Chapter 617: Trap

The piece of emerald green beast bone that had been bid up to three hundred and fifty thousand immortal spirit stones was soon delivered to Elder Jingyang by a beautiful female cultivator.

Elder Jingyang gripped the bone tightly, his knuckles turning faintly white, and his gaze swept back and forth over the bone as if examining a rare treasure.

Seeming to realize that Han Li was beside him, his expression quickly returned to normal. He smiled at Han Li and carefully put away the emerald green beast bone.

At the same time, the valuable immortal spirit stones and materials he had paid were delivered to the blue-robed burly man.

“The Azure Sea Sky Wave Art, I bid twenty-three thousand immortal spirit stones.” The blue-robed burly man laughed heartily with smug satisfaction, casting a disdainful glance at the three appraisers before speaking loudly.

Seeing this, the feathered-crown Taoist did not bid further, and the Azure Sea Sky Wave Art was finally claimed by the blue-robed burly man at a price fully twenty thousand immortal spirit stones above the starting bid.

The auction continued, and under the auctioneer's direction, the remaining two treasures were brought out in turn.

These two treasures were a scroll that could summon divine soldiers and a golden axe of no low grade, naturally of considerable value. But because of the earth-shattering bid for the emerald green beast bone that had come out of nowhere, these two auctions proceeded tepidly and were concluded at prices not too high.

With the auctioneer's impassioned closing remarks, the auction came to a hasty end. Before that, the three appraisers had already disappeared without a trace.

Elder Jingyang and Han Li had each gotten what they needed, so they immediately rose and headed toward the exit of the venue.

The others in the hall also began to file out.

Those who, like Elder Jingyang and Han Li, had gotten their wishes naturally wore joyful expressions. Those who had not been so fortunate showed little discouragement; good things were inherently hard to come by, and the process of searching was itself a kind of pleasure. If things came too easily, something would be missing.

Moreover, this celebration was just beginning. In the considerable time to come, countless large and small auctions and trade fairs awaited them in the city. Sometimes, at such events, they were more likely to find what they sought. Additionally, they could meet old friends not seen for millennia—something worth looking forward to in the monotonous life of cultivation.

In the surrounding crowd, many were enthusiastically discussing some of the items that had appeared at the auction. The most talked about was naturally the beast bone that Elder Jingyang had purchased for three hundred and fifty thousand immortal spirit stones. As a result, Elder Jingyang became the focus of attention for many, and people不时 came over to exchange pleasantries, probing for information about the item.

As the deputy mountain master of Hundred Creations Mountain, Elder Jingyang was well accustomed to such occasions. But now he was eager to return home and had no mind to waste words with these people. He would respond amiably to acquaintances or those of high status, but to others he paid no heed. Seeing this, the rest tactfully stopped crowding around.

With Elder Jingyang drawing so much attention, Han Li, who had also made a bit of a splash at the auction, was now largely ignored.

Han Li was perfectly happy with this. Smiling, he followed behind Elder Jingyang, strolling toward the exit.

Just then, a black-robed man walked past Han Li. It was the black-robed cultivator who had bid against him twice earlier.

Earlier, the man had been hidden entirely in his black robe, so Han Li hadn't seen his face. Now that they were close, Han Li glanced over and saw a thin young man, quite handsome, but with an unnaturally pale complexion.

As Han Li's gaze swept over, the black-robed young man happened to look back. His knife-like sharp eyebrows lifted slightly, and then he smiled and nodded at Han Li before walking quickly outside.

Behind the black-robed young man followed a purple-robed cultivator. The two seemed to be companions.

This person had smooth purple-gold hair falling to their shoulders, skin as white as jade, and a very delicate face—it was hard to tell if they were male or female.

The purple-robed cultivator also glanced at Han Li, but their delicate face was expressionless. They soon averted their gaze and followed the black-robed young man outside.

Han Li stopped in his tracks, watching their backs, his brow slightly furrowed.

“Fellow Daoist Li, what is it? See an acquaintance?” Elder Jingyang's mind was full of the emerald green beast bone, and he hadn't noticed the black-robed young man and his companion. Seeing Han Li suddenly stop, he couldn't help asking.

“Nothing, my eyes must have been playing tricks on me.” Han Li shook his head.

“In that case, let's hurry.” Elder Jingyang seemed somewhat impatient.

Han Li nodded, and the two quickly left the auction venue.

“Follow me…” Elder Jingyang said softly to Han Li, then turned and walked ahead.

But at that moment, a sudden change occurred!

A flash of red light in the sky, and a mass of red clouds materialized out of thin air, spinning rapidly with a hum.

On the ground around them, red spiritual patterns emerged from nowhere, forming a red spell formation that resonated with the red clouds above.

At this time, Han Li and the others who had attended the auction had just left the vicinity of Jade Kun Tower. They suddenly felt their bodies tighten, all enveloped by the light of the red formation on the ground, none escaping.

A tremendous force surged from the formation, instantly immobilizing everyone present, unable to move.

