Chapter 1411: Ancient City of the Eastern Wilderness

The night passed quietly. As dawn broke, Ye Chen descended before an ancient city.

This ancient city was incredibly vast, comparable to Tianque Diwang Cheng. Its location was incredibly strategic, with a Nine Dragons Serving the Heavens formation absorbing the essence of the heavens and earth.

This was Donghuang Gucheng, the second-largest city in the Eastern Wasteland region, after Tianque Diwang Cheng.

Standing at the base of the city walls, Ye Chen felt like an ant. He was overwhelmed by the city's majestic presence. It was incredibly ancient, every brick and tile carrying the weight of time.

It truly resembled a celestial city on earth, shrouded in misty clouds that made it seem ethereal and distant, glowing with radiant immortal light. It had witnessed the changing seas and lands, and through those changes, it had settled like the ages themselves.

"This place is so massive; there must be quite a few reincarnated individuals here." Ye Chen thought to himself as he prepared to step inside.

"Halt." A guard at the gate spoke sharply. He was a young man in purple-gold armor, with a dignified bearing and peak Huang Jing cultivation, like a general from the mortal world.

"Why are you stopping me, my friend?" Ye Chen raised an eyebrow and looked at the young man.

"Pay the fee," the guard replied coolly, his expression cold and impassive.

"You're kidding!" Ye Chen was taken aback and glanced around. "You have to pay to enter the city?"

"During the Donghuang Gucheng auction, everyone entering must pay a fee in Yuan Shi," the guard spoke flatly. "It's the rule, and I hope you won't make things difficult for me."

"The Donghuang Gucheng auction." Ye Chen muttered to himself, finally understanding why Yin Zhong had traveled so far—likely to attend the auction. Unfortunately, he had run into Ye Chen along the way, missing the event entirely and losing his life in the process.

"If you're entering, you need to pay ten thousand Yuan Shi," the guard said again.

"Your master sure knows how to make money." Ye Chen grimaced but handed over a storage bag containing ten thousand Yuan Shi. He wasn't short on funds, but money didn't grow on trees.

After receiving the Yuan Shi, the guard stepped aside without another word. From start to finish, he said little, which reminded Ye Chen a bit of Dugu Ao—though unfortunately, this guard wasn't Dugu Ao's reincarnation.

Ye Chen entered the ancient city and looked around. Donghuang Gucheng was even more impressive than he had imagined, with mountains, rivers, and forests; towering peaks and rugged terrain, all exuding grandeur.

As for the palaces and immortal pavilions, many hovered in the air, draped in divine radiance.

Like Tianque Diwang Cheng, Donghuang Gucheng was enveloped by a mysterious force.

Ye Chen subtly activated his Xian Yan and gazed into the distant void, as if he could pierce through the misty clouds to see a silver Xian Jian—or more precisely, a broken silver sword.

It was a terrifying Di Bing, its pressure dominating the heavens and earth. Even his Six Paths Xian Yan felt suppressed, and Ye Chen was certain that if he tried to use the Heavenly Dao here, he would be crushed to dust.

However, he was puzzled. Why was this Di Bing damaged? Strangely, even in its broken state, its imperial might was no weaker than the imperial seal of Tianque Diwang Cheng.

Slowly retracting his gaze, he stopped focusing on the Di Bing and instead used his Zhou Tian evolution technique to make some calculations in secret.

As he calculated, his eyes lit up. There were reincarnated individuals in Donghuang Gucheng—three of them: two men and one woman. And the woman was someone he knew very well.

Without delay, he set off toward the city center, walking along and feeling surprised by what he saw.

The vast Donghuang Gucheng had eerily few people on the streets, with barely any stalls in sight. Only small groups wandered around the few stalls that existed.

He could easily guess the reason: with the auction underway, most people in the city had gone to hunt for treasures. This showed just how immense the auction's influence was.

As he walked, he stopped in front of a grand pavilion called Xian Que. From the outside, it looked majestic, and inside, the space was even vaster—an entire world of its own.

Just as he thought, everyone in the city had gathered here. As far as the eye could see, there were throngs of people, numbering over a million. It was his first time witnessing an auction of this magnitude.

The treasures up for bid must have been extremely valuable, as no one paid much attention to his arrival. All eyes were fixed on the divine pearl held by the white-haired elder on the central cloud platform.

Ye Chen cleared his throat awkwardly and found a spot in the corner to sit down. He hadn't come to join the excitement; he was here because the three reincarnated individuals were in this Xian Que.

No sooner had he sat down than he glanced toward the east, spotting a purple-haired young man in the crowd. He was a Da Chu reincarnate, a former Yanhuang disciple, and Ye Chen had crossed paths with him once.

Then, he looked west, his gaze settling on a bald old man. He was another reincarnate, a disciple from the Da Chu imperial clan—nothing particularly remarkable about him.

These two were quite the characters: one was guzzling from a wine jug without a care, and the other was devouring food from a jade plate without shame. They seemed less like auction attendees and more like freeloaders.

"They've got that Da Chu spirit about them." Ye Chen remarked meaningfully, then lifted his head slightly toward the second floor, where the third reincarnate was—a woman in white.

