Chapter 1181: Star Chart

"With just you?" Ye Chen's words earned him cold sneers from the Hei Bai Laoyu, their eyes filled with contempt. "A cultivator of the Celestial Realm? What a joke. Are all young cultivators this arrogant and conceited these days?"

"The two seniors don't believe me? Then there's nothing I can do." Ye Chen shrugged helplessly.

"You—"

"Back down." Before the Hei Bai Laoyu could finish, Bi You spoke sternly, her tone carrying displeasure.

"We..." Although the Hei Bai Laoyu wanted to say more, they swallowed their words. The goddess's command could not be disobeyed. Each performed a respectful bow and turned to leave the private room.

It was noteworthy that both the one in black robes and the one in white robes cast a meaningful glance at Ye Chen before departing.

Their intuition told them that this Celestial Realm cultivator in the private room—who had captured their goddess's affection and made the Gui Huang Shenzi and Hua Tian spit blood in anger—was far from as simple as he appeared.

Once they had left, Bi You turned to Ye Chen with an apologetic expression. "My two wet nurses spoke a bit harshly. I hope you don't take it to heart."

"I'm not the petty type. Here, let me show you someone." Ye Chen said, pointing downward toward the crowd of over ten thousand bidders. His gaze settled on the female-disguised-as-male scholar.

"She must be in disguise as a man." Bi You murmured softly, looking at Ye Chen. "Do you know her?"

"Of course I do." Ye Chen smiled mysteriously. "You've probably seen her before. Once you see her true face, you'll be shocked for sure."

"You're being so mysterious."

"The Xingkong Tu is up for auction." Ye Chen said, his eyes lighting up as he fixed his gaze on the scroll that Chang Shan Zhenren was slowly unrolling below. It was a star map.

Like him, everyone below sat up straight, especially the Zhusheng, whose eyes burned with intense light.

The Zhutian Wanyu was vast beyond measure, and the Xingkong Tu served as a guide. With it, one was unlikely to get lost in the stars—a supreme treasure for cultivators, rarely ever put up for sale.

Under the watchful eyes of all, Chang Shan Zhenren suspended the unrolled Xingkong Tu in midair.

"It's so large." Voices of astonishment rose from below, even from the Zhusheng.

"It covers at least three Xingyu."

"I've been cultivating for over two thousand years and have never seen a Xingkong Tu this big."

"Putting something like this up for auction— Tianfu Shen Chao is truly bold."

"That mysterious force is incredibly generous." In the private room, Bi You sighed in admiration. "Even Lingxiao Gong doesn't have a Xingkong Tu this massive. It's a supreme treasure."

"I'd better go down and bid on this Xingkong Tu myself." Ye Chen said, turning to head outside.

Bi You didn't stop him, fully understanding his intention.

A Xingkong Tu covering three Xingyu was an extraordinary item, enough to drive major forces mad. If Ye Chen bid on it from the Lingxiao Gong private room, it would likely bring great trouble to Lingxiao Gong.

Bidding from below was much safer.

Down there, Ye Chen wouldn't need to reveal his identity. Even if he won the Xingkong Tu, no one would know who he was.

By the time Ye Chen exited the private room, he was blocked by the Hei Bai Laoyu, who unleashed the powerful pressure of a Zhusheng. "Once you're out, don't bother coming back. Otherwise, you'll know the consequences."

"Are you two seniors trying to intimidate this junior?" Ye Chen smiled slightly, not getting angry. Though the Hei Bai Laoyu's words were harsh, their loyalty to Bi You was commendable, which pleased him.

"It's not intimidation—it's a warning." The Hei Bai Laoyu snorted coldly again.

"I understand, I understand." Ye Chen chuckled and walked away. After a few steps, he cloaked himself in a black robe, concealing his appearance, aura, and bloodline with Zhou Tian Yanhua.

"Five million!"

"Five million five hundred thousand!"

"I'll bid six million!"

