The auctioneer’s words rang in every cultivator’s ears, and the hall immediately fell into complete silence.
Once every cultivator realized what the auctioneer’s words implied, their breathing grew heavy.
Floating City had been the number one city in the Nine Provinces three thousand years ago, filled with countless opportunities within. As long as they could enter, even picking up something at random would allow them to advance further.
Unfortunately, Floating City had vanished so abruptly back then. Cultivators searched like headless flies for three thousand years without a single result—until today, when the way to enter Floating City finally appeared.
With this, finding Floating City was no longer a vague fantasy, nor a wild pipe dream.
Facing such a huge temptation, there might be some who could remain unmoved, but they were a minority.
Just as within the Nine Provinces, only a select few could be called geniuses.
Most cultivators dreamed of rising to the top in one step, and Floating City was undoubtedly that chance to make it happen.
The impact of the auctioneer’s words was too great. The silence in the auction hall lasted for quite a while before a cultivator was the first to react, staring fixedly at that ordinary-looking key on the stage.
Then, one by one, more people reacted and turned their gazes toward the key on the stage.
Feeling the scorching stares of the cultivators, the auctioneer smiled slightly. “It seems everyone has already realized what this is. Then I won’t keep you in suspense any longer.”
She took a step aside, fully exposing the key to the crowd of cultivators, then slowly said, “As everyone thinks, this key is very likely one of the Secret Keys.
All of you are clever people. You understand the principle that treasures conceal their own brilliance. Though this key looks ordinary, there’s nothing simple about it. What’s more, even our auction house’s appraisers could not identify the grade of the material used to make it.”
The hall immediately filled with sharp intakes of breath.
At first, everyone had only been guessing, but now they’d heard the auctioneer personally confirm their speculation. After a brief moment of shock, all of them grew excited, brilliant glimmers flashing in their eyes.
“It really is a key! It’s a Secret Key that can open Floating City!”
“Heavens, we’re witnessing history!”
“But… after all, no one has ever seen what the Secret Keys look like. How do we know this one is real?”
At those words, the crowd felt as if a bucket of cold water had been dumped on them. The excitement in everyone’s eyes faded by two degrees, replaced by suspicion.
The people in the private room also paused at this. As they carefully mulled over the auctioneer’s words, their expressions turned strange.
Jing Ying suddenly let out a laugh. “The news the Hongxing Auction House obtained might be real, but whether this key is genuine remains to be seen. The auctioneer didn’t lie, though.”
It was just that everyone’s emotions had been stirred up to this point. When people are excited, their ears automatically filter out information they deem unimportant. So after hearing the auctioneer’s words, everyone’s first reaction was to believe the key was real.
But the key was only possibly real.
Ye Xingtong’s eyes showed regret. “It’s a pity gathering all nine Secret Keys isn’t easy. Otherwise, we could learn the truth behind Floating City’s disappearance.”
After all, when Floating City first vanished, amid the shock of the great sects, what they most wanted to know was the truth.
Yet three thousand years of searching had all ended in failure. Up until today, most cultivators could only see the opportunities within the city when Floating City was mentioned.
But for the great sects, they wanted the truth even more.
Remember, three thousand years ago was the best era—abundant spiritual qi, countless mighty figures and geniuses, and Floating City was the cream of the crop.
A city as powerful as Floating City had vanished without a sound. How could that not make people think?
If it were internal strife, it wouldn’t have vanished so completely. But if it were another reason…
Then that would undoubtedly be bad news for the Nine Provinces. If there existed something capable of making Floating City disappear, could they really resist it? They feared a great calamity was approaching.
But perhaps because the past three thousand years had been peaceful, speculation of that sort had decreased, while more and more cultivators wanted to find the opportunity that was Floating City.
Now, the Hongxing Auction House had somehow obtained information that sounded rather credible. It was just this key…
No one was stupid. They’d also thought of this problem, and their expressions couldn’t help turning complicated.
Floating City truly was a huge pie.
For Fang Nianci, if she could enter it, there might be all sorts of precious pill formulas, spirit plants, and spirit medicines.
