Chapter 4249: War Begins (No More for Today)

Chaos Continent, Tianfeng City.

A magnificent, golden tower stood, its entrance adorned with a silver square plaque bearing the three golden characters "Tianfeng Tower." This was the auction house. A large number of cultivators were lining up to enter, including Wang Qingshan, Wang Qingling, and others.

Half an hour later, they entered Tianfeng Tower. Guided by attendants, they proceeded into a private room. The room was over a hundred zhang in size, and its stone walls were inlaid with a shimmering golden mirror, which displayed the layout of the auction hall.

Inside, there was a green jade table and several matching green jade stools. Wang Qingcheng and the others took their seats, set out their tea sets and tea leaves, and began to drink tea while they waited.

Through the golden mirror, they could see other bidders.

"Fairy Liuyun is here too, as well as Senior Jin from the Jin family, and Senior Cang from the Mayfly clan." Wang Qingcheng recognized several Grand Unity Golden Immortals. The scale of this auction was considerable, with many Grand Unity Golden Immortals attending.

After the time it takes to steep a cup of tea, a loud bell rang, the doors of Tianfeng Tower closed, and the auction officially began.

Two identical-looking men descended from above, landing on a circular stone platform.

"I am Nangong Yishan, and this is my younger brother, Nangong Yihe. We will be hosting this auction. The highest bidder wins. Let the bidding begin." A handsome youth in a yellow robe offered a brief introduction. With a flip of his right hand, he produced twenty green porcelain bottles and announced, "Twenty first-grade Dao Pills, with a starting bid of fifty one-color crystal cores. Each bid must increase by no less than five cores."

Even though they were all first-grade Dao Pills, their prices varied at different auctions.

"Fifty!""Fifty-five!""Sixty!"The price steadily climbed. Wang Qingshan did not bid; Liu Hongxue and Wang Qingbai could already refine first-grade Dao Pills, and Wang Qiuting had consumed two such pills but had yet to master the law.

Wang Qingcheng, however, began to bid. He had many descendants, and for him, one-color crystal cores were of little consequence.

All twenty first-grade Dao Pills were auctioned off, each fetching a high price.

Nangong Yishan then produced ten more green porcelain bottles and announced, "Ten bottles of Azure Sun Jade Ginseng Pills, which enhance immortal essence. They contain three-color crystal cores, making them very effective. The starting bid is ten one-color crystal cores, with each bid increasing by no less than one core."

"Ten cores!""Eleven!""Twelve!"Nangong Yishan continued to present various first-tier immortal pills, each with different effects, attracting many immortals to bid.

In one of the private rooms, Fairy Liuyun sat beside a green tea table, while Ye Xuanji and others stood nearby.

A faint knock sounded at the door. Fairy Liuyun instructed, "Xuanji, open the door and see who it is."

Ye Xuanji acknowledged, opened the door, and saw Nangong Yunyao standing there.

"Fellow Daoist Nangong, it's you. Is there something you need?" Ye Xuanji asked.

Nangong Yunyao looked towards Fairy Liuyun and respectfully said, "Senior Ye, please leave the auction to Fairy Ye! Ancestor Yuwei wishes to speak with you about something important."

"Senior Nangong wants to see me!" Fairy Liuyun was somewhat surprised.

She nodded, her lips moving slightly as she transmitted a message to Ye Xuanji. She then took out a white storage bracelet, handed it to Ye Xuanji, and left with Nangong Yunyao.

In another private room, Jin Xin sat on a jade stool, her gaze fixed on a golden mirror nearby. Jin Gui and more than a dozen other Golden Immortals stood respectfully beside her.

A knock sounded at the door. Jin Xin instructed, "Go see who it is."

Jin Gui acknowledged, opened the door, and saw Nangong Yunyue standing there.

"Fairy Nangong, is there something you need?" Jin Gui asked.

"Ancestor Yuwei has requested Senior Jin's presence to discuss a matter. As for the auction, a small matter like this can be left to Fellow Daoist Jin." Nangong Yunyue said courteously.

"What does Senior Nangong want with me?" Jin Xin asked.

"This junior is not clear, I was simply ordered to invite Senior Jin." Nangong Yunyue replied honestly.

Jin Xin dared not keep a Grand Luo Golden Immortal waiting. She nodded, transmitted a message to Jin Gui, took out a golden storage bracelet, handed it to Jin Gui, and then departed with Nangong Yunyue.

In a magnificent, golden hall, Nangong Yuwei sat on the main seat with a solemn expression. A graceful young woman in a white dress stood respectfully beside her.

Fairy Liuyun, Cang Yao, Cao Yuanxing, and over a dozen other Grand Unity Golden Immortals stood respectfully to the side.

They had led their respective groups to the auction. Shortly after the auction began, Nangong Yuwei sent someone to summon them, and they had no idea why.

Not long after, Jin Xin entered, accompanied by Nangong Yunyue.

Jin Xin was completely bewildered when she saw Fairy Liuyun and the others.

"Alright, everyone is here. I can tell you now: I plan to destroy the Hulan Tribe. This time, Yuexue will lead the team; you just need to follow her commands." Nangong Yuwei stated in an unchallengeable tone.

"My name is Nangong Yuexue, and I hope for your full cooperation." The young woman in the white dress bowed gracefully and said with a smile.

"Senior Nangong, are we going to full-scale war with the Chahar Tribe? Surely, our numbers aren't enough for that!" Jin Xin asked with some concern.

"We are only dealing with the Hulan Tribe, not the Chahar Tribe. Your numbers are sufficient. Don't worry, we will be deploying a Yellow-grade Immortal Warship for a swift victory. After capturing the Hulan Mountain Range, we will quickly establish a new ground city and station elite forces there." Nangong Yuwei instructed.

"Senior Nangong, won't the Chahar Tribe retaliate if we do this?" A voluptuous young woman in a red dress frowned as she spoke, her body adorned with natural, reddish crescent-moon spirit patterns. This was Yanyu, a Grand Unity Golden Immortal at the mid-stage, originally from the Fire Moon Clan.

The Fire Moon Clan's territory was far to the rear, and the Hulan Tribe was a great distance from them. Capturing the Hulan Mountain Range offered little benefit to the Fire Moon Clan; the Cao family would be the primary beneficiary.

"That's certainly a possibility, but taking down the Hulan Tribe offers several advantages: first, it expands our territory; second, it eliminates the Hulan Tribe; and third, it provides an additional buffer. If the Chaos Beasts wish to invade our Nangong family's territory again, they will have to attack from other locations." Nangong Yuwei explained.

"Senior Nangong is wise! This junior will certainly obey and assist Fairy Nangong in eliminating the Hulan Tribe." Cao Yuanxing pledged, thumping his chest.

The Cao family's territory was adjacent to the Hulan Mountain Range. Each time a tide of Chaos Beasts erupted, the Cao family suffered considerable losses. If they could capture the Hulan Mountain Range and establish two ground cities, then in any future Chaos Beast tide, the beasts would first have to conquer that ground city before they could invade the Cao family's territory.

"Since it is Senior Nangong's command, we are honor-bound to comply." Lin Tianba echoed.

The Five Immortal Sect's territory bordered the Cao family's, so capturing the Hulan Mountain Range would also offer some benefits to the Five Immortal Sect.

Since Nangong Yuwei had given the command, the cultivators naturally dared not refuse.

"Senior Nangong, are we just going to attack directly? Do we not need to mobilize the Immortal Armored Army and True Spirits?" Fairy Liuyun asked.