Just like Qin Sang, the others were terrified of causing any misunderstanding with the Core Formation cultivator. None of them dared lift their buttocks from their seats; they could only lean forward as far as they could, staring fixedly at the sheepskin to scrutinize it.
Yet with the naked eye alone, not the slightest peculiarity could be seen in this 'sheepskin'!
With a Golden Core Master presiding over the room, the cultivators in the hall were itching with immense curiosity, yet none dared probe it with spiritual power or spiritual sense.
"Commander Gao, just what is this item?"
Unable to hold back her curiosity, the woman in red called out.
The others began murmuring among themselves as well.
"It looks like an animal hide..."
"Could it be some magic tool whose divine light is concealed?"
"It couldn't be a scroll similar to a jade slip, could it? Might there be a cultivation method left behind by some grandmaster inside?"
"Perhaps it's a sealed object..."
...
Qin Sang said nothing, observing intently. He was now practically certain.
This 'sheepskin' was not only of the exact same material as the one in his possession, but even the dimensions were identical—a neat square, clearly cut from a single, larger piece of hide!
Qin Sang had obtained his piece of 'sheepskin' alongside the ebony sword and the Yanluo Banner when he first arrived in this world, and he had tested it on more than one occasion.
When he first stepped onto the immortal path and learned to wield spiritual power and spiritual sense, he had tried them on the sheepskin.
Later, after acquiring incantations like the Object Manipulation Technique and gaining the ability to open mustard seed bags, he tried them all on the sheepskin one by one, yet none produced any reaction.
Still later, after joining the Kuiyin Sect and learning that the black-robed fiend might have been a Kuiyin Sect disciple, he had suspected that the sheepskin might have some connection to the sect and secretly investigated.
At that time, he had been confined to the Yin Baleful Abyss and was subsequently dispatched as an undercover agent, so naturally, he discovered nothing.
After entering Shaohua Mountain and learning various secrets of the Kuiyin Sect from Sun De, Qin Sang had guessed that the black-robed fiend had been in the same position as Shi Hong—a sacrificial offering chosen by some true disciple or Foundation Establishment cultivator of the Kuiyin Sect.
Yet on closer thought, he felt the man might not have been a disciple of the Kuiyin Sect after all.
The black-robed fiend's cultivation had not been high, and he had been hunted down by Song Hua in a truly miserable state. It was unclear whether he had never possessed a mustard seed bag in the first place or had lost it in battle.
Heavily injured, he could only control mountain bandits to help him flee, relying on wicked demonic methods to devour blood food just to survive.
Perhaps the man had merely been a rogue cultivator who had obtained the banner and cultivation method from who knows where. Even if he hadn't perished by the banks of the Chenshui River, he would sooner or later have died from a backlash by the Yanwang.
Regardless of the black-robed fiend's identity, the Kuiyin Sect had already been destroyed, leaving no trail to follow, and Qin Sang could not be bothered to pursue it.
Qin Sang had once wondered if the clash between Song Hua and the black-robed fiend had not been a clash between righteous and demonic paths, or born of personal enmity, but rather over this piece of sheepskin.
However, trying to investigate through Song Hua proved equally impossible.
Upon meeting Song Ying, Qin Sang had asked to read the letter Song Hua left behind prior to his departure, but there were no hidden codes in it, and no relevant clues were ever uncovered in the Wenyue Cultivation Market.
After all these years, no one knew where Song Hua had gone.
In the end, the matter had simply been left unresolved.
After breaking through to Foundation Establishment, while tidying his mustard seed bag, Qin Sang remembered the 'sheepskin' and brought it out once more for inspection, confirming that his earlier failure had not been due to insufficient cultivation.
Apart from being exceptionally tough and durable, the hide possessed no other unique qualities. Perhaps it was the skin of some demon beast; in the cultivation world, such inexplicable oddities were a dime a dozen.
Whatever was on the black-robed fiend's person, whether the Yanluo Banner or anything else, was hardly considered precious in the cultivation world, so the value of the sheepskin likely wasn't very high either. As Qin Sang's subsequent cultivation journey grew increasingly arduous, he had no time to spare for other distractions, so he tossed it aside and never paid it any further mind.
