The woman on stage beamed, raising her hand just as she was about to present the alchemy furnace.
Suddenly!
Her expression stiffened slightly. Pausing mid-motion, she spoke in a soft voice, "The bidding tonight has been quite fierce! Let us take a brief intermission, everyone. The auction will resume in fifteen minutes."
With that, the curtain was drawn shut, cutting off everyone's gaze.
Ye Feng frowned. "What is this auction house playing at? Why pause all of a sudden?"
Cao Yan pondered for a moment, then murmured, "Auctions rarely pause halfway through. The way it looks... they're probably adding an extra lot at the last minute."
Li Guanqi nodded slightly; such things did happen.
Yet just as the crowd below erupted into hushed chatter, Li Guanqi suddenly glanced up toward several private boxes on the third floor!
At the same time, the doors to the main hall opened, and more than a dozen Core Formation cultivators filed inside.
This sight made Li Guanqi knit his brows. Fortunately, all three of them were wearing human-skin masks.
After a brief thought, Li Guanqi still had the two put on black robes, transmitting his voice: "Something isn't right."
"A sudden influx of Core Formation cultivators—and most are travelling in groups. They likely hail from different factions."
Just like that, in less than the time it took an incense stick to burn, more than thirty additional Core Formation cultivators entered the auction hall!
Up in his private box, Wang Heyang's expression shifted as well. Immediately after, he nervously produced a special jade slip.
Channeling a wisp of primal energy into it, a rather cold voice soon echoed from within:
"Wang Heyang, are you at Yunding Auction House right now?"
Wang Heyang was startled to hear that the speaker was Lu Yu, the Sixth Elder of Yundan Pavilion!
Even through a jade slip, Wang Heyang could hardly suppress the terror in his heart. Swallowing hard, he hurriedly bowed and replied, "Reporting to the Sixth Elder, this disciple is indeed at Yunding Auction House."
"Good! Head to the ongoing auction immediately! You must win the final item for me at all costs!"
"Just keep the bidding going and buy time—I'm on my way right now!"
Wang Heyang's heart lurched. He had no idea what was happening or why the Sixth Elder was so anxious.
"Dare I ask, Elder, what item is it?"
To his surprise, the voice from the jade slip scoffed impatiently, "All you need to know is that it's the final lot! What are you prying so much for?"
"Just make sure you hold out and drag it out before I arrive!"
Wang Heyang's face fell, and in the end, he could only lower the jade slip in silence.
Sensing that something was off, he immediately summoned the maid outside the door and asked in a low voice, "What exactly is this last-minute addition to the auction?"
The woman clad in sheer gauze trembled slightly, speaking with some panic, "This servant does not know..."
Wang Heyang cursed under his breath that she was useless and waved his hand to dismiss her.
His eyes darted back and forth toward the neighboring boxes. He noticed that the auras of the new arrivals were thoroughly concealed, obviously because they did not want anyone knowing their identities.
From this, he deduced that whatever was coming up had to be exceedingly precious.
Yet that alchemy furnace next in line was something he had coveted for a long time. He had stayed here for three whole months just waiting for it.
Wang Heyang looked conflicted. That cauldron was his dearest desire; after waiting for so long, it was finally within reach.
If he were made to give it up now, he truly could not accept it!
Had it been any other elder in the pavilion, it might have been fine, but the Sixth Elder, Lu Yu, was tyrannical and cruel by nature...
If he messed this up... he would be lucky to escape with his skin intact!
All these thoughts left him utterly agitated, and he violently smashed the teacup in his hand to pieces!
Crash!
Li Guanqi slowly withdrew his divine sense, a teasing smile playing on his lips.
He murmured under his breath, "Just what could it be?"
Soon, the curtain on the stage parted once more, and the glamorous woman stepped slowly back out, still wearing her seductive smile.
She first bowed to the audience all around, then smiled and spoke:
"My sincerest apologies. Due to an emergency addition of an item to tonight's auction,"
"and the unpleasant experience this may have caused our esteemed guests, Han Qiu offers her deepest apologies."
At her words, bursts of teasing and banter immediately rose from the crowd below.
The woman took it all in stride, reigniting everyone's enthusiasm with just a few deftly chosen words.
Hum!
The array's glow on the high stage flickered faintly, and a three-foot-tall alchemy furnace materialized abruptly!
A sapphire shimmer gleamed over the furnace; one look was enough to tell it was no ordinary item.
When Cao Yan saw this furnace, genuine fondness filled his eyes.
At this moment, however, Li Guanqi's attention was entirely on the others.
The group that had entered midway through the auction were all clad in black robes, their auras unfathomably deep.
Yet he noticed that they showed little interest in this furnace; clearly, they had come for that final, last-minute lot.
Li Guanqi's divine sense silently crept into Wang Heyang's room, finding his eyes bloodshot and his fists clenched tight.
Wang Heyang's face was a portrait of inner turmoil. Beneath his black robe, the corners of Li Guanqi's mouth curled up in an inscrutable smile.
"Looks like this fellow truly wants this cauldron..."
Han Qiu began by introducing the furnace's properties, including a supplementary array engraved inside it.
As she announced an opening bid of eighty-eight thousand, very few in the hall actually bid.
After all, while this cauldron was a top-grade spirit tool, it was of greatest use only to an alchemist.
Other cultivators could hardly use an alchemy furnace as an offensive dharma artifact.
Moreover, there were very few alchemists attending this auction in the first place.
Li Guanqi slowly raised his paddle and spoke in a raspy voice, "One hundred thousand."
Han Qiu gestured toward the second floor, smiling as she said, "Honored Guest Number 188 bids one hundred thousand. Are there any higher bids?"
Upstairs, Wang Heyang froze for a moment. Disbelief flashed in his eyes as he muttered,
"Could one of those three bumpkins actually be an alchemist?"
"No... that bastard is deliberately jacking up the price!"
Just as he was about to call out a bid, the woman from before appeared in his private box once again.
Puffing out a wisp of blue smoke, the woman lowered her beautiful eyes slightly, toying with the walnuts in her hand as she chuckled softly,
"Young Master Wang, if you wish to bid on this, I'm afraid you must first settle the default penalties from earlier."
Wang Heyang whipped around to glare at the woman, his voice sinking: "It's just a bit of penalty money—is it really worth coming to demand it from your daddy right now?"
The woman tilted her head slightly, her exquisite face suddenly darkening.
"'Your daddy'? Hahahahaha."
The woman laughed until her delicate frame trembled like a blossoming branch, yet in Wang Heyang's ears, it carried a chilling edge. He suddenly regretted his reckless tongue.
The woman slowly rose, and a terrifying pressure erupted with a roar!
Boom!
Chapter 231