Qian Shuxiao's eyes lit up after getting Ye Que's verification. "Does this mean that you think there's a Yin-and-Yang inside the spice bag? And there might even be other treasures hidden inside?"
"I'm not sure. It might just be clothes, but it could also be priceless secret treasures. That will have to depend on your luck and whether you're fated," Ye Que said placidly.
"Then how much do you think it's worth?" Qian Shuxiao was already mulling over how much money he should spend to win the bid. Out of so many items up for auction, Ye Que had only selected a single one. No matter what, he must win the bid. Of course, it would be better if he could save money where he could. Who knew if there would be even better things later on?
"I don't have an exact idea how much money it's worth but in the Cultivation World, it's worth at least 100 Spirit Stones."
Even though the Yin-and-Yang Pouch didn't have much offensive or defensive ability to speak of, it wasn't something that ordinary cultivators can produce. Only cultivators specializing in Mount Meru Law would be able to refine it. Moreover, the demand for such things was great because nearly everyone needed it. Thus, the supply of the Yin-and-Yang Pouches was unable to meet the demand at any given time in the Cultivation World.
The rarer something was, the greater its value. Naturally, its price would also be higher.
"6,000 taels." Inspiration struck Qian Shuxiao. He took one glance around him before raising his bid card. However, he didn't name too high a price.
All the spice bag was good for was its unique fragrance and ability to harmonize Yin and Yang. In the presence of other treasures in the world, it wasn't something eye-catching. There weren't too many guests who fought Qian Shuxiao for it.
The eager-looking Qian Shuxiao even muttered, "Harmonizing Yin and Yang, harmonizing Yin and Yang. How wonderful! Wonderful indeed."
Realization suddenly dawned on those who overheard him. One woman who sat closest to him frowned and said, "Pervert."
Ye Yunhai, who had secretly suffered quite a few rounds of humiliation, couldn't resist when he saw Qian Shuxiao taking the initiative to raise his bid card. Without even taking a careful look at the spice bag, he raised his hand to inflate the price. "7,000 taels."
"7,001 taels." When he saw that it was Ye Yunhai who made the bid, he said nothing and leaned on the back of his chair unconcernedly. He lazily made another bid but added only one tael.
"8,000 taels."
"8,001 taels."
"10,000 taels."
"10,001 taels."
In the blink of an eye, the price of the spice bag rose to 15,001 taels. While Qian Shuxiao kept his expression fairly neutral, it was Ye Yunhai who was beginning to frown. More than once, his gaze flitted to the item on the stage. He was no longer as swift in raising the price. It was just that he simply couldn't swallow this humiliation. He made a quick calculation earlier and realized he had lost a few tens of thousands of taels thanks to Qian Shuxiao's disturbance earlier.
"Elder Brother Yunhai, don't fall for that hooligan's trick. I think the Exquisite Afterglow Spice Bag on the stage looks ordinary. It's just that it has an impressive name. Its function is simple and its appearance is plain. Moreover, I don't like overly feminine ornaments. I might as well have a sword; that's more practical."
Lin Mei'er tugged at Ye Yunhai's hand. "I think he's trying to trick you and deliberately angering you, so you'll buy this useless item."
From afar, Qian Shuxiao noticed Ye Yunhai and Lin Mei'er conversing in whispers and deliberately slapped on a cunning smile on his face. Then, he gestured at Ye Yunhai before pointing to the spice bag on the stage. He made himself clear without needing to speak: "Keep going if you have the capability to do so. Whoever gives up first is the loser."
Ye Yunhai patted Lin Mei'er hand, his expression swiftly relaxing. He seemed to have thought it through. "You're so clever, Mei'er. I nearly fell for this guy's trap. Trying to trick me into spending more money than necessary again? Dream on! 15,000 taels for a shabby spice bag? Let him have the spice bag to play with the girls!"
"Is there anyone else who wants to raise the price?" Seeing that Ye Yunhai had given up, Bai Yu knew the auction for the spice bag was basically concluded without anyone bidding again. "If no one is going to raise the price, then I'll congratulate, Mr. Qian. For 15,001 taels, this Exquisite Afterglow Spice Bag is yours. Please keep it properly."
