A hundred miles away from the mountain gate of the Center Sect.
Green Mountain City.
The auction house of the star-picking pavilion.
The heavy rain had caused a great deal of noise in the streets and alleys.
The raindrops fell on the rubble like beads, creating petal-like ripples.
This scene was witnessed by the cultivation practitioners walking in and out of the auction house of the star-picking pavilion, and they couldn't help but praise the overbearing background of the auction house.
The star-picking pavilion was the most famous and powerful auction house in the Great Xia Kingdom.
When opening each branch, to ensure safety, they would set up a forbidden array formation to prevent accidents.
The ordinary array formation would often isolate all external objects.
The array formation of the star-picking pavilion auction house could ensure safety, but it did not isolate the wind and rain.
Both charm and bone-deep roots coexisted, and it was much better than the former.
Moreover, although the array formation could accept the wind and rain, it could keep out the noise.
The moment the cultivation practitioners stepped into the star-picking pavilion auction house, they didn't hear the sound of the wind and rain anymore.
At this moment, on the third floor of the star-picking pavilion auction house, a middle-aged man dressed in a brocade robe and a jade belt was standing in front of the door.
He stood in front of a room with a strange expression on his face. After putting on a smile on his face, he began to knock on the door.
This person was Sikong Xuan, the owner of the star-picking pavilion auction house in Green Mountain City.
He had never shown his face before no matter how important the invitation was in the city. But this time, he came here in a hurry because of one thing.
And that thing was the imperial family token of the Great Xia Kingdom!
After he knocked on the door, the door opened.
A man with an average appearance opened the door for him.
Sikong Xuan nodded politely and walked in carefully with a smile on his face.
In the room, a figure wearing a black robe was sitting in front of the table.
When Sikong Xuan saw the figure in the black robe, he immediately bowed respectfully.
"I'm Sikong Xuan. I rushed here after I saw your token. Did I waste your time?"
Since the other party was able to take out the Great Xia imperial family token, his identity must be extraordinary.
He would be at least a relative of the imperial family.
Such a big shot suddenly coming to Sikong Xuan's auction house made him extremely surprised.
After all, the auction house that he was in charge of was only a branch.
The star-picking pavilion was located in the capital of the Great Xia Kingdom. The imperial family did not choose the main pavilion. Instead, they came to such a remote place. It was truly unbelievable.
"Don't say such meaningless words."
"Sikong Xuan, let me ask you. I heard that the final item in this auction is a talisman from a Nascent Soul Stage cultivator. Is that true?"
A neutral voice came from beneath the black-robed figure. One could not tell if it was a male or female, but it sounded very young.
As the sound of his voice faded, Sikong Xuan's expression suddenly turned from respectful to extremely complicated.
He remained silent and struggled for a few breaths.
Then, he forced himself to speak, "In reply to your question, this matter concerns the thousand-year-old rule of the star-picking pavilion auction house. I am unable to tell you, I hope you will forgive me."
The instant Sikong Xuan finished speaking, an enormous pressure of cultivation suddenly came upon him and the suppressed Sikong Xuan instantly knelt on the ground, looking extremely miserable.
Even under this pressure, the heavy Sikong Xuan was unable to even beg for mercy.
"That's enough."
The voice of the black-robed figure sounded again.
The aura that was giving off pressure gradually disappeared.
Only then did Sikong Xuan heave a sigh of relief and begin to pant heavily.
The middle-aged attendant immediately shouted coldly, "Scram!"
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I hope you can forgive me."
Sikong Xuan struggled to get up from the ground and then quickly left. At the same time, he kept begging for mercy.
He carefully closed the door of the room before leaving quickly.
Bang.
The fourth floor of the star-picking pavilion auction house.
After Sikong Xuan closed his door, he let out a long sigh of relief.
But his heart was still filled with terror.
He had never thought that this risky move of his would attract such a person.
The rumor of the Nascent Soul Stage talisman that the person mentioned earlier was spread by him.
However, he didn't have such a talisman with him at the moment.
He had made it up for the sake of tonight's auction.
