Chapter 716: Bidding on the Heavenly Flame Phoenix Marrow
The figure who appeared before Lin Langtian and Song Yanfei was a white‑robed youth.
His features were handsome but carried a faintly feminine cast. His gaze burned as he looked at Song Yanfei, and he smiled. "Yanfei, what brings you here?"
At the sight of him, a hint of frost touched her pretty face. "Young Master Han, my being here doesn't seem to have much to do with you, does it?"
The youth blinked, then chuckled. "Of course not. It's just that I've long admired Miss Yanfei. Since fate has brought us together, I thought I might invite you to enjoy the auction with me."
Even as he spoke, a black‑robed elder behind him took a step forward to block Song Yanfei's path and said coolly, "Since my young master has extended an invitation, Miss Yanfei should oblige."
Her brows knit in irritation, but just as she drew breath to refuse, a hand reached out from the side and lightly closed around her wrist.
The sudden touch made her body tense. She almost snapped her arm away, then caught sight of Lin Langtian's face. She froze, and after a heartbeat's thought, let the resistance go.
"Hehe. Miss Yanfei already has someone to accompany her," Lin Langtian said mildly as he stepped in front of her, smiling at the pale youth and his black‑robed guard. "There's no need for Young Master Han to trouble himself."
The youth's eyes narrowed as he stared at Lin Langtian. When he saw the easy familiarity between them, a flash of anger lit his shadowed gaze.
Before he could speak, the old man at his side moved another half‑step forward, slipping between the two men. His eyes fixed on Lin Langtian, wary.
He had sensed the threat.
The youth was taken aback. This old man was a personal guard his father had assigned him, a Second‑Grade Supreme.
For someone to make such a man tense…
Could this green‑robed stranger be no weaker than a Second‑Grade Supreme himself?
The thought sent a flicker of uncertainty across his face. After a moment, he merely snorted, turned on his heel, and strode away.
He headed for one of the private boxes at the very front of the auction hall.
Whatever this Lin Langtian's strength, they were on Ten Thousand Merchants ground. He wasn't fool enough to start trouble here. Even his father might not be able to shield him from the consequences.
"Thank you, Young Master Lin," Song Yanfei murmured, watching the youth's retreating back before glancing down at the spot where his hand had just left her wrist.
"Hehe, it was nothing," Lin Langtian replied. "If you hadn't come here with me, you wouldn't have run into that nuisance in the first place. I'm hardly about to stand by and let you be bullied."
He could tell this Han fellow's mind was narrow and his backing strong.
But after everything he had gone through on the Tianxuan Continent, Lin Langtian was not the sort to shy from a little trouble.
So what if he had offended him?
Shaking his head, he turned toward the rows of seats, and Song Yanfei followed, teeth lightly worrying her lip as she watched his lean but steady back.
The auction hall teemed with people, yet still somehow felt perfectly ordered. The two of them found places not far from the front and sat down.
The seats were carved from jade and draped with fine pelts that seemed to breathe a faint spiritual energy into the body.
Clearly, neither jade nor fur was ordinary.
Even for Lin Langtian, used to the simpler splendors of the lower planes, the Ten Thousand Merchants' extravagance was on another level entirely.
As he settled in, more contingents from various powers filtered in and quietly took seats or disappeared into the private boxes at the front.
This Heaven‑Rank Auction had indeed drawn plenty of weighty guests.
Thinking of that, he glanced at Song Yanfei. "That Young Master Han just now—who exactly is he?"
"You mean Han Lin," she said. "He's the son of the Glacier King Han Shuang of the Earth Desolation Hall. The Hall is a first‑tier force on the Qiankun Continent, and the Glacier King is a Fifth‑Grade Supreme. With a father like that, Han Lin has grown used to throwing his weight around."
She hesitated, then added, almost defensively, "I have no connection with him. We crossed paths by chance half a year ago, and he's been pestering me ever since."
"Earth Desolation Hall, Glacier King, a Fifth‑Grade Supreme, hm…" Lin Langtian nodded, eyes glinting faintly.
He barely registered the awkward explanation that followed. A fair lady was a treasure many would covet; Han Lin's interest was hardly surprising.
He dismissed the thought with a shake of his head. For now, a distant Fifth‑Grade Supreme had no reason to spare him a glance.
The atmosphere in the hall gradually rose toward a peak.
Clang.
A pillar of light shot up from the center of the hall, and a faint bell‑like tone rippled through the air.
Every gaze turned as one.
Within the light floated a white‑robed old man, white‑haired and white‑bearded, his kindly face radiating warmth.
Yet his arrival drew a hush over the crowd, followed by a ripple of awed murmurs.
"So it's Master Xu You himself. As expected of a Heaven‑Rank Auction."
"Indeed. Master Xu is Beiling's foremost auctioneer—he can judge the truth of any treasure with a glance. He doesn't show up for just any event."
"Looks like there will be some true valuables this time."
Lin Langtian listened and raised a brow, studying the old man anew.
