Chapter 946

“Uncle, rest assured—the auction has been arranged flawlessly. All the cultivators bidding are obscure hermits we’ve already bribed; on the surface, they have no connection to our Ye family. Moreover, as soon as the auction ends, we’ll silence them all—no whisper will leak out. But how are things with the Emperor? Why have the Taiyi Sect and the Tianmo Sect suddenly sent two ancient monsters, Xuanqing and Qimiao, to the palace? Have they heard something?” said the beautiful woman hesitantly.

Upon hearing this, the old man with the black crown also showed signs of concern.

“Rest easy. Elder Brother has already probed their intentions—they’re after the Ping Shan Yin from the Three Emperors. That seal is nearly complete; the Three Observances are about to fuse the final components. These two sects have keen ears and eyes—they’ve already pieced together what treasure we’re forging, just from the faint rumors we deliberately let slip. So this time, they’re pressuring our Ye family to sell the treasure to them. That’s fine—having this bait out in the open means our true plan won’t draw their attention. But to be safe, all elders who know the plan must travel in pairs from now on. Don’t let these two ancient monsters catch you off guard and forcibly probe your spiritual sense—that would be disastrous. Especially the Qimiao True Person from the Tianmo Sect; she excels in all kinds of soul-confusing secret arts. Even a Nascent Soul cultivator, if caught unawares, will involuntarily spill everything.”

“So that’s why. Now I’m relieved. But the Ping Shan Yin was forged through immense hardship. Are we just going to give it away so cheaply to them?”

“Give it away cheaply? Impossible! If only one sect had come, we might have been unable to resist the pressure and had to grit our teeth and surrender. But now that both have come together, we have room to maneuver. Elder Brother has already made his arrangements. Even if we can’t keep the Ping Shan Yin, we won’t let it fall so easily into their hands to strengthen our enemies.”

The old man with the black crown and the beautiful woman exchanged glances, thoroughly baffled, but wisely chose not to press further.

After chatting a while longer, the three parted ways, each to attend to their own affairs.

…

Days passed, and before long, the day of the grand auction arrived.

During this time, the Yinluo Sect scoured other market towns, inns, and gathering spots near Jinjing for Han Li’s whereabouts—but Han Li had remained entirely within the Daoist temple, cultivating the Snow Crystal Ball, never once stepping outside, so they found nothing.

That morning, Han Li altered his appearance, transforming into a dark-faced giant, turned his bamboo tube into a long sword, and calmly left the temple, heading straight for the Jinxi Market.

Along the way, he suppressed his Qi and concealed his aura, lowering his cultivation to the Core Formation realm to avoid drawing undue attention.

As expected, the closer he drew to the Jinxi Market, the more high-level cultivator auras he sensed.

Most were Core Formation cultivators, but Nascent Soul cultivators were also numerous; low-level cultivators, by contrast, were scarce.

It seemed every cultivator with even modest means refused to miss this grand auction.

When Han Li passed through the barrier and stepped into the market, he immediately saw the entire street filled with cultivators in all manner of attire, many dressed in bizarre garb.

Yet as he glanced around, he spotted several somber-faced black-robed cultivators near the entrance, constantly scanning those entering the market. One man was unmistakably Ge Tianhao—but the Tianlan Holy Maiden was conspicuously absent.

Han Li frowned inwardly, but outwardly feigned ignorance, walking calmly toward the main hall without so much as a second glance at the Yinluo Sect cultivators.

Yet the moment he took two steps forward, a faint spiritual sense swept over him, circled once, found nothing, and moved on to a newly arrived Core Formation cultivator.

The Yinluo Sect’s practice of scanning spiritual senses of those entering the market wasn’t applied to everyone—only unfamiliar faces, clearly hermits or suspicious cultivators, were targeted. High-level cultivators affiliated with other sects were entirely ignored.

This covert scanning was tolerable for Core Formation cultivators, who couldn’t detect it and thus reacted not at all. But several Nascent Soul hermits, upon encountering this immediately upon entering, naturally grew furious, glaring coldly at the Yinluo Sect cultivators.

Fortunately, the Yinluo Sect members had no intention of provoking conflict; after scanning, they took no further action. Thus, despite their resentment, the high-level hermits dared not truly antagonize the Yinluo Sect, a major demonic powerhouse—they could only depart, as Han Li did, displeased but silent.

“Senior Ge, I hear this man excels in disguise and illusion arts. Standing guard here like this seems useless.” A new arrival—a gaunt, triangular-eyed old man—grew impatient at the lack of results.