After receiving the spice bag, Qian Shuxiao handed it to Ye Que without a second thought. Qian Shuxiao then gestured at the guests around him and nodded at Bai Yu, indicating that there was nothing to see here and that they could continue.
First, Ye Que turned the spice bag around in his hands and took a careful look at it from left to right. Then, he closed his eyes and moved the Divine Energy inside his body toward the spice bag to probe it. "Let me check what kind of seal is placed on this. It's cast quite covertly. Not bad, not bad."
"There are two layers of seal here. The first layer is the Moon in the Water Incantation; the second is the Bewitching Miasma Incantation. There was even a trap of Samadhi True Fire attached in the middle. Interesting. The cultivation of the one who cast the seals might not be skilled but he's very skilled."
No matter how seals or traps there were, or even how skilled the caster was, it was merely the work of someone at the bottom of the Cultivation World hierarchy. It didn't pose a challenge to Ye Que. Moreover, he had Divine Energy accumulating in his body. Whether it was in terms of strength or destructive power, the difference between Divine Energy and True Energy was like heaven and earth.
After swiftly and decisively breaking the two layers of seals as well as breaking apart the trap of Samadhi True Fire, the somewhat different-looking Yin-and-Yang Pouch appeared in front of Ye Que.
"Let me see what is hidden inside. To think that this pouch will be layered with so many seals."
Hearing Ye Que muttering to himself in a quiet voice, Qian Shuxiao immediately shuffled closer to him. "Sir, what is inside? Let me see. Let me see!"
Ye Que looked disdainful at first but suddenly, surprise took over his expression. Then, as if he had seen something good, the unexpressive Ye Que looked rather delighted at the moment.
"Hurry up and let me take a look too. There must be something good inside, right? You must have seen something good inside." Qian Shuxiao tugged at Ye Que with force.
He saw Ye Que nodding. "We've found a treasure, indeed."
"We hit a jackpot by paying only 15,000 taels. Even if it costs 1,500,000 taels, we'd still be making a profit."
"We made a hundredfold profit?" Qian Shuxiao asked in surprise after calculating with his fingers.
"To be precise, it's a three hundredfold profit. I don't think you can buy even one-third of this item with 1,500,000 taels."
Ye Que took out a small porcelain bottle as he spoke. "30 Qi-gathering Body-tempering Pills. If an ordinary person consumes a pill every day, he'll be able to complete the Qi-gathering and body-tempering process in thirty days. After fully absorbing the pills, he'll be able to enter the Pre-celestial Realm."
"These pills are typically only found in the Inner part of large sects. It's meant to help those extraordinarily talented children enter the Pre-celestial Realm. Ordinary sects will be hard-pressed to see even one pill, let alone 30 of them. It's just right for you. After fully absorbing the pills and casually learning one or two martial arts techniques, even ten of Lin Mei'er couldn't come near you."
After his explanation, Ye Que placed the porcelain bottle in Qian Shuxiao's hands. "Keep these pills. I think it's enough to recover your previous losses."
"I, I can't." Qian Shuxiao might be verbally rejecting the offer, but his expression betrayed his joy as he held the porcelain bottle. How could a frivolous Young Master like him not be envious of those skilled warriors? He said, "Y-You should have it, Sir. It'll be a waste to use on a weakling like me."
Ye Que rolled his eyes at Qian Shuxiao. "Hypocrite!"
"Since I've given it to you, just hold tight. I don't have any use for it since I'm already in the Pre-celestial Realm. Moreover, that's not the only thing inside the Yin-and-Yang Pouch. There's still something else. It's enough for us two."
