As for why the Treasure Pavilion had gone out of its way to send him an invitation, that wasn't hard to figure out.
After all, a few years ago at that auction, every single headline item had been something he'd contributed. Others might not know about this, but the Treasure Pavilion certainly would. Besides, given the financial strength Dragon Cave Mountain had recently shown, it was fully qualified to attend.
"This invitation was personally handed to Elder Qian by Old Mr. Yan Pei, with instructions that I pass it along to you, Brother Yang. If you've got the time, why not take a look?" Wei Guchang said with a chuckle.
Hearing the name Yan Pei, Yang Kai immediately recalled a wrinkled old face as black as charcoal. He thought for a moment and asked, "Old Mr. Yan Pei didn't just send you to deliver this invitation, did he? There's something else?"
Wei Guchang rubbed his nose and shook his head with a bitter smile. "Xuan'er, I told you so—Brother Yang is far too shrewd. Even if we didn't bring it up, he'd have figured it out on his own."
Dong Xuan'er, standing off to the side, couldn't help but smile wryly at that.
"Just tell me straight, Brother Wei," Yang Kai said, looking at him. "We're not strangers to each other."
Wei Guchang hesitated briefly, then nodded. "Old Mr. Yan Pei did have a request for me to pass along, and honestly, I didn't originally plan to mention it. But since you've put it that way, I won't beat around the bush. Old Mr. Yan Pei hopes you can provide a few more headline items for the auction!"
"Headline auction items?" Yang Kai was taken aback. He curled his lip. "Does he think my place is some inexhaustible treasure vault? Where would I get that many headline items?"
Wei Guchang shrugged with a helpless expression. Those had, in fact, been Yan Pei's exact words. If Elder Qian didn't have a good relationship with Yan Pei, he wouldn't have agreed to play messenger. Hearing Yang Kai's response, he said breezily, "Then I'll head back and tell Elder Qian there are no treasures to be had here."
"Mm." Yang Kai nodded. Truth be told, he did have quite a few treasures on hand. Putting even a portion of them up for auction would absolutely dominate the proceedings. And even if he came up short, it wouldn't be too late to have Yang Yan whip up a few Void-grade high-quality artifacts.
The Imperial Garden had emerged seemingly from nowhere. Void-grade high-quality artifacts were bound to be in hot demand.
But Yang Kai well knew that the tallest tree catches the most wind. Last time, he'd accidentally put up a few items and watched the various powers across the Dark Star tear each other apart over them. If he did it again this time, certain people would take notice.
He wouldn't even allow Yang Yan to sell artifacts independently—why would he do something as foolish as flaunting his wealth?
"Still, Brother Yang, this auction is genuinely worth attending. You might find something you like," Wei Guchang said with a grin. "The last few pages of your invitation have prints of some of the items that'll be going under the hammer."
"Oh?" Yang Kai's interest was piqued. He flipped to the last few pages and browsed through them. Sure enough, Wei Guchang had been right—those pages bore elegant illustrations along with brief descriptions of the items that would be auctioned off.
There were fine artifacts, pills to enhance one's cultivation, powerful secret techniques, and rare materials that were nearly impossible to find.
Yang Kai scanned through them one by one, inwardly amazed at the Treasure Pavilion's capabilities. This force truly had its own unique strengths. It had only been a few years since their last auction, yet they'd already gathered so many remarkable items. He had no idea what kind of channels they used.
Though the items were impressive, none caught Yang Kai's eye. It wasn't a matter of quality—even if he bought them, they'd be of no use to him. He had no shortage of artifacts, pills, or secret techniques, so his interest in the auction was lukewarm.
But when he turned to the very last page, his expression suddenly froze. He stared at an illustration on the page, and a flash of surprise crossed his eyes, quickly giving way to wild elation.
Though this shift was fleeting, it didn't escape the notice of everyone present. Wei Guchang chuckled. "Looks like Brother Yang really did find something he needs."
"I certainly did—but I didn't expect the Treasure Pavilion could actually produce something like this!" Yang Kai's face was full of astonishment. There was no need to hide anything from these people, so he carefully tucked the invitation away and asked, "When does this auction start?"
"One month from now. Same location as last time. Are you going, Brother Yang?"
"An occasion like this? Naturally, I can't miss it!" Yang Kai said with a grin.
"Then I'll look forward to your company," Wei Guchang said, clearly pleased. He himself would be attending, and having a like-minded friend along would certainly make things less boring.
After that, Wei Guchang and Dong Xuan'er chatted with Yang Kai for quite a while longer.
It had been several years since they'd last met, following Yang Kai's period of seclusion. Moreover, Yang Kai had now reached the third stage of the Saint King Realm and would likely attempt to break through to the Return to Void Realm before long. Wei Guchang and Dong Xuan'er had just gone through that process themselves, and they held nothing back, sharing all of their experience. Yang Kai and Dai Yuan listened with great benefit.
Dai Yuan in particular paid rapt attention, occasionally piping up to ask about things she didn't understand. Wei Guchang and his junior sister explained patiently, without the slightest trace of impatience.
A full half-day later, the two finally took their leave. Before departing, Dong Xuan'er invited Dai Yuan to visit the Shadow Moon Hall, and the latter accepted readily.
After the pair from the Shadow Moon Hall had gone, Yang Kai turned to Dai Yuan with a smile.
She shot him a reproachful look, and that ugly face suddenly began to shift and warp. The next instant, her true appearance was laid bare before Yang Kai's eyes.