Chapter 5: The Blazing Sword

The Heartflame Scythe is a low-grade fire-type magic weapon, containing a “Fire Ball” spell. When channeled with vital energy, it releases a large fire ball, and with sufficient energy, it can continuously emit such balls. When used against enemies, firing one after another can be extremely frustrating—hence the name Heartflame Scythe.
The starting bid was 200 low-grade spirit stones, with increments of 20 low-grade spirit stones.
As Bai Xin spoke, a number appeared on all the light walls: 220. Then, that number remained unchanged as no one bid further.
Bai Xin smiled gently. He knew the Heartflame Scythe was only meant to set a low starting price, but he didn’t expect it to be so neglected, with only one bid placed.
“It seems everyone is quite interested in the Heartflame Scythe. Well, I declare it belongs to the person in seat 6793,” Bai Xin said with a smile as he struck the gavel.
Everyone smiled in agreement.
Then Bai Xin spoke loudly again, “The next artifact is called the Falling Petals Spear. With a single strike, it sends flowers scattering in all directions—extremely powerful. I’m sure everyone will love this spear. Now, please start bidding. The starting price is 300 low-grade spirit stones, with increments of 50 low-grade spirit stones.”
In truth, the Falling Petals Spear was just a low-grade magic weapon. Bai Xin deliberately didn’t mention this, instead encouraging fierce bidding, likely fearing another outcome as indifferent as that of the Heartflame Scythe.
Sure enough, as soon as he finished speaking, someone bid, and a number appeared on the light walls: 500.
Someone even increased the bid by 200 low-grade spirit stones, showing their determination to win it—clearly belonging to a powerful faction, otherwise they wouldn’t have made such an obvious bid.
Due to the light walls, bidders couldn’t hear others’ voices, see their figures, or spread their spiritual senses. The only way to signal intent was through the bid price, which, once displayed, would be understood by those smart enough.
Indeed, as soon as that number appeared, those who had wanted to take a chance immediately fell silent.
Undoubtedly, the bid of 500 remained unchanged, with no further bids.
Bai Xin narrowed his eyes, then smiled gently again before quickly striking the gavel on the soundstone table.
“It seems my charm has faded. Two artifacts in a row met such indifference. I suppose the people in our Demon Path Alliance will blame me,” Bai Xin said with a sigh.

Those who paid attention could actually understand Bai Xin’s intention—that was to warn bidders from powerful factions not to deliberately stir up trouble, otherwise the Magic Path Alliance would be very displeased. As soon as Bai Xin finished speaking, two young men in elegant attire in one of the seats burst into laughter. These two were the ones who had bid on the Falling Petal Spear earlier; they came from two major magic cultivation sects on the South Magic Continent—one from the Black Bone Sect and the other from the Hundred Blood Valley. They had wandered to Demon Reception Island and happened to encounter the auction, so they came to join in the fun. “I simply have plenty of spirit stones, so I’m just playing around. Why does Bai Xin get so angry? It’s not at all in line with the demeanor of a faction like the Magic Path Alliance,” said the one with blood-red eyes. “Exactly. As the Blood and Bone Duo, we’re here at this auction to have some fun—it’s also a way to show respect to the Magic Path Alliance,” added the other, whose enchanting eyes emitted a faint bone-fire glow. On the South Magic Continent, there were five major magic cultivation sects: the Hundred Blood Valley, the Black Bone Sect, the White Moon Palace, the Yin Wind Sect, and the Ten Thousand Thunder Cliffs. These two were actually the two rising stars from the Hundred Blood Valley and the Black Bone Sect—one named Blood Fiery and the other Bone Cold. Afterwards, Bai Xin auctioned several more magic weapon-grade treasures. This time, the Blood and Bone Duo didn’t cause any trouble, while the others competed fiercely, keeping raising their bids. Qu Yi and Qing Wu Gui remained in a state of pretended sleep; they weren’t interested until it was time to auction the Swift Blade. At that moment, Bai Xin’s voice rang out, “Friends, the treasure being auctioned now is called the Swift Blade. It’s a mid-tier metal attribute magic weapon, containing two formations: one is the Blazing Sword Aura, and the other is the Rapid Light Flow. It’s very useful for those who practice metal-related cultivation techniques. Well, that’s all for the introduction. Friends, you may start bidding now. The starting bid is 1,000 mid-tier spirit stones, with an increase of 10 mid-tier spirit stones per bid.” Undoubtedly, upon hearing about the Swift Blade, Qu Yi and Qing Wu Gui immediately opened their eyes and stared at the light screen ahead. In another seat, the leader of the Golden Silkworm Sect also opened his eyes, a cold smile on his lips, full of confidence. As for the Blood and Bone Duo, upon reading the description of the Swift Blade, their eyes lit up. They glanced at each other and saw the excitement in each other’s eyes, so naturally, they nodded in agreement, determined to bid for this sword. “1,000 mid-tier spirit stones!” shouted the leader of the Golden Silkworm Sect. Immediately, the number 1,000 appeared on all the light screens.

