Chapter 69 Since you're chasing

On the auction platform, Chief Auctioneer Su Fei looked around, her expression inevitably showing a hint of awkwardness.

Two and a half minutes passed, and still, no one in the arena made a bid.

This stone had already failed to sell twice before.

If it failed to sell again today, it would not be auctioned in the future.

Just as Chief Auctioneer Su Fei was about to announce the failed auction, Master Yao Ling suddenly spoke up:

"Xiaofan, now is the time!"

Ye Bufan inwardly cursed this group of people, thinking they were truly short-sighted, and immediately called out his bid:

"I bid one thousand Spirit Stones!"

Everyone subconsciously looked toward Ye Bufan and began to whisper:

"Spending one thousand Spirit Stones to buy a broken stone? Is this guy crazy?"

"He doesn't look like a Young Master from a wealthy family; he must be hoping to bet on what treasure might be inside. Hah, gamblers aren't worthy of sympathy."

"How naive. Where would there be so many free lunches falling from the sky? Does he really think he's the Son of Destiny? Hilarious!"

Saint Son Mo Beichuan frowned, feeling a bit curious; could this person be an idiot?

Thinking that he was actually competing against an idiot, he felt a bit embarrassed.

Seeing that no one in the arena was bidding, Lin Xiao knew that the "dumbing-down halo" must be at work again.

He could understand why Loose Cultivators wouldn't want to bid, but for Saint Son Mo Beichuan, one thousand Spirit Stones were insignificant.

Spending one thousand Spirit Stones to gamble on an ancient Opportunity was not a loss regardless of how one looked at it.

The only explanation was that some force in the dark was interfering with Saint Son Mo Beichuan's judgment, allowing Ye Bufan to pick up a bargain logically.

"One thousand Spirit Stones, going once!"

Just as Chief Auctioneer Su Fei finished speaking, another voice rang out.

"Two thousand Spirit Stones."

And the bidder was none other than Lin Xiao.

The hall instantly went quiet, and then the tone of the crowd changed abruptly:

"I knew it. An object from an ancient ruin is surely no ordinary item."

"Exactly. This stone has endured endless years and is imbued with an ancient aura. Even if bought just to be kept in an Immortal Cave, it has great collectible value."

Everyone changed their tune, their words filled with flattery and agreement, vividly displaying the sycophancy of the lower-level Loose Cultivators.

This was the difference between a villain and a protagonist; whatever the protagonist said or did, people would mock, while whatever the villain said or did, people would agree.

Ye Bufan clenched his fists tightly, his blood practically boiling.

He gritted his teeth and called out his bid again: "Two thousand five hundred Spirit Stones!"

A cold snort immediately resounded in the hall.

"Heh, this kid really doesn't know the immensity of heaven and earth, daring to bid against the Holy Son of Taichu."

"Spending two thousand five hundred on a piece of waste stone; I think he's gone insane."

Inside the private room, Lin Xiao leaned back on a soft chair, leisurely chewing on a spirit fruit.

"Five thousand Spirit Stones."

Compared to Ye Bufan's frantic exasperation, Lin Xiao was completely calm.

The crowd was shocked once again.

Chief Auctioneer Su Fei even lightly covered her red lips, unable to suppress a smile.

Murong Yunyun and Saint Son Mo Beichuan narrowed their eyes simultaneously and asked their respective guards again:

"Are you certain it is empty inside?"

The Soul Transformation guards released their Divine Sense again, carefully probing the grey stone several times.

After receiving a definite answer, Murong Yunyun and Saint Son Mo Beichuan both assumed that Lin Xiao just wanted to gamble on the Opportunity within it.

After all, five thousand Spirit Stones really didn't amount to much for a Saint.

Ye Bufan's face turned livid, and he decided to go all in.

"Eight thousand nine hundred and seventy-four Spirit Stones!"

The hall was silent for a moment, then erupted into laughter.

"Pfft! Why is there such a specific, odd amount?"

"Going bankrupt to buy a stone; this guy must have had his brain smashed by a rock!"

Listening to the surrounding mockery, Ye Bufan's body trembled slightly.

This was all the wealth he could scrape together.

Yet Lin Xiao remained completely indifferent.

"Ten thousand Spirit Stones."

These four light words directly shattered all of Ye Bufan's hopes.

Ye Bufan slumped into his chair, his eyes devoid of focus.

The Opportunity was right before his eyes, yet because he couldn't produce the Spirit Stones, he could only watch it slip away.

Saint Son Mo Beichuan looked at Ye Bufan, then at Lin Xiao, a cold smile curling on his lips:

"Damn it! Trying to act cool, are you?"

"No one can act cool in front of me, Saint Son Mo Beichuan!"

Saint Son Mo Beichuan made up his mind.

Even if he knew it was just an ordinary stone, he would snatch it from Lin Xiao's hands!

Otherwise, if others saw this, they might think that their Qingxuan Holy Land couldn't afford it!

"I..."

Just as Saint Son Mo Beichuan was about to open his mouth to bid, his vision suddenly went black.

The noisy auction house, the guards beside him, and Chief Auctioneer Su Fei on the platform all disappeared.

In this pitch-black void, only Lin Xiao remained, sitting upright in his soft chair, gently skimming the foam from the surface of his tea with the lid.

