resplendent Celestial Dao" suspended high above that blue sky, looking down upon all living things, commanding the rules and order of the world!

It was transcendent and rarely seen, yet its will was omnipresent, influencing the entire structure and direction of the Song Territory’s Cultivation Realm.

On any other day, influences like the Purple Extreme Sect and Floating Immortal City were existences that Cultivators in the Song Territory had to look up to. But before the Extreme South Palace, even these top influences had to maintain sufficient reverence.

They were simply unfathomable! It was like common folk from a rural village trying to comprehend the pageantry and bearing of the imperial court.

So, when a prodigy from the Extreme South Palace truly appeared before them, the mood of the Cultivators in the main hall was self-evident.

But Ye Wuji was clearly an exception. He even began to bicker with this prodigy surnamed Yi. It was obvious that to High Tier Cultivators, the Extreme South Palace was not so mysterious.

Ye Wuji calmly exposed the other’s identity, then continued:

"As for our other Fellow Daoist, he must be bidding because he has a need for the item. Isn’t an auction all about the highest bidder winning, a simple matter of fairness? Brother Yi, could it be that you intend to use our reputations to suppress him?"

"Hmph!"

These words, both confrontational and reasonable, made Yi Jitian’s face—inside his Celestial Pavilion private room—turn red, then pale. He had clearly been called out on his true intentions. Arrogant and proud, he had hoped to use his influence to make the other bidder back down. Now that Ye Wuji had exposed him in public, he felt utterly humiliated and was caught in an awkward position.

If he persisted, he would confirm the accusation of using his status to bully others, which would damage both his and the Extreme South Palace’s reputation. But if he backed down now, it would seem as if he were afraid of Ye Wuji, an even greater loss of face.

Inside the private room, a flash of fury crossed Yi Jitian’s eyes, and his fingers tightened slightly on the armrest of his chair.

He took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing his anger. Knowing he couldn’t lose his composure at this moment, he forcefully pushed down on the head of the Female Attendant kneeling before him, her head bobbing up and down. He let out a cold snort, his voice carrying out of the private room with a deliberately maintained calm: