Ancient array
"The old guy from the Peony Pavilion has some tricks up his sleeve. He even took out a magic pill that none of us have."
In a private room, a black-robed monk curled his lips into a faint smile, watching the people below, frantic for treasure, a flicker of disdain in his eyes. He gently raised his hand, revealing a dazzling array of intricate silver ornaments beneath his black robe. A closer look revealed silver bracelets and armlets etched with delicate silver serpentine patterns. The serpent's head, raised high and lifelike, slithered across his arm.
He crossed his arms and sneered, "The Peony Pavilion made a big fuss about the whereabouts of the Void Beast and the Fruit of Destiny, which attracted the attention of the Venerable, who ordered the two of us to investigate. Now they're trying to be mysterious again, talking about some fairyland!"
"Why, everything in this world is decided by him, the Peony Pavilion!"
After saying that, he fiercely kicked the table in the private room, trying to blast the formation. The black-robed monk next to him looked at him disapprovingly, cast a spell to stop his movement, and warned: "Don't move! Don't forget the purpose of our visit!"
Although the cultivator lowered her voice, it was clearly a female cultivator. She lowered her eyebrows and looked up at the male cultivator with a look of dissatisfaction.
"But I just can't help but be furious! Why would the Peony Pavilion Master challenge the Taiyin Group?! The Venerable One is supreme, the creator of everything! I left a wanted criminal a chance to live, rushing him to this dilapidated place. I never thought someone would secretly develop their power and attempt to rule the mountain!"
"This is a slap in the face of the group!" He slammed the table fiercely, and in an instant the table broke into pieces, and the teacups and teapots were broken into pieces on the ground. With two bangs, the fragments flew across the exquisite peony screen. Only the sound of silk breaking could be heard, which was extremely harsh.
Because of the soundproofing formation, no one could hear the quarrel inside.
"Sit down!" The female cultivator was furious and slapped him in the face. "You don't take the Venerable's words to heart?"
"Some time ago, you let Lan Xianghan run away because of your temper, ruining the group's business. How dare you lose your temper in front of me!" She spoke sternly, and her narrow and long phoenix eyes swept over him lightly, full of oppression. The male cultivator immediately fell silent and stood still obediently.
"I didn't mean to do that... Who knew True Lord Qingmin had an ancient teleportation array? I thought it was all mine!" He quietly defended himself, gritting his teeth as he spoke. "If it weren't for these ants ruining my plans! I would have completed my mission long ago and obtained the late Nascent Soul stage psychic chip!"
"Hmm?" The female cultivator was a little impatient. He kept repeating these boring remarks over and over again. No matter how much he tried to defend himself, he could not cover up the fact that he had failed to fulfill his responsibilities.
"Keep looking." The female cultivator waved her hand, and the broken teacups on the coffee table instantly returned to their original state. She poured herself a cup of tea, gently sniffed the faint tea fragrance, and glanced casually, catching a glimpse of the broken peony screen.
For some reason, she did not repair it, but instead set her sights on the longevity pill in the center of the stage.
"No matter what the price, this pill must be obtained."
Because it is worth researching, this elixir must be useful to the Venerable!
Only valuable people or things can live in the Taiyin Group for a long time. People without value... do not deserve to live and can only die.
…
The monks in the audience were clamoring and fighting over the longevity pill until the host announced the auction's starting price: "The starting price is 100,000 high-grade spirit stones, and the bid can be increased by 10,000 high-grade spirit stones at a time."
This price is quite expensive. The spiritual energy chip of the Jindan stage is also about the same price. However, for a truly priceless treasure, this price is too cheap.
Those Nascent Soul masters who had hidden their cultivation levels raised their placards to bid, and the scene was very lively.
"No. 86 raises the price once more!"
"Number 72 raised the price three times!"
In the end, the situation got out of control.
"Me! 200,000!"
"Our master offers 300,000!"