When Ye Chen descended, the auction was fiercely competitive, with bids roaring like ocean waves, each one higher than the last.

Perhaps the Xingkong Tu was too captivating, drawing everyone's attention, so no one noticed Ye Chen's arrival—which was exactly what he wanted.

Returning to his corner seat, Yan Laodao immediately turned his head and looked him over. "I say, you took forever to take a piss! How long were you holding it in?"

"I've been holding it for a while." Ye Chen replied casually, his eyes fixed on the Xingkong Tu.

"Tianfu Shen Chao is really going all out, auctioning something like this." Yan Laodao glanced at it too, shaking his head in amazement. "After this auction, there'll be bloodshed in the stars for sure. Whoever wins that Xingkong Tu will probably get ganged up on from all sides."

"Then you'd better stay far away from me. If I get mobbed, you might get dragged in too."

"Don't scare me—I'm faint-hearted."

"One thousand times while I'm at it." As they spoke, the Xingkong Tu's price had already reached ten million, bid by a figure in black robes whose voice suggested an elderly senior.

"Eleven million!"

"Twelve million!"

"I'll bid thirteen million—who's got the guts to raise it?"

But in the next second, his words were drowned out by bids from all directions. Each new price was like a slap across the face.

The bidder quieted down, sitting obediently in his seat. His attempt at bravado lasted less than three seconds—quite embarrassing.

The frenzied bidding pushed the Xingkong Tu's price up to thirty million.

The cultivators with lower cultivation levels simply became spectators, including many Zhusheng, all sighing in awe.

They had thought only Gui Huang Zong, Tianfu Shen Chao, and Lingxiao Gong had such vast wealth, but the auction house turned out to be full of hidden dragons and crouching tigers, each more astonishing than the last.

Amid the sighs, many glanced toward the private rooms of Gui Huang Zong, Lingxiao Gong, and Tianfu Shen Chao.

Plenty of people wore strange expressions.

Earlier, the three factions had been fiercely competing over a pile of less valuable treasures, but now, with the Xingkong Tu on the line, they had all gone silent.

Of course, some sharp-eyed individuals saw through it. Even with the three factions' deep resources, they wouldn't dare bid openly. The Xingkong Tu was too significant and would likely invite disaster.

Ye Chen frowned, scanning the room, his expression growing more serious.

Though his Xianlun Yan was sealed, his vision remained sharp. He could see that there were Sheng in the auction house—and more than one.

"Fifty million!"

In the heated bidding, an ethereal voice boomed like thunder, silencing the entire auction house.

The bidder was a hunched old woman in the corner, but her true form was that of a withered old man with an extremely concealed aura. His bid was extraordinarily bold, drawing everyone's gaze.

"Fifty-five million!"

In the silence, another voice spoke up, from a white-haired elder in another corner.

"Sixty million!"

After the white-haired elder, another voice rang out from a different side—it came from a three-eyed youth with a face like polished jade, also in disguise. Even Ye Chen and the other Zhusheng present couldn't see through it.

The room erupted again, with bids rising by five hundred thousand at a time. It was obvious to anyone that these three weren't ordinary people—likely elders or ancestors from Tianfu Shen Chao, Gui Huang Zong, and Lingxiao Gong.

After the three-eyed youth's bid, no one raised the price for a long time.

Where's the pit master?

Amid the commotion, many eyes turned toward the Lingxiao Gong private room. With the bidding so intense, why hadn't the pit master joined in?

He must have come down already!

People looked around, wondering where the pit master was hiding, ready to spring a trap.

Seeing this, Chang Shan Zhenren on stage surveyed the room. "Sixty million—any higher bids?"

"Sixty-one million." Ye Chen spoke up, drawing all eyes to him.

"I'm off to take a piss." Yan Laodao didn't hesitate—he bolted faster than a rabbit. If Ye Chen accidentally won the Xingkong Tu and got mobbed, as his neighbor, he might get caught up in it too. Better safe than sorry.