509: Chapter 509 What was fed to him?

"Dongming Liu Family? Who has ever heard of this name?"

"Are you stupid? It must be a major power from outside Fusang Province! Maybe even from the Central Plains!"

"Didn't you see how polite even the Golden Crow Holy Son was... How big must their background be?"

In the Earth-Class No. 4 private room, Senior Brother Han Wuji gripped the armrests with both hands, his knuckles turning white.

In the past, whenever anyone showed even the slightest covetous intent toward Saintess Yan Xueyuan, he would be happy to see it, then personally grant those people death. Because this Saintess could only belong to the Saint.

But now, even the Golden Crow Holy Son had to lower his head and concede to this person who liked Saintess Yan Xueyuan.

Inside the Heaven-Class No. 1 private room,

Ling Hao raised an eyebrow. That sound just now sounded like something being crushed. Dropped? Stop kidding. It seems this Zhu Xuanni is, to this Saint...

However, since the other party offered an out, there was no need for him to expose it.

A curve slowly formed at the corner of Ling Hao's mouth: "The name of the Liu Family is quite useful."

Yue Xinlan frowned:

"You are impersonating the Liu Family; aren't you afraid the Liu Family will really come looking for you?"

What? Impersonating?! Mu Xiyao stared at Ling Hao, dumbfounded, unable to speak for a long while.

You can play like this? When he asked me earlier if I would protect the guests' information, did he mean turning a blind eye to him impersonating the Liu Family?

And this Moon Shadow Sect Master looks gentle and refined, yet he actually has such an "arrogant" side...

Ling Hao waved his hand nonchalantly: "What is there to fear? The heavens are high and the emperor is far away. Besides, I even killed the Vice Alliance Master, so why would I be afraid of a Liu Family?"

He had first heard the name of the Dongming Liu Family from Liu Ruyan's voice transmission before she died. As for the specific details of the Liu Family, he had filled them in later from Yue Xinlan.

Thinking of that voice transmission from Liu Ruyan on her deathbed, a trace of complexity involuntarily flashed through Ling Hao's heart.

Vice Alliance Master? What Vice Alliance Master? This Moon Shadow Sect Master seems to hold the Liu Family in contempt.

Mu Xiyao looked blank. Could it be that she had heard something she shouldn't have?!

Yue Xinlan glanced at Ling Hao but did not refute him. That was true; this man was conservatively estimated to have the combat power of a Earth Supreme, so he indeed didn't need to fear any Liu Family.

In the shadows, beside the peeping mirror, Clan Master Mu Yaoguang and Mu Yunluo exchanged a look. Their expressions gradually shifted from shock to pleasant surprise.

"Dongming Liu Family?"

Clan Master Mu Yaoguang repeated the name in a low voice and looked at the Heaven-Class No. 1 private room in the peeping mirror, "But this Moon Shadow Sect Master is clearly surnamed Ling..."

Mu Yunluo narrowed her eyes and said slowly: "Is there a possibility—that behind the Moon Shadow Holy Land stands the Dongming Liu Family from the Central Plains?"

Clan Master Mu Yaoguang's eyes lit up. If this were true, the Mu Family would not only have a way to survive, but even a chance to turn things around.

She clenched her sleeves, a smile of relief appearing at the corner of her mouth.

"If that is really the case, my Mu Family is saved!"

...

Mu Qinglan's voice echoed in the auction hall, and the hairpin was finally settled for five hundred million Spirit Stones in the Heaven-Class No. 1 private room.

A maid holding a brocade tray walked through the long corridor and respectfully delivered it to Ling Hao.

Ling Hao took the brocade tray and casually picked up the hairpin, tossing it. The Red Flame refined gold hairpin body shimmered with scorching brilliance under the spiritual lamps, and the fire-patterned gemstone at the head of the hairpin looked like a cluster of solidified flames.

He looked down, then raised his eyes, his gaze landing on Yu Lingshuang's hair, which was tied up high, and then shifting to the black braided hair and intricate crescent silver crown on Yue Xinlan opposite him. His heart stirred suddenly.

He didn't say much, just tucked the hairpin into his sleeve.

The Cultivators in the scattered seating area were still whispering about the conversation just now, some looking up at the Heaven-Class No. 1 direction from time to time, their eyes full of curiosity and awe.

Until Mu Qinglan's voice rose a few notches again:

"The next auction item is the Deep Sea Moon-Essence Necklace. A High Grade Dao Artifact, inlaid with a Moon-Essence Spirit Pearl birthed by a three-thousand-year-old clam from the East Sea, and inscribed with the 'Clear Heart and Purify Spirit' inscription. The wearer can stabilize their mind and resist the intrusion of the Heart Demon. The starting bid is one billion Low-Grade Spirit Stones, with each increment no less than twenty million."