Had the 'sheepskin' not reappeared at this auction, he would have nearly forgotten all about it!
What could the 'sheepskin' be?
Qin Sang's thoughts churned with intense curiosity and burgeoning excitement.
For a treasure to be treated so preciously by a Golden Core Master, kept in a wooden box, and brought out to be auctioned here, it was certainly nothing ordinary!
A fragment of a magic treasure?
A remnant scroll of an ancient cultivation method?
A treasure map?
Or something else entirely?
However, Qin Sang also harbored a sense of vigilance, wondering why that Core Formation cultivator hidden in the dark would put the 'sheepskin' up for auction, and specifically at this gathering.
Could the value of the 'sheepskin' actually not be as great as he imagined—something of little consequence to a Core Formation cultivator?
Or was it...
Baiting a hook!
Assuming these two pieces of 'sheepskin' shared the same origin, could it be that one had to gather two or even more pieces before its true purpose and value were revealed?
Could that Core Formation cultivator lurking in the dark have been watching the cultivators in the hall all along, observing whether anyone recognized the sheepskin?
A jolt of terror struck Qin Sang. His hairs stood on end, and alarm bells rang wildly in his mind.
Fortunately, he possessed deep shrewdness. He kept all his wild surmises strictly within his thoughts, betraying nothing on the outside!
Just as myriad thoughts flashed through Qin Sang's mind, Gao Yi took the sheepskin from the wooden box, raised his arm, and said in a grave voice, "Fellow Daoists, please calm yourselves. We shall now invite Senior to reveal the full appearance of this treasure."
A speck of golden radiance shot from the darkness, striking right at the center of the sheepskin.
Curiously, that seemingly razor-sharp golden glow vanished the instant it touched the sheepskin, like a clay ox sinking into the sea. It dissolved instantly, as though swallowed by the hide, while the sheepskin remained completely unchanged.
Just as everyone was bewildered, a wisp of faint white light suddenly blossomed from the center of the sheepskin, spreading outward in a gentle halo.
Upon the originally bare surface of the sheepskin, a design in the shape of a heavenly gate gradually emerged. In the very center of this gate, three ancient characters were etched with strokes as bold as iron and silver:
Ziwei Palace!
The three characters 'Ziwei Palace' shone with dazzling brilliance, their brushwork vigorous and dynamic, exuding an astonishing grandeur. The light radiated with an edge as sharp as sword qi, making it unbearable to look at directly.
The imagery upon the sheepskin seemed real, with auspicious clouds drifting across it.
The heavenly gate stood amidst layer upon layer of a sea of clouds, looming indistinctly, carved with dragons and painted with phoenixes in an ancient, extraordinary fashion.
Regrettably, for some unknown reason, the heavenly gate was severely damaged, riddled with countless cracks and missing portions. Scars and fractures were visible everywhere; even the carved dragon head had half flaked away, greatly diminishing its divine charm.
One could not help but suspect that with a gentle touch, the entire heavenly gate would collapse.
Ziwei Palace revealed!
The vast majority of the cultivators in the hall, including several suspected late Foundation Establishment experts, looked bewildered or sank into deep thought.
Yet a look of pure shock surfaced on the face of the woman in red.
"Ziwei Palace!"
The woman in red covered her mouth and gasped, "Could this animal hide be... a Ziwei Secret Talisman?"
Before her voice had fully faded, a hearty, resonant laugh echoed into the hall.
"To think that among you juniors, someone actually knows of the Ziwei Secret Talisman's existence.
"Indeed, the Ziwei Secret Talisman is the token of entry into the Ziwei Palace this time.
"When the spirit tide draws near, the secret talismans emerge.
"Once the spirit tide arrives, that will be when Ziwei Palace opens.
"Unless one can secure the protection of a Nascent Soul Patriarch, only those bearing a secret talisman will qualify to enter Ziwei Palace.
"You juniors may not have sensed it yet, but undercurrents have long been surging throughout the Lesser Cold Domain. Vying for the Ziwei Secret Talismans is bound to ignite conflict, and the struggle will only grow fiercer in the days to come."
Chapter 326