Chapter 043: Nameless Demonic Qi

"Young master, we didn't bring many blood stones when we left, and we still need to keep the finale treasure for auction. We can't add any more." Beside Li Hongtao, an old man on the verge of death advised. His eyes were cloudy but shot with sharp glints, and his whole body exuded an invisible pressure.

"Why not add?" A flash of cruelty crossed his face. Li Hongtao glanced at the old man beside him, his expression turning unpleasant, then sneered disdainfully, "The Yuan family has always been at odds with our family. I must defeat him this time!"

A hint of ferocity flickered in his eyes. Li Hongtao sneered, "I bid one hundred thousand blood stones!"

"Tsk tsk, so rich, but he's lost his mind." Rubbing his nose, Yang Tian couldn't help but snicker. Yuan Ling was clearly toying with him.

On the hall platform, upon hearing Li Hongtao's bid, the enchanting woman's face brimmed with smiles. Her soul-stirring peach blossom eyes shifted to Yuan Ling's box.

"You're impressive. One hundred thousand mid-grade blood stones for three Heavenly King Heart-Nourishing Pills. Admirable, admirable. I won't keep you company." A faint laugh came, but the endless mockery was undisguised.

The entire hall fell silent.

After a few breaths of silence, Li Hongtao's face turned the color of pig liver. A flash of shame and anger flickered in his eyes. He clenched his fists and said coldly, "Yuan Ling, don't let me run into you at the Martial Dao Mountain."

"Haha, I'm always ready. Just don't run away when the time comes." A disdainful voice rang out slowly.

"We'll see!" The old man beside him watched Li Hongtao's furious expression and shook his head slightly.

"Three Heavenly King Heart-Nourishing Pills have been successfully auctioned to the guest in Box 8. Next, we will auction materials." Meiji clapped her hands, and a burly man in a tight suit walked up carrying a jade box.

With her jade-like hand, she lifted the jade box, revealing a reddish stone the size of a fist, covered in strange patterns.

"Ao wu." At that moment, Xiaobai suddenly poked his head out of Yang Tian's arms, staring at the stone in Meiji's hand. His big black eyes were filled with longing, and a drop of crystal-clear drool immediately dripped down.

"Eh?" His heart tightened. Seeing Xiaobai's restless behavior, Yang Tian pressed him down.

"Ao wu ao wu." Xiaobai let out an anxious cry, his eyes never leaving the stone for a moment. His furry belly kept rubbing against Yang Tian.

"So you eat refining materials too..." A strange look flashed in Yang Tian's eyes as he scanned the stone. It was the first time he had seen Xiaobai act like this.

"Red Blood Rock, hard in texture, is a top-grade refining material for peak Xuan weapons. Starting bid: twenty thousand low-grade blood stones." Meiji glanced around the hall and smiled.

"Twenty-one thousand!"

"Twenty-two thousand!"

Many who were proficient in artifact refining began bidding. This piece of Red Blood Rock was enough to forge a peak Xuan weapon, provided it succeeded. If it did, the profit would be huge.

The price of a peak Xuan weapon was far beyond that of a high-grade Xuan weapon.

"Don't move." Patting Xiaobai's head, Yang Tian frowned slightly. From Xiaobai's reaction, there was something odd about this stone, but he didn't have enough blood stones.

Soon, when the price reached forty thousand, only a few were still bidding. Although the material was precious, the chance of successful refinement was low. Few dared to buy it unless they were confident in their refining skills.

"I bid forty-five thousand blood stones." A well-known artifact refiner in Martial Dao City said slowly.

"This gentleman bids forty-five thousand. Is there any higher bid?" Meiji's eyes swept across the hall as she smiled charmingly.

"I bid fifty thousand blood stones." Just as Meiji was about to announce the deal, a lazy voice suddenly rang out.

"Hmm." Hearing someone bid, the artifact refiner's face darkened. He looked toward the source of the voice and slumped back into his chair, not daring to breathe loudly.

"It's the Heavenly Box again. Usually, few people come here, but today three have already appeared." Murmurs arose from the hall.

"Who is that?" In one box, a refined young man sat in a chair, with starry brows and sword-like eyes, fair-skinned. Upon hearing the bid, his gaze shifted. This was Yuan Ling.

"Brother, it's Brother Yang's voice!" In another box, a girl in green suddenly stood up, her small face filled with joy, and exclaimed in surprise.

"Eh?" Xing Hao's face broke into a smile. Seeing Xing Yun'er's expression, he chuckled, "Little sister, what's the rush? What about Brother Yang?"

"You..." Yun'er stamped her foot, a shy expression flooding her face. She sat back down and turned her head away.

Behind them, an old man cast a strange glance at Yun'er.

"Red Blood Rock has been successfully auctioned to Box 9 of the Heavenly Section. Next, we proceed to the next auction item."

"Ao wu." Xiaobai seemed to understand. He stuck out his tongue and licked Yang Tian's arm a few times, looking ingratiating.

"Such a glutton..." Yang Tian was speechless. He stuffed Xiaobai back into his clothes. Soon, a knock came at the door of the box.

"Come in."

"Creak!" The door slowly opened. A girl in red walked in with graceful steps, carrying a jade tray with both hands. When she saw a man wrapped entirely in a black robe, she was momentarily startled but quickly recovered.

"Young master, your Red Blood Rock." The girl in red approached, presenting the jade tray to Yang Tian, speaking softly.

