61: Return to Auction House

Black Stone Town, on the edge of the Demon Abyss Fissure.

This place lacked the prosperity of a Prefecture; there were only twisted dead trees, jagged black rocks, and the sickening mixed smell of sulfur and blood permeating the air.

The low stone houses resembled crouching Vicious Beasts, and the “Myriad Bones Tower,” built from massive beast bones in the center of the town, was the only source of “prosperity” here—the Chaotic Black Market Auction House.

Lin Jingyu sat in the furthest corner of the Myriad Bones Tower's second floor, his figure like a boulder merged with the shadows.

He was still covered by a black robe, his face hidden behind that unremarkable wooden mask.

His Divine Treasury Realm first level aura was perfectly contained by the Chaos Qi Flow, and his heart fire burned quietly within his Divine Treasury, like a dormant volcano.

An invisible, fierce Evil Qi emanated from him, causing several nearby Cultivators with powerful auras to subconsciously keep their distance, afraid to approach.

On the auction stage stood a skinny, one-eyed old man whose face was covered in scars; he was the Black Market Auctioneer, “Ghost Hand.”

His voice was hoarse, like sandpaper rubbing together: “Next item, the Demon Abyss Blood Crystal! Sourced from the Blood Evil Demon Pool deep within the Fissure! It contains pure demonic Evil Qi, making it an unparalleled treasure for Body Tempering, Artifact Refining, and even feeding demon pets! Starting price—one hundred thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones! Each bid must be no less than ten thousand higher!”

A fist-sized crystal, dark red all over, with viscous blood seemingly flowing inside, was presented.

A dense demonic Evil Qi instantly spread, carrying a strange, seductive power.

The demonic Cultivators and desperate outlaws below the stage started breathing heavily, their eyes flashing with greedy red light.

“One hundred and ten thousand!”

“One hundred and thirty thousand!”

“One hundred and fifty thousand! My Black Wind Cave wants it!”

The price rose steadily, and the atmosphere instantly became tense and violent.

Lin Jingyu's gaze swept over the Demon Abyss Blood Crystal, and the Chaos nebula silently spun in his eyes. The System panel gave a notification: [Contains special energy (demonic Evil Qi), convertible to evolution points: estimated 8,000 points].

Even a mosquito's leg is meat.

He curled his finger, and a concentrated Protective Aura wrapped around a low voice, piercing through the noise:

“Two hundred thousand.”

The voice wasn't loud, but it caused the fierce bidding to halt abruptly!

Countless gazes, mixed with greed, suspicion, and malice, instantly focused on Lin Jingyu.

“Two hundred thousand? Where did this ignorant fool come from?”

“Hmph, daring to flaunt your wealth in the Myriad Bones Tower is courting death!”

“Ghost Hand, hurry up and drop the hammer! This old man wants to see if he has the life to take it away!” A burly man whose face was tattooed with a ferocious ghost mask (Blood Butcher Du Kui) sneered. He was the Cave Master of Black Wind Cave, a Marrow Cleansing Realm Ninth Level Peak expert, famous for his cruelty and bloodlust.

Ghost Hand's single eye flickered, and he said hoarsely: “Two hundred thousand! Is there any higher bid?”

A brief silence.

“Two hundred and ten thousand!” Du Kui glared in Lin Jingyu's direction, provocatively calling out the price.

“Three hundred thousand.” Lin Jingyu's voice was utterly calm, as if he were bidding stones instead of Spirit Stones.

“Whoa!”

The venue completely erupted!

“Three hundred thousand?! For this Blood Crystal? Is he crazy!”

“Heh heh, this is going to be a good show! Du Kui's face is green!”

The ghost mask tattoo on Du Kui's face twisted, and the killing intent in his eyes almost solidified. “Three hundred and ten thousand!” He practically roared it out; this was the limit of what he could afford.

Lin Jingyu slowly raised his hand.

Everyone thought he was going to continue bidding.

“Crack!”

The black iron token in his hand, which represented his bidding qualification, was casually crushed into powder by two fingers!

The powder drifted down.

“Hiss...”

After a brief, dead silence, the clamor became even more intense!

“This move again?!”

“Damn it, does he think this is the Treasure Gathering Pavilion?!”

“Ghost Hand! Someone is causing trouble!”

Du Kui, furious, laughed instead of raging, and suddenly stood up, his Marrow Cleansing Ninth Level fierce Evil Qi erupting without reservation: “Brat! You're seeking death! Seize him for me! The item belongs to me, and you'll be chopped up to feed the demon dogs!”

Four demonic Cultivators behind him, also possessing ferocious auras, sprang out with sneers, their claw winds tearing the air as they went straight for Lin Jingyu's vital points!

Ghost Hand's single eye narrowed. Deep within the Myriad Bones Tower, two obscure Divine Treasury Realm auras instantly locked onto Lin Jingyu, carrying a cold warning.

Facing the lunging claw shadows and the chilling lock-on, a cold curve lifted the corner of Lin Jingyu's mouth beneath his mask.

“Noisy.”

He didn't even stand up.

He merely curled his finger and flicked it through the air at the two demonic Cultivators charging at the front!

“Pfft! Pfft!”

Two muffled explosive sounds!

The heads of those two Marrow Cleansing Sixth and Seventh Level demonic Cultivators instantly exploded, as if struck by an invisible heavy hammer!

Red and white matter splattered all over the faces of the two men behind them!

Fast! Ruthless! Beyond comprehension!

The sneer on Du Kui's face froze, and his pupils contracted sharply! The remaining two demonic Cultivators were scared out of their wits and forcefully slammed their feet to a stop!