A maid walked forward with an ink-colored brocade tray, on which lay a silver-white necklace. The chain was as thin as hair, with a warm luster, and the pendant was a thumb-sized moon-white Spirit Pearl, its surface floating with a faint glow, like a miniature moon resting between silk threads.

Ling Hao's gaze paused on the necklace for a moment, then he said: "Three billion."

The scattered seating area fell silent for a moment. Heaven-Class No. 1 had struck again.

However, this time, no one dared to increase the bid. The Golden Crow Holy Son had just been suppressed; who would dare to raise their placard at this time?

Mu Qinglan neatly struck the hammer three times: "Three billion once, three billion twice, three billion three times, sold."

She glanced at Heaven-Class No. 1. This Young Master Liu was quite good; knowing no one was competing, he increased the price by three times at once, much more generous than that Golden Crow Holy Son.

The maid quickly delivered the necklace to the Heaven-Class No. 1 private room.

Ling Hao took the brocade tray, picked up the Moon-Essence necklace with his fingertips, and turned to Yu Lingshuang: "Come here."

Yu Lingshuang was slightly startled and put down the teacup in her hand. She watched him walk toward her, holding the thin chain. The moon-white pearl pendant swayed gently between his fingers, reflecting the light of the spiritual lamps, like a miniature moon.

She opened her mouth, but before she could speak, Ling Hao had already walked behind her, leaned down, and wrapped the necklace around her slender neck.

The moment the cold chain touched the skin on the side of her neck, Yu Lingshuang instinctively flinched, then relaxed again. Ling Hao's fingers were steady as he gently fastened the clasp. The Moon-Essence pearl pendant fell just below her collarbone, merging with her moon-white stand-up collar wide-sleeved robe, adding a touch of soft luster to her cool temperament.

Ling Hao stepped back half a step to examine her.

"Looks good."

Yu Lingshuang raised her hand, her fingertips gently touching the cool pearl pendant, and the corner of her mouth curved. She didn't say thank you, just gave a hum of acknowledgment. The two of them had long since moved past the need for those two words.

She sat down, took the teapot, and poured him a cup of tea. Ling Hao smiled and took it, drinking it all in one gulp.

Yue Xinlan and Mu Xiyao watched the two interact, feeling strange in their hearts, as if they had been fed a mouthful of something.

Yue Xinlan turned her face away to look out the window, but the corner of her eye swept across the Moon-Essence pearl at Yu Lingshuang's neck, then quickly retracted. The rhythm of her shaking the bells on her feet sped up a little.

The auction continued. Another quarter of an hour passed, and Mu Qinglan's voice sounded:

"The next auction item is the Green Bird Holding a Pearl Hairpin. A High Grade Dao Artifact, forged from extraterrestrial meteorite silver and green jade essence. The hairpin body is silver-white, and the head of the hairpin is carved into a green bird spreading its wings, with the bird's beak holding a green jade bead, and a short tassel of silver thread hanging below the bead."

"As the hairpin moves, the spiritual light flows clear and moist like moonlight, and it can slightly increase the wearer's Spiritual Qi recovery speed. The starting bid is one billion Low-Grade Spirit Stones."

A hairpin lay quietly in the brocade tray; the body of the hairpin was as silver-white as frost, and the head was carved into a green bird spreading its wings, with smooth and extended wing lines.

The bird's beak held a round green jade bead, its color as clear and translucent as morning dew, and a very fine short silver tassel hung below the bead. As the faint light flowed, it seemed as if the green bird would take flight at any moment.

Ling Hao did not hesitate: "Three billion."

Not long after the sound of the sale fell, Ling Hao took the brocade tray delivered by the maid. The hairpin shimmered in his palm with a light that intertwined silver-white and green jade, and the silver tassel hanging from the green bird swayed slightly.

He stood up, his gaze falling on the intricate crescent silver crown on top of Yue Xinlan's head.

Yue Xinlan noticed him approaching, frowned slightly, and looked up at him: "What are you doing?"

Ling Hao did not answer, just took the hairpin out of the brocade tray, bent down, and looked levelly into her pitch-black eyes:

"That silver crown is too heavy; change to a lighter one."

Ling Hao reached out and gently removed the crescent silver crown from the top of her head. Yue Xinlan instinctively wanted to turn her head to dodge, but her shoulder was gently pressed by his hand.

"Don't move."