Listening to the auction sounds downstairs, Qianluo in the private room couldn't understand why Butterfly Grandma's longevity pill appeared here. Could it be that Butterfly Grandma entered the Tianyan Continent?
She is now 90% sure that Butterfly Grandma is from the outer continent. Currently, the only way to cross the continent is through the Dead Sea. Could it be that there is a channel on the seabed that can transport goods?
Otherwise she couldn't explain what she was seeing.
Of course, this was just her fantasy. Maybe it was because an ancient teleportation array or a secret realm was accidentally opened. In short, this opened a new door for her.
She had promised Chi Zhao that she would return to his continent and help him get home. She also wanted to see what the outside of Tianyan Continent was like. She also wanted to see Butterfly Granny again.
"The first item sold by the Peony Pavilion is a longevity pill, and it's an immortality-level one! I can't imagine what their finale will be. Could it be that the legendary void beast really exists and can transcend time and space? What a heaven-defying treasure that would be!"
Lan Xianghan naturally said to herself, if there really is such a heaven-defying treasure that can reverse time and space, then she must go back to the day before Linglong Sect was destroyed and tell her master, sisters and brothers to find ways to escape this disaster!
A hint of sadness flashed across the female cultivator's eyes. She took a deep breath and looked out the window. The longevity pill was finally sold for one million high-grade spirit stones. The second item was far inferior: a dragon's beast core and bones, excellent materials for refining weapons.
"Now for the third item for sale - the Tianshu Silver Shield, a high-level spiritual treasure that can withstand three attacks from a cultivator in the late Nascent Soul stage!"
As the host finished speaking, the monks below began to make noisy voices: "Thinking about the high-level magic weapons here, if they can really withstand three attacks from a late Nascent Soul cultivator, it would be worth buying them!"
Lan Xianghan clenched her fists in the private room. She was determined to get the Tianshu Silver Shield! She glanced at Qianluo and paused. She knew Qianluo also wanted to buy a self-defense treasure. This...
Qianluo shook her head: "Don't worry about me, I'd rather find a defensive formation."
Now Lan Xianghan was completely relieved. She competed with the cultivators below in bidding, and finally bought it for 100,000 high-grade spirit stones.
"Fellow Daoists, next is the fourth item for sale—the Ancient Defense Array! The Dragon Imprisoning Demon Immortal Array! Combining both defense and offense, it can control Nascent Soul cultivators. It's incredibly powerful."
"It's just that it's so old, and the array plate is damaged, it can only function at one tenth of its effectiveness. The starting price is one thousand high-grade spirit stones."
As soon as these words came out, Qian Luo's eyes lit up! She thought of Qian Ruixue's deep knowledge of formations, and maybe she could repair the formation plate. The price was just right, good value for money, so she took it!
However, the cultivators below thought otherwise: "Although your Peony Pavilion has many natural treasures, the damaged ancient array can only function at one-tenth of its capacity. It can't be that it can't even trap a cultivator in the Qi Refining Stage, and yet you dare to sell it for the reserve price of 1,000 high-grade spirit stones!"
"Yeah, that's a bit too much!"
"The owner of the Peony Pavilion is too stingy in his business dealings. Even if you put this junk in the Xiuxian Market, no one would want it!"
After being scolded by everyone, the host wiped his sweat repeatedly. Maybe it was a secret message, but the host decided to change the minimum price to 100 high-grade spirit stones. However, no one bought it at such a low price.
So, Qian Luo happily took advantage of the opportunity and waited to reunite with Qian Daxue to find him something to do.
When Lan Xianghan saw her like this, she didn't know what was going on in her mind, and a trace of guilt and heartache flashed in her eyes. It was all her fault for stealing the Tianshu Silver Shield, otherwise Qianluo would not have bought this junky thing home.
It's not that people don't know the value of it, but it's really difficult to repair ancient formation plates. The formation masters on the market can only make a few high-level formations at most. It's really asking them to repair formation plates that are thousands of years old!
Moreover, the materials needed to repair the ancient array are even rarer and more precious. The whole process will consume millions of high-quality spirit stones and countless time and energy.
