Chapter 36

A thousand miles away, within the Cold Pool of Parasol Tree Mountain at the Heavenly Martial Sect.

An eerie blue flame suddenly flared up violently. Master Yanchen’s eyes snapped open as he coughed up a mouthful of blood.

“This is bad! The fire is about to go out of control!”

Feng Xiwu’s brow furrowed slightly. She thrust out her fair, slender hands, and a blast of chilling, icy cold surged forth, enveloping the flame.

A moment later, Master Yanchen’s ashen face gradually regained some color.

He sighed. “I really can’t deny my old age any longer.”

A Qi Condensation cultivator could live a hundred years; Foundation Establishment granted three hundred; Golden Core, five hundred; and Nascent Soul, a thousand.

Master Yanchen had devoted his entire life obsessed with artifact crafting. His cultivation had long since stalled at the Nascent Soul stage, and he knew well that his lifespan was nearing its end…

Like an oil lamp about to burn out, both his body and his Primordial Spirit were in decay. In the past, he could refine an object non-stop for three years, but he could no longer do so.

He was too old, and too tired.

Master Yanchen transferred most of the work to Feng Xiwu and said, “Your talent is truly remarkable. If you had a fire spiritual root, you’d surely achieve great things in artifact crafting someday.”

It was just a pity that she possessed an ice spiritual root.

But Feng Xiwu didn’t see it as a pity. “Since it’s destined, why dwell on it? That only adds unnecessary worry.”

After resting a moment, Yanchen continued, “I’m afraid this item won’t be finished any time soon.”

“How much longer?”

“I don’t know.”

A flash of worry seemed to cross Feng Xiwu’s eyes as she thought of something.

…

Back at the Ghost Market Auction.

Liuli stood proudly with her hands behind her back inside the cage, as if it wasn’t an iron prison holding her captive, but a magnificent, exquisitely crafted defensive treasure.

“I, Tang Shishi, am the little sister of the Black Lotus Hierarch!”

A commotion broke out across the auction venue. Everyone’s eyes converged on Liuli. Even the guards watching the goods backstage looked over at her curiously.

Goatee felt a slight pang of unease. Could it be… could it be that he had really gone and captured someone from the Black Lotus Sect?

The smile on the auctioneer’s face was barely holding. Interesting, truly interesting. He hoped this female cultivator could manage to sell herself for a good price!

“Hahahaha…” The masked man laughed loudly. “Do you have proof?”

“Proof?” Liuli raised her hand in front of her. A black lotus bloomed out of nowhere, swaying in the breeze.

The bewitching black lotus made Liuli’s delicate beauty seem all the more sinister at first glance. For a moment, the aura of evil was palpable!

Those nearby were genuinely startled by her.

Someone in the audience shouted, “How can she still use magic?”

The auctioneer hurriedly said, “This just proves her body is uniquely robust and suitable for use as a cauldron! Esteemed guests, do not panic. The cage has its own defenses. She cannot get out, nor can she harm anyone here.”

The masked man raised his paddle again. “Whether you’re telling the truth or not, I want this Sect Leader’s little sister!”

Liuli waved her hand, and the black lotus vanished like smoke. She sneered, “Perhaps you don’t know this, but our Black Lotus Sect has a secret art. From the moment I woke up, everything happening here has been witnessed by my big sister!”

“Big sister? The Black Lotus Hierarch is a woman?”

“Tsk tsk, is she a beauty like you? Hahahaha, that would be wonderful! Lure your sister here, and we’ll have both sisters together!”

Liuli: “…Gag.”

Ugh, these perverted men were so disgustingly nauseating she could barely keep up the act.

Liuli raised both middle fingers at the audience. “Idiots! I advise you to stop courting death! My big sister knows about this; she definitely won’t let you off! You’ll all die horrible deaths!”

“Hahahaha, that suits me just fine!”

Liuli raised her hand, and several bags suddenly dropped to the floor. “Even if my sister doesn’t make it in time, did you really think I’d just let myself be taken so easily?”

“What’s this, little beauty? Do you still have tricks? Use them, by all means!”

Liuli kicked out, breaking several bags open. Their contents spilled out toward the cage exterior. Naturally, the auctioneer wouldn’t let a “sinister member of the Black Lotus Sect” act so brazenly. He quickly reached out with his power to pull a bag of white powder into his hand. Rubbing it between his fingers, he said with surprise:

“Flour?”

