Chapter 149: The Grand Auction

"What the hell is this thing!"

The burly man's gaze fell upon the silver flame, and his face instantly turned deathly pale. The other two also wore expressions as if they had seen a ghost, looking as though they wished to flee immediately.

"Roar..."

Although the golden giant ape was covered in scorch marks, its huge eyes blazed with ferocity. Seven hazy starlights lit up on its chest and abdomen. It suddenly raised its giant fist and swung it violently at the blood-bone giant.

A massive golden fist shadow, embedded with hazy white light, whistled forth with overwhelming force and heavily struck the blood-bone giant's chest.

A thunderous boom erupted!

Countless blood-red bones shattered and exploded, scattering into bone fragments that fell in all directions.

The remaining half of the blood-bone giant swayed unsteadily, then finally collapsed powerlessly into the sea, emitting white steam as it dissolved and vanished.

At the same time, the human-skin drum, white-bone pipa, and green-black ancient chime in the hands of the Three Evils of Shaoshan also burst apart, transforming into three blinding halos. Ripples visible to the naked eye surged outward like raging waves, causing continuous rumbling in the void wherever they passed.

The violent impacts sent the three men flying backward over a hundred zhang, spitting blood profusely.

On the other side, the giant ape also shrank its form and reverted to human shape.

Han Li waved his hand, and the silver firebird that had just rendered great service immediately flapped its wings and flew back, vanishing into his sleeve in a flash.

Through his spiritual connection, Han Li sensed that the Essence Flame Firebird seemed somewhat excited after feasting on the blood flames, likely having gained some benefit.

"Quick, flee!"

In the void over a hundred zhang away, the Great Evil, having just stabilized himself, shouted urgently. The other two immediately flew to his side with terrified expressions.

The three formed a strange hand seal with one hand while their other arms simultaneously exploded into a cloud of blood mist that enveloped them.

In a flash, the three, wrapped in the blood mist, transformed into a startling blood rainbow that shot toward the horizon at an astonishing speed, nearly a thousand li in an instant.

Seeing this, Han Li's body crackled as silver lightning coursed through him. With a thunderclap, he vanished from the spot.

Over a hundred thousand li away, the three men's figures flickered into view, their faces pale as paper, their eyes still filled with lingering terror.

Just as they were about to take some pills and catch their breath, a thunderous crash sounded above their heads.

Bowl-thick silver arcs of electricity flashed wildly, intertwining and weaving in midair to form a lightning array over ten zhang in diameter.

At the center of the lightning array stood Han Li's figure, his expression indifferent.

He suddenly grabbed at the void before him with one hand.

The surrounding silver arcs, not yet dissipated, immediately contracted and condensed into a gleaming silver thunderball in his palm, emitting a rumbling sound.

With a flick of his wrist, Han Li tossed the thunderball downward.

A deafening boom followed.

The three men felt a heart-stopping pressure descending from above, and their souls nearly fled in terror.

With their vitality severely depleted, they had no strength to escape. They could only rapidly form hand seals, their bodies flashing with light as they summoned all their protective treasures.

Boom!

A water-vat-thick silver lightning pillar flashed down from the heavens, instantly engulfing the three.

Amidst successive explosions and screams, the Three Evils of Shaoshan were utterly annihilated, body and soul, by this Thunder Sacrifice Art.

Han Li glanced at the sea surface where the embers fell, then lightning flickered around him, and his figure vanished in a flash.

...

About half a month later.

In the Heavens' Accord Hall of the Island Lord's Mansion in Black Wind City.

A majestic man in brocade robes sat on a carved grand chair, nodding slightly as he looked at a green-robed man below, his eyes showing undisguised appreciation.

"Fellow Daoist Liu, you have rendered great service this time in ensuring my daughter Yuqing's safe return to Black Wind Island. I promised a generous reward; speak freely what you desire." The man said with a smile and a clear voice.

The green-robed man standing in the hall was naturally Han Li.

"Island Lord Lu, I undertook this task not for any reward, but only to obtain a spot to leave the Black Wind Sea region when the teleportation array is activated," Han Li replied calmly.

"Is that all?" Lu Jun was taken aback, asking incredulously.

"That is all," Han Li confirmed.

"Yuqing has told me something of how you saved her and escorted her back. To be honest, I am someone who cherishes talent. I would like to keep you here on Black Wind Island, even as one of the deputy island lords, if you wish," Lu Jun said after a moment's deliberation.

"Thank you for your high regard, Island Lord, but I have reasons I must leave this place, so I can only decline your kind offer," Han Li said with slight apology.

Lu Jun saw that his expression did not seem feigned and had no choice but to let it go.