Ye Que was now rather interested in the so-called ten miles of ancient tombs in Youzhou as it was able to unearth the Yin-and-Yang Pouch. Furthermore, there were even Qi-gathering Body-tempering Pills inside. This meant that the owner of the ancient tombs could not be an ordinary person. It was highly likely that he was a cultivator with decently high cultivation. That was because there was something else inside the pouch that was impossible for regular cultivators to obtain unless they encountered a great opportunity. The item was a brocade box engraved in seal script. If Ye Que recalled correctly, the box ought to be called the 13 Mother and Children of Spring and Autumn Swords. There were 13 Spiritual Swords inside, one Maternal Sword and 12 Progeny Swords. The brocade box engraved with seal script was evolved from the Nine Palaces of Supreme Oneness Divinatory Diagram. Those who didn't know how to decipher diagrams wouldn't be able to open the brocade box. If one t
If Ye Que was at the scene, he would surely recognize the oddly-shaped river monster. It was obviously an iguana from the Demon World. It shouldn't appear in the waters of Luo River at all. The Devious Iguana was an amphibious demonic beast that could swim speedily in water and run like the wind on land. An adult Devious Iguana could prevail over three hungry tigers in a fight. Devious Iguanas lived in groups and any group with three in it could fight a pack of wolves. Even a Pre-celestial Realm expert would have to avoid a group of ten Devious Iguanas. Without giving Dao Shisi the chance to react, the Devious Iguana in the water opened its mouth and bit his foot the instant it came close. It exerted strength and pulled him underwater. "Who is it?!" Dao Shisi immediately recovered his senses after feeling a piercing pain in the sole of his foot. He focused all of his internal strength on the bottom of his feet and escaped out of the bite of the
"Secret Key to River Soldiers!" "It's actually the Secret Key to River Soldiers!" "Why is it here?" Even Ye Que was panic-stricken when he saw the strange and mysterious droplet. Of course, this didn't mean that the Secret Key to River Soldiers was a demonic object that would swallow humans whole. It was the exact opposite, actually. This treasure was a very rare treasure. With it, one would have the hope of finding the River Soldiers. The River Soldiers were one of the Nine Great Divine Tools that were famous throughout the three worlds. However, that was the precise reason that Ye Que was panicking. Every place in the three worlds that had anything to do with the Divine Tools as well as every person or object bearing the karma of the birth of the Divine Tools would suffer from a Heaven and Earth Calamity. There would be rivers of blood, every plain would wither, and dried bones would pile as high as mountains.
The current situation on the Luo River. The clouds that carried lightning had filled the entire sky, leaving a gray horizon that stretched as far as the eye could see. The sound of thunder rung incessantly in the background as the flash of lightning stood in contrast against the lightning clouds. It was as if there were countless dragons of lightning storming the sky. Right now, the world was changing unpredictably. "Take note, all guests. Don't gather on the ground floor and head upstairs. You're free to stay anywhere from the first floor to the third floor. Please don't stay in the hall as to make way for the executives of the Mortal World Pavilion." "Don't panic, people. Go up in an orderly manner. Watch your feet." "Try your best to keep to your right when you go up. Leave a path on your left." "The executives of the Mortal World Pavilion will spare no effort in guaranteeing your safety. The homing pige
Ye Que took the Firebird's Nest and looked at the terrace on the first floor. Without speaking to anyone, he silently walked to the spot with the best view and began checking the bow in his hand. He cast five illusory incantation seals on the body of the bow. As soon as the seals were cast, they entered the bow and the entire Firebird's Nest seemed to have come to life. Even the bowstring began to emit a soft white light. In fact, the secret as to why the Firebird's Nest could shoot without arrow lay in this bow. Strictly speaking, it would be more accurate to call this a mobile formation rather than a bow. It was the Targeted Arrows Consonance Formation. After activating the Targeted Arrows Consonance Formation, one could condense arrows of Spiritual Force by pouring Spiritual Force into the bowstring. "Ha!" Ye Que took a deep breath. "Come on. How daring of you insignificant Devious Iguanas to do whatever you please in the Human World. Ju
It was a simple suggestion and a simple issue, yet it was enough to cause everyone's hearts to tremble. "Who leaves?" "Who stays?" "This concerns our survival!" Temporary silence fell over the hall as everyone mulled over this issue. How should they choose? "What's there to choose?" Suddenly, one of the guests spoke. "We're guests that the Mortal World Pavilion invited. You people are the organizers of the flower-viewing drinking banquet, you people are the ones who chose the location, and you people own the dragon ship that we're on. Naturally, now that we're facing the attack of monsters, you people should stay behind and we should leave. In the first place, it's your duty to protect us." "That's right! The guests should leave first. You people from the Mortal World Pavilion should stay behind to protect your dragon ship." &q