One simulation would cost 1,000 high-grade spirit stones, and 100 high-grade spirit stones was a drop in the bucket for Qianluo.
The items for sale later included many rare spiritual dews and liquids, spiritual treasures and animal bones, and even maps of secret realms. The monks were very satisfied. Although they did not get any precious treasures, it was worth the trip!
After all, they are wanted criminals, and they dare not buy these treasures from self-service machines.
Until the end, the last item on sale attracted the attention of the whole audience!
Everyone's breath held. It was hard to imagine what kind of incredible treasure the Peony Pavilion, which possessed the elixir level, would produce!
The host slowly walked onto the stage with a slight smile on his face, and pushed out an item for sale. The item was wrapped in soft black velvet and was placed very carefully.
"My fellow Daoists, thank you for your patience. Next up is the grand finale of this auction, the legendary Void Beast!"
"What do you mean it's not just a gimmick? Void Beasts actually exist!" The man's face flushed red, and the thought of seeing the legendary Void Beast immediately made him fall into fantasy. If he could obtain the Void Beast, sign a slave contract, and become its master, he would be able to transcend time and space, reversing the flow of time and space without any difficulty!
This power has surpassed the capabilities of the Nascent Soul, and even surpassed the average Divine Transformation cultivator! It is hard to imagine how humans can reverse time and space!
If time could truly be reversed, the place everyone would most want to travel to would be the immortal world of millions of years ago. What a magnificent and dazzling world that was! The spiritual energy there was countless times richer than that of the current Tianyan Continent, with countless rare spiritual beasts and abundant natural treasures!
The arrival of the Void Beast is the most exciting moment of the whole event!
The handsome and elegant male host appeared. "First of all, I want to apologize to all of you fellow Taoists. Although this is a genuine Void Beast, it's just a Void Beast egg. This young egg has been in our Black Peony Pavilion for nearly 800 years, but it has never hatched. It seems that the Black Peony Pavilion is not its destined owner, so the Pavilion Master has specially selected this as the finale of the auction, hoping to help the young egg find its destined owner and also to help Black Peony gain a good relationship!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the monks below began to talk.
The surprise faded, leaving only confusion and loss.
If this was a Void Beast cub, everyone would stop at nothing to get it. However, this was a Void Beast egg that had been incubated for nearly 800 years without success. Who knew if it was dead? Or if a Void Beast took nearly thousands of years to incubate, given the lifespan of an ordinary cultivator, how could it possibly survive that?
"What should I do? I only have a few hundred years to live. How can I possibly survive this? Could it be that this egg has a longer lifespan than anyone else? It looks like it's going to become a family heirloom, perhaps passed down from generation to generation!"
"Hey, fellow Daoist, you're wrong. If you auctioned off a longevity elixir of the immortal level, would you still be worried that you wouldn't have time to spend with him?"
"Can't the Peony Pavilion think of what you can think of? The Peony Pavilion has immortal-level longevity pills and void beast eggs, but they can't wait and instead put these two items up for auction."
"I think the Black Peony Pavilion has a good plan. Who knows? If someone takes the egg, they'll send someone to secretly monitor it. If it hatches one day, they'll definitely kill people to steal the treasure!"
"You're right! The Black Peony Pavilion is the overlord of the black market. Who dares to provoke them? If the Void Beast really hatches one day, I don't believe the Black Peony Pavilion will be able to suppress it!"
"So, this Void Beast Egg is a hot potato. Whoever takes it will die."
"That's not the case. It's just that for ordinary people it's a hot potato. But for those with family backgrounds and connections, isn't that exactly what he wants?"
Lan Xianghan in the private room heard the voices of the crowd, and her initial excitement calmed down. She was just dreaming about using the Void Beast to reverse time and space, travel through time, and rescue her master.
"Qianluo, let's not get involved in this mess!" She pulled Qianluo and shook her head, fearing that Qianluo would have some bad thoughts.