“He's tough! Attack together!” Du Kui roared in shock and fury, unleashing his strongest killing move simultaneously with the two remaining demonic Cultivators!

Three attacks wrapped in dense blood Evil Qi, like three venomous pythons, strangled toward Lin Jingyu!

Lin Jingyu finally moved.

He slowly stood up, his two-meter-tall burly frame stretching beneath the black robe, like a sleeping Vicious Beast awakening.

Facing the strangling blood Evil Qi attacks, he simply threw a punch!

“God-Demon Sky Rending Fist!”

The fist imprint was gray and hazy, wrapped in Chaos Qi Flow, carrying the will to tear apart everything!

“Boom!”

The three blood Evil Qi attacks were instantly torn apart and annihilated as if they were made of paper!

The momentum of the fist imprint did not diminish, slamming fiercely onto the crossed, blocking arms of Du Kui and the two others!

“Crack! Crack! Splurt!”

The sickening sounds of cracking bones and exploding flesh rang out simultaneously!

Du Kui and the two demonic Cultivators' arms, along with half their chests, were instantly ripped apart by an invisible massive force, turning into blood mist and shattered bones!

The three men flew backward like broken sacks, smashing several beast bone pillars before crashing heavily against the wall, their life force instantly extinguished!

[Ding! Killed a Marrow Cleansing Realm Ninth Level Peak expert! Gained evolution points: 2,000 points!]

[Ding! Killed a Marrow Cleansing Realm Seventh Level expert! Gained evolution points: 800 points!]

[Ding! Killed a Marrow Cleansing Realm Sixth Level expert! Gained evolution points: 600 points!]

Dead silence!

True dead silence!

The entire Myriad Bones Tower was so quiet you could hear a pin drop!

Only the dense smell of blood remained, permeating the air.

All the demonic Cultivators and evil practitioners looked in horror at the figure, who resembled a Demon God, as if they had been choked.

Lin Jingyu didn't even glance at the corpses of Du Kui and the others. He took a step, activating the Movement Technique, and instantly appeared on the auction stage.

Ignoring Ghost Hand's horrified gaze, ignoring the Restriction light barrier covering the Demon Abyss Blood Crystal, his large hand wrapped in Chaos Qi Flow reached directly inside!

“Bang!”

The Restriction shattered like a bubble!

The dark red, flowing Demon Abyss Blood Crystal landed securely in Lin Jingyu's palm!

It felt cold and slick to the touch. The contained violent demonic Evil Qi attempted to corrode him, but it was instantly swallowed and refined by the Chaos Qi Flow!

“The item is mine.”

The cold voice echoed throughout the silent auction house.

Lin Jingyu's gaze swept past Ghost Hand's pale face, then past the two Divine Treasury Realm auras deep within the Myriad Bones Tower, which were filled with suspicion and fear, daring not to show themselves.

“If you wish to die, feel free to pursue me.”

Leaving these words behind, the space around him violently distorted, and his figure instantly vanished without a trace!

It wasn't until several breaths after he vanished that the Myriad Bones Tower erupted with gasps of relief and panicked discussion.

“My heavens... who was that?!”

“Du Kui... was insta-killed by one punch?!”

“Divine Treasury... he is absolutely an old monster of the Divine Treasury Realm!”

“Quick! Investigate! What is the background of this fiend?! Since when did the Prefecture produce such a God of Evil Qi?!”

At this moment, Lin Jingyu's figure had appeared outside Black Stone Town, on the edge of the Demon Abyss Fissure.

Before him was a true scene of apocalypse.

The earth looked as if it had been torn apart by an invisible giant claw; a massive canyon, bottomless and over a thousand zhang wide, lay across his path.

The sides of the canyon were steep, knife-cut black rock walls. Below, dark red mist, viscous like blood plasma, churned, emitting an evil, chaotic, and decaying aura that made the Soul tremble.

Countless distorted demonic shadows flickered in and out of the mist, letting out spine-chilling howls.

Deep within the canyon, faint, heart-stopping spatial fluctuations could be heard, as if it connected to another, even more terrifying evil world.

The concentration of Evil Qi permeating the air was more than a hundred times denser than outside!

An ordinary Marrow Cleansing Realm Cultivator here would likely not last even an incense stick's time before being corroded by the Evil Qi and turning into a demon only capable of slaughter.

But for Lin Jingyu, this dense Evil Qi only made the Chaos Qi Flow on his surface circulate and devour more actively. The Heaven Burning Divine Fire in his Heart Divine Treasury pulsed slightly, conveying excitement and desire!

He took out the Demon Abyss Blood Crystal, wrapped his palm in Chaos Qi Flow, and squeezed hard!

“Buzz—!”

The crystal shattered!

A torrent of violent, pure demonic Evil Qi surged into his body! It was instantly swallowed and refined by the chaos furnace!

The System notification sounded:

[Ding! Absorbed Demon Abyss Blood Crystal energy! Gained evolution points: 8,000 points!]

[Current evolution points: 128,000 points!]

Lin Jingyu felt a faint increase in his strength. He looked toward the churning abyss of blood mist, his killing intent rising as if it were tangible.

“evolution points... they're down there!”

He took a step forward, his burly figure plunging like a falling meteor, rushing without hesitation into the Demon Abyss Fissure that seemed capable of swallowing everything!

The viscous blood mist instantly engulfed him, leaving behind only the churning evil aura and the faint, panicked discussions coming from the direction of the Myriad Bones Tower about the “mysterious black-robed Divine Treasury fiend.”

The true hunt has just begun, deep within the Demon Abyss!