"In that case, I won't force you. You already have a spot for the teleportation. Additionally, I have some other gifts for you; I hope you won't refuse."

With that, he waved his hand, and a water-blue storage pouch flew out, landing before Han Li.

Han Li did not decline; he reached out and took it, thanked him, and took his leave.

After he left, Lu Yuqing, now dressed in a new set of clothes, emerged from the rear hall and came to Lu Jun's side, a look of disappointment on her face.

"Father, why didn't you try harder to keep Brother Liu? Don't you believe what I said earlier?" she said, somewhat disappointed.

"On the contrary, I think this man's strength is probably even greater than you described," Lu Jun said with a serious expression.

"If so, then why did Father..."

Before Lu Yuqing could finish, Lu Jun waved his hand to interrupt her.

"First, this man is no ordinary fish; he has no intention of staying in our Black Wind Sea. Second, I don't fully trust him; keeping him close might not be a good thing. So, letting him leave here might be the best choice."

"But..."

Lu Yuqing was about to say more when Lu Jun suddenly spoke solemnly:

"Yuqing, the situation our Black Wind Island faces is far more complex than you can imagine. Something has already happened to your elder brother. If you hadn't been rescued in time by that Liu Shi, do you know how serious the consequences would have been?"

"I... I'm sorry, Father." Lu Yuqing's expression darkened, and she seemed on the verge of tears, her voice weak as she admitted fault.

Lu Jun sighed, unable to bear scolding her further. He pulled her into his arms and gently patted her shoulder.

On the other side, Han Li left the Island Lord's Mansion and headed straight out of Black Wind City, flying toward Youyang Mountain.

Returning to his cave dwelling, he went straight through the main hall to the backyard.

After opening several concealment formations, a small medicinal garden appeared before him.

In the center of the garden stood a solitary dark purple plant seedling, looking no different from ordinary roadside weeds, very plain.

In fact, this seedling was the young flower he had carefully cultivated from the Birth Soul Flower seeds obtained from the Wuchang Alliance before his recent trip.

The germination rate of this flower was extremely low. Although he had obtained many seeds, he had used nearly half of them before successfully cultivating this single seedling.

Seeing that the flower was safe, Han Li felt relieved. He reset the concealment formations and returned to the house.

He took out the storage pouch he had received from the Black Wind Island Lord. Instead of opening it immediately, he probed it with his spiritual sense.

After confirming there was nothing unusual, he refined it and took out the contents.

The contents of the pouch were simple: aside from a palm-sized black token, there was a small pile of high-grade spirit stones.

Han Li counted them; there were about two hundred, a considerable sum.

He casually put them away and then carefully examined the token.

The token was quite heavy in hand, covered with spirit patterns. On one side was engraved the word "Black Wind," and on the other, "Teleport."

Seeing this, he breathed a sigh of relief.

Although this trip had been quite troublesome, he had finally achieved his goal.

Spring passed and winter came; in the blink of an eye, over three years had gone by.

At this time, the number of cultivators in Black Wind City, especially high-level ones above the Integration stage, had increased greatly. Lanterns and decorations were everywhere, as if some celebration was about to be held.

The centennial Black Wind Island Auction was about to commence—truly a grand event!

Each auction would feature various extremely rare treasures, high-level cultivation techniques, top-grade pills, and so on. Some treasures appeared only at this auction.

Almost all high-level cultivators from the Black Wind Sea region would gather here. Even some hostile forces of Black Wind Island would temporarily cease hostilities, sign truce agreements, and send people to participate in this grand event.

On the summit of Youyang Mountain, in a secluded cave dwelling by a cliff.

The tightly shut door slowly opened, and Han Li walked out. However, he was not showing his true face; using a mask from the Wuchang Alliance, he had transformed into a dark-faced, bearded man.

From the cave dwelling on Youyang Mountain, he could clearly see the bustling scene within Black Wind City.

Han Li smiled slightly, feeling quite expectant about this centennial grand auction.

With this thought, his figure flickered and transformed into a streak of green light flying toward the city.

In the central area of Black Wind City, a majestic golden palace floated motionless in midair.

The palace was about a hundred zhang tall and covered a large area. It was made entirely of golden jade, emitting a layer of golden light, appearing extremely exquisite and magnificent.

On the plaque above the main entrance were three bold and flowing characters: "Golden Cloud Pavilion."

Apart from the main entrance, the hall had entrances on the other three sides as well.

Four huge golden staircases extended from the palace, and from time to time, streaks of light landed on them, entering the Golden Cloud Pavilion.

This Golden Cloud Pavilion was the venue for the auction.