Word Count: 2,644 Words
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Xiao Yan rubbed his nose and nodded a little sheepishly.
Even without using his Spiritual Strength, he could sense countless angry gazes nailed onto him.
There were only ten items in total, and he alone had bought up so many. It was only natural that this stirred up resentment toward the rich.
So having pills makes you that incredible, huh?!
Xiao Yan was genuinely worried about inciting a mob. That would be disastrous.
For the seventh and eighth items, he finally restrained himself and refrained from bidding. That at least took some of the heat out of the crowd's indignation. Fortunately, neither of those two items particularly suited him anyway.
"Are you sure you'll still have enough left for that item after spending so lavishly?" Little Fairy Doctor whispered. She knew roughly how many pills Xiao Yan had refined. With him burning through pills like this, the bidding for the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame map fragment would definitely be a brutal scramble.
After all, Low Tian Class Dou Techniques, Qi Methods, and various weapons were ultimately just Dou Venerate-level treasures. The Purifying Lotus Demon Flame, on the other hand, was something else entirely. It was a Dou Saint-level existence. Ranked third on the Heavenly Flame Ranking, its might was said to shake the world. The legends claimed it could incinerate the skies, boil the seas, and purify all things under heaven with ease.
Moreover, Xiao Yan had learned from Hun Huzi that for the top three Heavenly Flames, the entire Dou Qi Continent would only ever hold a single instance of each. Even in theory, there was no possibility of a second one appearing.
Heavenly Flames were born under impossibly harsh conditions, but that didn't mean a second couldn't exist at all. The odds were simply astronomically low. Yet for the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame, the Nihility Devouring Flame, and the unnamed first-ranked Heavenly Flame, a second copy could never appear, not even in an embryonic state. It wasn't just extremely unlikely; the chance was absolute zero.
One could well imagine how precious this map fragment truly was.
And this was only a fragment!
Xiao Yan still felt a faint pang of guilt toward Little Fairy Doctor and Hai Bodong, especially Hai Bodong. Back then, he had fully intended to simply rob the old man; his conscience still pricked at him whenever he thought of it!
As the seventh and eighth items were successfully auctioned off, the atmosphere in the great hall grew notably hotter. Fervent gazes shone from beneath many cloaks, all fixed tightly on Old Man Bao Shan standing at the center.
Everyone knew that the so-called 'finale item' would not be the very last lot, but the second-to-last. In other words, out of ten auction pieces, the finale would be the ninth.
Which meant it was coming up next.
"Now, we will begin the auction for the penultimate item of this trade fair… our grand finale treasure."
Bao Shan let his voice trail off and deliberately paused. Even Xiao Yan and the others straightened subconsciously in their seats. Cai Lin's beautiful eyes turned frosty as she swept a cold, wary gaze across the hall.
Men died for wealth as birds died for food. Even here, in the Ancient Treasure Pavilion, accidents were not impossible. She knew very well that Xiao Yan had already gathered three other fragments; he was missing just this one!
If news spread that Xiao Yan had assembled four Purifying Lotus Demon Flame map fragments, even the three hosting factions might very well make a move against him.
The Purifying Lotus Demon Flame… the allure hidden within that name alone was enough to make even Dou Saints lose their reason!
Bao Shan's face was slightly flushed as he lifted his head and looked around. Under the weight of countless gazes, he clenched his hand. A sheet of yellowed, ancient parchment appeared in his palm.
The instant the fragment emerged, the Nihility Devouring Flame's Earth Seed Flame within Xiao Yan's Acceptance Soul suddenly pulsed, flickering with a distinct wave of hostility.
The Nihility Devouring Flame was the best proof. Xiao Yan didn't even need to look; he already knew this was undoubtedly the final missing map fragment.
"Hehe, this is merely a fragment. There is no special energy sealed within it. However, after our research, we have reached a final conclusion: this fragment is related to the legendary Purifying Lotus Demon Flame." Bao Shan held the ancient parchment aloft. As his last word fell, nearly every gaze in the hall converged onto that yellowed scrap of hide.
Sharp, hurried breaths echoed throughout the audience.
Since the end of the Dou God era, across thousands of years of recorded history, only one cultivator had ever been known to command the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame: the legendary Purifying Lotus Demon Saint, lauded as the Dou Qi Continent's foremost expert of his time.
He was one of the rare few who, despite not being born into a Dou God Clan and lacking a Dou God Bloodline, could still stand unrivaled across the world.
The name of the Purifying Lotus Demon Saint alone draped the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame in countless layers of mythic radiance.
Even a mere incomplete map fragment was enough to send countless people into frenzied pursuit.
Of course, as one of the Hall of Souls' Ten Tianzuns, the Gu Clan's son-in-law, and the Xiao Clan's Little Clan Leader, Xiao Yan knew far more than any outsider. The Dou God Clans had long been watching the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame like circling wolves.
