Chapter 6: The Auction Ends

Qu Yi won the Xuanji Sword and lost interest in the other treasures on offer. Even if there were mid-tier treasures or low-tier spiritual artifacts, with few spirit stones left in his storage bracelet, he could only watch without the ability to bid, so the best option was to ignore them. As for Qingwugui, he was even more indifferent—his only passion was his current black sword, and he ignored all other treasures.

There were others who, like Qu Yi, paid no attention to the auction. For example, the leader of the Golden Silkworm Sect was thinking about how to take the Jinyun Pill and Xuanji Sword from Qu Yi. Both items were useful for his son, so he naturally wanted to find ways to obtain them. Similarly, the Blood and Bone Duo were extremely annoyed by Qu Yi, whose actions had humiliated them several times. They were now determined to wait until the auction ended before going after Qu Yi and inflicting severe punishment on him.

As a result, Qu Yi, the leader of the Golden Silkworm Sect, and the Blood and Bone Duo remained silent during the subsequent auctions of other treasures.

…

Another day passed, and the auctions of treasures finally came to an end. The next round was the auction of materials. There were countless types of cultivation materials, ranging from ritual artifact-level to treasure-level and spiritual artifact-level, hidden throughout the world. Naturally, given the Magic Path Alliance’s extensive reach, they wouldn’t auction ordinary materials, as cultivators could purchase them at regular material shops. Thus, only rare materials would be put up for auction.

After Bai Xin announced the start of the material auction, the light walls in front of all the seats began introducing the materials to be auctioned.

“Taiyi Cold Essence, Litian Golden Soul, Mysterious Light Demon Stone…”

Qu Yi watched the introductions on the light walls and tried hard to remember them. However, whenever Qu Yi remembered a material, the Artifact God would immediately become aware and start giving exaggerated praise.

“Taiyi Cold Essence isn’t just useful for enhancing the sharpness of treasures—it can also boost their oppressive aura and improve their speed.”

“Litian Golden Soul is perfect for sealing the Nine Heavens Xuanlight Sword Energy Formation. It can maximize speed and raise the energy level by one tier.”

“Mysterious Light Demon Stone—is quite rare. It’s best used in nested formations. Imagine using it alongside the Nine-Nine Fire Formation; if there’s also a Mysterious Ice Cold Light Formation hidden within, the enemy is likely to fall victim.”

…

The Artifact God was truly addicted—whenever it came to matters related to artifact crafting, it would start talking nonstop, trying to showcase everything it possessed.

Qu Yi was helpless; all he could hear in his soul was the incessant chatter of the Artifact God. As for the auction of materials, Qu Yi simply fell asleep, as he didn’t have enough spirit stones, so there was no need to worry about it. Qing Wu Gui, after reading the descriptions of the materials, suddenly said calmly, “Once I find the Spirit Talisman Cave, I might have to search everywhere for cultivation materials. That’s going to be a hassle.” Hearing this, Qu Yi opened his eyes and smiled, “Qing Wu Gui, don’t worry. Once we obtain the Spirit Talisman Manual, we’ll figure something out then. Do you really need to go around collecting materials yourself? Surely we can find someone else to help.” At that moment, Qu Yi had an idea: why not establish his own sect? The material auction lasted for a day. While pretending to sleep, Qu Yi continued to absorb the array knowledge taught by the Artifact God. Qing Wu Gui, oddly enough, directly began to comprehend the energy of the four-sided light walls. On the fourth day of the auction, the fourth item was about to be auctioned. Bai Xin Ling read the content on the jade slip and then said with a smile, “Friends, the last item in this auction is a comprehensive one. There will be auctions for cultivation techniques, array discs, demonic beasts, and female cultivators. Without further ado, please watch the images displayed on the light walls, select the items you need, and then bid.” Soon, various auction items appeared on all the light walls. “Thunder Cloud Movement” was a thunder-based cultivation technique. Few people could master it, but once successful, its power was immense. “Nine Light Dragon-Slaying Array Disc” – once activated, its power was equivalent to a full-force attack from someone in the later stages of the Yuan Ying stage. With nine light dragons, it was extremely difficult to defend against. “Crazy Wing Blood Eagle” – currently at the early stages of the Yuan Ying stage, but once fully grown, it would reach the later stages. Its attack power was very strong; acquiring it would be a great asset. “Wow, isn’t that the leader of Yun Ling Peak on the North Immortal Continent? The Fairy of Yun Ling Peak… I never thought her mountain gate would be breached, and she would end up enslaved, now being auctioned off. Wow, her figure is truly exquisite, pure yet with a mature charm that really makes one eager…” … As each item awaiting auction was displayed, many people began to comment, and naturally, some were eager to bid on the items they wanted.

Qu Yi lost interest in these auctions once again. As for cultivation techniques, he already had the divine formula “Five Qi and Three Flowers,” which solved his needs completely. As for array discs, Qu Yi didn’t need them at all—with the existence of the Artifact God, it would be easy enough for him to create a stronger array in the future. He wasn’t very interested in magical pets either; for cultivators, their own strength was what mattered most, as relying on external forces could lead to a loss of fighting spirit and ambition. As for bidding on female slaves, Qu Yi dared not even think about it—Bai Man’s pink fists would probably beat him up every day and kill the slave right away.

