Looking at Nie Tian's back, he seemed to be a heart - broken man as well. The barrier of love is the most difficult to overcome. Although Ding Hao hadn't had any affection for any woman, he had learned a wide variety of things in the Limitless Demon Sect and was not completely ignorant of matters of the heart. Hearing what Nie Tian had just said and carefully comparing Feng Xianran's recent changes in expression, he vaguely knew that Nie Tian was telling the truth. After thinking for a while, he didn't figure out how to handle it and just decided to keep pretending to be stupid. If Feng Xianran dared to confess, it wouldn't be too late to reject her.
Just as Ding Hao was lost in thought, suddenly a voice that was neither male nor female and slightly hoarse came from the bottom of his heart, shouting, "Let me out!" This startled Ding Hao immediately. He looked around, but there was no one else in the room. He was greatly puzzled as to where the sound came from. Suddenly, he felt something moving in his storage bag. When he probed with his mind, his face lit up with joy. After several years of devouring and digesting spirit pills and treasures, the eight - winged purple python had finally evolved into its two - winged adult stage.
The two - winged purple python was already extremely powerful, and now he had another great helper. His strength had increased significantly. It seemed that all the spirit herbs he had fed it hadn't been wasted.
After casting an invisibility talisman on himself, Ding Hao quietly left the branch courtyard of the Purgatory Demon Sect and flew towards the foot of the mountain following the aura of the Infant - Locking Ring. The invisibility talisman recorded in the Limitless Demon Skill was miraculous. As long as he didn't attack, experts with cultivation levels lower than the Integration Stage wouldn't be able to detect him at all. Judging from Yin Feng's cultivation level, which was only at the Distraction Stage, Ding Hao had no concerns. Seeing that Yin Feng cared so much about the Infant - Locking Ring, he must not be doing something aboveboard.
After a short while, Ding Hao could sense that Yin Feng was getting closer and closer to him, and Yin Feng wasn't staying still either. He seemed to be heading somewhere else, but his speed wasn't very fast.
After a while, Ding Hao spotted Yin Feng. Yin Feng was sneaking around as if he was worried about being followed. Ding Hao became even more curious when he saw him acting like this and quietly trailed behind Yin Feng to see what he was up to.
After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Yin Feng finally stopped at the entrance of a mountain cave. This place was some distance away from the Juqu Mountain. The mountain cave where Yin Feng stopped was ordinary - looking, but the ground at the entrance was unusually clean, as if people frequented it.
When Yin Feng arrived at the cave entrance, he didn't go in immediately. Instead, he looked around as if to make sure no one was following him. Then he placed his hand on a protruding stone at the entrance of the cave and knocked gently a few times. After a while, a man came out of the cave. Judging from his cultivation level, he seemed to be on a par with Yin Feng. This man had a withered and thin face, wore a black robe, and had an expressionless face, as if he had no emotions.
"Yin Feng, why are you so late? Has something happened at the Treasure - Gathering Sect? We must not make any mistakes in this operation, or we will be doomed!" The man said in a slightly angry tone, but his expression remained indifferent.
"I was delayed because of something. Look, what's this?" Yin Feng said with a sly smile.
"The Infant - Locking Ring? It's really the Infant - Locking Ring! How did you get this? Great. We are bound to win the treasure this time. It's not a place to talk outside. Come inside!" After saying this, the man walked into the cave first.
It seemed that this Treasure - Gathering Sect's assembly was really full of turmoil. Besides the Dao and Demon Sects, who knew how many other forces were hiding in the dark.
Seeing the two men enter, Ding Hao began to consider whether to follow them. Judging from their cultivation levels, they should both be experts at the Distraction Stage, but he didn't know if there were more powerful beings inside. Moreover, once he entered the cave and was discovered, it would be extremely difficult to escape. Since he already knew the man's purpose, following them in didn't seem to have much meaning. Thinking of this, Ding Hao turned back the way he came.
After a while, Ding Hao returned to the branch courtyard of the Purgatory Demon Sect. As soon as he entered the room, he saw Feng Xianran standing haughtily at the door. When she saw Ding Hao enter, she said angrily, "Where have you been fooling around again? Didn't I tell you not to leave casually?"
Hearing her tone, it was as if a wife was complaining after waiting for her husband who didn't return. After being reminded by Nie Tian, Ding Hao already knew this woman's feelings, so he didn't argue with her. He just said that he was greedy and went out to hunt some wild game.
Seeing that Ding Hao didn't contradict her, Feng Xianran was a bit stunned. After a moment, she said, "If you really want to go out, you should at least let me know. In case something happens to you, I can come to your rescue in time!"
Hearing her concerned tone, Ding Hao felt a bit uneasy instead. Calmly, he said, "Thank you for your kindness, Miss. I will be more careful in the future." Then he walked past Feng Xianran and entered his room.
