58: Auction: Rare Items Spark Fight

Tianfeng City, Treasure Gathering Pavilion.

Beneath a dome carved from thousand-year agarwood, jewels glittered and shadows flickered.

The sound of strings and flutes was melodious, yet it could not suppress the tension and greed pervading the air.

The Prefecture's top auction gathered people from all walks of life—Sects, Aristocratic Families, great merchants, and even demonic cultivators hiding their identities—all concealed beneath fine robes and cloaks, their gazes fixed intently on the central Flowing Light Jade Platform.

Lin Jingyu sat in an inconspicuous corner on the second floor, his figure like a boulder merged into the shadows.

His physique was imposing, his muscle lines vaguely visible beneath his loose black robe, and his face was covered by a featureless wooden mask.

The spatial affinity brought by the Major Achievement of the Movement Technique allowed his aura to blend seamlessly with his surroundings, making him completely unremarkable even though he was in the center of the commotion.

Only the eyes hidden behind the mask, where Chaos Qi Flow silently circulated, indifferently swept over the surging crowd below and the rare treasures on the stage—items capable of inciting bloody battles.

"The next item!" The auctioneer's voice was high-pitched and carried an inciting magic, as two burly guards carefully carried up a crystal tray covered by a special Restriction.

Beneath the Restriction was an Ore the size of a fist, pitch black, yet with specks of silver Star Glow flowing across its surface!

The moment the Ore appeared, an indescribable sense of heaviness and spatial distortion spread out, causing even the light on the auction stage to slightly bend!

"Starfall Secret Silver Marrow!"

The auctioneer's voice was fervent. "Harvested from the core of a meteor outside the heavens! It contains pure Star Power and spatial attributes! It is a supreme divine Material for forging top-tier spatial Magical Artifacts, tempering divine weapons, and even assisting in comprehending the Spatial Law! Starting price—three million Low-Grade Spirit Stones! Each bid must not be less than one hundred thousand!"

"Boom!"

The entire auction house instantly erupted!

"Three million five hundred thousand!"

"Four million!"

"Four million five hundred thousand! My Ten Thousand Swords Villa wants it!"

"Hmph! Ten Thousand Swords Villa? Five million five hundred thousand! My Xuan Yin Sect must obtain this Secret Silver Marrow!"

The price soared like a runaway horse!

In the private rooms on the second floor, several powerful auras collided openly, full of gunpowder smoke.

Lin Jingyu's gaze fell upon the Starfall Secret Silver Marrow, and the Chaos nebula deep within his pupils subtly accelerated its rotation.

"Star Power... spatial attributes..."

This Ore was exactly the Body Refining Material he needed most right now!

The Star Body Tempering Method had reached the Major Achievement Bottleneck. With the aid of this item, not only would a Breakthrough be imminent, but it might even trigger an opportunity for the evolution of the Archaic God-Demon Visualization Chart!

More importantly, on the System panel, this Ore was marked as [Contains special energy, convertible to evolution points: estimated 10,000 points]!

Good stuff!

A thought of killing intent flashed through Lin Jingyu's mind.

Just snatch it? With his current strength and speed, no one present, except for a few Divine Treasury Realm old monsters, could stop him.

But... that would be too conspicuous.

He came to the Prefecture to hunt stronger demons and evil spirits; exposing himself too early to the Dynasty and all the major powers would be disadvantageous.

Besides, the auction... seemed more interesting.

He flexed his finger, and a condensed Protective Aura, carrying a deep voice, precisely pierced through the noise of the venue and landed in the auctioneer's ear:

"Eight million."

The voice wasn't loud, but it struck everyone's heart like a heavy hammer!

Instantly, the fierce bidding war came to a halt!

Countless gazes—shocked, probing, and even containing killing intent—were simultaneously directed towards that inconspicuous corner on the second floor!

"Hiss... eight million? Doubling the price directly?!"

"Who is this person? Which private room are they in? Never seen them before!"

"What a grand gesture! But... he might be inviting disaster because of his wealth!"

The representative of Ten Thousand Swords Villa turned pale, and a cold snort came from the Xuan Yin Sect's private room.

