Chapter 91

The largest auction house in Qingmu Ancient City, "Ten Thousand Treasures Building," was located in the very center of the city, a magnificent building nine stories high, shaped like a pagoda, built of warm spirit jade and ten-thousand-year Iron Heart Wood, shining with light and extraordinary style. Today, it has become the focus of attention in the entire Qingmu Province and even the surrounding areas.

Relying on the token of the Hundred Herbs Pavilion manager, Lin Xuan entered the box reserved for him on the third floor directly. The box was elegantly decorated, with arrays to isolate spiritual sense exploration, and from the inside, one could clearly see the huge circular auction stage below, as well as the ordinary seats filled with cultivators layer by layer, the voices were loud, and the atmosphere was warm.

His spiritual sense swept over the audience slightly, and he could clearly feel dozens of powerful auras hidden in various boxes, including late-stage and even peak Soul Formation existences, and there were even a few obscure and deep auras that made him feel a trace of faint pressure, presumably Spirit Transformation cultivators sitting in this city, or old monsters passing through.

"Sure enough, it attracted a lot of monsters and ghosts." Lin Xuan understood in his heart, sat down calmly, and waited for the auction to begin.

Not long after, a female cultivator dressed in gorgeous palace attire, with a charming and moving appearance, and a style of her own in her eyes, walked onto the auction stage, her cultivation was actually mid-stage Soul Formation. She was the gold-medal auctioneer of the Ten Thousand Treasures Building — Yun Yao.

"Welcome, Fellow Daoists, to the Ten Thousand Treasures Building auction. Little woman Yun Yao is honored to host today's grand event." Yun Yao's voice was soft, but carried a strange penetrating power, clearly spreading throughout the audience, and the originally noisy venue quieted down a lot.

She didn't have much small talk and went straight to the point. The first few auction items were mostly rare spirit medicines, high-rank talismans, and good magic treasures, which attracted cultivators to bid, and the atmosphere gradually warmed up. But for most of the distinguished guests in the boxes, these were just appetizers.

Lin Xuan waited patiently, his goal was clear — Star-Cleansing Lotus, and that "Unknown Star Iron" that made him feel a sense of resonance.

Finally, when the auction was halfway through, a spirit plant sealed in a transparent cold jade box was presented. It was crystal clear like glaze, the branches and leaves showed a dreamy silver-blue color, and a lotus flower that was about to bloom was supported in the center, with star brilliance flowing on the petals, as if sealing a miniature starry sky, it was the five-hundred-year-old Star-Cleansing Lotus!

"Next auction item, five-hundred-year-old Star-Cleansing Lotus!" Yun Yao's voice carried a trace of incitement, "This lotus grows in the absolute land where star power and wood spirit energy intersect, contains pure star origin, can wash away alien star power, purify the soul, stabilize the Dao foundation, and is the main medicine for refining many high-rank elixirs! Starting price, five thousand mid-grade spirit stones, each increase must not be less than five hundred!"

As soon as the words fell, the bidding sounds rose one after another.

"Five thousand five!"

"Six thousand!"

"Seven thousand!"

The efficacy of the Star-Cleansing Lotus was special, and it was a rare treasure for cultivators who needed to expel alien star power in their bodies or cultivate star-type techniques. The price climbed rapidly, soon breaking the one-thousand mid-grade spirit stone mark, and was still rising.

Lin Xuan did not take action in a hurry, until the price soared to eighteen thousand mid-grade spirit stones, and the bidding sounds began to thin out, he said indifferently: "Twenty thousand."

Jumping from eighteen thousand to twenty thousand directly showed his determination to win. The venue was quiet for a moment, and many eyes were cast toward this box on the third floor.

"The Fellow Daoist in the Jia-3 box bid twenty thousand mid-grade spirit stones! Is there any higher?" Yun Yao's beautiful eyes flowed, looking at the other boxes that had bid before.

After a moment of silence, a soft and feminine voice came from the Yi-6 box opposite: "Twenty-one thousand."

