The bidding for the Dao Source Fruit was extraordinarily fierce. At the start, even Void King realm cultivators managed to place bids, but as the price climbed, the Void King realm cultivators were essentially shut out entirely. Those still qualified to bid were all Dao Source realm powerhouses.
While calling out their bids, each of them was also engaging in open and covert battles of their own—streams of divine sense clashing and intertwining above the auction hall. Every so often, a muffled grunt could be heard drifting from one of the private boxes, indicating that someone had taken a slight hit in the clash of spiritual forces.
The drunk auctioneer, Old Weng, seemed to have long anticipated this and paid no attention to any of it. The City Lord's Mansion, for its part, also sent no one to intervene, allowing the powerhouses to fight it out to their hearts' content.
As one staggering price after another was called out, the atmosphere in the auction hall reached a fever pitch, leaving the cultivators seated in the main hall utterly dumbfounded.
Yang Kai truly gained a new appreciation for the sheer depth of resources these powerhouses could command, backed as they were by their families and sects.
This particular auction lasted a full hour and a half before the Dao Source Fruit was finally won by a Dao Source realm cultivator in Box Jiazi for a staggering eleven million.
Eleven million—in the entire Star Boundary, even second- or third-tier sects might not be able to produce such a sum on short notice. But if it could help produce several Dao Source realm cultivators and elevate the overall strength of a sect, it was still a worthwhile investment.
With that, the auction was officially concluded.
Yang Kai left alongside Kang Siran, and the crowd of cultivators filed out of the auction hall with excitement still written on their faces, gathering in small groups to discuss what they had witnessed.
"Brother Yang, give me a few days to make some preparations, and then we'll set out for that place. I hope it… won't disappoint us."
Once they reached a secluded spot, Kang Siran lowered his voice and spoke to Yang Kai.
Yang Kai naturally knew exactly which place he was referring to. He nodded. "Very well. I'll be waiting for your word, Brother Kang."
"Then I'll take my leave for now." Kang Siran clasped his fists in farewell and turned to walk away.
After he departed, Yang Kai also turned and headed in a different direction.
A short while later, he entered a street and casually stepped into a tavern. He ordered some wine and dishes, took a seat by the window, and began eating and drinking.
The reason he hadn't returned to his own cave dwelling right away was, of course, because he needed to keep track of Liu Yan. He couldn't make a move inside Fenglin City—he would have to wait until the Fei Sheng Palace group left the city limits.
Fei Sheng Palace was a fairly significant power in the Southern Region. The reason they had come to a small place like Fenglin City was, naturally, because of the phoenix sighting some time back. After that, the opening of the Five-Colored Pagoda and the announcement of the auction had further delayed their departure, keeping the entire group stranded in Fenglin City.
But Yang Kai figured they wouldn't linger much longer, so he simply waited for the right opportunity.
He hadn't expected that the wait would stretch to two full days.
During that time, the Fei Sheng Palace contingent had remained lodged in an inn without once venturing out. Yang Kai could vaguely sense Liu Yan's aura, so he wasn't worried about losing track of her—nor was he concerned about being detected by Liu Yizhi, the Dao Source realm second-stage expert.
He quietly surmised that the reason Fei Sheng Palace was lingering in Fenglin City might be because Ning Yuancheng was trying to subdue Liu Yan!
His guess was entirely correct.
At that very moment, inside a superior room at the inn, Ning Yuancheng was staring at the circular basin in his hands with an expression of pure irritation. As he performed a series of hand seals, the shape of a fiery red exotic bird immediately materialized within the basin.
And Liu Yizhi stood guard beside Ning Yuancheng as always, seemingly having never once left his side.
"What a wretched creature!" Ning Yuancheng had clearly lost all patience. He was practically screaming as he snarled at Liu Yan: "Show me your human form already! Don't think that playing dumb means I don't know you're perfectly intelligent. You can understand every word I say, I'm certain of it."
Liu Yan, who had been placed under numerous restrictions, simply flapped her wings and hovered quietly in midair, neither crying out nor making a fuss.
Then, in a moment when Ning Yuancheng's attention wavered, she suddenly opened her beak and a ball of fire tinged with arcs of purple lightning shot directly at him without warning.
This seemed to have happened many times before, because Ning Yuancheng showed no surprise whatsoever. He didn't even bother to dodge. Instead, Liu Yizhi, who had been standing nearby all along, casually waved his hand. The power of law surged forth, and the bolt of lightning fire vanished without a trace.
"Heh heh, quite the temper. Fine, I happen to like ones like you. Since you refuse to reveal your human form, don't blame me for being heartless. Steward Liu, make preparations—we're heading back to the Holy Palace!"
Standing nearby, Liu Yizhi's face lit up with joy. "Young Palace Master, we're leaving?"
"That's right. I've tried for two days now and still can't get this wretched thing to behave. Staying any longer is pointless. Let's return to the Holy Palace first. Once Father takes action himself, what reason would we have to worry about this creature not cooperating?" Ning Yuancheng let out a cold snort and shifted the hand seals again. Restrictive force emanated from the basin, pulling Liu Yan back inside.
Half an hour later, the Fei Sheng Palace group checked out of their rooms, donned some casual disguises, and strolled unhurriedly toward the city gates.
In the same inn, inside a side room, Yang Kai—who had been meditating—suddenly opened his eyes and let out a soft breath. "Finally leaving, are they?"
If the Fei Sheng Palace people didn't leave soon, he was really going to start worrying. He had already promised Kang Siran that they would set out for that cave dwelling in a few days, and a scheduling conflict would be a real nuisance.
It wasn't exactly a major problem—he could always give Kang Siran some explanation—but breaking one's word was never a good thing.