The richly dressed youth sitting in the most luxurious private room at the front was Nangong Hao, the Young Lord of the Nangong Family, a top Aristocratic Family in the Prefecture.

He toyed with a jade thumb ring, his eyes sinister as he stared in Lin Jingyu's direction, a dangerous curve twisting his lips: "Interesting. Where did this reckless fool come from, daring to snatch something this Young Lord fancies? Investigate!"

The auctioneer's heart skipped a beat, but his professionalism allowed him to react immediately: "On the second floor... this esteemed guest has bid eight million! Are there any higher bids?"

A brief silence.

"Eight million five hundred thousand!" Nangong Hao's lazy voice rang out, carrying the disdain of someone determined to win. He wanted to see how much weight this sneaky fellow carried.

"Ten million." Lin Jingyu's voice was utterly calm, as if he were just stating a number.

"Whoa—!"

The entire venue erupted in an uproar! Ten million Low-Grade Spirit Stones!

This already exceeded the inherent value of the Starfall Secret Silver Marrow, enough to severely damage a medium-sized Sect!

The smile on Nangong Hao's face froze, and his eyes instantly became icy cold.

"Twelve million!" He practically ground his teeth as he stated the price; this was the limit of the authority he could use! He wanted to see how the other party would respond!

Countless eyes focused on Lin Jingyu, and the air seemed to solidify.

Lin Jingyu slowly raised his hand.

Everyone thought he was going to continue bidding.

However—

"Crack!"

A crisp sound!

The ordinary VIP jade token, which represented his bidding qualification, was casually crushed into dust between his two fingers!

The powder rustled down from between his fingers.

"This..."

Everyone was stunned! Crushing the jade token? Was this... giving up? Or... a provocation?!

The auctioneer was also dumbfounded: "Esteemed guest... what are you doing?"

"I'm taking the item," Lin Jingyu's voice emerged through the mask, cold and clear. "I don't have the money."

"Boom!"

After a brief, dead silence, the venue exploded into Chaos!

"Arrogant!"

"Seeking death!"

"How dare he cause trouble in the Treasure Gathering Pavilion?!"

"Seize him!"

Nangong Hao laughed in extreme rage: "Hahaha! Good! Very good! This Young Lord wants to see what ability you have to be so arrogant!"

Behind him, two gray-robed old men whose auras had reached the Ninth Level of Marrow Cleansing, shot out cold light from their eyes, like venomous snakes targeting prey!

Deep within the Treasure Gathering Pavilion, several powerful auras instantly locked onto Lin Jingyu!

Those were the Pavilion-Protecting Elders overseeing the auction, the lowest of whom was at the First Level of the Divine Treasury Realm!

Terrifying pressure descended like invisible shackles! The atmosphere of the entire auction hall instantly dropped to freezing point, filled with tension!

"The rules of the Treasure Gathering Pavilion are: the highest bidder wins, cash and goods delivered!"

An aged and majestic voice rang out like muffled thunder from the shadows behind the auction stage, "Your Excellency broke the rules first, so don't blame this old man for being ruthless! Hand over all your belongings and sever one arm, and your life may be spared! Otherwise..."

Lin Jingyu slowly stood up.

His two-meter-tall, imposing figure stretched beneath the black robe, like a sleeping Vicious Beast awakening.

His Chaos eyes behind the mask swept over the powerful auras locking onto him, swept over Nangong Hao's face twisted with rage, and swept over the horrified, mocking, and gloating gazes below.

He parted his lips, revealing a silent, utterly cold smile.

"Rules?"

"My rules are the rules."

"The Starfall Secret Silver Marrow belongs to me."

"Whoever blocks me, dies."

The moment his voice fell, he moved!

He didn't rush toward the auction stage, but vanished from his spot like a ghost!

Movement Technique, Major Achievement!

Space under his feet was like folded paper!

The next moment—

"Puff! Puff!"

Two muffled explosions!

The two gray-robed old men behind Nangong Hao, who were poised to strike at the Ninth Level of Marrow Cleansing, had their sinister smiles barely fully formed before their heads unexpectedly exploded like ripe watermelons!

