As night fell, almost all the monks in the small town gathered in front of the auction house, and the crowd was filled with people. Shouts and protests were heard one after another. If they hadn't been intimidated by the more than 30 alchemy masters in the industry, these people might have attacked in groups.
Under the leadership of Lingxi, Qian Meier and Fan Ji entered the private room of the auction house early. At this time, the hall below was full of seats, and even the aisles were filled with monks who had no seats. Even so, there were still many people rushing forward, which showed how much attention was paid to this auction.
Qian Meier said: "So when you arrived, the people in this city had disappeared?"
Lingxi said: "Yes, there were not many monks when we got here, but the people in the city seemed to have all evaporated out of thin air. It is really puzzling."
Huan Ji said: "Why did you find such a small auction house when the Heaven-Devouring Demonic Art reappeared in the world? Your Lingbao Pavilion's reputation on the Mortal Continent is much higher than theirs. Is there any problem in this?"
Lingxi pondered slightly and said: "To be honest, a mysterious man came to Grandpa a few months ago and said he wanted to auction a rare treasure, but he refused to reveal the specifics. We at Lingbao Pavilion never I wanted to pick up something of unknown origin, so grandpa politely refused. This time, I came here because the auction house didn’t have enough manpower, so it specially paid to borrow people from our Lingbao Pavilion to guard it. Secondly, I also heard the news about the bite. With the news that the Heavenly Demon Art will be auctioned here, Grandpa specially sent me to come and see it for myself."
Fan Ji nodded and said: "All the ambitious monks from Mortal Continent and Fairy Dust Continent are here. I think it will be difficult for today to end peacefully. We must stay vigilant at all times."
Before the three women could say a few words, a master of ceremonies slowly walked out from the center of the stage in the hall. When the monks saw someone coming out, they all stopped talking and looked at him.
The master of ceremonies was a handsome-looking man. He said loudly: "Everyone, fellow Taoists, you are polite. I thank you all for your patronage at the auction house..."
Before the words in this scene were finished, someone interrupted loudly: "Bring out the Heaven-Devouring Demonic Skill quickly! Grandpas can't wait!"
"Yeah! Why are you talking so much nonsense? Hurry up and auction it!"
"Take it out quickly! How can a small auction house have the Heaven-Devouring Demonic Art? Are you lying?"
…
The master of ceremonies smiled awkwardly and tried to raise his voice to suppress the shouts of the monks: "Everyone, the auction will start now! The Heaven-Devouring Demonic Art is our auction item at the bottom of the box. We can't take it out first. We should auction the others first..."
"Go to hell! I'm here just for the Heaven Devouring Demonic Skill. Are you playing this trick with me?"
"I don't think they have it at all. They just use the reputation of magic power to deceive people!"
"That's right! I heard that this magic skill is Jiuyou's unique secret book. It has been destroyed a long time ago. How can it still be in the world?"
"Damn it, grandpa spent a lot of money to get here. If you dare to amuse grandpa, grandpa will demolish this place!"
"Take out the magic power quickly! Take it out!"
"Yes, take it out!"
Seeing that the crowd was excited and uncontrollable, the emcee had no choice but to turn his head and look backstage with a look of helplessness.
After a moment, a fat man in a brocade robe hurriedly came onto the stage and said loudly: "Everyone, please be patient for a moment, be patient for a moment! We are going to bring out the Heaven-Devouring Demon Technique! Please wait a moment!"
When he said this, the crowd became more violent, and the shouts almost brought down the roof. Fortunately, there are powerful barriers around the stage and many high-level monks arranged there, otherwise these people would have started to rob it.
A beautiful maid held out a small wooden box. The wooden box looked old and had a seal on it.
Under the urging of everyone, the fat man tore open the seal and took out the contents. It was a thin booklet with the four characters "Heaven Devouring Demonic Art" written in ancient seals on it.
The fat man placed the book on the wooden tray and carefully flipped through the first page. He held up the wooden tray and said loudly: "Everyone, please see clearly. This technique is the famous Heaven-Devouring Demon Technique in the world!"
Everyone held their breath and stared at the content on the page, and the noisy hall was silent for a moment.
Qianmei'er saw the winding black words written on the book. Although she tried hard to decipher the meaning, she couldn't understand it at all. She couldn't help but whispered: "Is this what the Heaven-Devouring Demon Technique looks like? Can you understand what is written on it? What is it?"
Fan Ji shook her head and said: "This is the first time I have seen such writing. Maybe the boss is making a fake one to deceive people."
Qian Meier said: "How dare he lie to others? Then he will definitely not be able to walk out alive today."