Liuli’s pretty face instantly flushed red. “It’s not flour, it’s poison! Just wait—I’m going to poison you all!”

A wave of laughter erupted from the audience below.

So she was just a silly beauty with more looks than brains.

Well, that made things interesting, and less trouble.

The masked man, who was currently the highest bidder, laughed. “Good! Now I want to see just how you plan to poison us!”

Tears of frustration welled in Liuli’s eyes. “O-our Black Lotus Sect’s poison… once it fills this place, you’ll all be poisoned!”

“That sounds fun.” The masked man looked at the auctioneer, chuckling. “Go on, help our little beauty out. Don’t let the lady down!”

“As the honored guest requests, I shall help her!”

The auctioneer laughed as he tore open the remaining flour bags. With a Hurricane Spell, he swept the flour into the air, filling the entire venue.

Those few guests who had been slightly suspicious reached out and brushed the powder off their clothes. They couldn’t help but laugh. This silly beauty actually thought flour was poison!

Just then, in a completely inconspicuous corner of the room, a figure completely hidden by a black cloak gracefully raised a paddle. “I’ll take her.”

It was a woman’s voice—slightly low, carrying a trace of husky, soft seductiveness!

Even Liuli was startled. She hadn’t expected her act to be this popular, attracting even a female cultivator!

Inside the cage, Liuli had already surrounded herself with several layers of flexible, soft Water Walls, leaving air pockets between them.

Liuli shrugged, letting out a pitiful whimper. “No, I don’t believe it! Why aren’t you poisoned yet?!”

Under the jeering laughter of the crowd, the flour hung suspended in the air, flowing along with their breaths and conversation. Liuli pulled out a fire starter and flung it sharply out of the cage.

The cage could block spiritual energy and magic. But an object thrown out wouldn’t have any magic attached to it, so no one paid it any mind.

The fire starter fell to the floor, rolling to the edge of the stage and landing right in front of the masked man. Its lid was loose.

The masked man laughed as he bent down to pick it up. “Could it be this is a token of your affection for me…”

Kaboom—

A blinding, earth-shattering flash of fire, accompanied by a sudden explosion, violently filled the entire venue. Instant chaos reigned.

The auctioneer only had time to roar, “What did you do?!” before desperately trying to shield himself!

Huddled within the protective layers of the cage and her multiple Water Walls, Liuli gripped several spirit stones in her hands, quickly absorbing their pure spiritual energy to replenish her depleted True Qi. “No education—truly terrifying.”

Flammable dust filling an enclosed space, plus an ignition source, could create a devastating dust explosion!

Once the first wave of searing heat from the dust explosion passed, Liuli pulled out her Earth-grade Great Sword. With a low shout, she forced out an attack rivaling the power of a Golden Core cultivator, smashing the iron cage in a single blow!

This one attack instantly drained all the True Qi in Liuli’s body. Using the same old method, she absorbed one spirit stone after another, not even sparing a moment to grieve over the loss of her precious extreme-grade spirit stones.

Amidst the chaos, Liuli dashed straight for the backstage!

She let out a wild laugh as she ran: “Hahahaha, I’m taking them back to the Black Lotus Sect! If you’ve got the guts, come catch us there!”

Goatee, with his pitiful cultivation, had already been knocked unconscious by the blast wave. Liuli, who had spotted the keys hidden in his clothes earlier, snatched them up and unlocked the cages for the female cultivators.

The women had already recovered considerably. It turned out that Liuli’s earlier act of playing dumb and drawing all the attention to herself had been to give Lin Mengxian the chance to secretly pass antidote pills to the others.

As long as one didn’t use true qi or spiritual power, quietly tossing a pill to another cage wasn’t a problem.

Furthermore, since the cages had their own defenses, the group hadn’t suffered much damage from the explosion.

Although they hadn’t fully purged the poison, they weren’t completely defenseless either. Lin Mengxian and Liuli supported the groggy Ye Zhenzhen from both sides. Liuli said to the other female cultivators:

“It’s dangerous here. You better run!”

“We won’t forget this great kindness! If fate allows us to meet again, we will surely repay it!”

The women scattered and fled. By now, the auction’s guards had regained their wits and split up to give chase.

As the mastermind behind the chaos, and with the three of them being the highest-value targets, Liuli’s group naturally drew the most fire.

