561: Chapter 561 Foolish and Rich

A group of people, led by Chi Lian, arrived in a grand and imposing manner.

Lian Ying snuggled by his side, her gaze curiously sweeping over the strange stone in the female attendant's hand—the one whose Restriction had just been lifted and had not yet been handed over.

She then casually glanced at Ling Xi's stunning yet cold Face, a trace of an imperceptible curve crossing the corners of her lips.

She lightly tapped the crystal cover with her fingertip, her voice sickeningly sweet:

"Young Lord, this stone looks so peculiar. The patterns on it look like stars; Lian Ying likes it so much~"

Chi Lian's gaze was first firmly captured by Ling Xi's pure and ethereal beauty, an undisguised look of amazement and a flash of determined heat crossing his eyes.

He had never seen a woman with such appearance and temperament in Sunset City or the surrounding regions.

"If I could have such a beauty..."

This thought flashed through his mind, further igniting his strong desire to show off.

In front of a beauty, he wanted to demonstrate his power and wealth even more.

With a "shua" sound, he unfurled his folding fan, fanning himself with feigned elegance, his gaze lingering for a moment on Ling Xi's cold profile.

Only then did his gaze fall upon the strange stone, his tone carrying a deliberately flamboyant and arrogant air:

"Miss Lian Ying has good taste! Shopkeeper, this stone, this Young Lord will buy it. Wrap it up for Miss Lian Ying!"

He deliberately raised his voice to ensure everyone around could hear him, speaking both for Lian Ying and even more so for that cold Fairy.

See? This Young Lord will spend a fortune just to win a smile from a beauty!

The female attendant who had been attending to Ling Xi froze, quickly looking at the manager of the third floor of the Treasure Pavilion who was catching up.

A chubby middle-aged Cultivator with a kind Face but shrewd eyes.

A professional, enthusiastic smile immediately appeared on the chubby manager's Face as he jogged over and bowed to Chi Lian:

"The Young Sect Master of the Chiyang Sect graces us with his presence! We apologize for the lack of a proper welcome! Naturally, whatever you have set your eyes on is..."

"We wanted it first."

Ling Xi's cold voice interrupted him, her tone flat yet firm.

She didn't even spare a glance at Chi Lian and Lian Ying, her gaze still fixed on the strange stone as if it were the only thing worthy of attention.

The smile on the chubby manager's Face suddenly became somewhat strained. He looked at Ling Xi's group of five, then at Chi Lian, whose expression had abruptly darkened, and broke into a cold sweat.

He couldn't afford to offend the Chiyang Sect, but these guests, who possessed extraordinary temperaments and remained composed even before Chi Lian, also did not seem like easy targets.

Seeing this, Lian Ying immediately shook Chi Lian's arm gently, complaining in a coy voice:

"Young Lord~ Look, I just like this one. You just said that you'd give me whatever I liked~"

Her gaze, however, drifted toward Ling Xi with a hint of subtle provocation.

Chi Lian was thoroughly infuriated by Ling Xi's repeated disregard.

In Sunset City, no one had ever dared to disregard his Face like this, especially when he was deliberately showing off!

He snapped his folding fan shut with a "pa" and sneered:

"First come, first served? In Sunset City, this Young Lord's word is the rule!

Whoever I say it belongs to, it belongs to! Shopkeeper, enough nonsense. How much is this stone? This Young Lord is buying it for Miss Lian Ying!"

The chubby manager quickly wiped his sweat: "Replying to the Young Sect Master, the price is eight thousand Spirit Crystals."

"Eight thousand?"

Chi Lian deliberately raised his voice, as if he had heard an insignificant amount.

He looked intently at Ling Xi, trying to find a trace of embarrassment or retreat on that cold Face. "This Young Lord offers sixteen thousand! Double!"

He didn't just want to buy the stone; he wanted to use this most direct and crude method to show Ling Xi and everyone else what true strength and wealth were!

