Chapter 53 + 54: Invitation from Tianxuan Sect

"I have no need for it, but Hu Wa does!" As he spoke, Ye Chen’s gaze drifted downwards once more.

Compared to the several Xuan techniques auctioned earlier, this Heavenly Gang Stick Array was clearly receiving a frosty reception. Yang Gelao spoke for a long time, yet not a single bid was offered.

On the stage, Yang Gelao's brow furrowed slightly upon seeing the lack of activity below.

"Stick techniques are difficult to cultivate. There's no use for it." Many simply picked up their teacups, uninterested in participating in the auction for the Heavenly Gang Stick Array.

"If it were a sword Xuan technique, we might consider it."

"This is a side art; surely no one would want it!"

Listening to the discussions below, Ye Chen secretly breathed a sigh of relief. At least there were fewer competitors.

"No one desires it, then?" Yang Gelao's gaze swept across the room, and in the end, he couldn't help but voice the question.

Looking down again, some were sipping tea, others were flirting with maidens. As for Yang Gelao's query, it seemed to be treated as if he had merely expelled wind. The meaning was clear: regarding this stick technique, they had no interest whatsoever.

Seeing the situation, while Yang Gelao had braced himself mentally, he still felt exceedingly embarrassed.

"Since no one wants it, then this stick technique shall pass the auction. We shall..."

"I want it! I want it!" Before Yang Gelao could finish his words, Ye Chen hurriedly raised his bid sign. "Senior, thirty-one thousand spirit stones. I claim this Heavenly Gang Stick Array."

Eh?

Ye Chen's voice attracted some attention. They secretly mused that among those who came to participate in the auction, there truly were some who cultivated stick-based Xuan techniques.

Indeed, after Ye Chen's bid, the scene was such that not a single person raised their sign to compete.

Seeing this, Yang Gelao subtly rubbed his eyebrows, then raised the hammer-holding arm, just about to bring it down.

However, before he could strike, an untimely voice from the Zheng Yang Sect's private room on the second floor rang out again. "Forty thousand. My Zheng Yang Sect will take it."

In the corner, listening to Wu Changqing's arrogant words, Ye Chen’s cold gaze shot towards the second-floor private room. "Wu Changqing, it's you again. When no one was bidding before, you didn't want it. Now that this old man has bid, you come running out to snatch it."

"Forty thousand! Is there anyone who will add to the price? If not..."

"One hundred thousand!" Before Yang Gelao could finish his sentence, Ye Chen, from the corner, interrupted him again, and in one breath, raised the price to one hundred thousand spirit stones.

"Someone is snatching things from Wu Changqing again?" The voices below instantly erupted into a clamor.

"Could it be that little fellow from yesterday?"

"I don't think so. The person yesterday wore a ghost-head mask. This one is wearing a wolf-head mask."

Looking again at the private room on the second floor, Wu Changqing's expression had sunken once more.

Yesterday, relying on the might of the Zheng Yang Sect, he had playfully bid on that iron stick, yet he had not anticipated being suppressed by a bid of fifty thousand. His face, and the face of the Zheng Yang Sect, had been utterly lost.

Today, someone was actually snatching things from him again, causing anger to flare within him. Although he had no use for that Heavenly Gang Stick Array, he absolutely would not tolerate anyone challenging his dignity.

"One hundred and fifty thousand," he sternly declared, his heart consumed by this thought.

"Two hundred thousand," the moment his voice fell, Ye Chen from the corner responded.

"Little fellow, don't go to such extremes!" Xiong Er tugged at the corner of Ye Chen's clothes, his other hand still not forgetting to cover his groin. He could tell that Ye Chen was about to borrow spirit stones from him again.

"Have thirty thousand spirit stones ready," Ye Chen glanced at Xiong Er.

"Your grandmother! This old man hasn't even warmed them up yet!" Xiong Er grinned wryly.

"Little fellow, do you know who you are snatching things from?" From the private room on the second floor, Wu Changqing's voice was filled with cold intent.

"Fair auction, the highest bid wins. Senior, you wouldn't wish to suppress people with power, would you?" Ye Chen's words were neither humble nor arrogant, yet a cold smile was tightly held at the corners of his mouth.

He was already gathering his strength, ready to engage in another fierce battle with Wu Changqing. Even if he was left penniless and property-less, he would still bid for that Heavenly Gang Stick Array for Hu Wa. Stick-based Xuan techniques were exceedingly rare; he absolutely would not miss this opportunity.

Naturally, this was only one reason.

At this moment, Ye Chen's mind was still disturbed by the matter of being driven down the mountain that day. That was a perpetual pain for him, and he was even more repulsed by Wu Changqing's arrogant posture. All of this was driving him to do something audacious.

