Translation: Aerial Rain Translation (aerialrain.com) by koffeam

Linghu Xie waited patiently. Except for the 300 eighth-grade spirit stone just now, there was no higher bid.

Meng Qi sat down leisurely. She lazily propped her cheek with one hand, biting into candies, and poured herself a cup of tea from time to time. Even the tea here was so delicious. Beyond The Heaven must be using special tea leaves containing spiritual aura. Meng Qi felt a gentle warmth spread from her stomach to her limbs with every sip, making her felt very comfortable and relaxed.

Except for Meng Qi, all the cultivators who participated in today’s auction were almost crazy with anxiety. Did they misunderstand the owner’s message before? The ‘I don’t like phoenixes’ in that message wasn’t referring to the Blazing Feather, but this mysterious spell?

So, was this spell actually related to phoenixes? Or did it have something to do with the grotto-heaven that was about to open at the seventh mountain? Therefore, the owner warned the bidder and only allowed them to choose either one.

If this was the case, then the question was——

How to choose?

Which one to choose?

Because the main attraction of today’s auction was the token to enter Beyond The Heaven’s mountain, almost all the top ten sects of the four realms in Three Thousand Worlds sent their representative here. Some sent the elders who had a high authority in the sect, but the majority, like Fentian Palace, had their sect leader personally came.

Even if they were cultivators, everyone was hesitant to make a prompt decision. According to the past, Beyond The Heaven’s grotto-heavens had great outputs. Those who ventured there, although met with extreme danger, would receive equally rewarding results. Rare treasures, magic tools, and magic weapons from the distant past, even records about the spell or cultivation techniques left behind by great predecessors…the possibility was endless.

Like the grotto-heaven that had 24 tokens of entry, for each cultivator who participated, the lowest value of the items they got in the grotto-heaven was more than the most expensive lot usually sold at Heaven Auction House. Of course, the gain of large sects was even richer.

It was said that there was a time when a certain sect got a magic tool by chance, which actually contained the cultivation method of their sect’s great predecessor who passed away thousands of years ago. That particular sect was in decline, mainly because most of their knowledge inheritance was cut off by a catastrophe. After the finding, the broken inheritance was finally resumed, and the sect’s strength was advanced by leaps and bounds. Coupled with a few consecutive genius disciples they nurtured, the sect surely would return to their peak in a few hundred years.

Since then, every time a grotto-heaven appeared in Beyond The Heaven, any major sects would always compete for the entry token.

They have never objected to the owner’s restrictions on token bidding because it was always very fair. The condition of each restriction was to maximize the profits of the participants. But this time, the owner didn’t specify the restriction clearly and put them into a dilemma.

The leaders and elders of the large sects who came today were a bit upset. Did they really misunderstand before?

The owner said that they didn’t like phoenixes, so no one bid for the Blazing Feather.

And now, there was this mysterious spell…

Cannot be helped. They should just give up.

Anyway, the item wasn’t guaranteed to be valuable either. There was no need to give up the token for this gamble.

So, the Heaven Auction House was quiet once again. In the meantime, Meng Qi drank another cup of tea and was now biting into a pink-colored pastry with plum blossom smell.

Linghu Xie looked around the audience and smiled: “Congratulations to the fellow Daoist who won the seventh lot with the price of three hundreds eighth-grade spirit stones. Please follow the agreement and make the soul oath. Of course, if you really managed to crack the seal, the seller will give you one spell in exchange.”

Meng Qi: “???”

The hand holding the teacup was shaken. Before she could react, the window on the wall was reopened, and another black wooden slip fell on the tea table. This time, the wooden slip was covered with a soft layer of blue light.

Meng Qi blinked in disbelief. She actually won another auction? Was it suppose to be this easy?

Moreover, according to the man named Linghu, if she could crack the seal on the jade slip, she would get to learn another spell. All of it…just for three hundred eighth-grade spirit stones?!

No matter how she calculated, it was too profitable!!

In Three Thousand World, records about spell or techique had never been cheap. Even the most common first-grade spells were usually sold at the price range of fifth to sixth-grade spirit stone.