It was someone from the Zhao Clan! Lin Xuan's spiritual sense keenly captured the aura from that box that was homologous to Zhao Song who ambushed him before, and it was even more pure and thick, obviously a direct descendant of the Zhao Clan.

"Twenty-five thousand." Lin Xuan increased the price again, his tone without any fluctuation.

This price had slightly exceeded the conventional market price of the Star-Cleansing Lotus, and a low uproar sounded in the venue.

The Yi-6 box was silent for a while, and that soft voice sounded again, carrying a trace of coldness: "It seems that the Fellow Daoist is determined to win this item? Well, let it be to the Fellow Daoist. I hope the Fellow Daoist... uses it smoothly."

The threat implied in this remark was self-evident.

Lin Xuan acted as if he didn't hear it.

In the end, the Star-Cleansing Lotus was auctioned by Lin Xuan at a price of twenty-five thousand mid-grade spirit stones. Soon, a maid sent the cold jade box containing the Star-Cleansing Lotus to the box respectfully, Lin Xuan paid the spirit stones, checked it correctly, and put it away carefully. With this item, the residual star power in Feng Xi's body could be expelled.

The auction continued, and several treasures that caused a sensation appeared, and there was even a damaged low-rank spirit treasure-level flying sword, which was auctioned for a sky-high price of one hundred thousand mid-grade spirit stones, pushing the atmosphere to a climax.

Lin Xuan waited patiently until the auction was nearing its end, and Yun Yao ordered a tray covered with red cloth to be brought up.

"Fellow Daoists, the next is one of the last three finale items of this auction!" Yun Yao lifted the red cloth, revealing a strange metal about the size of a washbasin, dark all over, covered with irregular holes, as if hit by a meteorite. It looked unremarkable, even a bit ugly, but the moment it appeared, a strange fluctuation that was extremely obscure but seemed to resonate with the stars in the sky quietly permeated.

It was the Unknown Star Iron!

In the box, Lin Xuan's pupils shrank slightly. It was not because of the appearance of this Star Iron, but the moment it appeared, the Chaos Dao Seed fused with the star core in his dantian actually trembled slightly uncontrollably, transmitting a strong desire and resonance! This feeling was even a trace stronger than when he encountered the star core!

"This item was accidentally obtained by our building's senior from an ancient starry sky battlefield ruin, the texture is indestructible, even Spirit Transformation cultivators find it difficult to leave a mark on it, it contains strange star power, but its nature is unknown, its use is unknown, and our building's appraiser cannot determine its specific rank and origin." Yun Yao introduced, "Starting price, eight thousand mid-grade spirit stones, each increase must not be less than one thousand."

A short silence appeared in the venue. An unknown metal, even the use of which was unclear, but the starting price was so high, making many cultivators shrink back. After all, not everyone was willing to spend a lot of money to buy a "scrap iron" that might be useless.

However, for some cultivators who specialized in refining, or were sensitive to star power, this item had considerable attraction.

"Nine thousand!" An old voice came from the second-floor box.

"Ten thousand!" Another voice sounded.

The bidding proceeded slowly, and not many people participated.

Lin Xuan knew that he had to take action. This item was crucial to him, and might be related to the inheritance of the Hunyuan Dao Ancestor, and even the further evolution of the Chaos Dao Seed!

"Twenty thousand." He reported a doubled price again.

This price made the few cultivators who were bidding hesitate.

But just at this time, that soft voice sounded from the Yi-6 box again: "Thirty thousand."

Added ten thousand directly! Obviously, it was deliberately raising the bar to retaliate against Lin Xuan for taking away the Star-Cleansing Lotus before.

The audience in the venue suddenly became interested, it seems there was a good show to watch.

Lin Xuan's eyes were cold, the Zhao Clan people were indeed like maggots on the tarsal bone.

"Fifty thousand." His tone was flat, as if what he threw out was not fifty thousand mid-grade spirit stones, but five stones.

"Sixty thousand!" The Zhao Clan box followed closely.

"One hundred thousand." Lin Xuan doubled again.

"Hiss——" A gasp sounded in the whole venue. One hundred thousand mid-grade spirit stones to buy an unknown metal? This was simply crazy!