Fan Ji said: "Maybe he just wanted to tell a little lie to increase the reputation of the auction house, but unexpectedly the lie spread throughout the entire continent..."
Lingxi was silent for a while. She thought for a moment and suddenly said: "This writing seems to be ancient writing... The auction house once collected some rare ancient artifacts, and the writing on it seems to be similar to the writing in this book..."
The three women were confused for a moment, and all the monks began to talk about it. Some said that the auction house was playing tricks on people and made a fake copy to deceive people; some said that the text was from ancient times, and it was only normal if they could not understand it; others said that this was not some kind of heaven-devouring demonic power, but an ancient power. The remaining skills...
There are different opinions and no conclusion can be reached for a while. At this time, a man said loudly: "What is the origin of this magic power? Has your auction house verified its authenticity? Boss, why don't you tell me more carefully?" When he said this, everyone agreed and clamored for the boss to explain clearly.
Faced with this situation, the fat man in Jinyi wiped the sweat from his forehead. To be honest, he couldn't verify the authenticity when accepting this commission, but the price offered by the commissioner was too tempting! He could keep 80% of the auction price, and since this was a great opportunity to promote the reputation of the auction house, he really had no reason to refuse.
He gritted his teeth and said loudly: "I don't know the identity of the holder, and the origin is not clear. As for whether it is true or false, it is hard to judge..."
Seeing everyone's faces full of anger again, he hurriedly said: "But! But our auction house has invited special people to conduct a detailed appraisal of this book. The material, ink marks, and text on this page are indeed from ancient times." ! In other words, even if he does not possess the Heaven-Devouring Demonic Art, there is a high probability that you will not suffer any loss if you take him back..."
What he said immediately aroused everyone's excitement. At this time, someone said: "We don't know the words on this exercise. Do we have to ask someone to translate it for us when we buy it?"
"That's right. Has your auction house copied another volume?"
"You can't practice it after you buy it. Do you think we are being taken advantage of? Hahaha!"
The fat man said quickly: "No, no, no, don't worry, everyone! After our appraisal, this skill has a strong spiritual imprint, which means that the practice of this magic skill is passed down with spiritual power, not Practice by yourself according to the book. Moreover, the spiritual imprint in this exercise can only be practiced once, and there is absolutely no possibility of repeating it, so please rest assured!"
After he explained this, everyone felt a lot relieved. Seeing that all the monks were eager to try it, he hurriedly struck while the iron was hot: "Fellow Taoists, please take a clear look at this thing. Please judge for yourself whether it is real or fake! Once the auction is completed, we will never return it! The starting price for this item is one million spiritual stones, you can bid now!"
As soon as he finished speaking, no one bid. Instead, they all bowed their heads and talked. When it comes to the bidding price of one million spiritual stones, it is neither too much nor too little. If it were really the Heaven Devouring Demonic Art, let alone one million, even ten million, even one hundred million would have people competing to bid for it. The problem is that no one can determine whether it is true or false.
Moreover, if you take this thing away in public, there is no guarantee that you will be targeted by someone with great powers. The so-called ordinary man is guilty of carrying the jade, and he may end up dead in the end, so the gain outweighs the loss.
But wealth has been sought in danger since ancient times. If you don't have the courage, why would you set foot in the fairyland?
Everyone had their own thoughts for a while, and after a brief silence, someone finally couldn't help but shouted loudly: "One million and one million!"
Seeing someone bidding, everyone came to their senses and made up their minds to bid boldly.
"1.2 million!"
"1500000!"
"One million seven hundred thousand!"
"Two million!"
…
The fat boss was in agitated mood and was sweating nervously. He was wiping his sweat while presiding over the auction. The price soon reached five million!
At this level, it is no longer something ordinary monks can afford, but everyone who can enter the market today has a good fortune, and the voices of bidding are endless.
When the price was raised to 20 million, there were a lot less calls for bids, but there were still many bidders. Most monks are waiting for the final result to see who will win this peerless magic skill.
After 30 million was called twice, a sinister voice suddenly said: "40 million!"
This direct increase of 10 million to the price was undoubtedly a big shock to the monks present. Everyone applauded and cheered, turning around to look at the bidders, quite a bit like watching the excitement and not taking it too seriously. But the bidder has hidden his aura, so how can he find it?
Everyone couldn't help but wonder: "Someone actually dares to spend 40 million to buy a book of exercises that I don't know is true or false. Could it be that this book of exercises is real? Otherwise, who would be willing to spend such a huge price to be taken advantage of?"
"Forty-five million!" A rather resolute-sounding voice sounded.
"Haha, it seems that all the old guys have come out to join in the fun. Okay, I'll join in the fun too, 50 million!"