Meng Qi buckled her right middle finger and thumb together, pressed it on her heart, and made a soul oath according to the instruction. The blue light on the black wooden slip gradually faded. With an indescribable feeling, Meng Qi reached out and picked up the slip.

She put a mark of her spiritual sense on the wooden slip. On this auction, she spent a total of 220 ninth-grade and 300 eighth-grade spirit stones to buy a Blazing Feather and a jade slip containing an unknown spell from Starfallen Sea. Counting together, hers must be the cheapest and also the most cost-effective haul today?

But why no one else made a bid? It was just a few hundred eighth-grade spirit stones, even she could afford it.

Meng Qi got a hold of the black wooden slip and examined it repeatedly in joy. Although she felt a bit peculiar, she didn’t put too much thought. Maybe the item those big powerhouses wanted was too precious, so they were too lazy to waste time dwelling with these cheap things.

After the seventh lot was sold, silence still engulfed the valley. Cloud passed by, and a few minutes had passed. Except for Meng Qi, other guests were feeling a bit upset. Since the establishment of Heaven Auction Site, no item has ever been sold for merely several hundred eighth-grade spirit stones.

On the next few lots, there was not much enthusiasm. The eighth to eleventh lots were sold quickly after just a few bids.

Having gained a tremendous profit today, Meng Qi was in an excellent mood. She had no intention of going back early and sat relaxedly inside the room, watching the auction being held.

Finally, the twelfth lot was being introduced. Before the thirteenth lot was announced, this twelfth lot was initially the most precious item to be auctioned today. Linghu Xie waved his hand, and a broken scroll was floating on the stage. No matter where their position was, the audience could see the scroll unimpeded.

At a glance, the scroll had been yellowed and looked very old. Obviously, the staff at Beyond The Heaven had done some repair, but it was clear that about one-third of the scroll was missing.

“This scroll contained the record of an ancient array. It has been broken when found, scattered in thousands small parts and were packed in two wooden boxes.” Linghu Xie introduced the twelfth lot with a smile. “Seven cultivators of Beyond The Heaven who are proficient in tool refinery spent one month to restore it to its current appearance, but it’s clear that we are still missing the last box to have a complete scroll.”

After a pause, he added slowly: “According to the seven people who repaired this scroll, the array recorded in it is plausibly an ancient refinery array that has been lost for thousands of years.”

“Which one?” Someone asked immediately.

“I don’t dare to speculate.” Linghu Xie answered with a smile. “We invited the top refinery sects from all four realms to research this scroll together. According to them, this is probably the refinery array of one of the ancient Soul Chasing Five Elements Swords.”

A burst of uproar instantly erupted.

Refinery sects had long been in decline, and many were on their edge. A large part of the reason was the catastrophe ten thousand years ago. Cultivators who specialized in refinery had no significant offensive power and could only rely on arrays and magic tools to defend themselves from the invaders. Once the arrays and tools were exhausted, what awaited them was total annihilation. Like that, countless ancient refinery arrays disappeared into the long river of time.

A few hundreds of years ago, a refinery sect with thousands of years of history accidentally found a scroll left behind by their ancestors, which contained three ancient arrays that had long become mere legends. Using the knowledge in that scroll, in the last few hundred years, the refinery cultivators gradually regained their previous standing in Three Thousand Worlds.

Meng Qi had never heard of the Soul Chasing Five Elements Swords, but she understood the significance of the word ‘ancient.’

Sure enough, upon Linghu Xie’s words, the originally lukewarm atmosphere finally became lively again.

“Fellow Daoist Linghu, please state the starting price.” Someone immediately urged.

“Ten thousand profound-grade spirit stones.” Linghu Xie replied with a smile.

Indeed worthy of being the twelfth lot. Its value was truly different. Meng Qi watched other guests become spirited, and soon the price went from 10,000 to 100,000 profound-grade spirit stones.

“One hundred and twenty thousand profound-grade spirit stones, plus one fourth-grade array.” Another person said.

