Chapter 417: Inducement

Roar!

The four walls thundered with the sound of rushing water. Golden light shot out in all directions, like mighty river waves, surging directly towards the black-robed figure and engulfing him from all sides. His imposing aura had not yet reached the silver-robed man when it was forcefully pushed back by the array. The black-robed figure swayed slightly, and for a moment, he was indeed pinned in place by the golden light. But the black-robed figure showed no fear, attempting to channel his spiritual power to assault the array.

Seeing the unfavorable turn of events, the crowd in the main hall scattered in panic. Only the VIPs in the private rooms on the second and third floors remained unmoving, like mountains, yet no one stepped forward to help Mr. Kan resolve the crisis.

Mr. Kan suppressed his anger and suddenly shouted, "Senior, I, Kan, respect your powerful cultivation, but the rules of the auction cannot be broken! If you insist on this, I, Kan, will not hesitate to risk my old life and directly destroy this array, just to give you an unforgettable lesson! I believe you can feel the extraordinary power of this array; even if you could kill me, the price would surely be unacceptable to you!"

The black-robed figure froze at his words, glancing at the menacing golden light, and finally slowly retracted his poised spiritual power. Mr. Kan's heart, which had been hanging, finally settled. His tone softened as he cupped his hands towards the black-robed figure and appeased him, "Senior, I can understand your heartbreak at losing a treasure, but there are countless spiritual medicines in the world, not just Blood Origin Essence. The Ancient Immortal Battlefield is becoming increasingly dangerous, and cultivators outside the pass have begun to withdraw into the city. They might even bring back spiritual medicines more precious than Blood Origin Essence. Please remain calm, senior, search patiently, and you are sure to achieve your wishes."

The black-robed figure snorted coldly and turned to leave.

Mr. Kan had long since given up any thought of befriending this person. Such a narrow-minded and temperamental individual, who acts recklessly relying on their cultivation, can be used, but getting too close might not be good; it could even bring great disaster. Good riddance!

"Quickly, escort the senior to the tea room to rest!"

Mr. Kan arranged for someone to escort the black-robed figure away, letting out a sigh of relief. He then looked at the silver-robed man, secretly marveling. This man, however, had remarkable composure. Just now, the black-robed figure's aura was almost upon him, yet the silver-robed man remained unperturbed, like a fishing master, completely unmoved. This kind of temperament is true mastery, far superior to the black-robed figure. As long as his talent isn't exceptionally poor, his future achievements won't be low. If he could befriend this man, he might be a great asset in the future.

"Are there any other fellow Daoists bidding?"

Mr. Kan waited for a moment. When no one else bid, he presented the Blood Origin Essence to the silver-robed man and announced loudly, "Fifteen thousand low-grade spirit stones! The Blood Origin Essence now belongs to this fellow Daoist!"

"Next item..."

Ignoring the disrupted auction, after the black-robed figure left the main hall, he was escorted by two beautiful maidens into a tea room. The tea room was also within the array's range, and one could not leave independently before the auction concluded.

"Immortal, please have some tea..."

The two maidens nervously offered fragrant tea.

The black-robed figure coldly commanded, "Get out!"

"Yes, sir!"

The maidens, as if granted a great amnesty, hastily put down the fragrant tea and scrambled to leave. The black-robed figure remained seated, motionless. The face beneath his hood was none other than Qin Sang!

At some unknown time, he had left Qingyang Market City and arrived at Tianyou Pass, where he caused this commotion at the auction. At this moment, there was no trace of anger on his face; it was unusually calm. His eyes held a contemplative expression, as if he were pondering something. He had deliberately put on an act, causing a scene at the auction, not truly for the Blood Origin Essence, but for his own purpose. The prerequisite was that he had thoroughly investigated Mr. Kan's demeanor and acted with careful measure. Otherwise, failing to achieve his objective while simultaneously incurring Mr. Kan's mortal enmity would have been a net loss.

The tea room was silent. Not long after Qin Sang sat there quietly, a trembling voice from outside announced, "Senior, the auction has concluded..." Then, he was escorted out as if he were a plague god.

After leaving the auction, Qin Sang immediately cloaked himself in shadows and quietly departed Tianyou Pass. He gazed at the vast marshlands, pondered for a moment, then activated his Netherworld Cloud and flew at full speed directly eastward. That was the direction of Qingyang City!

Not long after Qin Sang departed, dawn broke in the east, and a middle-aged man emerged from Tianyou Pass. This man had an ordinary appearance but an excellent demeanor. Dressed in simple Daoist robes, he resembled a Confucian scholar. Unfortunately, cultivators value cultivation above demeanor. His aura was not strong, appearing to have just broken through to the Foundation Establishment stage. He left Tianyou Pass on foot, and upon reaching the marsh, he merely used a movement technique to fly, his speed not particularly fast.

It was unclear what he intended to do; he flew aimlessly through the marsh, sometimes even circling widely. This continued for over half an hour until he landed on a withered tree. He turned his head to scan behind him. Once certain he was not being followed, a sarcastic sneer appeared on his face. "Cowardly rat! I didn't even try to hide, and you still didn't dare to follow! You old bastard, you're lucky!"

This man was the silver-robed figure whom Qin Sang had targeted at the auction. Before his words fully faded, his body surged with demonic energy, transforming him into a black streak of light that shot eastward. At this moment, his true aura was finally revealed: an astonishing False Core stage cultivator! The streak of light was incredibly fast, quickly flying out of the marshland. Ahead lay thousands of mountains and ravines, all desolate.

The silver-robed man's speed did not diminish. After entering deep into the mountains, a soft gasp of surprise suddenly emanated from within the streaking light. The light then shifted direction and landed on a mountaintop. The silver-robed man looked surprised. He turned his head and stared at a massive mountain range to the north, resembling a giant dragon. From that direction, a peculiar fluctuation faintly emanated.

This fluctuation belonged exclusively to a secret technique called the Heart Devouring Gu, a very distant memory. Since the destruction of his sect, the Kuiyin Sect, the remaining Heart Devouring Gu and the sect master were destroyed together during Yuanzhao Sect's self-detonation, and this secret technique was declared lost. The Heart Devouring Worms had long been extinct. Their corpses, preserved in glaciers, were also extremely rare. The Kuiyin Sect had exhausted all its resources to collect only this many; finding more in the future would be difficult.

After his sect's destruction, he and his master became like stray dogs, constantly hunted. It wasn't until the past decade or so, when the cultivation world of the Minor Cold Domain was preoccupied with the Spirit Tide and the Heavenly Conduct Alliance, and the Yuanzhao Sect became less aggressive, that they finally caught a breath and dared to move about openly. Those who had been controlled by the Heart Devouring Worms in the past had long since disappeared without a trace. Yet, one had appeared here.

The silver-robed man gazed intently. He remembered this mountain range; it harbored a large spiritual vein beneath it, with no shortage of excellent cave dwellings. The fluctuation indicated that this person was motionless, likely cultivating diligently within a cave.

"Last time I was here, I didn't encounter them. Could this person have just returned from the Ancient Immortal Battlefield? I wonder which faction's spy they are?"

The silver-robed man mused to himself, "There are countless secret techniques in the world. While the poison gu created by the patriarch is difficult to dispel, there might be ways to suppress the gu worms. Furthermore, if this Heart Devouring Gu was planted before the sect's destruction, this person's cultivation might not be simple; they might even be no weaker than me. Relying solely on the gu might not be enough to control this person..."