"One thousand high-grade spirit stones!"

Murong Fu shouted out his offer with a hint of fierceness.

This offer caused an uproar among the audience.

A thousand high-grade spirit stones is no small sum. Even some extremely powerful families in Zhongzhou would have to think twice before taking out such a large amount.

From Murong Fu's rapidly fluctuating tone, one could sense that these spirit stones were already the limit of what he could currently offer.

Just as the martial artists were still discussing, Li Yuan's somewhat gloating voice suddenly came from the private room, "Hahaha, Murong Fu, you are really generous, giving away a thousand high-grade spirit stones for such a key fragment. If your father knew, he would probably be so angry that he would vomit blood!"

"Hmph!" Murong Fu naturally understood the meaning behind Li Yuan's words, and he felt somewhat annoyed. It was obvious that Li Yuan and Zhou Lu had deliberately raised the price before joining forces.

"Tsk tsk! Murong Fu, you're spending a thousand spirit stones to please the Xuan Tian Sword Sect. Don't let your flattery backfire." Zhou Lu said with a smile.

Murong Fu's words were filled with anger, and his voice became somewhat deep as he rebuked, "It's none of your business what the Murong clan does!"

To enter the inner chamber of the tomb of the Old Man of the Fire of the Snake, you need to collect all seven key fragments.

Currently in Chiling City, the Murong clan, Li clan, and Zhou clan each possess a fragment of the key. In addition, there is a fragment currently being auctioned at the Chiling City Pill Academy, making a total of four fragments.

The whereabouts of the other three pieces are still unknown, but it is likely that someone will bring them when the tomb of the Old Man of the Fire of the Si Fire begins, since the attraction of the inner chamber of the tomb of a powerful Earth Profound Realm expert is still very strong.

Possessing a key fragment means that their clan is qualified to enter the inner chambers of the tomb, so whether or not they can buy the extra fragment doesn't have much of an impact.

If you're not strong enough, even if you collect a lot of key fragments, they'll still be taken away by someone else.

However, the Murong clan, which is now located within the territory of the Tianxuan Sect, has been somewhat unsettled in recent years. On the one hand, the Tianxuan Sect has been recruiting fewer disciples, and its influence over the major families within its territory has been gradually declining. This has led many powerful families in the heartland to have other ideas.

The Murong clan of Chiling City invited its disciples to Chiling City in order to curry favor with the Xuantian Sword Sect, and even promised them access to the inner chamber of the Si Huo Elder's tomb.

This means that the Murong clan needs to collect one more key fragment.

Although the Zhou and Li clans of Chiling City disapproved of the Murong clan's collusion with outsiders, the sects in Zhongzhou did not interfere in family matters, so even if they informed the Tianxuan Sect, it would be of no use.

"Young Master Murong has offered a thousand high-grade spirit stones. Is there anyone offering a higher price?"

Seeing the tense situation unfolding in the upper-level private rooms, Mu Qing, in the center of the auction hall, remained calm and composed, as if she had seen it all before.

The auction hall, which had been somewhat chaotic, fell silent as she finished speaking.

Murong Fu also knew that once he made the offer, he couldn't take it back.

Although this time it cost a thousand high-grade spirit stones, which was quite a price to pay, if they could please the people from the Xuantian Sword Sect, then their Murong Clan could establish this relationship and send their disciples into the Xuantian Sword Sect.

After looking around, Mu Qing saw that no martial artist was bidding again, so she immediately set the auction price.

After the key fragment was successfully auctioned off, Mu Qing's face showed more joy. Obviously, the price of one thousand high-grade spirit stones was something she had not expected, which also made the Red Ridge City Pill Academy a considerable profit.

However, while Mu Qing was overjoyed, she also looked curiously at the figure of a boy in the arena, her eyes filled with curiosity.

The figure was Qin Xin. After seeing the final auction results, he also planned to leave Chiling City and explore the area around Chiling Peak.

Before Qin Xin could even leave the auction house, five burly men dressed as guards surrounded him.

Qin Xin also sensed that these burly men were radiating extremely powerful auras, with one of them even possessing the cultivation level of the sixth level of the Yuanfu Realm.

Those who can use martial artists at the Yuanfu Realm as guards must be extremely powerful, so Qin Xin became somewhat wary.

Just as Qin Xin began to subtly circulate the Yuan energy within his body, a figure appeared in front of him, saying with a hint of contempt, "Kid, so you're the one trying to steal the Miasma Pill from me again, aren't you!"

