Xue Chang recognized this woman immediately.
The memories of the past weren't so long ago, plus she left a serious impression on him.
She was the first person he witnessed with his newfound abilities. And back then he was able to tell that she was hiding her strength. It made him wonder why a cultivator like her was out in the middle of nowhere and not in the city.
And it was the first piece of evidence that made him suspicious of the bear's origin.
Yet now here she was, out of nowhere in the middle of this auction. This auction which not just anybody could enter.
Tian Hai also noticed this and stood up, as if about to walk over there and question her.
But then Xue Chang's hand fell softly upon his shoulder.
Looking over to his side, Tian Hai saw Xue Chang shake his head slowly. He didn't want to go confront the woman yet, instead he wanted to sit back and watch the show continue on.
"There is something amiss about this, let us just watch and see what happens next."
Tian Hai slowly sat back down as his emotions calmed themselves.
After learning the truth about the woman, Tian Hai couldn't help but feel anger at her presence.
Back then a cultivator like her was there protecting the village, but instead of warning or helping the hunters who came to assist them with their situation, she allowed so many people to die.
And with Xue Chang telling him that the bear might've been taught a cultivation method rather than learning one, he immediately directed his anger toward her and her accomplices.
A hunter could die in battle honorably, but if they were plotted against them that was unforgivable!
"At first I thought they may have been hunters who were gathering intel in that village, but the guild master had already told me that we were the only people there who accepted that request. If so then who are they really? I refuse to believe that some no names in the village could be that powerful without any help. Something is seriously wrong there."
Xue Chang spoke a bit about his thought and speculations. He couldn't shake the feeling that the women's appearance here was too strange to be a coincidence.
"If she leaves the auction, follow her secretly and see where she goes."
After giving Tian Hai a command, Xue Chang continued to observe the rest of the auction.
After the woman's bid was called out, no one was brave enough to challenge her.
She basically used treasures to buy treasures, and in their hearts spending even more than that to challenge her was foolish.
No instead everyone focused on the remaining fifty liters left.
But that number began to reduce drastically after only a few seconds.
This new method of bidding allowed those who had less money to ask for small amounts, while those with more could purchase large amounts.
A quarter of a liter, two liters, seven liters, even ten liters were sold at a time.
Eventually only twenty liters were left. At this point Xue Chang turns to see what Lou Lan was planning.
But what he saw wasn't the face of someone who was ready to get what he needed, what he saw was the indecisive expression of a man who didn't know what to do.
Xue Chang whispered to him behind the veil, "You know this is a good time to bid for the earth fire you need right? If you don't get what you can now then you might never get it again."
Lou Lan looked over toward Xue Chang in confusion. In response, a soft pat on the back was given before Xue Chang continued his speech.
"Think of it. I'm sure your worried about how much you have to spend here, but weren't you prepared to be sacrificing a lot to get the earth fire? You should try to go all in, because if you don't you might have regrets in the future. 'Maybe I could've done this, maybe I could've done that' these thoughts will swirl in your head and make you go mad. But if you try right now and fail, you won't be losing anything at all, and those regrets won't be there. There are times in your life where you need to be decisive, even if you are risking everything, sometimes the outcome may be worth the risk."
While spoken in a weird manner, Lou Lan was able to understand the gist of what Xue Chang was saying.
He should just bid and not worry about the outcome, better to try and fail than to fail and never even try.
With this thought running through his head, Lou Lan took in a deep breath as he pulled out a white statue and a vial of blue liquid out the bag hanging from his side.
"20 liters of earth fire, for this statue of moonlit jade and a vial of water essence!"
Now things were becoming interesting. Not only had someone spent spirit stones for a hundred liters of earth fire just a couple of moments prior, but someone else was using moonlit jade and water essence!
Moonlit jade was well known Among everyone there, but not many knew what water essence was.
But the words of the host cleared up this confusion, "Like earth fire, the condensed form of water elemental energy, water essence. It could be said that this is more rare than even earth fire, are you sure you wish to use it in the bid?"
Now everyone understood, Lou Lan was using elemental energy to trade for elemental energy. While this might seem like a waste, some people did have more talents in one element than another so the trade was understandable.
"I'm positive!"
"Okay then! 20 liters for a miniature statue made of moonlit jade and a vial of water essence. Is anyone willing to match that price? Anyone?! Going once... going twice... and SOL-"
"Three spirit stones!"
Before the host could finish her sentence, another voice rang out this time.
This time it was a man wearing a fancy silk robe complete with gold ornaments and animalistic design. A small smirk could be seen on his face as he held out three nondescript gray rocks out into the air.
While these stones didn't seem very impressive, the undulations of spiritual force said otherwise.
The crowd murmured and chattered amongst themselves when the man pulled out the stone.
Although the price being paid was insane, what was more scary was the identity of the man itself.
Wang Dong, no one in Water Cloud City did not recognize this young master.
He was the son of the head of the Wang family, a local power in the city known for their tyranny. Before the Immortal Xue Family took over, the Wang family ruled with an iron fist.
Taking advantage of the people and killing anyone who offended them, no one could face off against these people.
But after Zhao Wei came, things changed. The Wang family was forced to quiet down and their oppression lessened quite a bit.
But that didn't mean their power and influence had ended. It just made they made their crimes less obvious.
That was especially true for Wang Dong. As the next head of the Wang family, his influence was quite large.
While in public everyone knew him as an arrogant and powerful young man who had reached the peak of the first level of Qi refinement, there was another side to his reputation.
It's been said that he has been linked to the disappearance of nearly a dozen women around the city. Not only that but people who have offended him have been discovered dead just days later. Whether it is poison, stabbing, beheading, or even strange cases of 'suicide', his enemies have never ended up well.
He was the boogie man in everyone's heart, and most people would fear getting in his ways.
After all, who knows how many 'accidents' have occurred thanks to him.
Wang Dong smiled nonchalantly as he looked up at the booth Lou Lan stood in, "I'm sure my friend up there is okay if I take the last few drops of earth fire, am I right?"
His obnoxious smirk caused everyone to feel a sense of disgust, but no one dared to say a thing.
Lou Lan clenched his teeth in rage. The moonlit jade and water essence was all he had. He couldn't even bid more even if he wanted to!
Taking some time to let his breathing calm itself, he gave off an enraged snort as he returned back deep into the booth.
Xue Chang didn't expect someone would once again spend spirit stones for some earth fire.
He looked over at Lou Lan and was about to give him some consolation, but before he could do that, Yong Heng's voice appeared again suddenly.
"Xue Chang! I don't care what you have to do to get it. Just get that statue from from him!"
It was the first time in a while that Xue Chang had hear Yong Heng get so excited.
But at this moment he had something else to worry about. The woman from the village had stood up and it seemed like she was prepared to leave!