Before they could even escape the auction venue, they were completely surrounded.

Four Golden Core stage guards, their faces grim, closed in on the trio from all four directions.

Liuli’s heart was bitter, but a smile remained on her lips. “There’s really no need for this, seniors! You’re overestimating us too much. Honestly, if just one of you had come, we’d have surrendered immediately!”

For a shady, secretive Ghost Market auction, they actually had four Golden Core experts guarding the place! Was Golden Core some kind of wholesale bargain-bin deal here?

The leading woman, gaunt and fierce, growled menacingly, “Insolent brats! How dare you cause trouble! You’re courting death! Roll over here obediently and beg for your punishment!”

Liuli kept up her chatter. “Rather than look for death, I’m looking for a way to live…”

Meanwhile, she secretly retrieved a Thunderstorm Talisman and flung it out. The auction venue was spacious. Liuli threw one talisman at her pursuers and another at the ceiling above the path ahead. Another series of explosions rang out, and chunks of rubble crashed down, briefly blocking the way.

Seizing the moment, Liuli and Lin Mengxian dragged Ye Zhenzhen toward the exit.

Ye Zhenzhen urgently gasped, “Go on ahead! Junior Sister Lin and I will hold them off here!”

Liuli gave a pained smile. “How could I abandon you?”

“You have to leave so you can come back and save us! Go!”

Ye Zhenzhen violently shook her off, then flung out a stack of talismans. Lin Mengxian gritted her teeth and joined Ye Zhenzhen in blocking the path.

Ye Zhenzhen’s reasoning was sound. Even if it meant Liuli alone might not escape either… she had no choice but to run with all her might.

Behind her, the Golden Core experts were indeed held up by Ye Zhenzhen and Lin Mengxian. But they had only managed to stop one! And they only achieved that by fighting with everything they had, spending talismans, pills, and magic treasures as if they were worthless.

Under the crushing weight of absolute power, however, the balance of victory was still slowly, inexorably tipping against them.

The other three experts caught up to Liuli in the blink of an eye. They were just about to seize her—the leader’s face was already twisted into a savage grin as her hand shot out to grab Liuli’s back…

But Liuli stopped running at that very moment.

Because right in front of her, a mysterious figure in a black cloak had appeared out of thin air. The pressure this stranger exerted on her was even greater than the combined force of the three Golden Core cultivators behind her!

Alarm bells shrieked in Liuli’s mind: Danger!

But she didn’t dare move away from her. She could only stand frozen, watching helplessly as this mysterious person extended a graceful hand, painted with scarlet nail polish, from beneath the cloak and gently pushed it past Liuli.

Instantly, the smoke, the fire, the shouts… everything vanished.

No, not vanished. She could still see them, but she could no longer hear or smell them.

The three Golden Core experts who had been chasing her, a mixture of caution and fear on their faces, also came to a halt, not daring to make a single rash move.

“Little sister, why are you running away?”

That voice…

It was the woman who had placed the last bid to buy her!

Liuli forced a difficult smile onto her face and said pitifully, “Senior, we are all pitiful victims who were kidnapped and trafficked. Please, I beg you, let us go.”

“So you were kidnapped.” The woman’s voice, smooth and luxurious like silk, sighed softly.

In an instant, the oppressive pressure bearing down on Liuli vanished completely. That razor-sharp, extreme sense of danger seemed as if it had been nothing more than her imagination.

The mysterious woman before her suddenly felt… harmless.

Seeing a chance, Liuli quickly added, “I just knew a senior like you must be kind-hearted and wouldn’t make things hard on us unfortunate girls!”

The woman glided up beside Liuli. Her tone was casual, yet laced with a hint of a smile. “I can’t bear to see anyone bully a cute little sister like you. How about this… you call me ‘good sister,’ and I’ll save your friends too. What do you say?”

Stunned by this sudden stroke of luck falling from the heavens, Liuli could only numbly comply. “…Good sister?”

The woman let out a soft laugh.

Liuli’s vision blurred for a split second. She whirled around, her face turning deathly pale.

The scene before her was utter stillness. The auction venue, which had been filled with chaos and noise moments ago, was now completely, terrifyingly silent. Everyone was lying quietly on the ground—including the four Golden Core cultivators—lifeless.

Other than the mysterious woman, Liuli, Ye Zhenzhen, and Lin Mengxian, there wasn’t a single living soul left in the entire venue.