Qing Wu Gui clearly wasn’t interested in any of this either. After reading the introduction on the light wall, he went back to sleep.

Thus, Qu Yi and Qing Wu Gui spent another day lying idle and asleep.

Meanwhile, the auction continued under Bai Xin’s supervision, proceeding intensively.

Suddenly, Qu Yi opened his eyes. His spiritual consciousness had already begun communicating with the Artifact God.

“Artifact God, something doesn’t add up. There’s something strange about this auction—why use these four light walls to isolate everyone’s spiritual consciousness?” Qu Yi asked.

The isolation of spiritual consciousness meant that one couldn’t see or hear those attending the auction, which was puzzling.

“Hehe, Qu Yi, you just realized it. This is a cunning tactic of the Demon Path Alliance. They only let people bid, then reveal the seat numbers of those who win the bids, deliberately directing others’ anger elsewhere. Hehe, Qu Yi, you need to be careful. After bidding twice, you’ve already angered three powerful enemies,” the Artifact God said with a laugh.

Qu Yi was stunned and immediately asked, “I only bid twice—how did I anger three people?”

The Artifact God burst into laughter and said, “Ah, fool! There are two people in one seat. Let me tell you—one is the leader of the Golden Silkworm Sect, at the middle stage of the Yuan Ying realm. You can handle that one. The other two are the Twin Heroes of Blood and Bones, from two major forces in the South Demon Continent—the Valley of a Hundred Bloods and the Black Bone Sect. Both are at the later stage of the Yuan Ying realm. You definitely can’t handle them right now.”

Qu Yi chuckled, then realized what was happening and asked urgently, “Artifact God, since these light walls isolate spiritual consciousness, how do you know everything?”

The Artifact God snorted and then shouted, “You’re such a fool! Do you think this Wan Guang Jin Ling Array is that powerful? It can only isolate spiritual consciousness below the middle stage of the Outward Departure realm. My spiritual consciousness is already at the later stage of that realm, so of course I can see everything here clearly.”

Qu Yi let out a sound, finally understanding that the Spirit Consciousness of the Artifact God was restricted by the Dimension Ball, and it would grow stronger as his cultivation improved. Since Qu Yi was now at the later stage of the Golden Core phase, the Spirit Consciousness of the Artifact God was equivalent to being in the later stage of leaving the body.

Now, Qu Yi realized that once the auction ended, he would be exposed, and those three people would surely lock eyes on him. Naturally, while pretending to sleep, he began to think of a plan to escape.

“Qu Yi, don’t worry. First, let Qing Wu Gui enter the Dimension Ball. Use the ‘Silent Art’ to suppress your cultivation to the early stage of the Golden Core phase, and then change your appearance. That way, those three people won’t be able to recognize you,” the Artifact God suddenly said.

Cultivators can easily change their appearance, so usually, people look for someone by sensing their vital energy fluctuations. But Qu Yi possessed the ‘Silent Art,’ which allowed him to alter his vital energy fluctuations. Going from the later stage of the Golden Core phase to the early stage—how could anyone detect that?

“Okay, Artifact God,” Qu Yi said happily.

The auction continued, but Qu Yi remained in a state of pretended sleep, waiting for it to end.

Another day passed.

In the center of the valley, Bai Xin struck the tuning hammer three times on the sound stone table.

“Friends, the biennial Jie Mo Island Auction is now over. On behalf of the Demon Path Alliance, I thank everyone for participating. I hope you all came with joy and leave satisfied. We’ll meet again in three years at the next Jie Mo Island Auction.”

Bai Xin delivered his speech with a smile.

Immediately afterward, all the light walls in the valley disappeared, along with the large mirror that covered the valley. Naturally, the figures in all the seats became visible, and their Spirit Consciousnesses could be released freely.

Qu Yi remained calm, smiling as he looked around the valley.

At that moment, three pairs of eyes stared intently at Qu Yi—one belonged to the leader of the Golden Silkworm Sect, and the other two came from the Blood and Bone Duo.

Qu Yi didn’t take it seriously and immediately took off, flying toward the exit of the auction hall.

Like Qu Yi, many others in the valley also faced the harsh gazes of others. It seemed that during these four days of the auction, many people had competed fiercely with each other, resulting in resentment. Naturally, like Qu Yi, many others tried to leave the auction hall as soon as the light walls disappeared to avoid those vicious looks.

“So it’s just a guy at the early stage of the Golden Core phase who practices metal-based cultivation techniques. No wonder he wanted to compete with me,” the leader of the Golden Silkworm Sect said with a cold smile as he watched Qu Yi fly away, then immediately chased after him.

The two Blood and Bone heroes exchanged glances, their anger clearly visible on their faces, before taking off together to pursue Qu Yi.