This ancient array was so precious that the bidding could no longer be solved by just taking out more spirit stones. Heaven Auction House allowed bartering in addition to monetary payment, but the seller had the right to accept or refuse.

Meng Qi has never studied arrays systematically. All the arrays her Master taught her were of practical use. She couldn’t learn some of them because of her low cultivation base, so Master put in his effort to modify the arrays and teach her the simpler version.

Hearing the words ‘fourth-grade array,’ Meng Qi’s heart moved. During this time, she had faintly noticed that the arrays Master taught her were not of ordinary origin. Every single of them could make the demon cultivators who recognized it to be extremely shocked and fearful.

She wondered what the grade of Four Poles Great Array and Lihuo Great Fire was. After she met with Master again, she should ask him.

Thinking about her Master, Meng Qi’s happy mood suddenly dimmed a bit. She subconsciously looked up at the sky. From her perspective, the sky was full of clouds, and she could see an island floated leisurely up above, so majestic and unrestrained.

…

At the top of the valley, in the elegant courtyard inside Heaven Auction House, a man in a white robe was lying lazily on a soft couch. He didn’t even bother to watch the auction. Even in Beyond The Heaven, where he was without his physical body, there was an obvious trace of exhaustiveness on his face. There was no one else in the courtyard except for this man. With his slender fingers, he casually played with two black wooden slips.

Within a few days, he broke his principles twice for a human girl still in the Foundation Establishment stage.

But what else could be done?

She so desperately tried to earn a few ninth-grade spirit stones, even put herself in danger, all to buy him a phoenix feather.

Heh—

It’s a pity that Beyond The Heaven had its own strict and comprehensive rules since its establishment. Even he couldn’t break the rules arbitrarily. What’s more, there were too many things about Meng Qi that he still couldn’t comprehend. Therefore, for the time being, he didn’t want her to know too much.

The white-robed man listened to the increasingly heightened bidding, and finally, the incomplete scroll was sold to the highest bidder. There was no change in his expression. The man lazily glanced downward towards a particular room. The girl inside was still eating refreshment happily and had no intention of leaving.

An almost indiscernible smile flashed through the man’s eyes. This girl usually looked very mature, but in fact, was still seventeen or eighteen years old. Nearly half of the pastries and candies on the table had been eaten by her. Did she like sweets so much?

After the twelfth lot was sold, the valley became quiet once again. Finally, it’s time for today’s highlight. Even Meng Qi looked out in curiosity.

“Ladies and gentleman, thank you for waiting patiently.” Linghu Xie smiled at the audience. “Now, we are going to auction a total of sixteen tokens to enter Beyond The Heaven’s seventh mountain.”

“Sixteen! So the new grotto-heaven at the seventh peak isn’t small.” Someone sighed.

“Brother Xuanyuan seems to be determined to win.” Apparently, someone recognized the man’s voice and chimed in with a laugh.

“Hahaha, I don’t dare to say much. But among everyone present, who doesn’t want to? After all, going into Beyond The Heaven’s grotto-heaven always resulted in great profit.” The person surnamed Xuanyuan replied.

Indeed, everyone present at today’s auction was aiming for the tokens, except for Meng Qi. She was just wondering what kind of item the last lot would be. After hearing the word grotto-heaven, she knew that this matter was entirely unrelated to herself. Meng Qi stood up and quickly left the auction house.

…

Outside the auction house, it was completely empty. Most people were still inside the auction floor, fiercely bidding for the tokens. Before Meng Qi walked far, another footstep suddenly came from behind. She turned her head subconsciously. It was the black-robed young man she saw just before entering the auction house.

The man’s facial features are as sharp as a knife, and his expression was quite cold. He himself was like a sword, sharp and ruthless. Once he made a move, his entire being was a cold sword that could deter the entire four realms.

This person was precisely Pei Mufeng, the current and youngest master of Xingluo Pavilion, the biggest sword sect in the Eastern Realm.