Others needed to piece together map fragments to guess its location, but the Dou God Clans simply monitored the entire Dou Qi Continent.
This was why Xiao Yan had long suspected that the three hosts behind the Ancient Treasure Pavilion were connected to a Dou God Clan. According to Hun Tiandi, the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame was already on the verge of emerging. For that Dou God Clan that held a single fragment, time was nearly up; their lone piece had become little more than waste in their hands. So they had decided to take it out and sell it.
Little did they know that someone present had already collected three fragments.
'I hope completing this map does more than just mark a location. Otherwise, this will be a huge loss.' Discovering where the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame would descend was not difficult for Xiao Yan. The Hall of Souls had always maintained experts to monitor its movements.
But he couldn't shake the feeling that these fragments were not so simple. If they were merely treasure maps, there was no reason the other Dou God Clans could so easily lock onto the Demon Flame Space's point of emergence.
"Hehe, the fragment's owner wishes to exchange it for medicinal pills," Bao Shan continued. "The starting bid is a tier 8 pill that has attracted six-colored Pill Lightning. Each increment must be at least a tier 8 pill that has attracted two-colored Pill Lightning."
The moment he finished, a Dou Venerate expert immediately called out, "One pill with six-colored Pill Lightning."
"Hmph, step aside. One seven-colored tier 8 pill."
This bidder couldn't be bothered with small steps and directly doubled the base value.
Normally, two six-colored pills were roughly equivalent to one seven-colored, though higher-grade pills were always more coveted and therefore more valuable.
That mysterious Dou Venerate had barely finished doubling the base price when another voice rang out. "One seven-colored pill, plus one five-colored."
Three seconds of silence passed.
"One seven-colored pill, plus two five-colored."
"One seven-colored, plus one six-colored!"
Within mere minutes, bids rang out in rapid succession. The flurry of offers sent the atmosphere surging to a fever pitch.
Very soon, however, quite a few bidders fell silent. Everyone understood this was just a fragment. The Dou Qi Continent was vast beyond measure; how much luck would it take to gather all the pieces?!
Moreover, if this fragment truly possessed extraordinary value, would its owner really be willing to auction it? Even a tier 9 pill would hardly tempt them to trade. If someone truly could rely on this single fragment to locate the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame, any price paid now would be insignificant in comparison.
"Two seven-colored." Only when the bidding pace finally began to slow did Xiao Yan speak at last. His tone was calm. The one who bid highest would win, not the one who shouted fastest. What was the point of all that noise?
At his offer, many eyes turned toward him. Those who had no intention of competing for the fragment now studied this extravagant 'local tyrant' with renewed interest.
"Hey, the rich guy finally makes his move."
Barely half a second after Xiao Yan's bid, the black-robed man who had earlier sold him a Tian Class Dou Technique spoke up as well. "Two seven-colored pills, plus one two-colored."
Xiao Yan slowly shook his head. "Hold on, I wasn't finished. My two seven-colored pills are Venerate Ascension Spirit Pills. If yours are just ordinary healing pills, you'll need three to match them."
A collective hiss swept through the hall. At the words 'Venerate Ascension Spirit Pills,' naked greed flashed in many Dou Venerate experts' eyes.
Venerate Ascension Spirit Pills were the Dou Venerate-realm equivalent of Dou King Pills or Mighty Huang Pills. Pills that directly increased cultivation were always the most hotly pursued, the most expensive within their tier, and the hardest to refine.
The number of Pill Lightning colors was merely a way of grading pills. Different types at the same grade could still vary greatly in value. At auctions, if pills were used as currency, transactions defaulted to the most basic varieties unless otherwise specified.
Naturally, when Xiao Yan refined pills, he chose the most valuable recipes available. Among tier 8 pills, Venerate Ascension Spirit Pills were what he was most practiced at, and he had refined quite a few.
The veteran experts present were now completely certain of Xiao Yan's identity as an alchemist. Only alchemists typically carried a variety of pill types. Everyone else treated pills as currency and would have exchanged everything into the cheapest varieties long before arriving!
"Three seven-colored Pill Lightning pills, plus one two-colored."
The black-robed bidder raised again. Xiao Yan only smiled faintly, unwilling to get bogged down in inch-by-inch bidding wars. "Two seven-colored Venerate Ascension Spirit Pills, plus one eight-colored Pill Lightning pill, also a Venerate Ascension Spirit Pill."
"Damn, this guy can even refine eight-colored Venerate Ascension Spirit Pills!!"
"He's raising by entire multiples every time!"
"So rich!"
A Venerate Ascension Spirit Pill that could draw eight-colored Pill Lightning could raise even a six-star Dou Venerate by one full star. Its value was extraordinary.