Perhaps sensing the scrutiny, the woman in white lowered her eyes and looked toward Ye Chen. Their gazes met, and she furrowed her brows slightly, a sense of familiarity washing over her.

"The snow of the mortal world, dancing for whom? Zhong Xiao, I hope you've been well." Ye Chen smiled.

His smile carried a touch of melancholy and the weight of time. Looking at her, he couldn't help but recall over two hundred years ago on the walls of Nan Chu City, where a peerlessly elegant woman had transformed into fluttering red snow.

In that instant, past and present blurred; in that instant, over two hundred years had passed. She was as stunning as in her previous life, graceful as snow. Time couldn't hide her sorrowful beauty, nor could the ages dim her splendor.

Being stared at like this left the reincarnated Hongchen Xue feeling disoriented. Even though Ye Chen wore a mask, those eyes seemed familiar, stirring her soul.

"Bi Yao, what are you looking at?" A voice like a warm laugh sounded beside her as a red-haired young man approached, fanning himself. His smile was insincere, laced with mockery and amusement.

The reincarnated Hongchen Xue's thoughts were interrupted, and she withdrew her gaze from Ye Chen's direction. She didn't respond to the red-haired young man, her beautiful eyes cold and still as water, without a ripple.

Her indifference darkened the red-haired young man's expression slightly, and his slender eyes narrowed for a moment. But in the next instant, he suppressed his dissatisfaction, his lips curving almost imperceptibly. "One day, you'll kneel beneath me."

Down below, Ye Chen also withdrew his gaze and got up, heading first to the east and then to the west. He brought the two Da Chu reincarnates—who were still drinking and eating—to his side.

"I was enjoying my drink; why drag me over here?" The purple-haired young man grumbled, his face flushed.

"There's wine here too—help yourself." Ye Chen pulled out a large wine jar.

"Hey, you know how to treat a guest." The purple-haired young man grinned and didn't stand on ceremony, hugging the jar and chugging away. Ye Chen couldn't help but twitch his mouth at the sight—this guy could hold his liquor.

As for the bald old man beside him, he didn't even need prompting and started eating on his own, clearing the snacks and spirit fruits on the jade table without leaving a crumb. He muttered while chewing, "I paid ten thousand Yuan Shi to get in; I won't let it go to waste."

"You two are a real handful." Ye Chen clicked his tongue, not bothering to stop them. "Eat and drink all you want, but don't wander off. I don't want to turn around and lose you."

"Have we met somewhere before?" The purple-haired young man set down the wine jar, and the bald old man put down his plate. Both stroked their chins and scrutinized Ye Chen. "And you're wearing a mask."

"We have," Ye Chen replied casually, his deep eyes scanning the surroundings. There were many people here, and quite a few experts—though no Zhun Di, there were plenty of Da Sheng and Sheng Wang.

As he looked around, he spotted several familiar faces, like the divine sons of the Shen Clan, Yao Clan, and Feng Huang Clan, even the Tian Fa Shen Zi and Yu Hua Shen Zi.

It was a good thing Ye Chen was wearing a mask and had concealed his aura with the Zhou Tian secret technique; otherwise, the auction would have turned even more chaotic. With those five troublemakers around, a fight would likely break out on the spot.

While he surveyed the area, the bidding for the divine pearl had ended. It was won by a black-robed elder for ten million Yuan Shi, drawing fierce glares from many old timers.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, the white-haired elder presiding over the auction brought out another item: a suit of golden armor. "This is the Seven Seas Jiao Long Armor, forged from golden immortal iron. Starting bid: five hundred thousand Yuan Shi."

"Golden immortal iron! And they're auctioning it off." The purple-haired young man and the bald old man next to Ye Chen both perked up, their eyes gleaming at the golden armor.

"Donghuang Gucheng is incredibly wealthy." Even Ye Chen was impressed.

"This armor is mine; I hope my fellow daoists will give me face." A booming voice echoed through the auction hall, from a black-haired elder—a genuine Da Sheng.

"I want it too; why not give me face instead?" Another eerie laugh rang out, from a dwarf elder, also a Da Sheng, his eyes full of defiance.

"Dao Cang, are you tired of living?" The black-haired elder snorted coldly, a hint of killing intent in his voice.

"What a bold claim," the dwarf elder called Dao Cang shot back with his own killing intent, facing off against the black-haired elder. The tension was thick, as if a fight could erupt any second.

"Da Sheng sure are bold." Ye Chen watched with idle interest, sensing potential drama.

"Quiet down." The white-haired elder intervened forcefully, his tone stern.

"Hmph." The two Da Sheng backed off, not out of fear of each other, but out of respect for the white-haired elder. This was Donghuang Gucheng, after all; they couldn't cause too much trouble.

"The auction continues; it's to the highest bidder." The white-haired elder suspended the armor in the air.

"Wow, this is so lively!" As soon as he spoke, a clear, cheerful voice rang out, and a little girl bounded into the venue.

"Xi Yan?" Ye Chen, in the corner, suddenly stood up.