Feng Xianran saw Ding Hao enter the room like this, stamped her foot, and followed him in.
"Tomorrow is the Treasure - Gathering Sect's auction. It's the purpose of our trip this time. However, the Treasure - Gathering Sect's auction lasts for three days. The Immortal - Realm Sword Art will definitely appear on the last day. But every time the Treasure - Gathering Sect has some rare treasures. If you see something you like, you can tell me. As long as the price isn't too outrageous, I'll buy it for you as a reward for your help this time. What do you think?" Feng Xianran didn't even realize that her tone was becoming weaker and weaker, as if Ding Hao was the superior.
"Oh, in that case, I'll gratefully accept your offer. Well, Ding Hao has an item on him and wants to participate in the auction. I wonder if Miss has a way to let Ding Hao participate in this auction temporarily?"
After looking at the number of crystals on his body, Ding Hao decided to take out a precious material for auction. He had some top - grade crystals, but he didn't have many upper - grade and middle - grade ones, and these were what the Limitless Demon Sect needed most. After thinking about it, he planned to take this opportunity to exchange some back to avoid being blamed by the sect leader when he returned.
"What are you going to auction? It doesn't conform to the rules to participate temporarily now. But if the item you want to auction is really precious, it's not impossible for our Purgatory Demon Sect to step in!" Feng Xianran looked at Ding Hao strangely.
"It's this!" As he said this, Ding Hao had already taken out an item from his storage bag. This item looked like a stone but wasn't a stone. It emitted a soft, pale - white light. Holding it in his hand, there was a faint coldness. The most unique thing was that there seemed to be a water droplet in the center of this item, rolling slowly as if it were alive. Every time it rolled, its shape changed continuously.
After looking at it for a while, Feng Xianran only thought that this item was beautiful and gorgeous. She didn't know what its function was, so she looked at Ding Hao with 疑惑 in her eyes.
"Ice - Soul Cold Crystal! It's really the Ice - Soul Cold Crystal! Young man, how did you get this? Do you really plan to auction it? I don't know how you plan to sell it. Is it okay if Nie Tian buys it?" At this time, Nie Tian's startled shout came, and as the sound died down, he had already entered the room.
"Uncle Monster, why are you here? What is the Ice - Soul Cold Crystal? Is it really that precious?" Feng Xianran asked when she heard Nie Tian's startled shout.
"I just went to your room to look for you and found you weren't there. I guessed you must be here, so I came looking. I just happened to see Brother Ding Hao going to auction this item." Nie Tian explained to Feng Xianran.
Hearing Nie Tian's words, a blush rose on Feng Xianran's ears.
Seeing Feng Xianran's expression, Nie Tian gave Ding Hao a knowing smile, which seemed to say, "Kid, I was right, wasn't I?"
Ding Hao pretended not to see it and said nonchalantly, "Since Senior knows this item, I don't know what price you plan to offer to buy it. If the price is fair, Ding Hao is willing to give it to you as a gift."
At this time, Feng Xianran objected. She shook Nie Tian's arm and repeatedly asked what the Ice - Soul Cold Crystal was.
"The Ice - Soul Cold Crystal is the origin of water. This item looks like ice and is slightly cold on the outside, but the coldest part is the water - droplet - like existence inside. It is extremely difficult to form. It can only form in the extremely cold regions of the South Continent. Only one drop forms every ten thousand years. In the South Continent, there is a cultivation sect called the Xuanbing Sect that cultivates in the extremely cold region, and the Ice - Soul Cold Crystal is the treasure of this sect. This item can absorb any 'water' - attribute energy, increase the 'water' - attribute attack power of the holder by one - fifth, enable the holder to resist all spiritual attacks, and also allow the holder to launch spiritual attacks at will. Moreover, it can freeze the area within at least ten li around instantly. If a cultivator of the cold attribute obtains this item, their strength will immediately double, and it can also accelerate the cultivation speed of the cultivation method. Do you see how precious this item is?" Nie Tian explained to Feng Xianran.
Hearing this, Feng Xianran also let out a startled cry. She looked at Ding Hao with an even more peculiar gaze, making Ding Hao feel even more uncomfortable. After a moment, she sighed, "It's a pity that I cultivate the method of the Purgatory Sect, and my attribute is fire. Otherwise, I would have to fight for this item. Uncle Monster, you don't cultivate the cold - system method either. Why do you want to buy this item?"
Chuckling, Nie Tian said, "Although I don't cultivate the cold - system method, I have an array called the Nine - Heaven Xuanbing Array. If this item is used as the array eye, the power of this array can be increased by more than ten times immediately. Now, my Nine - Heaven Xuanbing Array lacks an extremely cold object as the array eye, so it can't exert its power. If I have this item, the power of the Nine - Heaven Xuan Array will be so great that even the creator of this array couldn't have imagined it. Do you see why I want this item?"