For Ming Jingqiu, Floating City might contain miraculous pills that could improve one’s aptitude. Even if not, a top-tier cultivation method or immortal artifact—any one of them could greatly increase her strength and allow her to take revenge immediately.
But Jing Ying was right. Whether the key was real or fake was still unknown. Even if it were real, they’d still need to find the other eight keys to open Floating City.
The auctioneer’s words had stirred everyone’s emotions, making them overlook the most fundamental problem while caught up in the excitement.
Nine Secret Keys had to be gathered.
The Nine Provinces were vast, with countless secret realms large and small. The keys were like looking for a needle in the ocean. Just thinking about it made it seem eternally out of reach.
It seemed they were only a step away from Floating City, but that step was like a natural chasm.
At this thought, Ming Jingqiu slowly let out a turbid breath, her gaze gradually clearing.
She had been too obsessed. She had nearly given birth to delusions because of it. Ming Jingqiu could feel that if she didn’t rein herself in, she would definitely develop an inner demon.
She needed to cultivate her heart.
Bai Xiaoxiao and Bai Zhizhi exchanged a glance.
Although it was an explosive piece of news, neither of them felt much about it.
Perhaps because they were spirit beasts.
Bai Zhizhi had originally planned to return to her clan after the auction ended, with no intention of staying longer.
And Bai Xiaoxiao, being from the modern world, was different from the local natives. Even knowing how tempting Floating City was to cultivators, she couldn’t get excited like everyone else.
After a moment of silence, Bai Zhizhi slowly transmitted her voice.
[Bai Xiaoxiao, you might as well come back with me. Look at these human cultivators—they can be this greedy over an illusory opportunity. And you’re right under their noses. It’s too dangerous.]
Bai Xiaoxiao silently looked away.
Seeing that she wasn’t answering again, Bai Zhizhi crossed her arms and ignored her.
Meanwhile, on the stage, the auctioneer, upon hearing the objections from the crowd, didn’t change expression. Her smile didn’t even waver. She showed no embarrassment at being called out—her mental fortitude was impressive.
“I understand everyone’s concerns, but the Hongxing Auction House has always prioritized integrity. Here, I solemnly promise that the news we’ve shared is indeed true, and it has already been circulated to all the major cities.
As for this item—
It was obtained by our house by chance. After appraisal, our appraisers discovered there is a restriction within the key, and it’s clearly incomplete.
We thought it was a piece of junk, but coincidentally, we learned of Floating City’s information at that time, so we boldly speculated that it’s one of the Secret Keys.
Of course, we can’t guarantee its authenticity. It all depends on whether you have the courage and luck.”
The smile on the auctioneer’s face grew meaningful. “With that, the final item is about to be auctioned.
This auction item is a suspected Secret Key to Floating City. The starting bid is one high-grade spirit stone, and each increment must be at least one high-grade spirit stone.
Please bid carefully. Once sold, the item cannot be returned. Both gains and losses are borne by yourselves.”
One high-grade spirit stone!
Bai Xiaoxiao blinked. “Why is the starting bid just one high-grade spirit stone? Do they only accept high-grade? And after what the auctioneer said, would anyone really bid?”
After all, its authenticity couldn’t be guaranteed.
“How could there not be? The thing the Cultivation World never lacks—is gamblers.”
Jing Ying smiled brightly, but her tone was somewhat unreadable.
Bai Xiaoxiao was startled. Before she could speak, she heard a wave of bids rising one after another from outside.
The temptation of Floating City was simply too great. Even without certainty, some people still wanted to gamble on that possibility.
Even if nine keys were needed, as long as they had one in hand, one day they’d find Floating City and earn the chance to enter.
The auction atmosphere was immediately pushed to a climax. The cultivators abandoned their usual restraint, bidding themselves red in the face.
Bai Xiaoxiao could hear the price skyrocketing. A price would come out and be covered by a higher one in less than a second.
Everyone… had gone crazy.
But no one in their private room bid. Bai Xiaoxiao’s gaze swept around and she found everyone was just watching the show, very rational.
“This cultivator in charge of the auction has quite the scheme.”
Bai Xiaoxiao was startled, realizing it was Shen Zhiyue speaking, and her expression went blank for a moment.