The Zhao Clan box was also silent for a while, and that soft voice carried a trace of anger: "One hundred and ten thousand! Fellow Daoist, leave a line in everything, so that we can meet well in the future!"

"One hundred and fifty thousand." Lin Xuan ignored the other party's threat at all.

"You!" A suppressed angry grunt came from the Yi-6 box, but eventually did not follow the price. One hundred and fifty thousand mid-grade spirit stones, even for a direct descendant of the Zhao Clan, was a huge sum, and it was not worth it to buy an unknown item for the sake of anger.

"Jia-3 box, one hundred and fifty thousand mid-grade spirit stones! Deal!" Yun Yao's gavel fell faster than usual, and her beautiful eyes looked at the box where Lin Xuan was with a trace of surprise.

This unknown Star Iron, which no one was optimistic about, eventually fell into Lin Xuan's hands at a staggering sky-high price of one hundred and fifty thousand.

When the maid sent the heavy Star Iron into the box, Lin Xuan could clearly feel the joy and excitement from the Chaos Dao Seed. He paid the spirit stones, waved his hand to put the Star Iron into the dust ring, and did not study it on the spot.

The auction ended, and Lin Xuan left the Ten Thousand Treasures Building under the gaze of countless curious, probing, and even greedy eyes.

He knew that his "spending money like water" at the auction today, especially the move of buying the unknown Star Iron at a sky-high price at the end, would inevitably attract more attention. The Zhao Clan, Shadow Tower, Star Palace, and other forces hidden in the dark would probably focus their eyes on him, this "Mu Xuan."

But he was fearless.

Returning to the inn where he was staying, Lin Xuan immediately deployed heavy restrictions. He first took out the Star-Cleansing Lotus, and with it as the main medicine, combined with several other auxiliary spirit materials, refined a furnace of "Star-Cleansing Pills." With his current cultivation and alchemy attainments, refining this pill was not difficult.

The pill was formed, there were three in total, the size of a dragon's eye, silver-blue all over, emitting pure star brilliance and refreshing medicinal fragrance. Lin Xuan sent it into the cave-dwelling magic treasure and fed it to Feng Xi who was still sleeping and healing. The medicinal power of the pill melted in the mouth, and the pure medicinal power began to gently dispel the domineering star power remaining in its body.

After doing all this, Lin Xuan solemnly took out the Unknown Star Iron.

Observing at close range, he could feel its extraordinary nature even more. Under the dark surface, it seemed that countless star rivers were flowing, and those irregular holes, looking closely, actually vaguely formed an incomplete, vast star map! An ancient, desolate, and even tragic thought vaguely emanated from it.

Lin Xuan tried to inject a trace of Chaos spiritual power into it.

Hum——!

The Star Iron shook suddenly, the holes on the surface lit up suddenly, projecting countless fine light lines, which intertwined and combined in front of Lin Xuan, finally forming an incomplete but containing endless mystery three-dimensional star map! The star map rotated slowly, and one of the dim stars resonated strongly with the Chaos Dao Seed in his dantian!

At the same time, a huge, messy stream of information, along with his spiritual power, forcibly poured into his sea of consciousness!

"This is... coordinates? And... an incomplete refining method? No, it's more like... some kind of... inheritance guide?"

Lin Xuan let out a muffled grunt, fully operating his soul power to digest this information torrent. He vaguely saw a picture: in a broken starry sky, an ancient palace built of stars was floating in the void...

I don't know how long it took, the light of the Star Iron slowly converged and returned to its previous darkness. And in Lin Xuan's sea of consciousness, there was an extra fuzzy coordinate pointing to the distant starry sky, and an incomplete refining method called "Star Body-Forging Art."

"This Star Iron... is indeed of great origin! The place it points to, is it another inheritance place left by the Hunyuan Dao Ancestor? Or a Mystical Realm related to the Star Palace?" Lin Xuan's heart was shocked, feeling that he seemed to have touched a huge secret.

However, just as his heart was surging, outside the inn, several powerful auras, like wolf smoke in the night, rose suddenly, locking the whole inn firmly!

Killing intent, descended again!