Everyone was in an uproar. You must know that the price of 50 million is already considered a "sky-high price". It is obvious that the people who are still bidding are the powerful people from Fairy Dust Continent. Even these people started to fight for it, which undoubtedly means that this technique is real!
The heartbeats of all the monks present silently accelerated. It is already an honor to witness with one's own eyes that this book, which has harvested the lives of countless monks, is being auctioned publicly here. It is not difficult to imagine that in the near future its inheritors will cause another bloody storm on the mainland!
In the final price chase, seven buyers still made frequent bids, and the final price was set at a "sky-high price" of 130 million! The fat boss was shaking with excitement, his inner and outer clothes were soaked with sweat, and he could hardly hold the drumstick in his hand. After asking three times and no one increased the price, my trembling hands finally came down and the final word was made!
"make a deal!"
Everyone cheered and applauded, looking around for the winner to come on stage to trade. They saw a man in black sitting in the corner slowly getting up and walking towards the stage. The way she walked seemed to be that of a woman.
At the fat boss's signal, the monks in charge of security opened a hole in the barrier, and the woman stepped onto the stage. Just when she was about to hand over the spirit stone, she suddenly heard a harsh voice saying: "The Heaven-Devouring Demonic Art is mine. Yes, no one can take it away!"
Then there was a "boom", and a big hole was opened in the ceiling of the hall. A huge golden hand fell from the sky and smashed the entire stage to pieces with one palm! The fat boss, the woman, the master of ceremonies, and the maid were all filmed into meat pies in an instant!
In the smoke and dust, a gray shadow fell quickly, bent down and took away the Heaven-Devouring Demonic Art on the ground, and then escaped from the hole in the ceiling!
Everyone was stunned. When they heard the commotion coming from outside the auction house, they all reacted, cheered and rushed to chase the man! The three daughters of Qianmeier were no exception and hurriedly ran out to check the situation.
There was chaos outside the auction house, and there were countless "light balls" floating in the sky, lighting up the sky like daylight. All the monks rushed to the roof and shouted loudly to chase and intercept the man in gray robe who fled with the book!
Various spells were thrown at the man like free fireworks, but the man just waved his hand and defused the attacks. Obviously, this man's cultivation level was much higher than the others!
Qian Meier saw this in her eyes and thought in her mind: "The barrier that was just set up by more than 30 monks in the early stage of forming pills in the auction house, this person actually broke it with one move. It is obvious that this person has used the barrier beyond the barrier." The power of the early stage of Dan, that is to say..."
She looked up at the sky and saw countless small golden swords beginning to emerge out of thin air. Even from a distance, one could feel the murderous aura emanating from these small swords! There is no doubt that this is the Xuanyuan Sword Formation that protects the entire mortal continent!
This was not only the first time Qianmei'er had seen it with her own eyes, but also the first time that many monks had seen it with their own eyes. Everyone couldn't help but stop and look up, pointing at these small swords that looked very "frail". I am used to hearing about its reputation on weekdays, but today I can finally see its power!
The man in gray robe was surrounded by many monks, and when he saw the Xuanyuan Sword Formation flying towards him rapidly from the sky, he couldn't help but raise his head to the sky and roar, and at the same time powerful true energy burst out from his whole body! This true energy shot straight into the sky like a beam of light as thick as two people's arms, gushing towards the sword array!
"boom!"
The violent sound was accompanied by a strong and dazzling light. After the light dissipated, the illuminating light balls in the sky began to dim. The gray-robed man on the roof had seven or eight small golden swords stuck in his chest, and bursts of green smoke floated out from the wounds as if they were burning his flesh and blood.
The gray-robed man's whole body was shaking violently. He took out the thin booklet, which was the Heaven-Devouring Demonic Art!
"Hey... hehe... I... I... won't get it, I will never... never give it to you!"
Seeing all the monks running toward him like hungry wolves, they all wanted to grab the best magic power in the world!
The man in gray robe held up the pamphlet with a ferocious smile, and a final roar burst out from the depths of his throat!
"ah!"
Under the crushing force of his true energy, the booklet spewed out countless golden pages like a fountain. These pages were like golden butterflies flying freely in the darkening night sky, and they were as dazzling as fireworks all over the sky!
However, the monks did not have the leisure to appreciate these. They rushed to "capture" the pages all over the sky like hungry ghosts seeing delicious food, and soon the air was filled with the smell of blood!
The three girls, Qianmeier, were watching all this from a distance. Just when they were hesitating whether to join in, they suddenly noticed a familiar figure!
"Xin'er! It's Xin'er! There she is!" Qian Meier couldn't help but exclaimed.
The already insane Ru Xin'er suddenly appeared, and at this moment she was frantically snatching the pages of the book like a hungry wolf.