"A fair auction indeed," a cold laugh echoed from the private room on the second floor.

"My Zheng Yang Sect offers two hundred and fifty thousand."

"Five hundred thousand!" As soon as Wu Changqing's words fell, Ye Chen raised his bid sign.

Pfft!

Pfft!

Pfft!

Suddenly, the Zang Long Ge was filled with the sounds of tea being spat out. Ye Chen, in one breath, had raised the price by two hundred and fifty thousand, nearly causing half of them to choke to death.

"What in the name of... is happening?" The Zang Long Ge seemed to have exploded into a cacophony.

"Is a stick Xuan technique that valuable?"

"That little fellow has some guts! To dare snatch things from the Zheng Yang Sect!"

"Five hundred thousand spirit stones! This is aiming for the heavens! Yesterday it was a broken iron whip, today it's a broken stick technique. How is it that the things that receive the least attention are all being bid up to sky-high prices? What is this world coming to?"

The voices of the crowd were boiling over. In the corner, Ye Chen had become the most attention-grabbing person in the entire venue.

In the private rooms on the second floor, people continuously lifted the bead curtains to look down. Elders from various great families, Feng Wuhen from Qing Yun Sect and Heng Yue Sect, and the three Kongming realm powerhouses from Shi Xue Dian all successively cast surprised gazes.

Compared to these individuals, Wu Changqing's face had already turned from grim to sinister, and then from sinister to ferocious.

Yesterday, his face was swept clean. Today, the scene was so similar to yesterday's.

It was still the same principle. If he didn't win that stick technique, he would lose not only his face but also the face of the entire Zheng Yang Sect.

"Clearly they have no use for that stick technique, yet they just had to come out and pretend. Look, their pretense has split open!" Someone below sneered.

Looking closely, it was actually Zhuge Yu, the one who had sold Ye Chen the Mysterious Iron and Mysterious Steel yesterday. His words were not at all reserved. It was clear from his demeanor that he was a person of profound cultivation and did not fear the power of the Zheng Yang Sect in the slightest.

As soon as he uttered these words, Wu Changqing's aged face burned with shame.

Bang!

He slammed his palm onto the nearby table and chairs, just about to bid again, but was blocked by Huayun and Ji Ning Shuang behind him.

"Elder, our target is the Heavenly Origin Pill."

"Please, Elder, reconsider. Do not waste too many spirit stones on this useless stick technique."

Huayun and Ji Ning Shuang's words caused Wu Changqing to awaken as if from a dream. The anger that had clouded his mind gradually subsided, and he regained a semblance of sobriety.

Even so, Wu Changqing's hands in his sleeves still gripped so tightly that his knuckles cracked. A surge of icy killing intent raged within his chest. If not for the clear prohibition against private fighting here, he would have long since rushed down to exterminate Ye Feng.

"Investigate! Investigate for me!" Wu Changqing took a deep breath, forcefully suppressing his anger. "I want to see who is so audacious. I will make him wish he were dead, wish he were dead."

A thrilling auction had reached a temporary conclusion.

Even Yang Gelao on the stage couldn't help but sigh.

What kind of world was this?

Yesterday it was that broken iron whip, and today it was this broken stick technique. Yet, these two items, which Tian Xuan Men least favored, were both bid up to a sky-high price of five hundred thousand. Even he, an elder of Tian Xuan Men, was taken aback.

With a single strike of the hammer, Ye Chen successfully won the bid for the Heavenly Gang Stick Array as he desired.

"We got it. Now we're penniless and property-less again." Xiong Er's plump, large head drooped, practically pasted to the table. "It seems I can't go without finding two grandpas to borrow some money from. Oh, my gods!"

"Thirty thousand. I'll return it with interest in the future." Ye Chen patted Xiong Er's shoulder.

Hearing these words, Xiong Er's eyes brightened. He then pulled out paper and pen from his groin area and wrote down a string of large characters with a flourish, wiping away a bit of snot from his nose. Only then did he hand it to Ye Chen. "I'm afraid you'll renege. Come, sign your name!"

"Damn."

The auction continued its fervent pace.

While the Xuan-tier secret techniques that followed were still hotly contested, causing frenzied bidding wars each time, none could match the sheer intensity sparked by the Heavenly Gang Staff Array.

Unbeknownst to all, the cloak of night had already descended.

"Today's auction concludes here." As Elder Yang's voice resonated through the Zanglong Pavilion, the segment dedicated to Xuan-tier secret techniques for the day reached its end.