This was because he wanted to protect his position as the branch leader of the star-picking pavilion auction house.
As the branch leader of the star-picking pavilion, he hadn't received any good treasures or talismans in the past three years. Although his business wasn't bad, there was a decline throughout the years.
However, the Sikong clan of the star-picking pavilion would never allow such a thing to happen.
They wouldn't allow any auction house to be performing poorly for three years in a row.
When such a situation occurred, there was a need to change the branch head.
Thus, tonight's auction house was Sikong Xuan's last chance. To attract a large number of dignitaries and itinerant cultivators, he used most of the resources left in the pavilion to purchase a batch of treasures.
However, although these items were of high quality, they didn't have any truly exceptional treasures. Thus, they were unable to resolve the current situation.
Therefore, he decided to use this method.
He wanted to spread the news first, at the very least, to attract people over.
At the same time, he would use all of his wealth to beg a Nascent Soul Stage cultivator to exchange for a talisman.
There weren't many cultivators of the Nascent Soul Stage, and even fewer had learned the art of creating talismans.
These powerful cultivators were also important figures in the various cultivation sects, and it was extremely difficult to meet them. If it weren't for the golden signboard of the star-picking pavilion's auction house, he definitely wouldn't have been able to get in touch with them.
Right now, he was waiting for his trusted aide to send a message back, waiting to see if it was possible to obtain a talisman.
Otherwise, he could only take out other items as the finale.
To spread such a rumor, Sikong Xuan knew that if it came to this point, the consequences would be very serious.
However, his business would be at risk if he were to advance or retreat, so he chose to gamble on this.
However, he originally thought that this wave of his operations would only be able to deceive some itinerant cultivators and ordinary nobles.
He never thought that he would actually attract people from the imperial family of Great Xia.
He really couldn't answer that person under those circumstances earlier on.
If he wanted to prove that the rumors were true but he couldn't get the talisman from the cultivators, the owner of the token would make a move against him.
If he admitted that the rumors were false, then he was finished.
If those itinerant cultivators and dignitaries found out that the last item wasn't a Nascent Soul talisman and realised that they were tricked, they would at most be disappointed, reprimand him and not patronise his auction house in the future.
However, given the identity of the owner of the token, it was very easy to find out that he was the one who had released the news.
Then, he would become the sinner who had taken the initiative to spread false news and deceived the dignitaries of the royal family.
Under such circumstances, not only would it affect the position of the star-picking pavilion in the hearts of the royal family, when that time came, his life would be at risk due to the dual pressure of the royal family and the star-picking pavilion.
The matter had blown up.
Sikong Xuan only wanted his most trusted aide to get the talisman from a Nascent Soul Stage cultivator.
Weng.
A soft sound appeared on his waist token.
Hearing this sound, Sikong Xuan's body trembled and he immediately took off his waist token.
This waist token was a high-grade communication item and could be used within a hundred miles.
Hearing this voice, Sikong Xuan knew that his confidant had returned.
He had told him that regardless of whether it worked or not, he had to inform him in time.
Sikong Xuan took a deep breath.
He looked at the waist token shakily.
Although he might have been nervous, he definitely wouldn't have been like this.
Because if he had failed before, he would have admitted it.
At most, he would have given up his status.
But now, it was different.
The imperial family had come, and they had seen him.
If he failed, he would be finished.
By that time, with the imperial family and the star-picking pavilion tracking him down, he would not even need to run.
Finally.
His gaze fell on the waist token:
"Failed"
The word entered his eyes.
Sikong Xuan's face instantly turned deathly pale.
...
At the same time.
In the sky room on the third floor of the star-picking pavilion.
At this moment, it was a little different from when Sikong Xuan was there.
The figure in black robes stood up and quietly stood to the side.
Instead, the man dressed as a middle-aged attendant sat down.
In the next moment, the appearance of the middle-aged attendant started to change like ripples that were startled when a rock fell into a lake.
Finally, he became a young man with sword-like eyebrows and starry eyes.
Looking at his appearance, he was none other than the seventh Prince of the Great Xia Kingdom!