A wave of pure fragrance immediately surged forth from the crack, flooding every corner of the plaza in the blink of an eye.
The moment the alien cultivators caught a whiff, they all felt an immense sense of comfort spread through their bodies.
"Spiritual medicine! The final auction item is actually a medicinal treasure!"
Nearly every person in the crowd thought the same, and their spirits surged with anticipation.
Spiritual medicine was different from the magical artifacts and cultivation techniques that had come before — it was something everyone could make use of. As the final, show-stopping item of the auction, it naturally had to be something truly extraordinary, and so expectations ran high.
Hu Yushuang's slender hands blurred as she plunged them into the crack and withdrew a palm-sized silver alabaster bowl.
The wondrous fragrance was emanating from within this very bowl.
Most of the alien cultivators gasped in astonishment.
"I imagine many of you are quite curious about what's inside. In that case, allow me to give everyone a first look." Hu Yushuang smiled, then tossed the bowl into the air before her, where it hovered in empty space. Her hands blurred as she formed a series of hand seals, flicking one spiritual incantation after another toward it.
With a series of soft pops, the bowl erupted with dazzling spiritual radiance. A layer of crystalline light flowed across its surface, and it suddenly became utterly transparent, revealing everything within with perfect clarity.
Gasps erupted from every corner of the plaza!
Inside the now-transparent bowl, filled with an unknown clear liquid, a gleaming golden dragon with five claws swam back and forth.
The golden dragon was only several inches long, yet it possessed all five claws on its feet, every scale on its body clearly distinguishable, and four slender whiskers swaying gently before its mouth — it was identical in every way to the legendary True Spirit Heavenly Dragon.
"A descendant of the Heavenly Dragons! Daoist Hu, have you gone mad? You actually captured a descendant of the Heavenly Dragons and dare to auction it off directly!"
"If the Dragon Clan truly sends a True Spirit here in response, the Wind Source Continent — no, the entire Spirit Realm will be in enormous trouble! This is no joke!"
"I recall that similar incidents have occurred in other planes before, where direct descendants of the Heavenly Dragons were stolen. Some smaller planes were annihilated outright by the Dragon Clan. Even larger planes suffered devastating losses from the Dragon Clan's retaliation."
Once the initial shock subsided, the entire plaza erupted into chaos. Numerous alien cultivators shot to their feet in terror, glaring at the miniature golden dragon in the bowl as though it were a venomous scorpion. Some began to interrogate Hu Yushuang without restraint.
The Mahayana elders in the floating chambers were equally horrified, yet for some unknown reason, they maintained their silence.
The beautiful woman had kept a smile on her face throughout, but the moment she saw the plaza spiraling toward disorder, her elegant brows furrowed slightly.
"Silence!"
At that moment, the thin and gaunt Elder of the Trade Alliance, seated at the corner of the stone platform, suddenly opened his eyes and spoke coldly.
His voice was not particularly loud, yet it somehow rang out clearly and coldly in every person's ears at once.
The agitated alien cultivators were immediately doused as if with a bucket of cold water, and their senses returned to them. Only then did they remember that they were within the Trade Alliance's territory, and that several Mahayana patriarchs were presiding over the proceedings.
Those who had risen to their feet shuddered and sheepishly sat back down. Those who had been shouting immediately lowered their heads and fell silent, every one of them suddenly meek and obedient.
"Daoist Jia, what exactly is going on? This old woman does not believe that your Trade Alliance would truly go so far as to kidnap a descendant of the Heavenly Dragons. But then what is this golden dragon? Don't tell us it has no relation to the Heavenly Dragon lineage — unlike the others, we old folk can clearly sense the aura of a true dragon on it." The female Mahayana elder of the Tianming race was the first to speak, but this time she addressed not Hu Yushuang but the thin Elder who had spoken earlier.
"Indeed, this matter is no small thing. Your Alliance owes us an explanation." Another Mahayana elder, a stranger among the alien cultivators, spoke up for the first time.
Hu Yushuang's expression shifted subtly upon hearing these words, and she opened her mouth to offer some explanation.
But the thin Trade Alliance Elder waved his hand dismissively, a strange look crossing his face.
"Explanation? Take another few good looks at what you believe to be a descendant of the Heavenly Dragons, and you'll understand what this is all about."
Having said this, the gaunt old man closed his eyes once more and paid no further attention to anyone.
This, naturally, set off another wave of commotion.
Whether the ordinary alien cultivators in the plaza or the Mahayana existences in the floating chambers, all looked again with bewilderment at the miniature golden dragon in the bowl. Dense waves of spiritual sense swept toward it from every direction.
Han Li narrowed his eyes slightly as well, and a piercing blue light flickered within his pupils.
"Oh? This thing's true form is actually...?" A flash of surprise crossed Han Li's face as his thoughts raced.
Han Li was not alone — among the other Mahayana patriarchs, there were those who possessed spiritual eyes or were adept at other bizarre secret techniques.
Several exclamations of astonishment rang out almost simultaneously.
"This golden dragon is actually a spiritual object that has taken on a true form! Truly unbelievable — but how can it possess such powerful true dragon aura?"
"Tsk tsk, I can also see now that this is a shape-shifted spiritual object, but I still cannot discern its original form. Has any fellow daoist managed it?"
"Indeed — a spiritual object capable of assuming the shape of a Heavenly Dragon must be something truly extraordinary!"