Chapter 274: The Auction Begins
Wushuang City, Bahuang Inn.
The disciples of Dayan Holy Land had already received word that the White-Robed Zither Demon, Qin Qin, had appeared in Wushuang City.
Two Nirvana realm elders exchanged glances. After a moment, one of them broke the silence.
"Elder Ouyang, do you think we should make a move this time?"
"No."
Elder Ouyang said, "The ones interested in Qin Qin's eyes are not from our lineage. My advice is to keep watch on those kids from Wendao Academy and see what exactly they're after this time."
"Oh?"
Elder Sikong asked, "Could it be that Elder Ouyang has divined something?"
Elder Ouyang replied, "No, but ever since the Taixu Secret Realm expedition, the disciples from Miscellaneous Dao Institute have always acted alone. For them to all gather here now, it must mean a great opportunity is about to surface."
Elder Sikong said, "But with just the two of us, it won't be easy to seize anything from those kids."
Elder Ouyang chuckled and said, "Don't worry, I'll inform the patriarch to secretly enter Wushuang City. This time, we must snatch that heaven-sent fortune from those kids. As for the heterochromatic eyes of the White-Robed Zither Demon—whoever wants them can go take them personally. I, for one, have no interest in offending a terrifying Great Sage."
"Brilliant, truly brilliant."
Elder Sikong gave him a thumbs-up.
After Xiao Chen and the others moved into the courtyard, they made no further public moves—not even leaving the premises.
This greatly disappointed many young cultivators who had hoped to catch a glimpse of the famed prodigies.
Day by day passed.
Very soon, the day of the Myriad Treasures Pavilion auction arrived.
Half a month prior, the Myriad Treasures Pavilion had sent invitation letters to Xiao Chen's group, a gesture of respect toward the foremost prodigy of the age.
Early that morning—
Xiao Chen and his group boarded a carriage bound for the Myriad Treasures Pavilion. Along the way, they encountered no trouble and arrived safely.
As always, he wore his signature black robe. As he stepped out of the carriage, a servant from the Myriad Treasures Pavilion came forward to greet them.
"May I ask if you are the prodigies from Wendao Academy?"
Xiao Chen casually retrieved the invitation letter from his storage ring and handed it over.
Upon seeing the letter, the servant immediately bowed and said respectfully, "Honored guests, please follow me."
"Mm."
Xiao Chen responded flatly, and the dozen or so people behind him followed the servant into the Myriad Treasures Pavilion.
The centennial auction was held in a semi-open auction hall.
From above, the auction venue resembled an oval-shaped martial arena.
Unlike martial arenas that had seating on all sides, the auction hall had seating on only three sides.
The seating tiers grew progressively more spacious the higher they rose. The final three rows were entirely made up of private boxes.
Although Xiao Chen was only at the Spirit Nurturing realm, as the top prodigy of the age and chief personal disciple of a Half-Saint, he naturally received one of the largest private boxes in the final row.
This box could accommodate dozens of people and included several beautiful and graceful maidservants to serve the guests.
Xiao Chen sat in the main seat holding Liu Yue'er's hand. Cao Youqian and Song Zhaoyi sat to his left, while Ye Beixuan and Feng Qiongyu sat to his right.
The others were seated in the rear seats.
Cao Youqian casually picked up a jade slip from the table and scanned it with his spiritual sense—it contained the list of items to be auctioned.
After reading it, he set the slip down and said to the maidservants in the box, "You may leave now."
"Yes, sir."
The maidservants responded in unison and promptly withdrew.
Only then did Xiao Chen speak. "Junior Brother Ye, is there anything in the auction you're planning to bid on?"
Ye Beixuan had just finished reviewing the jade slip and wore a thoughtful expression.
He clearly remembered that in his previous life, Qin Yun claimed to have obtained that key at a Myriad Treasures Pavilion auction.
But among the listed auction items, there was nothing related to a key.
Could it be hidden among the ancient relics?
Ye Beixuan thought for a moment before speaking. "Our target is those five ancient relics."
The others didn't press further. Every one of them present was someone who had encountered great fortune before.
Naturally, they understood that some opportunities could only be stumbled upon by chance, and as for how they were obtained—even they often couldn't explain it clearly.
Cao Youqian chuckled. "Alright, today Senior Brother and I will just take all five of those ancient relics."
Ye Beixuan replied, "No need for that. We'll just focus on bidding for one or two."
"You're just worried others might find out we're after something valuable, aren't you? In that case, I'll gladly act as a fake bidder for the Myriad Treasures Pavilion."
As he spoke, a mischievous grin appeared on Cao Youqian's face.
If one wanted to prevent others from figuring out their true objective, the best strategy was to muddy the waters of the auction.
That way, everyone's attention would be diverted.
Xiao Chen looked at the smirk on Cao Youqian's face and couldn't help but tease, "Daqian, if you hadn't taken master as your teacher, with that personality of yours, you'd have probably been beaten to death by now."
"Heh heh."
Cao Youqian grinned. "You truly understand me, Senior Brother."
Hearing this, Ye Beixuan couldn't help but recall in his mind what had happened to Second Senior Brother in his previous life. After the Flame Pill King reached the Half-Saint realm and left for the Holy Institute, that Second Senior Brother lost his support and eventually slunk away from Wendao Academy in shame.
As for what became of him in the end, Ye Beixuan had no idea.
While the two spoke, Ye Beixuan's gaze landed on a spirited young man in the third row.
That young man wore a deep blue battle outfit, radiating confidence and vigor.
At present, Swordcasting City was still one of the top-ranked cities in Xuanzhou. Though it had no Half-Saint to guard it, its city lord, the Swordcarving King, was a peak expert in his own right. Wielding the Godless Sword, he could rival a Half-Saint in battle.
It wasn't until a hundred years later, when the Swordcarving King failed to break through to the Half-Saint realm and perished, that Swordcasting City declined completely and was ultimately destroyed by the White Bone Sect.
Right now, one thought filled Ye Beixuan's mind: keep a close eye on Qin Yun—he must get that key before Qin Yun does.
In just a short while, the entire auction hall was already packed with attendees.
Once the guests were seated, a faint golden light rose over the auction stage, as a defensive formation enveloped the entire venue.
Immediately after, an elder with a Daoist demeanor, surrounded by graceful beauties, stepped onto the auction platform.
He came to a stop and bowed toward the audience. "This old man, Gu Sanbian, greets all fellow Daoists."
His words sparked a wave of exclamations throughout the hall.
"He's the Invincible Diamond King!"
"Myriad Treasures Pavilion is really going all out—having a King-tier expert host the auction. Looks like some treasures of continent-shaking fame are about to appear this time."
"…"
Only after the chatter subsided did Gu Sanbian continue, "Welcome, all, to the Myriad Treasures Pavilion's centennial auction. This time, we will be offering eighty-one items for bidding. These treasures…"
The cultivators seated outside the private boxes all wore expressions of anticipation as they listened to Gu Sanbian's introduction. After all, they had not received the auction catalog beforehand.
If the auctioneer hadn't been a King-tier expert, they would have already started urging him to speed things up.
An incense stick's time later, Gu Sanbian paused and then declared, "The auction officially begins. Let us now welcome Fairy Miaoyun to bring out the first item."
With those words, the auction hall erupted once more…
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