Yet Xiao Yan's heavy bid still didn't cool the fervor of those determined to win.
A slightly agitated voice suddenly roared, as if going all-in. "Three seven-colored Pill Lightning pills, plus five tier 8 pills that have attracted eight-colored Pill Lightning!"
Gasps and exclamations swept through the hall. Five eight-colored tier 8 pills??!!
That was practically dumping all his chips on the table!
"Who is that? With five eight-colored pills… he has to be an alchemist too, right?"
"Not necessarily. Look over there. Those three are clearly together. The one in the middle who's been bidding should be their leader… three people like that, they're probably those three."
"Who?"
"The Three Ghost Scorpion Demons. Their boss, Tian He Zi, has already reached Nine-Change Dou Venerate."
Xiao Yan naturally couldn't hear this quiet speculation, but even he was taken aback by that bid. To have a single map fragment bid up to such heights…
"Then there's no point dragging this out."
He drew in a slow breath. His voice rang firm and decisive. "Here's my bottom line. Three seven-colored, two eight-colored, and… one Venerate Ascension Spirit Pill that has attracted nine-colored Pill Lightning!"
This was truly going all-in. It represented everything he could currently put on the table.
It wasn't that he lacked medicinal ingredients, but time. He had only had five months to refine pills. Being able to turn out this many high-grade tier 8 pills was already proof enough of how terrifying his alchemy had become.
Within the Yan Alliance, he alone could refine tier 8 pills. No matter how skilled he was, one man could only do so much; in the end, he had only managed to produce a single nine-colored Venerate Ascension Spirit Pill.
He had no intention of slowly inching upward. This one bid was a complete shove of his entire stack!
"Heavens! Nine-colored!!"
"Who the hell is this guy? Anyone capable of refining a nine-colored Venerate Ascension Spirit Pill is definitely no ordinary person!"
"Could he be a Pill Tower giant?!"
"Very likely. Only a Pill Tower giant would have this kind of skill. The lure of the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame for an alchemist is unimaginable."
Even Old Man Bao Shan's eyes widened slightly. His Spiritual Strength swept outward, eager to pierce Xiao Yan's disguise and discover his true identity. Being able to befriend such an alchemist would itself be a monumental stroke of fortune.
Who on the Dou Qi Continent didn't need pills? And if Xiao Yan could already refine nine-colored pills, he stood a very high chance of stepping into the legendary Treasure Pill Guru realm!
Unfortunately for Bao Shan, no one present could break through Xiao Yan's soul defenses to spy on his true face.
"This must be him going all-out, right?"
"Has to be. He's even brought out a nine-colored pill. Even for a Pill Tower giant, refining one of those requires enormous time and effort."
Xiao Yan's gaze shifted toward the three black-robed men. The two on either side turned their heads toward the central figure. Under Xiao Yan's watchful stare, the man in the middle slowly stood and cupped his hands toward Old Man Bao Shan. His low voice carried a trace of barely suppressed madness:
"Five tier 8 pills with eight-colored Pill Lightning, plus one nine-colored… and an ancient pill that has already evolved to the level of a Pill Beast!"
!!!!!!!!!!!
"An ancient Pill Beast!"
Even Xiao Yan's eyes flashed with genuine astonishment. An ancient pill that had already completed its evolution into a Pill Beast!!
Obtaining a Pill Beast didn't necessarily require achieving absolute perfection during the original refinement. Through certain post-refinement methods, a pill could gradually evolve and gain spirituality until it finally transformed into a Pill Beast.
Ancient pills that had survived from antiquity to the present had, in most cases, long since completed that evolutionary process. Such Pill Beasts were no different from magical beasts of equivalent rank.
At that bid, everyone present felt the man had gone insane. To trade away something so precious, just for a single map fragment???
Xiao Yan's expression sank completely. He had a nine-colored Pill Beast himself. Little Fairy Doctor had even named the round, plump fellow "Tuan Tuan" and left it in Creation Valley to guard the medicinal forest.
There was absolutely no possibility he would put Tuan Tuan up for trade. More importantly, Tuan Tuan was no longer just a pill. If properly nurtured and allowed to break through its limits into the realm of the Tier 9 Treasure Pill, then Tuan Tuan would become a Dou Saint!
A Dou Saint! A true Dou Saint!
Who could have imagined that the Yan Alliance member closest to achieving the Dou Saint realm wasn't Xiao Yan, Little Fairy Doctor, or Cai Lin, but a pill?
So there was no way he would ever trade it.
At that price, even Bao Shan froze for a heartbeat, then wild joy erupted in his eyes. He paused, glanced toward Xiao Yan, and, seeing that he had no intention of raising the bid any further, understood that the auction had finally reached its end.