Red and white matter splattered all over Nangong Hao's face and body!

Fast!

Extremely fast!

So fast that even the Divine Treasury Realm Elder overseeing the event only captured a faint spatial fluctuation!

Power!

Pure, overwhelming Physical Body power! Shock-exploding a Marrow Cleansing Peak expert across space!

"Ah—!!!"

The smugness on Nangong Hao's face instantly turned into boundless terror and sticky warmth, as he let out a shrill, distorted scream!

"How dare you, junior!!" Behind the auction stage, three Divine Treasury Realm auras erupted like volcanoes!

Amidst the furious roar, a giant palm burning with crimson flames, an icy blue finger force that froze space, and a sharp Sword Qi that tore the sound barrier, instantly traversed space, carrying destructive might, and violently slammed toward the spot where Lin Jingyu had just stood!

Striking in anger, showing no mercy!

However—

Lin Jingyu's figure was long gone from his original spot.

He appeared on top of the Flowing Light Jade Platform, as if walking through the cracks of space!

Completely ignoring the layers of Restriction light barriers covering the Starfall Secret Silver Marrow!

His large hand, wrapped in Chaos Qi Flow and imbued with the mighty power to crush all energy barriers, reached straight inside!

"Crack! Bang!"

The Restriction light barrier, which could withstand a full-strength blow from a Divine Treasury Realm expert, was instantly crushed like a fragile eggshell!

The Starfall Secret Silver Marrow, flowing with Star Glow and spatial fluctuations, landed securely in Lin Jingyu's palm!

It felt cool and smooth to the touch, heavy as a mountain. The immense Star Power and spatial attributes contained within caused the Star Body Tempering Method in his body to hum and operate autonomously, and his chaos furnace-like Physical Body conveyed an intense craving!

"Secured."

Lin Jingyu put the Ore into his System space, his cold gaze sweeping over the three Divine Treasury Elders who were shocked and enraged after missing their target, sweeping over the crowd below that had fallen into brief silence due to the bloody slaughter, and sweeping over Nangong Hao, who was covered in blood and paralyzed with fear on the ground.

"The item is mine."

"If you want to die, feel free to pursue me."

Leaving behind this cold, declaration-like statement, the space around him violently twisted, his figure instantly blurred, and he vanished without a trace, as if merging into a reflection on water!

"Pursue him!!"

"Lock down the entire city!!"

"Activate the City Protection Formation!!"

Inside the Treasure Gathering Pavilion, the roar of the Divine Treasury Elders and the burst of countless powerful auras completely shattered the auction hall's silence!

A storm of encirclement targeting the "Ferocious God" Lin Jingyu instantly erupted in Tianfeng City!

At this moment, Lin Jingyu's figure had already appeared on a desolate mountain a hundred miles outside the city.

He took out the Starfall Secret Silver Marrow, wrapped his palm in Chaos Qi Flow, and squeezed hard!

"Buzz—!"

The Ore shattered!

An unimaginably pure and vast torrent of Star Power and spatial energy surged into his body!

It was instantly swallowed and refined by the chaos furnace! System prompts rang out madly!

[Ding! Absorbed Starfall Secret Silver Marrow energy! Gained evolution points: 10,000 points!]

[Current evolution points: 31,430 points!]

[Cultivation Technique "Star Body Tempering Method" absorbed Star Origin! Realm deduction in progress... Major Achievement → Perfection!]

[Physical Body strength increased! Power Breakthrough! Twenty-six million jin!]

More critically, the instant the Star Body Tempering Method reached Perfection, the previously blurry phantom image of the Archaic God-Demon Visualization Chart in his mind suddenly became a fraction clearer!

A vast, ancient, terrifying will, seemingly capable of suppressing star rivers, faintly opened a sliver of a door to him!

"The Archaic God-Demon... is finally approaching?"

The Chaos light in Lin Jingyu's eyes surged!

His gaze was like lightning, looking toward Tianfeng City, where Formation light shot into the sky, and countless streams of light were frantically searching.

"Pursuers? Perfect. I'll use you to test out the newly acquired Star Power!"