“I instructed my senior brothers to do this precisely to flush out the snake—I never expected to catch him this way. He’s powerful; we have no good method to expose his true form. But by making such a show of searching, perhaps he’ll panic and slip up. Even if he remains calm and reveals no flaw, don’t worry. We have ties with the Tianmo Sect—Friend Lin has already borrowed the Miao Yin Treasure Mirror from Qimiao of the Tianmo Sect, and is now refining it at his quarters. In two or three days, he’ll be able to wield it freely. If we find him now, excellent. If not, we’ll at least lower his guard. Then, on the final one or two days of the auction, under the mirror’s power to reveal true forms, he’ll have nowhere to hide—we’ll seize him before he can react.”

“So that’s the plan! I knew Senior Ge, with your flawless strategy within the sect, wouldn’t waste time on useless efforts. If so, we won’t even need the Sect Master to come—just the five of us can capture him and earn great merit for the sect!” The triangular-eyed old man’s eyes lit up with excitement.

“I hope so,” Ge Tianhao chuckled dryly, glancing toward the Baoguang Hall.

The man we’re targeting looks like a ruthless character. Even our former fourth elder, at the peak of Nascent Soul mid-stage, may have fallen to him. How could he be so easily caught? Any unexpected turn wouldn’t be surprising. We must remain extra cautious.

Ge Tianhao thought this silently, his expression darkening.

…

At this moment, Han Li stood before the massive stone hall he had seen before.

Now, the Baoguang Hall was entirely shrouded in a five-colored light veil, appearing mysteriously otherworldly.

To Han Li’s astonishment, above the Baoguang Hall floated another single-story palace, built of white stone. Though slightly smaller—only one-third the size of the stone hall below—it still spanned hundreds of zhang, a colossal presence suspended in midair.

Before Han Li stood a yellow-robed attendant of Foundation Establishment rank, respectfully explaining something. Han Li had now dropped his concealment, revealing his Nascent Soul aura; though the attendant found him somewhat indifferent, he dared not show the slightest impatience.

At the hall’s entrance, other attendants in identical attire were likewise attending to several Nascent Soul cultivators. Core Formation cultivators, however, could only walk to a stone stele before the hall and read the notices posted upon it.

“The Nascent Soul auction has been moved to the upper Jiuxiao Hall. Core Formation remains in the Baoguang Hall. Also, to enter the Nascent Soul auction, one must pay a thousand spirit stones; for the Core Formation auction, one hundred spirit stones. We haven’t been misinformed, have we?” After a long pause, Han Li lowered his gaze and glanced at the attendant, speaking coolly.

“Your reverence is correct. This year’s auction has three-tenths more participants than usual, so we urgently borrowed the Jiuxiao Hall from the Tianji Pavilion. The spirit stone fees are the same as in past years—intended to prevent overcrowding and control attendance. But for a revered master like yourself, such spirit stones are of course beneath notice. Otherwise, if anyone could enter freely, even a hall ten times larger would be insufficient.”

“A thousand spirit stones? You certainly know how to rake in the wealth. But as you said, if I can acquire something I desire, these stones mean nothing. I have no interest in the Core Formation auction—I’m here for the Nascent Soul auction.” Han Li raised his hand and tossed ten mid-grade spirit stones into the attendant’s arms.

“Your reverence, please enter. The Nascent Soul auction begins this morning. Here is your auction token—carry this for the remainder of the days, and you may attend all Nascent Soul sessions.” The attendant’s face lit up with a broader smile as he took the spirit stones, then withdrew a numbered jade tablet from his sleeve and handed it to Han Li.

Han Li reached out, took the jade tablet without a word, and in an instant, a flash of blue light enveloped him—he shot skyward like a streaking comet toward the aerial palace.

Already, other Nascent Soul cultivators had preceded him, flying skyward on their aura trails.

When Han Li flew into the Jiuxiao Hall’s entrance, he found only a faint white light barrier—and no one else.

He raised an eyebrow, infused a bit of spiritual power into the jade tablet, and waved it before the barrier. Instantly, a red beam shot from the tablet, parting the light as it passed.

Without hesitation, Han Li shifted his form, becoming another streak of blue light that shot through. The barrier sealed shut behind him as if nothing had happened.

Two hours later, hundreds of Nascent Soul cultivators had successively flown into the aerial Jiuxiao Hall.

After three resounding bell tolls, the grand auction began.

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