The person who stopped Qin Xin was none other than Murong Fu of the Murong clan. He had been tricked by Li Yuan and Zhou Lu, and he was already in a bad mood.

Upon seeing the young man competing with him for the miasma pill, he discovered that the young man was merely a Yuanfu Realm cultivator. He was instantly enraged and immediately signaled to the guards behind him to stop him.

In response to Murong Fu's disdainful words, Qin Xin retorted irritably, "What, isn't the Red Ridge City Pill Academy auction just a matter of the highest bidder winning?"

Murong Fu was slightly surprised to see Qin Xin so fearless, and said in a somewhat threatening tone, "It seems this is your first time in Chiling City, but you should have heard of the Murong Clan."

"I've heard of it, so what?" Qin Xin shrugged, appearing completely unconcerned.

"You're courting death!" Behind Murong Fu, an old man in a green robe glared angrily, and instantly unleashed a powerful aura that rushed towards Qin Xin.

The immense pressure caused Qin Xin to involuntarily take a step back, and his blood and qi surged within him.

"Hand over the miasma pill, and we'll let this matter rest. Otherwise..." Murong Fu cracked his knuckles, making a snapping sound, his voice suggesting a growing impatience.

Qin Xin was very wary of the old man behind Murong Fu. Judging from his aura, Qin Xin could tell that the old man was also a martial artist at the third stage of the Core Formation realm. However, since he did not make a move, Qin Xin could not determine his specific cultivation level for the time being.

After activating his martial spirit, Qin Xin's Yuan energy circulated rapidly around his body.

Through his spiritual sense, Qin Xin also found a breakthrough and was ready to escape from the auction house at any time.

In this tense atmosphere, Mu Qing, who had been watching from the sidelines, slowly walked over.

Upon seeing Mu Qing's arrival, Xiahou Fu, who had been somewhat arrogant and domineering, lowered his guard and hurriedly stepped forward to greet her. From his burning gaze, it was easy to see that he was interested in Mu Qing.

After Mu Qing approached the group, she said in a nonchalant tone, "Murong Fu, you openly robbed us within the Dan Academy. How am I supposed to do business after this!"

"Miss Mu Qing, you've misunderstood. I was just chatting with this young man, and he's planning to give me the miasma pills he bought earlier," Murong Fu said gently to Mu Qing with a fawning expression.

Mu Qing raised an eyebrow slightly, looked at Qin Xin and said, "Oh? Is that so?"

Qin Xin chuckled and said, "No, it's not that. Young Master Murong is very generous. He said that we hit it off immediately and wanted to give me the key fragments that we had previously acquired. I kept refusing, feeling that it was inappropriate, but he kept pestering me."

"Pfft!"

Upon hearing Qin Xin's words, Mu Qing couldn't help but laugh.

Murong Fu's face darkened, and after glaring at Qin Xin, his eyes revealed murderous intent.

With Mu Qing present, he naturally couldn't lay a hand on Qin Xin. After leaving with his guards and the old man in blue behind him, he didn't forget to leave Qin Xin with a parting shot: "You just wait!"

As Mu Qing watched Murong Fu leave with his group, a hint of curiosity flickered in her eyes as she looked at Qin Xin. She asked softly, "You offended the Murong clan for just two Breaking Miasma Pills. You must come from a powerful family."

A glint flashed in Mu Qing's eyes as she immediately identified Qin Xin. The fact that a martial artist at the Yuanfu Realm could remain completely unaffected by the pressure of a Core Formation Realm expert clearly indicated that only disciples from powerful families and sects possessed such courage.

To avoid trouble, Qin Xin did not reveal his identity, saying, "I'm just a rogue cultivator from the next generation. I must thank you for helping me out of this predicament."

Seeing Qin Xin's wariness and reluctance to reveal his identity, Mu Qing became even more certain of her guess.

Many of the young men who came out of large families to gain experience were like Qin Xin, wanting to make a name for themselves on their own.

Mu Qing waved to Qin Xin politely, "It's alright. After all, this is within the Pill Academy. Protecting consumers' rights is what I should do."

"However, I advise you that Murong Fu is extremely vengeful, so I suggest you stay in Chiling City for now and leave only after Murong Fu has forgotten about you," Mu Qing said, as if admonishing Qin Xin.

Qin Xin naturally appreciated Mu Qing's kindness and said slowly, "Thank you, young lady. I'll take my leave now!"

After saying that, Qin Xin turned and walked out of the auction house without looking back.

After watching Qin Xin's departing figure, Mu Qing called over the maid beside her and seemed to be whispering something to her, which Qin Xin was completely unaware of.