“This item was obtained by a rogue cultivator from an ancient ruin.”
The auctioneer’s voice was alluring as she did her best to heighten the atmosphere.
“After examination by our chief appraiser, we can confirm that this drop of blood is extremely ancient. Although it has lost all spiritual energy, its material is indestructible and impervious to both fire and water. Perhaps… it is the essence blood of some ancient ferocious beast.”
“The starting bid is five thousand low-grade spirit stones. Each raise must be at least one thousand.”
The entire hall fell silent.
The cultivators exchanged glances before bursting into waves of laughter.
“Has the Myriad Treasures Pavilion gone mad? They actually want to sell a drop of useless blood for five thousand spirit stones?”
“Exactly. Even the appraiser can’t identify it. Who would be stupid enough to waste money on something like this?”
“What ancient ferocious beast’s essence blood? What nonsense. Let it go unsold and bring out the next item!”
There was no movement in the VIP booths either. Clearly, the big shots had no interest in such unidentified trash.
A trace of embarrassment flashed across the auctioneer’s face. She raised the auction hammer, preparing to announce that the item had gone unsold.
Just then, a hoarse, low voice came from the corner.
“Five thousand spirit stones. I’ll take it.”
Whoosh—!
Everyone’s gaze converged on the black-robed figure in the corner.
“There really is a fool willing to buy it?”
“Probably some ignorant rogue cultivator who’s never seen the world.”
Ye Wushuang ignored the surrounding jeers and curled her lips.
What a bunch of ignorant bumpkins. This was the opportunity of Lin Langtian, the Great Emperor, in her previous life. How could it possibly be an ordinary object?
“This honored guest has bid five thousand spirit stones. Is there anyone willing to go higher?”
Seeing that someone had taken the bait, the auctioneer immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
“Five thousand spirit stones, once! Five thousand spirit stones, twice…”
“Wait. I bid six thousand.”
Suddenly, a richly dressed young man in the front row raised his hand.
He glanced back at Ye Wushuang, his eyes filled with mockery.
“It’ll make a decent ornament when you take it home.”
Ye Wushuang frowned slightly.
She knew this man. He was Wang Teng, the second young master of the Wang Family, one of the four great families of Clear River City—a notorious wastrel.
Although the Wang Family could not compare with the Ye Family, it was still one of the most powerful clans in Clear River City.
This fellow had clearly jumped in just to annoy her after seeing someone else place a bid.
No wonder Lin Langtian had been willing to spend ten thousand.
“Ten thousand low-grade spirit stones.”
Ye Wushuang couldn’t be bothered to waste words with him and directly doubled the price.
The money belonged to Lin Langtian anyway. She didn’t feel the slightest bit of heartache spending it.
“You!”
Wang Teng’s expression changed.
Ten thousand low-grade spirit stones was no small sum to him. If he spent that much on an unidentified object, his father would probably beat him until his legs were broken when he got home.
“Hmph. You coward hiding your face—consider yourself lucky. I’ll let you have it!”
Wang Teng gave a cold snort before sitting back down.
“Ten thousand low-grade spirit stones, three times! Sold!”
The auction hammer fell, and Ye Wushuang finally relaxed.
After completing the transaction in the backstage area, Ye Wushuang did not linger for even a moment. She quickly slipped out through the back door of the Myriad Treasures Pavilion.
She wound through the alleys seven or eight times, and only after confirming that no one was following her did she enter an abandoned temple. Then, cautiously, she took out the bottle.
[Ding! The host has successfully intercepted the key opportunity of the Son of Destiny, Lin Langtian. Congratulations, you have triggered a ten-thousandfold critical-return reward! Reward: 10 Opportunity Points!]
[Congratulations, the Ancient Heavenly Demon Essence Blood has evolved into the Primordial Divine-Demon Ancestor Essence Blood!]
Buzz—!
The dried black blood in Ye Wushuang’s palm erupted with dazzling dark-golden light.
An ancient, desolate, and overwhelmingly domineering pressure descended with a thunderous boom.
If the system had not deliberately suppressed this pressure within a radius of ten meters, the entire Clear River City would have been alerted in an instant!
If she attracted the attention of an existence above the Golden Core Realm, Ye Wushuang feared she would have difficulty escaping.
The dark-golden blood floated in midair as though it possessed a life of its own, radiating an aura that made her soul tremble.