A moment later, Lin Xiao slowly looked up, his gaze locking directly onto Saint Son Mo Beichuan.

Saint Son Mo Beichuan felt his scalp tingle and all the hairs on his body stand on end.

He had a premonition.

If the other party wanted to kill him, even with his Soul Transformation guards, they absolutely wouldn't be able to stop it.

This was the feeling of his Divine Soul being locked onto by someone; his life and death depended entirely on the other party's whim.

And this was the terrifying aspect of the Extreme Realm: instant kills against the same rank!

A faint arc appeared at the corner of Lin Xiao's mouth, then he withdrew his gaze and lowered his head to take a sip of fragrant tea.

The darkness shattered instantly.

The surroundings returned to brightness, and the noisy sounds flooded back into his ears.

Saint Son Mo Beichuan slumped into his chair, his face deathly pale.

He gasped for breath, his clothes on his back completely soaked through with cold sweat.

The guard noticed something amiss and rushed forward to ask.

"Saint Son, what is wrong?"

Saint Son Mo Beichuan waved his hand and swallowed with difficulty.

He cautiously looked toward the number one private room again.

Lin Xiao was still the same, calm and composed, as if everything that had just happened was merely a hallucination.

But Saint Son Mo Beichuan knew very well that the fear of being on the brink of life and death could never be a hallucination.

Seeing that Saint Son Mo Beichuan was not speaking, the guard asked again:

"Saint Son, shall we continue to bid?"

Saint Son Mo Beichuan frowned and snapped:

"Bid? What is there to bid for?"

"Spending ten thousand Spirit Stones to buy a broken stone; is your brain filled with water?"

"Do you think this Saint's Spirit Stones were blown here by the wind!"

The Soul Transformation guard was left stunned and confused, standing there and muttering inwardly:

"Truly hellish, when did the Saint become so sensible?"

However, since the Saint had spoken, he naturally dared not refute and immediately bowed in salute.

"Saint Son, please calm your anger; it was this lowly one who spoke out of turn."

Inside the storage ring, Master Yao Ling sighed softly and said helplessly:

"Forget it, Xiaofan."

"Young Master Lin must have also seen the clues within; this item is not meant for us, let it go."

Ye Bufan's palms were bleeding, his expression cold, but for once, he did not refute.

He slowly unclenched his fists, put on his hood again, and began to COS Jiahao.

The following auction items were all unremarkable, so Lin Xiao did not participate in the bidding, but waited quietly for the auction to end.

Ye Bufan did not speak again either.

After the auction ended and the Spirit Stones were paid, Lin Xiao obtained the "ordinary" stone as he had wished.

With a cold expression, he put it into his Storage Pouch and left the auction house with Ye Qingwan.

Chief Auctioneer Su Fei, who had wanted to cozy up to them, could only stand frozen in place, watching the two leave.

The night breeze was slightly cool, and the moonlight was like water.

Murong Yunyun was standing not far away, her figure graceful, like a Fairy from the moon.

Seeing Lin Xiao come out, she took the initiative to approach, her voice gentle: "Saint Lin, until we meet again."

Lin Xiao nodded slightly and then returned the salute with cupped hands: "Fairy Murong, until we meet again."

A trace of reluctance flashed in Murong Yunyun's eyes, but she quickly concealed it.

Watching the back of Lin Xiao as he flew away on his sword, Saint Son Mo Beichuan felt a complex mix of emotions.

Logically, this was an excellent Opportunity for him to intercept and kill the other party, but when he recalled the scene in the auction house, he felt a chill in his heart and could only let out a cold snort, giving up on the idea.

Lin Xiao and Ye Qingwan flew on their swords all the way, finally arriving at an extremely remote mountain range.

Ancient trees towered all around, and the moonlight spilled down through the gaps in the canopy, forming mottled light and shadows on the ground.

The surroundings were quiet and soundless, with only the occasional sound of insects.

Ye Qingwan looked around, her beautiful eyes full of confusion.

"Master, why did we come here?"

Lin Xiao did not answer immediately, but smiled mysteriously: "Guess."

Ye Qingwan's eyes rolled, and she thought to herself:

"This place is sparsely populated, the green grass is soft, and with this scattered moonlight..."

Ye Qingwan's heart suddenly skipped a beat, and some blush-inducing images emerged in her mind.

"Master deliberately brought me to such a desolate mountain and wild area; could it be that he wants to seek excitement?"

"Using the sky as a blanket and the earth as a bed; Master is so bad... but I like it so much!"

The more Ye Qingwan thought about it, the more it made sense, and two blushes of red instantly flew onto her fair cheeks.

She bit her red lips lightly, then raised her jade hand to remove her gauze robe, revealing her fragrant shoulders.

Those proud curves were visible in the moonlight, half-hidden and half-revealed, full of temptation.

Lin Xiao was slightly stunned: "What are you doing? Ouch!"

Ye Qingwan's eyes were like silk, and she pressed herself against Lin Xiao.

"Isn't Master looking to seek excitement? Since we are seeking excitement, we must naturally see it through to the end."

Lin Xiao shook his head, looking helpless: "You are so horny."

Just as the two were about to spark the flames of love.

A beam of sword light suddenly flew over!