"Too many people seeking death!" Xu Yang sneered. So what if it's the Nascent Soul stage? In front of him, they're just ants!
Xu Yang casually extended a finger, which collided with the folding fan dagger of the incoming person!
There was no earth-shattering explosion. The dagger instantly turned to sand, dissipating into the air.
"Pu..." The person spat out blood. When the dagger collided with Xu Yang's finger, it was like crashing into a giant mountain. The sound of bones cracking filled the air as the person was sent flying backward, crashing into a wall with a loud thud.
Bang...
After hitting the ground, the person's meridians and Nascent Soul were destroyed, their bones shattered. They were on the verge of death.
In reality, this was only because Xu Yang had held back. Otherwise, he could have made the person vanish without leaving a trace.
"How... how could there be such a powerful figure in Qi State?!" The person mumbled, their face filled with disbelief, looking as if they had seen the color drain from their life.
This person was Deng Xuan, from the Lingbao Auction House headquarters. He was at the early Nascent Soul stage and had been sent by the auction house to assist Zhang Shuangtian.
Deng Xuan had come to Qi State, looking down on this small place. He didn't believe that there could be any strong cultivators here, which is why he disregarded Zhang Shuangtian's warning and boldly set out to provoke Tianlan Sect.
Xu Yang slowly walked up to Deng Xuan, looking down at him with a murderous gaze.
"Please... don't kill me," Deng Xuan stammered under the chilling gaze, which felt as if it came from the depths of hell.
Was this really the gaze of a human?
"Please spare me... my life, and I'll tell you everything I know!" Deng Xuan said incoherently.
"You want to tell me? No need!" Xu Yang sneered cruelly. He placed one hand on Deng Xuan's head, and in the next moment, Deng Xuan let out the most pitiful scream of his life.
This was the Soul Capture technique, a notorious dark art recognized in the Three Realms, capable of capturing a person's soul and knowing all their past life experiences!
Not only would the victim suffer immense pain, but losing a piece of their soul would cause them to die within three minutes.
Three minutes later...
Xu Yang tossed aside the lifeless Deng Xuan and turned to Ling Qingshu. "Wait for me at the sect. I'll be back soon."
He threw a bottle of medicinal pills to Ling Qingshu and said, "These are healing pills. Share them among yourselves."
"Ancestor, where are you going?!" Ling Qingshu asked as she struggled to stand.
"I'm going to find trouble with the Lingbao Auction House!" Xu Yang's voice was filled with killing intent.
After searching Deng Xuan's soul, Xu Yang learned that the man had been sent by the Lingbao Auction House. Initially, Xu Yang had no intention of looking for trouble with the Auction House. However, after they targeted the disciples of Tianlan Sect, Xu Yang could no longer stay silent!
Though powerful, he couldn't protect so many Tianlan Sect disciples all the time.
If that's the case, then let the Lingbao Auction House disappear.
...
In Qi State City, at the Lingbao Auction House's auction hall, a fine sword was being auctioned off at full force.
"Source Fire Sword, one thousand spirit stones! Anyone offering more?!"
The auctioneer, an elderly man at the Golden Core stage, looked excited. A top-quality sword fetching one thousand spirit stones was already a high price.
"First time, one thousand spirit stones!"
"Second time, one thousand spirit stones!"
The elderly man raised his small wooden hammer high, about to strike.
A young man stood up joyfully, having won after a fierce competition. Indeed, he had more money.
His eyes looked at the others with even more arrogance.
"Third time! One thousand spirit stones, sold..."
"Wait, I bid ten thousand spirit stones."
Just as the elderly man was about to finalize the deal, a lazy voice suddenly came from the VIP box in the center of the auction house.
Silence...
Everyone's gaze turned toward the box. A sword that was barely worth one thousand spirit stones had a bid of ten thousand—was this person joking?
The young man, who had been so joyful just moments ago, now had a dark expression, his fists clenched.
"Just a spiritual sword, and it's already priced so high. Could this person be serious?" he muttered.
The auctioneer's expression stiffened as he said, "To the friend in the VIP box, there are no jokes in this auction. If the price is spoken, it must be honored!"
"Heh, what's wrong? Are you looking down on me? If I say ten thousand spirit stones, then it's ten thousand," came the voice from the box.
The casual tone was filled with the arrogance of someone who had no shortage of money.
Well, since the fool was going to speak that way, what could the others say?
"Ten thousand spirit stones, first time."
"Ten thousand spirit stones, second time."
"Ten thousand spirit stones, third time..."
"I bid twenty thousand spirit stones."
Suddenly, another lazy voice came from a different VIP box.
The entire auction hall fell silent as everyone turned their attention to these two boxes.
The auctioneer noticed the situation was off and hurriedly called someone over, whispering something in their ear.
The person nodded and quickly disappeared from the auction house.
Inside the VIP box, Xu Yang slightly raised an eyebrow.
Someone was actually competing with him! How interesting.
Yes, the person who had bid ten thousand spirit stones was Xu Yang. He had come here to cause trouble for the Lingbao Auction House.
The price he had quoted was never meant to be the amount he would pay.
"Interesting, really interesting. But I'm not in the mood to play with you right now," Xu Yang sneered dismissively and slowly uttered a number.
"I bid one hundred thousand spirit stones."
The auctioneer nearly fainted from excitement.
The person in the box could either be an enormous rich tycoon or someone who completely disregarded the Lingbao Auction House and was mocking them.
Several Golden Core cultivators had unconsciously surrounded the box.
The auctioneer held up the sword, which had now fetched the astronomical price of one hundred thousand spirit stones, and displayed it. He then called out three times.
This time, no one responded. Xu Yang successfully secured the sword with his bid of one hundred thousand spirit stones.
The auctioneer himself personally delivered the sword to Xu Yang's box.
"My lord, your sword," the old man respectfully handed over the sword to Xu Yang.
As he raised his head, he mumbled to himself.
"This... why does this look a little familiar?"
Xu Yang took the sword, and a flash of fire appeared in his hand. The sword instantly turned to ashes.
"You..." The auctioneer was horrified and coldly asked, "Who are you to come here and provoke the Lingbao Auction House? You must be tired of living!"
Given what had just happened, the auctioneer had already guessed that Xu Yang wasn't here to bid on items, but to provoke the Auction House.
"I am Xu Yang. I heard that your Lingbao Auction House wants to kill me?"