“What's going on?”

“It's a trapping formation!”

“Who dares cause trouble in the inner city?”

Seeing this, the crowd was greatly alarmed and shouted angrily.

“Fellow Daoist Jingyang, what is this?” Han Li asked in a low voice.

“I'm not sure either. But since someone dares to act in the inner city of Ju Kun, they wouldn't do so without reason. Let's wait and see.” Elder Jingyang frowned slightly, but his expression was very calm.

Han Li said nothing, his mind racing with thoughts.

He could sense the extraordinary nature of the surrounding red formation—it was an extremely powerful binding formation, seemingly infused with a not insignificant law power. He had detected no sign of it before.

But as Elder Jingyang said, this was after all a major city in the northern part of the Black Mountain Immortal Domain, with an overseeing celestial inspector stationed here. Who would dare to openly set up a formation to trap people, and trap True Immortals qualified to attend the auction at that?

Could it be…

Just as Han Li seemed to think of something, two figures, one red and one green, descended from the sky.

Han Li's pupils contracted. He stopped circulating his techniques and looked toward the newcomers.

Both wore golden armor, identical to the attire of the celestial inspectors he had seen when traveling through the void earlier.

The one in front was a red-haired burly man, his body wreathed in crimson flames, exuding an immense aura that slightly distorted the surrounding void.

Han Li was inwardly alarmed as he looked at this man.

This immense aura had reached the Taiyi realm, and was even above Gongshu Jiu's. He should be a high-level cultivator at the mid-Taiyi stage.

The red-haired burly man held a giant crimson sword, taller than a man. The sword was covered in crimson scales, its blade curved like a fire python, with the tail as the tip and the head as the hilt.

Crimson light flowed along the giant sword like blood, giving it a sense of immense slaughter—clearly a fiercely murderous blade.

The other person was a tall, thin man like a bamboo pole, shrouded in dazzling green light.

The bamboo-pole man also exuded a powerful aura, no less than that of the red-haired burly man.

“Celestial inspectors!” As soon as the two appeared, everyone present recognized them from their attire, and their expressions changed.

“Everyone, don't be alarmed. We have come here to arrest renegades from the Reincarnation Palace. They are among you. Those uninvolved, please wait a moment, and you will be released shortly.” The red-haired burly man spoke calmly, his eyes shooting out knife-like sharp glances as he swept them over the crowd.

Han Li's heart skipped a beat.

Had he been exposed?

His mind raced with thoughts, urgently considering countermeasures. He secretly gathered his immortal spiritual power, but showed nothing on his face.

“You, you, and you… come back with us for interrogation.” The red-haired burly man pointed at several people in succession, one of whom was the black-robed young man from before.

Han Li's eyes flickered as he saw whom the red-haired burly man had pointed out, and his tense nerves relaxed slightly.

He remembered those people—they were all cultivators who had bid on the Ten-Thousand Soul Grass. It seemed his feeling was correct; the Ten-Thousand Soul Grass, added midway to the auction, was indeed a trap.

After pointing out several people, the red-haired burly man continued to scan the others with his knife-like gaze.

Those whose eyes met his felt as if they had been pricked, a slight sting.

The man's gaze swept over Han Li as well, but Han Li remained calm, showing no abnormality.

After all, although he had cultivated the Divine Refining Art and his baleful aura was dense enough to approach that of a Gray Immortal, he had been consistently taking Void Yuan Pills. As long as he didn't activate the Divine Refining Art and the other party didn't use some artifact to detect him, he shouldn't be exposed.

Sure enough, the man's gaze only swept over Han Li briefly without lingering.

However, two red-robed cultivators beside him showed a trace of panic in their eyes, which quickly vanished.

But fleeting as it was, the red-haired burly man had already caught it.

“And you two.” The red-haired burly man pointed at them again.

“Celestial Inspector, we are not from the Reincarnation Palace! On what grounds are you arresting us?” one of the red-robed cultivators couldn't help shouting.

The red-haired burly man ignored him and continued scanning the crowd, pointing out a few more people.

“Alright, those pointed out, come with us. The rest may leave.” The red-haired burly man made a hand seal and waved. The red formation around Han Li and the others flashed and disappeared, and the powerful binding force faded away.

Relieved, those released from the restraint quickly left the area.

“Let's go too.” Elder Jingyang had not been pointed out either, and he urged Han Li in a low voice.

The two turned and left, soon departing the area around Jade Kun Tower.

By now, a crowd had gathered at the periphery of the Jade Kun Tower area, watching from afar in the direction of the tower, looking like they were enjoying the spectacle.

Reaching this point, Han Li and the other blended into the crowd.

Although Elder Jingyang wanted to leave immediately, Han Li expressed a desire to see what would happen. Though reluctant, Elder Jingyang, mindful that he had just borrowed immortal spirit stones from Han Li, didn't want to refuse his wish and merely grumbled inwardly.

Thus, the two mingled among the dense crowd of onlookers and joined in watching the excitement.