At this very moment, inside Chamber Two of the Jiazi tier, Zi Wuji sat with a dark expression, his gaze fixed in the direction of Gongsun Liang. One hand gripped the armrest of his chair, and the sandalwood handle had already been crushed to powder beneath his fingers.
Standing beside him, Ji Jun wore a look of equal fury, his face twisted with rage.
"Second Young Master, that old bastard is doing this on purpose!" Ji Jun shouted indignantly.
"Do I look like an idiot? You think I don't know that?" Zi Wuji said through gritted teeth. "I should have realized — a man like him suddenly showing up at the Tongtian Auction House? He came here just to screw with me. That old bastard really has nothing better to do."
Ji Jun's face turned cold. "He must be terrified of you growing too powerful, Second Young Master. That's why he's resorting to such underhanded tactics to obstruct you."
"One day, I'll make him pay for this," Zi Wuji swore under his breath.
Five hundred million had already exceeded his expectations. Though he was the second young master of Purple Star, he had spent years keeping a low profile and biding his time, which meant he lacked real financial muscle. Every resource within Purple Star had been funneled toward his elder brother, Zi Donglai.
If it hadn't been for the fact that both Zi Long and Zi Donglai had vanished without a trace over the past two years, he would never have stepped into the spotlight — he would have continued hiding in the shadows.
To compete against Gongsun Liang, strength was essential. That made this Void King Pill absolutely critical to him. If he could use the pill to break through to the Void King realm in a short span of time, it would give him a far stronger hand to play.
A Void King Pill — even he couldn't obtain one easily.
After a moment of deliberation, Zi Wuji did not back down. Instead, he steeled himself and called out, "Six hundred million!"
Six hundred million Saint Crystals was his absolute limit — the most he could scrape together at this point. If Gongsun Liang bid any higher, he would have no choice but to swallow his pride and give up.
Sure enough, Gongsun Liang had no intention of saving him face. In a leisurely tone, he countered: "One billion!"
The way he said it, as though he were calling out ten thousand rather than a billion, was maddeningly casual.
The moment those words left his mouth, every face in the auction hall shifted. Even Li Nuo, who had been standing on the auction stage wearing her usual serene smile, couldn't help but furrow her delicate brows. A vague sense of unease stirred within her.
"One… one billion?!" warriors in the crowd gasped. "No way — did I hear that right? The Grand Elder just bid one billion?"
"I thought I was imagining things too. How could the price possibly go that high?"
"Right, the Void King Pill is precious, no doubt, but a billion? That's absurd. Last time the Rongyuan Auction House sold one, it only went for five hundred and eighty million."
"As expected of the Grand Elder — with wealth like his, a billion is nothing!"
The crowd buzzed with speculation, though there were sharp-minded individuals among them who sensed something was off.
Gongsun Liang's wild escalation was clearly aimed at the person in Chamber Two of the Jiazi tier. But even in a bidding war, who would toss around hundreds of millions of Saint Crystals as if they were nothing?
"Gongsun Liang, are you deliberately causing trouble?" In Chamber Two, Ji Jun could no longer contain himself and let out an angry shout.
Boom —
The hall erupted once more, every head turning toward Chamber Two in shock. Who inside had the audacity to address the Grand Elder by name?
What had begun as a routine auction had, through these successive disruptions, become a storm of brewing tension. A dangerous aura now permeated the entire auction hall.
On stage, sweat beaded in Li Nuo's palms, and a flicker of unease was visible in her beautiful eyes.
To everyone's surprise, Gongsun Liang did not grow angry. Instead, he chuckled amiably. "Ji Jun, what exactly do you mean by that? This Elder has taken a fancy to this Void King Pill and placed a bid — is there something improper about that?"
"You know perfectly well what's improper about it," Ji Jun snorted coldly. "Even if you are Purple Star's Grand Elder, you can't just throw around a billion Saint Crystals without consequence. Fine — you've made your bid. Now I'd like to see how you plan to pay for it. Miss Li Nuo, I suspect Gongsun Liang is bidding recklessly and has no ability whatsoever to honor a bid of one billion Saint Crystals. If you don't believe me, you're welcome to verify it yourself."
"This…" Li Nuo's expression wavered. Verify whether Gongsun Liang could produce a billion Saint Crystals? That was practically a death sentence to ask!
Regardless of whether he could actually pay, Gongsun Liang's bid had already been placed. The pill was his. Even if the Tongtian Auction House took a loss, they would have to swallow it without complaint.
"Ridiculous — how dare you question the Grand Elder's credibility! Ji Jun, you're digging your own grave!" The voice that rang out did not come from Gongsun Liang himself but from another person inside Chamber One.
Yang Kai's expression shifted slightly. He recognized the speaker immediately — it was Jiang Changfeng, the Eighth Elder, the same man who had previously visited the Five Directions Trading Company.
"The truth speaks for itself," Ji Jun pressed on without yielding. "If the Grand Elder truly has the means to pay one billion Saint Crystals, then I will naturally have nothing more to say."
"Ji Jun, you are far too presumptuous!" Jiang Changfeng roared. A violent surge of Saint Yuan erupted from within Chamber One, the force of it making the very air tremble — as though a full-blown fight was only a single word away.
The warriors in the hall scrambled in panic, their faces going pale with fear.
If these two truly came to blows, they would be caught in the crossfire. The aftermath of a battle between Void King realm experts was not something ordinary cultivators could hope to survive.
"There's no need to stoop to his level, Eighth Elder." Gongsun Liang chuckled lightly. "Since he wants verification, then let us verify. Miss Li Nuo, please bring the pill over here."
"Yes." At his words, Li Nuo stepped forward and glided gracefully toward Chamber One.
Moments later, she entered the room, a smile on her face, and placed the jade vial before Gongsun Liang. "Grand Elder, this is the pill you won."
"Mm." Gongsun Liang gave a slight nod, not even bothering to glance at Li Nuo.