Before the financial power of the Young Lord of the Chiyang Sect, any talk of 'first come, first served' was a joke!

Seeing this, the other guests on the third floor of the Treasure Pavilion changed their expressions and quickly backed away, clearing a large space to watch from a distance, their eyes filled with sympathy, curiosity, or schadenfreude.

"There's going to be a good show now. That playboy Chi Lian is out bullying people again."

"Those people look very unfamiliar; they're probably in for some bad luck."

"They don't look like ordinary people, but offending the Chiyang Sect... sigh."

Whispers rose from the corners.

Ling Xi's eyes moved almost imperceptibly.

"The Young Lord of the Chiyang Sect, Chi Lian?"

She and Xiao Ruobai exchanged an extremely brief look that was difficult for outsiders to notice.

Xiao Ruobai's expression remained gentle and calm, but a trace of a curve, fainter than a spring breeze yet deeply meaningful, seemed to cross his lips.

The Chiyang Sect was the actual controller of Sunset City and one of the four major powers in this Immortal Realm fragment.

Seeing Ling Xi's silence, Chi Lian thought she was intimidated by his wealth and was about to reveal a triumphant smile.

However, he saw Ling Xi slowly lift her gaze, those eyes as cold as a wintry pool landing on him for the first time.

But there was no panic or admiration in her gaze as he had expected, only a bottomless calm.

Then, he heard that voice, like a clear spring striking jade, ring out again.

"Twenty thousand."

Whoosh—!

The surrounding crowd let out a low gasp.

This white-clothed Fairy has such deep pockets! It seems she isn't short on Spirit Crystals either.

The smile on Chi Lian's Face froze, and a hint of gloom flashed in his eyes.

But under the watchful eyes of everyone, especially in front of the beauty and his group of followers, he absolutely could not lose.

"Thirty thousand!" Chi Lian gritted his teeth and raised the price, his eyes fixed on Ling Xi.

"Fifty thousand." Ling Xi's voice still lacked any ripple, as if she wasn't talking about fifty thousand Spirit Crystals, but five small pebbles.

"Hiss..."

Even the chubby manager couldn't help but suck in a breath of cold air.

Although this strange stone was peculiar, its function was unknown, and its actual value was definitely less than ten thousand Spirit Crystals.

Fifty thousand? This had become purely a battle of pride!

Chi Lian's Face turned completely grim, his fists secretly clenching.

Fifty thousand Spirit Crystals was not a small amount even for him as the Young Lord, but what infuriated him even more was the other party's composure, as if she didn't care about him at all.

Lian Ying also noticed Chi Lian's anger and timely added fuel to the fire, shaking Chi Lian's arm and saying softly:

"Young Lord~ How about we forget it? It seems this sister truly likes it, so let's let her have it. Lian Ying can look at something else..."

These words were a strategic retreat that further ignited Chi Lian's defiance.

"Yield? This Young Lord has never known the meaning of yielding for something I've set my eyes on!"

Chi Lian suddenly flicked his sleeve and said sharply, "One hundred thousand! This Young Lord offers one hundred thousand Spirit Crystals! Shopkeeper, what are you waiting for?!"

One hundred thousand!

The entire third floor of the Treasure Pavilion instantly fell silent.

Everyone was stunned by this number.

One hundred thousand Spirit Crystals were enough to buy several decent True Immortal Rank Magic Treasures! All for such an incomprehensible stone?

All eyes were focused on Ling Xi.

Would she follow? Would she even dare to follow?

From beginning to end, Xiao Ruobai stood with his hands behind his back, calmly watching this farce as if it had nothing to do with him.

Fang Hanyu's hand had at some point rested on his sword hilt, his gaze cold.

Wang Xiaopang clicked his tongue twice and whispered, "More money than sense..."

Under the gaze of countless eyes, Ling Xi's red lips parted slightly, and the words she spoke caused everyone's hearts to stop:

"Two hundred thousand."