"It's too dangerous here. Let's go over and capture her quickly, and then retreat immediately!" Fan Ji said quickly.
"I'm here to help too!" Lingxi had already heard from Qianmei'er about the reasons why they came here, so naturally she wanted to help.
"Then, let's go! Let's fight quickly!" Fan Ji took the lead and rushed forward, followed by the two women.
…
In the deep stream, Ling Ning and Xia Shiqing opened their eyes at the same time, and they looked at each other and smiled. With Ling Ning's help, the true energy in Xia Shiqing's body has been replenished. Although it has not fully recovered, she can already move as usual.
Xia Shiqing said: "I'm feeling much better. How do you feel?"
Ling Ning said: "I have recovered a lot from my own injuries when I just helped you with your exercises. Now my waist doesn't hurt so much. Maybe I can sit up a little..." Seeing that he was about to sit up, Xia Shiqing quickly used Wood Escape to do it for him. A "backrest".
"How's it going? Is the pain severe? I still suggest that it would be better for you to lie flat."
"It doesn't matter, I still want to lean on it so I can see my surroundings clearly."
Seeing that he wasn't that uncomfortable, Xia Shiqing stopped trying to persuade him, "Next, we have to find an exit and leave here as soon as possible."
Ling Ning nodded. He thought for a moment and said with some difficulty: "Shi Qing, this time you helped me heal my wounds. I seem to be more proficient in the wood attribute. That..."
"What? Just tell me. Are there any taboos between you and me?"
"I...I want to ask you to teach me some wood-attribute Taoism. Is it okay?"
"Is it just a small thing? Of course it's okay."
She thought for a while and took out a scroll from the ring and handed it to him: "What is recorded here is the wood attribute Taoist technique I am practicing. You can take it and read it. It also contains some of my insights..."
Seeing her so happy, Ling Ning felt a little embarrassed. It was just a Taoist skill, and insights were extremely rare. This would save him a lot of detours, but she gave him this valuable experience without any scruples. .
"Is this okay? You teach me these in private, and the master will investigate... You should teach me some basic Taoist techniques."
Xia Shiqing shook her head and said: "It doesn't matter, these are not the secrets of our sect. Although most of them are junior and intermediate Taoist skills, don't underestimate them. The secrets to the infinite changes in wood attributes are all in them."
Ling Ning declined a few more times, and finally accepted when she saw her firm attitude. He couldn't wait to start practicing, and Xia Shiqing patiently gave him instructions.
The sky was getting brighter, and the red glow reflected on the two of them as if they were wearing wedding clothes. Looking at the glow on each other, they both stayed for a moment and stopped talking.
When the red clouds gradually dissipated, Ling Ning broke the slightly ambiguous atmosphere.
"I roughly understand the key to the wood attribute technique...I...let me demonstrate it to you!"
"Hmm... um... okay... come and try..."
Xia Shiqing lowered her head in a rare move, as if she was a little shy. This reminded Ling Ning of that moment that seemed like a dream but not a dream, and his heartbeat began to accelerate unsatisfactorily.
Seeing that he remained silent, Xia Shiqing raised her head and said, "Why...why don't you start? Aren't you going to demonstrate?"
"Ah, yes... I will demonstrate right now..." Ling Ning pressed down the "aesthetic" images that kept popping up in her mind and concentrated on making a series of hand seals.
"Wooden Release: Wooden Man's Technique!"
"Bang!" A thick branch grew out of the mud, and the vines above the head seemed to come alive, twisting and intertwining the branches into a bed-like cushion. Many poisonous snakes fell from the vines, but they seemed to be He crawled to the side and continued to stare into the depths of the cave as if he didn't care.
After a moment, a two-meter-tall blue wooden figure suddenly appeared in front of him. Above his head was a soft chair made of vines, which was large enough for two people to sit cross-legged.
"Excellent! Mr. Ling, you are really talented!"
Faced with Xia Shiqing's compliment, Ling Ning smiled and said, "It's better that you taught me well. By the way, don't call me Mr. Ling. I am not worthy of a rough martial artist. Just call me Xiao Ning."
Xia Shiqing hesitated slightly, but still nodded happily and said "Yeah".
The two people immediately boarded the wooden man and sat cross-legged. Under Ling Ning's driving, the wooden man walked towards the depths of the cave. The cave became wider as they walked inside. The two walked for a while but did not find any exit. After a while, the two suddenly discovered a two-meter-high stone tablet standing in the quagmire, with four big characters "Earth Dragon Blessed Land" written in bright red text on it!
Ling Ning drove the wooden man forward to take a closer look. Suddenly, a gust of fishy wind blew from behind them!