Figures rose from their seats in succession, each one exhaling sighs of awe and smacking their lips in wonder. As they departed, their gazes lingered on Ye Chen, the young man concealed behind a wolf-head mask. His audacious bid of 500,000 for the Heavenly Gang Staff Array had not only secured the item but also dealt a stinging blow to the face of the Zhengyang Sect. He was undoubtedly the most talked-about figure of the day.

"Truly, each generation brings forth its own talented individuals!" Elder Situ, the venerable white-haired elder from the Situ family of Xishu, stroked his beard as he regarded Ye Chen.

"Old Situ, this young lad might be even more formidable than you were in your youth," a white-robed old man from the Shangguan family of Dongyue playfully ribbed.

"You two old codgers, be merciful with your hands at tomorrow's auction," the red-robed, middle-aged beauty from the Wang family of Beichuan cast an annoyed glance at the two elders from the Situ and Shangguan families.

A murmur of conversation rippled through the crowd. Many prominent families from the cultivation world spared a glance for Ye Chen as they departed.

"Little fellow, you've truly become the center of attention this time!" Xiong Er, ever perceptive, had keenly noted how the gaze of every faction was fixed upon Ye Chen.

"What a calamity!" Ye Chen couldn't help but rub his temples in exasperation.

On the second floor, the disciples of the Qingyun Sect had already descended. The green-robed elder and the old crone merely gave Ye Chen a casual glance. However, Lu Zhi, the young man whose dantian he had crippled, lightly fanned himself and cast a playful look, their gazes meeting.

"Interesting," Lu Zhi remarked with a mouth full of mockery.

"The debt for crippling my dantian, I will settle with you sooner or later." Ye Chen casually averted his gaze, his fist involuntarily clenching in his sleeve. That day, Lu Zhi had worn the same mocking expression when his cultivation had been utterly destroyed.

Next came Feng Wuhen from Hengyue Sect's Jade Sword Peak.

He truly possessed the demeanor of a senior. His black hair was thick and cascaded like a waterfall. He carried a long sword, his back as steady as a mountain, and his entire presence exuded the sharpness of a drawn blade. The look he cast upon Ye Chen held no trace of superiority; instead, it was warm and benevolent.

The disciples of the Bloodlust Hall also descended, gazing at Ye Chen from a distance, their brows involuntarily furrowed.

"Elder Pavilion, did you detect a familiar aura from that young man?" the white-robed youth inquired of the gray-haired elder beside him.

"His aura is concealed; I cannot see through it," the gray-haired elder pondered for a moment before being the first to exit the Zanglong Pavilion. "Pay closer attention to him. Perhaps we truly have encountered him somewhere before."

Following the Bloodlust Hall came the disciples of the Zhengyang Sect.

Immediately, Ye Chen's eyes fell upon Wu Changqing's exceptionally grim face.

"Little fellow, you will die a miserable death," even from a distance, Ye Chen could discern the killing intent in Wu Changqing's eyes.

Ignoring Wu Changqing's glare, Ye Chen's eyes met those of Ji Ningshuang, a moment he dreaded yet couldn't avoid.

The gaze exchanged between former lovers, even for a fleeting instant from afar, caused a pang of pain in Ye Chen's heart once more. Ji Ningshuang, however, simply furrowed her delicate brows, as if detecting something familiar in Ye Chen's eyes. A flicker of something unusual passed through her beautiful gaze.

Ye Chen did not look again, turning his head away directly.

As the auction attendees successively departed, Ye Chen once again made his way to the rear hall of the Zanglong Pavilion.

"Little fellow, you certainly were radiant today!" Elder Yang spoke with an easygoing air. Though Ye Chen wore a special mask covering his face, Elder Yang seemed to see through his disguise at a glance.

"Senior is joking," knowing he couldn't conceal himself from Elder Yang, Ye Chen removed his wolf-head mask and involuntarily rubbed the tip of his nose.

After handing over the spirit stones and receiving the Heavenly Gang Staff Array, he intended to turn and leave, but was called back by Elder Yang.

"Senior, is there anything else?" Ye Chen looked at Elder Yang with a puzzled expression.

"Little fellow, would you perhaps be interested in joining my Tianxuan Gate?" Elder Yang smiled warmly, stroking his white beard as he looked at Ye Chen.

Hearing this, Ye Chen was momentarily stunned.

Tianxuan Gate! What kind of existence was that? Mysterious and powerful, a colossal entity that even the One Hall and Three Sects of Great Chu dared not provoke. To think that such an entity would extend an invitation to him, a mere Qi Condensation realm cultivator, was truly beyond his wildest dreams.

Perhaps it was too sudden, leaving his head in a daze. What virtue or ability did he possess to catch the eye of Tianxuan Gate?

Could it be because he possessed true fire?