"Master Xu You is quite famous in Beiling," Song Yanfei said quietly. "Beyond his discerning eye, his own cultivation stands at Third‑Grade Supreme. He's highly respected."
"Impressive," Lin Langtian murmured.
To think a mere auctioneer would stand nearly equal to the strongest beings of the Tianxuan Continent.
Xu You's status here was clearly anything but ordinary.
He let his gaze sweep the hall, eyes pausing briefly on each box, before cupping his hands with a genial smile. "Thank you all for coming. Let us begin.
"As you know, each Heaven‑Rank Auction offers only ten items. But I trust their quality will satisfy everyone."
The faint pride in his voice drew no complaints. All here knew the rules.
"Oh? Interesting," Lin Langtian said with a small smile.
Ten items only? Then each would certainly be worth the journey.
He leaned back slightly, curious to see what treasures the Ten Thousand Merchants considered worthy of such a stage.
Under a thousand expectant stares, Xu You raised his hand. A sphere of light blossomed in his palm.
Within it, a blue longsword turned slowly. Under the bright lamps, its blade gleamed with an icy sheen, ripples of power sliding along its edge.
"This is the Cold Edge Sword, a low‑grade divine artifact," Xu You announced. "Forged by a master smith from a fallen meteorite, its maximum output can threaten even Fourth‑ and Fifth‑Grade Supremes."
"The starting bid is two thousand drops of Sovereign Spiritual Liquid."
The hall erupted.
An offensive divine artifact as the very first item. Low‑grade it might be, but the sheer killing power it promised made many hearts race.
With a weapon like that, one misstep might be all it took to kill across realms.
Two thousand drops was more than many here had in their possession—but still, not out of reach.
Lin Langtian's eyes lingered on the sword. If he had wielded such a blade back then, the Demonic Emperor might indeed have met his end in a single stroke.
But the price—and the inevitable climb from there—made him set the thought aside.
His resources were nowhere near unlimited. He would have to save them for what truly mattered.
"Two thousand one hundred!"
"Two thousand two hundred and fifty!"
"Two thousand four hundred and fifty!"
Bids flew thick and fast, and in little more than a minute, the price had leapt from two thousand to three thousand.
Only then did the voices begin to thin.
After all, three thousand drops were no small sum. Even a Fifth‑Grade Supreme would need nearly half a year of ceaseless effort to refine so much liquid.
In the end, the Cold Edge Sword went for three thousand three hundred drops to a gaunt middle‑aged man with the look of a swordsman.
Lin Langtian could only nod inwardly. The trip had already been worth its time; the treasures here more than lived up to their billing.
"The second item," Xu You said, as another light orb rose.
Within, a stream of liquid glowed a molten red.
It seethed like lava, flames flickering across its surface, waves of heat spilling out to raise the temperature of the entire hall.
"This is Heavenly Flame Phoenix Marrow," Xu You declared. "When a Heavenly Flame Spirit Phoenix from the Divine Beast Continent falls, the essence of its body condenses in its bones. From that essence, this marrow is born.
"For those who cultivate fire‑attribute arts—or whose bodies carry phoenix blood—it has extraordinary effects.
"The starting bid is one thousand five hundred drops of Sovereign Spiritual Liquid."
Dozens of gazes locked onto the blazing liquid.
Its uses were specialized, but its value was beyond question. For one who needed it, there were few alternatives.
Lin Langtian's interest flickered only briefly before his eyes moved on.
"Lin Langtian, I need that," Aunt Ling's voice cut through his thoughts, bright with excitement.
"Oh? The Heavenly Flame Phoenix Marrow…" he murmured.
He did not hesitate.
After all the help she had given him, how could he refuse her such a thing?
The marrow held both fire and phoenix elements—the perfect tonic for a being of the Nine Nether Flame Sparrow Clan.
Ever since reaching the Great Thousand World, he had often pressed Aunt Ling for news of her people. But the world was vast; even she had yet to locate the Nine Nether clan.
Until he was strong enough to safely cross to the Nine Nether Continent and knock on their door himself, they could only take it step by step.
"One thousand six hundred!"
"One thousand eight hundred!"
Within moments, the bids pushed the price past two thousand one hundred.
The marrow might have limited use, but it was still a rare treasure. Plenty of people wanted it.
Lin Langtian's fingers tapped lightly on the armrest as he studied the bidders. None of them bore the look of truly great factions.
Their cautious, incremental bids were proof enough. The wealthy did not haggle in such small steps.
That realization let him relax a little.
After several minutes, the bidding slowed and finally settled at two thousand six hundred drops.
Xu You scanned the hall one last time, about to declare the winner, when another voice rang out.
"Three thousand," Lin Langtian said calmly.
The man who had held the lead scowled, then sighed and fell silent. That price was beyond his planned limit.
Xu You's sleeve flicked, and another bell‑tone rolled through the arena.
The Heavenly Flame Phoenix Marrow had found its buyer.
(END CHAPTER)
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