"Ahem..." Yang Tian coughed lightly, a hint of embarrassment flashing across his face. He glanced at the girl and said flatly, "I came out in a hurry and forgot to bring money. Can I trade goods for goods?"

"This..." The girl in red was taken aback, then a look of panic crossed her face. "Young master, the auction..."

Seeing this, Yang Tian waved his hand, cutting her off, and said with a faint smile, "What? Even I can't do that?"

"No, young master." The girl in red shrank back, her mind racing. Her voice trembled slightly as she said, "Young master, may I report this?"

"Go ahead." Yang Tian waved his hand dismissively. Just as the girl turned to leave, he quickly called her back.

"Young master, is there anything else?" Her nerves instantly tensed. A look of panic crossed her face as she asked.

"Here, this is what I'm exchanging." Tossing out a jade bottle, Yang Tian saw the girl's nervous expression and couldn't help but snicker.

"Young master, this servant takes her leave." The girl curtsied and withdrew.

"Ao wu." Xiaobai suddenly darted out, baring his teeth at the spot where the girl had disappeared. The jade tray on the table had also been taken away.

In an antique room, a seductive woman lounged lazily on a purple-gold chair. Her wide-open collar revealed a deep cleavage. Her tight red dress accentuated her slender, curvaceous figure.

At that moment, a girl in red approached, showing great reverence for the woman. She lowered her head and quickly recounted what had just happened.

"A debt in the Heavenly Box?" After hearing the story, the seductive woman paused, then furrowed her willow brows. She rummaged through the papers on the table and pulled out a guest registration list.

"From the Qingyang Empire, with a Five-Claw Invitation." She licked her sensual red lips, a hint of surprise flickering in her narrow eyes. She stood up slowly, revealing a stunning curve on her chest.

"Give it to him at market price."

"Yes, Miss." The girl in red nodded and left.

"Things are getting more chaotic. Even the Qingyang Empire wants a piece of the action?" The seductive woman paced around the room, her waist like a water snake, swaying with endless allure.

...

In the box, after sending the girl away, Yang Tian glanced into a void ring and couldn't help but smack his lips. After deducting the cost of the Red Blood Rock, there were sixty thousand blood stones inside. He was inwardly shocked by the Crown Prince's generosity.

"Swoosh." Seeing the girl in red leave, Xiaobai instantly leaped out, dashed to the table, and eagerly grabbed the Red Blood Rock.

"Creak!" He gnawed at it with his teeth. To Yang Tian's astonishment, the Red Blood Rock remained unchanged, not even a stone chip falling off.

"Woo woo." After clawing and biting at the Red Blood Rock for a while, Xiaobai looked up, his pitiful eyes fixed on Yang Tian, leaving a puddle of drool on the floor.

"Haha." Unable to help laughing, Yang Tian snatched the Red Blood Rock. He examined it closely but found nothing unusual. Then he looked at Xiaobai's longing expression.

"Is there something inside?" After a moment's thought, Yang Tian said uncertainly.

"Ao wu." Wagging his tail, Xiaobai jumped up and down in agreement.

After a long silence, Yang Tian took out the broken sword, gripped it, and sliced at the Red Blood Rock.

"This thing really is a treasure, incredibly sharp." Like cutting tofu, the stone shavings of the Red Blood Rock were peeled away layer by layer. He knew well how sharp Xiaobai's teeth were—they could easily tear through the hide of a second-rank beast.

As soon as Yang Tian shaved off a layer of stone skin, the red color gradually turned pitch black.

"There really is something." A surge of joy washed over his face. Just as he shaved off a layer of black outer skin, a monstrous demonic qi burst forth like an awakened dragon, its power shaking the heavens. The surrounding void seemed on the verge of cracking.

"Woo." Xiaobai was startled, his fur standing on end. He dived straight into Yang Tian's black robe.

"Not good." Startled, Yang Tian flipped his palm, and the black fleshy ball instantly disappeared into his hand. The overwhelming power vanished without a trace.

Whoosh!

The entire hall fell deathly silent. All eyes immediately turned to Box 9. That extremely powerful demonic qi, though only for an instant, made their hearts tremble.

"Such strong demonic qi. Could it be a great demon?" An old antique's uncertain voice slowly rang out. If a great demon had infiltrated a human city, it would surely cause a huge uproar and might even trigger a war.

At the same time, dozens of powerful divine senses surged toward Yang Tian's box without any restraint, bypassing the external isolation array and flooding into the box.

"Don't move." Yang Tian barked, stroking Xiaobai's body. He felt instantly locked on, as if the slightest movement would shatter him to pieces.

"Brother, that's Brother Yang's room. Will something happen?" Yun'er stood up, poking her little head out the door, looking toward Yang Tian's box with anxious eyes.

"I don't know. Third Grandpa, what's going on in there?" Xing Hao walked over to the old man and quickly asked. That demonic qi earlier was too fierce.

"It should be a demonic core." The old man withdrew his divine sense, looking puzzled. That overwhelming demonic qi had been completely blocked. Even with his divine sense, he couldn't detect any extraordinary treasure on Yang Tian.

"A demonic core? Wow, that demonic qi was terrifying. So it's a demonic core." Xing Hao scratched his head, incredulous.

"Third Grandpa, is Brother Yang okay?" Yun'er walked over, her flawless little face full of worry, and asked.

"Hehe, he's in the Heavenly Box. Who would dare to target him? Don't worry, little girl." Patting Yun'er's head, the old man said with a chuckle.

"Oh." Seemingly not catching the teasing in the old man's words, Yun'er continued to walk to the door and looked over in that direction.