Ye Chen mused to himself. Aside from this, he truly couldn't conceive of anything else that could pique the interest of such a colossal behemoth as Tianxuan Gate.

"How about it? Are you interested?" Seeing Ye Chen in a daze, Elder Yang smiled warmly again.

Ye Chen finally reacted, giving a dry laugh. "Senior is not making fun of this junior, are you? I am merely a junior at the Qi Condensation realm; how could I possibly enter your esteemed gaze?"

"Cultivation is not the problem. What my Tianxuan Gate values is talent," Elder Yang's laughter was gentle, like a kind grandfather's. "Indeed, we value your true fire, but more importantly, it is your potential."

With the offer laid bare, and Tianxuan Gate showing such respect, Ye Chen naturally felt compelled to respond positively.

"Senior, if I were to join Tianxuan Gate, does that mean I would have to completely detach myself from Great Chu and subsequently be unable to participate in Great Chu's affairs?" Ye Chen tried to adopt a humble posture, displaying the etiquette expected of a junior.

"Members of Tianxuan Gate are forbidden from participating in the disputes of the various factions in Great Chu. This is a regulation set by successive Gate Masters."

"Is that so?" After a moment of contemplation, Ye Chen rubbed his chin.

While Tianxuan Gate was mysterious and powerful, its restrictions were also incredibly stringent. He was born in Great Chu, grew up in Great Chu. To completely detach himself from Great Chu filled him with a strange, complex emotion. Moreover, he still harbored the desire to strike back at the Zhengyang Sect and avenge the humiliation of being driven down the mountain that day.

"There's no need to rush your answer. Go back and think it over carefully. My words are always valid." Seeing Ye Chen hesitate, Elder Yang smiled slightly.

"In that case, this junior thanks Senior for allowing me to return and consider this properly." Ye Chen cupped his hands in a respectful bow before turning and walking out of the Zanglong Pavilion's rear hall.

After he had left, the purple-clothed old man who had invited him to break the witch's curse yesterday emerged.

"Chief Seat, among the younger generation of Great Chu, there are countless outstanding talents with higher potential than him. Why only invite him?" Elder Yang looked at the purple-clothed old man with a look of doubt. "Could it be solely because he possesses true fire?"

"Of course not," the purple-clothed old man stroked his beard, his words carrying a deeper meaning. "This young fellow is not as simple as he appears on the surface. While his talent may not be the highest, it is of a different kind. Furthermore, his true fire is not merely ordinary and overbearing. Most importantly, it is his bloodline..."

"Then, should this matter be reported to the Holy Lord?" Elder Yang glanced at the purple-clothed old man.

"I do want to find her," the purple-clothed old man said with a touch of annoyance. "She's having a leisurely time, tossing the Tianxuan Gate to me while she indulges in her own leisure. Who knows where she's run off to now, acting all crazy."

Ye Chen, wearing his mask, had just exited the Zanglong Pavilion when he detected two familiar auras.

"To the east is Huayun, and to the west is Ji Ningshuang."

In an instant, he knew who was watching him, but on the surface, he pretended to be completely unaware, blending into the noisy street with the flow of the crowd.

Along the way, he walked and stopped, sometimes pausing at roadside stalls to browse.

Huayun and Ji Ningshuang, hidden in the shadows, were quite skilled at concealment. They followed Ye Chen as he meandered through more than ten bustling streets.

"Do you think you can follow me?" Ye Chen stopped at a roadside stall, lowering his head to look at the wares. A cold smile involuntarily crept onto his lips. "And you don't even consider my origins."

At this point, it was necessary to mention another of Ye Chen's identities.

Within the Zhengyang Sect, he was not only a disciple but also a member of the Zhengyang Sect's Intelligence Pavilion. He had cultivated from a young age and frequently descended the mountain to gather intelligence, excelling particularly in tracking.

As an expert in tracking, his perception far surpassed that of ordinary individuals. Learning how to counter being tracked was also one of the courses he had to master.

While his cultivation might not rival that of Huayun and Ji Ningshuang, in the art of tracking, they were still a notch below him. Attempting to track a former member of the Intelligence Pavilion, their skills were simply not quite sufficient.

Still pretending ignorance, Ye Chen led Huayun and Ji Ningshuang through another ten or so streets.

By the time night descended, Huayun and Ji Ningshuang met from the east and west directions, only to find no trace of Ye Chen.

"This young fellow is not simple!" Huayun's voice was cold. Losing track of him left a stifled feeling in his heart.

"His cultivation might be higher than ours," the usually taciturn Ji Ningshuang mused. "But it's also not impossible that he is a member specializing in intelligence. Ordinary people cannot follow him."