“Gulp.”
Ye Wushuang swallowed with difficulty.
She could feel the Nine-Phoenix Flame Phoenix Physique within her body trembling violently.
It was an extreme longing originating from her bloodline!
“I’m going for it!”
Ye Wushuang clenched her teeth, circulated the Taiyin Profound Qi Inhalation Art, opened her mouth, and sucked in hard, swallowing the dark-golden Divine-Demon Ancestor Essence Blood directly into her abdomen.
Boom!!!
The moment the essence blood entered her stomach, Ye Wushuang felt as though her entire body had been turned inside out.
An incomparably violent divine-demon force exploded within her body. Unimaginable pain instantly drowned out her reason, and she violently spat out a mouthful of blood.
“Ah—!”
Ye Wushuang bit down hard on her lip, refusing to let out a scream.
She frantically circulated her cultivation technique, guiding that destructive power to temper her physical body.
Under the refinement of the Divine-Demon Ancestor Essence Blood, her foundation—which had still been somewhat unstable—was completely shattered before re-forming at an utterly terrifying speed.
Her bones took on a layer of dark-golden luster, while a trace of the divine demon’s domineering aura entered her blood.
At the same time, behind her, the phantoms of nine flaming phoenixes appeared in the void of their own accord.
Yet under the contamination of the divine-demon blood, the phoenix flames, originally scarlet-red, gradually transformed into a profound black fire.
The Nine-Phoenix Flame Phoenix Physique had undergone an unknown mutation under the stimulation of the Divine-Demon Ancestor Essence Blood!
Time passed bit by bit.
When the first rays of dawn shone across Ye Wushuang’s face, she finally opened her eyes.
Boom!
Perfection of the Grotto-Heaven Realm!
A powerful pressure erupted uncontrollably from within her body, directly shaking the surrounding walls into dust.
“Not only has my cultivation been completely stabilized, my strength has increased by more than tenfold. So this is what it feels like to level up as the protagonist? This is freaking awesome!”
Ye Wushuang stopped cultivating and stretched lazily.
She then headed to a nearby teahouse, intending to enjoy a hearty breakfast.
Just then, a long crane cry suddenly rang out above Clear River City. A massive spirit ship tore through the clouds and hovered over the city lord’s residence.
Its banners fluttered in the wind, bearing the two ancient seal characters: “Profound Heaven.”
The crowd began whispering among themselves.
“It’s the Profound Heaven Sect here to recruit disciples!”
“What an imposing sight!”
“Of course! This is the supreme sect that rules over a radius of a million li. The Profound Heaven Sect is one of the seven top-tier sects of the Southern Region. It has been passed down for ten thousand years and possesses unfathomable foundations. Experts are as common as clouds within its gates, and Violet Palace experts are found everywhere. It is even said that a mighty existence beyond the Other Shore Realm is seated within the sect.”
To a remote town like Clear River City, the Profound Heaven Sect was an unreachable behemoth in everyone’s eyes.
Every five years, the Profound Heaven Sect would send envoys to recruit disciples in the various cities.
As long as one could enter the Profound Heaven Sect, even becoming an outer disciple would be enough to bring glory to their ancestors.
For the various clans, joining the Profound Heaven Sect was an enormous opportunity.
If even one person could become a disciple of the Profound Heaven Sect, the entire family would gain its protection. They would not only receive the sect’s support and resources, but the family’s status would rise dramatically as well.
However, the number of places was extremely limited. According to tradition, each of Clear River City’s four great families could recommend five people to take part in the selection.
The smaller families and rogue cultivators, meanwhile, had to pass a demanding preliminary test to compete for the remaining ten spots.
In the Lin Family’s council hall, family head Lin Aotian sat at the head of the room, with a group of Lin Family elders and core disciples seated below him.
At that moment, the council hall was filled with tension, like a drawn sword ready to strike.
Lin Aotian’s face was so grim it seemed capable of dripping water. “For this year’s Profound Heaven Sect selection, our Lin family has been favored by the City Lord’s Manor and granted only two spots. The first naturally goes to Lin Langtian. Lin Langwu, although your talent is fairly good, as for this second spot…”
Before he could finish, the two heavy golden-thread nanmu doors of the main hall were suddenly kicked open, sending splinters of wood flying everywhere.