The arrows condensed out of Spiritual Force were shot one by one out of the first floor, each piercing the throat of the Devious Iguanas and killing them. Each sword met its target. "Whoosh!" Yet another arrow caused the collapse of a Devious Iguana. Finally, there was a change in the expression of the guests inside the hall. The fierce arguments earlier dissolved into silence. Before long, the sound of the arrows reverberated again. The arrow once again perforated the throat of a Devious Iguana. This time, everyone noticed that these seemingly invincible and endless monsters were also vulnerable. The throat between the head and shoulder of the giant iguana was the weakest and tenderest part of its body. Leng Wuxin's eyes brightened as he stared at the Spirit Arrow coming from the first floor without blinking. "Executives of the Mortal World Pavilion! Those of you who aren't afraid to die, follow me to attack their throats. Let's cut
Hurt someone without resorting to physical attacks; kill someone without destroying his will. Ye Que's words were like a sharp sword that pierced the chests and hearts of all the guests present. Moreover, they were powerless to retort. There was nothing to be said, for none of them had stepped out to fight the Devious Iguanas to death. To make things worse, none of them even had the courage to step out of the entrance. Ye Que had the right to say these things because his arrows had killed more than 10 Devious Iguanas. The right to speak was won through strength. A complicated mood cast over the guests. Were they upset? A little. Were they ashamed? A little. Their strongest emotion was embarrassment. They had lost their face! Who were these people in Luoyang City? They were all wealthy, respectable people! They had never suffered such great humiliation in their lives. Lin Mei'er had never experienced it, and Ye Yunhai eve
Li Jianqi was a Formless Realm expert who had absorbed the Battle Soul of the Great Founder. Even though she was not well versed in formations, she did not have to be so careful. However, both Uncle Jiao and her walked extremely carefully. The higher the realm, the more a practitioner was able to understand how tough the path to cultivation was, and the more he or she was able to understand that there was always someone more powerful than them out there. Moreover, the formations gave off an obvious prehistoric aura and were evidently not from any technique of the current Cultivation World. As such, neither of them dared to take the formations lightly. They were not in the royal palace. Who knew what sort of offensive capabilities Ye Que had incorporated into these formations? What if they attacked them without differentiating between friend and foe? They were not really worried about dying in the manor, but mostly they were afr
Even Ye Que himself was not entirely sure of the phenomenon, much less Li Jianqi. However, a lack of understanding would not obstruct him from learning. The Divine Book seemed to have grown increasingly amazing. Till now, there were already more than 20000 Divine Sect Seminary disciples, and its name was already known among all of the people at the bottom of society in Luoyang. It did not collect fees nor commission and imparted cultivation methods for free. It took it upon itself to explain one's doubts in cultivation away, and it was not a front. The methods Ye Que taught his disciples really allowed them to sense Nature's Spiritual Qi. It was only natural that something as wonderful as this was passed on by mouth, and more people began joining. No one was able to withstand the temptation of progressing in the world of cultivation once he or she entered it. Naturally, they would join the wild goose chase. As its
Winning the competition held among the troops stationed in Luoyang with a set of saber skills? One had to know that the Southern Encampment did not consist of troops stationed at the border. Even though they underwent much training, their prowess in battle was still somewhat behind the border troops. During the previous competitions of such small groups of a thousand soldiers each, the four encampments were not favorites to win. Ye Que had just allowed 1000 soldiers from the Southern Encampment to win the competition after teaching them a set of saber techniques consisting of only about a dozen moves over three days! It was no wonder that Zhang Yue would find it necessary to report the matter to Li Jianqi. "Is the saber technique related to the Southern Encampment winning the competition?" Li Jianqi asked somewhat suspiciously. There were battle techniques in the army as well. Each encampment had its own recognize