Qianluo was indeed tempted, but she had a cultivation simulator, so there was no need to auction it now. The Void Beast Egg, the grand finale, must be worth a million high-grade spirit stones, and she didn't have that kind of money!
"Everyone! To dispel your doubts, Black Peony Pavilion hereby promises that once the Void Beast Egg is sold, it will no longer be related to Black Peony Pavilion, and no staff of Black Peony Pavilion will come to claim it!"
"We have sworn a heart-demon oath before the Pavilion Master! We will never break it!"
"Raising the Void Beast Egg consumes a large amount of spiritual energy. The Pavilion Master once promised that the cultivator who bids for the Void Beast Egg can obtain spiritual energy for free for the first five years, and after that, no spiritual energy will be supplied!"
"The reserve price for this auction is 1 million high-grade spirit stones! Each bid must be 100,000 high-grade spirit stones!"
Everyone gasped. They had never imagined that the price of a Void Beast Egg would be comparable to a Nascent Soul Stage Psychic Chip! However, if the Void Beast Egg was truly hatched successfully, its value would far exceed that of a Nascent Soul Stage Psychic Chip!
Qian Luo raised an eyebrow, looking at the monks below who were saying one thing and thinking another. It was clearly said that the Void Beast Egg had many disadvantages. Perhaps they were confused by the host's few words, or they could not resist the temptation of the Void Beast's ability to reverse time and space. They all started raising their signs and bidding louder than the other, without any look of disgust!
"I'll give you 1.2 million!"
"1.3 million"
“Two million!”
"Wow! So rich!" The monks looked back and saw that the price was shouted out by the black-robed monk in the private room. Those who lived in the private room were either people with deep backgrounds or the owners of the auction items.
When everyone was shouting until their faces turned red and their necks became thick, a voice directly shattered everyone's hope!
“10 million!”
The woman's voice was low and hoarse, like the dull sound of a guitar string, yet with the chill of ice and snow.
"Hiss--" Everyone's eyes trembled, it was unbelievable, 10 million high-grade spirit stones, this was a sum of money they could never earn in their entire lives. No one knew which sect, group, or family's eldest daughter was here, and she actually shouted out such a sky-high price!
"10 million once, 10 million twice..."
Just when everyone was dizzy, the host made the final decision, and everyone's dreams were shattered. The reversal of time and space, and traveling back in time, were all bubbles.
…
"These mortals are really dreaming! Only our group is worthy of owning a heaven-defying treasure like the Void Beast!" The purple-clothed young man under the black robe slightly raised the corners of his mouth, a dark light flashed in his eyes, and the corners of his eyes were raised and charming.
He turned around and sat in the chair, the silver ornaments on his body swaying with his movements, making crisp sounds. He lifted his slender and snow-white legs, very happy. "Immortal-level longevity pills and time-reversing void beasts, this auction was really worth our trip! Your Excellency will definitely praise us!"
The female cultivator said nothing and glanced at him lightly.
The male cultivator immediately glared and pursed his lips, "Cousin, don't you agree with what I said? Our group has everything we need! The Black Peony Pavilion can't hatch the Void Beast Egg because it lacks the power of our Taiyin Group! Even with the power of the entire group, I don't believe we can't find the reason why the Void Beast Egg is so weak!"
At this time, the Void Beast Egg and the Longevity Pill had already been delivered to this private room. The handsome host personally presented them with both hands, bowed slightly, and said respectfully: "Emissary Wu, thank you for coming."
"Let's go." The female cultivator disdained to argue with him and didn't even glance at the host. A light bulb went off in her head, and the two incredible items were already in her storage bag.
"Hey, wait for me!" The two men walked one in front and one behind, and the cold wind blew slightly, ruffling their black robes. The host raised his head slightly and saw only a touch of snow-white hair, soaked in the soft moonlight, bringing an unreasonable chill.
When he blinked again, the wind had passed without a trace, leaving only a strand of snow-white hair blown by the wind.
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