Meng Qi recalled his promise to the medical society to enter the Starfallen Sea for ten years. She bowed at the young man politely. This youth who had just become the master of Xingluo Pavilion was strong, talented, and proud. Just his cultivation talent alone was of an extremely high level, far beyond the majority of his generation in Three Thousand Worlds.

Meng Qi was grateful for this young man’s promise and made the bow subconsciously.

However, Pei Mufeng stopped and returned the bow meticulously. His eyes were like a cold star, bright and profound. When he raised his head, his gaze promptly swept across Meng Qi’s face before turned it away quickly.

Meng Qi stepped aside and gestured for him to go first. She didn’t have a particular admiration or longing towards the strong sword cultivators, but admired Pei Mufeng, who was willing to go to Starfallen Sea to hunt for spiritual plants and monster beasts that could be used as medicinal ingredients for the benefit of medical advancement.

Pei Mufeng’s expression was indifferent: “Is fellow Daoist not interested in the grotto-heaven’s token?”

Meng Qi smiled and calmly replied: “My spirit stones are too few to make a bid.”

Pei Mufeng seemed to be stunned by this answer. His eyes subconsciously fell on Meng Qi’s face again before quickly turned away.　Staring at another direction, he said: “I’m waiting for my sect’s elders to finish. If fellow Daoist is free, how about we go to Beyond The Heaven Restaurant for a drink?”

A drink? Impossible. Meng Qi still remembered the last painful lesson. She shook her head politely: “I’m sorry, but I’m not good at drinking.”

Pei Mufeng did not press further. He regarded Meng Qi as a fellow youngster who was bored waiting for their elders to finish the bidding inside. He cupped his hands for the last time before he walked forward quickly.

Meng Qi waited until he walked away before she proceeded slowly towards the teleportation array. Pei Mufeng truly hadn’t changed. He had no interest in anything except the sword. That must be why he made such a promise.

Meng Qi raised her head and looked forward. Pei Mufeng’s figure had long gone. In her previous life, she didn’t hear any rumors about Xingluo Pavilion Master and Lu Qingran. But this time, it was said that he made this promise for a young female healer.

Meng Qi’s eyebrow raised. It was rare for her to be interested in gossip, but she was indeed curious whether a person like Pei Mufeng could actually be tempted by a woman.

…

When Meng Qi opened her eyes again in her room, it was almost noon already. She felt something fluffy on her hand and glanced down to see Xiao Qi was lying beside her.

“Eh?” Meng Qi reached out and carefully took the little tiger’s small paw into her hand: “What happened?”

Meng Qi cleaned Xiao Qi’s wound, applied medicine, and changed the bandage every day. Although she was unable to stop the bleeding completely, it has gradually become better. Recently, only a small amount of blood oozed out every day. But now, the clean white cloth that bandaged Xiao Qi’s injured paw was full of blood. Not only that, his originally bright eyes were also much dimmer than before.

She hurriedly took Xiao Qi’s front paw carefully and gently opened the bandage. “Why did it suddenly worsened so much?” Meng Qi whispered in distress. She leaned her body towards Xiao Qi. Being so close so suddenly, the little guy was caught off guard. His nostrils immediately were filled with the light medicinal fragrance from the girl’s body. Her warm breath fell on his small paw and seemingly was carrying a faint sweet fragrance.

Xiao Qi: “…”

“But you will be fine soon.” Meng Qi raised her head and smiled. She happily told the little tiger: “I have bought the Blazing Feather.”

As she spoke, Meng Qi reached out to rub Xiao Qi’s fluffy head and also squeezed his little ear a bit. However, thinking about Xiao Qi’s more complicated internal injuries, Meng Qi couldn’t help sighing again.

As if guessing the reason for her sigh, Xiao Qi’s uninjured paw gently patted the back of Meng Qi’s hand.

The fluffy touch pulled back her mind: “It’s okay.” She smiled: “Anyway, let’s take it slowly. Step by step, I will become stronger, and one day definitely will cure you completely.” As she spoke, she couldn’t help squeezed Xiao Qi’s ears again.