Chapter 30: Lingbao Auction

The remaining nine people from the Spirit Treasure Auction were utterly dumbfounded. They silently watched Xu Yang, their minds in turmoil.

Zhao Long was dead, blasted to smithereens by a Qi Condensation realm cultivator. What should they do now? The Halberd of Heaven was still in Xu Yang’s hands. If they returned to the Spirit Treasure Auction like this, they would surely be finished. The Spirit Treasure Auction had paid an immense price to obtain the Halberd of Heaven; they could not afford to lose it!

Hu Tao wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, stepped forward, and said, “The Halberd of Heaven is extremely important to us. We hope, honored sir, that you will return it to us. The Spirit Treasure Auction will certainly provide items of equal value as a token of our gratitude.”

Xu Yang looked up and saw a white-haired cultivator in the late Golden Core stage respectfully speaking to him.

“Return? This is my item. Why use the word ‘return’?” Xu Yang sneered.

With the Halberd of Heaven in hand and his objective achieved, Xu Yang turned and walked away, ignoring Hu Tao. Everyone automatically made way, watching Xu Yang leave.

Seeing Xu Yang’s calm demeanor, the others’ mouths twitched. They had just ridiculed Xu Yang earlier… if Xu Yang were to seek retribution later…

Indeed, how could someone who could enter the secret realm be merely at the Qi Condensation stage? It seemed they needed to be cautious when navigating the world. People nowadays were unpredictable; clearly almost invincible, yet they enjoyed pretending to be weak.

The nine people from the Spirit Treasure Auction remained silent for a long time. In the end, they didn’t have the courage to contend with Xu Yang for the Halberd of Heaven. Their figures flickered, and they rushed out of the secret realm.

***

Qizhou, Tianwu Commandery.

Next to a bustling marketplace stood a tranquil, ancient manor. A two-story building stood gracefully by the water, with vermilion walls and blue tiles, looking immensely grand. This was precisely the residence of the branch president of the Spirit Treasure Auction.

Suddenly, nine figures streaked across the sky in a hurry, breaking the tranquility.

Inside the two-story building, an old man suddenly opened his eyes, a glint of light flashing within them. “Why such panic?”

He was Zhang Shuangtian, the branch president of the Spirit Treasure Auction! He had already reached the early Nascent Soul cultivation stage! He was the true overlord of Qizhou! Zhang Shuangtian sent out a burst of spiritual sense to scan the outside, instantly becoming surprised and uncertain.

“Where is Zhao Long? Why are there only nine of you? And the Halberd of Heaven?”

*Boom…*

Just as Zhang Shuangtian frowned in thought, nine Golden Core stage cultivators rushed in.

“President, something terrible has happened! Zhao Long was killed, and the Halberd of Heaven was taken!” The nine Golden Core cultivators prostrated themselves on the ground, speaking tremblingly.

“What?!” Zhang Shuangtian was furious! He asked in a low voice, disbelief etched on his face: “What did you just say?!”

The nine Golden Core cultivators exchanged fearful glances, squeezing out a few words through gritted teeth: “President, Zhao Long was killed, and the Halberd of Heaven was taken…”

“Who did it?!” Zhang Shuangtian’s eyes gradually turned cold, his face ashen, and his chilling words seemed to emanate from the depths of hell, bone-piercingly cold! To acquire this Halberd of Heaven, he had nearly emptied half of his family’s fortune. It was finally within his grasp, only to be snatched away.

“Who exactly did this? I’ll tear him to a thousand pieces!” Zhang Shuangtian gritted his teeth.

The nine Golden Core cultivators looked at each other. They had followed Zhang Shuangtian for many years and had never seen him so enraged.

“It was Xu Yang, the old ancestor of the Sky Mist Sect,” one Golden Core cultivator said, gathering his courage.

“The Sky Mist Sect, the one that’s been gaining so much prominence lately?” Zhang Shuangtian lowered his head in thought. He was naturally aware of the Sky Mist Sect, which had been causing quite a stir recently.

Rumor had it that just as the Sky Mist Sect was facing destruction, a Qi Condensation stage old ancestor suddenly appeared. This single person wiped out Qizhou’s largest sect, then acted boldly, sweeping across Qizhou with an invincible posture. They even disregarded the attempts of Tianwu Commandery to win them over.

“Indeed formidable. No wonder they dared to seize my Halberd of Heaven. But alas, no matter how powerful, you can only run wild in Qizhou. Qizhou, in this vast world, is merely a backwater. Your legend ends here!”

As he spoke, the murderous intent in Zhang Shuangtian’s eyes intensified. Under Zhang Shuangtian’s terrifying aura, the nine Golden Core cultivators trembled all over, collapsing weakly to the ground.

***

Inside the secret realm, Xu Yang calmly watched Ling Qingshu battle a monstrous beast. Although Ling Qingshu was in perilous situations, Xu Yang showed no emotion. The monstrous beast had eight soft, yellow tentacles, each with a row of black suction cups. It looked like an octopus!

“Brother, I think if you keep watching, she’s going to die,” Fang Yan couldn’t help but remind Xu Yang. Ling Qingshu had already been hit by the monstrous beast multiple times and was covered in injuries. It pained him to see such a beautiful girl treated this way by Xu Yang.

“If she dies, she dies,” Xu Yang said casually, holding a few red fruits in his hand. These fruits, ten thousand years ago, would have been rare and priceless, yet now they had fallen to the point where not even dogs would eat them. He wondered what exactly had happened during those ten thousand years.

*Boom, boom…*

Ling Qingshu was still fighting the monstrous beast. The beast was incredibly powerful, and Ling Qingshu was no match for it. Fang Yan watched Ling Qingshu nervously, holding his fiery red greatsword, ready to play the hero and save the beauty at any moment. Whenever Ling Qingshu was in danger, Xu Yang would offer a word of guidance. Although Ling Qingshu was in peril, she didn’t swiftly fall in defeat.

Listening to Xu Yang guide Ling Qingshu from the side, Fang Yan felt he was learning a great deal. He couldn’t help but ask, “What exactly is your cultivation level?”

“I’m at the Qi Condensation stage,” Xu Yang replied.

“You’re at the Qi Condensation stage? A Qi Condensation cultivator can punch Zhao Long to death?” Fang Yan absolutely refused to believe it.

“Because I’m at Qi Condensation, ten thousand layers deep,” Xu Yang said.

Fang Yan nearly choked. He curled his lip and said, “If you don’t want to tell me, just say so. There’s no need to fob me off with such a pathetic lie.” Xu Yang knew that even if he spoke the truth, no one would believe him.

Just then, Ling Qingshu made a mistake, and one of the octopus-like monster’s soft tentacles coiled around her, pulling her towards its disgusting mouth.

“Hmm?”

*Boom…*

Xu Yang moved. The Halberd of Heaven cut through the air with several streaks of white sword energy, irresistibly striking the monstrous beast. The beast’s tentacles were instantly severed by Xu Yang. Xu Yang shot forward, landing on the monstrous beast’s round head. The Halberd of Heaven burst with dazzling white light and plunged downwards, causing the beast’s head to explode like tofu dregs.

Fang Yan watched in a daze, shaking his head repeatedly. “Holy crap, with power like that, if you say you’re at the Qi Condensation stage, whoever believes you is a damn idiot.”

Xu Yang found the inner core in the utterly dead monstrous beast, retrieved it, and then handed it to Fang Yan. “Eat this.”

Fang Yan’s face immediately fell. “This is a monstrous beast’s inner core! Eating it directly will kill someone!” He looked up at Xu Yang with a resentful expression. “Brother, what did I do wrong for you to want me dead?”