Ye Que remained in the Southern Encampment for three days. Ye Que began to hypothesize on the third day the reason that caused the strange phenomenon within his Spiritual Sea. With the aid of the soldiers, Ye Que was finally able to come to a conclusion. The Divine Sect Seminary disciples and the soldiers had practiced the Mountain-Splitting, Water-ceasing and Heaven-Splitting techniques, and there was no reaction from his Spiritual Sea if there were 100 or less than them. If there were more than 100 of them, however, his Spiritual Sea would begin to froth, but only when seminary disciples who had learned the Divine Sect's cultivation technique were present. It did not react when soldiers from the Southern Encampment practiced the Mountain-Splitting stroke. Also, if the energy and spirits of the disciples were not in sync, and they were training at their own pace, there would not be any reaction from his Spiritual Sea. Four cri
"Lend me a thousand soldiers. I have to test a hypothesis." The figure in red light armor standing in front of the military monument had just stopped releasing more sword energy when Ye Que walked up to her. When she turned to face him, Li Jianqi's aura had reverted back to the youthful and beautiful young woman, completely devoid of the bloodthirsty battle intent she displayed earlier on. As Ye Que thought about it, he believed that it should be the effects of absorbing her ancestor's Battle Soul in the Imperial Mausoleum. "Ye Que?" Li Jianqi exclaimed, somewhat shocked. "You want to borrow a thousand soldiers? For a deduction?" "Stop asking me so many questions. I can't explain all of them right away. Just tell me if you would lend them to me?" Ye Que asked somewhat impatiently. Anyone would also be in a hurry to prove his or her theory correct after experiencing so many amazing things and a way of amplifying the power of one's own cultiva
Three saber strokes were made before the gates of the seminary. Ye Que's Spiritual Sea exploded thrice. Ye Que nearly stumbled off the Bridge of Long Life and looked incredulously at the disciples not far away from him. They had still not noticed him and were still practicing their saber techniques. This was because they had also discovered something amazing. It was common for practitioners to be unable to grasp the essence of their training while practicing saber techniques on their own. Their physical selves, sabers, Spiritual Forces, Spiritual Seas and pathways of their sabers were always in disharmony. Training with thousands of other people, however, would speed things up, causing man and saber to reach a state of harmony very quickly, as if the larger the number of practitioners, the greater the benefits. Some of the practitioners had not realized this fact during the first round of training, but by the third round, even
Xichuan Town was a small ordinary town at the western border of Tang State, but it was renowned far and wide. This was because it was situated at a position that was nearly as far away from each of the six neighboring nations at the western border. During a normal day, cargo and trade flowed in and out of the town, as did merchants and travelers. A teahouse was located at the entrance to the town, and two elders sat at a table near the windows. Both of them had white hair, and a chess set was placed right in front of them. The black and white chess pieces were engaged in a titanic battle, and the moves they made were so complicated that it was hard to tell who would emerge as the victor. The elder on the left of the table pinched up a white chess piece with his fingers. "The Tang State has sent out 30 thousand light cavalries to Western Xia. Looks like they are expecting a quick victory." The other elder at the opposite end of the table laug
Gradually, the sky took on a marble-white color as dawn arrived. Frost and dew gathered on the walls of the palace. Li Chunzhi's brows were decorated with a layer of frost. The Chief Councillor of the Grand Council of Tang State trailed behind him, with the imperial bodyguards staying put a short distance away. Countless cultivators from the Judicature lay in ambush at all corners. Tang State continued to be compromised from all sides. If anything happened to Li Chunzhi, it would be the cherry on top of their misfortune. No one went up to stop him. Neither did they dare to. They could all tell that this soon-to-be Emperor was stewed in worries underneath his expressionless face. At dawn, Li Jianqi draped a white robe over her shoulders and climbed up the tower atop the walls. She stood behind Li Chunzhi and contemplated for some time before saying gently, "Father, you should mind your health. You've stood here for an entire nig
Inside the quiet General's Manor, a black-clothed man was shouting himself hoarse. Ye Que didn't think he would be ambushed on his first official return to the manor or that the assassins would be survivors of the Ye Army. These people must have mistaken him for being a Devil Seed after he used his Sword Qi to bind them. Perhaps the battle in You Prefecture left too deep a trauma in them that they would mistake anyone with supernatural powers as a cultivator, a devil, and the culprit behind their brothers' massacre. "Did all of you run from the city of You Prefecture?" Ye Que had released the bind his Sword Qi placed on them. The group of men remained deeply wary of him even after they were freed. However, they refused to let Ye Que distort the truth out of principle. "I'll repeat this again. We didn't flee from the battle. We broke out of the siege under Chief Wu's orders. We didn't run." The person repeated hims