The Blood and Bone Duo saw the numbers displayed on the light wall, their eyes flashing with anger—clearly provoked by the first bidder. They had planned to bid a high price right away to send a message to everyone, but the leader of the Golden Silkworm Sect had immediately called out the bottom price, ruining their plans.
“Who’s this bastard? If I find out, I’ll turn him into a bloodman,” said Blood Fiery, his palm filled with red blood as he spoke fiercely.
“Someone dared to bid before us? That’s seeking death! If I find out, I’ll turn him into my puppet,” snapped Bone Chilling in anger.
Both members of the Blood and Bone Duo had reached the later stages of the Yuan Ying cultivation phase and were used to receiving praise from others; they could never tolerate being humiliated. Now, being angered by the leader of the Golden Silkworm Sect, they remembered it firmly. It’s just that they still didn’t know who it was—otherwise, they might have rushed over to attack right away.
As the Blood and Bone Duo were furious, the number on the light wall changed to 1010—someone had added ten mid-grade spirit stones. Naturally, it was Qu Yi who had bid.
The leader of the Golden Silkworm Sect was stunned. Looking at the number on the light wall, he suddenly had an intuition: that guy who had only added a hundred low-grade spirit stones was meddling again.
“Person at seat 2011, it seems you want to mess with me again. This time, you won’t succeed,” the leader said coldly with a smile.
Instantly, he called out, “1,100 mid-grade spirit stones—I want the Swift Blade!”
The number 1,100 appeared on the light wall right away.
At this point, the Blood and Bone Duo could no longer stand by. They knew they had to give a signal—otherwise, if others got involved, the price would rise, and even if they won the Swift Blade, they’d have to pay a lot in spirit stones.
“2,000 mid-grade spirit stones! Let’s see who dares compete with me,” declared Blood Fiery boldly.
Immediately, the number 2,000 appeared on all the light walls.
Undoubtedly, many others who wanted to bid were scared off by the number 2,000 and remained silent for a long time. Many also realized that a powerful force had stepped in, so they decided not to get involved.
The leader of the Golden Silkworm Sect looked at the number 2,000 with mixed emotions. He wanted to bid but didn’t dare raise the price any further.
Just then, the number on the light wall suddenly changed to 2,010—someone else had added 10 mid-grade spirit stones.
“Damn it! That guy at seat 2011 is really tough. Ignoring such an obvious signal—what guts!” the leader was amazed and stunned.

At this moment, Qu Yi watched the numbers on the light wall and smiled triumphantly. Qing Wu Gui shook his head, already thinking that the Xuanji Sword wasn’t worth such a high price.
The expressions of the Blood and Bone Duo were quite interesting—Blood Fiery had a blood snake coiling around him, while Bone Cold summoned five white skeleton warriors using his spiritual energy. Clearly, they were furious that someone dared to raise the price after their obvious hints, and only by ten mid-grade spirit stones—purely provoking them.
“Bastard! I’ll bid 2,500 mid-grade spirit stones. Let’s see who dares to be ungrateful!” Blood Fiery roared.
Bone Cold also dismissed the five white skeleton warriors and stared coldly at the light wall.
Meanwhile, everyone else in the seats was eager to see what would happen next—whether the person who had only increased the bid by ten mid-grade spirit stones would dare to bid more.
Qing Wu Gui then tried to persuade Qu Yi, saying, “Qu Yi, forget it. We don’t necessarily need the Xuanji Sword. We can just go to other magic weapon stores later.”
Qu Yi smiled faintly at him without responding, but his spiritual consciousness asked the Artifact God, “Artifact God, if I add up all the spirit stone mines and spirit stones I’ve obtained, how many mid-grade spirit stones does that equal?”
The Artifact God replied quickly, “3,000 mid-grade spirit stones.”
It was clear that Cui Mu Planet lacked cultivation resources. Even if Qu Yi obtained the spirit stones from all four sects, he still only had 3,000 mid-grade spirit stones—how poor.
After getting the answer, Qu Yi looked at the light wall and said with a smile, “I’ll add another ten mid-grade spirit stones.”
Instantly, everyone who was watching burst into laughter. Sure enough, the guy who had only increased the bid by ten mid-grade spirit stones had bid again—now there would be some real action.
The number on the light wall showed 2,510.
The leader of the Golden Silkworm Sect, lying on a soft chair, jumped up upon seeing this number and shouted, “Guy in seat 2011, I really admire your courage—expecting to walk off Jie Mo Island alive!”
The Blood and Bone Duo watched the light wall quietly. Seeing this number that truly humiliated them, they showed no signs of anger, remaining calm and composed.
Beneath their calm exterior lay fierce determination for revenge.
“No need to argue. I’m curious to see which bastard dares to disrespect us like this,” Blood Fiery said calmly.
“Good. Let him keep the Xuanji Sword for now. After killing him, it will still belong to us,” Bone Cold said equally calmly.
Undoubtedly, they had already decided Qu Yi was their target for elimination.
The number 2,510 remained for a long time, with no one bidding anymore.

Seeing that no one else was bidding, Bai Xin immediately smiled and said, “Friends, the starting price for the Swift Sword, valued at 1,000 medium-quality spirit stones, has reached a high price of 2,510. I’m truly delighted by this. At the same time, I congratulate the person in seat 2011—you’ve won the Swift Sword.” At that moment, everyone knew that the person in seat 2011 was already being targeted by someone else.