“Your Eminence? Ah… sorry, I got caught up in the bidding and forgot I was still talking with you…”
Bai Xiaoxiao looked a little sheepish.
No wonder she felt like she’d forgotten something. It turned out she’d forgotten all about Shen Zhiyue!
But… when she was talking with Bai Zhizhi, why hadn’t the other party said anything?
Bai Xiaoxiao was stunned, but before she could think it over, Shen Zhiyue’s calm voice came through her mind again.
“It’s fine.”
Bai Xiaoxiao instantly forgot her thoughts. Upon hearing Shen Zhiyue’s words, a flash of embarrassment quickly crossed her face.
But she quickly composed herself and said in a delighted tone, “Oh right, Your Eminence, we’ve already successfully bid on that inner core—”
“I know.”
Her words were cut off, and Bai Xiaoxiao was startled again. “Has Your Eminence… been here all along?”
“Mhm. I did hear some interesting news.
Regarding Floating City, that cultivator’s words shouldn’t be fully believed. But she wasn’t lying about one thing—the news of Floating City has already spread throughout the Nine Provinces.”
Bai Xiaoxiao held her forehead, numb to the plot that was already falling apart beyond repair.
No one told her that transmigrating into a book would involve such upheaval. The plot was already a mess. Was the world even okay?
Bai Xiaoxiao worriedly looked up, as if she could see the sky outside through the ceiling. But all around, there was nothing but the sounds of bidding. It seemed the world was fine.
But this sudden turn of events completely caught Bai Xiaoxiao off guard. Before she knew it, she’d retreated into her own world again.
The little soul-fragment figure in her Sea of Consciousness deepened its gaze and said nothing more.
It wasn’t until a wave of commotion sounded that Bai Xiaoxiao suddenly snapped back to reality.
“What’s going on?”
Bai Zhizhi sucked in a cold breath. “The person in the private room next to ours just bid ten thousand high-grade spirit stones.”
Bai Xiaoxiao’s eyes were filled with surprise. “Ten thousand high-grade? Wait, next door?”
She remembered that the seller of the Mirage Serpent Inner Core seemed to be in the room next to theirs.
Bai Zhizhi nodded. “It’s him. I don’t know who he is. Not only does he have the Mirage Serpent Inner Core, he can even pull out such a huge sum to buy an uncertain Secret Key.”
But they weren’t the only ones surprised. Even Ming Jingqiu and the others were astonished.
They hadn’t participated in the bidding at all from start to finish. Though the key was indeed tempting, after the initial excitement, everyone gradually came back to their senses.
The news the auctioneer shared was probably true, but her goal should have been to sell that item at a high price.
She’d told them in advance that the key’s authenticity was uncertain, yet the cultivators were still this frantic.
Everyone was thinking the same thing in their hearts—what if? What if they were lucky and that key really was the genuine one?
As long as there was even half a chance it was real, any price was worth paying.
Holding onto that thought, perhaps at first they were just tentatively testing the waters with their bids. But as the atmosphere grew hotter and the bidding frenzy took over, no one cared about anything else anymore. The only thought left in their minds was to win that key.
Until the mysterious person in the private room next to theirs suddenly raised the price to an entirely different level.
The clamor receded like the tide. For a moment, no one spoke.
Bai Xiaoxiao silently calculated and got the result that ten thousand high-grade was roughly a million mid-grade. She immediately sucked in a cold breath.
Ming Jingqiu’s eyes flickered. After a moment of deliberation, she suddenly stood up. “We need to leave as soon as possible.”
The others all looked at her.
“Staying is no longer safe. The bidding should be ending soon.”
At that, Jing Ying’s smile faltered, and her expression turned serious.
“Fellow Daoist Ming is right. We’ve also bid on a Mirage Serpent Inner Core this trip. We really can’t stay any longer. These days, there are plenty of people who get robbed the moment they leave the auction house. We must get out of the city immediately.”
At her words, everyone understood the gravity of the situation.
Now was the best time to leave. The bidding for the Secret Key would end shortly barring any accidents. When it did, the person who obtained the key would be the primary target for robbery—and they would be second.
Actually… perhaps their priority was even higher than the one who got the key.
They really couldn’t keep watching this show.
